Gleanings of the Week Ending December 19, 2015

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 future of medicine is testing our body fluids at home – Will the ‘annual physical’ become a thing of the past as this testing becomes more widely available?

The Coming Winter Part Two: The Elephant in the Room – The second part of Dan Satterfield’s explanation of the long range forecast for the winter.

Living Alone Now the Most Common Type of Household – Analysis of US households from 1930-2010. The over 60 population accounts for the majority of population that lives alone so the expectation is that the number of ‘living alone’ households will continue to increase.

Storing Electricity in Paper – Made from  nanocellulose and a conductive polymer….the basic research is promising…not to develop a production method for the power paper.

Improving Tools for Quantifying the Effectiveness of Conservation – Trying to quantify the effectiveness of conservation efforts is hard. This post is about the work of environmental economists to do it.

Pesticide found in milk decades ago may be associated with signs of Parkinson’s – I was reading this article while I was in Hawaii…and that is where the study was done. The pesticide heptachlor epoxide was used in the pineapple fields in the early 1980s in Hawaii and made its way into milk of that era in Hawaii.

Top 10 Winter Wildlife Experiences to Enjoy near You – Some ideas for getting outdoors in the winter. My husband and I are planning several jaunts to Conawingo Dam to photograph bald eagles this winter. And if we get snow (so far we have had a very warm winter hear in Maryland), we’ll look for tracks and look for wildlife in the morning/evening around our house.

Native Spotlight: American Holly – An item for the season. Holly is a plant often associated with Christmas. My picture is from a holly at Belmont Manor and Historical Park

Explore Machu Picchu in Google Maps Street View  and Artifacts from Machu Picchu from Google’s Cultural Institute – Another place for virtual travel.

One Million Icequakes – Data was collected from a glacier in Greenland for 2 years…one that produced 20 icequakes every 60 seconds. The icequakes offer a window into the glacier bed where the ice meets the sediment.

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 12, 2015

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.

Women don beards for documentary about inequality in the geosciences – This documentary is about women in paleontology but the challenges faced by women in any field that is overwhelmingly dominated by men are similar. The ‘beard’ is a fun visualization! It reminded me of the female pharaoh that wore a beard.

Report: China Clean Energy Investments Beat U.S., U.K, and France Combined – Hmm. Maybe the whole world is getting more focused on the challenges we have re climate change. It would be great if the US could be a leader…sad if we abdicate.

How will future archaeologists study us? – CDs last 2-5 years before they risk losing data. This article is about encoding information on DNA and storing it in glass particles…artificial fossils. Of course – they may also find our landfills to be sources of information of how we really lived.

Some Thoughts about the Coming Winter: Part One – The further out a forecast is – the less accurate it is. The post from Dan Satterfield explains why…some graphics about weather model results.

Failing phytoplankton, failing oxygen: Global warming disaster could suffocate life on planet Earth – I’ve often wondered what happens to oxygen levels as the Earth’s temperature climbs. This is on scenario…and a scary one. If we have a 6 degree Celsius increase in the water temperature of the oceans – which some models predict by 2100 – the photosynthesis of phytoplankton in the oceans could be disrupted. Two-thirds of the planet’s total atmospheric ocean is produced by phytoplankton.

Photographer Captures Stunning South Korean Landscapes Reflected in Mirror-Like Lakes – Some beautiful images. I like reflections….and I need to be observant to find them and photograph them. I always try at Centennial Lake (image to the left) but there are other places that I probably overlook completely.

The Unregulation of Biotech Crops – In some ways – this situation is similar to the designer performance enhancement drugs that are hard to test for too. Modern techniques are streaming ahead – creating things we have little ability to understand very well – let along any unintended consequences.

Physicians and burnout: It’s getting worse – This was a frustrating article. It reported the burnout statistics comparing 2011 to 2014 but no deep understanding for why burnout is increasing. I am not particularly happy with the US health system either but any attempts to change it very much seem to be impossible politically.

DIY: Cinn-Apple Ornaments – One of my daughter’s friends made and gave us some of these ornaments for Christmas …probably about 15 years ago. I carefully put them away at the end of each season and they still smell like cinnamon every time I get them out! I’m not going to make any this year but I may do it next year and put them on every knob in the house!

Eat a paleo peach: First fossil peaches discovered in southwest China – Peach pits that are 2.5 million years old! The peaches from this time period would have been about the size of the smallest commercial peaches of today.

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 03, 2015

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.

What you may not know about the world beneath your feet – 10 items from BBC future. A short paragraph is included for each one and then a link to a more detailed larger article is provided.

Salamanders Lost, Found and Saved – From National Geographic about salamanders in Guatemala.

U.N. Dreams Big: 17 Huge New Goals to Build a Better World – As I looked at the list – I asked myself if they are all equally important and how the goals will get translated into action by individuals and organizations and governments. Two keywords that appear again and again (standing out to me): sustainability and inclusive.

Angry Birds: Why Molting Makes Our Feathered Friends Grumpy – Many birds molt between the time nesting ends and migration begins. Since our cardinals are here year-round, I have been watching them closely this year. They did look scruffy for a time…then I didn’t see them as often…and now they are looking much better. The male goldfinches have already made the change to their winter plumage; I wonder where they dropped their yellow feathers?

Photography in The National Parks: Your Armchair Guide to Arches National Park – Part 2  - We didn’t get to see Arches a few years ago when we went to Utah in early October 2013; the government (and national parks) were closed. I enjoyed these pictures…and attached a picture of Wilson Arch that is right on Route 191 south of Moab that was the only arch picture I got during the trip!

For U.S. Tribes, a Movement to Revive Native Foods and Lands – Wild rice in wetlands being restored in Minnesota.

Decision aids help patients with depression feel better about medication choices – From the Mayo clinic. It bothered me that before using the tool…’clinicians are often uneasy or unwilling to offer options other than their preferred prescriptions.’ That is probably true of more than depression medications!

Increased internet access led to a rise in racial hate crimes in the early 2000s - So many things are positive about broadband internet access….this is a downside. We often think that more information helps people understand others better --- but this is another study that shows that it can also lead to extreme polarization.

Work in Transition – On sentence from the article: Choreographers, elementary school teachers, and psychiatric social works are probably safe…telemarketers and tax preparers are more likely to be replaced. Work done by humans will increasingly involve innovative thinking, flexibility, creativity, and social skills.

The curious chemistry of custard – I make pumpkin (or other winter squash) custard frequently this time of year. I’ve always wanted how the consistency develops. It turns out it is all about eggs and their protein!

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 22, 2015

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.

Why statins should be viewed as a double-edged sword - The results of a study from Tulane that indicates that statins may not be appropriate as a preventative measure for those who do not have cardiovascular disease…because statins increased aging and death of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs); MSCs can become all types of cell types including bone, cartilage, muscle cells and macrophages. Thus - the risk/benefit for people without cardiovascular diseases need careful consideration.

Four Ferns for Dry Places - I planted some Christmas fern under my deck and it is thriving!

Smart Windows Just Got Cooler - I’ve always thought it would be great to have windows that could selectively block light - and it seems like there is ongoing work. This start up is based on chemical engineering work from the University of Texas at Austin. It would be great to not need to close the draperies in my west-facing office on hot summer afternoons!

Survey reveals best practices that lead to high patient ratings of hospital care - It turns out that it is not about high-tech resources!

Butterflies in Peril - Droughts and habitat fragmentation….hard on butterflies. Many are becoming locally extinct. We are not in a drought here in Maryland but we are very away of the decline in Monarch butterflies in our area.

The Next Great GMO Debate - Evidently Monsanto is learning how to modify crops by spraying them with RNA rather than tinkering with their genes. What about unintended consequences? I’d rather we focus research on sustainable agricultural practices rather than new sprays that may have a short term benefit and potentially have a long term consequence.

An inside look at the world’s biggest space telescope - An update on the progress on the James Webb Telescope (video and pictures).

Cherokee Purple: The Story behind One of Our Favorite Tomatoes - These are the type of heirloom tomatoes we’ve been getting from our CSA; they are tasty. I enjoyed hearing about the history of how it became one the favorite heirloom tomatoes

The Periodic Table’s Endangered Elements - There are 9 elements that may ‘run out’ on Earth within the next 100 years and 7 additional ones that may join the list because of increased use.

Field recording Irish traditional music - Instrumental, song and dance videos…the roots of Riverdance.