Comment Gap (Score 1) 85
So, no option for anything between 26.600 (5% lower) and 27.999?
I'm not going to guess, just pointing out the gap in answers.
I'm not going to guess, just pointing out the gap in answers.
Comment Re:Sceptic Tank (Score 1) 90
Was wondering how many people caught the typo. Mind you, it's septic tank, but I'm skeptical of the other one too.
Vaccine-Derived Polio Is On the Rise (npr.org) 83
An anonymous reader quotes a report from NPR: Is polio making a comeback? The world has spent billions of dollars over the last 15 years in an effort to wipe out the virus through vaccination efforts -- with encouraging results. Rates plunged from an estimated 350,000 cases in 1988 to just several dozen by 2016. But in recent years, polio incidence has started to inch back up. The reason has to do with the type of vaccine used in many parts of the world, primarily in low- and middle-income countries. While the United States and other Western countries inject an inactivated virus that poses no risk of spread and are now polio-free, other countries rely on an oral vaccine. It's cheap, it's easy to administer and two or more doses confer lifelong immunity. But it's made with living, weakened virus. And that poses a problem.
Those who've been immunized with live virus can shed it in their stool, which can then spread through sewage in places with poor sanitation. If the virus stays weak, it can even expose the unvaccinated to polio and give them immunity. But if it mutates and regains virulence, someone who isn't vaccinated can become sick with vaccine-derived polio after contact with the contaminated wastewater. And now countries that had previously eradicated polio in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia are seeing new outbreaks of vaccine-derived polio.
One reason for this rise in cases, say polio experts, is that gaps in immunization in recent years have created more opportunities for the unvaccinated to become infected. "Vaccination campaigns have been certainly affected by the pandemic," says Raul Andino, a virologist at University of California, San Francisco. [...] The composition of the oral vaccine has also been a factor. In 2016, eyeing an uptick in vaccine-derived polio, global health officials altered the composition of the oral vaccine. Previously, the vaccine protected against all three types of wild polio -- the virus that circulates naturally in the environment. Then they withdrew one of those types -- the one that was leading to most of the vaccine-derived cases but whose wild form had been successfully eradicated. Only there was a development that hadn't been anticipated. Vaccine-derived poliovirus of that type was still in circulation from earlier iterations of the oral vaccine -- and now with the reformulated vaccine, increasing numbers of people who were no longer vaccinated against it. So there was further spread. Thankfully, a new kind of vaccine being rolled out is showing promise. "The novel vaccine still contains a weakened version of the virus, but it's been hobbled even further," reports NPR.
"The researchers tweaked the virus so that it has to accumulate more mutations to become virulent and has a harder time amassing those mutations. For example, they've altered the polymerase, one of the key enzymes responsible for introducing mutations, reducing its ability to mix and match genes from different viruses."
Those who've been immunized with live virus can shed it in their stool, which can then spread through sewage in places with poor sanitation. If the virus stays weak, it can even expose the unvaccinated to polio and give them immunity. But if it mutates and regains virulence, someone who isn't vaccinated can become sick with vaccine-derived polio after contact with the contaminated wastewater. And now countries that had previously eradicated polio in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia are seeing new outbreaks of vaccine-derived polio.
One reason for this rise in cases, say polio experts, is that gaps in immunization in recent years have created more opportunities for the unvaccinated to become infected. "Vaccination campaigns have been certainly affected by the pandemic," says Raul Andino, a virologist at University of California, San Francisco. [...] The composition of the oral vaccine has also been a factor. In 2016, eyeing an uptick in vaccine-derived polio, global health officials altered the composition of the oral vaccine. Previously, the vaccine protected against all three types of wild polio -- the virus that circulates naturally in the environment. Then they withdrew one of those types -- the one that was leading to most of the vaccine-derived cases but whose wild form had been successfully eradicated. Only there was a development that hadn't been anticipated. Vaccine-derived poliovirus of that type was still in circulation from earlier iterations of the oral vaccine -- and now with the reformulated vaccine, increasing numbers of people who were no longer vaccinated against it. So there was further spread. Thankfully, a new kind of vaccine being rolled out is showing promise. "The novel vaccine still contains a weakened version of the virus, but it's been hobbled even further," reports NPR.
