Posted on 10/06/2018 2:02:35 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Pentagon research project called "Insect Allies." Funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the project involves using gene-editing techniques like CRISPR to infect insects with modified viruses that could help make America's crops more resilient. If a cornfield were hit by an unexpected drought or suddenly exposed to a pathogen, for example, Insect Allies might deploy an army of aphids carrying a genetically modified virus to slow the corn plant's growth rate.
According to the DARPA website, these "targeted therapies" could take effect in a single growing season, potentially protecting the American crop system from food security threats like disease, flooding, frost and even "threats introduced by state or non-state actors.
… Insect Allies, is less concerned. "Anytime you're developing a new and revolutionary technology, there is that potential for [both offensive and defensive] capability," Bextine told The Washington Post. "But that is not what we are doing. We are delivering positive traits to plants… We want to make sure we ensure food security, because food security is national security in our eyes."
Insect Allies is still in the early stages of development, and at least four U.S. colleges (Boyce Thompson Institute, Penn State University, The Ohio State University and the University of Texas at Austin)have received funding to carry out research. Bextine told The Washington Post that the project recently achieved its first milestone — testing whether an aphid could infect a stalk of corn with a designer virus that caused fluorescence. According to the Washington Post, "the corn glowed."
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
I’ve had similar events in the past, where my back just seized up. Once, I was so stiff I couldn’t get my own socks on! It gets better if I walk around a lot, worse if I sit or lie down. The Cub Scouts are hiking this afternoon, and I should be fine for that. It’s not in the mountains or anything.
Kitteh has just received shocking news!
Bowl is empty?!
Wow, there's a deluge outside. They said the weather would be wet but this is really excessive. Gonna try to catch 40 winks now. Maybe a glass of milk with the banana would help. Have you ever used muscle relaxants? Wish I could be more helpful.
Lower back, down the glutes and into the back of thighs, more on left than right. Lots of bananas, usually with yogurt.
I hope you get some sleep. People in your time zone shouldn’t be up!
That right there sounds like sciatica. But I ain’t no doctor!
“I see you! Where my fudz?”
Good morning. It looks like I’ll have to go to Ace Hardware and get some bolts, though I don’t want to spend the money. I have to do it in order to stop tripping over the table or putting in the recliner. Dang it.
You’ll probably find the bolts as soon as you buy new ones. That kind of thing always happens.
Make sure you get the right size!
I plan on taking a leg with me to make sure the bolts fit, even though I measured the bolt hole depth and width.
I hope they don’t cost too much. Yesterday’s little trip to Walmart didn’t leave me much, even though I got only what I needed.
That sounds like sciatic nerve pathway. Thanks for the detail. Maybe you could look up treatment for sciatica. Good to hear about the yogurt and bananas! My whine for the day is that I love yogurt and they supply it in those little postage-stamp sized containers. It should come in 8 oz. containers and be mixed with copious amounts of granola, raisins and sunflower seeds.
I think I’ll look up the treatment for sciatica ;-).
I buy plain, fat-free yogurt in 16-oz. containers and then add what I want.
Come here for your yogurt. One quart of plain yogurt. Lots of brands but all big containers.
You might be able to talk to the manager of the store you regularly shop at and see if they can order the yogurt. If you want it, other people do, as well. Then you can add as much stuff as you want!
I think the problems with my lower back began with sciatica and just progressed because it went untreated. I was young, and therefore, couldn’t possibly have the type and intensity of pain that I was experiencing, so it was all in my head and the doctors are telling me to seek mental health services.
Too young for arthritis and bursitis, but I believe the bursitis is as a result of untreated joint pain. But don’t get me started!
Back from hiking five miles. My back doesn’t feel any worse than it did before hiking five miles. It’s a little better today, especially after some ibuprofen, a hot shower, and a lie down by myself.
when I switch the airflow to heat and defrost that there is heat on my legs,
If you don't roll the windows down [ ;-) ] does the interior warm up? Is there a fan speed switch and does it work? This heat and defrost setting - is that supposed to split the airflow between the heat vents on your legs and the windshield, or do you have only heat OR defrost and no combo setting? If you are getting airflow on your legs that changes in intensity with various fan speeds (warm the car up, take your gloves off, stick hand down under dash to find airflow to check) but switching to only defrost does not put that same amount of air on the windshield, or it still stays on your legs then whatever controls the air direction is messed up whether a cable or a vacuum control flap of some kind.
On one of my cars over the years the duct from the heater control to the defroster plenum came off. When I put it on 'defrost' I wasn't getting defrost, but the space behind the dash got very toasty..
check to see if there is anything like a cabin air filter, though I doubt it.
Don't know when they became more or less standard, but my 1997 Jetta has one. If my 1985 and 1991 Jetta had one I never changed it.. ;-)
the coolant that was available in Vegas is 50/50, but because of the altitude and often freezing temps at this higher elevation, I may be able to find full strength, which I prefer.
In reality, a 50/50 mix will protect you down to -34° F. That should be good since Utah isn't Alaska, but if you want to go one better a 60/40 mix will get you down to -62° and a 80/20 mix will get you down to extreme polar, er, I mean -84° (see Automotive Antifreeze Table). I use 50/50 year round. The coldest I've ever seen here is -25° F.
You really shouldn't use full strength undiluted antifreeze although finding full strength shouldn't be a problem - WallyWorld carries it in their auto section - not that it WON'T work but antifreeze by itself is a poor thermal medium. Water is a much better heat-carrying medium. This is why your mechanic will - or should if he's any kind of mechanic - recommend some sort of mixture ratio - even if he doesn't know anything about 'specific heat' and thermal absorption capabilities. Plus he won't use engineering terms to describe it either.;-)
An added plus though for buying full strength antifreeze and diluting it yourself is that it is more financially efficient (which is a high sounding way to say 'cheaper'. ;-) But then you need a place to stash the mix that you don't use right away..
Also if you’re going to water down your antifreeze, try to water it down with distilled water. You can get that at the drugstore and only need about a gallon.
Using distilled water for engine coolant keeps some tap water contaminants like chlorine out of your tender engine innards.
Yes, it’s the defrost that doesn’t work. Properly.
Yes, the interior will warm to a certain extent if the windows are not rolled down, but not so much on defrost. It will get toasty if I don’t have to use the defrost. Yes, there is a fan speed, and yes, it works. I believe (without running out in the cold with a flashlight to check) that there are five speeds.
There are also four or five settings for the heat/defrost system. Inside air, outside air, heat, heat and defrost, and defrost. It’s only in the defrost setting that I have the problem. So I’ll take the BB SUV to Casey this week and suggest what to look for. I mean, everyone needs a starting point, right?
Some things, I just carry around with me in the cargo space, since an apartment is not really the best place to store automotive fluids. This cargo space holds at least one quart of oil, “just in case,” 50/50 antifreeze, up to a case of bottled water, a roll of paper towels, emergency road kit, windshield washer fluid, brake fluid, WD-40, a funnel and a few other things, all in very large tote bags.
Should I have the need to replace the rear seat back to provide for the rare passenger, all the stuff in the totes will fit between the back of the rear seat and the cargo door. It’s more convenient to leave the cargo space as is.
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