Dakota Today

Scientific American on raising virus immunity

       The July 2020 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN has several articles on the Corona Virus Covid-19. On page 21 is an article titled "How to boost your Immunity". It says it offers "Some simple, practical steps can raise your resistance to viruses.. Basically they are a matter of sommon sense. Eat vegetables and fruit and a healthy diet. Get vitamins C and D. Suggested is a basic multi-vitamin as well. Prolonged sleep loss seems to harm the immune response. Get 7 or more hours of sleep on a regular schedule. Sleep seems necessary to move T-cells to lymph nodes.
         The concluding lines in the article note that none of this may guarantee you don't get a virus, but the suggestions apply to all viruses which is a bit of a silver lining.helping you endure whatever comes your way. As the intro indicates, this all seems to fit common sense and probably what your mother told you as achild. Be careful and good luck. No matter what right-winger anti-science and Trump and his Trumpers say, the virus is not a Democratic and Press plot to harm Trump. It has killed thousands and will kill more unless Trump and his supporters get their heads out of their asses and masked in public.

**** Stay tuned,  Much more good and bad news is coming these days--- Doug Wiken.

Testing, quarantines and controls best way to get economy going again.

I just watched Noem claiming SD gov and people had done such a wonderful job. Maybe she is excluding the aliens working at Smithfield, but more likely is just blowing smoke. Had she and her administration been doing a great job, there would have been no more than 3 cases at any single location and there would not now be a few dozen locations. Continuing to focus on the flattening of the curve and not stopping the spread and dropping it to zero no cases is a recipe for both failure in control and failing to improve the economy in the fastest way possible. Universal testing and strict quarantines are all that is going to really work to actually succeed and do a great job. Being more concerned about sales tax revenue that stopping the Covid-19 in its tracks will result in more cases and more deaths and more economic failures.

Below is a message I got from a friend in Washington state who sent it to a number of federal officials as well.  Today on Sabbath gasbag shows I was finally hearing much the same from both Republicans and Democrats who are neither amused or impressed with the contradictory narcissism, excuses, folklore, factless blaming and flaming coming from President Trump who refuses to believe scientists or science.

Dear Secretary Azar:

The nation needs to test everyone (99% of 330 million people) for: (a) infection (b) antibodies (c) isolate infection (d) stop infection and spreading very quickly in a month.

The economy is being damaged very severely and we should not wait for vaccines and treatments for possibly as long as one year.

I realize this effort may cost $30-60 billion and lots of manpower, but it is small potatoes to what is at stake. We are rapidly acquiring more than 1,000 machines and can test 10,000 samples per machine per day - times 30 days equals 300 million tested people (Corrected to show 300 million instead of 30 million).

Further, my manpower estimate is about 10 technicians per machine x 1,000 machines = 10,000 personnel per day to pull the samples and get the laboratory results recorded and provided back to the people being tested.

In conclusion, the current piecemeal sampling of the population will drag out this infection. Testing everyone will provide the information that will stop it.

This is a war! Lets run it like a war to win!

Chuck Noble

*** Stay tuned, better days will be ahead if we act smart and scientifically now--- Doug Wiken

*** Is eating Cheerios loading you up with glyphosates?

Huffington Post on a Facebook page indicates a company testing foods has found residues of Monsanto's Glyphosate Roundup in foods like Cheerios.  You can get the information at Huffington Post and Food Democracy Now.  The US has set allowable residue levels higher than those in Europe.

***Stay tuned and wonder if maybe eggs might be better after all--- Doug Wiken

*** The "Anthropocene" age. layers of civilization and fossil relics

I just looked at the September 2016 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN around page 32 and found an article on "What mark will we leave on the Planet".  It is part of nine or so related articles.  One of the ideas discussed is the "Anthropocene" age.  A Dutch researcher (Paul Crutzen)  in year 2000, decided we were not part of the 11.700 year old Holocene age, but a new age-- The Antropocene Age.

