Episode 13: Anthropause + Covid-19 Test

Today on the Razor Podcast  Emma and Shini look at how the animal kingdom has responded to the covid-19 pandemic. You might have noticed more wildlife in your garden, parks and even in urban areas. That's because of what scientists are calling the anthropause: the worldwide slowing of human activity, which has led to many animals venturing further afield as we retreated inside. 

Emma talks to  Dr. Chrstian Rutz from the University of St. Andrews to find about the origins of the term. Dr. Rutz tells us why his team came up with the term and what it means for his research [01:55]. Emma also spoke to Professor Jim Smith from the University of Portsmouth who explains to us why the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster has given us a lot of insight into how animals behave in the absence of humans in an urban environment [05:06]. 

In our second story, Shini tells us about a new technology that could help us detect Covid-19 without doing a test on a human host. In Switzerland a team led by Professor Jing Wang explains how we might be able to detect the Covid-19  in the air around us [12:28].