"The researchers tweaked the virus so that it has to accumulate more mutations to become virulent and has a harder time amassing those mutations. For example, they've altered the polymerase, one of the key enzymes responsible for introducing mutations, reducing its ability to mix and match genes from different viruses."
Comment Internet? (Score 3, Insightful) 88
Ah, so he really means social media, as the sites i frequent wouldn't involve algorithms. At least, unless they plan to replace the moderators here.
Comment No ,,, (Score 1) 122
I don't work in an office. But I was in my workplace the whole time (except for 8 days when I had COVID).
Comment Define catch (Score 1) 154
Theoretically, I had COVID last year. If not for the weird headache (and the positive test) I wouldn't have known it. My vaccination gave me chills for an hour.or so (J&J), my booster had no effect other than feeling a little run down. (The booster was the mRNA vaccine.)
So, did I catch COVID by their definition?
So, did I catch COVID by their definition?
Comment What would they sell? (Score 1) 36
I have no question about Wal-mart being willing to sell NFTs under one or more private labels. Given that they often have exclusivity deals with artists, they might even have meaningful stuff to sell, such as tracks by recording artists. Given that artists are likely to sell NFTs on some other market if Wal-mart doesn't provide the opportunity, that seems completely reasonable.
Cryptocurrency? Well, if they guarantee a certain minimum value (say, one Martcoin will always be exchangeable for $50 worth of groceries) then it might be viable. If it's just another coin with no intrinsic value then they aren't adding anything to the market and should just go home.
Cryptocurrency? Well, if they guarantee a certain minimum value (say, one Martcoin will always be exchangeable for $50 worth of groceries) then it might be viable. If it's just another coin with no intrinsic value then they aren't adding anything to the market and should just go home.
Comment Windows 3.1 (Score 1) 184
Not that most are likely to have used/remember it, but Windows 3.1 was worse than the listed choices. (Never tried anything prior to that, if you tell me 3 was worse I'll believe you.)
Comment For the children! (Score 1) 344
The summary says "... or even children." Perhaps if they have a credit card, but I doubt otherwise. However, could they actually be finished and assembled by a child? Well, maybe a 15-year-old with some shop experience, I suppose that still counts as a child., but isn't what you thought of.. A young child is unlikely to have the skills, dexterity, or tools to do this.
And don't forget, you need to be 21 to buy handgun ammo. With no ammo, it's just a fancy paperweight.
And don't forget, you need to be 21 to buy handgun ammo. With no ammo, it's just a fancy paperweight.
Comment Conflating data (Score 5, Insightful) 443
I wish they wouldn't mix different things. They mention 3D-printed guns first, but then they talk about unserialized frames. You can buy an "80% frame" (basically, the frame of a real gun, but not finished - it still needs 20% of the finishing work done), finish it yourself and add the other parts, and you haven't broken any federal laws by doing so. Though if you sell it, that is a different story - and of course, I don't know what your state and local laws may be. Nothing I've just discussed involves 3D printing. The question being, who is lying to whom here? Are the cops lying to the council, is the council lying to the public, or is the media the one who added "3D printed" just to push the public's buttons?
Comment Apples to oranges (Score 1) 252
Comparing wheat to meat may look good on paper, but wheat is not a good source of protein, and can't replace meat in your diet. They need to compare a high-protein food source to meat to make a meaningful comparison.
Comment Sampling error (Score 4, Informative) 38
Imagining you can extend a study of binary star system to all stars is the height of fallacy. Despite Star Wars, there are no stable orbits in a binary system. Therefore binaries would have to be much more likely to devour their planets. Maybe spectrographic readings for iron and lithium can give you a clue, but they already knew that
Comment Re:25895 Gigawatts (Score 1) 21
That's MHz, but yes - an interesting typo. Table in the article lists 2589 MHz, not sure where the extra 5 came from.
Comment Ex post facto? (Score 4, Insightful) 207
You can't tax after-the-fact. They might be able to fine the companies, but that generally requires a legal proceeding. But you can't come along and say "You owe us $5 billion tax for something you did 20 years before we passed the tax in question". They'll fight that in court and win easily.
Comment And Linux? (Score 2) 209
We've seen it before, Microsoft does have agreements with manufacturers that prevent them from selling most hardware with no OS or with Linux. That might be grounds for an antitrust case. The vague stuff in the summary is just that - vague - but we have specific examples we can point at of where MS really is using its dominant position to prevent you from having easy access to other alternatives.