The question about this is have we really entered a new geologic age.  The author (Jan Zalasiewicz) thinks we have changed earth enough to warrant calling it a new age.  He thinks that evidence of this age will still be around thousands of years from now.  He views metals like Aluminum  which exists in pure form enough to cover the world with aluminum foil as the old "rocks" which will be found.  Other rocks will be the half a trillion tons of concrete.  Humans now shift more sediment than natural forces such as rivers  and wind do.

Radioactive particles will be around for thousands of years as a result of nuclear bomb use and tests.  The radioactive layer is an abrupt Anthropocene signature.  All this and things like metal in teeth, skeletons with artificial metal hips will be pushed up millions of years from now and some newly minted cliff will  reveal a distinctive Anthropocene layer.  Despite this idea, the concept of an Anthropocene Age is not settled.  "The jury is still out."

I have left out a lot in this short summary, but the article and the rest of the magazine are worth reading.

***Stay tuned even if your trash and work will not leave evidence around for millions of years.-- Doug Wiken

Related articles

Scientists: Earth Entered a New Age Around 1950

The Anthropocene Is Here: Humanity Has Pushed Earth Into a New Epoch

The Anthropocene is here - scientists

Deirdre Fulton - The Anthropocene Is Here: Humanity Has Pushed Earth Into a New Epoch - Progressive Radio Network

Earth in new geological era called the Anthropocene thanks to impact of nukes, plastic rubbish... and chickens

Experts declare Anthropocene has begun

Are we living in the Anthropocene epoch? Scientific body says "yes"

Scientists: Anthropocene epoch is upon us, be ready!

*** Spider News and a 2011 Dakota Today Post

Yesterday, Dakota Today received a comment from Sandra Pyper asking for the name of the big spider in a 2011 Dakota Today post.  I contacted SD Extension area office in Winner and they contacted their entomology specialist in Pierre.  Today I received e-mail from Amanda Bachman, Phd with the name and info on the big spider.  You can view her response and the original post at link below.  Thanks to the Extension service for prompt response and information.

Big Spider and SD Garden Line Dakota Today August 2011.

Also, Bachman provided this link to more info on the spider.

*** Stay tuned and note the big bad spider is less dangerous than a tiny mosquito carrying West Nile Disease-- Doug Wiken

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What's hiding behind the trapdoor?

Wolf spider

Using spider-silk as a superlens to increase a microscope's potential

*** Delta Airlines "outage" July 8, 2016 and Trump Trickle-Down

In the news today are two disasters.  Trumps trickle-down economics speech and Delta Airlines "Outage" which shut down takeoffs of airliners for 6 hours today and left tens of thousands of customers stranded.  This post is made at 3PM CDT and apparently flights and operations have been resumed. Link to WSJ on Delta flight Outage

I am no expert on information technology or airlines, but a shutdown like this when there was apparently no actual power outage on the airports electric utility strongly suggests the need for more robust systems with more redundancy.  This system collapse strongly suggests that terrorists wishing to disrupt our economy and services probably have easier targets than any of us might have guessed.

I know that Donald J. Trump claimed in his speech today that in addition to trickle-down tax breaks, he took off on a scheduled flight into the GOP fantasy land of fewer regulations on business being a wonderland for economic growth.  This and other data system collapses recently suggest to this non-expert that more regulations of industries is absolutely necessary when an "$80 Billion" company can't or refuses to put more resources into system reliability, robustness, and redundancy.

Let me know if you have better ideas for improving huge information systems and how to get congressmen with their heads up their partisan rears to actually start working on real problems instead of voting for the 64th time (or whatever) to repeal Obamacare or squandering more money on military boondoggles.

***Stay tuned even if you are flying very low today waiting for a Trump trickle-down. ---- Doug Wiken

 Related articles

Headaches for Delta fliers today | Stuck at the Airport

Delta Resumes Flights on Limited Basis. - Productions.press

** Does an anti-pain medication acetaminophen change personality?

This afternoon I heard a story on NPR via SDPB-Radio indicating that Acetaminophen use alters personality.  In effect, it may reduce your ability to "feel others pain".  My guess is that particular change may not result in absolutely terrible consequences, but it does raise the question about what else that over-the-counter drug is doing to our brains if we use it.  The links below have a bit more information.  My guess is that this is not the end of this story.

