August 9, 2023

Pregnancy hormone estriol promotes myelin repair in MS mice

July 29, 2023

New clue about why Covid is deadlier for men: Estrogen may play a protective role

Women who received hormone replacement therapy after getting Covid had a 78 percent lower overall mortality rate than women who didn't take estrogen, a study found.

But experts say it makes sense that estrogen could play a protective role against Covid, since the hormone is known to stimulate an immune response through the production of antibodies. At the same time, higher levels of estrogen can keep the immune system from responding overly aggressively to a viral infection, which can lead to life-threatening inflammation.

"We see in women, they have a faster and higher antibody response ... to Covid infection, which probably means that they can clear the infection quicker than the men," said Dr. Christopher Wilcox, a co-author of the new study and an academic clinical fellow at the University of Southampton. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/estrogens by-may-play-role-covid-less-deadly-women-rcna29287

More in depth-

More in-depth gov studies

The role of estradiol in the immune response against Covid-19

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34142358/

May 25, 2023

Adobe is adding an AI-powered image generator to Photoshop

New York
CNN
—
Photoshop is about to look a little different.

Adobe on Tuesday said it’s incorporating an AI-powered image generator into Photoshop, with the goal of “dramatically accelerating” how users edit their photos.

The tool, called Firefly, allows users to add or delete elements from images with just a text prompt, according to Adobe. It can also match the lighting and style of the existing images automatically, the company said.

It’s currently available in a new Photoshop beta app. The company plans to roll the product out to all Photoshop customers by the end of the year.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/23/tech/photoshop-generative-ai/index.html

May 18, 2023

Politico -"Democrats race to avoid a Biden embarrassment in New Hampshire

“NASHUA, N.H. — Top Democrats are scrambling for ways to avoid a catastrophe in New Hampshire in which Joe Biden may not appear on the primary ballot, ceding the first unofficial contest of 2024 to a fringe candidate.

The bizarre predicament is one of the president’s own making, after he pushed for changes to the party’s presidential nominating calendar that stripped the Granite State of its first-in-the-nation primary. The move was designed to reward South Carolina, which catapulted Biden to the nomination in 2020.

But there’s a state law requiring New Hampshire’s contest be held a week before any others, and Republicans in charge of the governor’s office and state legislature are refusing to touch it. If they don’t, a primary may well be held without the sitting president putting his name on the ballot.
Now, national Democrats are searching for an off-ramp. With a June deadline looming for New Hampshire to make progress on changing its law or get kicked out of the official early voting lineup, Democratic National Committee members are privately considering giving the state more time.“




https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/18/biden-new-hampshire-ballot-democrats-00097537

April 25, 2023

Sudan fighting brings "huge biological risk" as lab holding samples of deadly diseases occupied, WHO

Geneva — Fighters have occupied a national public laboratory in Sudan holding samples of diseases including polio and measles, creating an "extremely, extremely dangerous" situation, the World Health Organization warned Tuesday. Fighters "kicked out all the technicians from the lab... which is completely under the control of one of the fighting parties as a military base," said Nima Saeed Abid, the WHO's representative in Sudan.

He did not say which of the two warring factions had taken over the laboratory, as a tense truce appeared to be largely holding Tuesday, easing more than a week of intense fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the country's RSF paramilitary group. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sudan-virus-risk-world-health-organization-says-lab-occupied-disease-samples/

April 24, 2023

Tucker Takes a new role on the view! Babylon Bee

https://twitter.com/thebabylonbee/status/1650564566877630465?s=46&t=YZgyyp4w_z7vW3neKxa6cQ

NEW YORK, NY — As part of a plan to broaden its audience, the long-running daytime talk show The View has announced former Fox News host Tucker Carlson will be joining the program's panel. Producers hope Carlson's presence will both draw new viewers and educate current cast members.

"Tucker's going to be a great addition," said Executive Producer Brian Teta. "Not only will we reap the benefits of bringing in a more politically conservative audience but our other co-hosts will benefit from hearing new political perspectives! Win-win!"

April 24, 2023

Boom in labs handling dangerous pathogens not matched by biosafety and biosecurity regulation

The number of labs handling dangerous pathogens has risen to more than 100 around the world but has not been accompanied by sufficient oversight, raising biosafety and biosecurity concerns, a new report by King’s College London

There has been a global boom in construction of labs handling dangerous pathogens, but this has not been accompanied by sufficient biosafety and biosecurity oversight. Our new report documents for the first time the current picture around the world and sets out clear recommendations to help address current shortcomings that need to be implemented at the local, national and international level.
– Dr Filippa Lentzos. https://twitter.com/filippalentzos/status/1636387584149696523?s=46&t=YZgyyp4w_z7vW3neKxa6cQ

April 20, 2023

You gotta love this John Fetterman tweet

https://twitter.com/johnfetterman/status/1648456948004827137?s=46&t=YZgyyp4w_z7vW3neKxa6cQ

April 19, 2023

Lots of water in Rio Grande River this yr

Federal water managers have more room to breathe this spring as two Southwestern rivers that provide New Mexico and Texas with drinking water and irrigation supplies are seeing the benefits of record snowpack and spring runoff.

Forecasters with the National Weather Service delivered the good news Tuesday for water managers, cities and farmers as federal officials rolled out operating plans for the Rio Grande and the Pecos River.

The mountain ranges in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico that serve as headwaters for the two rivers last winter saw nearly double the snowpack of historic averages, resulting in runoff that will provide a major boost to reservoirs.

And even more of that snowmelt will reach streams and rivers since soil moisture levels were able to recover last summer during what was one of the strongest monsoons the region had seen in 130 years.

(I’m in the middle of the state - high desert mountain foothills - and last summer it was lush - so much rain - best gardens I ever had in all my years of living here)



https://www.koat.com/article/new-mexico-rivers-get-boost-from-winter-snowpack/43643470

April 10, 2023

NYT's - Leaked Documents Suggest Ukrainian Air Defense Is in Peril if Not Reinforced

A huge influx of munitions is needed to keep Russia’s air force from changing the course of the war, according to U.S. officials and newly leaked Pentagon documents.

WASHINGTON — For more than a year, Ukrainian air defenses, reinforced by Western weaponry, have kept Russian planes at bay.
But without a huge influx of munitions, Ukraine’s entire air defense network, weakened by repeated barrages from Russian drones and missiles, could fracture, according to U.S. officials and newly leaked Pentagon documents, potentially allowing President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to unleash his lethal fighter jets in ways that could change the course of the war.

In the early days of the invasion, Russian aircraft flew hundreds of combat flights to bomb targets in Ukraine. But a combination of quick thinking by Ukrainian commanders and poor intelligence and bad aim by Russian pilots left many of Ukraine’s warplanes and air defenses intact, preventing Moscow from gaining control of the skies above the battlefield and forcing Russia to keep much of its air force out of the fight.

Now Pentagon officials are worried that Moscow’s barrage of attacks from afar is draining Ukraine’s stores of the missiles it uses to defend itself. And a Pentagon assessment from late February contained in the trove of leaked documents that were discovered circulating online last week paints an even grimmer picture. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/09/us/politics/leaked-documents-ukrainian-air-defense.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare