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18 Feb, 5 tweets, 2 min read
BREAKING: There is now a SECOND cloning for wildlife conservation. This time it's for America's most endangered mammal, the Black-footed Ferret.

Welcome Elizabeth Ann, cloned from cells of the genetically rich Emma, who died 32 years ago.
drive.google.com/file/d/105Iqtm…
This breakthrough was a collaboration of Revive & Restore, US Fish & Wildlife, the San Diego Frozen Zoo, and ViaGen Pets & Equine.

This was a CROSS-species cloning. The birth mother was a *domestic* ferret. More info here:
reviverestore.org/projects/black…
The eventual goal is to genetically enrich the dangerously inbred populations of captive and wild Black-footed Ferrets. That will restore their original adaptivity and resilience.
We are also working on a way to make Black-footed Ferrets genetically immune to sylvatic plague--a human-caused disease that keeps decimating the wild populations.

Lots more work to do.
Ahem. Correction: the source of Elizabeth Ann’s genes is WILLA (not Emma).

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More from @stewartbrand

Stewart Brand Profile picture
16 Feb
Brian Eno has been exploring for a year the currently viral radio.garden . This longish thread is his curation of the "global jukebox"-- as @kevin2kelly described it in an email to Eno. How Eno responded is below...
Brian Eno:

HA!

I think I wrote to you about this app nearly a year ago! And if I didn’t I certainly meant to. It’s been an absolute saviour to me out in the countryside here, and I’ve discovered new worlds of music through it.
One of my all time favourite stations is CHEBOKSARY, which broadcasts from central Russia. It is nothing but wall-to-wall Orthodox chants - no speaking, no ads, just music, 24/7. The stylistic range of Orthodox chanting is astonishing, and the grandeur and poignancy of this...
Read 11 tweets
Stewart Brand Profile picture
5 Sep 20
This is huge. The first cloning for conservation.

It's a male Przewalski's horse ("shuh-VAL-ski") from 40 years ago, now revived to help enrich the genomes of the whole wild population.

Thanks to San Diego Zoo, ViaGen, and Revive & Restore
Here's the cloned (twinned, "revived") foal, named Kurt:
Noted the classic "Mohawk" mane. And how he jumps the water bowl, then heads back to surrogate mom.

He's feisty too, in no way a domestic horse.
Read 8 tweets
Stewart Brand Profile picture
12 Jun 20
Short thread:

Are face shields better than masks?

Are they more effective against Covid-19?

Are they easier and more sociable to wear? (Here's how they look in comparison on me.)
If you know of extensive research on the medical effectiveness of face shields vs. masks, please link it here.

What I could find easily suggests that face shields are really good, probably better than most masks. One such report:
self.com/story/face-shi…
In terms of sociability, the face shield is a huge improvement over masks. Your face--your smile-- is fully visible instead of concealed like a bandit. Lip readers can read you.

You can put it on and off like a hat.

Mine from Amazon--2 for $25
smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08…
Read 10 tweets
Stewart Brand Profile picture
11 Apr 20
Errand done. (I'm in excellent health currently.)

Here's my Medical Directive for the Covid-19 situation. Now signed and notarized.

(Sources and full text will follow in this thread, for anyone interested.)
The note is addressed to my designated Medical Advocates, Alexander Rose and Ryan Phelan @Ryanphelan6--my hospice-trained wife who has 25 years in the healthcare biz.

My note is near-identical to the one she wrote, after she gave it much thought and research.
The text of Ryan's note is derived directly from one about dementia in Katy Butler's excellent book, THE ART OF DYING WELL, p 127. (Ryan checked her version with Katy.)

Here's the text of mine...
Read 15 tweets
Stewart Brand Profile picture
2 Apr 20
1/ How well do Corvid patients fare on ventilators?

Not well, according to gradually accumulating data. The death rate is high compared to other ailments.

It’s a prolonged torturous process, and the patient can’t be visited, except digitally.
physiciansweekly.com/mortality-rate…
2/ So, some patients may choose (and must be able to insist) that they NOT be vented.

They may prefer to stick with oxygen via cannula, some appropriate drugs, and a family member or care partner on hand.

If they die, it is gentler exit, on terms they chose.
3/ The next level would be the ability to take the oxygen and drugs and professional oversight HOME.

At present, hospice can’t provide this. But something needs to.

Right?
Read 4 tweets
Stewart Brand Profile picture
23 Mar 20
Query/suggestion thread...

What will be the reliable public indicator that a person has tested IMMUNE and can join the “coronacorp” of people who can safely help others and go back to work.

And kind of entity will certify them?
In his Wired interview @larrybrilliant said the immune indicator could be a concert bracelet. (He’s long been a friend of the Grateful Dead.)

He didn’t say who would do the certifying.

What do you suggest or predict?
(Ahem — “What kind of entity will certify them?”)
Read 6 tweets

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