The Ed's Up 205

A Dying Boy Gets a New, Gene-Corrected Skin

"At the age of 7, Hassan had already seen more than his fair share of hardship. A week after he was born in Syria, a blister appeared on his back. The doctors there diagnosed him with a genetic disorder called epidermolysis bullosa, or EB, which leaves one’s skin extremely fragile and prone to tearing. There was no cure, they said. When Hassan’s family fled Bashar al-Assad’s regime and moved to Germany as refugees, the doctors there said the same thing. Meanwhile, the blisters were getting bigger. In June 2015, Hassan was admitted to the burn unit of a children’s hospital in Bochum, Germany. By that time, around 60 percent of his epidermis—the top layer of his skin—was gone. His back, flanks, and limbs had become a continuous landscape of open wounds, red and raw." (Image: University of Modena and Reggio Emilio)
 

Washington, D.C., Is Home to America's Largest Collection of Parasites

Anna Phillips is delighted because I’ve just found her favorite parasite, which she had misplaced a year ago. We are walking through what, at first glance, could be mistaken for an oddly macabre Italian deli. The shelves around us are full of chaotically arrayed jars, which contain what look like formless bits of meat and coiled balls of pasta. But this is actually part of the largest collection of parasites in the country, and on closer inspection, a bundle of tagliatelle is actually a tapeworm. A tangle of capellini is actually a cluster of nematodes. “You can make a lot of food references,” says Phillips. “I try to avoid that, because it ruins food for people.” (Image: me)
 

Scientists Identify a Third Orangutan Species

The Hipster Ninja Bats That Sneak Up on Their Prey

"Moths are hunted by bats, which track them down by releasing high-frequency calls and analyzing the rebounding echoes. This skill, known as echolocation, allows them to view their world—and their prey—even in total darkness. Bats evolved the ability to echolocate tens of millions of years ago, and in the intervening time, moths have developed their own countermeasures. Some evolved ears, which allow them to eavesdrop on the calls of hunting bats and take evasive action. Others play the bats at their own game, releasing their own ultrasonic clicks to jam the radar of their predators, or to feign the echoes of distant objects. Bats, in turn, have evolved their own tricks for circumventing the moths’ defenses. Some, for example, use stealth." (Image: US Fish and Wildlife Service)
 

Friends of The Ed’s Up

This is a new section where I'm going to promote the work of people I care about--people who make incredible art that I think is worthy of your attention and support, but whose fierce intelligence is also match by a genuine warmth of spirit. 
 
Story Collider features true personal stories about science. The latest episode of the podcast features tales of lactose intolerance, neurological mysteries, and above all else--family. Directors Liz Neeley and Erin Barker also run workshops teaching storytelling skills to scientists. 

Flash Forward is a podcast about the future run by Rose Eveleth. It's part radio drama, part science journalism, and a lot of fun. The latest episode is about bioprinted organs, and there's a live show coming up on December 15 in NYC. 

Gastropod is a food, science, and history podcast run by Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley. The latest episode is on cannibalism. 

The Brain Scoop is a video show about natural history, museums, and occasionally taxidermy, hosted by Emily Graslie. The latest episode features a live beaver dissection. 
 

More good reads: science and technology

• Wonderful piece from Ross Andersen on the search for alien intelligence, China’s history, and the role of science-fiction in imagining the future.
• Do forgotten diseases lurk in the Arctic’s thawing permafrost? Robinson Meyer went to Greenland to find out.
• Puerto Rico’s displaced residents include an entire flock of endangered parrots.
• Why do some fish swim upside-down?
• “It turns out the dinosaurs just happened to be very, very unlucky.”
• The plan to rescue a nearly extinct porpoise goes terribly awry. By Sarah Zhang.
• “It’s like a massive, morbid zoo, made up of the remnants of illegally captured—and often endangered—creatures.”
• When a commitment to disability tech is really just a PR statement. By Rose Eveleth.

More good reads: politics and society

• “People who aren’t as directly affected could help those who are. But if they’re too busy feeling feelings on behalf of those who are affected, they can end up being counterproductive.” Exceptional piece by Dara Lind on anxiety in the age of Trump.
• This is what a news cycle that holds sexual predators accountable looks like, writes Stassa Edwards. And here’s Megan Garber on how the Weinstein effect is normalizing women’s anger: "This weekend, that rarest of things: the American public, applauding a furious woman." Also, well worth reading Garber on Louis CK, Roy Moore, and the disturbing sexualization of young girls.