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This miracle plant was eaten into extinction 2,000 years ago—or was it?

Silphion cured diseases and made food tasty, but Emperor Nero allegedly consumed the last stalk. Now, a Turkish researcher thinks he’s found a botanical survivor.

Excerpt from this story from National Geographic:

From before the rise of Athens to the height of the Roman Empire, one of the most sought-after products in the Mediterranean world was a golden-flowered plant called silphion. For ancient Greek physicians, silphion was a cure-all, prized for everything from stomach pain to wart removal. For Roman chefs, it was a culinary staple, crucial for spicing up an everyday pot of lentils or finishing an extravagant dish of scalded flamingo. During the reign of Julius Caesar, more than a thousand pounds of the plant was stockpiled alongside gold in Rome’s imperial treasuries, and silphion saplings were valued at the same price as silver.

But just seven centuries after the adored plant was first documented growing along the coast of Cyrenaica, in what is now modern Libya (according to one chronicler, it was in 638 B.C. after a “black rain” fell) silphion disappeared from the ancient Mediterranean world.

Since the Middle Ages, botanical explorers inspired by ancient accounts of this remarkable plant have sought it on three continents, and always in vain. Many historians view the disappearance of silphion as the first recorded extinction of any species, plant or animal, and a cautionary tale in how thoroughly human appetite can erase a species from the wild.

But is silphion truly extinct? Thanks to a lucky encounter almost 40 years ago, and decades of subsequent research, a professor at Istanbul University suspects he has re-discovered the last holdouts of the ancient plant more than a thousand years after it disappeared from history books, and nearly a thousand miles from where it once grew.

The root ball—the chemical factory of the plant—perfumed the air with a pleasant, slightly medicinal odor, halfway between eucalyptus and pine sap. “To me, the smell is stimulating, as well as relaxing,” Miski explained. “You can see why everybody who encounters this plant becomes attached to it.”

Miski’s hunch that Ferula drudeana would prove to be a chemical gold mine turned out to be correct: Analyses of the root extract identified 30 secondary metabolites—substances which, while they don’t contribute to the primary business of helping a plant grow or reproduce, nonetheless confer some kind of selective advantage. Among the compounds, many of which have cancer-fighting, contraceptive, and anti-inflammatory properties, is shyobunone, which acts on the brain’s benzodiazepine receptors and may contribute to the plant’s intoxicating smell. Miski believes that future analyses of the plant will reveal the existence of dozens of yet-to-be-identified compounds of medical interest.

“You find the same chemicals in rosemary, sweet flag, artichoke, sage, and galbanum, another Ferula plant,” the professor marvels. “It’s like you combined half a dozen important medicinal plants in a single species.”

🌸 comfy loungewear set // thank you for 2k!

hello! first of all, thank you for following my simblr and making this milestone happen!

as i’ve been creating more content over time, i decided to establish a dedicated patreon page for my cc. i don’t have any plans in terms of tiers at the moment - but stay tuned for updates regarding that later (if there are any lol)!

back to the loungewear set! i wanted to create more comfy outfits, plus i was also inspired by some cute color combos which i saw online :)

🌸 download + info under the cut!

Keep reading

Aspen Hair

I like to think I’m getting better at meshing hairs, if anything experience helps. For this one I created a new texture and went the extra mile to make sure that it blended well with other EA hairs color-wise.

overlays are categorized as » left nose ring « as you download them, but it can easily be changed to whatever you prefer because the texture doesn’t conflict with anything else

2 base game compatible meshes + 2 texture overlays

female, teen to elder

hat compatible

poly count for highest LOD: basic ~20k  ||  +roses ~22k

color-tagged: hairs 24 EA + 12 extras  ||  ties 16  ||  roses 20 + white on the base mesh

LODs, maps, thumbnails

disallowed for random

more of #my cc

Download links under the cut - early access (public Feb 17, 2023) RELEASED

Keep reading

nytimes.com

As Insurers Around the U.S. Bleed Cash From Climate Shocks, Homeowners Lose

It’s not just California and Florida now: Insurers are losing money around the country. It means higher rates and, sometimes, cancellation n

Excerpt from this story from the New York Times:

At first glance, Dave Langston’s predicament seems similar to headaches facing homeowners in coastal states vulnerable to catastrophic hurricanes: As disasters have become more frequent and severe, his insurance company has been losing money. Then, it canceled his coverage and left the state.

But Mr. Langston lives in Iowa.

Relatively consistent weather once made Iowa a good bet for insurance companies. But now, as a warming planet makes events like hail and wind storms worse, insurers are fleeing.

Mr. Langston spent months trying to find another company to insure the townhouses, on a quiet cul-de-sac at the edge of Cedar Rapids, that belong to members of his homeowners association. Without coverage, “if we were to have damage that hit all 17 units, we’re looking at bankruptcy for all of us,” he said.

