Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
How big is a virus? ~ (1 / Earth)
I'm going through books on my shelf, looking for things to discard. Reading Rudy Rucker's "Mind Tools" I came across this tidbit, driving home how tiny viruses are: "The Earth's diameter is about 10^7 meters, and a virus is about 10^-7 meters across. So compared to a...
Hiking the AT is a bad idea right now
UPDATE: Since I posted this two days ago, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy is asking people to stay off the AT, even for day hikes. Hiking the Appalachian Trail might seen like a perfect way to get through the COVID shutdown of life - I'm laid off, so let's do that...
Open-source community looks at medical device shortage
At least one New Hampshire member of the Makerspace community - Adam Shrey, one of the leaders of MakeIt Labs in Nashua, the state's first makerspace - is involved in an effort to create open-source medical equipment. I talked to Ja’dan Johnson in Flordia, who's...
NH Tech Alliance webinar for businesses in the time of COVID
Tomorrow (Friday, march 20) the New Hampshire Tech Alliance will hold a webinar on "options available to New Hampshire businesses struggling with many sudden changes. This webinar is free and open to all. It will also be recorded and immediate available to everyone...
Yes, the COVID virus is natural
There's no New Hampshire angle to this, but in the light of some wacko speculation it seems useful: From Scripps Research The COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic has a natural origin, scientists say LA JOLLA, CA – March 17 – The novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that...
Science Cafe NH is on hold, so why not revisit a few
Science Cafe New Hampshire is on a COVID19 timeout, both in Concord and Nashua. Very sad, I know, but this gives you the opportunity to make a video stroll through some cafes that you missed. To properly set the Science Cafe scene, make dinner and grab a beer or other...
‘Live free or die’ has a new meaning right now
In the age of COVID-19 “Live Free or Die” takes on a whole new meaning, because a virus is not a terrorist. Doubling down on normal life – living free – was a proper response after 9/11 to show terrorists that Americans weren’t cowed by their attack. Doubling down on...
Antibiotic fights root cause of Lyme disease (in mice, that is)
From Stanford University, a glimmer of hope for fighting Lyme disease - with the proviso that this has only been tested in mice and petri dishes, and many results don't translate from there to humans: A new Stanford Medicine study in lab dishes and mice provides...
Even in the midst of chaos, we need flowers
In a desperate attempt to think about something other than COVID-19 and quarantines, I was happy to get this press release from UNH: By Lori Wright, UNH News Service: New Hampshire has seen a dramatic increase in cut flower farms, underscoring the need for reliable...
Covid kludge hand bandana pushback
A number of readers were highly unimpressed with my Covid kludge (or kluge) of carrying a bandana around and using it as hand protection for doorknobs, etc. Better than gloves, which get in the way of everything else, and always available unlike a paper towel. They...
Return to the Concord Monitor