grrlscientist | May 17, 2007tags: politics, Democrat, Republican, satisfaction, Gallup poll
How satisfied are you with the state of your country? That apparently depends upon whether you are a Democrat or a Republican. According to today's newly released Gallup poll, a sudden drop was reported in its regular "satisfaction" index. Only 25% of Americans claim they satisfied with the state of their country. This is down 8% in just one month, and is one of the lowest satisfaction indices ever measured.
"The current 25% satisfaction level is very low by historical standards," Gallup explained. "Since Gallup first asked this…
grrlscientist | May 17, 2007tags: Antarctica, Weddell Sea, new species, ANDEEP, zoology
The scientists said an "astonishingly diverse" collection of isopods had been discovered. This young male isopod represents one of 674 isopod species found.
Image: W. Brokeland. [larger image]
According to a paper that was recently published, scientists have found more than 700 new species of marine creatures in seas surrounding Antarctica -- seas once thought too hostile to sustain such rich biodiversity. Fabulous creatures, such as carnivorous sponges, free-swimming worms, crustaceans and molluscs, were collected.
The…
grrlscientist | May 17, 2007tags: blog carnival, birds
The 49th edition of I and the Bird is now available. This blog carnival focuses on recent blog essays about birds and, as usual, there's plenty there to read, including a piece that I sent along to them.
grrlscientist | May 17, 2007tags: NASA, lunar exploration, space, streaming video
This streaming video makes NASA's lunar exploration look like a world premier of a really cool movie. Too bad they don't have the vision and leadership that is required to make a really cool movie .. and too bad putting a few dozen white tanks on the surface of the moon isn't as cheap as making a really cool movie -- they apparently want $100 billion to do it. But the trailer is inspirational. [2:01].
grrlscientist | May 16, 2007tags: medicine, heart attack, angina, health
Do you think life is unfair? According to a new study, people who think they have been treated unfairly are more likely to suffer a heart attack or chest pain.
One of the largest and longest studies of its kind analyzed medical data from 6,081 British civil servants. In the early 1990s, they were asked how strongly they agreed with this statement: "I often have the feeling that I am being treated unfairly." According to the results, published yesterday in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, people who reported that they had…
grrlscientist | May 16, 2007tags: ferret, black-footed ferret, endangered species
Today, I received an email from Jenna Bowles, who is the head of distribution for The Futures Channel. They produce "micro-documentaries" that feature industries and professions that are both innovative and inspiring. One of their newly launched videos focuses on the endangered black-footed ferret recovery program. Basically, 25 years ago, a dog discovered one lone black-footed ferret in a hole -- the last one known to exist in the wild. Since then, the recovery effort has become one of the most successful conservation programs conducted…
grrlscientist | May 16, 2007tags: health care, medicine, health insurance
America has the best health care in the world? Think again. This should come as no surprise to anyone, but according to two different studies that were published recently, Americans have the poorest health care among all the richest nations on earth. According to the two studies funded by the Commonwealth Fund, even though the US has the most expensive health system in the world, it consistently underperforms those of other countries and the biggest difference is because Americans have no universal health insurance coverage.
Also according to one…
grrlscientist | May 16, 2007tags: turtle, Cantor's giant softshell turtle, Pelochelys cantorii, endangered species, herpetology, reptiles
This photo released by Conservation International, shows two rare Cantor's giant
softshell turtles, Pelochelys cantorii, thought to be on the brink of extinction.
Conservation International and the World Wildlife Fund announced today, 16 May 2007,
that scientists discovered the rare species in Cambodia in a former stronghold of the
Khmer Rouge in March.
A rare soft-shell turtle has been found in Cambodia's Mekong River, raising hopes that the threatened species can be saved from…
grrlscientist | May 16, 2007tags: superduperfriends, parody, humor, streaming video
This streaming political parody of the Challenge of the Superfriends is something I think you will enjoy watching [1:04].
grrlscientist | May 15, 2007tags: hummingbird, Gorgeted Puffleg, Eriocnemis Isabellaea, endangered species, ornithology, birds
A new species of hummingbird, the Gorgeted Puffleg, Eriocnemis Isabellaea, has been discovered in the Serrania del Pinche mountains of southwest Colombia.
