Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda Carl Zimmer: The Living Sky
Apr 22, 2025
Carl Zimmer, an award-winning science writer and New York Times columnist, dives into the invisible life thriving in our air and its overlooked significance during the COVID-19 pandemic. He discusses the historical misconceptions about airborne pathogens and highlights key research from the 1930s that shaped our understanding today. Zimmer further elaborates on the use of UV light for disinfection during airborne disease outbreaks and emphasizes the critical need for clear scientific communication and historical context in public health.
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Airborne Disease Research Ignored
- Early 20th-century science showed respiratory droplets could stay airborne hours carrying pathogens.
- But this critical airborne transmission fact was surprisingly neglected and dismissed before COVID.
Historical Airborne Disease Views
- The ancient Greek "miasma" theory saw corrupt air causing disease before microbes were discovered.
- Germ theory focused on contaminated water or vectors, neglecting airborne microbes, a critical mistake.
Lindbergh Caught Life Aloft
- Charles Lindbergh and his wife collected airborne microbes at 15,000 feet over Greenland and the North Atlantic.
- Their findings shocked people by showing life survives and travels at high altitudes.
