CSI has failed me
In one of the episodes tonight, the asst coroner stated that he found E. coli in the GI tract of a person whose abdomen was slashed (with evidence that the damage was done by human teeth). He suggested that the victim may have eaten a bad burger and stated that the suspect would probably be sick.
Well, of course he found E. coli in the GI tract. It *lives* there. Millions of them live there quite happily and cause you no trouble whatsoever. In fact, E. coli makes up the bulk of the fecal matter that is produced.
Regular gut-inhabiting E. coli will, in fact, make you sick when it gets in places that it doesn't belong. It does cause gastroenteritis when ingested (it's probably the leading cause of traveler's diarrhea) and it's the causative agent of the majority of urinary tract infections.
The "bad" E. coli (and the bug which was found on the fresh spinach in the recent outbreak) is a particular strain of pathogenic E. coli known as Shiga-toxin producing E. coli or STEC. E. coli O157:H7 is ONE strain of STEC. There are about 40 strains which produce this toxin and cause an enterohemorrhagic infection (bloody diarrhea). There are also other pathogenic strains of E. coli which can cause nasty disease.
Oh well....I suppose it had to happen some time. Knowing much at all about science means that you're bound to be disappointed by the "facts" presented in most TV shows. At least CSI can manage to pronounce the big words correctly. I still cringe when I remember someone saying "He-ma-toe'-crit" instead of "He-mat'-o-crit". That was even supposed to be some sort of disease investigation show. I turned it off after that incident--after less than 10 minutes of watching. I don't even remember the name of the show. I *do* remember that it didn't last more than a single season.
This does remind me that I have a web domain registered for a site which, once I design it, will explain the differences between the TV/movie world and the actual real world. I may just have to work on that during lunch breaks at work. I need to work on my web design skills anyway.
Other "Projects"
I have found a cool knitting project. It's called the Dulaan Project. Dulaan is the Mongolian word for "warm". The Dulaan Project seeks to provide warm hats, gloves/mittens, scarves, sweaters, socks to orphan children in Mongolia. Today I found a pattern for something called Ken's Dulaan Hat on the Yarn Harlot's blog. I figure I can whip out a nice thick, warm hat this evening while relaxing with my mug of hazelnut coffee.
Other small happinesses:
I found a cricket in my bedroom tonight. Crickets are good luck! Perhaps s/he will serenade me with chirping later.
I had a lovely lunch while reading a collection of essays from various persons who were adventurers or explorers and wrote for National Geographic. The essay I started with was written by Theodore Roosevelt. I didn't get very far though. Actually...that reminds me, I need to renew my books tonight.
Well, of course he found E. coli in the GI tract. It *lives* there. Millions of them live there quite happily and cause you no trouble whatsoever. In fact, E. coli makes up the bulk of the fecal matter that is produced.
Regular gut-inhabiting E. coli will, in fact, make you sick when it gets in places that it doesn't belong. It does cause gastroenteritis when ingested (it's probably the leading cause of traveler's diarrhea) and it's the causative agent of the majority of urinary tract infections.
The "bad" E. coli (and the bug which was found on the fresh spinach in the recent outbreak) is a particular strain of pathogenic E. coli known as Shiga-toxin producing E. coli or STEC. E. coli O157:H7 is ONE strain of STEC. There are about 40 strains which produce this toxin and cause an enterohemorrhagic infection (bloody diarrhea). There are also other pathogenic strains of E. coli which can cause nasty disease.
Oh well....I suppose it had to happen some time. Knowing much at all about science means that you're bound to be disappointed by the "facts" presented in most TV shows. At least CSI can manage to pronounce the big words correctly. I still cringe when I remember someone saying "He-ma-toe'-crit" instead of "He-mat'-o-crit". That was even supposed to be some sort of disease investigation show. I turned it off after that incident--after less than 10 minutes of watching. I don't even remember the name of the show. I *do* remember that it didn't last more than a single season.
This does remind me that I have a web domain registered for a site which, once I design it, will explain the differences between the TV/movie world and the actual real world. I may just have to work on that during lunch breaks at work. I need to work on my web design skills anyway.
Other "Projects"
I have found a cool knitting project. It's called the Dulaan Project. Dulaan is the Mongolian word for "warm". The Dulaan Project seeks to provide warm hats, gloves/mittens, scarves, sweaters, socks to orphan children in Mongolia. Today I found a pattern for something called Ken's Dulaan Hat on the Yarn Harlot's blog. I figure I can whip out a nice thick, warm hat this evening while relaxing with my mug of hazelnut coffee.
Other small happinesses:
I found a cricket in my bedroom tonight. Crickets are good luck! Perhaps s/he will serenade me with chirping later.
I had a lovely lunch while reading a collection of essays from various persons who were adventurers or explorers and wrote for National Geographic. The essay I started with was written by Theodore Roosevelt. I didn't get very far though. Actually...that reminds me, I need to renew my books tonight.
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