Good Evening All,
How is life? I'm doing well here. I have a couple good articles to share with you. :)
First I would like to mention the miraculous story of a woman whose ectopic pregnancy was carried full term without her knowledge of it even having any complications. The doctors found it was ectopic when a routine cesarian section was done to birth the baby at 38 weeks! The baby was a healthy 6 pounds and change.
The second story I would like to highlight is the one about the UN Pact to protect Plant and Animal diversity. 191 Countries agreed to the measures. The aim is to curb the rapid loss of plant and animal life that the world is currently experiencing. :)
Anyway, I hope you enjoy today's articles! See you tomorrow!
Today's Top 5:
1. Baby Born After Rare Ectopic Pregnancy (MSNBC)
2. Rescuers Free Man Trapped Under 20 Tons of Soil at Work Site in Florida (Florida Today)
3. Lost Tribe Discovered Deep in Amazon (Physorg.com)
4. Organic Free Grazing Cows are Cream of the Crop (Science Daily)
5. Parties to UN Pact on Plant, Animal Diversity Agree to Steps to Prevent Species Loss
Honorable Mentions:
1. Japanese Scientists Create Microscopic Noodle Bowl (Yahoo News)
2. A Tiny Fruit that Tricks the Tongue (NY Times)
Today's Top 5:
1. Baby Born After Rare Ectopic Pregnancy
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24888923/
Doctors in Australia call healthy, full-term infant a 'miracle'
updated 9:27 a.m. ET May 30, 2008
SYDNEY, Australia - A woman in a northern Australian city gave birth to a healthy baby girl after a rare full-term ectopic pregnancy, a hospital official said Friday.
Meera Thangarajah, 34, had no symptoms or complications during her pregnancy, so doctors performing a routine Caesarean section Thursday were shocked to find that the baby had developed in the ovary rather than the uterus.
An ectopic pregnancy, which occurs when a fertilized egg develops outside of the uterus, usually miscarries or is terminated by doctors because of the threat it can cause to the mother.
Baby Durga weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces, and both she and her mother are healthy, said Robyn Cahill, general manager of the Darwin Private Hospital.
"We're calling it a miracle," Cahill told The Associated Press.
The baby's father, Ravi Thangarajah, told Nine Network television that doctors had told him, "You're one of the luckiest men in the world at the moment."
But Cahill said the mother had no complications or symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy, and it did not show up on a scan halfway through the pregnancy. She said only 1 in 40,000 fertilizations implant in the ovary, and it is unheard of that one of those fetuses grow to full term, generally 37 weeks.
Durga was born at 38 weeks.
"It is extremely rare," said Mark Erian, a specialist in high-risk obstetrics at the University of Queensland. "I have never seen a case that progresses until fetal viability. She was absolutely lucky to have the pregnancy progress."
2. Rescuers Free Man Trapped Under 20 Tons of Soil at Work Site
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080530/BREAKINGNEWS/80530016/1086/rss07
May 30, 2008
WINTER GARDEN, Fla. -- Rescuers freed a man who was pinned inside a backhoe under nearly 20 tons of soil in a collapse at an Orange County work site, authorities said.
The incident happened Friday morning at Double D Crushers in Winter Garden.
The victim was conscious when he was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center, officials said. His condition is not known.
Rescuers used an Orange County Fire Department vacuum truck and a trench-rescue unit from the fire department at SeaWorld to free the man.
Rescue workers used wood planks to keep more dirt and crushed concrete from falling on on the victim as they tried to free him.
No other injuries have been reported.
The cause of the collapse is not known, and an investigation into the incident is under way.
Authorities originally said a crane collapsed under crushed concrete.
3. Lost Tribe Discovered Deep in Amazon
http://www.physorg.com/news131377147.html
May 30, 2008
Dramatic images of an isolated Brazilian tribe believed never to have had contact with the outside world were published by officials Friday to draw attention to threats posed to their way of life.
The pictures, released by the Brazilian government's National Indian Foundation (FUNAI), showed alarmed natives pointing bows and arrows at the aircraft carrying photographers.
The head of FUNAI's environmental protection unit responsible for the images, Jose Carlos dos Reis Meirelles, told AFP the foundation had known of the existence of the tribe for years -- located in thick rainforest near the Peruvian border -- and many photos had been taken.
"We have been watching this isolated indigenous community for at least 20 years. The idea in revealing the photos was to raise the alarm over the risk threatening them," he said in a telephone interview from western Acre state, where the indigenous group is located.
He explained the tribe had been pushed slowly out of Peruvian territory into Brazil by loggers cutting down their Amazon basin habitat, and that the pace of the illegal deforestation was now accelerating.
"Peruvian authorities recently said this indigenous community doesn't exist. Well, they do exist and they are facing an enormous risk," Meirelles said.
"But they weren't just discovered today. All this region is a cultural mosaic and there are four different identified groups living close to one another," he said.
He said he did not know -- "and didn't care to know" -- what ethnic group the isolated tribe came from.
"All I care about is protecting them, keeping them in their isolation."
The pictures show the tribe's members, their skin painted red and black, in a village of huts with thatched roofs.
The head of FUNAI's Isolated Indians Department, Elias Biggio, told reporters that Meirelles's team had not had any physical contact with the tribe.
Survival International, a British group lobbying on behalf of indigenous people around the world, said on its website there were fears illegal logging in Peru could also endanger the Brazilian tribe by forcing displaced Peruvian tribes into contact with it.
