So I guess I can be first, huh? Happy Memorial Day. A Monday holiday means a package that was supposed to come Saturday now won’t arrive till Tuesday. 😦 But no picnics this year. . . .
I was sitting here, droning coffee and praying for some situations. I have completed my “Quiet Time” prayers, just random thoughts. Then some of the blog came up. a phrase came to me, “Fellowship of the Blog”. I have only met Jo and Janice, but I pray for many jof you each day.
Or: The Fellowship[ of the Blog
So nice to hear that your flag is out, Chas. Ready for some sleep here. It was a long day at school. I got the custodian to mop my room before school. The other teacher had had her dog spending the day and I figured out that that was why I was sneezing all day. Much better today after I recovered from the fragrance of whatever they use to mop.
The desks are arranged in a large rectangle. Back and front face the teacher, but the sides face in and the kids are looking at each other instead of the teacher. I was teaching at the end of the day and they just kept joking with each other. I, wisely, decided to change the side desks to facing forward. We will see how tomorrow goes.
It may be the last week, but I still have to survive.
“Fellowship of the Blog” – I like that, especially as a fan of Tolkien’s trilogy.
And this: “good Sunday afternoon everyone but Jo” – I understand what you mean, but on first glance it seems like you’re excluding Jo from having a good afternoon. ;).
Good morning everyone. I set it up so that I had coverage Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. No calls, no texts, no emails. All I have done is eat, sleep, read, and lounge about in comfy clothes. I really can’t believe how much I have slept. I guess my body really needed the down time.
I haven’t taken that in years.
I should have a closing the end of this week and another on the books for August. It probably has been one of my best years in real estate and isn’t even half over. Believe me I am thankful for that.
I hope everyone has a peaceful and restful day too.
Peter: Jo and Janice are the only bloggers I have met in person.
Jo knows that.
I have recently considered, and concluded that everyone on this blog is a Christian.
I went to Publix a little after 7 a.m. to buy Alka Seltzer and Ginger Ale. On a scale of one to ten I think Art’s suffering is only at a level two with no fever but just a bit of a queasy tummy. I hope it will leave by the end of today.
Kim, that sounds divine♡ Glad you got some well deserved rest! You have been burning the candle at both ends for quite awhile. DJ does that, too, and so do the guys in my family. I suppose the cliche is called, “Making hay while the sun is up.” Sometimes the hay maker has to enjoy a good nap on the hay stack! Prayers for an excellent recouperation.
I’m up early for a “holiday.” Nice to have an extra day tacked on to the weekend. It’s chilly and overcast this morning.
Good to hear you’re getting some good rest and recuperation, Kim, and sounds like Art may be on the mend — or at least not as sick as he was last night. Nice to hear Chas got the flag out. My mom was always faithful about doing that and I’ve let that tradition go for the most part, though in the earlier 2000s I had a decorative ‘Betsy Ross’ flag I’d put out. I’ve heard they’re forbidden these days, or have some connection, perceived mostly I’d guess, to the white supremacist movement.
I had another strange “house” dream last night, I was living in a smallish log cabin but it was right next to another identical log cabin. The weird thing was it had no wall separating the two, so the desks in both places melded into one long desk. No one was living on the other side so I figured I could just use that side of the desk, too, but thought I probably shouldn’t. I was renting and though the owner of all the cabins might not like that.
~ A growing fight is unfolding across America as cities concerned about climate change consider phasing out natural gas for home cooking and heating.
Major cities including San Francisco, Seattle, Denver and New York have either enacted or proposed measures to ban or discourage the use of the fossil fuel in new homes and buildings, two years after Berkeley, Calif., passed the first such prohibition in the U.S. in 2019.
The bans in turn have led Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kansas and Louisiana to enact laws outlawing such municipal prohibitions in their states before they can spread. Ohio is considering a similar measure.
The outcome of the battle has the potential to reshape the future of the utility industry, and demand for natural gas, which the U.S. produces more of than any other country. … ~
_________________________________
I see there is a quaint little two bedroom, one bath available for 350,000. It is all about location in Pollock. In fact they are right across from where the big landslide closed the highway so traffic was redirected through their town for quite some time.
