You might think it wouldn't be a problem, what with Covid 19 and all. There are plenty of reminders that I am a walking, mobile pile of nutrients. I was surprised to learn that viruses were only first known in the 1890's. Bacteria were known long before but they are in general much bigger. It takes more powerful methods to see a virus.
But it is not just some viruses that are on the lookout to consume me. There is an article in today's Num Lock News about fungus:
Anti-Fungal
Fungi can cause serious debilitating illnesses in people the same way that bacteria can, and can spread around the world the same way that a pandemic can. At issue, though, is that the medical toolbox to fight fungi is considerably slimmer than that used to fight bacteria. The challenge is in part due to the reality that fungi cells have more in common with human cells than most bacteria cells have with human cells, so developing a drug that can fight fungi without hurting our own cells is a difficult problem. As a result, there are only five classes of antifungal drugs compared to more than 20 classes of antibiotics, and a new class of antifungals only hits the market every 20 years or so.
Maryn McKenna, Scientific American
I read once that grizzly bears are very mean and tough but that black bears tend to be more likely to eat a human arm or leg. I am pretty well recovered from my wrist injury the other day. Reading "The Better Half" about the genetic superiority of women over men has alerted me to the ways aging and deterioration are slowly getting me. The book "The Longevity Economy" does a good job pointing out changes in lives when many humans live a good deal longer than they used to. I used to think of simple wear and tear as the main force that ages me but now I see that there are lots of little, non-obvious forces that lust after my juicy cells.