It said there were an estimated 500 isolated indigenous people living on the Brazilian side of the border.
"The world needs to wake up to this, and ensure that their territory is protected in accordance with international law. Otherwise, they will soon be made extinct," Survival International director Stephen Corry said.
His group said there were more than 100 uncontacted indigenous tribes worldwide.
4. Organic Free Grazing Cows are Cream of the Crop
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080527101003.htm
ScienceDaily
May 30, 2008
A new study by Newcastle University proves that organic farmers who let their cows graze as nature intended are producing better quality milk.
The Nafferton Ecological Farming Group study found that grazing cows on organic farms in the UK produce milk which contains significantly higher beneficial fatty acids, antioxidants and vitamins than their conventional ‘high input’ counterparts.
During the summer months, one of the beneficial fats in particular – conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA9 – was found to be 60% higher.
The results of this study into UK dairy production are published online in the Journal of Science of Food and Agriculture.
‘We have known for some time that what cows are fed has a big influence on milk quality,’ explained Gillian Butler, livestock project manager for the Nafferton Ecological Farming Group at Newcastle University, who led the study. ‘What is different about this research is it clearly shows that on organic farms, letting cows graze naturally, using forage-based diet, is the most important reason for the differences in the composition between organic and conventional milk.
‘We’ve shown that significant seasonal differences exist, with nutritionally desirable fatty acids and antioxidants being highest during the summer, when the cows are eating fresh grass and clover.
‘As a result, our future research is focusing on how to improve the nutritional composition of milk during the winter, when cows are kept indoors and fed mainly on conserved forage.’
The study, which involved Newcastle scientists working with the Danish Institute for Agricultural Science, is part of the ongoing cross-European Quality Low Input Food project into animal health and welfare, milk quality and working towards minimising the use of antibiotics in dairy production.
‘This paper is a major milestone in the project and clearly shows that if you manage livestock naturally then it’s a win-win situation for both us and them,’ said Professor Carlo Leifert, project co-ordinator.
The scientists also discovered interesting results from a group of low-input farms in Wales, which are not certified organic but use very similar production methods to organic farms (the main difference was the use of some mineral fertiliser and shorter withdrawal periods after antibiotic use).
To reduce costs, these farmers calved all their cows in spring and grazed them throughout lactation, from March until November, resulting in milk being produced on an almost 100% fresh grass diet.
Milk from these non-organic farms also had significantly higher levels of nutritionally desirable fatty acids and antioxidants, which was a direct result of the extensive outdoor rearing and fresh forage intake.
‘These New-Zealand type dairy systems are not common in the UK, as weather conditions in many areas of the country make it unworkable,’ explained Mrs Butler. ‘Therefore, milk from these farms is not available to the public as it’s mixed in with milk from conventional systems during processing.
‘However, including these extremely extensive systems allowed us to clearly link the difference in milk quality to the dairy cows’ diets.’
Gordon Tweddle, of Acorn Dairy in County Durham, is a local supplier of organic milk. ‘We have believed for some time that organic milk is better for us and our customers tell us it tastes better,’ he said. ‘It is satisfying to have the scientific explanation as to why it is also nutritionally better.’
This current research confirms previous studies in the UK, which reported higher concentrations of omega 3 fatty acids in milk from organic production systems than conventional ones.
CLA, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E and carotenoids have all been linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. CLA is hugely popular in the US, where it is marketed as a nutritional supplement. However, synthetic supplements often contain compounds with a different chemical composition (isomer balance) than those occurring naturally in milk, resulting in an equal dose of both ‘good’ (i.e. CLA9, omega-3 fatty acid, vitamin E and carotenoids) and ‘less desirable’ fatty acids (i.e. omega-6 fatty acids and CLA10).
‘Switching to organic milk provides an alternative, natural way to increase our intake of nutritionally desirable fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants without increasing our intake of less desirable fatty acids and synthetic forms of vitamin E,’ said Mrs Butler. ‘In organic milk, the omega-3 levels increase but the omega-6 does not, which helps to improve the crucial ratio between the two.’
The study involved 25 farms across the UK in two contrasting areas of the UK – South Wales and the North East. The scientists looked at three different farming systems: conventional high input, organically certified, and non-organic sustainable (low-input).
The Nafferton Ecological Farming Group at Newcastle University collected 109 milk samples from 25 commercial farms categorised into the three different production systems: conventional high input; organically certified low input; and non-organic, low input. These samples were taken in August and October in 2004 and January, March and May the following year.
The group investigated the effects of seasonal and indoor/outdoor feeding differences on the milk’s fatty acid profile, and also compared individual carotenoids, stereo-isomers of alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) or isomers of CLA. The higher levels of nutritionally desirable fatty acids found in the organic milk were CLA9, omega-3 and linolenic acid and the antioxidants/vitamins were vitamin E and carotenoids. The lower levels of undesirable fatty acids were omega-6 and CLA10.
Adapted from materials provided by Newcastle University.
5. Parties to UN Pact on Plant, Animal Diversity Agree to Steps to Prevent Species Loss
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=26866&Cr=biodiversity&Cr1=
30 May 2008
The 191 countries to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) agreed today on a set of measures to advance progress toward the internationally agreed target to reduce the rate of loss of the world’s animal and plant species.