We have the electric versus gas issue here in our county. The town council of the next city north–without talking to residents– voted yes, builders took them to court. Suing galore!
Our city leaders want to do the same, and people are angry. The only thing that got some of us through the electrical shutdowns was we had gas–so we could cook, take showers, and have heat.
Many people, including us, could survive just fine with those limitations. It was just like camping only the bedding was more comfortable and you didn’t have to make a fire.
Of course, we don’t have enough electricity in our state–nor water either for that matter.
We don’t have the elements needed to make batteries–which we’d have to have to store the electricity–so somewhere else will have to do our bidding.
Newer houses (see those poor–literally at this point–people who had to rebuild after 2017 fires) cannot have gas. So, the price of old houses is soaring–because we do still have gas.
I could go on. But none of you but DJ live in this state, though Jo will return eventually. Sigh.
The purpose of government (see 1 Samuel 8) is to destroy wealth. They’re good at it out here.
But then, Michelle, if they ever do succeed in eliminating gas, all of you with gas appliances will need to get new ones, and homes with gas will become problems. Why exactly do your neighbors elect these people?
… New all-electric homes are cost-competitive with those that use gas in many parts of the country, but retrofits can be considerably more expensive, depending on the existing heating and cooking systems and the cost of effectively converting them. A recent study by San Francisco found that retrofitting all housing units that now use natural gas would cost between $3.4 billion and $5.9 billion, costs that would fall on residents, the city or both.
Induction ranges, which use magnets to heat pots and pans directly, can be more expensive to buy than gas ranges, especially in professional kitchens. Restaurant associations across the nation have raised concerns about going electric. …
… President Biden’s $1.7 trillion infrastructure plan calls for greater adoption of all-electric heat pumps and induction stoves, giving proponents hope that the government will do more to incentivize their adoption. …
… Panama Bartholomy, director of the Building Decarbonization Coalition, which supports efforts to electrify buildings throughout California, said the organization is pushing for the state to cut emissions from homes and businesses by 40% by 2030, and to adopt zero-emission building codes for each within the next few years.
“All of a sudden there’s a conversation happening that wasn’t happening two years ago,” Mr. Bartholomy said. “It’s the fastest-growing trend we’ve ever seen.”
Industry pushback has been swift, with many utilities and businesses voicing opposition to local gas bans. …
… Southern California Gas Co., a unit of Sempra Energy that is the nation’s largest gas utility, opposes bans on new hookups, arguing that customers should have the right to choose. …
Chas, yes humans were created to rule the earth. But humans are fallen and they will always mess things up. It is a bit ridiculous to try to go all electric (how is the electricity going to be generated) because it solves nothing. But buried in the ridiculousness of the modern environmental movement there is a kernel of truth, and that is that humans unchecked are very destructive of their kingdom. Doesn’t mean that environmentalists are always right, but it does mean that industrialists and developers of things are not always right too.
Phos: People always leave a trail of trash behind. Wherever they go, there is a trash pile.
Someone needs to monitor and keep hmans from disrupting other human’s existance.
You folks will have to learn to tolerate mistakes. Isee that I have made them, but can’t see well enough to find and correct them.
That’s what comes of being 91 (almost) years old.
Genetically Altered Mosquitoes Target Deadly Dengue Fever and Zika
In pioneering test, insects with a gene primed to interrupt breeding are flying in the Florida Keys
Across the Florida Keys this week, newly hatched mosquitoes are swarming from damp flowerpots, waterlogged spare tires, trash cans and drainage ditches. In six neighborhoods, however, a change is buzzing in the air. Scientists have genetically modified thousands of these mosquitoes and, for the first time in the U.S., set them free to breed.
These genetically engineered insects, known by their model number as OX5034, are a laboratory offshoot of the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits dengue, Zika and other infectious ills. After a decade of public debate and regulatory delays, these insects are being released by a U.K. biotechnology company called Oxitec.
