Monday, August 07, 2017
Diameter and nothing else
This corner of the country is under a blanket of smoke from wildfires again. Fortunately the conditions here in Spokane aren't superconducive to fires. Steady 90s, dry, but no wind and no lightning. The smoke helps to moderate the heat, so it's OK by me.
Local "news" has been focusing more on the pollution, of course. They interviewed some veterinary profs at WSU about the effects on pets.
This is one of the FEW situations in biology where simple physical measurement makes all the difference. In most comparisons the infinite feedback of cells and organs and organisms, and the PURPOSEFUL actions of nervous systems, compensate for dimensions. Not here. Smaller nasal passages and smaller tracheas are more bothered by pollution, and larger airways are less bothered. Cats and Chihuahuas have trouble, horses and cows are OK. It's just diameter, nothing else.
¶ 5:58 AM 
