Friday, January 21, 2022

Friday links: 21 January, 2022

 Good morning, and happy Friday! I love the two days of being able to sleep in. My daughter often crawls in with us in the early hours of the morning, which is super sweet, but she and my husband are having an indoor campout tonight, so I’ll have the whole bed to myself- until the cat comes in to share my space. Then I’ll be perched on the edge and unable to move half the night, as usual. ;)

Here are the things I found interesting online this week! I’m trying to balance it out a little more and not have SO much doom-and-gloom. It’s tough out there and not always easy to find stories that illustrate the more positive things!

 

Some COVID Patients Need Amputations to Survive

Oof. I’ve seen this. There’s a guy I keep an eye on on Facebook- healthy, about my age, who thought COVID was no big deal, the government was being too controlling, and there was no way he would EVER get vaccinated. And then he got COVID. And then both his legs had to be amputated. He’s not the only one out there like this, either (anyone want to hear about the man whose leg ended up looking like a burnt hot dog thanks to compartment syndrome?). COVID is a nasty disease, and the number of people who continue to claim it’s nothing but the sniffles absolutely floors me when there are stories out there like these.

 

Genetic risk factor found for COVID-19 smell and taste loss, researchers say

Science! At my house, it’s all science, all the time; that’s what happens when you’re married to a molecular biologist whose specialty is genetics. That this has a genetic component to it doesn’t surprise me at all; our genetics determine SO much of our lives, even things you wouldn’t necessarily think of. I’ve gotten quite the science education throughout our marriage! But this is just one of those things that goes to show that COVID can easily turn into a huge problem for a certain subset of people, only they won’t know it until it’s too late (having no sense of smell or taste could be so dangerous. You wouldn’t know if your food was rotten. You couldn’t smell smoke in your house, or smell if your baby’s diaper needed a change). I feel so bad for the people who have been dealing with this.

And for some happier links…

 

A Couple Dressed as Bees Use Spice Shakers to Spread Native Wildflower Seeds Across San Francisco

Now these are the heroes we need! I love this kind of renegade gardening. The more pollinating plants to attract pollinators, the better off we are, and who couldn’t use a few more flowers in life? This makes me want to set up a seed-filled spice shaker of my own!

And finally…

 

A major study says that at least 65 species of animals laugh

Here’s a little bit of cuteness to start your weekend off right! Animals laugh, too! We’ve all seen pictures of animals looking like they’re smiling, and now we can listen to them laugh. The foxes laughing absolutely kill me, and the rat coming back for more tickles is absolutely adorable. You definitely don’t want to miss this!

 

And that’s all, folks! Stay warm and toasty and SAFE this weekend, whatever you’re doing. Our plan is to spend some of Saturday with my mother-in-law, and we’ll be as safe as humanly possible about it, testing before going (she had COVID over Christmas; my nephew is tested weekly at school). I have books and crafting to occupy the rest of my time, so I’m looking forward to all of that. Shalom, friends. : )

2 comments:

  1. Love the positive stories. I am a lab person and my majors in University were Microbiology (with a smattering of virology) and Biochemistry. We are all about the science here as well.

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    1. That is so cool!!! I was never a great science student growing up, but looking back, I think a LOT of that had to do with how it was taught. I never had science teachers who made it interesting. I'm fascinated by it these days! :)

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