Children sue the U.S. government over climate change, and how mice inherit their gut microbes

A group of kids is suing the U.S. government —claiming their rights to life, liberty, and property are under threat from climate change thanks to government policies that have encouraged the use and extraction of fossil fuels. Host Meagan Cantwell interviews news writer Julia Rosen on the ins and outs of the suit and what it could mean if th e kids win the day.    Also this week, host Sarah Crespi talks with Andrew Moeller of Cornell University about his work tracing the gut microbes inherited through 10 generations of mice. It turns out the fidelity is quite high—you can still tell mice lineages apart by their gut microbes after 1 0 generations. And horizontally transmitted microbes, those that jump from one mouse line to another through exposure to common spaces or handlers, were more likely than inherited bacteria to be pathogenic and were often linked to illnesses in people.   This week’s episode was edited by Podigy. Listen to previous podcasts About the Science Podcast [Image: Bob Dass/Flickr; Music: Jeffrey Cook] 
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Scientific Community Source Type: podcasts