TheESP – Ep. #286 – What Happened to Measles?

In this episode we first chat about the Pegasus project and what implications it might have. We also note that the Russian Nauka module was a little trigger happy when joining with the ISS, turning it around 45 degrees for no good reason. In This Week we salute Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim, the excellent science communicator before we have a well-needed Covid-19 update. Then we dig into the news:

• Measles follow-up: what became the 2016-2019 epidemic?
• Covid-denier‘s Hungarian Chamber of Doctors’ membership suspended
• Social media giants criticized for being a ‘safe space for racists’
• Climate Change:
  – Massive melting event in Greenland
  – 14000 scientists warn world about ‘untold suffering’ as result of ignoring climate change
• German court faults Facebook‘s past handling of hate speech
• Systemic Agro-Homeopathy – the latest craze
• 86-year-old Basque woman first to get assisted death in Spain

To round off, we hand out a Really Wrong award to Advanz Pharma and a Really Right award to the CMA, all concerning unreasonable pricing of medication.

Enjoy!

Segments: Intro; Greetings; This Week In Skepticism; COVID Update; News; Really Wrong / Really Right; Quote & Farewell; Outro; Out-takes

The Events Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe

0:00:26 INTRO

0:00:54 GREETINGS

• Pegasus project and the NSO Group scandal
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/jul/29/israeli-authorities-inspect-nso-group-offices-after-pegasus-revelations
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/jul/28/call-for-hungarian-ministers-to-resign-in-wake-of-pegasus-revelations
• Russian module on ISS brings trouble
  • Science Alert: https://www.sciencealert.com/new-russian-iss-module-accidently-spun-the-whole-space-station-around
  • The ESP: https://theesp.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Nauka-incident.wav

0:11:15 THIS WEEK IN SKEPTICISM

• Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim was born on 7 August 1987
  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mai_Thi_Nguyen-Kim

0:25:20 NEWS

• EUROPE / INTERNATIONAL: Measles follow-up: what became the 2016-2019 epidemic?
  • NPR: https://www.npr.org/2021/07/15/1016276952/the-pandemic-has-worsened-childhood-vaccination-rates-around-the-world
  • WHO: https://immunizationdata.who.int/pages/incidence/MEASLES.html?CODE=Global&YEAR=
• HUNGARY: Covid-denier’s Hungarian Chamber of Doctors’ membership suspended
  • Medicalonline.hu: http://medicalonline.hu/eu_gazdasag/cikk/felfuggesztettek__fel_evig_nem_dolgozhat_a_virusszkeptikus_orvos
• UK: Social media giants criticized for being a ‘safe space for racists’
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/aug/01/a-safe-space-for-racists-antisemitism-report-criticises-social-media-giants
• DENMARK / GREENLAND:
  – Massive melting event in Greenland
  – 14000 scientists warn world about ‘untold suffering’ as result of ignoring climate change
  • Live Science: https://www.livescience.com/greenland-massive-melting-event
  • Oxford Academic: https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/biab079/6325731
• GERMANY: German court faults Facebook’s past handling of hate speech
  • Snopes: https://www.snopes.com/ap/2021/07/29/german-court-faults-facebooks-past-handling-of-hate-speech/
• ITALY: Systemic Agro-Homeopathy – the latest craze
  • Lidsen: https://www.lidsen.com/journals/icm/icm-06-03-020
• SPAIN: 86-year-old Basque woman first to get assisted death in Spain
  • El País: https://elpais.com/sociedad/2021-08-01/no-es-facil-morir-asi-pero-ella-ya-no-estaba-en-esta-vida-y-no-queria-estar.html

0:58:49 REALLY WRONG / REALLY RIGHT

• REALLY WRONG: UK: Advance Pharma increased price with 6000% on critical drug
  • Gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-fines-pharma-firm-over-pricing-of-crucial-thyroid-drug
• REALLY RIGHT: the CMA for fining them, big time
  • BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58009149.amp

1:03:01 QUOTE AND FAREWELL

“The love for and dedication to my work seems to me to be the basis for happiness. As a research worker, the unforgotten moments of my life are those rare ones… when the veil over nature’s secrets seems suddenly to lift and when what was dark and chaotic appears in a clear and beautiful light and pattern”
/ Gerty Cori (15 August, 1896 – 26 October, 1957), Austro-Hungarian-American biochemist and the third woman to win a Nobel Prize in science (1947). /

1:04:39 OUTRO

1:05:54 OUT-TAKES