[much larger image]
According to ornithologists, the Gorgeted Puffleg has been discovered living in the cloud forests of southwestern Colombia. Despite its recent discovery, this stunning rare hummingbird that has violet blue plumage and iridescent green on its throat, is already endangered by the environmentally damaging illegal drugs…
grrlscientist | May 15, 2007tags: health, obesity, exercise, employment
This is really nifty, if you ask me. A workstation has been designed by the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota that will allow sedentary office staff to work out while they work. This workstation, designed to be used between two and three hours per day, has a treadmill, along with a plexiglass panel with two adjustable arms bolted to it that are designed to hold a computer and keyboard/mouse. The treadmill speed can be adjusted by the user, and also can be used to stand and work or to sit and work.
A study was recently published in the British Journal of…
grrlscientist | May 15, 2007tags: Oekologie, blog carnival
The fifth issue of the new blog carnival, Oekologie is now available for you to read. Even though this is a new blog carnival, it is already receiving lots of submissions, so go over there and check it out!
grrlscientist | May 15, 2007tags: Harry Potter, JK Rowling, books
I have been reading the rumors that have been flying these past few days that JK Rowling might write another Harry Potter book. This book will likely end up being an encyclopedia of the entire series instead of a true adventure, as the first seven books are.
"I might do an eighth book for charity -- a kind of encyclopedia of the world, so that I could use all the extra material that's not in the books," Rowling wrote on her website.
Rowling has already written two Harry Potter reference books; Quidditch Through The Ages and Fantastic Beasts And Where To…
grrlscientist | May 15, 2007tags: Jerry Falwell, quotes, religion, bigotry
As you probably know, Reverend Jerry Falwell died suddenly today after eating breakfast. It sounds like he died from a heart attack, although no one is quite sure yet. But isn't it interesting that Falwell was once described as having "heart challenges"? Speaking of having heart challenges, he was a true fire-and-brimstone preacher who founded a college, Liberty University, that presumably is trying to carry on with his proud tradition of judging others unnecessarily harshly. Here are a few quotes from Jerry Falwell, lest any of us forget what…
grrlscientist | May 15, 2007tags: Wolfowitz, World Bank, politics
It appears that Wolfowitz, who has been the fearless leader of the World Bank, has been abusing and threatening retaliations on senior World Bank staff if his orders for pay rises and promotions for his girlfriend, Shaha Riza, were revealed. According to testimony by one key witness, Wolfowitz declares: "If they fuck with me or Shaha, I have enough on them to fuck them too." Wow, considering the amount of misbehavior on his part, it's easy to see that he is not a professional at all! How on earth did he even get a job, in the first place?
Under fire for…
grrlscientist | May 14, 2007tags: Harry Potter, JK Rowling, books
Instead of reviewing new books as I should be doing, I have been nestled in the Harry Potter books, devouring them one last time before the last book in that series is published on 21 July 2007. Those of you who are fans will be pleased to note that JK Rowling is demanding that her fans not leak spoilers on the seventh installment's story. JK Rowling says it is best that all who know anything to keep it to themselves. She says;
There will always be sad individuals who get their kicks from ruining other people's fun, but while sites like Leaky take such…
grrlscientist | May 14, 2007
Rock Wren, Salpinctes obsoletus. (spring song).
The photographer writes; [This bird] was scurrying along a wall covered with petroglyphs on the NE side of Chaco Canyon. Perky and hardy little birds, and definitely emblematic of the desert Southwest.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU.
Birds in Science
A study of European robins in Sheffield, England, suggests that it is noise, not light, that drives birds to sing at night. The study, by Richard A. Fuller and colleagues at the University of Sheffield, measured noise levels and singing at 67 sites around the city, where on average ambient noise was an…
grrlscientist | May 14, 2007tags: politics, streaming video
For those of you who missed this the first time around, I thought I'd share this with you now. It made me laugh!
grrlscientist | May 13, 2007tags: high-voltage line repairman, unusual jobs, streaming video
This streaming video gives a brief glimpse into the life of a high-voltage wire repairman -- only half a million volts pass over this man's body during the course of his workday! What an amazing job to have [3:18]
grrlscientist | May 12, 2007tags: shark, octopus, streaming video
This video, courtesy of the Seattle Aquarium, shows what happened after the keepers moved a giant octopus into an aquarium containing five-foot sharks. In short; octopus and sharks do not get along with each other [2:02]
Giant octopus vs shark