Cheesy

(Photo by Alice Wiegand)

Long before cameras were invented, people were apparently saying “cheese” with gusto.

This became evident when a 3600-year-old Chinese mummy was found to have cheese “laid out around her neck like a piece of jewelry.”

When paleogeneticist Fu Qiaomei analyzed this post-mortem adornment, she identified it as “kefir cheese” that was fermented from the milk of cows or goats. The addition of kefir bacteria helped the lactose-intolerant Xiaohe people to healthfully digest dairy. 

Over time, humans and kefir became quite compatible.  Our immune systems learned to welcome these tiny helpers into the microbial swamps we harbor within.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/worlds-oldest-cheese-found-ancient-160125930.html

 

Eight Miles Low

(Fair Use)

In 1965, the Byrds had a hit song called “Eight Miles High.”  It loosely referred to the altitude that a jet flies, although jets don’t usually go higher than seven miles up.  Nevertheless, the band that brought us an Ecclesiastes hit single should be allowed some poetic license.

In 2024, eight miles low seems more in vogue.  During August of this year, geophysicists confirmed the presence of liquid water within the Martian midcrust – “6 to 12 miles below the surface.”  In fact, there's enough down there to “fill ‘oceans’ on the planet’s surface.”

This bodes well for the theory that life once existed on Mars.  It  suggests that life might still exist within the depths of our crusty neighbor.  There are creatures at the bottom of Earth’s oceans, so why not “eight miles low” on Mars? 

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/news/scientists-first-kind-discovery-mars-190058737.html

 

Rats!

Temple of Karni Mata Deshnoke
(Gunther Jontes)

Although many humans are not the least bit fond of rats, favorable views of such creatures range from “tasty” to “downright divine.”

When folks aren’t studying, coddling, eating or even worshipping rats, they’re bent on exterminating them.  That’s because these mammalian “cousins” can be lethal to people and other species.

So what's a body to do if Mickey and Minnie come scampering their way?  Those who dwell on the Alaskan island of St. Paul (a "Galapagos of the north") will spring right into action. Known as a bird haven, St. Paul can’t afford to have rodents gnawing their way through “eggs, chicks or even adults and upending once-vibrant ecosystems.”  

Its citizens have therefore embarked upon an intense search for a single specimen that one resident allegedly saw.  Because “it took nearly a year to catch the last known rat on St. Paul,” folks will not give up until they are convinced that the island is completely Rodentia-free.

Resources

https://time.com/7023280/st-paul-island-alaska-rats/ 

It isn't what it isn't

 

Blausen.com staff (2014)

“It is what it is” is more often a sigh of resignation than it is a sign of Buddhist equanimity.  This is unfortunately the case when it comes to women’s health care.

Women, especially African-American women, tend to wait longer than men for emergency-room services.  They are often given psychological diagnoses for physical ailments such as endometriosis, fibromyalgia and cardiovascular disease.

Medical professionals might best take a cue from Michelangelo, who famously declared: “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”  Many female patients have a bodily malfunction and it is the task of the physician to discover it. 

Coming up with quick “it’s all in your head” conclusions may seem easier than whittling away at rote responses, but can ultimately be a lot less effective for all concerned.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/america-health-care-system-fails-100000151.html