Using genetic-engineering techniques, the company altered the male mosquitoes to pass down a gene that makes females need a dash of the antibiotic tetracycline to survive. Without it, females that spread the disease die as larvae. Altered males, which don’t bite, seek out wild females to mate and spread the lethal trait to future generations. Gradually, more females die. The swarms dwindle and disappear, with no need for chemical insecticides.
… “This is a big deal,” says molecular biologist Anthony James at the University of California, Irvine, who develops bioengineered mosquitoes but is not involved in the project.
It comes as disease-bearing mosquitoes world-wide are becoming resistant to the chemical insecticides long used to control them and rising temperatures are creating conditions for them to spread into new areas, according to scientists at Stanford University and the University of Florida, as well as many U.S. public health analysts. …
_______________________________
… As a matter of basic biology and genetics, though, the mosquito is an elusive target. “They have this amazing resilience in their genome,” says Flaminia Catteruccia at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health who helped pioneer the genetic engineering of mosquitoes. “What they’ve shown us over and over again is [that] if we are not very subtle and if we just try to kill them, they will find a way out.”
To be sure, it’s not just humankind that is tinkering with the molecular biology of Florida’s mosquitoes. The dengue virus itself is genetically engineering them to suit its own need, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health discovered.
The virus affects genes controlling the insect’s immune system, feeding behavior and ability to sense odors—all of which make it hungrier and more likely to bite, according to their research published in the journal PLOS Pathogens. In particular, the dengue virus alters two genes to make the mosquito take longer to probe for a meal, giving the virus enough time to enter the human bloodstream.
DJ, somehow, I don’t think their little experiment will work. The mosquito is a rapid adapter. Bringing back DDT wouldn’t even work, as the mosquito developed resistance to it. Before the use of pesticides against mosquitoes, other techniques, like not building in swampland and the use of bat houses were employed to keep down mosquitoes. The old techniques may need to be revived, but that would mean hard work.
Just wondering about the effect on the up level of the food chain who dine on genetically modified mosquitos. Pandora’s box keeps opening without any possibility of knowing the ultimate consequences.
Art has gotten a few bites of the delicious dessert our neighbors brought over yesterday. I have had way more than my share. Earlier Art asked for eggs and then I also made biscuits. He has not even needed the Alka Seltzer I bought early in the morning so it appears he is getting well♡
Checking back in. I’ve been awake all day. Little Miss and her Daddy came to clean the gutters today. They were long overdue. She and I sat down to rock and maybe could have taken a nap if Papa hadn’t been coming in and going out making noise.
My friend M brought us a more broth-y version of Brunswick stew. It was quite good.
If anyone finds themselves needing to drink protein drinks I highly recommend Premier. This morning I took a banana flavored one, added a banana, and some frozen strawberries As good as you could get at a smoothie shop.
Morning all. No holiday here, though we do get a few later in the year. Oh, I forgot, I believe that next week is the Queen’s birthday, a national holiday. But school will be out by then.
Whew. Got to some overdue housecleaning today. I dropped something behind the washer — the 2nd thing that’s fallen down there from the shelf above — and it’ll have to remain there. No way to get that washer moved out of that space. I think both were probably boxes or a bag of soap, but who knows.
I’m drenched, I can’t seem to clean house or water plants (did some of that in the backyard, too) without getting myself completely doused with water and cleaning solutions. I smell like Pine Sol.
Another former WMBer who has passed away was Lise. She went by a couple different pseudonyms. One was “Nana” for a while, but I forget the other one.
I’ll introduce y’all to Hubby when we all get together up there. He used to tease me that I was communicating with pretend people who don’t really exist. I thought of that when AJ and Linda came to his memorial service. “See, Honey, they do exist!” 😀
I read a brief essay/paper by Robert Godfrey today titled “Refuge for the Soul,” focusing on Ps. 57. Then I read something else that talked about the “false” refuges we sometimes seek.
____________________________
(Godfrey)
It’s a wonderful encouragement to us as we read in verse 2, “I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.” This is a wonderful reminder for us as the people of God that, even in miserable times, God has a purpose for us that He is fulfilling.
