The Week Unwrapped: Snake robots, farm protests and pet food
What can we learn from the skin of sidewinders? Why are farmers descending on Delhi? And would your cat eat lab-grown mouse protein?
by The Week team
5 Feb 2021
Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days.
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In this week’s episode, we discuss:
Snake robots
Research published this week by Emory University in Atlanta has suggested that the reason sidewinding snakes are able to move so quickly over sand is that their scales are covered in microscopic dimples that help to reduce friction between their skin and the sand. This discovery, scientists suggest, could lead to a new approach to robotics - for example in machines designed to cross loose ground after mudslides or earthquakes.
An NPR analysis of COVID-19 vaccination sites in major cities across the Southern U.S. reveals a racial disparity, with most sites located in whiter neighborhoods.
TEL AVIV, Israel When it comes to fighting the coronavirus, Israel is discovering the limits of vaccines. The country famous for its high-tech prowess and spirit of innovation is home to the world’s speediest vaccination drive, fueled from the top by national pride and a deep longing to start “getting back to life,” as […]
Listen • 7:42
Georgia Washington has lived in Southern Heights, a predominantly Black neighborhood in the northern part of Baton Rouge, La., since 1973. After falling ill with COVID-19 last year, Washington was eager to get vaccinated, which is in line with federal health recommendations. But Washington again had difficulty finding a local provider, this time to get a vaccine.
Georgia Washington, 79, can t drive. Whenever she needs to go somewhere, she asks her daughter or her friends to pick her up.
She has lived in the northern part of Baton Rouge, a predominantly Black area of Louisiana s capital, since 1973. There aren t many resources there, including medical facilities. So when Washington fell ill with COVID-19 last March, she had to get a ride 20 minutes south to get medical attention.
TEL AVIV, Israel - When it comes to fighting the coronavirus, Israel is discovering the limits of vaccines.The country famous for its high-tech prowess .