How Did a Volcano Turn a Brain to Glass? Plus, Measles, Mystery Illness and Microbes

Science Quickly

Scientific American

Science

4.3 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 3 March 2025

⏱️ 8 minutes

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Summary

Officials have confirmed the first measles death in an outbreak in West Texas. A meeting to discuss which strains to focus on for next year’s flu vaccines was canceled by the Food and Drug Administration. Public health officials are investigating two outbreaks of an unknown disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Plus, new research discovers the importance of microbes in space for astronauts’ health and sheds light on the way the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E. turned a brain to glass. Recommended reading: The Measles Outbreak in Texas Is Why Vaccines Matter | Opinion https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-measles-outbreak-in-texas-is-why-vaccines-matter/ The International Space Station May Need More Microbes to Keep Astronauts Healthy https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-international-space-station-may-need-more-microbes-to-keep-astronauts/ E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Naeem Amarsy and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman. Our show is edited by Alex Sugiura with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Happy Monday listeners and happy March.
0:06.0	For Scientific American Science quickly, I'm Rachel Feltman.
0:10.0	Let's get this month off to a good start with a quick roundup of some of the science and tech stories you might have missed last week.
0:20.0	First, we have an unfortunate public health update.
0:25.2	Last Wednesday, health officials confirmed a death from measles in West Texas.
0:29.7	That marks the first fatality in the region's ongoing outbreak, which has now infected more than 120 people across nine counties.
0:36.7	It also marks the first death from measles
0:39.3	within the U.S. since 2015. According to a news release from the Texas Department of State
0:44.2	Health Services, the death was a school-age child who was not vaccinated. The measles virus can
0:49.8	survive in the air for up to two hours, and it's highly contagious. The best way to protect yourself
0:54.9	and your kids is to make sure everyone's vaccinations are up to date. The rarity of measles-related
1:00.4	deaths in the U.S. doesn't mean the virus isn't dangerous. We've just done a really good job
1:05.3	of vaccinating kids against it over the past few decades. Now those vaccination rates are
1:10.2	slipping and we're facing the consequences.
1:12.9	For more context on how falling vaccination rates have contributed to the severity of this outbreak,
1:18.0	check out last week's News Roundup episode. And speaking of vaccines, federal health officials
1:24.6	have apparently canceled a meeting critical to the flu shot development process.
1:28.4	At the meeting, which was set for March 13th, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's,
1:33.0	vaccines, and related biological products advisory committee was meant to discuss which strains of the flu virus should be used in next year's vaccines.
1:41.0	According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website, this committee makes the final call on which viral strains go into our vaccines. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website, this committee
1:44.8	makes the final call on which viral strains go into our vaccines. The CDC's website states the
1:50.4	following. Information about the circulation of influenza viruses and available vaccine viruses
	...

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