It would be a terrible thing to think that suffering is a sign that God has forgotten us or that God has neglected us. Sometimes in the midst of misery, we can fell that way. We have Psalms that express that kind of feeling….
_______________________________
Get rid of natural gas? It’s a clean burning fossil fuel. I think they want to get rid of it because of fracking, which isn’t the best way to get the gas, but it works.
Cheryl, the thing that impresses one about the First Nations is their immense dignity and patience. They have every right to be completely outraged about what happened, but while they are calling for a full inquiry, identifying the remains and accounting for them, they are also very concerned that they be given space and time to mourn and heal, and note that the country itself which committed such acts against also needs to heal by fully acknowledging the wrong and changing their ways. That the residential schools were wrong has been acknowledged, as there was a Truth and Reconciliation commission which did extensive investigation into the abuse, but not all of the commission’s recommendations have yet been implemented, and individual schools such as this one still need investigating to find out what happened to the unaccounted for children, of which the commission estimated there were over 4000.
Cheryl, it is the great tragedy of Canada that these little ones were lost and forgotten, due to a governmental bid to forcibly remove the First Nations culture and assimilate the First Nations, thereby removing the obligations we had to them in the treaties we made with them. These schools were in use at the same time that the land treaties were being increasingly violated. The story of Israel and the Gibeonites (Joshua 9 and II Samuel 21) is very relevant to Canada’s history, and I strongly suspect that the moral turpitude we suffer from now is a direct result of how we violated our word then. Actions have consequences. It is still a greater tragedy that the Church was directly involved in their loss. It wasn’t only the Catholic Church involved in running these schools, and abusing the children, as the Anglican and Congregational denominations (now know as the United Church) also did so. I am convinced the diminished influence and power of those denominations is a consequence of what they did – God warned he would take away the candle of churches who walked in disobedience. When I consider the terrible damage to the Gospel that was done, I cannot blame the First Nations who speak bitterly of the white man’s God. I just find it amazing that many First Nations still are Christians after all the supposedly Christian Church and nation did to them because of pride and greed. In the tiny community of about a thousand and a half where I was in Nunavut, there were two churches, and the Inuit too were forced into those residential schools.
Unfortunately, many of our state leaders want to copy California. So foolish. That is what you get when people are not taught to think for themselves.
We went to a graduation ceremony on Friday. I was amazed how often the praise and compliments flowed for the class. I was thinking they all must think they were God himself by the end of it all. I have no problem with appreciation and praise, but whatever happened to perspective and humility? To not promoting vanity?
Wandering Views 
So I guess I can be first, huh? Happy Memorial Day. A Monday holiday means a package that was supposed to come Saturday now won’t arrive till Tuesday. 😦 But no picnics this year. . . .
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ge evening Jo.
Good morning everyone else.
I have just put the flag out.
off to breakfast now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was sitting here, droning coffee and praying for some situations. I have completed my “Quiet Time” prayers, just random thoughts. Then some of the blog came up. a phrase came to me, “Fellowship of the Blog”. I have only met Jo and Janice, but I pray for many jof you each day.
Or: The Fellowship[ of the Blog
LikeLiked by 3 people
So nice to hear that your flag is out, Chas. Ready for some sleep here. It was a long day at school. I got the custodian to mop my room before school. The other teacher had had her dog spending the day and I figured out that that was why I was sneezing all day. Much better today after I recovered from the fragrance of whatever they use to mop.
The desks are arranged in a large rectangle. Back and front face the teacher, but the sides face in and the kids are looking at each other instead of the teacher. I was teaching at the end of the day and they just kept joking with each other. I, wisely, decided to change the side desks to facing forward. We will see how tomorrow goes.
It may be the last week, but I still have to survive.
LikeLiked by 2 people
“Fellowship of the Blog” – I like that, especially as a fan of Tolkien’s trilogy.
And this: “good Sunday afternoon everyone but Jo” – I understand what you mean, but on first glance it seems like you’re excluding Jo from having a good afternoon. ;).
LikeLiked by 3 people
Good morning, Fellowship of the Blog.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good morning everyone. I set it up so that I had coverage Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. No calls, no texts, no emails. All I have done is eat, sleep, read, and lounge about in comfy clothes. I really can’t believe how much I have slept. I guess my body really needed the down time.
I haven’t taken that in years.
I should have a closing the end of this week and another on the books for August. It probably has been one of my best years in real estate and isn’t even half over. Believe me I am thankful for that.
I hope everyone has a peaceful and restful day too.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Peter: Jo and Janice are the only bloggers I have met in person.
Jo knows that.
I have recently considered, and concluded that everyone on this blog is a Christian.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Good’ay, all!
I went to Publix a little after 7 a.m. to buy Alka Seltzer and Ginger Ale. On a scale of one to ten I think Art’s suffering is only at a level two with no fever but just a bit of a queasy tummy. I hope it will leave by the end of today.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fellowship of the Blog sounds just right, Chas!
LikeLike
Yes, Chas. All Christian with plans to hopefully have a grand meetup in heaven one day. KBells is already waiting for us all.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kim, that sounds divine♡ Glad you got some well deserved rest! You have been burning the candle at both ends for quite awhile. DJ does that, too, and so do the guys in my family. I suppose the cliche is called, “Making hay while the sun is up.” Sometimes the hay maker has to enjoy a good nap on the hay stack! Prayers for an excellent recouperation.
LikeLike
As is VS. However, not convinced HRW is on board.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m up early for a “holiday.” Nice to have an extra day tacked on to the weekend. It’s chilly and overcast this morning.
Good to hear you’re getting some good rest and recuperation, Kim, and sounds like Art may be on the mend — or at least not as sick as he was last night. Nice to hear Chas got the flag out. My mom was always faithful about doing that and I’ve let that tradition go for the most part, though in the earlier 2000s I had a decorative ‘Betsy Ross’ flag I’d put out. I’ve heard they’re forbidden these days, or have some connection, perceived mostly I’d guess, to the white supremacist movement.
I had another strange “house” dream last night, I was living in a smallish log cabin but it was right next to another identical log cabin. The weird thing was it had no wall separating the two, so the desks in both places melded into one long desk. No one was living on the other side so I figured I could just use that side of the desk, too, but thought I probably shouldn’t. I was renting and though the owner of all the cabins might not like that.
LikeLiked by 2 people
So you ended up in Pollock rather than Winchester? Nice place down along the river. Watch for rattle snakes and skunks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hmmm. From the WSJ:
Battle Brews Over Banning Natural Gas to Homes
Cities are considering measures to phase out gas hookups amid climate concerns, spurring some states to outlaw such prohibitions
https://www.wsj.com/articles/battle-brews-over-banning-natural-gas-to-homes-11622334674
_________________________
~ A growing fight is unfolding across America as cities concerned about climate change consider phasing out natural gas for home cooking and heating.
Major cities including San Francisco, Seattle, Denver and New York have either enacted or proposed measures to ban or discourage the use of the fossil fuel in new homes and buildings, two years after Berkeley, Calif., passed the first such prohibition in the U.S. in 2019.
The bans in turn have led Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kansas and Louisiana to enact laws outlawing such municipal prohibitions in their states before they can spread. Ohio is considering a similar measure.
The outcome of the battle has the potential to reshape the future of the utility industry, and demand for natural gas, which the U.S. produces more of than any other country. … ~
_________________________________
LikeLiked by 1 person
mumsee, yes, I figured it was really an “Idaho” dream.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I see there is a quaint little two bedroom, one bath available for 350,000. It is all about location in Pollock. In fact they are right across from where the big landslide closed the highway so traffic was redirected through their town for quite some time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We have the electric versus gas issue here in our county. The town council of the next city north–without talking to residents– voted yes, builders took them to court. Suing galore!
Our city leaders want to do the same, and people are angry. The only thing that got some of us through the electrical shutdowns was we had gas–so we could cook, take showers, and have heat.
Many people, including us, could survive just fine with those limitations. It was just like camping only the bedding was more comfortable and you didn’t have to make a fire.
Of course, we don’t have enough electricity in our state–nor water either for that matter.