The parties to the Convention, meeting in Bonn, Germany, also agreed on new steps to increase the global network of protected areas and to negotiate an international set of rules on access to and sharing of the benefits of the rich genetic resources of the world.
“We are less than two years from 2010, the year that Heads of State determined to be the target for substantially reducing the rate of biodiversity loss,” said Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
“With the world losing species at an unprecedented rate, this is a very difficult target to meet, but the agreements in Bonn – the Bonn Biodiversity Compact – if implemented expeditiously by all stakeholders, will go a long way to help us meet our goals.”
At present, the world is losing plant and animal species at a rate between 100 and 1000 times the natural extinction rate. The loss of species diminishes the genetic resources available for medical advances, ensuring a secure food supply and making certain that the world’s ecosystems can provide the necessary functions that are essential for life.
More than 6,000 people participated in the two-week Conference, including three world leaders and 87 ministers who exchanged best practices and discussed proposals for accelerating action on biodiversity.
Delegates agreed on a number of measures that support conservation measures, ways to ensure its sustainable use, and a set of rules to ensure that benefits from the use of genetic resources are shared equitably.
They also agreed on a firm process towards establishing international rules on access to genetic resources and the equitable sharing of benefits from their use. For years, countries had not been able to reach consensus on the nature of such rules and whether any elements would be legally binding. The meeting produced a plan for the negotiations that not only sets out a clear road map leading up to 2010, but also provides a shortlist of options as to which elements should be legally binding.
In addition, countries agreed to develop a global network of protected areas that would ensure the conservation of biodiversity. The move would expand the move to protect areas rich in biodiversity – already 11 per cent of Earth’s land surface.
Honorable Mentions:
1. Japanese Scientists Create Microscopic Noodle Bowl
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/ap_on_sc/odd_japan_smallest_ramen_bowl_3
By MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press Writer
Thu May 29, 3:22 PM ET
TOKYO - Japanese scientists say they have used cutting-edge technology to create a noodle bowl so small it can be seen only through a microscope.
Mechanical engineering professor Masayuki Nakao said Thursday he and his students at the University of Tokyo used a carbon-based material to produce a noodle bowl with a diameter 1/25,000 of an inch in a project aimed at developing nanotube-processing technology.
The Japanese-style ramen bowl was carved out of microscopic nanotubes, Nakao said.
Nanotubes are tube-shaped pieces of carbon, measuring about one-ten-thousandth of the thickness of a human hair.
Carbon nanotubes are being explored for a wide range of uses in electronics and medicine because their structure endows them with powerful physical properties such as a strength greater than steel.
The ramen bowl experiment included a string of "noodles" that measured one-12,500th of an inch in length, with a thickness of one-1.25 millionth of an inch.
"We believe it's the world's smallest ramen bowl, with the smallest portion of noodles inside, though they are not edible," Nakao said.
The hardest part was to keep the noodles from rising upright from the bowl "like alfalfa sprouts," he said. "The achievement was mostly for fun."
The microscopic bowl was first created in December 2006, but revealed only Thursday after it was entered for a microphotography competition last week.
2. A Tiny Fruit That Tricks the Tongue
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/dining/28flavor.html?em&ex=1212292800&en=ec3b4432940a68a5&ei=5087%0A
Joe Fornabaio for The New York Times
By PATRICK FARRELL and KASSIE BRACKEN
Published: May 28, 2008
There were among 40 or so people who were tasting under the influence of a small red berry called miracle fruit at a rooftop party in Long Island City, Queens, last Friday night. The berry rewires the way the palate perceives sour flavors for an hour or so, rendering lemons as sweet as candy.
The host was Franz Aliquo, 32, a lawyer who styles himself Supreme Commander (Supreme for short) when he’s presiding over what he calls “flavor tripping parties.” Mr. Aliquo greeted new arrivals and took their $15 entrance fees. In return, he handed each one a single berry from his jacket pocket.
“You pop it in your mouth and scrape the pulp off the seed, swirl it around and hold it in your mouth for about a minute,” he said. “Then you’re ready to go.” He ushered his guests to a table piled with citrus wedges, cheeses, Brussels sprouts, mustard, vinegars, pickles, dark beers, strawberries and cheap tequila, which Mr. Aliquo promised would now taste like top-shelf Patrón.
The miracle fruit, Synsepalum dulcificum, is native to West Africa and has been known to Westerners since the 18th century. The cause of the reaction is a protein called miraculin, which binds with the taste buds and acts as a sweetness inducer when it comes in contact with acids, according to a scientist who has studied the fruit, Linda Bartoshuk at the University of Florida’s Center for Smell and Taste. Dr. Bartoshuk said she did not know of any dangers associated with eating miracle fruit.
During the 1970s, a ruling by the Food and Drug Administration dashed hopes that an extract of miraculin could be sold as a sugar substitute. In the absence of any plausible commercial application, the miracle fruit has acquired a bit of a cult following.
Sina Najafi, editor in chief of the art magazine Cabinet, has featured miracle fruits at some of the publication’s events. At a party in London last October, the fruit, he said, “had people testifying like some baptismal thing.”
The berries were passed out last week at a reading of “The Fruit Hunters,” a new book by Adam Leith Gollner with a chapter about miracle fruit.
Bartenders have been experimenting with the fruit as well. Don Lee, a beverage director at the East Village bar Please Don’t Tell, has been making miracle fruit cocktails on his own time, but the bar probably won’t offer them anytime soon. The fruit is highly perishable and expensive — a single berry goes for $2 or more.
Lance J. Mayhew developed a series of drink recipes with miracle fruit foams and extracts for a recent issue of the cocktail magazine Imbibe and may create others for Beaker & Flask, a restaurant opening later this year in Portland, Ore.
He cautioned that not everyone enjoys the berry’s long-lasting effects. Despite warnings, he said, one woman became irate after drinking one of his cocktails. He said, “She was, like, ‘What did you do to my mouth?’ ”
Mr. Aliquo issues his own warnings. “It will make all wine taste like Manischewitz,” he said. And already sweet foods like candy can become cloying.
He said that he had learned about miracle fruit while searching ethnobotany Web sites for foods he could make for a diabetic friend.
The party last week was his sixth “flavor tripping” event. He hopes to put on a much larger, more expensive affair in June. Although he does sell the berries on his blog, www.flavortripping.wordpress.com, Mr. Aliquo maintains that he isn’t in it for the money. (He said he made about $100 on Friday.) Rather, he said, he does it to “turn on a bunch of people’s taste buds.”
He believes that the best way to encounter the fruit is in a group. “You need other people to benchmark the experience,” he said. At his first party, a small gathering at his apartment in January, guests murmured with delight as they tasted citrus wedges and goat cheese. Then things got trippy.
“You kept hearing ‘oh, oh, oh,’ ” he said, and then the guests became “literally like wild animals, tearing apart everything on the table.”
“It was like no holds barred in terms of what people would try to eat, so they opened my fridge and started downing Tabasco and maple syrup,” he said.
Many of the guests last week found the party through a posting at www.tThrillist.com. Mr. Aliquo sent invitations to a list of contacts he has been gathering since he and a friend began organizing StreetWars, a popular urban assassination game using water guns.
One woman wanted to see Mr. Aliquo eat a berry before she tried one. “What, you don’t trust me?” he said.
She replied, “Well, I just met you.”
Another guest said, “But you met him on the Internet, so it’s safe.”
The fruits are available by special order from specialty suppliers in New York, including Baldor Specialty Foods and S. Katzman Produce. Katzman sells the berries for about $2.50 a piece, and has been offering them to chefs.
Mr. Aliquo gets his miracle fruit from Curtis Mozie, 64, a Florida grower who sells thousands of the berries each year through his Web site, www.miraclefruitman.com. (A freezer pack of 30 berries costs about $90 with overnight shipping.) Mr. Mozie, who was in New York for Mr. Gollner’s reading, stopped by the flavor-tripping party.
Mr. Mozie listed his favorite miracle fruit pairings, which included green mangoes and raw aloe. “I like oysters with some lemon juice,” he said. “Usually you just swallow them, but I just chew like it was chewing gum.”
A large group of guests reached its own consensus: limes were candied, vinegar resembled apple juice, goat cheese tasted like cheesecake on the tongue and goat cheese on the throat. Bananas were just bananas.
For all the excitement it inspires, the miracle fruit does not make much of an impression on its own. It has a mildly sweet tang, with firm pulp surrounding an edible, but bitter, seed. Mr. Aliquo said it reminded him of a less flavorful cranberry. “It’s not something I’d just want to eat,” he said.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
2008: May 29th Good News (Leaning Tower of Pisa Safe for 300 More Years, World's Rarest Rhinos Captured on Video, more...)
Good morning/afternoon all,
It's 4am my time...why am I awake??? I can't sleep. I think this is because I fell to sleep on my couch earlier today, while trying to complete the good news. Since I didn't finish it before I drifted off, my conscience woke me up to do it before work. lol.
Today I would like to bring your attention to just one article. The second article in the top 5 today features a cambodian woman who found herself compelled to help starving children in Cambodia after they started fighting for a piece of food she'd just finished and thrown out. Rather than just feed these children, she decided to teach them. She opened a school specifically for the poorest children, and is now helping them to get a proper education.
I hope you enjoy today's articles! See you tomorrow.
Today's Top 5:
1. Brain Cells Help Neighboring Nerves Regenerate (Science Daily)
2. Saving Children from Cambodia's Trash Heap (CNN)
3. Leaning Tower of Pisa won't Fall for At Least 300 More Years (The Scotsman)
4. Hero Drivers Pulled Man from Lorry Wreck (EADT 24--Suffolk and Essex online)
5. World's Rarest Rhinos Captured on Video (Reuters)
Honorable Mention:
1. Ancient Egyptian City Unearthed in Sinai (Yahoo News)
Today's Top 5:
1. Brain Cells Help Neighboring Nerves Regeneratehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080527170516.htm
ScienceDaily
May 29, 2008
Researchers have uncovered a completely unexpected way that the brain repairs nerve damage, wherein cells known as astrocytes deliver a protective protein to nearby neurons.
Astrocytes are a type of support cell in the brain that serve many functions; one of their roles is to chew up damaged nerves during brain injury and then form scar tissue in the damaged area.
Roger Chung and colleagues have now found that astrocytes have another trick up their sleeve. During injury, astrocytes overproduce a protein called metallothionein (MT) and secrete it to surrounding nerves; MT is a scavenging protein that grabs free radicals and metal ions and prevents them from damaging a cell, and thus is a potent protecting agent.
While the ability of astrocytes to produce MT has been known for decades, the general view was that the MT stayed within astrocytes to protect them while they help repair damaged areas. However, Chung and colleagues demonstrated that MT was present in the external fluid of damaged rat brain.
Furthermore, with the aid of a fluorescent MT protein, they observed that MT made in astrocytes could be transported outside the cell and then subsequently taken up by nearby nerves, and that the level of MT uptake correlated with how well the nerves repaired damage.
While the exact physiological role that MT plays in promoting better repair remains to be identified, this unexpected role for this protein should open up new avenues in treating brain injuries in the future.
2. Saving Children from Cambodia's Trash Heap
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/29/heroes.noun/index.html?eref=edition
29 May 2008
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (CNN) -- Walking down a street in Cambodia's capital city, Phymean Noun finished her lunch and tossed her chicken bones into the trash. Seconds later, she watched in horror as several children fought to reclaim her discarded food.
Noun stopped to talk with them. After hearing their stories of hardship, she knew she couldn't ignore their plight.
"I must do something to help these children get an education," she recalls thinking. "Even though they don't have money and live on the sidewalk, they deserve to go to school."
Six years after that incident, Noun is helping many of Phnom Penh's poorest children do just that.
Within weeks, she quit her job and started an organization to give underprivileged children an education. Noun spent $30,000 of her own money to get her first school off the ground.
In 2004, her organization -- the People Improvement Organization (PIO) -- opened a school at Phnom Penh's largest municipal trash dump, where children are a large source of labor.
Today, Noun provides 240 kids from the trash dump a free education, food, health services and an opportunity to be a child in a safe environment. Watch Noun and some of the children who attend her school »
It is no easy task. Hundreds of them risk their lives every day working to support themselves and their families.
"I have seen a lot of kids killed by the garbage trucks," she recalls. Children as young as 7 scavenge hours at a time for recyclable materials. They make cents a day selling cans, metals and plastic bags.
Noun recruits the children at the dump to attend her organization because, she says, "I don't want them to continue picking trash and living in the dump. I want them to have an opportunity to learn."
Growing up during the Pol Pot regime, Noun faced unimaginable challenges.
"There were no schools during Pol Pot's regime," she recalls. "Everyone had to work in the fields. My mother was very smart. She told them that she didn't have an education. That was how she survived. If they knew she was educated, they would have killed her."
Noun's mother died of cancer when Phymean was 15. Phymean's sister fled to a refugee camp, leaving her young daughter in Phymean's care.
"When my mom passed away, my life was horrible, " says Noun. "It was very sad because there was only my niece who was 3 years old at that time." Yet Noun was determined to finish high school. Watch Noun decscibe the hardships of life during the Pol Pot regime »
That dedication paid off, and after graduating she spent the next decade working with various aid organizations.
"I tell the children my story and about the importance of education," she said. "I'm their role model."
Some of the children who attend her school continue to work in the dump to support themselves and their families. Without an education, she said, these children would be vulnerable to traffickers or continue to be caught in the cycle of poverty.
"We are trying to provide them skills that they can use in the future," Noun said. "Even though we are poor and struggling and don't have money, we can go to school. I tell them not to give up hope."
Noun has even bigger plans for them. "These children are our next generation and our country depends on them. They are our future leaders."
3. Leaning Tower of Pisa won't Fall for At Least 300 More Years
http://news.scotsman.com/world/Tower-of-Pisa-39won39t-fall.4130001.jp
Published Date: 29 May 2008
By Philip Pullella
THE leaning tower of Pisa has been successfully stabilised and is out of danger for at least 300 years, according to an engineer who has been monitoring the iconic Italian tourist attraction. "All of our expectations have been confirmed," Professor Michele Jamiolkowski told the newspaper Corriere della Sera.
The tower's tilt of about 13ft off the vertical has remained stable after a big engineering project that ended in 2001 corrected its lean by about 15in from where it was in 1990 when the project began. The tower was shut to visitors for almost 12 years.
"Now we can say that the tower can rest easy for at least 300 years," Prof Jamiolkowski said.
The 14,000-tonne free-standing bell tower, an internationally recognised architectural symbol of Italy along with Rome's Colosseum, was built in several stages between 1174 and 1370. It began to tilt after completion of several storeys due to unstable ground.
Builders at first used trapezoidal stones to return the structure to the vertical, but the tower continued to lean.
During the stabilisation phase of the project the structure was anchored to cables while cement was injected to relieve pressure on the ground. The lean of the tower is now considered safe and is about what it was in 1700.
Restorers are now using a specially-designed light-weight scaffolding made of an aluminium alloy as a base from which to clean the tower's white and grey marble.
4. Hero Drivers Pulled Man from Lorry Wreck
http://www.eadt.co.uk/content/eadt/news/story.aspx?brand=EADOnline&category=news&tBrand=EADOnline&tCategory=News&itemid=IPED29%20May%202008%2013%3A10%3A38%3A463
29 May 2008 13:10
Brian Impleton was travelling behind the truck, which was carrying scrap vehicles, when it toppled over on the Copdock Mill roundabout just after 9am today.
The 35-year-old said: “I was bumper to bumper with him.
“I saw the truck kick out and it went over. I managed to drive round the front of it and park.”
Dozens of tyres were thrown off the back of the lorry, luckily into woodland, while diesel leaked onto the road.
Had the incident happened just a few metres further ahead on the bridge over the A14, the tyres could have caused chaos and injury to motorists below.
Mr Impleton and another motorist decided it was best to get the driver out of the cab because he was caught in an awkward position.
