Gleanings of the Week Ending December 20, 2014

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

The Hooting Season: Enjoying Great Horned Owls - I liked the owl pictures!

What Are MOOCs Good For? - I enjoy the Coursera MOOCs so I thought I would read a review of MOOCs in general.  I was surprised that the review barely mentions people like me that enjoy MOOCs to learn about a topic rather than to get a certification or qualification for a career. When I look at discussion boards - it seems like there are quite of few of us ‘post career’ folks taking MOOCs.

Walking Fish Model Evolution - I had heard about ‘walking fish’ but had never seen one in action. This post includes a video....and discusses how the fishes bones change if they are walking frequently.

Three ways cats can control our minds - There is a summary in the narrative of the three ways but the video is worth watching! Fun!

An Ocean of Plastic - I’ve been hearing more about this recently…we have to figure out how to stop putting more plastic into the ocean. On an individual level - recycling plastic is an OK answer but not really good enough. It’s hard to avoid plastic but that is what we need to think more about. I have already stopped buying bottled water and I carry reusable shopping bags whenever I shop (not just for groceries although that is how I started).

A Bird's Eye View of Humpback Whales Participating In Bubble Feeding - This is like the walking fish post - something I’d read about but never seen. The second video provides more narrative about how they do it (if you don’t hear the narrative check the audio volume).

EPA’s Energy Efficiency Action Week & New Energy Star Home Advisor - This online tool has been updated according to this post. The tool itself is available here.  Be prepared to hunt through records if your want to assess your house with this tool!

Absolutely Stunning Examples of Lakes and Rivers with Unearthly Colors - I appreciate the ones that are colors from nature….the ones from pollution are very sad.

Chemical-Sensing Displays and Other Surprising Uses of Glass - A peek at Corning research.

Desalination out of Desperation - There is a lot of water in the sea….but desalination is still very expensive. But we may be coming close to a time when we’ll pay the price.

Gleanings of the Week Ending November 22, 2014

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Winter Lodging in the National Parks: The Choices Are Many and Intriguing - I’ve stayed at the Flagg Ranch in early spring….and it did snow while we were there. There are lots of other parks with winter lodging!

Prairie Ecologist’s Photo of the Week – November 14, 2014 - A series of photos of a Chinese mantis (feeding on a sphinx moth).

The strange world inside cheese - cheese=the castle built by microbes

IEA World Energy Outlook 2014: 5 Takeaways - None of the 5 seem surprising to me….only that they rank above other aspects of the world energy outlook. The International Energy Agency is looking out to 2040.

Scientists Have Climbed To the Bottom of the Mysterious Siberian Crater - The bottom is about 35 feet below the surface and is a frozen lake. The depth of the lake is estimated to be 35 feet deep, but it could be deeper. The picture look like it could be on another planet…but this is Earth and there could be more of these forming as the climate warms.

It Turns Out That "Longevity Genes" Don't Exist - Evidently the genetic underpinnings maybe real but they are so complex that this study that included 20% of the people alive today that are over 110 years old could not pinpoint anything that seemed like ‘longevity genes.’ One of the people even carried a gene variant that raises the risk of sudden death caused by irregular heart rhythms!

Epic 4K Sun Video, with Bonus Sunspot Tantrums - A video of the solar surface from the later part of October.

Butterfly Eyespots Deflect Predation - A video that shows just how effective the eyespots on butterfly winds are in saving their lives.

5 Reasons Why You Should Drink Ginger Lemon Tea - This has become my favorite hot drink as the cold weather sets in. I even like hot ginger water (no tea)! I make I in my tea maker (a coffee maker that has never ever made coffee) - putting the chunks of ginger in the carafe. I add lemon in the cup - if I add it at all.

Nothing fishy about health benefits of plant-based omega-3 fatty acid -The chia seeds I have for breakfast almost every morning are high in omega-3….and it’s a good thing!

Major Revamp Planned for D.C.’s South Mall - It’s a long way from happening but the proposal is more extensive than I expected. I want to take a lot of pictures of the ‘as is’ next time I go to the Smithsonian.

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 18, 2014

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Corruption of health care delivery system?  - Most of us probably realize - at least occasionally - that the US healthcare system is a profit-driven service industry, where commercial interests overcome just about everything. I know that I don’t trust my doctor as much now as I did 20 years ago! Unfortunately - this study was more about documenting the problem rather than suggesting a solution.

Video Proof That Cats Are Furry Work Saboteurs - Fun! Anyone that has a computer and a cat can identify with the antics in this video.

These Are the 100 Most Interesting Geologic Spots In The British Isles - From the Geological Society.  The site that the article highlights is here.

