Do you really know?

What is a virus variant region? Thanks for asking!The Indian variant known as B.1.617 is causing concern in Europe, particularly due to a steep rise in infections since early May. It recently spread into the United Kingdom, where it is currently taking over as the dominant variant. As a result, Germany reclassified the UK as a virus variant region on May 23rd.Travel between the UK and Germany is therefore strictly limited for the time being, meaning only German citizens or residents are allowed to enter the country. Even then, whether arriving by train, car or plane, they are also subject to a two week isolation period, which can’t be shortened even by testing negative.For now, four main variants are still circulating in Europe: the Indian, South African, Brazilian and British variants. With summer just around the corner, the situation is being monitored closely as these variants are more contagious and virulent.I thought the UK’s health situation was going much better! Is Germany the only country to have put in place restrictions against visitors from the UK?Could the Indian variant have an impact on summer holiday plans in Europe? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:What are zombie fires?What are sleep streams?What are molecular scissors?A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What are zombie fires? Thanks for asking!Believe it or not, some fires are able to smolder for months underneath snow, even when their flames have been extinguished above ground.Researchers and forest rangers have been aware of the existence of these zombie fires in the Arctic Circle for many years now. But a study published in Nature magazine on May 19th revealed the full extent of the issue. It turns out the threat they pose to boreal forests and the climate as a whole is greater than we previously knew.How can a fire resist cold and ice? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:What are molecular scissors?What is the fertility cliff? What is phantosmia?A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What are sleep streams? Thanks for asking!How do you like the idea of going to sleep and waking up richer? Sounds pretty sweet, huh? Well believe it or not, sleep streams have actually become a big trend among influencers on streaming platform Twitch. They film themselves asleep, set challenges and go through sleep marathons in interactive formats. Meanwhile, viewers try to annoy the streamer or wake them up by playing videos and sending text-to-speech messages. That’s right, sleep streams are the latest weird way of making money online!How did this become a thing? What’s the point of staring into a laptop or smartphone screen watching someone sleep? And even worse, paying for it?! In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:What are molecular scissors?What is the fertility cliff? What is phantosmia?A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What are molecular scissors? Thanks for asking!When we think about genetically-edited plants, animals and even humans, we might wonder whether it’s the stuff of dreams or nightmares. But it’s close to reality, thanks to a gene editing technique, Crispr-Cas9, also known as molecular scissors. There are a number of potential health and environmental benefits.The concept made headlines for the first time in late 2018. Chinese researcher He Jiankui took to Youtube to announce the birth of genetically-edited twin girls who were supposedly immune to HIV due to the use of molecular scissors. The international scientific community was outraged at He’s failure to follow safety protocols and the researcher ended up in prison. However, the amount of research on molecular scissors has been on the rise for several years now. The CRISPR CAS 9 technique was developed in 2012 by two researchers: Jennifer Doudna from the USA and Emmanuelle Charpentier from France. It ended up being so revolutionary that the pair won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2020.What’s so revolutionary about molecular scissors? What’s the point of it all? Are we talking about GMOs? Aren’t those dangerous? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:What is the fertility cliff? What is phantosmia?What is the urban exodus?A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the fertility cliff? Thanks for asking!The ability of a woman to get pregnant and give birth doesn’t last forever. 35 has traditionally been seen as a fertility cliff, a kind of cut-off point after which it becomes much more difficult to have a child. Women in their early 30s and even late 20s often feel under pressure from their families or society, like they are losing a race against their biological clock. But recent research findings have led many to call the reasoning behind this threshold into question. So where did the idea of 35 being a fertility cliff come from? What’s the latest information in this area then? What conclusions should we draw from all this? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:What is phantosmia?What is the urban exodus?What is Bollywood? A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is phantosmia? Thanks for asking!The symptoms and after-effects of Covid-19 vary hugely between people and can be very incapacitating. We’ve already discussed anosmia, the loss of the sense of smell, in a past episode. But some people also report strange and unpleasant odours, that no-one else around can smell. The medical term for these olfactory hallucinations is phantosmia, coming from the Greek “phanto” for ghost and “osmia” for smell. That’s right, hallucinations aren’t always visual! Does that mean I could mistake one smell for another? Can phantosmia be linked to conditions other than Covid-19? And is it treatable? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:What is Bollywood? What is the Doomsday Glacier?What is Resident Evil?A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the urban exodus? Thanks for asking! The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the lives of almost everyone around the globe. City dwellers have had to adapt their daily lives to a new organisation and work-life balance. Many have chosen to leave their urban homes behind in favour of a calmer life in the suburbs or countryside. This has been described as an urban exodus, although there is some debate as to what extent this will last when the pandemic ends.Are we talking about a Moses and the Israelites kind of mass exodus? Should we expect the urban exodus to last in the long run? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:What is Bollywood? What is the Doomsday Glacier?What is Resident Evil?A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is Bollywood? Thanks for asking! If you’re a Westerner, you’ve almost certainly heard of Bollywood, but there’s also a decent chance you’ve never actually watched a Bollywood film! If Hollywood is the stronghold of American cinema, Bollywood is an even more generic term used to describe the Hindi-language film industry in India, in particular the city of Mumbai. The label is a portmanteau of Bombay, Mumbai’s former name, and Hollywood. There is debate about who exactly coined the term, which emerged in the 1970s. Some records suggest it was first used by a gossip column in the Indian magazine Cineblitz. You should be warned that the term is relatively rarely used in India. Many see it as derogatory or patronising, having been adopted as a blanket term by Westerners. It also excludes films produced in other Indian languages like Tamil or Bengali.So what exactly does a Bollywood film look like then? Is it as popular as American cinema? What are the latest trends in Bollywood cinema? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:What is the Doomsday Glacier?What is Resident Evil?What is the andropause?A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the Doomsday Glacier? Thanks for asking!The Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica is melting rapidly and risks breaking up completely. For nearly a quarter of a century, climate scientists have been observing it closely and have nicknamed it the Doomsday Glacier due to its instability and potential impact on the future of the planet. Thwaites Glacier is more than 1km deep and has a surface area of 74,000 m2, larger than all of England. It’s more than 1,000 miles away from the closest research base, making it remote even for Antarctica.The speed at which the glacier is melting has increased due to currents of warm water flowing underneath it, wearing away at its base. A study published last month by Gothenburg University researchers showed that the quantity of warm water, measured for the first time using a robotic unmanned submarine, was far higher than previously thought. How long ago did the glacier start melting? What will happen if the glacier disappears? I bet it isn’t the only glacier in the world that’s causing concern... In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:What is Resident Evil?What is the andropause?What is parcopresis?A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is Resident Evil? Thanks for asking!May 7th saw the release of Resident Evil: Village; the eighth instalment in one of video gaming’s most epic series. Originally released under the name Biohazard in Japan, Resident Evil was far from being the first horror video game in history, but it’s definitely become the most influential over the years.How did Resident Evil achieve such success? What was so unique about the first edition? Has Resident Evil been as consistent since its early days? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:What is captology?What is broken heart syndrome?What are cookies? A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices