Scott Gruber's microblog


R0 = βN/( α + b + v)

“R0 = βN/( α + b + v) In English: The evolutionary success of a bug is directly related to its rate of transmission through the host population and inversely but intricately related to its lethality, the rate of recovery from it, and the normal death rate from all other causes. (The clunky imprecision of that sentence is why ecologists prefer math.) So the first rule of a successful parasite is slightly more complicated than Don’t kill your host. It’s more complicated even than Don’t burn your bridges until after you’ve crossed them. The first rule of a successful parasite is βN/( α + b + v).”

— Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen a.co/8FU04W1

“Polio, during its worst years, struck hundreds of thousands of children and paralyzed or killed many, captured public attention like headlights freezing a deer, and brought drastic changes to the way large-scale medical research is financed and conducted.”🦠 a.co/dWzem1z

The first lesson on leading a remote team when the world’s on fire is the most obvious one, but it’s shockingly easy to miss: the operative phrase is not remote team but world’s on fire.

The hard way aworkinglibrary.com/writing/h…

Helen’s Cycles.

🦠Dataviz Santa Monica COVID-19 Response Dashboard

Spring morning light. 📷

How The Government Can Mobilize In A Pandemic Author Max Brooks (& comedian Mel Brook’s son, became an expert on disaster preparedness — from pandemics to nuclear war — through researching for his book, ‘World War Z.” Listen to 🎙 interview with Terry Gross. overcast.fm

My favorite ePub reader app is @appstafarian’s Marvin for its best in class typographic controls. 📖 Appstafarian - Marvin - SxS - Gerty - Sift

Nextstrain open source project

Nextstrain is an open-source project to harness the scientific and public health potential of pathogen genome data. We provide a continually-updated view of publicly available data alongside powerful analytic and visualization tools for use by the community. Our goal is to aid epidemiological understanding and improve outbreak response.

Nextstrain

The old Darwinian truth — humanity is a kind of animal

“A zoonosis is an animal infection transmissible to humans. There are more such diseases than you might expect. AIDS is one. Influenza is a whole category of others. Pondering them as a group tends to reaffirm the old Darwinian truth (the darkest of his truths, well known and persistently forgotten) that humanity is a kind of animal, inextricably connected with other animals: in origin and in descent, in sickness and in health.”

— Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen #🦠📖 a.co/9H0fIvZ

Quarantine book club—Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic

“Infectious disease is a kind of natural mortar binding one creature to another, one species to another, within the elaborate biophysical edifices we call ecosystems. It’s one of the basic processes that ecologists study, including also predation, competition, decomposition, and photosynthesis.”

— Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen #📖 a.co/dAO8eli

Can’t Get Tested? Maybe You’re in the Wrong Country

In Singapore, the prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong reminded the public about the 2003 SARS outbreak and said he planned to overreact to the coronavirus.

“We have built up our institutions, our plans, our facilities, our stockpiles, our people, our training,” he said on Jan. 31. “Because we knew that one day something like that would happen again.”

Decisions and blunders made months ago have caused testing disparities worldwide. The science, it turns out, was the easy part.

Well reported on NYT #📖

David Quammen talks about his latest book—Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic.

2012 podcast from Scientific American of obvious relevance today as COVID-19 pandemic rages round the world 🦠🎙

A thing by film—Quarantined Italians record messages for “themself from 10 days ago” about COVID-19 pandemic 📺

www.youtube.com/watch

I just participated in an online Toastmasters meetup and won a virtual ribbon for “best short talk” about design life in Wuhan, a friend’s commutes through northern Italy for work and Issac Newton who worked on inventing calculus during a pandemic. It’s a small world we live in.

#NowPlaying Norah Jones Sunrise music.apple.com

#NowPlaying Johnny Nash’s I can see clearly now. music.apple.com

Home sweet home 🏡

Point Magu State Beach.

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Mugu Lagoon Estuary Vista Point.

Santa Barbara Historical Museum. Pepper tree 📷

Meridian Studios.

Vista Point Dos Amigos Pumping Station.

Dos Amigos Pumping Plant California Aqueduct San Luis Canal 📷