We don’t have the elements needed to make batteries–which we’d have to have to store the electricity–so somewhere else will have to do our bidding.
Newer houses (see those poor–literally at this point–people who had to rebuild after 2017 fires) cannot have gas. So, the price of old houses is soaring–because we do still have gas.
I could go on. But none of you but DJ live in this state, though Jo will return eventually. Sigh.
The purpose of government (see 1 Samuel 8) is to destroy wealth. They’re good at it out here.
LikeLiked by 2 people
But then, Michelle, if they ever do succeed in eliminating gas, all of you with gas appliances will need to get new ones, and homes with gas will become problems. Why exactly do your neighbors elect these people?
LikeLike
Tellme again.
If you don’t have gas, what do you have?
LikeLike
obviously: God made a mistake when he put people on this planet.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Here it is hydroelectric and the ongoing discussion of whether or not to breach the dams so the salmon can get up easier.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Though we do have nuclear reactors and do accomodate other states nuclear waste so maybe that is where we are headed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
More from that article:
_______________________
… New all-electric homes are cost-competitive with those that use gas in many parts of the country, but retrofits can be considerably more expensive, depending on the existing heating and cooking systems and the cost of effectively converting them. A recent study by San Francisco found that retrofitting all housing units that now use natural gas would cost between $3.4 billion and $5.9 billion, costs that would fall on residents, the city or both.
Induction ranges, which use magnets to heat pots and pans directly, can be more expensive to buy than gas ranges, especially in professional kitchens. Restaurant associations across the nation have raised concerns about going electric. …
… President Biden’s $1.7 trillion infrastructure plan calls for greater adoption of all-electric heat pumps and induction stoves, giving proponents hope that the government will do more to incentivize their adoption. …
… Panama Bartholomy, director of the Building Decarbonization Coalition, which supports efforts to electrify buildings throughout California, said the organization is pushing for the state to cut emissions from homes and businesses by 40% by 2030, and to adopt zero-emission building codes for each within the next few years.
“All of a sudden there’s a conversation happening that wasn’t happening two years ago,” Mr. Bartholomy said. “It’s the fastest-growing trend we’ve ever seen.”
Industry pushback has been swift, with many utilities and businesses voicing opposition to local gas bans. …
… Southern California Gas Co., a unit of Sempra Energy that is the nation’s largest gas utility, opposes bans on new hookups, arguing that customers should have the right to choose. …
________________________
LikeLiked by 1 person
“It’s the fastest-growing trend we’ve ever seen.”
We love our trends out here
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just think how peaceful Earth would be without people?
LikeLike
Chas, yes humans were created to rule the earth. But humans are fallen and they will always mess things up. It is a bit ridiculous to try to go all electric (how is the electricity going to be generated) because it solves nothing. But buried in the ridiculousness of the modern environmental movement there is a kernel of truth, and that is that humans unchecked are very destructive of their kingdom. Doesn’t mean that environmentalists are always right, but it does mean that industrialists and developers of things are not always right too.
LikeLiked by 3 people
developers of *fossil fuels
LikeLike
Here in Canada, a different memorial is happening today, one for children of a First Nation who died while under the charge of a residential school: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tk-eml%C3%BAps-te-secw%C3%A9pemc-215-children-former-kamloops-indian-residential-school-1.6043778
LikeLiked by 1 person
Phos: People always leave a trail of trash behind. Wherever they go, there is a trash pile.
Someone needs to monitor and keep hmans from disrupting other human’s existance.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You folks will have to learn to tolerate mistakes. Isee that I have made them, but can’t see well enough to find and correct them.
That’s what comes of being 91 (almost) years old.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Then there are mosquitos.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/genetically-altered-mosquitoes-target-deadly-dengue-fever-and-zika-11622476316
____________________
Genetically Altered Mosquitoes Target Deadly Dengue Fever and Zika
In pioneering test, insects with a gene primed to interrupt breeding are flying in the Florida Keys
Across the Florida Keys this week, newly hatched mosquitoes are swarming from damp flowerpots, waterlogged spare tires, trash cans and drainage ditches. In six neighborhoods, however, a change is buzzing in the air. Scientists have genetically modified thousands of these mosquitoes and, for the first time in the U.S., set them free to breed.
