How much work can really get. We still have time to. Get some scribes like those. Who. Love whether youre a skeptic or a true believer who cries during the vals weddings bring us together and celebration of Family Community and love but these days before the happy couple can even make it down the aisle coven 1000 is changing our rituals from forcing cancel travel to trimming the guest list and even forcing us to make new rules to minimize risk. In portugal new Restrictions Mean that only 50 guests are allowed a wedding and here in jerusalem a hospital even allowed. Couple to get married on its grounds so that the grooms father a covert patient could watch the wedding from his room. Ceremonies and parties that were months or years in the making are now changing significantly were being canceled altogether. What does that mean for how we celebrate the most important events in our lives. This is the coven 1000. 00 special or welcome to the show im Stephen Beardsley in berlin will be at a wedding or a birthday everyone likes a good celebration but no one wants the virus as a guest and thats when many people are changing their event plans and some do move forward heres one community has taken a wedding in the time of corona. The joy is infectious among these wedding guests but no one wants to spoil the occasion with a coronavirus outbreak. Precaution is now part of the production authorities have put strict limits on gatherings and families are having to drastically trim their guest lists. Weve been expecting to have a gathering of more than 800 people but unfortunately due to do spend a make do to discourage 90 i would guess the guest list has been shot tonight 2510150 only. It will still take an army of cooks to assemble the west sun and elaborate kashmiri marriage feast of up to 30 courses but the wedding business in the rest of region is hurting after a double hit from the security clampdown and now the pandemic oh well that was the good we had hopes that we do Good Business this year. But ive suffered a loss of about 80 percent. And a pandemic era wedding means some other updates to old traditions waiters decked out in hazmat suits and individual servings turn it wasnt worth everything went nicely but we could not enjoy your food traditionally eating on a copper platter for 4 which dates back 300 years we still enjoyed the feast but we missed the traditional way. But some things will never change the 2 0. The anticipation the excitement as 2 families joined together to witness a new family began. And im joined now by joe and i feel like shes a professor of Clinical Psychology at Stony Brook University in new york city join us good to have you on the show how important are rituals like weddings and birthdays for our lives theyre extremely important they really provide us with ways to come together and get support from the people we care about they support our relationships theyre fun things to do that take us away from the sort of monotony of every day life so they can be really really important for us in our lives through these are opportunities for family wider family to gather around are there opportunities in what were seeing now are some creativity for couples trying to have these rituals or trying to have something in place of these rituals. Yeah absolutely i mean we see people doing this kind of stuff already we see people to things like drive by birthdays or you know zoom get togethers all of which are really important and really helpful for people and i think we have to work really hard to appreciate what we can get from these kinds of rituals and if we get really stuck with the idea that theres only one way to celebrate and things wont be good unless we do it that way then were going to be disappointed in this this pandemic time so we do have to be creative and i dont mean creative in the sense of like you know come up with entire new ideas about how we do things but just really thinking about what it is that we need and what we want to get and finding ways to get that in smaller ways than were used to and appreciating what we can get from those smaller ways to get the sense that some people are waiting until this is all over you know one of the phrases you constantly hear until they have some of these rituals again these big birthdays or weddings. Yeah absolutely i think everybodys waiting for those kinds of things you know the wedding industry is booking weddings out 234 years in advance people are sort of putting off the kinds of things that they might normally do in terms of parties and events and of course that makes sense there are many things that people see a special events that they want to celebrate in big ways when they can and the healthy part of that is it gives us something to look forward to the potential problem with that is if people sort of put off their lives cant live their lives cant feel so satisfied in the present with what they have then theyre really going to be struggling even more during this pandemic time a time when were already you know really our emotions are on edge and were not feeling like im getting what we need so. So its good for us in that for it too but we also want to be present in our lives now and you know celebrate in the way we can celebrate when we talk about relationships in general and how theyre fairing during a time of corona this seems like an amazing stress test for so many relationships are imagine it absolutely is it absolutely is for some people theyre spending so much more time together they have so many more responsibilities in terms of childcare for example or 2 people are working at home or even if one person is working at home that didnt used to work at home they have to make accommodations and this is particularly hard for people who dont have the kind of Living Environment where this is easily done so theres so many more challenges that couples face these days that make it really hard for them. To. You know continue on in the way that they were before. And i have to ask do you think its more difficult for maybe younger couples who are just beginning that relationship together or for older couples who maybe sort of have an established routine yeah i think its i dont think its one of the other necessarily i think both kinds of couples can have advantages and have some risks