Weekend Diversion: Night Of The Ponies
Pedway, First Store Open At Block 37
Around Town
Around Town
Red-Light Cameras Not So Special?
Just so you know, nobody is going to let you forget about global warming for more than five minutes. Whether it's Al Gore's tears, your alderman's lightbulbs, or Blackle, somebody's always got some new way to save the earth and they want to bend your ear about it while they are driving home. The newest thing you should be worried about? How global warming is going to affect your health.
About 12,000 physicians, health care professionals, researchers and other scholarly people are in Chicago today to attend the American Society for Microbiology's conference on germs. The keynote address will be on the issue of global warming and how it will affect the rate of disease in humans, including the possible (and probable) rise of insect-borne diseases like malaria.
Global warming could also be linked to the flu, since it passes fluidly in warmer climates on a year-wide basis. That kind of freaks us out, and anyone else who is afraid of getting on an enclosed train car/using a public toilet/touching anything/sitting in an office during flu season. Because while we wash our hands, we all know you don't. So many of you don’t, in fact, that conference attendees will discuss hand-washing. Other major concerns: super germs and the soccer moms who cause them.
Other scheduled presentations will be given on the increasing amount of drug-resistant germs and how they might be passing staph infections via their fancy white coats. Even if they are, we are incredibly glad this group is talking about all this stuff. We're a lot more impressed with their credentials than our friend who bought solar panels for the garage that houses his SUV.
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haha that's great! do you think any of them will be liveblogging from the conference? thanks for sharing!
Great video of city worker loafing all day.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3015909396413573331
Funny he got caught.
You know what this post could use? More links!
I work in a hospital and I see med students and doctors wear their white coats everywhere--from the bathroom to the patients to the cafeteria. Disgusting. If only some of them could drop their egos and status (because, in general, I think that's what it is--look at me, I'm a doctor!), and take off their coats outside the clinic, this world would be a healthier (and safer) place.
Germophobes are driving us to extinction with their germ-killing soaps and gels and lotions. They are creating more and more resistant bugs, superbugs that will wipe us out. Come on, people. A little bacteria won't kill you.
When the superflu comes, I guarantee the victims' hands will smell of Purell.
Guest 5, I used to work in a research lab, and I worked with one guy, the head of the team actually, who would wear his latex gloves INTO THE BATHROOM, and when he came out of the bathroom, he was still wearing his gloves. And then would go back to work!!! That is not only disgusting, but I can't see how in the world he did not both infect himself and contaminate the specimens. And I totally agree with you about the doctor ego.
Guest 6, the flu is a virus. Its "evolution" and susceptibility to your immune system is not the same as that for bacteria. Purell and other alcohol and triclosan based antibacterial agents don't kill viruses, so they don't create superviruses, nor do they suppress your immunity to them. So when the flu comes around like it did in 1918, it will wipe you out just as easily as it will people who abuse antibacterials.
I do agree that triclosan is being overused to an alarming degree, and it does lead to resistant strains of bacteria. There is no need for it in toothpaste, tissues, or hand lotions. But, still, antibacterials do have a time and place. In fact, "a little bacteria" actually can kill you. Just look at all the people who die from hospital-borned staph, and contrary to belief, not all of those staph infections are drug-resistant. Just everyday staph around a surgical wound can cause serious problems.