There has been a boom of syphilis cases, including a 180% increase in congenital syphilis cases, despite other STI levels staying stable. Also, the world's largest deep-sea reef stretches for hundreds of miles in near-freezing waters and total darkness, but it’s bustling with life.
Syphilis Cases Are Up 80% Since 2018Syphilis is rearing its ugly head again in the United States. A new report on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a shocking statistic: Cases of syphilis are up by nearly 80% among adults since 2018. Congenital syphilis cases, which occur when an infection is passed from parent to child during pregnancy, are up by more than 180%.
Strangely, cases of other STIs have stayed about the same or decreased in the same timeframe. Rachel Feltman, host of “The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week,” joins Ira to talk about this and other science stories from the week, including the first cases of transmitted Alzheimer’s disease, and why closing the toilet seat doesn’t keep aerosolized viruses from contaminating other bathroom surfaces.
Revealing The Largest Deep-Sea Coral Reef In The WorldScientists recently discovered the largest known deep-sea coral reef in the world. It’s called Million Mounds, and it stretches from Miami, Florida, to Charleston, South Carolina, covering around 6.4 million acres of the seafloor.
Unlike the colorful reefs found in sunlit tropical waters, this one is mostly made up of a stony coral that’s usually found from about 650 to 3,300 feet underwater—depths where it’s very cold and pitch black.
Ira Flatow talks with Dr. Erik Cordes, marine biologist and professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who collaborated on the study. They discuss what makes deep-sea corals different from those found in shallower waters, why it’s important to map them, and what it’s like to visit one in a submarine.
Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.
To stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.
661: Women Were Also Skilled Hunters In Ancient Times
658: An AI Leader’s Human-Centered Approach To Artificial Intelligence
659: COP28 Host Had Plans to Promote Oil and Gas | Researchers Detected Cicada Emergence With Fiber-Optics
656: Ralph Nader Reflects On His Auto Safety Campaign, 55 Years Later
654: What’s That Smell? An AI Nose Knows
655: Jane Goodall On Life Among Chimpanzees
654: The ‘Wet-Dog Shake’ And Other Physics Mysteries
657: Ig Nobel Prizes | Stop Flushing Your Health Data Down The Toilet
653: The West’s Wild Horses | Artist Explores History Of Humans Genetically Modifying Pigs
650: Moon Rock Research | Science of Unraveling Sweaters
652: 2023’s Best Science Books For Kids
649: How AI Chatbots Can Reinforce Racial Bias In Medicine
651: An Exoplanet Where It Rains Sand
648: Ask A Chef: How Can I Use Science To Make Thanksgiving Tastier?
645: Monumental And Invisible: How Infrastructure Works
647: Everything You Never Knew About Squash And Pumpkins
644: How A University Is Adjusting One Year After ChatGPT
646: Euclid Telescope’s First Images | A Black Hole That Came From Gas
642: How Five Elements Define Life On Earth
639: Climate Future Exhibit | Oregon's Proposed Fish Vacuum
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Voices of Misery Podcast
House of Whimsical Terror
Dairyland Frights
Stuff You Should Know
Timcast IRL