Everything that happens, happens for a reason. The reason everything happens is because you said “you too” when the waiter said “you guys enjoy your food” three months ago at that restaurant. Everything that happens or has happened, including climate change and the Napoleonic Wars, is because of that deeply embarrassing verbal slip-up you made. Thanks a lot. *Gestures vaguely at the state of the world* thanks sooo much. Hope you’re proud of yourself. Ugh. Whatever, welcome to the Daily Dose.
In today’s news: a COVID-19 update and the legendary Ms. Apolemia uvaria.
COVID-19 Update
Researchers and medical specialists are still unsure whether the virus itself, or the patient’s immune response overwhelming a person’s bodily systems, ultimately cause declining health and/or fatality in COVID-19 cases—an uncertainty that is hampering doctors’ ability to treat patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19). A key challenge this uncertainty presents is that if the virus does primarily worsen health by causing an overactive immune response, a solution would normally be to treat the patient with steroids that could help calm the immune response down. However, if this isn’t the case, and the virus itself is causing patients to decline, then paring back immune system’s response would make it harder for the body to stave off the virus. There is also the possibility that both the virus and increased immune response-related complications are working in tandem to worsen patient’s conditions, which complicates treatment methods even further. You can read more about specific endeavors being taken to investigate the source in health decline of COVID-19, as well as possible therapeutic approaches over in Nature.
A massive concern in early identification strategies for COVID-19 is the fact that many people infected (as many as 25% according to the CDC) with COVID-19 may remain asymptomatic throughout their infection. Given this, many researchers are working hard to find ways to identify what subclinical signals (i.e. signals associated with a disease that are not yet known symptoms, such as coughing or fever) could be indicators of COVID-19. In an attempt to do just this, researchers at the University of California San Diego have investigated sensory loss (specifically regarding smell and/or taste) as a candidate symptom, as it has been significantly reported in patients infected with COVID-19. The team found that ~70% of COVID-19 patients reported loss of smell and taste, and that those who reported loss of smell and taste were 10 times more likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 than other causes of infection. It should be noted that though the study surveyed 1480 patients with flu-like symptoms, the study used data from a relatively small 203 patient respondents.
Miss Apolemia uvaria Has Entered The Chat
In what may be my favorite bit of news since quarantine started, last week a Schmidt Ocean Institute research vessel spotted what is quite possibly the longest marine creature ever recorded.
The organism, called Apolemia uvaria, is a kind of siphonophore—an organism made up of a colony of interconnected specialized organisms. In the case of Madame Apolemia (as I sometimes call her, stating now) some of these organisms function as fish hooks, stationed all along the siphonophore’s body and dangling stinging tentacles that catch, stun and reel in prey that happens to wander too close. Other organisms in the colony function as mouths that break down the prey and pass it into other specialized organisms in the colony that act as a digestive tract, passing nutrients down the long chain and dispersing them through the colony.
credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute
Using lasers equipped to the SuBastian—the Schmidt Institute remote deep-sea robot that captured video of the organism—the researchers measured the creature at approximately 47 meters, or 154 feet long. Previously, the longest marine creature record was held by the lion’s mane jellyfish, the tentacles of which have been recorded to reach up to 120 feet long.
Though siphonophores aren’t particularly uncommon in the ocean, it is rare that one was able to be photographed and recorded in such an immaculate state, as most of them are easily tossed about and jumbled by small waves created by the vessels observing them. As Rebecca Helm, an assistant professor studying ecology and evolution at the University of North Carolina, Asheville puts it, “There are millions, probably billions of underwater siphonophore galaxies out there just like this one. Siphonophores are not rare, just fragile and remote. As we explore the ocean's more, who knows what other creatures we will see.”
credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute
I will be thinking about Ms. Apolemia for the foreseeable future. She’s statuesque. She’s a supermodel. She’s a performance artist. She’s a femme fatale. She’s Linda Evangelista, she’s Marina Abramović, she’s Angelina Jolie in the criminally underrated action thriller Salt.
Respect her. Celebrate her. Fear her. Amen.
In personal news, the world is chaos but hey, I got new sheets. They’re WONDERFUL. They are SO f*cking soft, which is unusual for me because I used to hate soft sheets. I tried satin sheets once because because, well, Black hair, and because I hate having pillowcases that don’t match the material of the rest of my bedspread. Before you ask why I don’t just wear a headscarf to sleep, I do, I just hate sleeping with shit on my head so I’m constantly trying to find ways to not have to. Anyways, I didn’t really like feeling like I was sleeping on a slip-n-slide so satin sheets didn’t last long.
These new sheets are perfect. They’re soft, almost satiny, but not like that soft. Still a little rough. On the queer scale my sheets are femme, but not high femme. Like a pantsuit but with a bold earring. That’s my sheets. That’s also me, to be honest. Also they’re not like glossy, which I also hate about satin. They have a little sheen when the light hits them, but it’s not doing too much. My sheets are like subtly sensual, but not outright horny, which is absolutely not me, but I love it for them.
Other than sheet news, I’m hangin in there. Hope you all are too. Love ya nerds. Stay safe and be well. I hope you love your bedding, whatever it may be. xoxo
You too 😂
Ok but what kind of sheets are they