6. Interesting Reads
“Summer is nearly here, and it’s bringing fears of a rare tick-borne disease called Powassan. This potentially life-threatening virus is carried and transmitted by three types of ticks, including the deer tick that transmits Lyme disease. Over the past decade, 75 cases have been reported in the northeastern states and the Great Lakes region, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though no one can say how many infections will occur this year, warmer winters have led to an increased tick population, so experts predict rising tick-borne infections of many types.”
(CNN)
“Eating “gluten-free” when there’s no medical need to do so won’t boost your heart health — and might even harm it, a new study warns. Gluten-free diets have soared in popularity in recent years. But, shunning gluten has no heart benefits for people without celiac disease, and it may mean consuming a diet lacking heart-healthy whole grains, according to the quarter-century study. “For the vast majority of people who can tolerate it, restricting gluten to improve your overall health is likely not to be a beneficial strategy,” said study leader Dr. Andrew Chan.”
“If you have a green thumb, or better yet, don’t have a green thumb, you’ll enjoy this list of 11 easiest garden vegetables to grow. Growing up in the south, I can definitely be a country girl when I need to. I enjoy the outdoors and every so often don’t mind getting my hands dirty with a little yard work. While I’d prefer to mow the grass more than anything, it’s also fun to get out on my aunt’s farm to do some planting, digging or harvesting. My mother and her siblings grew up on a farm, so gardening and farming are pretty much in our family’s genes. Gardening and farming, if you enjoy it, can also be very relaxing. While some people, like my aunt, have massive gardens to sell fruits and vegetables, others enjoy a smaller home garden to plant what they plan to eat.”
“We’re now five months into 2017, and Apple’s new iOS 11 platform is about one month away from being released as a beta. iOS 10, Apple’s most recent public software release, is currently installed on about 80% of active iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices. iPhone users, can you even imagine what life would be like if the majority of those active iOS devices were running iOS 8 from all the way back in 2014? Well guess what: that’s exactly what life is like for Android users. Android 7.0 Nougat was first released nearly a year ago and Android O, the next major Android release, has been available as a beta for more than a month now. Meanwhile, the most widely used version of Android as of yesterday is Android Lollipop, which was released to the public on November 12th, 2014. Ugh.“
(BGR.com)
“There seems to be a constant push to always be upgrading your smartphone to the next latest and greatest model. That push comes from the smartphone manufacturers and the mobile networks, both of which want more of your cash. Smartphones are also getting bigger and can look quite ridiculous sticking out of a pocket. Then there’s Jelly. Jelly looks to be the opposite of everything companies including Apple, Samsung, and Google tell you is what a modern smartphone should be. It’s a tiny Android phone, using a 2.45-inch display, only costs $109, the battery is removable, there’s a microSD card slot, and it has dual SIM card support.”
(PC Mag)
“Are you interested in the easiest countries to find a wife? While singing the famous song ‘Are you lonesome tonight?’ you may be wondering about having a long-term relationship or marrying a girl. But whom? Are there lots of women in your town, city, country but they just don’t do it for you? You should consider looking for a bride in other countries as well! In our rushing but having-a-lot-of-possibilities world, you can use the internet for it, too! Now you have given the opportunity to investigate the ten easiest countries to find a wife with us! Why do men want girlfriends or wives from other countries? If we observe this phenomenon, we can get various answers.”
“Was our solar system once home to an advanced civilization other than our own — perhaps one that predated humanity by hundreds of millions of years before being wiped out by an asteroid impact or some other cataclysm? There’s no evidence for such a pre-human indigenous technological species, though people have been speculating about one since ancient times. But a respected space scientist points out in a provocative new paper that if the existence of home-grown intelligent space aliens has never been established, it’s never been ruled out either.”
(NBC News)
“Ride sharing company Uber is fighting to keep its self-driving program alive while it defends itself in a lawsuit launched by Google’s parent company Alphabet, which has accused the company of stealing trade secrets. On Wednesday, Uber and Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving car unit, will face off in federal court in San Francisco over whether Uber should halt development of its self-driving program while the lawsuit winds through the courts. Alphabet has accused, Anthony Levandowski, a former Waymo engineer and now Uber executive of taking technical secrets from Waymo and using them to help Uber develop its self-driving car.”
(CNET.com)
