quotes

Quote: Life

When people walk away, let them.
Your future is not about people who walk away.
It’s about the people who stay in it for the ride.

history, links, medical, science

Your Interesting Links

Lots of science-y bits again in this months offering …
Science & Medicine
I wonder when humans first started pondering about aliens? Well certainly they were in medieval times.
On the discovery of dinosaurs among us.
So what would you guess is the world’s deadliest poison? Well here are five of the top contenders.
Clean water. We all depend on it, but do you know what happens to it between its source and your tap? Simple explainer from Compound Interest.
Hugs generally feel good. Now researchers are beginning to understand why.


Wow! In what looks a stunning piece of work some neuroscientists have been able to create an atlas showing how words are organised in the brain. The implications could be worrying though.
Next up another stunning piece of research and development … A biotech company has developed a DNA sequencer that fits in a pocket and will go literally anywhere. Of course it is still expensive, but that should change. [Long read]
More new work shows that women get healthier after their husbands die. It must be finally having been able to stop doing childcare.
So really how do female astronauts cope with menstruation? Seems it is currently most down to persona choice.
Sexuality
So here are some of those sex myths debunked.
Here’s the story of a childless young lady who chose to be sterilised in her 20s and 40 years later she hasn’t regretted it, despite the harassment.
Social Sciences & Business
Bodyhackers: people who ave stuff implanted in them, like the microchips we put in our cats and dogs. They’re all around us. And most of them are women.

Language
Speed-reading. Too good to be true? Well that’s what the latest research is telling us.
History
Here’s an interesting piece on the early history of London’s St Paul’s Cathedral.

Archaeological divers found a 400-year-old dress in a shipwreck off the Netherlands. And it seems it sheds light on plot to pawn crown jewels.
The oddities of maritime history … the SS Baychimo, one of the strangest ghost ships on record sailing unmanned for 38 years.
Food & Drink
Well the French may call them pissenlit, but the humble dandelion is an interesting and useful herb. I remember when I was a kid we made both dandelion wine (lots of flowers) and dandelion coffee (from the roots). Love the illustrations too.
Out there are some amazing heirloom breeds: from woolly pigs to deodorant squash. And they’re vanishing, which is a shame as we’re losing some rich variety.
Shock, Horror, Humour
And finally … If you live near the sea what do you do with all the flotsam you find? If you’re artist Stuart Haygarth you sort it all to make interesting collections of weirdness.
More at the end of the month.

photography

Weekly Photograph

Another doggie picture this week. Well, this one isn’t so much a dog as a bear. I certainly wouldn’t like to have to keep the animal in meat! Spotted at Castle Howard a few weeks ago.

Shaggy Dog
Not So Much a Dog, More a Bear
Castle Howard, April 2016

amusements, environment, history, science

Oddity of the Week: Curly Pigs

The Mangalica (or Mangalitsa) is a Hungarian breed of domestic pig. It was developed in the mid-19th century by cross-breeding Hungarian breeds from Szalonta and Bakony with the Serbian Šumadija breed.


The Mangalica pig grows a thick, woolly coat similar to that of a sheep. It is a quick-growing, “fat-type” hog which does not require any special care, hence its popularity in Hungary.
The only other pig breed noted for having a long coat is the extinct English breed the Lincolnshire Curly Coat.
Lots more on Wikipedia.

photography

Weekly Photograph

This week’s photograph is for Sue … One very mucky small terrier seen a couple of weeks ago on York station. Heaven knows where it had been as it wasn’t exactly a wet day.

mucky-pup-s
Mucky Pup
York Station; April 2016

words

Word: Flocculate

Flocculate
1. (v) To cause individual particles suspended in a liquid to aggregate into small clumps or cloudy masses which often remain for some time suspended in the liquid rather than falling quickly to the bottom. (See diagram below.)
2. (n) The masses resulting from such flocculation.


Flocculation of suspended algae from pond water

Surprisingly the word was not in use until the mid-19th century.

current affairs, freedom of speech

Opinions

Guys, can we get this one straight once and for all?
Barack Obama is a human being.
As such he is entitled to an opinion on anything and everything.
Moreover he is entitled to express that opinion.
Whether you like this or not is irrelevant.
End of.

current affairs, medical

Boost for GP Services

NHS in £2.4bn funding boost for GP services in England says the BBC News headline.
So OK, our hard-pressed GPs are going to get a funding increase over the next four years which will pay for 5000 more GPs and the same number of other GP practice clinicians (nurses, pharmacists etc.). There will also be:
– a relaxation of rules to make it easier to renovate premises or build new ones
– a public campaign to encourage junior doctors to become GPs
– the recruitment of 500 doctors from abroad to boost numbers.
While any extra help for GPs is to be welcomed, this does beg lots of questions, including:

  • Is this actually new money, or is some other part of the NHS being salami-sliced to find the cash?
  • Where does the government think it is going to find 5000 new GPs in four years, especially if only 500 are coming from overseas? Remember, it takes 10 years to train a GP from scratch and at least 4 years if they are already finishing their basic medical training. Oh and we’ve been hearing this “5000 new GPs” for the last 2 years or more, so this isn’t new!
  • What good is a public campaign going to be to encourage junior doctors to become GPs? It isn’t the public who need convincing, but medical students.
  • It is all very fine relaxing the rules on renovating/building premises, but this doesn’t help unless there is the money to do the work … and there’s no sign of that! [Just as an example, my GP’s have had planning permission for a small extension for 2 years or more, but so far no funding.]
  • Yes, we need more GPs, but existing practices also need a general funding boost as they are struggling not just with workload but the ability to pay for all the things they have to do. [You want the phones answered quicker? That means extra reception staff and they have to be paid.]

So yes, good, but …