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A "Benefit for Teri (Sanden) Starkey" notice was on the Our Lady of Angels bulletin board this Sunday. The event was Saturday, July 29, and in Litchfield; a town south and a bit east of here, about an hour and half away. I saw the notice a day late to do anything by Saturday, but figure I could pass along what I learned. She has cystic fibrosis, and needs new lungs. The clinic in her area wouldn't or couldn't do the procedure. The good news is that an outfit in North Carolina will. However, getting a chance to keep her alive means raising money to move her, her two kids, and husband, to North Carolina. That's something like a thousand miles away. My guess is that the family has above-average medical expenses, too.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Using drones to deliver vaccines seems reasonable for places like Vanuatu. But vaccines won't help if folks don't know how to use them correctly, or can't. Others avoid vaccines because they believe warnings from dubious sources. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

"Crisis" or not, opioid overdose is a problem. A lethal one, sometimes. We've used one opioid, opium, for millennia. Others have been developed during my lifetime. They're all useful: and dangerous if misused. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Wanting respect is reasonable. I think folks who support Gay/LGBT Pride Month for that reason have a point. I don't agree with much of what's said on the gay/LGBT pride issue — and explained why I won't spit venom in today's earlier post. Basically, I should love God, love my neighbor, and see everybody as my neighbor. No exceptions.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Variations on "dead men tell no tales" go back at least to 1560 or thereabouts in my language. The idea is much older. 1 As advice goes, it's arguably flawed. Folks who are dead aren't chatty, but their bodies occasionally pop up at inopportune times. I'll be talking about unmarked and unremembered graves, insane asylums, and similarly-uncheerful things. It's not all bad news, though. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I live on Earth, so caring about what happens here makes sense. I've talked about enlightened self-interest, Yeats, Ehrlich, and getting a grip, before. Often, actually. ( February 17, 2017 ; January 20, 2017 ; September 16, 2016 ; August 12, 2016 ) A news item about scientists finding a particular sort of pesticide in America's drinking water got my attention. So did what they said about it: which made sense. Whether or not this becomes a hot news item, like the "Flint Water Crisis," depends partly on how badly editors need something to angst over. My opinion. What happened in Flint, Michigan, was real enough. There's a pretty good Wikipedia page on it. Briefly, Flint's drinking water was okay until the city started drawing from the Flint River instead of Lake Huron and the Detroit River. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Apparently quiet a few sorts of cancer 'just happen,' no matter how much fiber we eat, how much we don't smoke, and how far we run each day. Or exercise, in my case. Thanks in part to now-replaced defective hips, my running days never really happened. That doesn't mean that we're all gonna die from random cancer. I think it means we should think about paying more attention to testing before symptoms appear.... After talking about oddly-under-reported 'cancer' news, I kept going; mostly about mutations, and why being healthy is okay... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Near the end of a self-help book, the author wrote that social connections we make with others online aren't "real." The next sentence said that online communities are "pretend communities." The author explained that they don't "come close to fulfilling the legitimate needs we have." I understand the point he was making, but don't entirely agree. It's true that folks I know online won't notice if I left the garage door open, or lend me a few dollars until next payday. In nearly all cases, they can't. They live too far away. Some aren't even on the same continent.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I'll be eating oatmeal for breakfast during Lent, and walking around more. If I was in England, I'd probably call it porridge, and that's another topic. It'll be be good for my health, and I'm sure that's one reason my wife suggested it. But that's not the only, or the main, reason. Lent isn't about me.... ...Lent is when we join Jesus in the desert. Sort of.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Andy Sandness wasn't born looking like that. He's lived with the consequences of a "wrong choice" for more than a decade. Agreeing to get Mayo Clinic's first face transplant won't undo his decision. But now he has a second chance for a normal life. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Deciding who's dead and who's not isn't always easy. But getting the answer right can be a matter of life or death.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

One woman decided to take a road trip after learning she had a terminal illness. Another switched careers. Both choices make sense, given the circumstances. This year's World Food Prize goes to a team who developed a new sweet potato, scientists found a virus with spider genes, and there's a lively difference of opinion regarding human life span. We've learned a lot since my youth, and there's a great deal left to learn. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

(From BBC, via Wikipedia, used w/o permission.) ("I find that nothing's ever exactly like you expect...." ( Professor Richard Lazarus )) A mad scientist's lot is not a happy one. All he wants is to redefine being human: and the next thing you know, he's eating guests at his victory celebration. Doctor Who's The Lazarus Experiment doesn't have much to do with The Devil Bat and The Brain That Wouldn't Die , apart from featuring a mad scientist — and science gone horribly wrong. Some movies, like Fantastic Voyage and Things to Come , present science and technology as useful. But "tampering with thing man was not supposed to know," as Mr. Squibbs put it, keeps the plot going for quite a few; like Altered Species , They Saved Hitler's Brain , and Island of Lost Souls . Reticence, reasonable and otherwise, regarding new ideas isn't new.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Maybe 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks,' but apparently the adult brain isn't nearly as rigid as scientists thought. I'll be looking at neuroplasticity, the idea that brains can change; research that may lead to better neural interfaces; and 'brain training' games.... ...We've been learning a great deal about the human brain and how it works. That's a good thing for me, since I have maintenance issues with mine.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

(From Philippe de Champaigne/Tessé Museum, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) Life in my mid-60s requires caution that wasn't necessary in my youth. Considering the alternative, though, being alive is pretty good: even in moments of loss. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

A Jordanian couple have a baby boy: who does not have a lethal genetic disorder, thanks to DNA transplanted from a third person. Four of his siblings did not survive the procedure. I'll be talking about the decisions involved in that procedure, research involving "tiny brains" grown from human cells, genetically modified humans grown as research subjects, and water bears.... ...After discussing recent genetics news, I'll share why I take human experimentation and medical ethics personally, and what I see coming in the near future.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Polio is back in Nigeria: only two cases that we know of; which isn’t particularly comforting, since most folks with polio have no symptoms. The good news is that vaccines are available: and may get to most of those who need them before the disease does. Zika, another viral disease, is still in the news, this time a case in Texas that affected a baby. On a happier note, researchers are making progress on a brain-machine interface that could help folks walk again. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

(From O. Herford, via Life Magazine/Wikipedia, used w/o permission.) ("Life" magazine, Demon Rum, and Matthew 12:45 : June 26, 1919.) My household is "dry:" there's no beer in the fridge, wine in a rack, or whiskey on a shelf. That's partly because I drank too much, which was a very bad idea. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2290 ) After that experience, I could get cherophobia and virtue confused — but I won't. Cherophobia, aversion to happiness ; and hedonophobia , fear of pleasure; are real words. But "blessed are the miserable, for they shall spread misery" is not in the Beatitudes. 1 ... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I remember when heart transplants were front-page international news, not local human interest stories: and when polio vaccinations were new. I really do not miss the 'good old days.' I remember them, and they weren't. I also remember when cryonics was 'science fiction stuff,' not a highly-experimental and controversial medical procedure. I probably won't live long enough to see whether it works. But if you're young enough: you might.... ...Since I'll be talking about life, death, and medical practices, I'd better start by saying that I'm a Christian: a Catholic. Like it says in the Apostles Creed , "I believe in ... the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting." I'll be explaining why I don't see a conflict between that belief and trying to save lives.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

First, the good news: releasing genetically-modified medflies and mosquitoes may mean fewer crop failures; and fewer deaths from malaria. Now, the not-so-good news: I'm pretty sure some folks won't think it's good news.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .