Coffee and Provocation

This Entire Planet is a Seed Vault for Life
Soil and rock that is millions of years old, and thousands of feet deep, spring back to to microbial life in just days when subjected to nothing more than water. In short, life is immortal and everywhere.

Will Severe Cold Save Minnesota Ash Trees?
Extreme cold may wipe out a high percentage of emerald ash borer larvae.

GMO Chickens to Cure Cancer?

Researchers have genetically modified chickens that can lay eggs that contain drugs for arthritis and some cancers. The drugs are 100 times cheaper to produce when laid than when manufactured in factories.The researchers believe that in time production can be scaled up to produce medicines in commercial quantities. Chicken eggs are already used to make hundreds of millions of vaccine doses every year.

Try to Remember Your Teeth
The long-elusive cause of Alzheimer’s disease may be Porphyromonas gingivalis, a key bacteria in chronic gum disease.

Legally Order Pizza and Weed at the Same Time?
Marijuana delivery is now officially legal in Californnia. Marijuana tax revenues are exceeding projections in most states. With almost every US state operating a massive deficit, look for more states to legalize personal use marijuana.

Mulching With Grandpa
A bill before the Washington State Legislature would make it the first state to explicitly allow human remains to be disposed of and reduced to soil through composting. Death certificates in many states include a box that must be checked for burial or cremation, with no other options.

Hunting Numbers Decline Some More
Hunting has been in decline for a long time. The reason: it’s cold out, it’s hot out, there are bugs, there’s poison ivy, meat is cheap in the store, the neighbors aren’t cool with dressing a deer in the back yard, video games are pretty good now, there are 120 channels on TV, and ... Facebook.  The latest report is from The Chicago Tribune where, “as hunting licenses go unsold in Indiana, officials and advocates are looking for answers.”

Evolved to Exercise?
Humans require high levels of physical activity to be healthy. "Our taking fewer than 10,000 daily steps is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease. U.S. adults typically clock about 5,000 steps, which contributes to the alarming rates of type 2 diabetes, affecting one in 10 Americans, and heart disease, which accounts for a quarter of all deaths in the U.S..... Then there is all the sitting and resting. In humans, sitting at a desk or in front of the television for protracted periods is associated with increased risk of disease and a shorter life span, even among people who exercise. Worldwide, physical inactivity is arguably on par with smoking as a health risk, killing more than five million people annually. Among Scottish adults, those watching more than two hours of television a day had a 125 percent increase in cardiac events such as heart attack or stroke. A study in Australian adults reported that every hour accumulated watching television shortened life expectancy by 22 minutes. I will save you the math: bingeing all 63½ hours of Game of Thrones in its entirety will cost you one day on this planet."

Our Guys in Salisbury?
The Russian company Igroland has made a board game, on sale in Moscow, in which players retrace the route of Russian spy assassins who killed Russian residents of Salisbury, England.