Health & Science – Page 11 – TheMinotVoice.com

A look inside the small US towns that will be crushed by the trucking revolution

by: Josh Wolsky | October 30, 2017

Disruption is coming. Automated cars have been a regular topic here on The Minot Voice, and that will continue. The reason, the technology is going to reshape the base fabric of this country. One of the likely less considered implications, how the transition to self-driving technology will change the small towns and roadside truck stops

Read & Share sourced from: Quartz

A Remote Chinese Province Uses Its Climate To Grow A Big-Data Industry

by: Josh Wolsky | October 30, 2017

What does a Southwest China have in common with North Dakota? A cool climate, cheap energy, and a steady wind. Why should we care? Because the Guizhou province of China has built a data storage industry around their natural assets. As we take up the conversation about building a sustainable economy here in Minot, perhaps we

Read & Share sourced from: NPR

Drug company billionaire arrested on charges of opioid conspiracy

by: Josh Wolsky | October 27, 2017

When it comes to moving product, it seems some in the pharmaceutical industry are far more concerned with the bottom line than medical ethics and basic human scruples. And when those values combine to bolster sales of a highly addictive opioid-based painkiller, the results are both tragic and criminal.

Read & Share sourced from: Los Angeles Times

Backyard chicken trend linked to spike in salmonella cases

by: Josh Wolsky | October 24, 2017

The discussion about allowing backyard hens in Minot is taking place right now. One of the factors being considered is whether these animals a risk to public health? And how do we balance that against the benefits of fresh, locally sourced food? On the public health side of the equation, this story out of Des

Read & Share sourced from: Star Tribune

Enlisting Educators in the War Against Prescription Drug Abuse

by: Josh Wolsky | October 24, 2017

The opioid epidemic is not unique to Minot; it’s a nationwide problem. And the solutions aren’t simple either. But in the opinion of Tammy Wincup of Everfi, one tool we should be using is an education curriculum that empowers and educates students about the dangers of prescription drugs. It’s worth a read, Everfi may even

Read & Share sourced from: EdSurge

Alphabet’s (Google) Sidewalk Labs wants to build a futuristic neighborhood in Toronto

by: Josh Wolsky | October 23, 2017

Sidewalk Labs, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, is heading to Toronto to take up the work of designing the neighborhoods of the future. A few specific priorities they’ve expressed interest in so far include flood protection plans, affordable housing opportunities, green technologies. Sound familiar? Perhaps a delegation from Minot should invite Sidewalk Labs

Read & Share sourced from: Fanvive

World’s Most Intense Laser Is About to Get a Totally Insane Upgrade

by: Josh Wolsky | October 18, 2017

This is not a Minot story. But because the movies Star Wars and Real Genius are a part of our cultural heritage, the fact that they are approaching full realization is worth momentary call out. Check out this article from Science Alert on a really big laser that’s set to go full Death Star. Sort

Read & Share sourced from: Science Alert

We Need to Kick our Addiction to Plastic

by: Josh Wolsky | October 16, 2017

With Minot’s recycling program recently delayed, it may be prudent to consider policy changes that hasten our arrival in the land of environmental stewardship. At least, that’s the perspective presented by Ayana Johnson writing commentary — though not specifically about Minot — at Scientific American.

Read & Share sourced from: Scientific American

Depression treatment discovered in natural but illegal source

by: Josh Wolsky | October 16, 2017

Depression is a disease that becomes ingrained as the neurons in our brains fire and connect in repeated but unfortunate patterns. Successful treatments have been shown to break those patterns and one source that’s so far effective at helping ‘reset’ the brain — psilocybin — the active ingredient in illegal mushrooms.

Read & Share sourced from: Science Alert

Cold Feet on the Eve of Budgeting for Recycling

by: Josh Wolsky | September 5, 2017

I wonder what would happen if those of us in government made a deal with the taxpayers and citizens; here’s the framework: as our part of the deal, we in government offer to be smart and resourceful with our dollars and spend them as an investment in a worthwhile outcome. In return, we the taxpayers

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Minot’s Hobbyist Model Airplane and UAS Pilots Find Growing Interest

by: Josh Wolsky | August 7, 2017

There’s little doubt that the UAS industry is growing and full of potential, but where do people in the business get there start? In all likelihood, it’s on their own, through a friend, or perhaps through a grassroots group of like-minded enthusiasts. And it turns out, Minot has just such a community.

Read & Share sourced from: Minot Daily News

On health care and everything else, the path to compromise is available

by: Jim Maxson | August 4, 2017

Contrary to most, I was not surprised that Congress has failed to repeal and replace “Obamacare”. “Repeal and Replace” has been the unifying slogan of the Republican party since 2009. That slogan may have become fact except for one minor detail. Like the Democratic party, the Republican party is merely a coalition of various diverse

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Drug experts see confluence of factors behind opioid crisis

by: Josh Wolsky | August 4, 2017

In Minot, the Mayor’s Committee on Addiction met this week. When it comes to dealing with the effects of the opioid and larger addiction problem, they’re going to divide and hopefully conquer. They’ll be splitting into several sub-committees to deal with different arms of the larger animal. It’s important work, but the method also invites

Read & Share sourced from: Grand Forks Herald

Optimistic investors pumping $75 million into meatless burgers

by: Josh Wolsky | August 4, 2017

There are two companies chasing the concept of the meatless burger, and before you dismiss the idea with some picture of a bean patty or veggie burger, the goal is a burger that looks and tastes like real beef, and they’re closer than you realize. It may seem far-fetched or impossible, but the impacts on ranchers

Read & Share sourced from: Quartz

The Gulf Of Mexico’s Dead Zone Is The Biggest Ever Seen

by: Josh Wolsky | August 4, 2017

When agricultural producers use too much fertilizer, the surplus that isn’t absorbed into the land and plants runs off into the water shed. When it gets to the end of the downstream line, it dumps into the ocean or a lake. In North Dakota’s case, one of those end-of-the-line watershed deposits is the Gulf of Mexico.

Read & Share sourced from: NPR

EPA chief to discuss water regulations during visit to state

by: Josh Wolsky | August 4, 2017

Scott Pruitt, the EPA’s top administrator, will be visiting North Dakota next week, and the Waters of the U.S. rule making is expected to be a hot topic of conversation. Between agricultural and energy industries and our cultural disposition toward property rights, environmental regulations and rules have big impacts on North Dakota, and it sounds

Read & Share sourced from: Williston Herald