Mr Impleton, from Norwich, said: “I supported him through the sunroof and the other guy took his seatbelt off and held him out of his seat.
“He was then able to climb out through the side window. He was okay but shaken up.”
The driver, Steven Poundall, escaped without injury and spoke at the scene about how he feared for his life.
The 28-year-old from Rotherham was carrying scrap vehicles to Harwich when the vehicle flipped over just after the sliproad onto the London-bound A14 carriageway.
He said: “I was coming around the corner at about 15mph when the trailer went straight over. It was totally scary.
“Imagine your life in your own hands. I am thankful I had my seatbelt on. I am thankful no one was trying to undertake me.
“I am a bit shaken up. They did not have to help but they did. I would like to say a big thank you to them.”
Police closed part of the roundabout while the clean-up operation took place, causing delays to motorists travelling out of Ipswich.
5. World's Rarest Rhinos Captured on Video
http://mobile.reuters.com/mobile/m/FullArticle/CECO/nenvironmentNews_uUSJAK15411920080529?src=RSS-ECO
05:52 AM EDT
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Hidden cameras have captured rare footage of critically endangered Javan rhinos in the jungles of Indonesia, which will help understand the animal's behavior patterns, the wildlife conservation group WWF said on Thursday.
The rhinos have appeared twice on cameras one month after the devices were installed in the Ujung Kulon National Park in the westernmost region of Java island, with one rhino mother charging a camera and damaging it.
"With fewer than 60 Javan rhinos left in the wild, we believe this footage was well worth the risk to our equipment," said Adhi Rachmat Hariyadi, who leads WWF-Indonesia's project in the national park.
"It's very unusual to catch a glimpse of the Javan rhinos deep inside the rain forest," he said in a statement.
He said the footage would help authorities understand the population dynamics and behavior of Javan rhinos in a more scientific manner.
Javan rhinos are found only in Indonesia and Vietnam, with Java home to more than 90 percent of the population.
(Reporting by Ahmad Pathoni; Editing by Sugita Katyal)
Honorable Mention:
1. Ancient Egyptian City Unearthed in Sinai
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/egypt_ancient_city
By MAAMOUN YOUSSEF, Associated Press Writer
Wed May 28, 3:48 PM ET
CAIRO, Egypt - Archaeologists exploring an old military road in the Sinai have unearthed 3,000-year-old remains from an ancient fortified city, the largest yet found in Egypt, antiquities authorities announced Wednesday.
Among the discoveries at the site was a relief of King Thutmose II (1516-1504 B.C.), thought to be the first such royal monument discovered in Sinai, said Zahi Hawass, chief of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. It indicates that Thutmose II may have built a fort near the ancient city, located about two miles northeast of present day Qantara and known historically as Tharu.
A 550-by-275-yard mud brick fort with several 13-foot-high towers dating to King Ramses II (1304-1237 B.C.) was unearthed in the same area, he said.
Hawass said early studies suggested the fort had been Egypt's military headquarters from the New Kingdom (1569-1081 B.C.) until the Ptolemaic era, a period of about 1500 years.
The ancient military road, known as "Way of Horus," once connected Egypt to Palestine and is close to present-day Rafah, which borders the Palestinian territory of Gaza.
Archaeologist Mohammed Abdel-Maqsoud, chief of the excavation team, said the discovery was part of a joint project with the Culture Ministry that started in 1986 to find fortresses along that military road.
Abdel-Maqsoud said the mission also located the first ever New Kingdom temple to be found in northern Sinai, which earlier studies indicated was built on top of an 18th Dynasty fort (1569-1315 B.C.).
A collection of reliefs belonging to King Ramses II and King Seti I (1314-1304 B.C.) were also unearthed with rows of warehouses used by the ancient Egyptian army during the New Kingdom era to store wheat and weapons, he said.
Abdel-Maqsoud said the new discoveries corresponded to the inscriptions of the Way of Horus found on the walls of the Karnak Temple in Luxor which illustrated the features of 11 military fortresses that protected Egypt's eastern borders. Only five of them have been discovered to date.
Associated Press reporter Pakinam Amer contributed to this report from Cairo.
It's 4am my time...why am I awake??? I can't sleep. I think this is because I fell to sleep on my couch earlier today, while trying to complete the good news. Since I didn't finish it before I drifted off, my conscience woke me up to do it before work. lol.
Today I would like to bring your attention to just one article. The second article in the top 5 today features a cambodian woman who found herself compelled to help starving children in Cambodia after they started fighting for a piece of food she'd just finished and thrown out. Rather than just feed these children, she decided to teach them. She opened a school specifically for the poorest children, and is now helping them to get a proper education.
I hope you enjoy today's articles! See you tomorrow.
Today's Top 5:
1. Brain Cells Help Neighboring Nerves Regenerate (Science Daily)
2. Saving Children from Cambodia's Trash Heap (CNN)
3. Leaning Tower of Pisa won't Fall for At Least 300 More Years (The Scotsman)
4. Hero Drivers Pulled Man from Lorry Wreck (EADT 24--Suffolk and Essex online)
5. World's Rarest Rhinos Captured on Video (Reuters)
Honorable Mention:
1. Ancient Egyptian City Unearthed in Sinai (Yahoo News)
Today's Top 5:
1. Brain Cells Help Neighboring Nerves Regeneratehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080527170516.htm
ScienceDaily
May 29, 2008
Researchers have uncovered a completely unexpected way that the brain repairs nerve damage, wherein cells known as astrocytes deliver a protective protein to nearby neurons.
