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Daily Archives: April 4, 2022

How Long Do Boosters Last? Here’s The Deal On Whether You Need Another One.

BuzzFeedNews: “…While there’s much we don’t know, it’s clear that vaccine protection wanes over time, and that a booster — as the name implies — can help. However, booster protection doesn’t last forever, dwindling a bit each month. “We need to think of these as vaccines offering shorter-term protection than what a measles vaccine would do, for example, especially with more variants around,” Landon told BuzzFeed News. The dominant version of the coronavirus in the US is a subvariant of Omicron called Omicron BA.2, which appears to be more contagious but not more severe, than other types of the virus. It was responsible for about 55% of all infections as of March 26. Meanwhile, infections in some regions, including parts of the Northeast, are rising as mask mandates and indoor vaccine requirements come to an end in many cities and states. “All of us are probably going to need to update our protection at some point,” Landon said. “If protection is wearing off in older people, it’s going to wear off in younger people eventually.”…

LLRX March 2022 Issue

Articles and Columns for March 2022 Libraries and the Contested Terrain of “Neutrality” – Rick Anderson is University Librarian at Brigham Young University. His commentary addresses timely, thoughtful and critical conversations and knowledge sharing around the issues of censorship, book banning, library ethics and professional responsibility across communities. Truth to Power – Robert McKay discusses his… Continue Reading

Billions of people still breathe unhealthy air: new WHO data

“Over 6000 cities now monitor air quality – Almost the entire global population (99%) breathes air that exceeds WHO air quality limits, and threatens their health.  A record number of over 6000 cities in 117 countries are now monitoring air quality, but the people living in them are still breathing unhealthy levels of fine particulate… Continue Reading

The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is: A History, A Philosophy, A Warning

Los Angeles Review of Books: “The Internet has lost its way and taken society with it. Since the mid-2010s, we hear warnings of “dis/misinformation.” We hear about the loss of trust in our institutions and the need to reinvent them for the internet age. In short, we are living in a “crisis moment” — one… Continue Reading

The Science of Nuclear Weapons, Visualized

Visual Capitalist “an online publisher that creates data visualizations, has created an infographic depicting the scientific process of nuclear weapons. The infographic shows the process of nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, and the height and radius of atomic and hydrogen bombs used in the past. One section of the infographic displays the scale of atomic bombs… Continue Reading

The Abortion Underground

The Atlantic – A covert network of activists is preparing for a post-Roe future. “…For many Americans, Roe already feels meaningless. Nearly 90 percent of U.S. counties lack a clinic that offers abortions. States have passed more than 1,300 restrictions on abortion since it was made a constitutional right; for people struggling to get by,… Continue Reading

5 Reasons Why Google Drive Is a Security Risk

MakeUseOf: “Google Drive is an incredibly useful cloud storage solution that offers numerous features and benefits. With Google Drive, sharing documents and working remotely as a team has never been easier. As part of the Google Suite, Google Drive offers seamless integration with other Google services. However, there are some security risks associated with using… Continue Reading

Google is using AI to better detect searches from people in crisis

The Verge: “In a personal crisis, many people turn to an impersonal source of support: Google. Every day, the company fields searches on topics like suicide, sexual assault, and domestic abuse. But Google wants to do more to direct people to the information they need, and says new AI techniques that better parse the complexities… Continue Reading