Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
In Keene they’re hunting COVID in the sewage
If you’ve had a PCR test for COVID-19 you know that collecting the tissue sample takes a few minutes and involves a minor snootful of irritation. But that’s collecting a sample from one person. How about collecting samples from hundreds of people? Oddly enough, it can...
New species found on Harvard solar panels
A new species of bacteria has been discovered living on solar panels atop the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University, which is interesting unless it starts to eat the panels or do something like that. I don't want my solar panels eaten. The article about the discovery...
Today’s surprising number: 11,718% increase
A story in today's Monitor about the rise in telemedicine (read it here) contains this sentence: In the first month and a half of the pandemic, there was a 11,718% increase in the number of Medicare beneficiaries using telehealth. I always stumble over...
Uh-oh – N.H. COVID cases are increasing
To be honest, back in March, I thought COVID-19 would be calming down by now. I knew the disease wouldn’t be gone – that will take effective vaccines – but I figured warm weather and months of experience would reduce its impact on our lives. Instead, the coronavirus...
They’re fighting over our coastline, however long it is
A Seacoast Online story about tensions about crowding on the state's ocean beaches starts with the line "New Hampshire’s Atlantic coastline, the smallest in New England, is just 13 miles long, or 18.5 miles if you include inlets," which made me sit up and take notice....
N.H. patents through Aug. 2
By Targeted News Service The following patents were assigned in New Hampshire from July 26 to Aug. 2. *** BAE Systems Information & Electronic Systems Integration Assigned Patent for Cyber Warning Receiver BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration...
N.H. COVID numbers are good – actually, make that ‘were’
On Mondays in the Concord Monitor I run a weekly update of four COVID-related measures in New Hampshire - average number of new cases, whether that number is going down, number of tests per capita and percentage of tests that are positive. If you're a regular Granite...
Flying cars are coming to NH (cont’d)
I've been reporting about New Hampshire's connection to flying cars a.k.a. roadable aircraft for almost a decade, thanks to Terrafugia developing a folding-wing car over the border in Massachusetts. It's was the topic of one of the last in-person Science Cafes in...
If I can’t protect myself from COVID with germicidal pulse cannons, how can I protect myself?
The fact that this column is named “Granite Geek’ might give you a clue about my certain bias when solving complicated problems, such as how best to keep indoor spaces safe during the pandemic. I want the solution to be geeky! Social distancing and wearing masks and...
When gas was ‘manufactured’ rather than ‘natural’
If you think about it the name "natural gas" is kind of weird. Why "natural"? Does that mean there is "unnatural gas"? The answer: Yes, although "manufactured gas" is the usual term. I have a story in today's Monitor about the days 70 years ago when Concord, like many...
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