You already know that we should wash our hands (frequently) for at least 20 seconds, but do you know why soap is so effective against the coronavirus? Here’s a great explanation from Vox:
On a related note, it’s also worth watching this video:
A quote from the video that stands out for me is this one:
To slow the virus down, you need to act as if you already have it …
Why fighting the coronavirus depends on you
I watched a couple interesting videos that I enjoyed, and thought I’d share:
This Engadget video about the differences between DSLR and mirrorless cameras is terrific. Chris Schodt did a great job explaining both camera categories, and the advantages each type has. Well worth watching.
Leonardo Da Vinci was clearly a remarkable person, and this Vox Almanac video by Phil Edwards highlights just how perceptive Da Vinci was.
You can find a few more related links in Edwards’ post “How Leonardo da Vinci made a “satellite” map in 1502 – Vox“.
I work with CSS every day as part of my work at Automattic, and while I’ve encountered pseudo elements, I haven’t really understood them until I watched Kevin Powell‘s video.
This video is the first of a three part series, and just having watched this first episode, I feel like I already have a better understanding.
I’m trying out a post format for sharing a few quick things that probably wouldn’t make for a decent length post. I like the idea of this sort of collection of interesting things, but it feels a little disjointed. Perhaps three short posts would work better. What do you think?
Vox has a terrific video that explains how the Apollo 11 mission worked, and how the astronauts that took part in the mission made their way to the Moon and back.
If you’re into old footage of historical events like this, also be sure to check out the CBS coverage of the lunar landing (also courtesy of NASA):
As it happens, I am a morning person. Our son definitely is. My wife isn’t a morning person at all and we’re not sure whether our daughter is, yet.
Whether you are a morning person or not, it apparently has a lot to do with genetics. Brian Resnick delves into why this is the case on Vox in his article titled “Late sleepers are tired of being discriminated against. And science has their back”.
A couple of weeks ago, I reported on the science of chronobiology, which finds we all have an internal clock that keeps us on a consistent sleep and wake cycle. But the key finding is that everyone’s clock is not the same. Most people fall in the middle, preferring to sleep around 11 pm to 7 am. But many — perhaps 40 percent of the population — don’t naturally fit in this schedule.
It turns out that this is also very much a cultural issue with the expectation being that people who are not morning people are somehow slackers. I didn’t think about it in those terms, probably because I tend to function better in the mornings (at least, once I’ve taken my meds).
Watch this Vox video titled “Late sleeper? Blame your genes” that accompanies Resnick’s article, perhaps with coffee while you wake up.
On a related note, it also turns out that so-called “coffee naps” are great ways to recharge during the day. I tend to nap for around 20 minutes and will do that if I have an opportunity because it works well for me.
Apparently, a cup of coffee right before a 20 minute nap could be just the thing you need to recharge and return to a much more productive state. According to Vox:
It’s counterintuitive, but scientists agree that drinking coffee before napping will give you a stronger boost of energy than either coffee or napping alone. To understand a coffee nap, you have to understand how caffeine affects you. After it’s absorbed through your small intestine and passes into your bloodstream, it crosses into your brain. There, it fits into receptors that are normally filled by a similarly shaped molecule called adenosine. Adenosine is a byproduct of brain activity, and when it accumulates at high enough levels, it plugs into these receptors and makes you feel tired. But with the caffeine blocking the receptors, it’s unable to do so. Here’s the trick of the coffee nap: sleeping naturally clears adenosine from the brain. So if you nap for those 20 minutes, you’ll reduce your levels of adenosine just in time for the caffeine to kick in. The caffeine will have less adenosine to compete with, and will thereby be even more effective in making you alert.
So, if you’re ever accused of being lazy or slacking off because you’re not a morning person or because you just want to have a quick nap and recharge, there is a body of science backing you up!
If you’re curious, also watch “How does caffeine keep us awake?“.
Image credit: Hernan Sanchez
The tragedy of Aleppo seems to have gone largely unnoticed by most of the world. It’s not easy to pay close, sustained attention to events that are so devastating and horrific over such a long period of time.
Watching this video, I can almost understand why other major powers didn’t do more to stop this. It is the sort of event that could easily give rise to a global conflict. At the same time, what does this say about humanity and this new world order we are heading into?
Here is the bigger picture of the protracted civil war in Syria:
The tragedy of Aleppo defies belief. It goes against the values we hold ourselves to as a seemingly developed species. Maybe it just reveals how far we have to go?
