grrlscientist | February 3, 2007tags: global warming, IPCC Report, weather, environment, nature
A new report [PDF] that was released last Friday by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reveals that there is at least a 90 percent chance that the burning of fossil fuels was the primary cause of global warming since 1950. The report stated that the world as a whole needs to cut its fossil fuel emissions by 80 percent by the year 2050. This report includes work from more than 2,000 scientists from across the globe and is based on peer-reviewed research.
The report, considered the most authoritative science on…
grrlscientist | February 3, 2007Here's a story that needs no commentary from me;
A Blue Ridge Mountains Boy Scout troop accidentally discovered Vice President Dick Cheney's "undisclosed location" last week, a press officer with Boy Scouts of America said. The troop, consisting of a Scoutmaster and 17 boys from the region who were planning to camp for the night in the heavily wooded area, reportedly found the undisclosed location while hunting for shelter during a sudden hailstorm.
"We were heading to a nice clearing near Brushy Mountain we've used before when the squall hit," Pete Pubert, Scoutmaster for the troop, said. "…
grrlscientist | February 3, 2007
.
Even though the new Harry Potter book won't be on the bookshelves until 21 July, its sales are already truly staggering; outselling even the Bible.
Rowling announced Thursday that "Deathly Hallows" would come out July 21. The previous six books have sold more than 325 million copies in 64 languages and broken countless sales records. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," published in 2005, had an announced first U.S. printing of 10.8 million copies and sold 6.9 million copies in its first 24 hours.
Cited story.
grrlscientist | February 3, 2007
Polar bears, Ursus maritimus, stranded on melting iceberg.
Scientists are finding bodies of dead polar bears in the sea near Alaska and in the Arctic. Apparently, the bears are being overcome with exhaustion and starvation as they are forced to swim hundreds of miles in search of food.
"As the ice gets farther out from the shore because of warming, it's a longer swim that costs [the bears] more energy and makes them more vulnerable," said Dr Ian Stirling of the Canadian Wildlife Service.
A comprehensive report published today by a United Nations panel says there is a 90 per cent…
grrlscientist | February 3, 2007
View from the Great Kiva,
Chimney Rock Pueblo, Colorado.
The photographer was fortunate to visit on Jan 2, 2007, the date of the full moon rising between the spires of Chimney Rock and Companion Rock, an event associated with the major lunar standstill and the winter solstice. This occurs only every 18.6 years, but it is likely that the ancient Pueblo astronomers used this site that that same purpose in 1076 and 1094 AD.
Image: Dave Rintoul.
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be for forever), I shall continue to share them with my readership. My purpose for posting…
grrlscientist | February 2, 2007
Snow atop Mesa Verde, Colorado.
Image: Dave Rintoul.
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be for forever), I shall continue to share them with my readership. My purpose for posting these images is to remind all of us of the grandeur of the natural world and that there is a world out there that is populated by millions of unique species. We are a part of this world whether we like it or not: we have a choice to either preserve these species or to destroy them in search of short-term monetary gains. But if we decide to destroy these other life forms, the least we can do is to…
grrlscientist | February 1, 2007
Hoarfrost on Tamarisk
in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico.
Cuz it's the day after my birdday ...
Image: Dave Rintoul.
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be for forever), I shall continue to share them with my readership. My purpose for posting these images is to remind all of us of the grandeur of the natural world and that there is a world out there that is populated by millions of unique species. We are a part of this world whether we like it or not: we have a choice to either preserve these species or to destroy them in search of short-term monetary gains. But if we decide to…
grrlscientist | February 1, 2007
JK Rowling, Author of the Harry Potter book series.
Harry Potter and the Deathy Hallows, the last book in the popular Harry Potter book series, is due to be released on 21 July 2007, according to JK Rowling, the series' author.
Bloomsbury, her British publisher, said it would publish a children's hardback edition, and also an adult hardback, along with a special gift edition and an audio book on the same day. Scholastic Children's Books, the U.S. publisher, said it would offer a hardback edition at a suggested retail price of $34.99, a deluxe edition at $65.00 and a reinforced library…
grrlscientist | February 1, 2007This is an amazing video about a blind boy who has mastered echolocation so well that he can walk down the street, rollerskate, and play video games -- all unassisted.
grrlscientist | January 31, 2007Is it just because it's my birdday or has there been an unusual number of blog carnivals posted on this day? Anyway, there is another blog carnival, the 17th edition of the Circus of the Spineless that is now available for your reading pleasure.
