Extreme El Niños

Especially extreme El Niños are supposed to be twice as frequent this century because of climate change. They happen when warm water spreads east across the Pacific pushing rainfall with it. These rains cause flooding in the Americas and drought in Australia. Africa can be impacted by them too. El Niño used to be defined by water temperature but more recently weather researchers are defining them by rainfall and other impacts on weather and this makes more sense to me. Extreme El Niños are predicted to occur once a decade from 1990 to 2090. In the previous 100 years one occurred only once very twenty years. In the case of an extreme El Niño usually dry regions in South America can receive ten times the usual amount of rainfall but even the normal El Niños bring more drought and rain extremes. Even though a moderate to strong El Niño is expected to form this fall and winter, it isn't expected to be strong enough to bring relief to drought stricken California. Here is to hoping the weathermen are wrong about that. I have really been enjoying the weather in Southeastern GA with my grandchildren since school has let out, not too hot so far and afternoon storms seem to be holding off until we've had time to enjoy the day. El Niño could negatively impact that too. I’m hoping it won’t. 

Summer Time Is Grandkid Time

This is true around this house anyway and I love the summer time visits. There is swimming, the beach, going to the park, and lots of watermelon. It’s fun to see the interaction between the cousins of different ages too. When the pets get into mix it’s even more fun even when the cats and Lily aren't seeing eye to eye.

Carnivorous Plant Goes Vegetarian`

Wow, if they can why not me, was my first thought. My second thought was that my combat vegetarian grandson would really like knowing about this.

So the plant I’m talking about isn't the Venus flytrap but rather a pitcher plant. Pitcher plants usually use the scent of their sweet nectar to lure unsuspecting insects to their drowning (in the bottom of the pitcher) deaths where they are then consumed. Pitcher plants grow predominately in nitrogen poor soils and thus get their nitrogen from the insects they trap and sustain themselves on…unless they are vegetarians and scientists have found that some are. In particular the pitcher plants in southeast Asia that are big enough to trap small mammals have gone vegetarian but those same small mammals contribute to their diet, just not in the way one would think when pondering carnivorous plant appetites. Upon observation (24 hour surveillance cameras) some of the giant pitchers do lure small mammals that in order to get the sweet nectar on the lid of the pitcher perch precariously on the pitcher’s rim. Instead of falling in they poop and their droppings plop in. This is the source of nitrogen the pitcher plants sustain themselves on. Other pitcher plants line the ground below the rainforest canopy catching leaf litter that decomposes in their pitchers providing even more vegetarian style nitrogen (than poop).

So here is my question when all was read and done and I sat down to ponder this…Are carnivorous plants gone vegetarian, cannibals?

Sugar, the Next Big Tobacco

Maybe not exactly, because sugar isn't prohibited to minors, but there are some striking similarities between sugar and tobacco. Both are backed by powerful political lobbies paid for by powerful behind the scenes industries. Both have powerful addictive qualities. Both are detrimental to our health and despite the fact that we may want them we really don’t need either one. The sugar I am referring to here is the highly (and chemically) refined stuff that doesn't occur in nature, namely high fructose corn syrup and sucrose (table sugar).

Look at the health issues first…Fructose, an ingredient in table sugar and high fructose corn syrup is metabolized in the liver almost exclusively and when converted to fat can scar the liver and lead to inflammation and cirrhosis. Fructose is also a simple sugar found naturally in fruit but it doesn't play an essential role in human metabolism like other sugars (glucose) found naturally occurring in carbs like starch. Fructose (unlike glucose) is not regulated by insulin and has been blamed for an increase in obesity and diabetes. Fructose consumption has also been shown to boost levels of triglycerides in the blood leading to heart disease and hardening of the arteries.

The World Health Organization is now taking a closer look at sugar’s dangers. Its Nutrition Guidance Expert Advisory Group is carrying out a review of evidence with a view toward making recommendations. I’m taking a closer look at food labels and finding that there is a lot of missing info as far as sugars goes in processed food, all the more reason to consider clean eating and avoid the processed stuff as much as possible.   

Secondary Drowning

The words secondary drowning kept popping out at me from several online news sources so I finally succumbed to reading to find out what it’s all about. The good news is that it’s not always fatal, though it can be. For some reason the word drowning always suggests a fatal or near fatal experience to me. Nevertheless, here is the definition of secondary drowning. Nonfatal or "secondary drowning" occurs when there has been an event (the child goes under and has to be pulled out or rescued) in the water and the child appears to have recovered and has been fine for a time. It is very rare, and is actually a pneumonia-like condition. Some water (from the pool or where ever the child has been rescued from) remains in the child’s lungs and insidiously creates breathing problems that can lead to death well after the “event.” This is why after a near drowning event it is a good idea to watch your child carefully and even consider getting them checked out at the ER. The parent sharing this info stated that the secondary drowning started with a later round of coughing and a distinct difference in her child’s behavior and activity level. Other things to watch for are labored breathing or shortness of breath that isn't always easily observed in youngsters. Interestingly, on a side note, a child can aspirate a peanut or particle of food (breath something into a lung while choking on something they are eating) and once lodged there, the body produces fluid in the lung around the object just like in secondary drowning. Basically secondary drowning isn't only second to a first near drowning. As the grandparent of an asthmatic grandchild I am always on the alert for chest tightness and shallow breathing issues so I hope I would recognize the signs of secondary drowning.

On another side note, I recently took my husband’s potcake out into the water for a swimming lesson at the beach and after going under at first she managed to doggie paddle to where the water was shallow enough for her to stand. The event didn’t slow her activity level in the slightest when we got back up on the beach either so I figure dogs (at least this one) aren't candidates for secondary drowning.

Despite the side note about the pup, secondary drowning isn't something to take lightly. The best defense is to keep a close eye on your child but even when you do they can slip under in an instant so the next best thing is to be alert for the signs of secondary drowning even after you fish them out and think they're in the clear. 

Disabled or Differently Abled?

I was reading about some new scientific advances in correcting deafness, I mean restoring hearing, with gene therapy. These advances using gene therapy will be much better than plain old hearing aids which just amplify sounds or even fancier cochlear implants that not everyone can use. But there are some folks that think deafness is not a disability that needs curing and instead they tend to identify with the rich culture of the deaf community. Even so I wonder if they might not be interested in having hear restored over the fixes we have today. The next big things on the horizon that I read about are more advances in biomedical technology that will create more was to be differently abled than ever before. Some examples are hearing aids that pick up wifi signals, spectacles that are really headsets like Google Glass, and walking sticks that become multifunctional prosthetic limbs. Science won’t just be fixing impaired senses. It’s already creating new ways for us to use in sensing our world too. 

ISEE-3 Phone Home, You’re No Longer Lost in Space!

Amateur astro-engineers (a team of crowd funded students at Space College) took control of the vintage spacecraft called the International Sun-Earth Explorer, originally launched in 1978. How cool is that! The team worked together and created a software simulation of the outdated hardware needed to contact ISEE-3, and finally, reached out and touched the 36-year-old spacecraft. Getting it back into an Earth orbit is another challenge that will require an assessment of the spacecraft's overall health and refinement of the techniques required to fire its engines. But if the team is successful they could send ISEE-3 on new missions. Makes me wonder how many other purportedly defunct satellites, spacecraft, and space junk could be repurposed and made useful once again.