And now for the news you probably missed while watching Donny spread his ‘magic’….
Locally–There is a storm brewing in Mid-Atlantic that could become a danger to the Coast…..everyone is watching it closely. Weather has been extremely hot and little rain so the days and even the nights are miserable.
Personal–My granddaughter is home from university for the weekend and we will be hanging out…..she has only been gone for a couple of weeks but I miss her a lot.
Shall set off for this Saturday?
As a cancer fighter I am always looking at anything that can help people that are struggling with the disease…..this report is about the detection of the disease…..
Scientists have developed a diamond-based sensor that could make it easier for doctors to detect the spread of cancer.
Researchers at the University of Warwick have created a handheld device that is designed to trace tiny magnetic particles injected into the body.
The scientists said this offers a non-toxic alternative to radioactive tracers and dyes currently used in hospitals.
Metastasis, when cancer cells spread from the original tumour to other parts of the body, is one of the most serious challenges in cancer treatment.
Doctors often rely on tests to see whether the cancer has reached the lymph nodes – the areas of tissue that filter fluid in your body for harmful substances – which can guide decisions about surgery and further care.
Bubonic plague rears its ugly head (again)….
Health officials in California have confirmed a rare case of bubonic plague in a resident of South Lake Tahoe, marking the first human infection in the area since 2020. According to El Dorado County authorities, the patient—whose identity and current condition remain undisclosed—is recuperating at home after likely being bitten by a flea while camping in the Tahoe region, NBC News reports. Officials are investigating the incident but emphasized that such cases are highly uncommon. The 2020 case was California’s first confirmed plague case since 2015, when two people were infected in Yosemite National Park, reports CBS News.
Plague, a bacterial disease historically known for causing massive epidemics, typically reaches humans via flea bites, often from fleas that have fed on infected rodents like squirrels or chipmunks. Pets, especially cats and dogs, can unwittingly ferry plague-infected fleas into the house. Symptoms—including fever, nausea, weakness, and swollen lymph nodes—tend to show up within two weeks of exposure. When caught early, the illness responds well to antibiotics.
State health officials have been keeping a close eye on local rodent populations. Between 2021 and 2024, tests revealed that 41 rodents in the region had been exposed to the plague bacteria. This year alone, four more rodents in the Tahoe Basin have tested positive.
That brain eating thingy comes to Australia….
One of the most dangerous microorganisms on Earth, Naegleria fowleri has a well-earned nickname as the “brain-eating amoeba,” because of the almost 100% fatal infection it causes. And it’s now been found swimming around in the treated drinking water supplied to two towns in Australia.
A public health notice has been issued to towns in the state of Queensland, after testing found this deadly bug swimming in the drinking water supplies for Charleville and Augathella.
“Murweh Shire Council is advising residents and visitors to Charleville and Augathella that Naegleria fowleri, a rare but potentially harmful organism, has recently been detected in the town water supplies,” the community heath notice stated. “This detection follows a comprehensive water quality project commissioned by Queensland Health and undertaken by a Queensland university.”
https://newatlas.com/infectious-diseases/brain-eating-amoeba-water/
We can hope that it is contained and not a glimpse into future outbreaks.
The next pandemic may have a nemesis….
Airplane bathrooms aren’t exactly the most pleasant, comfortable, or even hygienic experiences. But their sheer number of daily occupants while cruising at 30,000 feet may present a major public health opportunity. As everyday pathogens continue developing into deadly superbug variants, researchers believe the collective wastewater inside commercial aircraft can provide an easy-to-access, cheap, and noninvasive source of real-time pandemic monitoring.
While disinfectants provide an immediate safeguard against harmful diseases and bacteria, their continued overuse has created a problem. Over the past 50 years, epidemiologists have repeatedly highlighted the dangers of rapidly spreading, antimicrobial resistant (AMR) diseases. The reason behind the health hazard is simple: germs and bacteria that survive an encounter with hand sanitizer continue to live and breed another day. These organisms can then develop over countless generations into AMR superbugs that aren’t susceptible to current medical treatments. Studies indicate this plague of superbugs may kill 40 to 50 million people by 2050—surpassing even cancer’s fatality rate.
