18
POPSA long,melancholy roar Of our ancient enemies, microbes are now the most fearsome.HIV/AIDS chalked up 2 million deaths across the planet in 2007 alone; tuberculosis was close behind, with more than 1,700,000.The year before, malaria escorted almost a million people to their graves. We should be far more scared of mosquitoes than we are of bears; but we’re not. More recently, however, it’s been the case that the mammal most likely to kill a human is: a human. Murder and war have long been more important causes of death for us than predatory wild animals. But here’s the thing. Today, in many parts of the world, the human being most likely to cause your violent death is: you. Yes. You are the person most likely to kill yourself violently and on purpose. Suicide rates have risen dramatically over the past 50 years.
14
POPSThings To Make You Go Hmmm? If it's zero degrees outside today and it's supposed to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold is it going to be? Why do you press harder on a remote-control when you know the battery is dead? Why do people without a watch look at their wrist when you ask them what time it is? Why do banks charge you a "non-sufficient funds fee" on money they already know you don't have? Why do they call it the Department of Interior when they are in charge of everything outdoors? What do little birdies see when they get knocked unconscious? I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman where the self-help section was. She said if she told me it would defeat the purpose. Isn't it scary that doctors call what they do "practice?" How is it possible to have a civil war?
4
POPSWhere in the World is Global Warming a Priority? Sure, there would be a huge transfer of wealth from the developed nations to developing nations, but that’s not what Torethy Frank wants. She says, “There is too much corruption in the government and it goes in people’s pockets. Give the money directly to the people for businesses so we can support ourselves without having to rely on the government.” As David Kreutzer mentions in his Politico chat wrap, there much faster and much less expensive ways to adapt to climate change than trying to change the temperature by capping greenhouse gas emissions. Mosquito nets and attacking breeding grounds of mosquitoes and building levees to protect against potentially rising sea levels are all much cheaper but dramatically more effective than signing on to something that would prohibit these countries to develop.
1
POPSDiscovery of natural odors could help develop mosquito repellents "CO2 emitted in human breath is the main attractant for the Culex mosquito to find people, aiding the transmission of these deadly diseases," Ray said. "In our experiments we identified hexanol, and a related odor, butanal, as strong inhibitors of CO2-sensitive neurons in Culex mosquitoes. These compounds can now be used to guide research in developing novel repellents and masking agents that are economical and environmentally safe methods to block mosquitoes' ability to detect CO2 in our breath, thereby dramatically reducing mosquito-human contact." Woah, this is just great! This should be a great reason to celebrate, once thei're done with the repellent. I think there isn't one person in the planet who hasn't got mad with mosquitos at one time or another. Great news, just great.
10
POPSThe Land of ‘No Service’ "So, like it or not, coming here forces you to think about the blessings and curses of “connectivity.” “No Service” is something travelers from the developed world now pay for in order to escape modernity, with its ball and chain of e-mail. For much of Africa, though, “No Service” is a curse — because without more connectivity, its people can’t escape poverty. Can there be a balance between the two?"
12
POPSThe Story of Schroedinger's Cat (An Epic Poem) Or atom--whatever--but when it emits, A trigger device blasts the vial into bits Which snuffs our poor kitty. The odds of this crime Are 50 to 50 per hour each time. The cylinder's sealed. The hour's passed away. Is Our pussy still purring--or pushing up daisies? Now, you'd say the cat either lives or it don't But quantum mechanics is stubborn and won't. Statistically speaking, the cat (goes the joke), Is half a cat breathing and half a cat croaked. To some this may seem a ridiculous split, But quantum mechanics must answer, "Tough shit. We may not know much, but one thing's fo' sho': There's things in the cosmos that we cannot know. Shine light on electrons--you'll cause them to swerve. The act of observing disturbs the observed-- Which ruins your test. But then if there's no testing To see if a particle's moving or resting Why try to conjecture? Pure useless endeavor! We know probability--certainty, never.'
1
POPSNaked hikers to bond with nature this weekend What a bunch of nut-cases! Some people will do anything for attention. Be naked; just don't startle other folks with your weird-dom. Have some of them looked in their mirrors? Enjoy the mosquitoes, the poison ivy, the blow flies, the stickers, the sunburn, the laughter....etc....
1
POPSPool problems exists throughout the West The number of "green pool" complaints jumped to 2,800 in 2008, from about 1,600 in 2007. This year, the health district received nearly 500 complaints from January through March, an 80% increase over the same time last year.
6
POPSOperation Cat Drop More: "The solution to this new problem was to increase Borneo’s cat population – and fast. It was therefore decided that cats would have to be brought in from outside and so a cargo of live cats was parachuted into Borneo. The fact is that “Operation Cat Drop” did take place to replenish Borneo’s cat population. However, the only written evidence of the matter states that only 20 cats were dropped, together with other goods, in a special container designed to withstand the parachute drop by a large Royal Air Force cargo plane, over Bario, a remote village in northern Borneo on 13th March, 1960."
2
POPSWMD--Weapons of Mosquito Destruction "You can say we are very lucky -- the right place at the right time," says astrophysicist Szabolcs Márka, a Columbia University specialist in black holes. He has a grant to develop a "mosquito flashlight" designed to knock out the bugs' eye-like sensors. Scientists around the world are testing ways of thwarting mosquitoes with microwaves, rancid odors, poisoned blood and other weapons that disrupt the sense of sight, smell and heat mosquitoes use to find their prey. There's work on genetically altering a bacterium to infect and kill a mosquito, and a project to build a malaria-free mosquito genetically enhanced to overtake the natural kind. There's also a researcher in Japan who thinks mosquitoes can be a force for good. He is working on transforming them into "flying syringes" that deliver vaccines with every bite.
4
Pops
Newest Clips
Latest Comments
Most Pops
Print
Save
Turn on live update