Bizarre life-forms found thriving in ancient rocks beneath the seafloor
By Categories: Science

Click Here to Read:  Bizarre life-forms found thriving in ancient rocks beneath the seafloor: Scientists broke open bits of oceanic crust and found them full of microbes—suggesting similar life could survive on other planets by Robin George Andrews on the National Geographic Website on April 2, 2020.
At East Diamante volcano (190 m, 623 ft depth), the chemosynthetic and photosynthetic communities overlap. Patches of encrusting red and green algae lie beneath filamentous bacterial mats on rock surfaces. The small white corals on the rocks are about 5 cm (2 in) long.  Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

These Coronavirus Exposures Might Be the Most Dangerous
By Categories: Science

Click Here to Read: These Coronavirus Exposures Might Be the Most Dangerous: As with any other poison, viruses are usually deadlier in larger amounts By Joshua D. Rabinowitz and Caroline R. Bartman in The New York Times on April 1, 2020. Images combined from a 3D medical animation, depicting the shape of coronavirus as well as the cross-sectional view. Image shows the major elements including the Spike S protein, HE protein, viral envelope, and helical RNA Image: https://www.scientificanimations.com.  Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reintroducing “A Bintel Brief” — and our new advice columnists: “Dear Abbys”
By Categories: History
From its creation in 1906, A Bintel Brief was a pillar of The Forward, and a trendsetter for advice columns across the United States. Yiddish for “a bundle of letters,” the column began out of necessity as so many readers wrote in sharing their troubles. The editor’s blunt answers helped waves of Eastern European immigrants learn how to be American.
When I took over as Editor-in-Chief of The Forward in September, I knew immediately I wanted to revive Bintel to help readers navigate the complexity of being Jewish in the 21st century, We were putting the finishing touches on the debut column when the pandemic hit hard; it only seems more urgent now. Answering your questions will be not one but two wise women named Abby — yes, “Dear Abbys,” in homage to that other legendary advice column.
Abby Sher is a stand-up comic, memoirist and author of young-adult novels who lives in Maplewood, N.J., with her husband and three children. Abby Rasminsky is a writer, teacher, and former professional dancer who recently moved to Los Angeles from Austria with her husband (a convert she actually met via The Forward!) and their daughter.
Illustrations are by Liana Finck, whose 2014 graphic novel about the original Bintel Brief brought it to life for a new generation.
The column will be publishing weekly on forward.com and as a newsletter, so watch your inbox, and please share with your friends. You can get a taste below, and send feedback — or questions — to dearabbys@forward.com. Thanks for reading, and for supporting The Forward.