White nose in the winter
Since its emergence in 2006, White Nose Syndrome (WNS) is responsible for the deaths of millions of North American bats during the winter months. If you don’t know what it is, White Nose syndrome, is caused by a fungal infection, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd for short). Until recently the only way to irrefutably identify WNS was to euthanize the bat and analyze its skin in the lab. However, a report published this past summer in The Journal of Wildlife Disease reveals that an old diagnostic tool for human ringworm can be re-jigged as a wildlife management tool: UV fluorescence.
Up, up, up
My friend from Alberta sent out a group text this morning: a photo of a snow-dusted gasoline pump display with “99.9” glowing in the cents/litre screen.
A few minutes later, my phone buzzed with another text, “Wow Ottawa is at 100.9…pretty close”. After my initial, “what is this witchcraft?”-reaction, I did a bit of perusing and found that apparently gas prices were predicted to drop over the holiday season. The internet rejoiced! All was saved! But the thing is, gas prices are never going to really drop; the demand is too great for the supply. The changes we’re seeing are just relative to horrifying peaks that occur during the summer months, which are cyclical anyway.
It got me wondering about the factors influencing gas prices.
Striving for Connectivity
A friend of mine is providing career counseling as I slog through the job market like a salmon struggling upstream. She’s my “fish ladder” to help me get around obstacles.
I realize that the analogy breaks down around the end because I’m not going to croak from fatigue once I land a job. But it’s hard, and a feat of endurance, and there are lots of us floundering through the current. I can do it, though. I’m cool. I’ve got skills. I’m hireable. But in the meantime, I’m going to write.
This floundering seems to be a common theme with anyone I talk to about getting a job. I managed to push through my Ph.D. and completed successfully, but I am, for now, done with academia. Lately, I’ve been curious about the deterrents and obstacles other people of color face that keep them from pursuing STEM careers. A report released today addresses this very question.