.
tags: blog carnival, invertebrates
grrlscientist | January 31, 2007
A Western scrub-jay, Aphelocoma californica
in Mesa Verde, Colorado.
Image: Dave Rintoul.
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be for forever), I shall continue to share them with my readership. My purpose for posting these images is to remind all of us of the grandeur of the natural world and that there is a world out there that is populated by millions of unique species. We are a part of this world whether we like it or not: we have a choice to either preserve these species or to destroy them in search of short-term monetary gains. But if we decide to destroy these other…
grrlscientist | January 31, 2007Not long ago in the country of Colombia, a chicken was born with webbed feet, similar to a duck (pictured).
As some people suggested, this bird isn't the result of a duck sneaking into the hen house because experts say it's impossible for the two species to interbreed. Instead, experts said the bird is a genetic mutation.
My guess is that the developmental genes that were supposed to cause programmed cell death for those cells located between the bird's toes did not activate and do their job properly. As a result, those cells survived, leaving the bird with skin remaining between its toes.…
grrlscientist | January 31, 2007The 31st edition of the Carnival of the Liberals is now available for your reading pleasure. This blog carnival publishes only the ten top choices, so you are getting the cream of the crop of submissions, which I am told, was substantial this time. Of particular interest in this issue is a story that tells us the sorts of loaded questions we should be asking Barack Obama.
tags: blog carnival, Liberals, politics
grrlscientist | January 31, 2007Tangled Bank is now available -- and on my birdday, too. How much better can things get, eh?
For those of you who appreciate good science writing, this is the blog carnival for you! It is jam-packed with science-y goodness, including one entry from me (I sent them approximately 12 entries, but they decided to accept only one entry per blog -- bummer for me -- so you should go there and figure out which one they ultimately accepted).
tags: blog carnival, Tangled Bank
grrlscientist | January 31, 2007Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry Potter, will strip off his familiar eyeglasses and robes for his London stage debut next year. The 17-year-old actor, who plays the bespectacled schoolboy wizard in the Hollywood adaptations of J.K. Rowling's novels, will star as the troubled stable boy, Alan Strang, in Peter Shaffer's "Equus."
The play delves into the psyche of Strang who blinds six horses with a metal spike. In another scene, Strang is required to simulate sexual ecstasy while riding a horse naked. But Davies said nudity was not the focus of the play. The production is scheduled to open…
grrlscientist | January 31, 2007Below the fold is a video about fungi that selectively infect specific species of insects, with devastating effects.
.
tags: fungus, insects, nature
grrlscientist | January 30, 2007
tags: transgenic chickens, genetic engineering, chickens, birds
Like bacteria, various farm animals have been cloned to produce a variety of protein drugs that benefit humans. These protein drugs can counteract medical conditions such as anemia and diabetes and even some cancers. However, these cloned animals are expensive, large, and most take years before they can produce these desired protein drugs in sufficient commercially-viable quantities.
However, some researchers have decided that chickens can be desirable protein drug factories because they are small, inexpensive and have rapid…
grrlscientist | January 30, 2007
In Juneau, Alaska, an ambitious bald eagle had apparently found a deer head in the local dump and was carrying it away when the bird crashed into nearby power lines, causing a power outage for approximately 10,000 people.
Unfortunately, the eagle did not survive.
Cited story.
Image source.
tags: bald eagle, Juneau Alaska, power outage
grrlscientist | January 30, 2007
A rare and lovely ferruginous hawk, Buteo regalis,
in Hovenweep, Utah.
Cuz it's the day before my birdday ...
Image: Dave Rintoul.
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be for forever), I shall continue to share them with my readership. My purpose for posting these images is to remind all of us of the grandeur of the natural world and that there is a world out there that is populated by millions of unique species. We are a part of this world whether we like it or not: we have a choice to either preserve these species or to destroy them in search of short-term monetary gains…
grrlscientist | January 30, 2007Do you have troubles with multiplication? Below the video is a demonstration of an easy way to multiply large numbers together. How long has this method been known? Why were we never taught this when we were kids?
.
tags: multiplication, mathematics