Fighting Coronavirus with Llamas, Why Rain Stops Rocket Launches, and Listener Questions About Cold Things

Learn about why NASA doesn’t launch rockets in the rain (which is why there was a delay launching the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley); why llamas are so promising for protecting humans against viruses like COVID-19; and why things get cold — when they’re wet, when you’re chewing mint gum, and when you blow air through narrowed lips.

Why NASA doesn’t launch rockets in the rain by Cameron Duke

• Analysis of Apollo 12 Lightning Incident. (1970, February). Spaceflight.Nasa.Gov. https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/outreach/SignificantIncidents/assets/analysis-of-apollo-12-lightning-incident.pdf
• Apollo 12 Launch - CSM Onboard Audio. (2012). [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31qt9jgtMMI
• Apollo 12 Launch (Lightning Strike) - Onboard Voice Recorder. (2015). [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivtpIGrMZpw
• Bartels, M. (2020, May 30). NASA and SpaceX eye weather for historic Demo-2 astronaut launch Saturday. Space.Com. https://www.space.com/spacex-demo-2-astronaut-launch-weather-concerns.html
• Basics of Space Flight: Rocket Propellants. (2019). Braeunig.Us. http://www.braeunig.us/space/propel.htm
• NASA - Lightning and Launches. (2020). Nasa.Gov. https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/9-12/features/F_Lightning_and_Launches_9_12.html
• Gohd, C. (2019, November 14). 50 Years Ago: NASA’s Apollo 12 Was Struck By Lightning Right After Launch ... Twice! (Video). Space.Com; Space. https://www.space.com/apollo-12-lightning-strike-twice-launch-video.html
• Thorbecke, C. (2020, May 27). NASA’s SpaceX launch scrubbed due to weather, next chance on Saturday. ABC News; ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/live-updates-nasa-spacex-launch-astronauts-iss/story?id=70902209
• Shira Teitel, A. (2017). What Happened on Board when Apollo 12 was Struck by Lightning [YouTube Video]. In The Vintage Space. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i6yD2c2Jho

Why llamas are so promising for human virus protection by Cameron Duke

• Leslie, M. (2018, May 10). Mini-antibodies discovered in sharks and camels could lead to drugs for cancer and other diseases. Science | AAAS. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/05/mini-antibodies-discovered-sharks-and-camels-could-lead-drugs-cancer-and-other-diseases#
• Brulliard, K. and Johnson, C.Y. (2020, May 6). The urgent quest for a coronavirus treatment involves door-to-door blood collection and a llama named Winter. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2020/05/06/urgent-quest-coronavirus-treatment-involves-door-to-door-blood-collection-llama-named-winter/
• Dr. Francis Collins. (2018, November 13). Looking to Llamas for New Ways to Fight the Flu. NIH Director’s Blog. https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2018/11/13/looking-to-llamas-for-new-ways-to-fight-the-flu/
• Hamers-Casterman, C., Atarhouch, T., Muyldermans, S., Robinson, G., Hammers, C., Songa, E. B., Bendahman, N., & Hammers, R. (1993). Naturally occurring antibodies devoid of light chains. Nature, 363(6428), 446–448. https://doi.org/10.1038/363446a0
• Wrapp, Daniel, et al. (2020). Structural Basis for Potent Neutralization of Betacoronaviruses by Single-Domain Camelid Antibodies. Cell. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.04.031
• Zimmer, C. (2018, November 1). How to Turbocharge Flu Protection (Llamas Required). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/01/science/flu-vaccinations.html

Three questions about cold by Ashley Hamer (Listener questions from Joshua, Brescia, and Likith)

• Bautista, D. M., Siemens, J., Glazer, J. M., Tsuruda, P. R., Basbaum, A. I., Stucky, C. L., Jordt, S.-E., & Julius, D. (2007). The menthol receptor TRPM8 is the principal detector of environmental cold. Nature, 448(7150), 204–208. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05910
• Lecklitner, I. (2016, November 9). Why Does My Mouth Freeze When I Drink Water After Chewing... Dollar Shave Club Original Content; Dollar Shave Club Original Content. https://www.dollarshaveclub.com/content/story/why-does-my-mouth-freeze-when-i-drink-water-after-chewing-gum
• WIRED Staff. (2010, September 22). Why Does Spicy Food Taste Hot? WIRED; WIRED. https://www.wired.com/2010/09/why-does-spicy-food-taste-hot/
• Chicago Tribune. (2011, August 9). Ask Tom why: Why does wet skin feel cold? Chicagotribune.com. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2011-08-09-ct-wea-0809-asktom-20110809-story.html
• Heat of Vaporization. (2013, October 2). Chemistry LibreTexts. https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry_Textbook_Maps/Supplemental_Modules_(Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry)/Thermodynamics/Energies_and_Potentials/Enthalpy/Heat_of_Vaporization
• Fluid or Air Entrainment. (2020). Lanecc.Edu. https://media.lanecc.edu/users/driscolln/RT112/Air_Flow_Fluidics/Air_Flow_Fluidics7.html

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Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/fighting-coronavirus-with-llamas-why-rain-stops-rocket-launches-and-listener-questions-about-cold-things

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