Gleanings of the Week Ending August 26, 2023

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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 Baby Condors at Pinnacles National Park Are Healthy, ‘Adorable Fluffballs’ – Avian flu killed at least 20 California Condors in Arizona and Utah last spring…so the health of these birds is great news. So far, their lead levels (often a problem if their parents bring them carrion with bullet fragments) are low. They will make their first flights in October or November.

Biden Designates Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni - Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument – Protecting the land around Grand Canyon National Park.

Nearly Two-Thirds of All Species Live in the Ground, Scientists Estimate - Soils are richer in life than coral reefs or rainforest canopies, providing a home to nearly two-thirds of all species. The study is the first to tally the total number of soil dwellers, large and small, finding that more than twice as many species live in the ground as was previously thought: 59 percent of all species depend on soil for their survival, including 90 percent of fungi, 86 percent of plants, and 40 percent of bacteria.

Incredible Winners of Light Microscopy Awards Show Artistry of Scientific Imaging – The beauty of microscopic life….

Research Sheds Light on Steamboat Geyser’s Eruptions, Past and Present – They discovered that the strength of shaking decreased as snow depth increased. The ability of snow to absorb sound makes a difference!

Stunning Fields of Sunflowers Are Blanketing North Dakota – The states farmers grew 625,000 acres of sunflowers this year…and they bloom throughout August. Maybe one year we’ll make the trek to see them; I haven’t been to North Dakota before.

Exceptional Winners of the 2023 Nature inFocus Photography Awards – Beautiful…and educational. My favorite image is the ant with aphids (“A Sappy Alliance”).

What Pots Say—and Don’t Say—About People – “What can such a well-traveled artifact tell us about the people who left it in the ground? Its culture of origin may be less important than how it fit into life where it was found.”

Microplastics found in human heart tissues, both before and after surgical procedures - Everywhere scientists look for microplastics, they've found them -- food, water, air and some parts of the human body….even in the heart. But it still is not known how/if the microplastics impact the cardiovascular system.

Microalgae vs. Mercury - In the search for ways to fight methylmercury in global waterways, scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory discovered that some forms of phytoplankton are good at degrading the potent neurotoxin.

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 8, 2023

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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.

Air Pollution Causes 1 In 6 Human Deaths – Deaths from modern pollution risk factors, which are the unintended consequence of industrialization and urbanization, have risen by 7% since 2015 and by over 66% since 2000. Unfortunately, little real progress against pollution can be identified overall, particularly in the low-income and middle-income countries, where pollution is most severe. It is increasingly clear that pollution is a planetary threat, and that its drivers, its dispersion, and its effects on health transcend local boundaries and demand a global response.

Opioids no more effective than placebo for acute back and neck pain – The study was done in Australia but, hopefully, will lead to stepping away from opioids for back/neck pain. How many became addicted to opioids via doctors writing prescriptions trying to relieve their patient’s back pain?

Antimicrobial Resistance: The Silent Pandemic – The first accounts of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurred 2 years after Alexander Fleming warned about it in his 1945 Nobel speech. AMR is now responsible for nearly 700,000 deaths worldwide each year, and it is projected to kill 10 million per year by 2050.

Early Women Were Hunters, Not Just Gatherers – My favorite statement from the article: “Grandmas were the best hunters in the village.”

Overdose deaths involving street xylazine surged years earlier than reported – Drug death data is gathered and analyzed slowly…not so long ago, it appeared that illicit xylazine use was still largely concentrated in the mid-Atlantic states and the Northeast….but it is not showing up in street samples all across the US and surging in the South and West. US drug deaths hit a new record last year with roughly 110,000 fatal overdoses nationwide from fentanyl and increasingly complex street drug cocktails.

U.S. Wind and Solar Overtake Coal for the First Time - In the first five months of 2023, wind and solar produced 252 terawatt-hours, while coal produced 249 terawatt-hours, according to preliminary government figures. The decline in coal is happening faster than anyone anticipated.

Largest-ever atlas of normal breast cells brings unprecedented insights into mammary biology – 12 major cell types, 58 biological states…differences based on ethnicity, age, and the menopause status of healthy women.

Why our voices change with age – Lots of reasons the sounds we make can change. One habit suggested from the article that I am considering: “Singing or reading out loud daily can give the vocal cords sufficient exercise to slow their decline.”

Cedar Breaks Wildflower Festival Starts Friday – Hmmm…maybe I should look for wildflower festivals (along with birding) when I plan our vacations.

Meltwater is hydro-fracking Greenland’s ice sheet through millions of hairline cracks – destabilizing its internal structure - Earth’s remaining ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are far more vulnerable to climate warming than models predict, and that the ice sheets may be destabilizing from inside. Recent studies have shown that:

Gleanings of the Week Ending June 10, 2023

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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.

In 2050, over 800 million people globally estimated to be living with back pain: Analysis also dispels common back pain myth -- ScienceDaily – Attributable to occupational factors, smoking and being overweight. More common among older people and women. Current clinical guidelines for back pain treatment and management do not provide specific recommendations for older people. Low back pain continues to be the greatest cause of disability worldwide.

Why Are Some Wolves Black? The Answer Will Surprise You - Cool Green Science – There are more black-colored wolves in the southern Rocky Mountains…more gray coated wolves everywhere else. The black is from dogs that traveled with humans across the Bering Strait around 10,000 years ago, and those genes also make the black-colored wolves more resistant to distemper (which came with the conquistadors to South America).

We now know exactly what happens in nature when we fell forests -- ScienceDaily – When agriculture replaces forestry…a detailed study done in the Azores…substantiates the advise to plant native trees and flowers…stop mowing the lawn!

The viruses that helped to make you human - BBC Future – About 8% of the human genome comes from viruses but, curiously, there is not evidence of new endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) entering the human genome in the last few 1000 years (Koalas are being invaded by koala retrovirus with the viral DNA found in some populations but not others). The most studied human ERV is HERV-W; first described in 1999; genes that are essential for the placenta to form.

Algae in the Andes – Bursts of phytoplankton are not unusual in oceans, seas, gulfs, and canals. Now they are in lakes too….and potentially hazardous.

New Low Cost High Performance Perovskite Solar Cells – It appears that solar cells are on track to get better and better!

Communities should reconsider walking away from curbside recycling, study shows -- ScienceDaily – Maybe the trend of towns and cities across the US cancelling or scaling back recycling programs due to rising costs needs to keep recycling but focus on recycling materials with the greatest market value (newspaper, cardboard, aluminum/steel cans, HDPE/PET plastic bottles) and highest potential for carbon offset.

Does the roar of rocket launches harm wildlife? These scientists seek answers – Launches at Vandenberg have increased from 5-15 rockets per year to 50-100. There are biodiversity hotspots near launch sites in California, Texas, and Florida; the study at Vandenberg is intended to provide more insight about how launches impact wildlife. The study is funded for 3 years but may need a decade to understand some of the impacts.

Remains of Child Mill Workers Examined in Northern England - Archaeology Magazine – A study of 150 remains from a churchyard cemetery…many were young people between the ages of 8 and 20. They were pauper apprentices and their bones showed signs of stunted growth, malnutrition, rickets, and tuberculosis.

Turmeric: here’s how it actually measures up to health claims – Many of the health claims have only been proved in the lab or in animals. There are studies that show that turmeric has a modest benefit for pain compared to a placebo – but the studies are often on small populations and there is a wide variation in the amount of turmeric participants were given. There is not enough research to firmly support any of the claims…although it is a great spice (flavor and color).

Our Missouri Neighborhood – March 2023

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The temperature has fluctuated wildly – from the teens to 70s this month. I took walks on two of the sunny days. We’ve had enough rain that the drainage into the ponds had running water on both days, and I stopped on the bridge to take pictures of leaves from last season in the rippling water. Oaks, maples, river birch, and red buds are represented.

There is almost always a pair of mallards about….and lots of robins.

Some branches from a magnolia in a nearby yard are upright in the pond. I wonder how long they will last…..or maybe someone is trying to root them (i.e. start new trees)?

The turtles are more active on warm days. They all appear to be red-eared sliders. Their snouts are usually all that is visible unless they are closer to shore or sunning on some high ground in the pond.

One day I started out in sunshine but there were more clouds than I anticipated. I took some landscape shots….experimenting with backlight and the curving walkway through the trees around our pond.

Some geese were on the walkway (and this time of year I give them space since they might be aggressive) so I went up to the street to complete the loop to my house. I noticed that the stormwater drain is labeled ‘no dumping – drains to river’ with a metal shield; in Maryland the labeling was painted onto the concrete.

The red maples are some of the earliest trees to bloom. The trees along the path don’t have low branches so my pictures of the flowers rely on my camera’s zoom.

Sometimes I photograph something because I didn’t anticipate it…the oak leaf stuck in the chain link of the tennis court is an example.

Another is the mats of algae on lower spillway between the two ponds. They had washed from the upper pond but are doomed to dry out on the spillway if another rain does not come soon. Still – they were ‘emerald isles’ at a time of year where there is still a lot brown in the natural world.

Ten Little Celebrations – February 2023

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A lot to celebrate this second month of 2023….here are my top 10 little celebrations:

A new low weight for the year. This happened several mornings of the month….and I celebrated each time since it was an indicator that my careful work to maximize nutritional value of more limited calorie intake was working.

Barbecue lunch at homecoming. My husband suggested that he get barbecue take out to have when I arrived home from my road trip from Carrollton. It is always a celebration to return home but the barbecue made it more festive.

Finding black bean chips. I have assumed that I wouldn’t be able to find my husband’s favorite chips (because they don’t cause blood sugar issues) when we moved to Missouri…so I celebrated when I found them again….a different brand but they taste the same. We are both enjoying them as our chip-or-choice.

Finding snack sized edamame pod packages. These have become my favorite high protein snack. I’ve enjoyed them before…but celebrated when I found them in smaller packages.

Spaghetti sauce soup. It’s a great way to use leftovers…or have a quick meal. I use a jar of spaghetti sauce, frozen sausage (cubed) or leftover baked chicken (any meat that is already cooked and seasoned) and lots of veggies. So easy…and so good. Worth celebrating.

Frost pictures (columns and ferns). I always celebrate frost days…particularly if the crystals are a type I haven’t photographed before!

Ice and algae on our neighborhood ponds. Winter field trips on 2 days not far from my own back yard! I celebrated getting outdoors for a short walk…not having to get in the car. My favorite sight were the neuron type shapes in the ice/snow of the pond.

Table Rock Lake. Celebrating a little field trip close to where we live in Missouri.

Birds at Josey Ranch. There always seem to be birds around at Josey Ranch…and this year I am visiting every month when I am Carrollton…celebrating the changes with the seasons.

Elm Fork Nature Preserve. A new-to-me natural area near Carrollton, TX. I celebrated the birds and forest there. I’ll be posted about the experience later this week.

Zooming – February 2023

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There were some sunny days in February – good for outdoor photography even if they were very cold! The ravages of winter on vegetation from last summer/fall is reaching an extreme. We’re all ready for the spring! Enjoy the February 2023 zoomed images!

Ice and Algae

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It was below freezing for almost 24 hours before I ventured out last week an hour or so after sunrise. The temperature was in the 20s and I anticipated capturing ice on our neighborhood pond. I bundled up in my heaviest coat and gloves…already had the lens cover off my camera since it is hard to remove with gloves on.  I noticed the robins were around and probably beginning to scout nesting locations.

There was a small group of Canada Geese; most stayed on the bank but two ventured into the pond through mats of algae. I began to worry that maybe the sun shining on the pond surface had already melted the ice even though the air temperature was still below freezing!

As I looked more closely I noticed that there was ice between the mats of algae! Some of the ice had a look of cut glass. There were leaves just under the surface in some places – distorted by the ice – but some are, quite clearly, oak leaves. The color of the algae is a nice contrast with the ice!

My favorite picture of the morning was a patch of ice surrounded by algae. The green mats creates a fuzzy (slimy?) frame around the ice structures.

I continued aroud the pond and noticed that a twig of red maple flowers had fallen onto the path. The tree blooms so early that the hard freezes sometimes are problematic. The red maple that this twig came from seemed to still have quite a few flowers that had tolerated the cold so the tree should still be producing seeds this year.

Overall – I’m glad I went out when I did. This could be one of the last times to capture ice on the pond since spring is one the way.

Gleanings of the Week Ending February 11, 2023

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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 the world feels so unstable right now – Intermittent instability of nonlinear systems of nature and global society –weather and climate, the economy, a pandemic, a war. We attempt to model nonlinear systems to predict these intermittent instabilities…but it is hard. Right now there seem to be significant nonlinear systems interacting: weather/climate + diseases (COVID-19 and bird flu (US)) + inflation + Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Completing The Electrical Circuit at Kilauea in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park – The technique to get a detailed ‘CAT scan’ of the volcano…..mapping locations of subsurface magma in 3D.

Ex-cell-ent Clouds off Chile’s Coast – Open and closed-cell marine stratocumulus clouds photographed by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites. Learning more about these clouds….contributing to better weather prediction and improving the accuracy of climate models.

The Surprising Substances Ancient Egyptians Used to Mummify the Dead – Evidently some of the substances the embalmers were using came from Southeast Asia. Perhaps embalming instigated early global trade.

Algae robots transport antibiotics to infected tissues (infographic) – Researchers inserted the modified algae into mouse windpipes…they spread into the lung tissue and killed pathogenic bacteria!

Hundreds of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Designs were never built. Here’s what they might have looked like. – Computer generated models from David Romero.

5 expert tips to protect yourself from online misinformation – We all need tools to help us distinguish information from misinformation.

Montessori: The world’s most influential school? – I sought out a Montessori pre-K and K for my daughter about 30 years ago…and it fit her needs. I have no way of analyzing how closely the school adhered to classical Montessori ideals.

An action plan to prevent Alzheimer’s disease – Defining what 2nd generation memory clinics should include.

Gallup: Fewer than half of Americans believe US healthcare is good enough – Not surprising really – it’s expensive and we are all getting more skeptical that the system is as effective as it should be for what it costs. Evidently the people in my age group (over 55) were generally more satisfied with their health care than other age groups; people old enough to qualify for Medicare may not be as anxious about costs but I was surprised that I am in the minority in thinking US healthcare is ‘subpar’ rather than ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ based on the effectiveness issue and the structure of the system overall.

Gleanings of the Week Ending June 5, 2021

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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.

Infographic: Animals of Different Species Hybridize | The Scientist Magazine® - Hybrids that fill a new environmental niche.

Britain’s Medieval Population Suffered From Cancer - Archaeology Magazine and Cancer rates in medieval Britain were around ten times higher than previously thought, study suggests | University of Cambridge – The same story from two sources. Cancer rates prior to the modern tumor-inducing chemicals from industry and tobacco were higher than previously thought.

Cities Have Distinct Microbial Signatures: Study | The Scientist Magazine® - Samples collected between 2015 and 2017 in transit stations in major cities. More than 4,000 known species…and 14,000 species that had DNA sequences not found in any database!

Top 25 birds of the week: Resident Birds! - Wild Bird Revolution and Top 25 birds of the week: Bird Biodiversity! - Wild Bird Revolution – So many bird pictures! I’m doing a little catching up this week.

The Blooming Mid-Atlantic – Near where I live…places I have been for vacation/birding.

Photography In The National Parks: Seeing The Forest For The Trees – A little lesson in photographing forests and trees and leaves from Rebecca Lawson

Greenland glacial meltwaters rich in mercury -- ScienceDaily – The study looked at nutrients in glacier melt…not expecting to find the high level of mercury. Now there are lots of questions about the potential impact on fishing – Greenland’s primary industry.

The nature reserve with a 500-year plan - BBC Future – Zealandia, an ecosanctuary in Wellington, New Zealand enclosed by a 5.3-mile predatory exclusion fence.

Arizona’s Meteor Crater – Another place I’ve visited… as seen by an instrument on Landsat 8.

Cicadas Fall Prey to a Psychedelic-Producing Fungus That Makes Their Butts Fall Off | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – I think I saw one with a white butt on my first walk around my yard!

Filling a Day of Social Distance – 4/17/2020 - Gleanings

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Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

Here are the unique activities for yesterday:

Browsing through some issues of Vogue. The Internet Archive has some issues of Vogue online. I particularly enjoyed the one labeled Vol 138: Vogue which includes issues from October - December 1961 (a bound reference volume); you’ll have to create a free-sign on to check it out – browse through. I was in 2nd grade when these issues were originally published and the designs appealing; maybe we all have a subconscious affinity for clothes that were worn as we were growing up. It was a time when natural fiber fabrics were being replaced with synthetic fibers. I can remember learning to iron my cotton shorts and tops during the summertime when I was in the later grades of elementary school!

Noticing filaments algae in the sycamore branch vase. How did it get here? Were there spores on the branch when I brought it in? The picture on the left below is looking down into the vase, the branch being the diagonal shape in the lower left corner. I pulled some algae out and put it on the top of my iPad (using the iPad as a light table) and took a picture through the jeweler’s loupe (picture on the right)…not enough magnification to see any internal detail, unfortunately.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts  here.

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.

These Colored Micrographs Show the Incredible Intricacies of Plants – A different botanical perspective.

Can fashion ever be sustainable? - BBC Future – This article fit right in with the Fashion as Design Coursera course I am working my way through right now. I already buy more than half my wardrobe from thrift stores and don’t buy very often. My closet is still too full; one indication is recently finding a pair of jeans I had forgotten about! This article has prompted me to think about how often I wash my clothes. Maybe I don’t need to launder some of them as frequently.

Why This Rare, Huge Ozone Hole Over the Arctic Is Troubling Scientists | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – It probably will close soon – but it’s an interesting phenomenon that probably would have gotten more press if coronavirus wasn’t overwhelming all other news.

Blood test detects over 50 types of cancer, some before symptoms appear -- ScienceDaily – This type of test has been a goal for years. Are we getting closer to reality?

Covid-19: The history of pandemics - BBC Future – The impact of coronavirus on our day to day lives is a unique experience for most of the world’s population. This article is a short history of  other pandemics: Justinian plague (6th century…killed as many as 50 million which was half the global population), the Black Death (14th century…killed up to 200 million), smallpox killed as many as 300 million people in the 20th century alone even though there was an effective vaccine available since 1796, 1918 influenza (50-100 million died), and HIV (killed 32 million and infected 75 million with more added every day). Since 1980, the number of outbreaks of new infectious diseases per year has tripled.

19 Incredible Winning Photos from Nature Photography Contest – Lots of interesting nature photos.

Wearable device lets patients with type 2 diabetes safely use affordable insulin option -- ScienceDaily – Maybe technology can deliver less expensive drugs in news ways….making the drugs more effective.

Bioprospecting for Industrial Enzymes and Drug Compounds in an Ancient Submarine Forest: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research - An unusually large, biodiverse, and temporally stable wood-associated marine habitat off the coast of Alabama. Within 100-200 prepared culture plates, the team identified approximately 100 strains of bacteria, many of which are novel and 12 of which are already undergoing DNA sequencing for further study of their identity and their biosynthetic potential to make new drugs.

Photographer Immortalizes the Ice Waves of Picturesque Lake in Colorado – It must have been cold work capturing these images!

6 Creative Ways Wildlife Find Shelter • The National Wildlife Federation - A fun article…with some great photographs too.

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 21, 2020

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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.  

Can Destroying Senescent Cells Treat Age-Related Disease? | The Scientist Magazine® - Lots of trials going on…this may be a way to extended years of healthy life (not elongate life).

