Smell the Lilacs as you go by. Can Llamas or Sharks help us with a vaccine for Covid 19, 8 Activities for the week, Your Grandparents recipes, Space, Moscow, St. Petersburg and The Silk Road, Kyrgyzstan

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Monday
5/18

My lilac trees are old and tall;
I cannot reach their bloom at all.
They send their perfume over trees
And roofs and streets, to find the bees.
–Louise Driscoll (1875–1957)







SCIENCE
Llama Antibodies Neutralize Virus That Causes COVID-19, New Research Shows
Daniel Wrapp: In the early 90s it was discovered that camelids, which is a group that includes llamas, alpacas, camels and a couple other animals, produced a specialized class of antibodies which are called nanobodies. The reason they're called that is because they're about half the size of the conventional antibodies that you and I would produce.

CommonHealthMay 15, 2020
Mitch Wertlieb: So presumably you did not just pick any animal out of a hat. Why did your team think that llamas might have antibodies that could actually help fight the coronavirus?
Daniel Wrapp: In the early 90s it was discovered that camelids, which is a group that includes llamas, alpacas, camels and a couple other animals, produced a specialized class of antibodies which are called nanobodies. The reason they're called that is because they're about half the size of the conventional antibodies that you and I would produce. And because of that smaller size, they have enhanced stability and they're also able to wedge themselves into crevices that larger antibodies wouldn't otherwise be able to access.
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…..So in 2016, in collaboration with our colleagues at Ghent University in Belgium, we vaccinated a 4-year-old llama, named Winter, with the coronavirus spike proteins from the viruses that caused the MERS and SARS outbreaks. From the llama, we were able to isolate two really potently neutralizing antibodies: one directed against MERS, one directed against SARS. And we were in the process of writing up these results when the current pandemic broke.
Any idea why llamas and their relatives have these special antibodies that many organisms don't?
That would be a really interesting question for an evolutionary biologist, because these smaller antibodies also exist in sharks. But it is thought that was a two distinct evolutionary events: one in llamas and one in sharks.





Countries response to CoronaVirus and the outcomes currently.




8 Activities, FOR THE WEEK
Choose 1 or more that interest you per day.

FIELDTRIP
MEXICO
Learning Resources for the Week
National Geographic

Learn about Snowy Owls.

Which Instrument are you most like?

Video about Minnesota

50 Birds/50 States

Fun animal facts

Animals being silly

Bingo cards for Family walks
The downloads here.

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SCIENCE

SPACE
JUPITER

CLOSEST BLACK HOLE TO EARTH DISCOVERED
BLACK HOLE IN STAR SYSTEM WE CAN SEE WITH NAKED EYE

STARGAZING
Ready to go stargazing?
Here are all the best stargazing events that you can get out and see this month or you could stay in a stream the northern lights from home. If you're just getting started, check out our guide to astronomy for beginners
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IN THE KITCHEN
Family Recipe's

WHY you should definitely learn your Grandma’s recipes.


FUN EXPERIMENT
MAKE FROG BREAD, ALLIGATOR or other…
Tick Tock’s Bread
…I’m not rushing to make another loaf of frog bread anytime soon, but if you’re looking for a hilarious way to waste an afternoon, make versatile (and delicious) bread, or become TikTok famous, try the best low-stakes quarantine baking trend.


FIELD TRIP
Kyrgyzstan

 Visit the Old Silk Road
A crossroad between East and West, ancient and modern, very old and very new, the Silk Road was once the overland route connecting trade in central China with India, the Middle East, and Europe. Today it’s the gateway to the deep-cut destinations of Central Asia including Mongolia, Azerbaijan, and Afghanistan. One incredible starting point is Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous country of exquisite natural beauty that will push you outside your comfort zone in the most rewarding ways. -- Tanner Saunders
World Nomad Games -- like the Olympics, but waaay more hardcore. Finally, this little country is getting the big reputation it deserves, as a hiking and horse-trekking destination, and a Silk Road travel hub.

Some fast facts about Kyrgyzstan:
Name: The Kyrgyz Republic, or colloquially, Kyrgyzstan
Currency: Kyrgyz Som
Capitalcity: Bishkek
Price of a meal: 100som - 800som ($1.50 - $12)
B&B at a yurt camp: 600som - 1500som ($9 - $22)
Trekking guide per day: 1400som - 3500som ($20 - $50)
Horse hire per day: 1200som - 1500som ($17 - $22)
FIELD TRIP, Russia
Red Square, Moscow, Russia

Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed in Moscow, 1554–60.K. Scholz/H. Armstrong Roberts


Russia's cultural capital is a fantasia of over-the-top architecture, recalling bygone eras of royal opulence and revolution. Get ready for the largest, most magnificent buildings you’ve ever seen, like the candy-colored Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, the rococo woah of Catherine Palace, Smolny Cathedral channeling Disney, and huge art galleries like the monstrous yellow Russian Museum. The world’s second-largest museum, the State Hermitage housed in the emperor’s Winter Palace, is essentially the fanciest museum ever with expensive chandeliers, intricate stucco, marble floors and an enormous collection sprawling across 360 rooms. 

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