as well so you know older couples have the benefit of some stability a level of commitment they know each other well they kind of know what to expect they may have. Maybe were tolerant in certain kinds of ways on the other hand they dont have access to the kinds of other things that theyre usually engaging in to sort of get away from the relationship they need to so that can be problematic younger couples might be at a stage of you know kind of early relationship bliss where this is a time to really just be together and bonds them the same time if they dont know each other that well and suddenly theyre thrown together in this kind of way they may start learning stuff about one another that they dont necessarily like and then what do you do with that now that youre you know kind of stuck together in the stuck together way so yeah or a joy and the view from sunnybrook university in new york thanks so much youre very welcome my pleasure thanks for having me. And now its time for your questions its the part of the show where our science correspondent Derek Williams as the questions youve posted to our you tube channel were to do. Just covert 1000 transmission change depending on whether its in that or fatah try one of the great hopes last winter here in the Northern Hemisphere back in february and march that covert 1000 would prove to be seasonal hasnt hasnt really panned out and in the last months a lot of researchers have come out with with often conflicting messages about about where and how environmental factors are influencing the spread of the disease any direct links between the war temperatures and transmission of the virus seem to still be pretty pretty tenuous to me but increasingly researchers are coming to a more united conclusion that the humidity the amount of moisture in the air could be playing a pretty big role in the spread of sars code to both those indoors and out in the evidence is mounting that dry air makes the virus spread more rapidly one new study out of australia claims that when relative humidity falls just one percent in 1000 cases could rise by 7 to 8 percent of the explanation on offer is this moisture air causes the aerosols and droplets that an infected person coughs out to grow larger as they absorb water vapor which makes them sink to the ground faster but when the air is dry the opposite happens then the virus containing droplets shrink as their moisture is absorbed by the surrounding air that makes them lighter and more likely to drift around at. Head level and be inhaled by someone else another factor that could well be playing a role when the air is dry is that it also dries out your nasal passages and theyre your 1st line of defense im against airborne pathogens like like sars co 2 and when they dry up it also makes it easier for those pathogens to gain a foothold. Or science correspondent their claims there and now we take our weekly look at how the new crop of cases are developing around the world. The numbers show new cases doubling in 35 nations. And increasing in another 91 countries. And theyve stayed the same in 7 countries. 58 nations have seen their new positive kovan 1000 cases decline while another 13 are down by at least half. And 6 countries have reported no new cases d. Heres the bar graph showing the statistics so far this year the fight against the corona virus will be over when that whole chart turns blue so theres still a way to go. But thats it for us today for more on these and other stories related to the pandemic do go to d. W. Dot com and click coronavirus im Stephen Beardsley in berlin thanks for watching as they say if. You squint this as it sinks. To understand the world. We need to take a closer. Experience not tomorrow to get. Theres a cultural raging over the american dream. Is in place but which way is it headed artists are concerned what moves the photographers filmmakers and writers share their views nation in turmoil. Our 21. 30 minutes on d w. With him her being gone it goes on as well biased i know if i had known that the boat would be about small i never would have gone on a trip i would not have put myself and my parents in law danger to the bottom of the theme of the in a beautifully for. Loved ones thank you because that one of their would be the reason why i have Serious Problems on a personal level and i was unable to live there much im going to. Want to know their story in full life great stir fighting for a Little Information for margarets. Some noises make your skin crawl a nasty sensation what some people seem to enjoy provoking fun other noises induce a pleasant change for example in a s m r video what do scientists have to say about that. Hello and welcome to a new edition of tomorrow today. Before we explore the phenomenon of soothing a s m r sound much find out how we hear sounds in the 1st place. Anatomically speaking we have an outer ear a middle ear and an inner ear and thats where we pick up auditory signals in the form of vibrations in the cochlea to be precise. The company is a bit like a spiral staircase that bassler membrane and hair cells make up the. It. Its those cells that enable us to hear from behind notes. To the low notes sound tribe ration stiff like the hair cells its like flattening the fibers of a carpet. That generates an electrical signal which is sent to the brain and we perceive a sound or so then stand up again and are ready for the next sound. The different pitches are registered in different parts of the cochlear. I know its are detected by the hairs at the bottom far lower ones further up. At the lowest notes at the very top. Enabling us to hear a wide range of pitches. Hair cells are very sensitive if theyre exposed to too much stress or for too long they can be damaged and move on the right sounds the hair cells that register high notes are especially susceptible all frequencies passed by their stretch of the cochlear including the low ones so it can get quite a battering like the bottom of a staircase. The carpet on the lower flights chance to wear out faster. In the car the corresponding hair cells stop working sooner so hardness of hearing usually starts with the high notes. Now get comfortable and look and listen carefully. In recent years ever more videos have become an unexpected you teach and. A as them are stands for