A Concerned Scientist @BE@qoto.org

@JoanGrey

I hate to put it bluntly, but, if it's open to rain water collection, then yes. More to the point, you'll probably want to see if you're near any known PFA contamination sites. Groundwater unfortunately accumulates PFAs from lots of contaminated sites.

You can find some of the worst here:

https://www.ewg.org/interactive-maps/pfas_contamination/map/

But it's really hit and miss as to whether your groundwater's even been tested in the end.

The good news is if you're using RO in there then in all likelihood you're good.

When you come across the EPA touting that they're putting $300 million into what are known as "Brownfields" just know that's basically nothing.

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4675664-epa-announces-300-million-to-revitalize-polluted-sites/

Brownfield sites are polluted sites that are too polluted for redevelopment.

The EPA doesn't even know how many there are.

https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions_.html#Does%20EPA%20maintain%20an%20inventory%20of%20all%20brownfield%20sites%20within%20the%20U.S.?

The GAO thinks there could be a million of them as of 20 years ago.

https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-05-94.pdf

Tons of them are contaminated with PFAs.

https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/sites/default/files/topic/Brownfields/bsg/BSG_PFAS_PhaseI_ESA_SupplementProposal.pdf

Even if there were "only" a million, a number I am willing to bet is an underestimation, $300 million isn't a drop in the bucket of what's required.

@subjacentish @Lorrrraaaaine

As someone who's absorbed a lot of this ire, I've been told repeatedly exactly what you said, as well as that there's just a lot of anger that when the WHO put out their risk calculator, and it showed that simply putting a HEPA filter in the room did nothing for "short range" transmission it was seen as dismissing filtration. I get the frustration.

I think that idea's going to take a little while to ruminate until more people are comfortable with the idea that a HEPA filter in the room isn't going to stop you from contracting COVID if you're face to face with an infectious person. Swiss cheese is still the best option, no matter how much we all like our silver bullets.

Taken to the extreme, I've seen plenty of people posting pictures of them in a store, with an Aranet, maskless, talking about how great the CO2 levels are. While that's great and all, the first time someone walks by you and sneezes in your face it's not going to do a thing.

@RebelGeek99

I thought this was pretty well said:

https://www.thegauntlet.news/p/biden-cdc-silent-as-north-carolina

@noyes

I like it. With a lot more words I think they're working in the same ballpark for airborne potential. Pollen grains average between two and three hundred micrometers if what I read is to be believed, and the COVID document from the WHO said:

"Emitted particles range in diameter from 0.01 and 1000 μm depending on the generation mechanism, respiratory and vocalization activity, age and site of origin [52], [74]–[76]. The
size distribution is further affected by the quasi- instantaneous evaporation process particles have undergone after leaving the body. Particles of diameter smaller than 100 μm are likely to become airborne and remain suspended in the air from seconds to hours, because of their reduced size and settling velocity compared to larger ones [77]."

Infectious dose is something that I've been interested in with respects to COVID. The WHO also attempted to discuss that in a numbers-based way for the risk calculator, which was always going to make some assumptions. In the end they went with 55 FFU as the TCID50 from:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01780-9

It's not an exact science, but, I respect the WHO for putting together a version 1 of a risk calculator that includes masking, ventilation and filtration.

@mfennvt

Converting it to a 2 pound loaf now 😂

My wife - "Could you send me the whole wheat bread recipe that uses sourdough starter for the bread machine?"

Me - *texts it*

My wife - "That's for a 2.5 pound loaf. The new bread machine only does 1, 1.5 and 2."

Me - "Huh. That explains some things." 😬

@lavenderlens

Ooh boy. That's a whole can of worms, and in the era of CRISPR and similar advances, there's not really anything stopping it, that I know of.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mail-order-crispr-kits-allow-absolutely-anyone-to-hack-dna/

Just something I noticed that I think speaks to people's current pandemic psychology.

There's, to my mind, two similar studies out this week, both published in Nature, about COVID vaccination and imprinting.

One's all sunshine and roses, at least to the extent that it's being covered(I'm only able to see the abstract).

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07539-1

I've seen this come across my timeline dozens of times, with tons of people commenting on it.

The other brings up some really good points, and some limitations(waning antibody responses, not all mRNA-based booster vaccines are equally immunogenic, etc.), of COVID vaccinations.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-48414-x

I saw this come across my timeline once, and no one has commented on it that I've seen.

Just something that may only interest me.

There's a new paper out today discussing airborne transmission of H5N1 among ferrets. The paper itself is quite good, on a first read, however, the press release states that this is the first time H5N1 has been shown to do so, yet above you can find another paper showing exactly this in 2020.

Regardless, it's worth a read if you're trying to keep up on the science.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-48475-y