This 'Blood-Red' Snow Is Taking Over Parts of Antarctica | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – I remember seeing snow that was the color of watermelon in Colorado…it’s algae Chlamydomonas nivalis, which is the most common type of snow algae around the world. It hasn’t been as common in Antarctica until this year.

Spotted Zebras, Yellow Cardinals, and Three-Antlered Deer: What Causes these Animal Oddities? • The National Wildlife Federation Blog – Some uncommon forms of animals we all recognize.

What Makes a Venus Flytrap Snap | The Scientist Magazine® - It’s complicated…and nuanced so that the plant only invests in digestion efforts when there is food!

Just a Tiny Fraction of America’s Plastic Can Actually Be Recycled, Report Finds - Yale E360 – We can’t send it to China any more…so it’s all on us to clean up our own mess. Unless and until we can get recycling working well…it’s important for all of us to reduce our use of plastics as much as possible. It’s hard to do.

States with highest rates of melanoma due to ultraviolet radiation identified: Several landlocked states among those with highest rates -- ScienceDaily – It’s not all about being out in the sun either. The prevalence was higher in younger females due to tanning bed usage by teen girls in the late 1990s contributing.

Interactive Infographic: How Salt Transforms Coastal Forests | The Scientist Magazine® - We noticed this process as we’ve visited Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge over the years. There are some areas that used to be marsh with some trees that are now open water.

Top 25 birds of the week: March 2020 - Wild Bird Revolution – No birding festivals in our future near term….but still enjoying pictures taken by others.

Why your internet habits are not as clean as you think - BBC Future – A good compilation of studies about energy consumption for various aspects of our online activities….maybe we can skew toward the lower energy use ones more frequently. Some of the energy, we pay for in terms of our electricity use….others are embedded in products or services we use where the energy usage is not something we see directly.

Coronavirus: How hand sanitizers protect against infections – Compound Interest – Some timely chemistry.

Filling a Day of Social Distance – 3/16/2020

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Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

Here are the unique activities for yesterday:

2020 03 IMG_8476 (2).jpg

Discovered some to go peanut butter in my pantry that are ‘best if used by’ April 2020 which prompted a snack of peanut butter and celery….and taking everything out of the pantry to see if there was more items that needed to be used promptly. There was some cocoa that should have been used by 2014 and some coconut flour by 2017…into the trash they went. The before and after shot of the pantry is below….it was a good ‘cleanup and out’ project for the day.

Continued “Life in the Universe Pandemic Series” videos from Dr. Charles Cockell – Is there life on Mars? And Will Samples from Mars cause a Pandemic?

Cooked pinto beans. I soaked them for a full 24 hours (part on the counter…then in the refrig) then cooked them in the morning and ate a small portion with some leftover stir fry chicken for lunch. Yum!

Learned about Anna Atkins’ Photographs of British Algae Cyanotype Impressions in a Europeana Blog post (one of my news feeds) and then searched to find an online copy. I was frustrated that the Internet Archive only had one print! It turns out that The New York Public Library Digital Collections has a digitized copy of the volumes once owned by Sir John Herschel. I enjoyed the first volume and added the others to my reading list for subsequent days.

Watched the first Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden Home Safari…daily at 3PM EDT…for children but interesting for adults as well…the first video is about their young hippo Fiona. From their Facebook Page.

Went to dentist to get permanent crowns. I was worried about the temporary ones that I had for over 3 weeks coming loose/off at a bad time….having a painful dental problem when the office might be closed. So - I had a very short breach of social distance…but I decided it was worth the (slight) risk.

Overall, this is my 8th day of adhering to the low density, 6 feet rule (except for the dentist which was low density but could not always achieve the 6 feet separation)…stay at home as much as possible…hand washing with soap/not touching face. The last time I was at a place with more than 25 people in a room was 19 days ago. I’m beginning to realize that some of what I am doing now (like the more frequent hand washing with soap) might be on the way to becoming habits.

Previous “filling a day of social distance” posts: 3/15