Gleanings of the Week Ending October 19, 2024

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.

Antarctic 'greening' at dramatic rate - Vegetation cover across the Antarctic Peninsula has increased more than tenfold over the last four decades… fundamental changes to the biology and landscape of this iconic and vulnerable region.

Is cleaning with baking soda better for the environment? – Maybe not…and it might not be very good at some types of cleaning either.

Meet Milagra, a Rare Condor Rescued as an Egg and Newly Released Back into the Wild – A success at Arizona’s Vermilion Cliffs National Monument.

Landslides, Thousands Of Downed Trees, Undercut Roads Along Blue Ridge Parkway – Lots of repairs for the National Park Service after Hurricane Helene. Some damage is severe enough (i.e. more than just clearing mudslides and debris) that it will take time to repair. The fall foliage will come and go.

In Search of Microbes That Weave Colors into Moroccan Carpets - A scientist’s quest for microbes that produce purple pigments led to the vibrant world of natural dyes for women in the Atlas Mountain region of Morocco creating sought after traditional woven carpets…it’s a great intersection of biology and traditional artistry! The findings are compiled into a 48-page open-source guidebook, also translated into English, which described their project, introduced microbial dyeing, and catalogued recipes for plant dyes.

Dementia diagnostic markers change with time of day - Biomarker levels (p-tau217) were at their lowest in the morning when participants woke and highest in the evening.

Great Lakes Water Quality Project Seeks to Restore Coastal Vegetation - Returning certain croplands to perennial vegetation to reduce runoff and limit erosion.

'A warmer, sicker world': Mosquitoes carrying deadly diseases are on an unstoppable march across the US - West Nile virus, Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), malaria and dengue…The mosquitoes that carry these diseases are thriving in a warming world.

Extinct Volcanoes Could Be Source of Key Metals Needed for Clean Tech - Rare-earths lurking under extinct volcanoes may be easier to extract. The iron-rich magma that formed some extinct volcanoes would be up to 100 times more efficient at concentrating rare-earths than the magma found in active volcanoes today. By one estimate, demand for rare-earths is set to grow fivefold by the end of this decade so finding them closer to home could contribute to more rapid conversion to clean technologies.

See Newly Discovered Nazca Drawings That Depict Llamas, Human Sacrifices and More - With the help of artificial intelligence, researchers have found hundreds of ancient artworks carved into the pebbled ground of Peru’s Nazca Desert in 6 months compared to 430 found between 1927 up to before the use of AI.

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 16, 2024

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.

Heat Pumps Are Still a Good Investment Even If Your Grid Is Powered By Coal - If every American home with gas, oil, or inefficient electric resistance heating swap those things out for heat pumps, the emissions of the entire U.S. economy would shrink by 5% to 9%. That’s how powerful a decarbonizing tool heat pumps are.

Asian Elephants Bury Their Dead - In India, five dead elephant calves were found buried on their backs in irrigation ditches, with evidence that multiple herd members had participated in the burials. Are there more examples? It doesn’t seem likely that elephants would be able to move an adult elephant like they did the calves. Do they do something else with the carcass rather than burial?

COVID-19 virus can stay in the body more than a year after infection – So – if it persists in blood, should these people not be donating blood? Does this mean that people could get COVID from a blood transfusion?

Archeoastronomy uses the rare times and places of previous total solar eclipses to help us measure history – What we learn from historical eclipses….a timely history lesson with the 4/8 total eclipse that will be visible from much of the US coming soon.

An Eruption for Galápagos Iguanas – The La Cumbre volcano is erupting in the Galapagos. Some satellite views from NASA including a description of the instrumentation available to monitor this eruption.

An obsessed insect hunter: The creepy-crawly origins of daylight savings – We did it again last weekend…changed to daylight savings time. I wish we could stop (don’t care whether we stay permanently on standard or daylight savings…just that we don’t change) but we don’t seem to be able to stop. This post is about George Hudson…and his desire for more daylight after work to study insects! I’ll browse some of his books on Internet Archive.

Solar Accounted for More Than Half of New Power Installed in U.S. Last Year - Solar accounted for most of the capacity the nation added to its electric grids last year. That feat marks the first time since World War II, when hydropower was booming, that a renewable power source has comprised more than half of the nation’s energy additions. Texas and California led a solar surge driven mostly by utility-scale installations, which jumped 77 percent year-over-year to 22.5 gigawatts. The residential and commercial sectors also reached new milestones. The biggest open question is how quickly projects can connect to the grid.

An inside look at Beech tree disease – A fast spreading disease….killing another tree species. It hasn’t been that long ago that Emerald Ash Borer wiped out the ash trees. We were just noticing sickly beeches in Maryland before we moved…realizing that the forests would be profoundly changed without beech trees.

Professional Photographer Shares How to Photograph the Great North American Solar Eclipse Safely – Time to start preparing for 4/8/2024!

America’s Sinking East Coast – There are multiple reasons that areas are sinking faster than melting ice and thermal expansion from climate change would cause.

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 9, 2023

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.

Restored Glass Negatives Capture Daily Life in 19th-Century New England – Photographs taken from the 1860s to 1930s….Massachusetts…different photographers.

As Temperatures Rise, Dengue Fever Spreads and Cases Rise – The mosquitos that carry dengue viruses are extending their range. There were 0.5 million cases in 2000…5.2 million in 2019. In recent years, dengue has popped up in places it had never been seen, including Afghanistan, parts of Southern Europe, and, this year, Chad. An additional 2 billion people would be at risk of dengue exposure by 2080, compared to 2015. Areas unfamiliar with dengue may be hard hit even if case numbers aren’t high as people won’t have immunity from previous exposure to the virus, and public health systems may not be strong enough to cope with dengue outbreaks.

The World’s Largest Iceberg Is Drifting Three Miles Into the Ocean Each Day - The world’s largest iceberg, which had been grounded on the seafloor since the mid-1980s, is moving away from Antarctica and picking up speed. It could disrupt the foraging of seals, penguins and other seabirds. Called A23a, the iceberg measures around 1,500 square miles—more than 20 times the size of Washington, D.C.—and it’s roughly 1,300 feet thick, making it two and one-third times the height of the Washington Monument. It weighs nearly one trillion metric tons.

Landscape Photography Awards Rewards Authenticity in Photography – My favorite was “Little Leaves”….maybe because it didn’t have time to see a lot with fall foliage this year.

Expansive Alexander Calder Exhibition Opens in Seattle – Take a look at the museum’s site for the exhibit at well.

Bird Photography Contest Celebrates the Unique Diversity of Australia’s Wildlife - Nine winners were singled out for their work, rising above more than 6,000 images that were submitted. My favorite of this group is “Jambalaya on the Bayou.”

Volcano Monitoring Can Be A Risky Business: How Scientists Work Safely - Common PPE used in the field by HVO staff include respirators to filter volcanic gases, gas badges to monitor sulfur dioxide (SO2) concentrations, along with helmets and eye protection.  When molten lava sampling, crews will carry a face shield, fire-resistant clothing, and gloves to protect the wearer from radiating heat.

Best of 2023: Top 42 Photographs From Around the World – I have two favorites in this group of photos: the bald eagles and the dancing mantises!

African Penguins Tell Each Other Apart by Their Polka Dot Patterns – Evidently the chest plumage is unique to each bird….and the birds recognize the dots of their partners!

Photographer Chronicles the Enchanting Life of a Wild Red Fox for 8 Months – A Hungarian photographer’s project at his cottage in the forest after he noticed a fox running under the window one night.

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 5, 2023

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.

Four key questions on the new wave of anti-obesity drugs – Several of the drugs were originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes but now are popular weight loss drugs.

Sweet smell of success: Simple fragrance method produces major memory boost – A study done by the University of California, Irvine on older adults…participants reaped a 226% increase in cognitive capacity compared to the control group. A product based on their study and designed for people to use at home is expected to come onto the market this fall.

How the US is fighting back against deadly floods – Identifying flood plains…not building back in them after a flood.

Old-Growth Trees, Some Dating To 17th Century, Protected at New River Gorge – The Burnwood Loop – where I want to hike first in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve!

Does Cooking with Gas Stoves Hurt Indoor Air Quality? – Yes…but how much is the better question. 12.7% of current childhood asthma in the United States is attributable to gas stove use.

A quick look inside a human being – Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI)…using a portable scanner to visualize dynamic processes in the human body such a blood flow.

Why it's so important to figure out when a vital Atlantic Ocean current might collapse - Humans are changing the fundamental processes of the Earth faster than we can understand them. The collapse of the current would have effects around the planet: temperatures in Europe would fall, heat in the tropics would rise, rainfall would decrease across the Sahel in Africa, the summer monsoon would weaken across Asia, and sea levels would rise even faster in the eastern US.

New Thermal Activity on Geyser Hill in Yellowstone National Park – Short video from the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.

‘Perfectly Preserved’ Glassware Recovered From 2,000-Year-Old Shipwreck – The shipwreck was located 1,148 feet below the surface in waters between Italy and France. Two remotely operated vehicles (ROV) were used to scan the site and recover artifacts.

Short bursts of daily activity linked to reduced cancer risk - A total of just 4.5 minutes of vigorous activity that makes you huff and puff during daily tasks could reduce the risk of some cancers (i.e. cancers associated with physical activity such as liver, lung, kidney, gastric cardia (a type of stomach cancer), endometrial, myeloid leukemia, myeloma, colorectal, head and neck, bladder, breast and esophageal adenocarcinoma (cancer of the esophagus) by up to 32 percent.

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 29, 2023

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.

An elegant enigma – A shipwreck discovered 30 feet below the surface 15 years ago…what we know (and don’t know) about it after study of the 1,500 objects recovered including textiles in 4 chests. The name of the ship is still unknown but the construction indicates it was a Dutch trader constructed around 1645 and sank around 1660.

At Peru temple site, archaeologists explore 3,000-year-old 'condor's passageway' – A 3,000 year old sealed corridor in a massive temple complex built by the ancient Chavin culture.

Does Nature Need a Trigger Warning? – A thought provoking post. Predators must be part of our conservation actions…and need to be valued as they are rather than simplistically.

Two-Hundred Years of Written Observations of Kīlauea's Summit Activity – On August 1, 1823, an English missionary visited the summit and published his observations (I found the book online -available on Internet Archive…Chapter 6 begins on page 121…image below). Mark Twain visited in 1866 and trekked across the caldera floor to Halema’uma’u, watching “a heaving sea of molten fire of seemingly limitless extent.” There are several links in the article that are worth following. My favorite is the USGS Views of a Century of Activity at Kilauea Caldera – A Visual Essay.

How Texas is racing to thwart the heat  - Unfortunately, planning for heat is not as well-developed in the US as planning for other hazards like flooding so many cities are scrambling to take proactive measures to cool their streets down and protect people from the dangerous impacts of overheating. In urban heat islands, temperatures can be up to 20 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than less populated areas. Austin, TX has a climate resilience plan that includes strengthening emergency response and future-proofing new facilities and infrastructure. It also developed an urban forest canopy for the city to ensure cool outdoor spaces. The city has now applied for a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant to plant more trees after finding the tree canopy coverage was helping Austin to adapt to hotter temperatures. In 2021, San Antonio became the first city in Texas to participate in a pilot project to lower pavement temperatures by applying a coat of paint that reflects the sun's rays. I was disappointed that other large cities in Texas (like Dallas and Houston) were not mentioned in the article. My impression of Dallas is that there is a lot of concrete.

Detecting spoiled foods with LEDs – A potential improvement in non-invasive monitoring of fruit and vegetable freshness.

Joshua trees are dying. This new legislation hopes to tackle that – A compromise law…sets up a conservation fund and requires the state to develop a conservation plan and companies to obtain a permit from the state to cut down or relocate existing trees.

The looming 840,000 ton waste problem that isn't single-use plastics – Carbon and glass fiber composites used in wind turbine blades, hydrogen tanks, airplanes, yachts, construction, and car manufacturing. "This is a huge opportunity," said Dr Wei. "And not only because various modes of recycling are cost-effective and minimally impactful on the environment. In an era of mounting supply chain disruptions, local recycled products can provide a more immediate product when compared to imports and create a burgeoning advanced manufacturing industry."

National Park Visitors Warned to Be "Prepared to Survive" Heat – My husband and I have avoided trips to the western national parks in summer since the 1980s…primarily to avoid crowds but now ‘excessive heat’ is part of our rationale too.

The ocean's color is changing as a consequence of climate change – The color shifts have occurred in 56% of the world’s ocean based on analysis of data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite, which has been monitoring ocean color for 21 years. Tropical oceans have become steadily greener. Changes in color reflect changes in plankton communities, that will impact everything that feeds on plankton. It will also change how much the ocean will take up carbon, because different types of plankton have different abilities to do that. 

Gleanings of the Week Ending February 11, 2023

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 December 24, 2022

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.

H5N1 Bird Flu Detections across the United States (Wild Birds) – A map of US counties where bird flu has been detected in wild birds as reported by the US Department of Agriculture.  It would be great if data could come from the National Wildlife Refuges (reporting through the US Department of the Interior) since they often have concentrations of wildlife and staff that would be monitoring the flocks. I know that there were instances of bird flu – primarily in snow geese - that the Bosque del Apache NWR staff were reacting to when we were there the November before COVID-19 curtailed our travel.

Electric car sales drive toward cleaner air, longer lives – Another reason my next car will be an electric rather than a plug-in-hybrid that I have now. However – this should probably be seen as an offset to the negative impacts on public health that climate change will bring; the air could be cleaner, but it will also be warmer and more turbulent. I am becoming less certain that my lifespan will last into my 90s like it has for my parents.

Living the lava life on Mauna Loa – A satellite image from NASA’s Landsat 9. It shows how close one of the flows came to Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) project habitat. Fortunately, the most recent mission there concluded in May 2022.

The Dead Sea is dying – The lowest exposed place on Earth…water level dropping 4 feet per year…salt formations and sinkholes.

Beyond cola: the strange flavors of soft drinks – Carbonated drinks were invented by Johann Jacob Schweppe in 1783. They were sold in glass bottles and that were recirculated. Regional delicacies. Everything changed with the advent of plastic bottles in the 1970s. Moxie, state beverage of Maine, continued independently for a long time – bought by Coca-Cola in 2018. Soft drinks had a heyday in the years of Prohibition. Follow the link for the whole article, more soft drink history.

Construction of the world’s largest radio telescope begins – Square Kilometer Array (SKA) – one in Australia and one in South Africa. Construction will be completed by the end of the decade, but observations will begin in 2024.

Flameproofing lithium-ion batteries with salt – Finally….hope this solves the fire problem with lithium-ion batteries and, if so, moves into new battery manufacturing quickly.

The 120-year search for the purpose of T. Rex’s arms – A little history of T. Rex finds…and the various ideas about why the animal had such puny arms.

A new weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria – Work to find a new treatment for Klebsiella pneumoniae infections that are resistant to common antibiotics with some strains fatal for 40-50% of infected people. A new strategy: weakening bacteria with an existing drug previously used to treat herpes that alters its surface layer to make it easier for the immune system to kill the bacteria. The idea works in the research model…effectiveness in human beings yet to be confirmed.

The science of why hawks are one of nature’s deadliest hunters – Birds and bats….The birds steer toward a fixed point in the swarm instead of singling out a bat. It’s a good strategy against a gathering of prey!

Gleanings of the Week Ending May 14, 2022

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 human brains were bigger 3,000 years ago – Some possible explanation: human populations reached a large enough size to share/divide labor and knowledge with others, writing….however, brain size/IQ relationship is not deterministic.

Operating rooms are the climate change contributor no one’s talking about – The health care industry accounts for 8.5% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the US. Operating rooms represent 70% of waste in hospitals and 3 to 6 times as much carbon as the rest of health systems.

Where tornadoes strike most frequently is changing – More erratic tornado activity and the broad impacts of climate change.

Do you have a lost twin? - The rate of twins among live births is only about 1.3%. But as many as 12% of all naturally conceived pregnancies may begin as twin pregnancies.

Wild fox kills 25 flamingos and a duck at National Zoo – We see foxes in our neighborhood. They seem to have adapted to the suburban environment. This one was very efficient to kill 25 birds, though.

A 10,000-year history of geo-ecological change in Yellowstone’s lower geyser basin – A study using a 26.5-foot core from Goose Lake.

US could cut transport emissions by 34% b 2030 – The current trend will reduce emissions by 19% but a bit more focus would provide a bigger reduction.

Garbology: How to spot patterns in people's waste – We’ve been getting rid of a lot as we prepare to move. I try to do as much as possible via donations and recycling…but there is still a lot going in the trash. Some of it came from Texas with us back in 1983…and was still in the same box!

6,000-Year-Old Slate Rings May Have Symbolized Relationships – Friendship rings? Careful analysis revealed the rings had been intentionally broken…and shared (i.e. pieces of a ring were found in two separate burial sites).

How Taipei discovered an active volcano on its doorstep – Disconcerting. Even of there is some ability to provide early warning of an eruption…could the city be abandoned quickly enough?

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 9, 2021

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.

Earth is dimming due to climate change – Decades of measurements of earthshine indicate that the Earth is becoming less reflective with warmer oceans (and fewer bright clouds).

Kilauea Resumes Eruptions At Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park – Exciting times on the big island…

In UK, Interest in EVs Spikes Amid Fuel Shortages – There have been stories about Ford and GM strategy recently too….lots of indicators that many people will be buying EVs sooner rather than later if enough are produced.

NASA lander records the largest ‘Marsquakes’ ever detected – The lander has been on the surface since 2018!

Dental care: The best, worst and unproven tools to care for your teeth – Hmm….I wonder how much this research will change what dentists advise?

Baby Poo Has Ten Times More Microplastics Than Adult Feces – A scary result…and no ideas on how to reduce exposure (and we don’t know exactly what harms it might cause)….just more research needed. Very frustrating.

Coastal Northeastern US is a global warming hotspot; 2 degrees Celsius of summer warming has already occurred – From Maine to Delaware…the area is warming faster because of climate change linked alterations in the ocean and atmospheric conditions of the North Atlantic.

2021 Nature Conservancy Photo Contest Winners Highlight Global Wildlife and Nature – Beautiful…and thought provoking. My favorite was the artsy one at the end…a high key image.

Paradigm shift in treatment of type 2 diabetes to focus on weight loss – There are probably other chronic ‘diseases’ that have become more prevalent over the past few decades that could be improved with weight loss….but it is hard to lose weight…and keep it off. It requires permanent lifestyle changes.

A Leisurely Trip to Kansas – Another post that includes pictures of a rough green snake. I’ve been on the lookout for them since my son-in-law sent a photo he took with his phone!

Gleanings of the Week Ending February 20, 2021

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.

Top 10 things we learned about climate change in 2020 – I’m thinking about this more this week with the extreme cold in Texas…and lack of preparedness of utility companies and state governments. It drives home the overarching message now: doing nothing will cost more than doing something.

Top 25 birds of the week: Seabids! – Birds and water…from around the world.

Size, Shape, and diversity in phytoplankton – The tiny organisms that could be changing in warming, more acidic oceans….do we have enough of a baseline to know if these communities are changing in ways that will impact the food networks of our oceans?

Fairy Shrimp – A video from a vernal pool in Pony Pasture Rapids Park in Richmond, Virginia.

Wintering bird communities track climate change faster than breeding communities in Europe and North America – Weather impacts birds in the short term (my family has commented that they have seen flocks of robins in their neighborhood recently….having not seen them in the past 30 years they’ve lived in the area) but the longer term impacts of climate changes are only observable with large data bases built since the 1980s. This study looked at over 1,200 species of birds!

How to see the red fox in winter – We occasional see red fox in our neighborhood but I haven’t seen any (so far) this winter. Maybe after the snow/sleet is over I’ll take a walk and look for tracks.

Age provides a buffer to pandemic's mental health impact, researchers say -- ScienceDaily – It may not be ‘age’ as much as older people being more able to stay at home and avoid other people (stress reduction through conscientious steps to avoid COVID-19 exposure)….whereas young people are more likely to have to get out and about for work or other obligations. It could be difficult for older people living along…but maybe we have quite a few older people that are not alone in their ‘bubble.’

Sunset Crater's Explosive Past – The youngest of the volcanoes in the 1,800 square mile San Francisco Volcanic Field near Flagstaff, AZ. It’s a place I visited (and posted about) back in February 2015.

Immune driver of brain aging identified -- ScienceDaily – It seems to be a change in how myeloid cells handle glucose….tending to hoard it rather than using it for energy. I wondered if that is why people with diabetes are at increased risk for cognitive decline.

Magnetic fields detected in Venus Flytraps – A small magnetic field is produced when the trap closes!

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 28, 2018

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.

Go Orchids: North American Orchid Conservation Center – A great site for learning about orchids…mentioned in my second post about the class I attended at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.

In praise of drawing - The Painters Keys – This is post originally written in 2006 but still very applicable today. I looked more at Internet Archive for some of the ‘how to draw’ books that were mentioned in the article; it’s amazing that in a 40-year period in the 1800s so many were published. A more recent post – from a science education perspective – was published in 2015: Rediscovering the forgotten benefits of drawing. I am contemplating taking a ‘next step’ from Zentangles to realistic drawings.

Time-Lapse Videos Capture Echinopsis Cacti in Bloom – Eye candy videos…beautiful.

Free Technology for Teachers: 7 TED-Ed Food Science Lessons – We could all learn a little more about the food we consume….educate ourselves to eat wisely.

Research Dollars Go Farther at Less-Prestigious Institutions: Study | The Scientist Magazine® - Interesting finding. I wonder if it will change how some organizations that award research dollars make decisions in the future.

Material formed from crab shells and trees could replace flexible plastic packaging -- ScienceDaily – This type of technology gives me hope. Recycling can’t do everything. We have to reduce the non-compostable materials in our packaging…have a net decrease in what has to be (expensively) recycled and/or go to the landfill.

Recovery: America’s Giant Squirrel Back from the Brink – Cool Green Science – I’ve seen signs about the Delmarva Fox Squirrel when we have gone to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge but have never seen one. It’s good to hear a environmental improvement story!

As usual – I can’t resist the ’25 birds’ posts from National Geographic. Here are two that have come out recently: Top 25 Bird Interactions and Top 25: Wild Birds with Spectacular Catches

BBC - Future - The complicated truth about a cat’s purr – We all like to think that when our cat purrs that it is a sound of happiness…but is it?

Compound Interest - Volcanic eruptions: the chemistry of lava and volcanic gases and Compound Interest - The chemistry of spinach: the iron myth and ‘spinach teeth’ – Two posts from Andy Brunning. In the first one – click on the graphic and the larger version of the infographic will appear....a timely post with the volcanic event in Hawaii this summer.