Coronavirus or COVID-19

Akku: Mommy, what is Coronavirus?

Coronavirus is a family of viruses that affect mammals and birds. Occasionally, coronaviruses have been known to move from animals to humans. The coronavirus we’re talking about today is a new virus, which causes an illness called COVID-19.

Akku: How did they name it?

The name “coronavirus” is derived from Latin corona, meaning crown or wreath. The name refers to the characteristic appearance of virions (the infective form of the virus) by electron microscope which have a fringe of large, bulbous surface projections creating an image reminiscent of the solar corona or halo. And In COVID-19, ‘CO’ stands for ‘corona,’ ‘VI’ for ‘virus,’ ‘D’ for disease and ‘19” as it was first found in China in the year 2019.

world banner

Akku: How did the Coronavirus outbreak start, mom?

It’s not completely clear how the outbreak started, but it’s thought it’s likely to have begun in Wuhan, China at a local meat market known to sell wild animal meat. Experts still don’t know for sure which animal sparked the outbreak, but it’s thought that the new virus could have originated in bats.

Akku: Mom, it’s just like a flu, right? Then why are we still on lockdown and what kind of precautions do we need to take?

Since we haven’t encountered this virus before, we need to take extra precautions. For the great many people, including kids, this coronavirus isn’t dangerous, it’s just like a flu and will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatments.

For a few people, like the elderly and people who have long-term health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer or chronic respiratory diseases, they are more likely to develop serious illness. The best way to prevent and slow down transmission is protecting yourself and others from infection by washing your hands or using an alcohol based rub frequently and by not touching your face. And most importantly, keep social distancing. At this time, there is no treatment for COVID-19 or coronavirus vaccine available. That’s why we are still on lock down.

covid19 sneeze

 
Akku: By the way, how does it spread?

The COVID-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva from mouth and discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes. So it’s important that you also practice respiratory etiquette (for example, by coughing into a flexed elbow).

covid19 vaccine

 
Akku: What are the symptoms of Covid? And how do we know if we are infected?

COVID-19 have ranged from asymptomatic or mild symptoms like, fever, dry cough and tiredness to severe illness like difficulty breathing, chest pain and loss of speech or movement, and mortality. Symptoms may develop 2 days to 2 weeks following exposure to the virus.

There are two kinds of tests available, viral test and antibody test. A viral test tells you if you have a current infection. An antibody test might tell you if you had a past infection. An antibody test might not show if you have a current infection because it can take 1–3 weeks after infection for your body to make antibodies. Having antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19 might provide protection from getting infected with the virus again. And the sample are collected by a swab test or blood test.

Akku: So what should I do, if tested positive?

Since there are no medicines, you need to self-isolate yourself for 2 weeks, take over the counter fever medicine, drink plenty of water and rest. Most importantly, if the symptoms worsen you need to seek medical attention immediately.

covid19 vaccine

wash hands

mask

spread

corona test

dont panic

Thankfully, there are lots of people like scientists and medical professionals from different parts of the world working extremely hard to learn how to better prevent, control and treat this virus. Scientists are working with speed to create a coronavirus vaccine, which will give people protection from the virus. It’s hoped that they’ll have a coronavirus vaccine ready by the end of 2020.

Akku: I can’t wait to go back to school. Will scientists invent the coronavirus vaccine soon?

Akku: I wish we will get the medicine soon! Thanks for all the info, mom. See you later!

 

 

Me too! 

Always remember to put a mask on and keep social distancing. And don’t forget to wash your hands frequently with soap.

Bubye sweetie!

Can I touch a Rainbow?

Akku: Mommy how is a rainbow formed?

Akku, you got a really complicated question this time. It’s a hard thing to explain. Before I start, you need to understand two things – reflection and refraction..

rain drop

 
Akku: Yes I know it’s something related to bending and bouncing of light, right mom?

That’s correct. The bouncing back of rays of light from a shiny surface is called Reflection of light. Whereas, the change in the direction of light when it passes through a different medium is known as Refraction of light.

So rainbows are formed when the sunlight passes through raindrops. The light is refracted as it enters the droplet and then reflects off its inside. And this causes all the amazing colors of the rainbow.

vibgyor

 
Akku: But why do we see only 7 colors?

Visible light, that is sunlight is made up of various wavelengths, and each wavelength appears as a different color: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Red light, for example, bends at a different angle than violet light. A great way to remember these colors is to think of a man’s name: ROY G BIV. When the sunlight passes through raindrop, it acts like a tiny prism and each color bends differently due to different wavelengths, thus splitting the light into seven colors.

Akku: Wow thanks for that ROY tip. Can we see a rainbow every time it rains?

Not all the time. The best time to catch a rainbow is when it’s sunny and raining. There is an even better chance when the sun is at a lower angle, so early or later in the day. On the other hand, if the angle is not right, the rainbow formed will not be visible. The key is to face the rain and have your back to the sun.

clay rainbow

 
Akku: Next time I am definitely going to see a rainbow. Hurray!! And Mom, can we touch a rainbow?

Can you touch light? No, right? Same way rainbow is just an optical illusion, so you just can’t catch up to it. When you move, so does it. We can’t touch it, neither feel it. It’s just light.

Akku: Oh yeah. Can we at least go the end of the rainbow and find the treasure?

I wish we could. But that’s also not possible. There is no end to a rainbow, it’s an optical illusion! Even though they look like an arch to us, rainbows are actually full circles. We see only part of the circle because the horizon blocks the rest of it from our view. Pilots high in the sky do sometimes report seeing genuine full-circle rainbows.

Akku: Wow!! I never knew that rainbow has a full circle. Cool! But I have seen a double rainbow. How does that happen?

