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It’s April, and I have no idea what to call this thing. So there. But you know what it is: The Zaleski Minute. As always, if this takes you longer than 60 seconds, complain to management.

What I Was Writing:

1. For CityLab: The same group that pushed last year for Covid-19 human challenge trials (you might recall my Elemental article on the subject) is now pushing for a national “Vaccine Day” holiday.

2. For GQ: The opening of epidemiologist Shanna Swan's new book sounds a bit like science fiction: We are half as fertile as our grandfathers were. And if the trend continues, we may very well reach a point where the human race is unable to reproduce itself. Scared yet?

3. For MIT Technology Review: In South Bend, Indiana, wastewater—the odoriferous H2O that flows from sinks, dishwashers, washing machines, and toilets—mixes with stormwater in what’s known as a combined sewer system. Well, here’s the thing: On especially rainy days, it all flows into the nearby St. Joseph River. For Tech Review’s big ole CITIES issue, a story about how a plucky group of researchers made the sewers smart, and tamed their pollution problem.

The April Redux:

It’s all the rage in Silicon Valley: the mental clarity diet. Intermittent fasting. Butter in your coffee. Eating only meat. But does eating to prevent “brain fog” really work? An investigation, in Elemental.