So begins Memorial Day weekend.
Another week is coming to an end and there are reports/stories that need to see the light of day….and that is why I am here to turn the light on for my readers.
Locally–the weather down here is getting summer-like the highs are in the 90s and the lows in the high 70s or low 80s…..so I want to pass on a heat advisory…..It is suggested that because of the heat and the heat index that we stay indoors and in A/C from 11 am today until the 3rd of November…..it is getting that damn HOT!
I recently reported that egg prices were coming down at the time I could not verify it….since then I have gone to the store and down here prices are down….a half dozen large are going from $4 to $1.90…..of course jumbos and organic are still a bit higher.
My state of Mississippi does it again….we are ranked last in teacher’s pay and that includes the meager pay raise teachers got just last year. I am so proud.
Personal–A bit of good news….the tumor in my lung has shrunk which is good news….but not enough for me to forego the infusions and shots….waiting for the scan to see how the one in the prostrate is doing. Fingers crossed.
Let’s start today with my favorite subject….food.
Eggs! We all know about the high cost of eggs…..we eat quail, duck and chicken eggs….but why not turkey eggs?
Turkeys often find themselves at the center of our plates, much like many other domesticated birds classified as poultry. We rely on these animals for a range of products, from bedding and clothing to, most commonly, food. Eggs, in particular, are a staple in many diets. But it got us thinking: why don’t we eat turkey eggs?
In the United States alone there are around 2,500 turkey farms. That’s a lot of turkeys, and presumably a lot of eggs, but they don’t enter the egg market because, frankly, they’re not worth it.
A healthy chicken can lay an egg almost daily, making the *ahem* paltry 32-hour turnover of a turkey seem like a poor yield. Add to that, it takes turkeys seven months to mature to egg-laying age compared to chicken’s five-month waiting period, and they just aren’t as attractive a source for poultry farmers hoping to sell eggs.
Turkey eggs are edible, just ask turkey farmers. According to Modern Farm, they’re reported to taste very similar to a chicken egg, only a bit bigger with a tougher shell and thicker membrane.
https://www.iflscience.com/the-real-reasons-we-dont-eat-turkey-eggs-79258
The more icky diet….
When we think about the future of food, it’s unlikely that crickets, meal worms or grasshoppers come to mind. But believe it or not, insects might just be one of the most promising answers to two big global problems: feeding a growing (and ageing) population and fighting climate change. As the world’s population heads towards 10 billion by 2050, we’re going to need a lot more food – and especially more protein.
In Ireland, where our research was based, this matters even more because our population is ageing. Older adults need more protein to stay healthy and independent as they age, but often they don’t eat enough of it.
At the same time, we also have to take care of the planet. Producing traditional protein sources like beef, pork and chicken uses up a lot of land, water and energy – and creates a lot of greenhouse gases.
So, where do insects fit in?
I grew up in the South and a daily staple was rice….and now there is bad news for rice….
Samples of store-bought rice from more than 100 different brands purchased in the United States contained dangerously high levels of arsenic and cadmium, according to a new report shared first with CNN.
“Even at low levels, both arsenic and cadmium have been linked to serious health harms, including diabetes, developmental delays, reproductive toxicity and heart disease,” said coauthor Jane Houlihan, research director for Healthy Babies, Bright Futures. The organization, which is dedicated to reducing children’s exposure to toxic chemicals, produced the report.
“Heavy metal contamination in young children is especially concerning, as early-life exposures are associated with reduced IQ and a range of cognitive and behavioral problems,” Houlihan said. (that could explain MAGA supporters)
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/15/health/arsenic-cadmium-rice-wellness
Carbs are the enemy of anyone with diabetes…..but there is news about the eating of carbs….
The quality of your carbs matters more than you think. High-quality carbs from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes were consistently associated with better odds of aging well — staying mentally sharp, physically active, and free of major diseases. In contrast, diets high in refined carbs — think white bread, sugary snacks, and processed foods — were linked to worse outcomes.
“We’ve all heard that different carbohydrates can affect health differently, whether for weight, energy, or blood sugar levels. But rather than just look at the immediate effects of these macronutrients, we wanted to understand what they might mean for good health 30 years later,” said Andres Ardisson Korat, a scientist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging and lead author of the study. “Our findings suggest that carbohydrate quality may be an important factor in healthy aging.”
But what does that mean, exactly?
https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/healthy-aging-carbohydrates-variety/
Next on the health front….
When Biden announced that he was suffering with prostrate cancer there was a rush to Google to explain what a prostrate was….
