Lots of people have been taking supplemental zinc to boost their immune systems during the pandemic. It’s possible to get too much:

NIH – Zinc Consumer Fact Sheet

Signs of too much zinc include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, stomach cramps, diarrhea, and headaches. When people take too much zinc for a long time, they sometimes have problems such as low copper levels, lower immunity, and low levels of HDL cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol).

NIH – Zinc Health Professional Fact Sheet

Reductions in a copper-containing enzyme, a marker of copper status, have been reported with even moderately high zinc intakes of approximately 60 mg/day for up to 10 weeks.

The doses of zinc used in the AREDS [Age-Related Eye Disease Study] study (80 mg per day of zinc in the form of zinc oxide for 6.3 years, on average) have been associated with a significant increase in hospitalizations for genitourinary causes, raising the possibility that chronically high intakes of zinc adversely affect some aspects of urinary physiology .

What is high for you may not be high for someone else. Glancing at the RDA’s, anything over 11 mg/day doesn’t appear necessary and may be harmful – especially if taken repeatedly.

‘Human-Sized’ Spider Web Found In Missouri Forest, Independent, 4 October 2020

A giant spider web was discovered by the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Francis Skalicky off a trail near Springfield.

“Those are the kind that literally ‘catch’ people if they walk through them at night lol,” said Facebook commenter Jennifer Duffy Russell.

It was woven by an orb-weaver spider:

“Webs are built at dusk and used for snaring prey during the night. At dawn, the spider reingests the strands (along with moisture that has collected on it as dew) and recycles the nutrients in making the next web,” the Conservation Department said.

Sleeping Leopard, South Luangwa National Park, Zambia. Source: Will Burrard-Lucas

The Army Rolls Out a New Weapon: Strategic Napping, New York Times, 1 October 2020

Excerpts:

On Wednesday, the Army released new guidelines for optimal soldier performance — and they include strategic and aggressive napping.

The recommendation is part of an overhaul of the Army’s physical fitness training field manual, which was rebranded this week as the FM 7-22 Holistic Health and Fitness manual. No longer is the guide focused entirely on grueling physical challenges like long ruck marches and pull-ups. Now it has chapters on setting goals, visualizing success, “spiritual readiness” and, yes, the art of the nap.

“Soldiers can use short, infrequent naps to restore wakefulness and promote performance,” the new manual advises. “When routinely available sleep time is difficult to predict, soldiers might take the longest nap possible as frequently as time is available.”

It is the first update to the manual in eight years, and it reflects growing scientific evidence that peak physical performance includes more than just physical training.

The manual also has updates on running techniques to avoid injury, and a section on the importance of spirituality, with entries on meditation, journaling and how the “act of serving others” helps some soldiers realize the “interconnectedness of all things and people.”

“The Army has always had an internal dynamic that real men don’t need sleep and can just push on, and it’s incredibly stupid,” said Lt. Gen. David Barno, who was commander of combined forces in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005.

If it’s good enough for the Army…