To help potentially curb those numbers, an international team of pathogen experts recently analyzed the bathroom wastewater from 44 international flights arriving into Australia from nine different countries. Researchers used advanced molecular screening methods to examine the genetic structures of any potential superbugs with antibiotic resistance genes. As detailed in a study recently published in the journal Microbiology Spectrum, the handful of trips collectively fostered nine “high-priority,” drug-resistant superbugs, including Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus.
https://www.popsci.com/health/airplane-bathroom-superbug-tracking/
The brain builders you cannot see…..
The moment a baby is born, it’s greeted by a swarm of friendly microbes. These microscopic guests don’t just hang out; they help shape the brain!
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Think of the brain’s paraventricular nucleus (PVN) as a control tower. It helps manage stress, blood pressure, hydration, and even how we socialize.
Researchers zoomed in on this brain region to ask: Do microbes help build the PVN during early development? Does this lead to fewer neurons over time? And do microbes need to arrive at birth to help, or do signals from mom’s microbes in the womb already start the job?
They used a clever trick called cross-fostering, placing germ-free newborns with microbe-rich mothers. Then they compared brain development.
https://www.techexplorist.com/gut-bugs-found-shape-brain-development/100701/
We hear so much about processed food….so I will add to the debate….
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have become public enemy number one in nutrition debates. From dementia to obesity and an epidemic of “food addiction”, these factory-made products, including crisps, ready meals, fizzy drinks and packaged snacks, are blamed for a wide range of modern health problems. Some experts argue that they’re “specifically formulated and aggressively marketed to maximise consumption and corporate profits”, hijacking our brain’s reward systems to make us eat beyond our needs.
Policymakers have proposed bold interventions: warning labels, marketing restrictions, taxes, even outright bans near schools. But how much of this urgency is based on solid evidence?
My colleagues and I wanted to step back and ask: what actually makes people like a food? And what drives them to overeat – not just enjoy it, but keep eating after hunger has passed? We studied more than 3,000 UK adults and their responses to over 400 everyday foods. What we found challenges the simplistic UPF narrative and offers a more nuanced way forward.
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in…..
Holding a Sonoran Desert toad and squeezing the slimy glands on its head to extract its toxic secretions is a strange experience. Far stranger is what one of the compounds within that mixture can do to the human mind. 5-MeO-DMT, or simply 5MeO, is one of the world’s most powerful psychedelics, capable of shattering your sense of space, time, and self within seconds.
Like its molecular cousin DMT, 5MeO occurs naturally in various plants, with effects that usually fade within an hour. But unlike other psychedelics, 5MeO doesn’t flood the mind with intricate hallucinations. Instead, it tends to erase everything except for awareness itself.
Holding a Sonoran Desert toad and squeezing the slimy glands on its head to extract its toxic secretions is a strange experience. Far stranger is what one of the compounds within that mixture can do to the human mind. 5-MeO-DMT, or simply 5MeO, is one of the world’s most powerful psychedelics, capable of shattering your sense of space, time, and self within seconds.
Like its molecular cousin DMT, 5MeO occurs naturally in various plants, with effects that usually fade within an hour. But unlike other psychedelics, 5MeO doesn’t flood the mind with intricate hallucinations. Instead, it tends to erase everything except for awareness itself.
For some, the result is more than a mind-bending trip. It’s a complete deconstruction of subjective experience itself — a glimpse, perhaps, into what lies beneath all our thoughts, sensations, and stories.
https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/5-meo-dmt-consciousness/
To quote Timothy Leary….”Turn On, Tune Out, Drop Out’…..but licking a toad does have its yukky moment.
That does it for me on this Saturday…..I hope everyone enjoys their weekend and as always….Be well and Be Safe….
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
It’s a no to psychedelic toad juice from me.
Luckily, the Bubonic Plague can be easily treated now.
Good news that your grand-daughter is home to keep you company, and I hope you avoid the worst of that storm.
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanx Pete…..that one is not looking good for us right now….we can only hope it turns north….toad gooey is not something I would relish….have a good day chuq
Your blog has quickly become one of my favorites. Your writing is both insightful and thought-provoking, and I always come away from your posts feeling inspired. Keep up the phenomenal work!