The insurance turmoil caused by climate change — which had been concentrated in Florida, California and Louisiana — is fast becoming a contagion, spreading to states like Iowa, Arkansas, Ohio, Utah and Washington. Even in the Northeast, where homeowners insurance was still generally profitable last year, the trends are worsening.

In 2023, insurers lost money on homeowners coverage in 18 states, more than a third of the country, according to a New York Times analysis of newly available financial data. That’s up from 12 states five years ago, and eight states in 2013. The result is that insurance companies are raising premiums by as much as 50 percent or more, cutting back on coverage or leaving entire states altogether. Nationally, over the last decade, insurers paid out more in claims than they received in premiums, according to the ratings firm Moody’s, and those losses are increasing.

The growing tumult is affecting people whose homes have never been damaged and who have dutifully paid their premiums, year after year. Cancellation notices have left them scrambling to find coverage to protect what is often their single biggest investment. As a last resort, many are ending up in high-risk insurance pools created by states that are backed by the public and offer less coverage than standard policies. By and large, state regulators lack strategies to restore stability to the market.

Insurers are still turning a profit from other lines of business, like commercial and life insurance policies. But many are dropping homeowners coverage because of losses.

Tracking the shifting insurance market is complicated by the fact it is not regulated by the federal government; attempts by the Treasury Department to simply gather data have been rebuffed by some state regulators. 

The turmoil in insurance markets is a flashing red light for an American economy that is built on real property. Without insurance, banks won’t issue a mortgage; without a mortgage, most people can’t buy a home. With fewer buyers, real estate values are likely to decline, along with property tax revenues, leaving communities with less money for schools, police and other basic services.

And without sufficient insurance, people struggle to rebuild after disasters. Last year, storms, wildfires and other disasters pushed 2.5 million American adults out of their homes, according to census data, including at least 830,000 people who were displaced for six months or longer.

Hi! I see in your bio you're interested in wilderness and remote medical care, and was wondering what you mean by remote medical care? Are you referring to any care delivery outside the hospital, or telehealth, or care delivery when resource access is limited/distant? (or something else?)

Also, I'm looking to read more about both wilderness and remote care, if you have any suggestions of articles or books to check out. I'd be interested in books for clinical or general public audiences (I'm an RN myself). Thanks for the help!!

It's when care has to be delivered where resources are limited/distant. By definition, it is where definitive care (such as a EMS, clinic or hospital) is more than 20 minutes away. This is a lot more common than a lot of people think. For example: Hurt and trapped in an elevator, even with someone who knows what they're doing? That counts as remote medical care.

My 2 favorite books on the subject are Improvised Medicine by Kenneth V Iserson and Where There Is No Doctor by David Werner. You can read WTIND here.

Love Bonito (8 items)

❤ Base game compatible

❤ Teen - elder

❤ Female only.

Download ( EarlyAccess 9March)

Custom Content i used in pic :

KylieHairstyle  BonnieHairstyle  ArletteHairstyle  SusanHairstyle 

Celestial Shoes  Lissa Shoes 

Instagram

Thank you for loving my cc & and this is the T.O.U . ❤

Things you can't do :

-Re-upload , Re-edit , Put behind paywalls , Steal or Claim it as yours .

myshunosun's favorites: Skin Details (Maxis Match)

Last updated: 29 Jan 2023

Default replacements

Dynastid eyes, squea + addons + personal addons

Butterish default skin, lamatisse

EA teeth replacement, pyxiidis

Skintones

Lore skintones, lamatisse

Bare skintones, lamatisse

Skin overlays

Dusty skinblend, squea + personal addons (this is my most used overlay)

Lemonade overlay, twistedcat

Mocha overlay, sammi-xox

Myrica overlay, nesurii

Azalea overlay, nesurii

Aeonium overlay, nesurii

Cocos overlay, nesurii

Mint skinblend, mousysims

Mesmerized overlay, plumbhead

Winter Berry overlays, northernsiberiawinds

Eyebrows (by creator)

Twistedcat: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Peachyfaerie: 1, 2, 3, 4

miiko-cc: 1

Face and body kits (by creator)

Faaeish (item previews): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Pyxiidis: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ratboysims: 1, 2

miiko-cc: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Nolan-sims: 1, 2

softerhaze: 1, 2

mmsims: 1, 2

LamingtonSims: Spots, Scars and Splotches

Luumia: Body hair

Hairlines

Whispy Hairline, rheallsim

Pixelore's Organic Hairline, qwertysims

Tasha Hairline, ceeproductions

flowers bun

inspired by miley’s hair in her flowers music video

bgc

hat compatible

all 24 ea swatches

dl