These genetically engineered insects, known by their model number as OX5034, are a laboratory offshoot of the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits dengue, Zika and other infectious ills. After a decade of public debate and regulatory delays, these insects are being released by a U.K. biotechnology company called Oxitec.
Using genetic-engineering techniques, the company altered the male mosquitoes to pass down a gene that makes females need a dash of the antibiotic tetracycline to survive. Without it, females that spread the disease die as larvae. Altered males, which don’t bite, seek out wild females to mate and spread the lethal trait to future generations. Gradually, more females die. The swarms dwindle and disappear, with no need for chemical insecticides.
… “This is a big deal,” says molecular biologist Anthony James at the University of California, Irvine, who develops bioengineered mosquitoes but is not involved in the project.
It comes as disease-bearing mosquitoes world-wide are becoming resistant to the chemical insecticides long used to control them and rising temperatures are creating conditions for them to spread into new areas, according to scientists at Stanford University and the University of Florida, as well as many U.S. public health analysts. …
_______________________________
LikeLike
(cont’d):
… As a matter of basic biology and genetics, though, the mosquito is an elusive target. “They have this amazing resilience in their genome,” says Flaminia Catteruccia at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health who helped pioneer the genetic engineering of mosquitoes. “What they’ve shown us over and over again is [that] if we are not very subtle and if we just try to kill them, they will find a way out.”
To be sure, it’s not just humankind that is tinkering with the molecular biology of Florida’s mosquitoes. The dengue virus itself is genetically engineering them to suit its own need, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health discovered.
The virus affects genes controlling the insect’s immune system, feeding behavior and ability to sense odors—all of which make it hungrier and more likely to bite, according to their research published in the journal PLOS Pathogens. In particular, the dengue virus alters two genes to make the mosquito take longer to probe for a meal, giving the virus enough time to enter the human bloodstream.
LikeLike
DJ, somehow, I don’t think their little experiment will work. The mosquito is a rapid adapter. Bringing back DDT wouldn’t even work, as the mosquito developed resistance to it. Before the use of pesticides against mosquitoes, other techniques, like not building in swampland and the use of bat houses were employed to keep down mosquitoes. The old techniques may need to be revived, but that would mean hard work.
LikeLike
It’s definitely something of a moving target
I’ll have to remind myself to put repellant on now that summer is here. I’ve already had a few bites from these new guys.
LikeLike
Just wondering about the effect on the up level of the food chain who dine on genetically modified mosquitos. Pandora’s box keeps opening without any possibility of knowing the ultimate consequences.
LikeLike
Art has gotten a few bites of the delicious dessert our neighbors brought over yesterday. I have had way more than my share. Earlier Art asked for eggs and then I also made biscuits. He has not even needed the Alka Seltzer I bought early in the morning so it appears he is getting well♡
LikeLiked by 2 people
Checking back in. I’ve been awake all day. Little Miss and her Daddy came to clean the gutters today. They were long overdue. She and I sat down to rock and maybe could have taken a nap if Papa hadn’t been coming in and going out making noise.
My friend M brought us a more broth-y version of Brunswick stew. It was quite good.
If anyone finds themselves needing to drink protein drinks I highly recommend Premier. This morning I took a banana flavored one, added a banana, and some frozen strawberries As good as you could get at a smoothie shop.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Morning all. No holiday here, though we do get a few later in the year. Oh, I forgot, I believe that next week is the Queen’s birthday, a national holiday. But school will be out by then.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The “Queen’s birthday?
Are youl stil part of the Empire:
LikeLiked by 1 person
I
LikeLike
Whew. Got to some overdue housecleaning today. I dropped something behind the washer — the 2nd thing that’s fallen down there from the shelf above — and it’ll have to remain there. No way to get that washer moved out of that space. I think both were probably boxes or a bag of soap, but who knows.
I’m drenched, I can’t seem to clean house or water plants (did some of that in the backyard, too) without getting myself completely doused with water and cleaning solutions. I smell like Pine Sol.