Effects of Acetaminophen on emotions, etc.

Products containing Acetaminophen

**Stay tuned, but if posts here cause acute pain, try Ibuprofen or aspirin---- Doug Wiken

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Warning: Some Over-The-Counter Cold Medicine Can Cause Your Brain To Shrink

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Healthcare Triage News: Unnecessary Supplement Use is Rising, Even Among the Elderly

Evidence of Drugs Linked to Dementia

***Word cloud in your brain

I am not really sure how serious this news really is, but somewhat interesting anyway.  CBS morning dribble had a few seconds on "Words as Brain Cloud" this morning.  I did some google searching and found not much.  One thing did fall out and that sort of supported my feeling that the "cloud" is a lousy way to describe computer memory or any other kind of memory.  In this context, the "brain cloud" is storage of related meanings of words in unsuspected areas of the brain.

But, brain cloud has also been used more like brain fog.  This is more like confusion and inability to put ideas or concepts together.  I would just as soon never again see any kind of memory, computer or brain, referred to as a cloud.

The research used a collection of stories being told to a number of people as their brains were studied with MRI.  This showed areas of the brain common to all subjects that stored words by meaning.  I may have this bungled a bit, so you might as well check the links below for more and better information.

WSJ Human Brain as a word cloud

New Scients on Brain Cloud

Meanwhile in the boondocks the clouds of interest are those dumping rain and snow on the region.  Winner got over two inches in the last few days.

***Stay tuned even if your brain is a bit fogged and cloudy--- Doug Wiken

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Scientists may have just learned how to read your mind

Scans Show The Brain Groups Words By Meaning

*** More "weather" news..very old and new.

I have wondered for a year or so why National Weather Servicer NOAA radio KZZZ60, channel 7, north of Reliance, SD did not report anything about Winner, SD which is definitely in south central SD.  I finally found the right button to push on the Nation Weather site and got an email address for Aberdeen weather Office.  I asked why other channels out of this area had Winner weather, but the weather channel for this region did not.  About noon today I got call from Aberdeen and was told that the Winner weather was now on KZZZ60.  Apparently some software code error had scrambled the connection to the Winner Wyly Field airport.

I checked about an hour later and it reported the Winner weather.  I called back to the Aberdeen office and thanked them.  Being a smart ass, I also asked them why guys who knew the weather would put a regional office in the SD City with probably the worst weather in the state.  Whoever answered just laughed and said, "We did not have any choice in that city selection."

Now, a bit of news which may have something to do with ancient weather changes and splitting of continents, etc.   Dinosaurs Were Going Extinct before the Asteroid finished the job.

Well enough of that news.  Tonight we listen for political earthquakes, minor tremors, and blizzards of crap.

** Weather or not---- Doug Wiken 

Sen. McConnell and "principle"

As you probably know by now, President Obama has made a nomination to the US Supreme Court to replace deceased Antonin Scalia.   You can read about it here  NY Times "Obama Chooses....."

And you can read about US Senator McConnell claiming partisan GOP inaction a matter of "Principle".

Now, after watching and hearing McConnell's rabid partisan opposition to President Obama over the last several years, I think McConnell knows about as much about "principle" as a whore knows about virginity.

Democrats of all shapes and colors and independents who actually care about the US Constitution should start letting Republicans in the Senate know that no Republican nomination to the US Supreme Court will ever be supported by any Democrat ever again if the GOP fails to now give this nominee a fair evaluation as per the US Constitution.

However,  am still hoping that a Supreme Court justice at some point will be nominated because he has a good science and technology background as well as a firm legal background.

*** Stay tuned and fire up your contempt for GOP double speak whether it comes from Sen. McConnell, or Sen. Marion Michael Rounds.--- Doug Wiken

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Antonin Scalia, RIP

The Supreme Court vacancy and why President Barack Obama is bound by the US Constitution to act

Fight Over US Supreme Court Vacancy Reaches Senate Floor