Astrocytes are a type of support cell in the brain that serve many functions; one of their roles is to chew up damaged nerves during brain injury and then form scar tissue in the damaged area.
Roger Chung and colleagues have now found that astrocytes have another trick up their sleeve. During injury, astrocytes overproduce a protein called metallothionein (MT) and secrete it to surrounding nerves; MT is a scavenging protein that grabs free radicals and metal ions and prevents them from damaging a cell, and thus is a potent protecting agent.
While the ability of astrocytes to produce MT has been known for decades, the general view was that the MT stayed within astrocytes to protect them while they help repair damaged areas. However, Chung and colleagues demonstrated that MT was present in the external fluid of damaged rat brain.
Furthermore, with the aid of a fluorescent MT protein, they observed that MT made in astrocytes could be transported outside the cell and then subsequently taken up by nearby nerves, and that the level of MT uptake correlated with how well the nerves repaired damage.
While the exact physiological role that MT plays in promoting better repair remains to be identified, this unexpected role for this protein should open up new avenues in treating brain injuries in the future.
2. Saving Children from Cambodia's Trash Heap
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/29/heroes.noun/index.html?eref=edition
29 May 2008
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (CNN) -- Walking down a street in Cambodia's capital city, Phymean Noun finished her lunch and tossed her chicken bones into the trash. Seconds later, she watched in horror as several children fought to reclaim her discarded food.
Noun stopped to talk with them. After hearing their stories of hardship, she knew she couldn't ignore their plight.
"I must do something to help these children get an education," she recalls thinking. "Even though they don't have money and live on the sidewalk, they deserve to go to school."
Six years after that incident, Noun is helping many of Phnom Penh's poorest children do just that.
Within weeks, she quit her job and started an organization to give underprivileged children an education. Noun spent $30,000 of her own money to get her first school off the ground.
In 2004, her organization -- the People Improvement Organization (PIO) -- opened a school at Phnom Penh's largest municipal trash dump, where children are a large source of labor.
Today, Noun provides 240 kids from the trash dump a free education, food, health services and an opportunity to be a child in a safe environment. Watch Noun and some of the children who attend her school »
It is no easy task. Hundreds of them risk their lives every day working to support themselves and their families.
"I have seen a lot of kids killed by the garbage trucks," she recalls. Children as young as 7 scavenge hours at a time for recyclable materials. They make cents a day selling cans, metals and plastic bags.
Noun recruits the children at the dump to attend her organization because, she says, "I don't want them to continue picking trash and living in the dump. I want them to have an opportunity to learn."
Growing up during the Pol Pot regime, Noun faced unimaginable challenges.
"There were no schools during Pol Pot's regime," she recalls. "Everyone had to work in the fields. My mother was very smart. She told them that she didn't have an education. That was how she survived. If they knew she was educated, they would have killed her."
Noun's mother died of cancer when Phymean was 15. Phymean's sister fled to a refugee camp, leaving her young daughter in Phymean's care.
"When my mom passed away, my life was horrible, " says Noun. "It was very sad because there was only my niece who was 3 years old at that time." Yet Noun was determined to finish high school. Watch Noun decscibe the hardships of life during the Pol Pot regime »
That dedication paid off, and after graduating she spent the next decade working with various aid organizations.
"I tell the children my story and about the importance of education," she said. "I'm their role model."
Some of the children who attend her school continue to work in the dump to support themselves and their families. Without an education, she said, these children would be vulnerable to traffickers or continue to be caught in the cycle of poverty.
"We are trying to provide them skills that they can use in the future," Noun said. "Even though we are poor and struggling and don't have money, we can go to school. I tell them not to give up hope."
Noun has even bigger plans for them. "These children are our next generation and our country depends on them. They are our future leaders."
3. Leaning Tower of Pisa won't Fall for At Least 300 More Years
http://news.scotsman.com/world/Tower-of-Pisa-39won39t-fall.4130001.jp
Published Date: 29 May 2008
By Philip Pullella
THE leaning tower of Pisa has been successfully stabilised and is out of danger for at least 300 years, according to an engineer who has been monitoring the iconic Italian tourist attraction. "All of our expectations have been confirmed," Professor Michele Jamiolkowski told the newspaper Corriere della Sera.
The tower's tilt of about 13ft off the vertical has remained stable after a big engineering project that ended in 2001 corrected its lean by about 15in from where it was in 1990 when the project began. The tower was shut to visitors for almost 12 years.
"Now we can say that the tower can rest easy for at least 300 years," Prof Jamiolkowski said.
The 14,000-tonne free-standing bell tower, an internationally recognised architectural symbol of Italy along with Rome's Colosseum, was built in several stages between 1174 and 1370. It began to tilt after completion of several storeys due to unstable ground.
Builders at first used trapezoidal stones to return the structure to the vertical, but the tower continued to lean.
During the stabilisation phase of the project the structure was anchored to cables while cement was injected to relieve pressure on the ground. The lean of the tower is now considered safe and is about what it was in 1700.
Restorers are now using a specially-designed light-weight scaffolding made of an aluminium alloy as a base from which to clean the tower's white and grey marble.