LikeLiked by 1 person
At least you smell clean
LikeLiked by 3 people
Yes, Chas, PNG is part of the Commonwealth. And we drive on the other side of the road. Though I mostly just drive to miss people and potholes!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Another former WMBer who has passed away was Lise. She went by a couple different pseudonyms. One was “Nana” for a while, but I forget the other one.
I’ll introduce y’all to Hubby when we all get together up there. He used to tease me that I was communicating with pretend people who don’t really exist. I thought of that when AJ and Linda came to his memorial service. “See, Honey, they do exist!” 😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
I did not know that Jo.
LikeLike
Pretend people. Yep, that’s us.
I read a brief essay/paper by Robert Godfrey today titled “Refuge for the Soul,” focusing on Ps. 57. Then I read something else that talked about the “false” refuges we sometimes seek.
____________________________
(Godfrey)
It’s a wonderful encouragement to us as we read in verse 2, “I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.” This is a wonderful reminder for us as the people of God that, even in miserable times, God has a purpose for us that He is fulfilling.
It would be a terrible thing to think that suffering is a sign that God has forgotten us or that God has neglected us. Sometimes in the midst of misery, we can fell that way. We have Psalms that express that kind of feeling….
_______________________________
LikeLiked by 2 people
Get rid of natural gas? It’s a clean burning fossil fuel. I think they want to get rid of it because of fracking, which isn’t the best way to get the gas, but it works.
LikeLike
Roscuro, that’s a horrific story, and I bet it brings much grief and anger.
LikeLike
Cheryl, the thing that impresses one about the First Nations is their immense dignity and patience. They have every right to be completely outraged about what happened, but while they are calling for a full inquiry, identifying the remains and accounting for them, they are also very concerned that they be given space and time to mourn and heal, and note that the country itself which committed such acts against also needs to heal by fully acknowledging the wrong and changing their ways. That the residential schools were wrong has been acknowledged, as there was a Truth and Reconciliation commission which did extensive investigation into the abuse, but not all of the commission’s recommendations have yet been implemented, and individual schools such as this one still need investigating to find out what happened to the unaccounted for children, of which the commission estimated there were over 4000.
LikeLike
Roscuro, how do you “lose” four thousand children without anyone noticing? Heartbreaking.
LikeLike
Cheryl, it is the great tragedy of Canada that these little ones were lost and forgotten, due to a governmental bid to forcibly remove the First Nations culture and assimilate the First Nations, thereby removing the obligations we had to them in the treaties we made with them. These schools were in use at the same time that the land treaties were being increasingly violated. The story of Israel and the Gibeonites (Joshua 9 and II Samuel 21) is very relevant to Canada’s history, and I strongly suspect that the moral turpitude we suffer from now is a direct result of how we violated our word then. Actions have consequences. It is still a greater tragedy that the Church was directly involved in their loss. It wasn’t only the Catholic Church involved in running these schools, and abusing the children, as the Anglican and Congregational denominations (now know as the United Church) also did so. I am convinced the diminished influence and power of those denominations is a consequence of what they did – God warned he would take away the candle of churches who walked in disobedience. When I consider the terrible damage to the Gospel that was done, I cannot blame the First Nations who speak bitterly of the white man’s God. I just find it amazing that many First Nations still are Christians after all the supposedly Christian Church and nation did to them because of pride and greed. In the tiny community of about a thousand and a half where I was in Nunavut, there were two churches, and the Inuit too were forced into those residential schools.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A very sad thing for sure.
Unfortunately, many of our state leaders want to copy California. So foolish. That is what you get when people are not taught to think for themselves.
We went to a graduation ceremony on Friday. I was amazed how often the praise and compliments flowed for the class. I was thinking they all must think they were God himself by the end of it all. I have no problem with appreciation and praise, but whatever happened to perspective and humility? To not promoting vanity?
LikeLike
/Good night Jo.
Good morning everyone else.
I”ve already had breakfast.
So? Up and at;em.
LikeLike
Time to sleep
LikeLike