Consumer labels for pot, epidemic "waves," are there "laws" to mankind's history, the Masque of the Red Death, and a bonus video of old-time New York City before COVID-19
Other Science News
Without complete testing, we will never have definitive numbers on how many died from COVID-19. Death certificates do not always capture truth, the underlying cause of death (UCOD), but they always capture the best story for connecting the dots. While the media points out that our statistics may be under-reported and therefore COVID’s toll is even higher, connecting the dots may also lead to over-reporting. From the CDC’s National Vital Statistics System Guidance.
Two great articles on what we really know about COVID-19 and a graphic explanation of vaccines, how government regulations are working against us, and having spent the last two months indoors, perhaps we should become a bit more serious about our indoor air quality.
The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has in the parlance of public relations, "sucked all the oxygen out of the room." And while the evidence shows that it is probably 5 times as lethal to its susceptible victims as seasonal flu, it is not the treatable disease that quietly takes 50% more lives every day
You know the admonition to drink eight glasses of water a day to remain hydrated. But the truth is when you consider the water needed to produce what we eat -- think of it as virtual water -- we consume a lot more.
Do genetics play a role in COVID-19's outcomes, does the herd know better than the experts, Chinese censorship, regulations can hamper even if well intended, and finally why many of us are gardening and what might a careful listener hear from plants?
COVID-19 has exposed fault lines in our healthcare system, often problems that physicians and nurses have been pointing out, to no avail, for years. New York City's mayor announced a plan to modify grading due to COVID-19 ignoring the fact that many of the school's graduates have significant functional illiteracies. The courts in Michigan are finally stepping up to address the real issues. Miasma is responsible for COVID-19's infectability. And finally, reshaping the economy involves more than a stronger safety net.
Where does the 2600 tons of oxygen we use daily in the hospitals come from? Not all creatures have a microbiome, what is up with that? Why are lies and misinformation so resilient? And two lessons from history, one about where we shelter, the other about "travel papers."
Making good use of our time at home, murmurations, life in Beijing, what will be the new normal, and a boost from 4 lads from Liverpool.
Fred Singer was an impressive scientist with a great list of achievements. He will be missed.
Stories of "Chicken Little" and how we "model" our world. Should we always be the center of those models? In our moment of existential dread, new data seems to suggest we got the dinosaur extinction wrong. Finally, in six months, we will have our first national election in the time of COVID-19; how should we prepare?
It has been another tough week. And the constant drumbeat of media, print, televised, or heard is both drawing me in and pushing me away. So, this week, one article to draw us toward COVID-19, and the rest to provide a little respite. Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint.