Gleanings of the Week Ending December 27, 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.

How the Ancient Romans Made Better Concrete Than We Do Now - Article include the ‘how’ plus some information about how the scientists worked out the details. Roman concrete is ‘better’ in terms of durability and its production releases a lot less carbon into the atmosphere.

The Greenland Ice Sheet: Now in HD - The article is a story from Ohio State University. Some of the imagery is available here.

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #74 - As usual - I can’t resist looking through these collections of bird pictures.

The Complete History of Earth in One Tidy Infographic - As usual for infographics…lots of data packed into one page. It is worthwhile to read the text then expand the infographic to take a closer look. I am taking the Origins course so it was a nice coincidence that this graphic came out recently.

Top 10 Public Health Stories of 2014 - We are getting to the end of the year and a number of sites are compiling top stories. This one is about public health.

Over two hundred interesting new species in 2014 - We are still finding a lot of new species in the world - even while we know species are going extinct too. How will we ever know the magnitude of the extinctions when we don’t even know all the species on Earth?

Mosaic Design Gets Assist from Robotics and Enterprise Software - I’ve always enjoyed mosaics and now it appears that robots are being used to create them. Will that make them less expensive (and thus more popular)? I hope we see more mosaics in public places - and in homes too. I’ve noticed several airports with mosaics (one of the newer terminals at DFW and Tucson).

Photography in the National Parks: Looking Back On 2014 - So many good places to take pictures…

2014’s Big Advances in (Biological) Science - A list from The Scientist.

A Video Tour of Yellowstone National Park - A 5 minute video about the geysers of Yellowstone.  It’s a reminder to go back to Yellowstone - soon.

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 13, 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.

Drugs in the environment affect plant growth - Water treatment is unable to remove many of the drugs from sewage….so they are showing up in the water supply. This study was about the impact of the drugs (still in low concentrations) on plants - and they did find some changes. It looks like this is another dimension to think about when it comes to sustainability of the planet.

Art That's Made with Snow and Ice - Maybe I’ll try a simple pattern in my backyard when we get a good snow! The spirals appeal to me.

Climate change already showing effects at Kennedy Space Center - Not so surprising since it is right on Florida’s Atlantic coast. We were there in November 2013 and noticed how close much of the visible infrastructure was to the sea. There is a lot of commercial development along that coast too; it will probably face similar challenges.

Finding infant Earths and potential life just got easier - Did you know that Cornell has an Institute for Pale Blue Dots?

What really helps women achieve a good work-life balance? - The problem is broader than a time conflict based on this research. It points to a ‘glass cliff’ phenomenon whereby women and minorities are more likely to be placed in leadership positions which are risky or precarious….which exacerbates any ‘fit’ problems at work and thus impacts the perception of work-life balance.

Food: The rarely-seen robots that package what we eat - Two videos (pancakes and salami processing) and a short explanation. They are much faster and more reliable that people!

A Quick Tour of Germany's National Parks - Wow! Lots to see in Germany.  The post includes links for additional info about each one.

The Wonderful Geometry of Budapest's Spiral Staircases - Dizzying images…also beautiful.

Chesapeake Bay region streams are warming - I live in the watershed for the Chesapeake Bay. All the states have programs to monitor and improve the water quality flowing into the bay. It is challenging with so many things changing.

Early warning signals of abrupt climate change - Signals of a reorganization of the Atlantic ocean’s circulation….bad news. 

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 August 30, 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.

Higher Ed’s New Normal - An infographic comparing higher education in the 1980s and today. More students have a part-time academic schedule…but getting the degree means even more when it comes to earnings (in the 1980s, students with a BA earned 40% more than HS grads…now it is 75% more).

Are you as old as what you eat? Researchers learn how to rejuvenate aging immune cells - It was a little frustrating to read a lot about drug development to enhance immunity during aging….but the article was redeemed by the last sentence: “Another possibility is that dietary instead of drug intervention could be used to enhance immunity since metabolism and senescence are two sides of the same coin.” Hopefully there will be research along the dietary line. It seems reasonable that our nutritional needs may shift as we get older….and that adjusting our eating habits would help prolong our health.

Photography in the National Parks: Same Park, Same Scene, Different Seasons, Different Times - I paused when I saw the first pictures in this article of the La Sal Mountains - remembering my vacation to the area last fall (and my favorite picture from the drive through the mountains). Then I started thinking about what area I wanted to photograph at different seasons and decided on a project to photograph the forest behind my house once a week throughout the rest of the year.  If it goes well, I’ll continue into the spring.

An inconvenient truth: Does responsible consumption benefit corporations more than society? - I’m paying more attention to this type of research after the Globalization course I’ve just finished on Coursera. It is very difficult to be a responsible consumer when products are not available to be a responsible consumer (for example - is anyone in the developed world able to recycle 100% of their food packaging? I would like to and I doubt I am the only consumer with that desire…but it isn’t possible in my area of the US.). There are probably a lot of examples where markets are not self-correcting based on consumer desires.

The Chemical Compositions of Insect Venoms - Bees, wasps, hornets and ants….an infographic and some text that explains.

Image of the Day: Colossal Cacti - Prickly pear cacti grow very differently in the Galapagos….to get their pads out of the reach of giant tortoises.

Anesthesia professionals not sufficiently aware of risks of postoperative cognitive side effects - The postoperative cognitive side effects more frequently happen in elderly and fragile patients. Since there are more and more elderly patients, hopefully the issue will become better understood and avoided.

Unequal demands on women for university service harm careers - There are still so few women in tenured positions that the ones that are asked to serve on 50% more committees than men faculty…and all those committees take time.

A Virtual Tour of Lassen Volcanic National Park - A 3.5 minute video to get a feel for the place.

Hidden Obstacles for Google’s Self-Driving Cars - I still hope the self-driving cars become available by 2020 or shortly thereafter so I can turn the driving over the car by the time I am 70!

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 June 14, 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.

10 Top National Wildlife Refuges to Explore - I’ve only been to 2 of the 10 (Chincoteague and Wichita Mountains but I’ll take the opportunity to see more if I am in the area of these. I was surprised that Merritt Island (Florida) did not make the top 10.

The Sleep Schedules of Some of History's Greatest Minds - I was surprised at how many are on a 10PM to 5 or 6 AM schedule (which is similar to what seems to work best for me!)

The 10 Cutest Animal Flash Mobs in the World - The hummingbird video (#6 on the list has music to enjoy while you watch the hummingbirds getting fuel for migration. It’s a strangely relaxing frenzy!

The Finest Examples of Art Nouveau Architecture in Central Europe - I am more interesting in architecture since I took the Roman Architecture course last spring.

Articles that appeared recently about two of my favorite places: Mesa Verde National Park and Chaco Culture National Historical Park

Road Salt Creating Beefier Butterflies - A little extra salt causes developmental changes (and they are different for male and female Monarch butterflies) that could be beneficial….and then at some point the extra salt becomes toxic.

Company man or family man? Fatherhood and identity in the office - Research published just in time for Father’s Day.

Common heart drug's link to diabetes uncovered by researchers - The study found that statins can activate an immune response that stopped insulin from doing its job properly….and that taking Glyburide suppressed the side effect. It is a bad thing to take a drug that then requires us to take another drug. How do we determine when the bad side effects multiply beyond the benefits of the cocktail?

Most comprehensive 'world map of research' yet: Researchers analyze 15 million scientific articles - Articles used from the analysis were published from 1996-2006. There are three clusters of countries: biomedical, basic science and agriculture/fisheries. The US is in the biomedical cluster, Singapore and Japan are in basic science and most of the developing nations are in agriculture/fisheries.

Fruits, Vegetables, and Disease Risk - Which vegetables are the most nutrient rich? This article points to a recently released report that include a list (available here).

Gleanings of the Week Ending May 31, 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.

Two items from National Parks Traveler of places I enjoy: Protecting the Saguaro Wilderness and Essential Summer Guide '14: Looking for Ponies at Assateague Island National Seashore.

How Much Your Salary Is Worth In Different Cities - It’s always hard to understand the cost of living in different places. Here is an attempt from Planet Money.

Quinoa Cakes - The recipe has so many good things in it. I think I’ll try it!

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Releases 400,000 Hi-Res Images Online to the Public - Wow! Read this article then take a look at the site here….prepare to spend to some browsing.

Melatonin makes old bones stronger - This was a study using rats…so it may not be true for humans…but wouldn’t it be great if it was. Better sleep and better bones via melatonin!

An Interactive Chart of Which Jobs your College Degree Actually Gets - This is a complex graphic. If you really want to look at particular items - go to the interactive version on the creator’s website here.

From chaos to order: How ants optimize food search - Translating observations into a mathematical model that seems to apply to other animals too.

Saturn’s Icy Moon Harbors Ocean - Liquid water exists beneath the icy surface of Enceladus at its south pole…..and that implies the potential for extraterrestrial life there too.

New data show how U.S. states are doing in science - 59 indicators (like state performance in education, the scientific workforce and high-tech business). The article is about the site that provides access to all the data and several ways to visualize it (here).

How Wind and Water Create The World's Most Beautiful Rock Landscapes - The images in the article and the comments are worth taking a look at this link even if you are not interested in how they get created!

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 12, 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.

Blood test could detect solid cancers - Another discovery that started with bioinformatics. It seems like the biological research arena is exploding with findings that are teased out of ‘big data.’ Biological research has met the computer age!

Viewing Nature’s Beauty through a New Lens - Watch the 4 minute video from Louie Schwarzberg imbedded in this post. I liked the bats and cactus sequence the best!

Yes! Yellowstone is a Volcano - A set of 3 videos. They were filmed in 2009 but I just found them. I remember a decade ago when we visited Yellowstone and my daughter being intrigued that is was a ‘super volcano.’

The Gamification of Education - Infographic that includes a timeline of gamification technology applied to education

Find the Closest National Park with This Handy Map - A handy map for planning a US National Park vacation. And just to add some incentive - a post about macro photography in the National Parks.

Global Air Quality Crisis - It is estimated that 7 million people died in 2012 due to air pollution. That makes air pollution the highest environmental risk on the planet.

Senior Discounts (list 1 and list 2) - Two lists posted by Feisty Side of Fifty/Baby Boomer Women. Some of them start at 55…many more at 60….and more at 65.

Jane Goodall: How she redefined mankind - An interview of Jane Goodall at 80.

New York Public Library Releases Thousands of Historic Maps to the Public - Yet another example of the revolution in libraries. They are making the content of their fragile historical collections that used to be accessible to very few people available to anyone with access to the Internet because high quality digitization has come to the fore.

You'll Never Look at Pond Water the Same Way after Watching This Video - There are so many good videos in my list this week. This one encourages me to collect water from the nearby river….and take a look through the microscope!

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 8, 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.

Over 80s often over-treated for stroke prevention - Sometimes the risks of medications overcome their value as people get older. Are we savvy enough to comprehend the complexity and then make the best decision?

Beautiful Bird Drawings by Brazilian Street Artist L7m - My favorite is the heron (5th one from the top).

Five Native Plants to Add to Your Garden - Spring is close enough to be thinking about gardening so the timing of this article is good if you are still contemplating new plants for this year. I had cardinal flowers last year that bloomed profusely and attracted hummingbirds/butterflies. Hope they come up again this year.

Why dark chocolate is good for your heart - Hurray! I celebrate that the research on dark chocolate is confirming its benefits. It’s one of my favorite little splurges.

Which National Park Drives Are On Your 2014 Calendar? - So many great choices…..

This is what the Internet actually looks like: The undersea cables wiring the Earth - An aspect of infrastructure that we often take for granted because they are so reliable. The vast majority of international traffic is carried by the undersea cables (only a few percent go via satellite).

Incredible Up-Close Textured Details of Frozen Flowers - What a beautiful idea of a macro photography project….but I’m going to wait until summer when I have some flowers from my garden as subjects!

Canary in the Cornfield: Why the Fuss about Monarchs? - I know there are a lot fewer monarch butterflies in my community in recent summers….and less milkweed too. This article explains some background on why that happened.

Sea-level rise threatens UNESCO World Heritage sites - The Statue of Liberty is one. The detailed paper is available here.

Eat Plants and Prosper: For Longevity, Go Easy On the Meat, Study Says - I skewed toward more fruits and veggies - ate less processed grains and meat….and got down to a healthy weight!  

Gleanings of the Week Ending February 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.

Aging men: More uplifts, fewer hassles until the age of 65-70 - Interesting that the research is being done but disappointing that it is not terribly insightful yet. It caused me to think about the demographics….men that are in their 80s now don’t have very many 75-years-and-beyond role models in their growing up  because not very men lived that long in prior generations.

10 Things We Learned From Dr. Temple Grandin - Temple Grandin is one of the best sources for insight into autism. I haven’t listened to the webinar recording pointed to in the post yet….it’s on my ‘to do’ list.

Forced Molt: Starving Hens for Profit - Controlling egg production….so that there will be plenty of eggs for consumers all year round. Is starving the hens for 2 weeks the only way?

Colorful Watercolor Paintings of Radiant Trees in Nature - In keeping with Trees being a theme for upcoming photographic projects…..they’re showing up more in my reading and in images I enjoy from others!

6 Offbeat Veggies worth a Try - Maybe some new foods to try….with recipes to get you started.

Sound-sensing cells regenerated in ears of mice with hearing damage - Maybe there is hope to repair time damaged hearing! Since there are a growing number of older people, there are potentially a lot of people that would benefit if this can work in people. Loss of hearing and/or sight are significant hits to quality of life for otherwise healthy seniors.

Time to Sign Up For Summer Field Courses in the National Parks - National Parks are among my favorite vacation destinations. It’s an appealing idea to sign up for a field course!

Involved parents raise slimmer adults - I like the infographic. Glad that the study showed what seems intuitively obvious to me!

Navigate the Global Meat System with New Meat Atlas - The link is to a summary but the 68 page report itself is available by following the link at the beginning of the summary. The report has a lot of graphical representation of data which makes it worth the look.

A lost city reveals the grandeur of medieval African civilization - Still so much history of the world to discover…..

Gleanings of the Week Ending February 1, 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.

Bomb-Sniffing Rats - An organization in Tanzania trains African giant pouched rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis.  I was more interested in the TB aspect to this story rather than the bomb portion. Once trained, a rat can screen 100 samples of sputum for TB in 20 minutes!

The World as an Apple - A video using an apple to demonstrate how much arable land there is on earth from the American Farmland Trust

Interesting and Overlooked National Parks in America - Some of these have gone on my ‘future vacation’ list.

Fantastic Kaleidosopic Light Paintings Created in Camera - Long exposures and moving lights to create images.

How Parents and The Internet Transformed Clubfoot Treatment - Hurray for the non-surgical solution!

Global Footprint Calculator - If everyone lived the lifestyle of the average American, we would need 5 planets. I did the calculator for the way I live and the answer was 3.9 planets (so I am better than the average American but still pretty far from sustainable).

Setting the Context: A Brief History of EdTech - Infographic (click on the graphic to enlarge or get the graphic in PDF form here and enlarge within the reader) about how technology has evolved in society, business and education from the 1980s to today.

Intimate Portraits of Bees - From National Geographic.

Nature Soundmap - Recordings of natural sounds from around the globe. I listened to several and will come back to listen to more. They have that quality of being gently invigorating and relaxing at the same time.

Two recent posts from Richard Watson: Could the BRIC (N11 and MINT) wall fall? and Issue 34: Society and Culture (and other topics…listed on the right)