3 questions. 3 hints. 3 answers. Every Tuesday.
1. In the realm of bioweapons, what agent resides within one of Monty Python’s most famous furry characters?
Hint:
Answer: apparently, the Killer Rabbit is anything but a fictional entity. Rabbits are choice hosts for Tularemia, a robust and complex microbe that researchers are currently studying in order to be better equipped to handle a potential terrorist bio-attack. Symptoms of an infection include ulcers, swollen lymph nodes, and flu-like symptoms. Untreated, “rabbit fever” can kill, as it did a few summers ago on Martha’s Vineyard when 15 residents contracted rabbit fever believed to have resulted from someone running over an infected bunny with a lawnmower. Scientists have been aware of Tularemia’s potential for years. During World War II, the U.S. Japan and Russia each investigated Tularemia’s feasibility for use as a bioweapon. Read additional details here.
2. What do pizza, Mount Vesuvius and canine DNA testing all have in common?
Hint:
Answer: poop happens, especially in Naples, Italy. In a city that has an ongoing problem with striking municipal workers, such that common garbage collection can be a problem, the area’s administration is taking the appropriate disposal of dog waste to a new level. In order to gain some measure of control over the offensive piles mounting up on city streets & sidewalks, dogs will be required to undergo DNA testing, results of which which will be matched up to each dog’s owner. The fine for not cleaning up the effects of a bowl of kibble? Up to 500 Euros (close to $700). According to the city’s vice-mayor, it’s all about “respect.” One wonders though, who will pay for the droppings left behind by the many strays? Read more here.
3. What does not now, but likely will, know you better than YOU?
Hint:
Answer: Ray Kurzweil, director of engineering at Google, is helping to create a very smart computer capable of mastering the human mind, including yours. According to Kurzweil, “Google will soon know the answer to your question before you have asked it. It will have read every email you’ve ever written, every document, every idle thought you’ve ever tapped into a search-engine box. It will know you better than your intimate partner does. Better, perhaps, than even yourself.” Read about Kurzweil’s projections here.