Episode #767
News Items
Who's That Noisy
- Answer to last week: Koalas
Science or Fiction
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Item #1
Science
Although the flu strain that caused the 1918 pandemic was particularly virulent, it was likely secondary bacterial infections that caused most deaths, not the virus itself. https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/196/11/1717/886065
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Item #2
Science
The Bubonic Plague is still the deadliest in history, with between 75 and 200 million deaths. https://www.mphonline.org/worst-pandemics-in-history/
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Item #3
Fiction
There have been more cholera pandemics than any other type of organism. https://www.historyofvaccines.org/index.php/content/articles/influenza-pandemics
Skeptical Quote of the Week.
“What you learn from a life in science is the vastness of our ignorance.” – David Eagleman