Shovelbum26

I think what he's saying is that the suit protection is only good if you can maintain integrity. Full biohazard suits have internal atmosphere, are pressurized, etc, just like a space suit, to keep the ward atmosphere and all the potential viruses outside. A space suit can keep you alive when there is nothing outside. It's really good at that.

But, any tear, any puncture, any compromise of the suit and your protection is gone. In space that isn't a huge problem. Afterall, what are you going to run into?

But in a place like an Ebola ward, bumping your leg on the corner of a table, brushing your hand over a lose screw or bolt on a hospital bed, catching your helmet on a low-hanging light, all of those can be deadly if they result in even a microscopic breach of the suit.

So, imagine you're working in an overcrowded ward thrown together in some church or community center. You're somewhere in the bush so your equipment and the furniture is old and covered in rough edges and sharp corners that would never be allowed in a modern hospital isolation ward. You're working 16 hour shifts because there aren't enough doctors to handle the patient load. It quickly becomes very clear how a single moment of lapsed concentration can result in a suit breach.

Think about it, parts of the body that are on the outside are going to be moved to the inside. Any hair needs to be removed in a way that will ensure it never comes back, or you're going to have problems with infection.

So the hormone therapy actually re-structures the brain cognitive functions? or is it just different levels of chems in the brain like dopamine/serotonin?

Both actually, levels of hormones are largely what determines the structure of your brain. I've heard having hormone therapy likened to becoming a new person. Of course you remember everything before hormone therapy but I've heard people say some memories don't "feel" like they happened to you but rather to someone else, because you can't imagine reacting that way anymore if it happened again.

Yeah, I didn't mean to imply that suit breach wouldn't be a problem in space, more that it is generally much less likely in space as there is a relative dearth of things to breach the suit on. :)

And I actually read that one of the American nurses who is in the US right now being treated for Ebola likely contacted it through her duties sterilizing suits.

Gender pronouns too. I have a friend who goes by they/them now, but I knew them under their previous pronouns for years, so sometimes I use the wrong one. They're very understanding though because they know I don't do it on purpose or maliciously (like some people they know, who refuse to use the pronouns of their choice out of spite).