Oh yeah ! A double rainbow happens when the light bends and reflects off the water drops in the air twice. In other words, the second rainbow is a reflection of the first rainbow. The second rainbow formed will be lighter in color and the colors will be reversed, just like a mirror reflection.

double rainbow

Akku: Nice! A mirror effect. Can a rainbow appear during night?

Oh yes, they’re called moonbows! The night time rainbow is extremely uncommon and occurs only when the moon is sufficiently brilliant and positioned properly with respect to falling rain to produce the delightful effect.

lunar rainbow
Photo of a Lunar Rainbow taken from the Zambia side of Victoria Falls. Photo courtesy Calvin Bradshaw (calvinbradshaw.com)
Akku: That must be really beautiful. Thanks so much mom for this amazing facts about rainbows! See you later, Bye!

Mom: You are welcome dear!

The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.
― Dolly Parton

So many Languages!

desert

Akku: Mommy, how many languages are spoken in the world?

The scientists who study languages, called linguists, say that around 7000 languages are spoken worldwide today.

Akku: No way…but why are there so many languages?

Human migration, the process of moving from one place to another, played a big role in evolving and creating so many languages. 

Akku: How did that happen?


 

Years ago, humans split off into groups. As that happened, one language turned into many. People had to learn to live in very different places like hot deserts, freezing mountains and rainforests. Each place had different kinds of weather, plants, and animals. Having new words to talk about these new things helped people adapt to their new home and survive. After a while, new words and ways of life helped lead to totally new languages.

Akku: Wow! But why are languages so important?

 

Mom: Language helps express our emotions, desires, and questions to the world around us.

Akku: That makes sense. Mommy, so when was the first language created?

 

Mom: Language first evolved with modern Homo sapiens, who are our forefathers, around 150,000 years ago.

Akku: Is that language still spoken? Is it English?

No. Languages change as they are handed down from generation to generation, due to change in culture, living conditions and influence of other languages. This led us to speak different languages at different places.

Akku: So what did the first humans speak at that time ?

It started off with sign languages, then they started grunting, hooting and crying out, then more specific sounds and this gradually developed into the language we use today.

Akku: Then why couldn’t we speak the same language. Why speak different languages?

As I said earlier, they migrate to different places. Once a group of people settled in a place, they were often isolated from other groups. People usually don’t mix much, their words don’t either. But they do sometimes learn and borrow some words from other groups. For example, people speaking different languages might meet to trade, or were forced to leave home and move closer to another group. Isolation and mixing over a long period of time helped create so many languages. 

 

migrtion

Akku: Now I get it. And I think English is the most spoken language in the world, right mom?

No, Mandarin Chinese is spoken by 1.3 Billion people, Spanish by 460 million and then English by 379 million people.

Chinese

Extinction of dinosaurs

Akku: Mommy, Why aren’t there any more dinosaurs?

Well, about 65 million years ago, a huge rock from outer space called an asteroid smashed into the Earth, changing the climatic conditions so dramatically that dinosaurs could not survive.

Akku: Wow! How big was it? And where did it hit?

Oh dear, it was huge! It was about 10 miles in diameter and that asteroid’s name is ‘Chicxulub Impactor’. Scientists say it hit some where in Mexico.

asteroid

Akku : WOW! That asteroid was really BIG!!  But it hit just Mexico,  how did it create such a big impact, that it wiped out all the dinosaurs???

Well baby, that giant asteroid landed with a huge  impact. The asteroid made lots of dust, dirt and rocks fly up into the air. All that dust and dirt covered around the planet and made the sky dark and covered the Sun. And many forest fires were caused too.

Akku : Then what happened?

All this dust led to a deadly chain of events. The dust blocked sun for a very long time. Without the Sun, all the plants died. Without the plants, all the plant-eaters died and without the plant-eaters, all the meat-eaters died.

Akku : That’s so sad. The asteroid made a HUGE difference in the world! And I really feel sorry for the dinosaurs. They also must have cared for their families, just like humans.

Yes true! But human race wouldn’t be there on earth today, if not for that asteroid.

Akku : What do you mean?

If not for the extinction of dinosaurs, mammals probably would’ve remained in the shadows, as they had been for over a hundred million years. Humans then, probably would’ve never been here.

mammals

Akku : That’s so interesting. What is the real meaning of the word extinct and why did just dinosaurs go extinct?

An animal is extinct when it doesn’t exist anymore anywhere in the world. It wasn’t just dinosaurs that went extinct. Among others that went extinct were: flying reptiles called pterosaurs, huge reptiles that swam in the ocean called plesiosaurs and pliosaurs, creatures with curled, spiral shells called ammonites, and lots of other plants and animals. But others survived. Different types of insects, lizards, crocodiles, mammals, birds, sharks, fish, crabs, snails, flowers, ferns and trees all made it through.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Akku : But without food and sunlight, how did they survive, Mom?

Scientists have many different theories on how other animals survived the extinction of dinosaurs. It could be because the animals were small and didn’t need much food. Maybe it was because they could eat crunchy seeds the dead plants left behind. Maybe it was because they could burrow into the ground to keep warm. And maybe some of those dry, crunchy seeds could grow into plants after they were buried for a long time.

 

Akku : Cool. But I wish still I could see dinosaurs.

Don’t worry baby. If you like to learn more about dinosaurs we could go to museums, and look at the intact skeletons and fossils. You can always read about them in books and watch them in movies and documentaries.

fossil

Akku : Thanks for the explanation Mama! I still have more questions, but I’ll ask you those later. Well then, see you later!

Ok baby! I am always here to help you.