Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Study: N.H. had the second-lowest death rate from COVID, partly because we trust each other
A major study has singled out New Hampshire as a model among U.S. states in response to COVID-19, having suffered virtually the lowest cumulative death rate from the pandemic. The state’s success, the study said, came about partly because of relative wealth,...
Switching a mixed bag of old buildings to electric heat is no easy task
On the long list of difficult things needed to reduce future climate change, weaning buildings off fossil fuels and onto electricity is near the top of the complexity scale. When you’re talking about a mish-mosh of old buildings in a New England town, it’s practically...
Turning on a nuke plant always goes over budget, but not turning it off
The Brattleboro Reformer reports that the decommissioning of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant is on budget and schedule: Daniels said that work on demolishing the large turbine building had begun, and that the first layer of outside paneling — a distinctive green —...
Video tells of John Sununu’s oversized role in our failure to tackle climate change
A company called Brilliant has put together a video detailing how U.S. officials and scientists were alarmed about climate change as early as the 1970's and then how a FUD (fear-uncertainty-doubt) campaign financed by various industries kept us from doing anything...
Telehealth stays even as COVID fades
From the Valley News: Dartmouth Health continues to see as many as 700 outpatients a day via telehealth, which became vital for maintaining access to care during the pandemic. That’s equivalent to about 12% of daily outpatient visits across the DH system and about 17%...
Segway-ish wheelchair gets insurance coverage, finally
More than two decades ago I was one of the reporters who got an early peek* at an eye-popping machine being developed by Dean Kamen: a motorized wheelchair that could stand up on two wheels, raising its occupant to eye level with standing adults, and also climb...
Bubble curtain may cut noise during offshore-wind construction
Some whales blow bubbles to create a rising "curtain" that helps them trap fish. The folks doing the Vineyard Wind offshore wind farm are looking into doing something similar during construction to reduce undersea noise. ReNews has the story. A bubble curtain, which...
N.H. patents through May 14
(Links to each patent can be found here, using the patent number.) By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire through May 14. *** Methods and Systems for Efficient Encrypted SNI Filtering for Cybersecurity...
From little animals, mighty oaks (and other trees) grow
From UNH News Service: Mushrooms and many other less well-known types of fungi play key roles in forested ecosystems, helping transfer nutrients and water to plants and protecting roots from parasites found in the soil. In return, the fungi receive carbon-based food...
Maine flower comes back from the extinction brink
From the Center for Biological Diversity: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that an endangered flower in Maine is recovering under the Endangered Species Act and has been downlisted to threatened status. Furbish’s lousewort is a nearly 3-foot-tall,...
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