My Virtual Reading Room

Nerds and geeks are taking over the Paris Olympics

Geeks find an obsessive interest that most others don’t share, then pursue it intelligently. That’s why they’re having so much success at the Summer Games.

My neighbor lived to be 109. This is what I learned from him.

Nurse began working at hospital during WWII and hasn’t stopped. She’s 97.

(great story but a somewhat misleading title)

People, Relationships, Children, and Sports:

Pride sign decayed as a man fought cancer. Neighbors revived it, from The Washington Post

Silver Spring neighborhood restores iconic LOVE sign to honor its creator, Mike Heffner, who died of cancer last year.

They wanted to foster a child. Overnight, they got 3: ‘Can we do this?’

“These kids needed a place to live, and they needed to be together,” said PJ McKay, who documents his fatherhood journey with his husband.

An Olympic friendship that defied Hitler, from BBC

(thanks to lindahoyland for this link)

Science, Healthcare, and Art:

What is it like to attend a predatory conference?, from Nature

Nature sent a reporter to find out as part of an investigation into dud events.


  Nurse Survey Signals Improvements, Though Retention Still a Problem from MedPage Today

— Efforts to "recruit more nurses are akin to fueling a car with a leaking gas tank," one RN says

... "You can't recruit your way out of a retention problem."...

As Surrealism Turns 100, a Look at Its Enduring Legacy , from ArtNews

For nurses and doctors struggling with mental health, ‘You are not alone’

Most Medical, Nursing Students Don't Plan to Treat Patients, Survey Finds

The Science of Sleep: Dreaming, Depression, and How REM Sleep Regulates Negative Emotions

There's an Important Reason Disturbed Sleep Makes Everything Hurt More

When plastic surgeon “Dr. Roxy” rose to TikTok fame, her OR seemed busier than ever. Until a record of botched surgeries caught up to her.

Primary care saves lives. Here’s why it’s failing Americans, from The Washington Post

Is there a nursing shortage in the United States? Depends on whom you ask, from STAT news

The Portly Victorian Undertaker Who Launched the World’s First Low-Carb Craze

What Does “Clean” Really Mean?, from Serious Eats

(the last link via minoanmiss --many thanks!)