Fresh Loaf

DEATH BECOMES THEM: A skeletal death works in the world of pathogenic microbes in “Memento Mori” (translation: “Remember that you are mortal”).

Did the bubonic plague extinguish Europe’s feudal caste system and trigger the rise of the middle-class bourgeoisie? Did yellow fever end the trafficking of African slaves to the New World? Did the Spanish flu halt World War I? According to Outbreak: Plagues that Changed History currently on view at the CDC’s Global Health Odyssey Museum, the answers are maybe, maybe and maybe. And although it’s assuredly an oversimplification to attribute some of history’s biggest events to any single cause, Outbreak puts forth the intriguing notion that many of the defining currents of human social and cultural history around the globe have at least been influenced by some of the planet’s smallest inhabitants.

Outbreak is the artistic brainchild of painter and illustrator Bryn Barnard. Barnard’s 2005 book of the same name targets middle school children with lush gouache and oil paintings that bring to life key moments in world history. It shows how a slew of unimaginably destructive epidemiological disasters gave us the world we live in now. The current CDC exhibit comprises Barnard’s original paintings along with maps and text borrowed from the book. It’s the first collected public showing of the work, and as is typical for CDC exhibitions, Outbreak aims to make explicit connections between broad health issues and daily life. (more…)

Bookmark It

FIRE ANTS: All U.S. fire ants can be traced back to a handful of queens that stowed away on a boat from Argentina to Mobile, Ala., in the 1930s, according to a UGA entomologist.

BRETT AND THE JETS: Brett Favre was traded early this morning by the Packers to the New York Jets, ending his historic tenure in Green Bay on a sour note.

KWAME KILPATRICK: The mayor of Detroit is ordered to jail for violating the terms of his bond.

CRACKDOWN: Atlanta police begin an “indefinite” crackdown on panhandling, drug-dealing and other tourist-worrying behavior in Five Points.

CHAMBLISS: Says he’s ready for the Democratic “onslaught” now that Jim Martin is the nominee.

TED TURNER: Naturally occurring anthrax is found on his Montana ranch.

WAIT WATCHERS: CDC researchers in Atlanta report that the average nationwide emergency-room wait time has grown from 38 minutes to almost an hour over the past decade, due to increases in patients and decreases in hospital resources.

Bookmark It

FEE FOR ALL: Atlanta City Councilman Jim Maddox proposes taxing $1 for tickets to pro sporting events and major concerts in the city to help soften the looming $140 million budget shortfall.

14TH STREET BRIDGE: Dead to us.

GET OUT OF MY CAR: Between March 2007 and March 2008, American driving dropped at the steepest rate since record keeping began in 1942.

ABATED BREATH: Beginning next year, asthma sufferers will have to switch to the more expensive CFC-free inhalers for environmental reasons, good for ozone but a blow to Atlantans who already live in an asthma-unfriendly city.

YOU GOT CONSERVED: As utilities start raising rates to make up for reduced usage, the dark side of conservation is rearing its head across the Southeast.

ONE FLU OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST: Study released Monday says strains of bird flu are getting closer to conditions that could lead to a human pandemic.

GETTING BROWSY: The “browser wars” of the mid-’90s are heating back up, as Mozilla readies Firefox 3.0 for release in June and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 is due later this year.

FRIGHTENING IN A BOTTLE: Orlando man sells bottles that he claims have ghosts in them.

Bookmark It

GAME 6 TONIGHT: I’ve seen Celtic Pride. We have to keep Daniel Stern and Dan Akroyd away from Joe Johnson today.

GANGBUSTERS: Gang experts say the NBA only drew attention to Paul Pierce’s apparent gang sign during the Celtics Game 4 loss in Atlanta by fining him for it.

TEAT-TOTALING: Three out of four moms now breast-feed their babies, according to the CDC, an “all-time high” since the mid-’80s.

BRIDGE JUMPERS STANDERS: I-985 closed down yesterday; I-20 closed down this morning. Neither jumper jumped.

LOW FLOW: The state wants to extend lower flows from Lake Lanier through May 31, but just about everyone south of Atlanta doesn’t.

CLAYTON SCHOOLS: Gov. Perdue signs two bills into law to safeguard Clayton students and hold the school board more accountable as de-accreditation looms closer.

AIR ABERRANT: If you’re waiting for Atlanta to get off the list of top 10 most polluted cities, don’t hold your breath. Actually, maybe you should.

Bookmark It

Despite all the criticism the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has received — from the exodus of top scientists to the low morale of employees — the public recently rated the organization the best federal agency. The poll, conducted by Harris Interactive, was released a week after a government survey showed only 40 percent of CDC employees trust their leaders.

The varying results make you wonder: Is the public not reading the news or do they not care that the nation’s leading public-health agency could be suffering from bureaucratic changes and budget cuts? Or are CDC employees a bunch of whiny, decently paid scientists who’re just uncomfortable with change?

(more…)

Bookmark It