Berkeley Scientists help their city test for Covid 19 (Starts 1:00) Fyodor Urnov of Berkeley’s Innovative Genomics Institute explains why and how scientists anywhere can help their local community test for the Covid-19 virus.
Cytokine Storms Explained (Starts 13:05) CU Boulder Biology Professor Beth Bennett explains the “cytokine storms” that people are hearing more about in serious Covid-19 infections.

A Diet that might Reduce Cytokine Storms (starts 16:43) Ron Rosedale, MD explains why eating a low carb, high fat, adequate protein diet lowers levels of the hormone leptin can lower IL-6 and might reduce the risk of Cytokine Storms. This is an excerpt from a longer interview. Go Here to listen to the extended version audio (40 minutes). Here is the extended interview transcript
Host/Producer/Engineer: Shelley Schlender
Additional Contributions: Beth Bennett
Executive Producer: Joel Parker
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This week on How on Earth, we are still producing off site. Beth and Angele give an update on treatment and transmission of the corona virus and Shelley interviews CU Boulder scientists Anushree Chatterjee and Prashant Nagpal who explain the pros and cons of using old medicines to fight Covid-19, and they describe some new “medicines” in the future, and how to speed up their development.
This week How on Earth adjusts to the restrictions imposed by the corona virus by replaying a previous feature on the chemistry of beer brewing. First Beth gives an overview of some proposed treatments for corona virus. Then, the featured interview with author Pete Brown. When the New York Times reviewed Miracle Brew, the reviewer said: A magisterial tour of fearsome science and vast brewery history leavened with cheery anecdotes, humor, vivid you-are-there prose and a clever eye for personality . . . His rhapsodies about the meaning of life and the meaning of beer are stirring. . . .His expertise and insight will leave you with a glimmer of infinity every time you hold a bottle of it in your hand.
This episode talks about research about COVID-19, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), and targeted therapies, and our feature is an interview with
This week on How On Earth, we produced the entire show out of the studio, explaining one brief glitch. Beth gives a short update on the way the corona virus infects cells and how this entry point can affect people taking blood pressure medications. In our feature interview, Beth talks with Professor Mark Opp, who studies sleep in his
This week on How on Earth we start with an update on the corona virus, focusing on treatments and vaccines. At 12 minutes, we begin our interview with Bob Frank, author of Under the Influence, Putting Peer Pressure to Work. This book explains how we could redirect trillions of dollars annually in support of carbon-free energy sources, all without requiring painful sacrifices from anyone. Dr Frank has developed some novel strategies relying on peer pressure to get people to change their actions so as to reduce carbon emissions and climate change. He also details many prior and successful examples of this type of peer pressure. You can see more at the publisher’s



Science for the Rest of Us (start time: 16:38) At a time our own government leaders vilify science and reinvent facts, it seems as important as ever that journalists and the public at large grasp and translate scientific research. A new book, The Craft of Science Writing, offers tips on how to find credible experts (whether on the corona virus or vaccines or climate change), separate truth from spurious assertions, and make sense of scientific studies. The book is aimed at science writers, but it can be a guidepost for anyone who wants to make science more accessible.