Two posts about things Tucson….where I may travel later this year: Rehabbing Trails in Saguaro National Park and Surpassing Expectations Tucson Streetcar Ridership Enjoys Great Beginning

These Mirrors Are Part of the Biggest Space Telescope - The silver and gold mirrors for the James Webb Space Telescope

Conservation and Food Security: The $115 Billion Question - Increasing focus is on crop wild relatives (CWRs) - plans that are closely related to domestic agricultural crops. Over the past 30 years, at least 60 CWRs have contributed more than 100 beneficial traits to 13 major crops such as wheat, rice, tomato, and potato.

Yosemite Nature Notes: Monarchs and Milkweed - A short video about milkweed and all the insects (and birds) that come to it.  Are you ready to go out and plant some milkweed?

South Australia Achieves 100% Renewable Energy for a Whole Working Day - So - it can be done. How long will it be before some part of the US is able to do this?

Photo Break: America Puts on Its Fall Colors - I couldn’t resist at least one ‘fall’ post this week. Our area of Maryland is quite colorful.

Gleanings of the Week Ending June 21, 2014

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Historic Agreement Aims to Restore, Protect Chesapeake Bay Watershed - Good news and close to my home! The bay is a long way from recovery --- but this is progress in the right direction. There is so much of what is special about Maryland that relies on the bay!

The Location of Every Tornado Touchdown in America, Graphed - Crunching the tornado stats (strength and latitude/longitude in the US) from 1950-2013….and show it on a map.

Infographic: Schooling around the World - A collection of factoids about education. Did you know that Mexico is the country with the highest public expenditure on education (as a percentage of total public expenditure)?

Liver dangers from herbal supplements, OTC and RX drugs, new guidelines warn - Too many people assume that herbal supplements and over the counter medications are either always good - or at least not bad - for them. Drug-induced Liver Injury (DILI) is pretty scary….and the incidence is increasing.

On The Road to Three National Park Jewels in the Pacific Northwest - This is probably the direction I’ll go for my next vacation…so I am noticing all the articles coming in by feeds about the area. If you headed near the Grand Canyon, here’s recent post about what do in 4 hours!

Local Foods: From Fad to Force and What It Means - Food doesn’t always have to be the least expensive….quality and taste are important too. I am enjoying the Community Supported Agriculture veggies grown less than a mile from my house tremendously!

Spain & Portugal Could Survive Just On Geothermal Energy - Another energy producing technology to explore…and develop in a way that won’t cause other problems (like earthquakes).

If Only Modern Infographs Were As Stunning As These 19th-Century Ones - John Philipps Emslie worked over 100 years ago and packed a lot of information into his illustrations. Few of today’s infographs are as densely packed with relevant data.

This Isn't a Utopian Vision -- It's Actually What London Is Like Today - Wow! London has a lot of green space. I wonder how other cities would compare.

Omega-3 inhibits blood vessel growth in age-related macular degeneration - All the more reason to make sure you get some Omega-3 fatty acids through your diet (or through supplements if you can get it from the food you eat).

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 5, 2014

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Bridging Two Worlds - Lynne Quarmby is a cell biologist….that paints. See some of her art work here.

Several interesting paper sculpture posts: From Zim and Zou (my favorite is the bird in the first image), Massive Paper Installation Feels like You’re Walking Inside a 3D Painting and Bird Sculptures

Wish you could fertilize crops with pee? Urine luck - Article from Grist. It caused me to wonder about 1) how sustainable thinking looks for solutions that are better for the planet….but may be less expensive too, 2) how often sustainable also means ‘closed loop’ (i.e. there are no bad bi-products that build up as ‘waste’) and 3) infrastructure changes that will enable sustainability (in this case -bathrooms and sewer systems could be enablers, but different than they are today).

Noninvasive colorectal cancer screening tool shows unprecedented detection rates - Hooray! It would be great if this or some other non-invasive test became the diagnostic of choice rather than colonoscopy! No one likes the colonoscopy or the prep it requires. Surely the non-invasive test will be less expensive too.

Loblolly pine genome is largest ever sequenced: Seven times bigger than the human genome - This article includes a good explanation of the computational challenges of genomics.

Enormous Climbable Structure - Intriguing design. The sight for the developer is here. There are quite a few of them installed in children’s museums in the US and they all look like lots of fun.

Helpful Infographic Illustrates Polite Dining Around the World - Learn about the cultural nuances of dining in other countries.

Americans using more energy - Not a good trend….Are we using more as the economy improves?

Fair bosses pay the price of burnout - Procedural fairness (structured and rule bound) is beneficial to the organization and employees….but it is hard to sustain without feeling the strain. Should leadership/management training be updated to at least acknowledge that strain and suggest ways to cope with it? Maybe sabbaticals (The Working Vacation) should become more common in non-university organizations.

Daylight saving impacts timing of heart attacks - Should people with heart conditions ‘spring forward’ more gradually?