Category: Coping with COVID
At this regatta, boats are giant pumpkins. It’s as chaotic as it sounds.
Washington Post “It’s kind of a ridiculous idea, which is why it’s so popular,” said Heidi Marx, coordinator of the West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta. Giant pumpkin weigh-offs — where people win prizes for growing enormous pumpkins — have been aroundfor decades. But in recent years, some towns have turned those giant pumpkins into boats, making regattas […]
Oct 22, 2025
Japanese Farmers Send Out Automated Laser Drones to Defend Chickens
Futurism Chicken farming is a fowl business. To make it, you’ll need extensive knowledge in animal husbandry, business finance, biosecurity, and mechanical repair. If one company in Japan has its way, that list could soon include “drone skills” as well. A Japanese firm called NTT e-Drone Technology Company Ltd has developed a drone-laser system designed […]
Oct 15, 2025
‘Very mean squirrel’ seeking food has sent at least 2 people to the ER in a California city
WTOP Residents of a San Francisco Bay Area city are on the lookout for an aggressive squirrel that has sent at least two people to the emergency room for medical treatment. Joan Heblack told ABC affiliate KGO-TV that she was walking in the Lucas Valley neighborhood of San Rafael when a squirrel seemingly came out of nowhere […]
Oct 8, 2025
I’m An Infectious Disease Doctor. Here’s What Happened When I Sat Next To A Vaccine Skeptic On A Plane.
Huff Post “As someone who recently completed 15 years of training to become an infectious diseases physician-scientist, I can’t avoid these conversations.” It’s hard to believe that infectious diseases have become a political litmus test, but they are now very much part of the “with us or against us” mental sorting more and more people […]
Oct 1, 2025
I inserted myself into a conversation at a bar about Covid and vaccines. Here’s what happened
STAT This essay was adapted from Jess Steier’s newsletter, “Unbiased Science.” “I did my best to stay out of it. But the science burst out of me” For the last few weeks of summer, my mom visited from Florida. It was amazing, as it always is, to have her here spending time with the family […]
Sep 10, 2025
How a Philadelphia outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in 1976 led to modern-day investigations and surveillance
WHYY Legionnaires’ disease was named after a large outbreak in Philadelphia sickened hundreds of American Legion veterans in the summer of 1976. From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know! Cases of Legionnaires’ disease have been generally on the rise for the last 50 […]
Sep 3, 2025
Pet Rats Using Paws to Create Mini Masterpieces That Have Sold for Over $2,600 Total
Eighteen-year-old Ella Woodland’s pet rats have a knack for artistic expression, and by guiding them to paint mini masterpieces, she’s helping their talents flourish. Eighteen-year-old Ella Woodland’s pet rats have a knack for artistic expression, and by guiding them to paint mini masterpieces, she’s helping their talents flourish. There’s a little something in this project […]
Aug 27, 2025
How flossing a mouse’s teeth could lead to a new kind of vaccine
Science Tests of a needle-free flu vaccine delivered through the gums required some creative thinking. Bioengineer Rohan Ingrole needed to floss a mouse’s teeth. The intent wasn’t to help mice get a clean bill of health at the dentist. Each bit of store-bought floss was coated with dead influenza viruses, or lab-made bits and pieces […]
Aug 20, 2025
‘Zombie’ rabbits with black horns and mouth tentacles are invading Colorado backyards
Independant What the heck is that?! Rabbits in Colorado are causing alarm among residents and looking more like creatures from nightmares and not fuzzy and cuddly friends. Rabbits in Fort Collins, Colorado, are being spotted with eerie black-colored growths resembling tentacles or horns protruding from their heads. 9NEWS Northern Colorado reporter Amanda Gilbert captured a photo of one not-so-cute […]
Aug 13, 2025
A cat named Leonardo da Pinchy doesn’t want your affection. He wants to steal your underwear
AP Most cat owners dread their pets bringing home mice or birds. But for the owners of one felonious feline in Auckland, New Zealand, there’s a worse shame — being the unwitting accomplice to an unstoppable one-cat crimewave. His prolific laundry-pinching from clotheslines and bedrooms in the placid beachside neighborhood of Mairangi Bay has turned 15-month-old Leo into a local […]
Jul 30, 2025