autonomous sensory meridien response its a relaxing tingly sensation that starts on the scale and moves down the body and is it a real effect or pseudoscience they tap gently on objects. Patting. Their fingers over various textiles for hours on end and millions of people watch them. Videos like these are uploaded to you cheat every day francisco likes to watch them. If youre off on the applicant employer this one features an artist from asia and she brushes her hair with different brushes and combs it too i think ive watched it around 20 times. That theres this video by s m r blossom where she makes different scratching noises it was one of the 1st videos that i watched over and over again that if there is one part where the scratching noise was so pleasant that i had to watch it again. The thought of cats go wash the sure. You dont watch it go back to the beginning and then watch it again. These videos are a mass phenomenon but so far theres been Little Research on them. The clips soft coming sounds clearly represent a counter trend to the fast paced videos with short chalky sequences theres not a lot going on in them but more than you may think this ringback was also. Like in the beginning everything seems samy and monotonous and it is but only for a few minutes then something changes and usually something adverse or stimulating starts before everything again then it returns to the original habitual sounds and then something new happens again like the viewers know theyre going to be stimulated and then relax thats why they stay. On they keep watching because theres always something new. It doesnt just love you to sleep this is not new up i know and. The effect that the videos produce is called a s. M. R. Which stands for autonomous sensory meridien response. It describes the pleasant tingley feeling on the skin that the videos can trigger. When. You know when i watch the videos and hear these noises of the hand movements or whatever. Well it starts in the back of my head and i get goosebumps under my scalp and the hole. Thats how i describe it hold the tingles thought. Tingles travel from the back of the head down the spine. They can be triggered by light scratching and knocking sounds. Whispers or other gestures that evoke a personal connection. I pass want to see shes extremely close to the camera you can see her hands up close and at least part of her face up close and you really get a strong sense of her presence of the protagonist in the video that creates a feeling of closeness privacy but even intimacy. Intimate it. In any s. M. R. Videos the viewer is addressed directly they put sounds front and center that are normally just in the background. But tell some of the dios dont cause the same physical reaction every one for a long time it was unclear if the effects were physiologically quantifiable. But a study by the university of sheffield showed for the 1st time that the heart rate of people who experience a s. M. R. Actually decreases significantly when they watch their videos. The productions and who are it consistent with the idea that something. Deactivate relaxing and in the same way as you might get you or your heart rate so when you listen to the likes of music. Beach just should now heartbreak is. An index a preoccupation. Critic. If i asked them hours calming effect is scientifically proven could phidias like these be used as part of a treatment program. But. Now whether its something that can be used clinically i guess is is an open question i mean people are already anecdotally using these videos for things buttons on t. V. And depression but whether or not they can you still think something which we dont know but we do know is that asthma is a physically physiologically rooted response so it appears to be something thats reliable when people use a pic. And. That might be too early to know if asimov videos could have a clinical application but francisco for one is going to keep watching them when she needs to relax. Now its time for our viewers question some animals are amazing acrobats they managed to keep their balance however daring their moves. That got ray hanania from bangalore in india wondering. How do some animals climb walls the methods very. Answer for example an excellent free climbers they have grooves in their feet that can train on to even the smallest holes. Snails release a layer of mucus on flat surfaces so they dont dry out and to protect their sensitive skin. Snail slime is enraged with proteins that make it extra sticky making snails well equipped for higher things. This gecko by contrast doesnt need sticky stuff to let it walk upside down on a glass surface thanks to attractive forces between the glass and its feet. And electron microscope reveals hundreds of thousands of tiny has on the reptiles toes. Has widened the tip for maximum contact with a climbing surface where the has on the surface made electrostatic forces between the molecules make them attract pad the force is very weak but multiplied by hundreds of thousands of has again hang in there with the best of them. Those socalled fund valves forces are also what enables this robot to pick up items. Nasa is currently testing a climbing robot for particularly difficult tasks. Its feet are inspired by the geckos. Buffel crime could use a small hooks but can crawl into rock faces. One day this super climber might even be able to scale fountains on mars. If outlet is red white are great but i dont think. You have a question thats been bothering you send it in as a video text or voicemail so if we answer it on the show youll get a little surprise as a thank you oh. Come on just ask. For more stories from the world of science and technology go to our website or find us on twitter. Have we reached peak meat Health Scares and Environmental Concerns are making more and more of us think twice about our meat consumption. In germany a growing number of people are switching to a vegetarian diet. In global terms india has the largest number of vegetarians in the world 38 percent of the population if you like meat but you worry about the ethics of factory farming sit tight you might soon be tucking into a fake steak. Cultured in vitro meat is created in laboratories. That could help produce intensive animal farming. Feed the service to form the stick instead of