What, exactly, does that mean? A bunch of Americans have apparently been trying to figure that out.
Google search queries for the phrase “what is a prostate” drastically spiked following news about the former president’s cancer diagnosis, as flagged on Bluesky by The Onion writer June Sternbach.
The trend suggests that the sad news about America’s 46th president didn’t just spark inquiry over prostate cancer and what it means, but that a surprising number of US citizens are unclear on what a prostate even is, which may unfortunately be a glaring indictment of American health education.
https://futurism.com/neoscope/americans-googled-prostate-biden-cancer
Men you might want to make a date with your urologist and have yours checked out.
These days we hear a lot about probiotics and prebiotics from yogurt to supplements….but just what is the scoop?
“Prebiotics are anything you consume that beneficial gut bacteria can consume to produce byproducts that promote health,” Suzanne Devkota, the director of the Human Microbiome Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai, told Popular Science. Put another way, they’re food for the “good” bacteria that call your gut home. “The most widely accepted prebiotic is dietary fiber,” said Devkota. “Probiotics, on the other hand, are beneficial bacteria you consume in hopes they colonize your gut.”
https://www.popsci.com/science/will-prebiotics-and-probiotics-help-you-poop/
My state is plagued with STDs by the many….
In a state where citizens are plagued with a myriad of public health issues, another report points to the poor sexual health of Mississippians.
In 2023, healthcare officials ranked Jackson fourth nationally for new HIV cases. Those statistics likely contributed to Mississippi having the most cases of sexually transmitted diseases per capita nationally that year. Two years later, a Universal Drugstore report shows that conditions have not changed. The website found that the state is still the most affected by STDs in 2025.
The latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that Mississippi has the second-highest chlamydia rate nationally. Additionally, the state has the lowest HPV vaccination rate in the United States.
According to the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH), the largest and only known cause of cervical cancer is HPV. CDC data reveals that Mississippi has the highest mortality rate from cervical cancer nationally. Persisting HPV infections are also largely responsible for most anal, oropharyngeal, penile, vaginal and vulvar cancers.
https://www.wjtv.com/living-local/focused-on-health/mississippi-most-affected-by-stds-in-us-report/
Malaria is a world problem and now there may be some lighjt in the eradication of the disease….
What if, instead of killing mosquitoes to stop malaria, we simply cured them? Harvard scientists believe giving mosquitoes anti-malarial drugs could turn these notorious disease-carriers into harmless biters. Malaria, a parasitic disease spread by female mosquitoes, causes nearly 600,000 deaths annually, most of them children, and traditional prevention efforts have focused on insecticide-coated bed nets, which work by creating a physical barrier and killing mosquitoes that land on them, per the BBC.
Harvard researchers tested a variety of drugs on malaria-infected mosquitoes and identified two that kill all parasites when absorbed through the insect’s legs. The idea is to add these drugs to bed nets, so even if a mosquito survives contact, it will no longer be able to spread malaria. Study co-author Alexandra Probst calls the research laid out in the journal Nature a novel approach, noting that the malaria parasite is less likely to develop resistance to these drugs due to the limited number of them found in each mosquito compared to an infected human.
Lab results look promising: The drug treatment lasts up to a year on treated materials, potentially making it a durable and cost-effective alternative to current methods. The next phase—testing these drug-coated nets in real-world conditions—will start in Ethiopia. Results aren’t expected for at least six years, but the hope is to eventually use both drugs and insecticides on nets, providing a two-pronged strategy against malaria transmission. “Malaria control desperately needs innovation,” study co-author Flaminia Catteruccia says in a release. “This is a momentous step forward in the development of a new mosquito-targeted malaria control strategy.”
Finally, would like to see in the dark? Now you can.
Neuroscientists and materials scientists have created contact lenses that enable infrared vision in both humans and mice by converting infrared light into visible light. Unlike infrared night vision goggles, the contact lenses, described in the journal Cell, do not require a power source—and they enable the wearer to perceive multiple infrared wavelengths. Because they’re transparent, users can see both infrared and visible light simultaneously, though infrared vision was enhanced when participants had their eyes closed.
“Our research opens up the potential for noninvasive wearable devices to give people super-vision,” says senior author Tian Xue, a neuroscientist at the University of Science and Technology of China. “There are many potential applications right away for this material. For example, flickering infrared light could be used to transmit information in security, rescue, encryption or anti-counterfeiting settings.”
https://phys.org/news/2025-05-infrared-contact-lenses-people-dark.html
That does it for this Saturday….hopefully everyone found something informative and/or entertaining today….I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend…..and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”