Lost without you...
This issue is not to be sniffed at
Greetings, most esteemed coven.
It has been... another week. Our children are semi-feral and some of us are a week or two away from a full-on lockdown mullet. Our beloved Percy Pigs are in danger.
But good things are on the horizon – COVID-19 vaccinations are underway, and as we reported last week, pregnant and breastfeeding women can now receive them. Trump’s days in the White House are very much numbered. We’ve spotted Cadbury’s Creme Eggs down the shops.
Keep the heid, hags. We’re here to take your mind off pandemic woes with our tales of lockdown shagging (or lack of), morning sickness, and an unsung geodesy pioneer...
TIT BITS
Keeping abreast of the latest news, views, and research
Baby boom or bust?
Parenting website Mumsnet is predicting a COVID-19 baby boom, after traffic to its Conception and Pregnancy boards rose dramatically last year. In a Mumsnet survey, a third of pregnant women said the pandemic had played a part in their decision to conceive. However, it seems that others are not embracing the YOLO philosophy – population-level data from the UK and US suggest that birth rates will decline as a result of the pandemic. The Philippines is a rare exception – a strict lockdown means women were unable to access contraception, leading to an explosion in unplanned pregnancies. But where women can control their fertility, most are choosing to delay getting pregnant. As Sian Beilock points out, “Right now, women are overburdened by invisible labour and no one can predict what the ‘new normal’ will look like over the next few years.” There is nothing less likely to get you in the mood than extra domestic work.
Here’s to the lady doctors
We’re adding to our reading list this week after spotting this article by Janice P. Nimura about her latest book. It tells the story of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to receive a medical degree in the US, and her younger sister Emily, who also qualified as a doctor. After being voted into medical college as a prank by the other students, Elizabeth finished top of her class. Nimura describes her as “dominant, sublimely confident, startlingly judgmental”. We think she’d be a brilliant laugh down the pub, tbh.
Chemical burns
A new study finds that women and people from ethnic minority groups studying for chemistry PhDs at top US universities report fewer positive interactions with advisers and less financial support during their studies than – drumroll – their white, male peers. Women were also less likely to say they planned to stay in chemistry (especially in academia) after they graduate. Could this be because of the systemic racism and sexism within our institutions? It's a real puzzler, that one.
Sick of it
Despite many pregnant women suffering its effects, when and why “morning sickness” starts isn’t actually well understood (and some still claim it’s “all in the mind” 🙄). Now, a prospective study has pinpointed its onset to a 3-day window: 8–10 days after ovulation, a lot earlier than previously thought. More science needs to be done but the findings open the door to defining the mechanisms driving nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (and the bloody awful condition hyperemesis gravidarum), as well as potential treatments. Good – cos growing an actual human is exhausting enough. And considering that nearly half the world's population has been, might or will be affected by it, shouldn’t we know this shit by now? Could everyone stop being too busy with erectile dysfunction and male pattern baldness to solve the problems of women busy CREATING LIFE? If it's not too much trouble?
Woman of the Week: Gladys West
We offer thanks to the mathematician who paved the way for GPS
We don’t know about you, but we bloody love Google Maps (other mapping systems are available). It may drive us up the wall on occasion, but it’s a big improvement on deciphering a dog-eared road atlas from under the passenger seat. In the days before widely available GPS navigation, relationships were regularly tested to breaking point by in-car debates on what exactly constitutes the second left and whose fault it is that we’re lost.
So this week we wanted to offer our hearty thanks to “hidden figure” Dr Gladys West, who played a key role in developing the GPS technology that makes it c. 70% more likely we’ll reach our destination on speaking terms. (And also, you know, saves lives and stuff).
West is a true pioneer. Growing up during segregation in rural America, she excelled academically and chose to study mathematics in college at a time when very few women did so. When she started her career at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren in 1956, she had just three Black colleagues.
Working with early computer systems, West developed algorithms for calculating the precise shape, orientation, and gravity field of the Earth (known as geodesy). These complex calculations were essential to the later development of GPS.
Like many Black women in STEM, her work went largely unremarked for decades, until a sorority sister decided to bring her integral role in the development of GPS to public attention. In 2018, West was inducted into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame, and officially recognised by the state of Virginia for her achievements.
Now 91 years young, West remains an absolute badass. After retiring from Dahlgren in 1998, and despite suffering a stroke, she completed a PhD in Business Administration. Ironically, she doesn’t bother with GPS herself, preferring a paper map and brainpower.
Watch this short video to hear more about West and her work – in her own words.
TO THE KRAKEN 🦑
This week Ms K is hungry for justice … and it won’t be smaller than promised
Ms K is known for being merciless. But her black inky heart holds a soft spot for children, particularly hungry ones. So, she was most displeased this week with Chartwell immorally profiteering by sending woefully inadequate food parcels to needy schoolchildren, worth nowhere near the cost that they were charging for them. Ms K believes in a nutritious (preferably screaming) meal… but she’ll shake Chartwell down first so she can collect the ill-gotten earnings falling from their pockets.
HEX Education
Not to be sniffed at
As we’re sure you know, among the myriad COVID-19 symptoms is a loss of smell and taste. Symptoms can of course be worse, but for those who have recovered from the virus and still can’t smell months later (or have weird disruptions, e.g. where poo smells like food), it must be a bit shit.
Is there a field of fragrant roses at the end of this long and scent-free tunnel? For most, yes – in one study around two-thirds of hospitalised patients got their smell back in 6 to 8 weeks. For those suffering longer-lasting problems, there is a boom of ongoing studies looking into therapeutics for post-COVID smell loss, such as omega-3 therapy or restoring damaged cells. But one potential option available right now is smell training – a process by which you huff four different-smelling essential oils every day.
Although the science isn’t fully understood, several clinical studies have shown improved olfactory function with smell training, and it is thought to be due to changes in the brain’s olfactory structures (neuroplasticity, yo). So if your nose, or that of a friend, family member or colleague is still suffering from post-COVID-19 after effects, why not get sniffing? There’s nothing to lose: smell training has few side effects and isn’t costly to try since you can make your own kits (Victorian bonnet and swooning optional). Just don’t come at us if you can smell the dog’s farts again.
Some further resources we sniffed out for you:
More things trimming our mullets this week:
Period drama décolletage | The story and science of Halo Top | This (gluten-free!) Creme Egg brownie recipe | Discovering that sea shanties are in again
The HEX Science team
🧬Jean Splicer | ☢ Marie Fury | 🧠 Rorschach Tess | 🔬 Rosalind Frankly