Asexy Queer

A Self-Replicating Radiation-Shield for Human Deep-Space Exploration: Radiotrophic Fungi can Attenuate Ionizing Radiation aboard the International Space Station

Space is full of high-energy radiation, and radiation shielding is a big engineering challenge for Martian habitats and deep-space missions.  What they figured out is that an 8-inch thick layer of mutant Chernobyl radiation-eating fungus in the walls of the spacecraft or habitat would serve as a self-replicating, self-sustaining radiation shield for long-haul missions.

[image ID: Text reading Texas State Aquarium staff stated that the animals have been getting a little restless. One of the employees had an idea to let some of the land animals spend time with some of the sea animals, and it has worked out brilliantly.

Putting the sloths near the dolphins was the biggest surprise of all. The dolphins are absolutely delighted with the sloths, and the sloths, normally very quiet animals, have been squeaking replies back to the dolphins for hours at a time. Who would have guessed these two species would be such a great match?

A twitter thread from Christy Harrison, MPH, RD:

High BMI is NOT a risk factor for hospitalization, mechanical ventilation, or mortality in COVID-19, according to this large new study of 10,000+ people with the virus (CW: weight-stigmatizing language, BMI numbers)

I hope we’ll see major media reporting on this study, as it’s one of few studies on this topic to fully adjust for confounding variables, and definitely one of the largest studies that I’ve seen to date on this topic. 

Interestingly, it found that although Black patients were more likely to be hospitalized and to receive mechanical ventilation than white patients, they WEREN’T more likely to die.

This may have something to do with equalized healthcare access (this study was conducted in the VA healthcare system) or less-discriminatory care in that system (where the percentage of Black patients is much higher than many other healthcare systems).

Also, Hispanic ethnicity was not associated with increased risk of adverse outcomes in this study, which again may reflect the better access to quality care that patients of color receive in the VA system.

That access and quality may also be why larger-bodied patients fared just as well—and in some cases better—than smaller-bodied patients in this study (see Table 1).

In short, this study supports what I’ve been saying since March: we need to stop jumping to the conclusion that high BMI independently raises COVID-19 risks; when we have good studies that control for confounding variables, those supposed risks disappear. It’s not the weight.

having known them for scarcely a week yet well aware of the dangerous times they lived in, after gustav's disappearance monty took care to leave his house to the baudelaire children. he hoped that should something happen to him, the children would remain together, and he knew that they would one day need a home.

nearly four years after they last left it, the four baudelaires walk into the house of a guardian who tried his best to make them feel loved in the short time they had together. almost untouched since the death of it's previous owner, the dust is layered an inch think and the doors of the empty cages hang open. it's a bittersweet day for violet, klaus and sunny. they go into each room together. the kitchen, the library, a quick peek into the reptile room, and up the stairs into their bedrooms. one of the tacks has fallen out of the large white sheet of paper violet and monty had hung together, and the page droops down as though to try and pick it back up again. klaus's armchair expels a cloud of dust when he goes to sit on it. in sunny's room some of the hard toys she shared with the incredibly deadly viper shows bite marks that weren't there before. books lie scattered on the study table from quigley quagmire's brief stay, and monty's bags are packed for a ship that set sail without him.

On this thursday is Rosh Hashanna:

- this is the jewish new year, we are entering the year 5778. It comemorates when adam and eve were created.

- If you see someone jewish, or have jewish friends and family, say “L’Shana Tova (Le-Sha-Nah-Toe-Vah). It’s a greeting and a wish for a happy new year!

- We dip apples in honey to remind us of the sweetness of life and to bring sweetness into ourselves for a new year

-We eat a circular challah to symbolize the cycles of time, the challah often has raisins in it to add extra sweetness

-This is a happy holiday, full of joy

Beginning on Friday, September 30th is Yom Kippur:

- This is the jewish day of atonement, when we think about our wrongdoings of the past year and think about how we can commit to doing better in the next year.

- Many Jewish people fast, abstaining from food and water from sundown to sundown. The fast is roughly 25 hours. HOWEVER, if you need to eat, you may. There are lots of reasons that people may not fast, like recovering from an eating disorder, a medical condition like diabetes, or having to take medication with food. The elderly, children, and pregnant people should not fast.

- This is a solemn holiday, many people spend all day in synagogue in deep prayer. 

- On Yom Kippur, wish someone a peaceful or meaningful fast. Some people may take offense to the concept of having an “easy” or “enjoyable” fast because Yom Kippur is not about ease or comfort. 

- There is a breaking of the fast at sundown, this is usually a joyous event

Together, these make up the High Holy Days, the most important week in Judaism. 

Why the UK can, and should, make space for our indigenous minority languages.

In particular, the kitchen walls are there so that you can leave the kitchen messy when entertaining guests or having a meal (to the point that some open floor concept homes have a second, secret kitchen called a mess kitchen). The walls of the kitchen confine smells to the kitchen area, so your sofa doesn’t smell of bacon. Mess spreads from room to room.

Noise too, travels in an open floor concept. You’re confined to a bedroom or outside to make phone calls, listen to podcasts, etc. etc. without disturbing the rest of the household. The minute someone needs to cook? The entire house becomes unusable.

Open floor concepts have higher heating (cuz drafty) and cooling (kitchen) costs. They also require ALL of your decor to match if that’s a thing that’s important to you.