4. Hero Drivers Pulled Man from Lorry Wreck
http://www.eadt.co.uk/content/eadt/news/story.aspx?brand=EADOnline&category=news&tBrand=EADOnline&tCategory=News&itemid=IPED29%20May%202008%2013%3A10%3A38%3A463
29 May 2008 13:10
Brian Impleton was travelling behind the truck, which was carrying scrap vehicles, when it toppled over on the Copdock Mill roundabout just after 9am today.
The 35-year-old said: “I was bumper to bumper with him.
“I saw the truck kick out and it went over. I managed to drive round the front of it and park.”
Dozens of tyres were thrown off the back of the lorry, luckily into woodland, while diesel leaked onto the road.
Had the incident happened just a few metres further ahead on the bridge over the A14, the tyres could have caused chaos and injury to motorists below.
Mr Impleton and another motorist decided it was best to get the driver out of the cab because he was caught in an awkward position.
Mr Impleton, from Norwich, said: “I supported him through the sunroof and the other guy took his seatbelt off and held him out of his seat.
“He was then able to climb out through the side window. He was okay but shaken up.”
The driver, Steven Poundall, escaped without injury and spoke at the scene about how he feared for his life.
The 28-year-old from Rotherham was carrying scrap vehicles to Harwich when the vehicle flipped over just after the sliproad onto the London-bound A14 carriageway.
He said: “I was coming around the corner at about 15mph when the trailer went straight over. It was totally scary.
“Imagine your life in your own hands. I am thankful I had my seatbelt on. I am thankful no one was trying to undertake me.
“I am a bit shaken up. They did not have to help but they did. I would like to say a big thank you to them.”
Police closed part of the roundabout while the clean-up operation took place, causing delays to motorists travelling out of Ipswich.
5. World's Rarest Rhinos Captured on Video
http://mobile.reuters.com/mobile/m/FullArticle/CECO/nenvironmentNews_uUSJAK15411920080529?src=RSS-ECO
05:52 AM EDT
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Hidden cameras have captured rare footage of critically endangered Javan rhinos in the jungles of Indonesia, which will help understand the animal's behavior patterns, the wildlife conservation group WWF said on Thursday.
The rhinos have appeared twice on cameras one month after the devices were installed in the Ujung Kulon National Park in the westernmost region of Java island, with one rhino mother charging a camera and damaging it.
"With fewer than 60 Javan rhinos left in the wild, we believe this footage was well worth the risk to our equipment," said Adhi Rachmat Hariyadi, who leads WWF-Indonesia's project in the national park.
"It's very unusual to catch a glimpse of the Javan rhinos deep inside the rain forest," he said in a statement.
He said the footage would help authorities understand the population dynamics and behavior of Javan rhinos in a more scientific manner.
Javan rhinos are found only in Indonesia and Vietnam, with Java home to more than 90 percent of the population.
(Reporting by Ahmad Pathoni; Editing by Sugita Katyal)
Honorable Mention:
1. Ancient Egyptian City Unearthed in Sinai
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/egypt_ancient_city
By MAAMOUN YOUSSEF, Associated Press Writer
Wed May 28, 3:48 PM ET
CAIRO, Egypt - Archaeologists exploring an old military road in the Sinai have unearthed 3,000-year-old remains from an ancient fortified city, the largest yet found in Egypt, antiquities authorities announced Wednesday.
Among the discoveries at the site was a relief of King Thutmose II (1516-1504 B.C.), thought to be the first such royal monument discovered in Sinai, said Zahi Hawass, chief of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. It indicates that Thutmose II may have built a fort near the ancient city, located about two miles northeast of present day Qantara and known historically as Tharu.
A 550-by-275-yard mud brick fort with several 13-foot-high towers dating to King Ramses II (1304-1237 B.C.) was unearthed in the same area, he said.
Hawass said early studies suggested the fort had been Egypt's military headquarters from the New Kingdom (1569-1081 B.C.) until the Ptolemaic era, a period of about 1500 years.
The ancient military road, known as "Way of Horus," once connected Egypt to Palestine and is close to present-day Rafah, which borders the Palestinian territory of Gaza.
Archaeologist Mohammed Abdel-Maqsoud, chief of the excavation team, said the discovery was part of a joint project with the Culture Ministry that started in 1986 to find fortresses along that military road.
Abdel-Maqsoud said the mission also located the first ever New Kingdom temple to be found in northern Sinai, which earlier studies indicated was built on top of an 18th Dynasty fort (1569-1315 B.C.).
A collection of reliefs belonging to King Ramses II and King Seti I (1314-1304 B.C.) were also unearthed with rows of warehouses used by the ancient Egyptian army during the New Kingdom era to store wheat and weapons, he said.
Abdel-Maqsoud said the new discoveries corresponded to the inscriptions of the Way of Horus found on the walls of the Karnak Temple in Luxor which illustrated the features of 11 military fortresses that protected Egypt's eastern borders. Only five of them have been discovered to date.
Associated Press reporter Pakinam Amer contributed to this report from Cairo.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
2008: May 28th Good News (Childhood "Toy" Revealed as Ancient Persian Relic, Five Fishermen Rescued in Taiwan, more...)
Good afternoon all,
Today was sooooo busy! Of course one would expect the first day back after a four day to be hectic, but whew! Anyway, here are the news articles for today. :)
Today's Top 5:
1. Childhood 'Toy' Revealed as Ancient Persian Relic (Yahoo News)
2. Thousand-year-old Lombard Warrior Skeleton Discovered Buried with Horse in Italy (Telegraph UK)
3. 'Flawless' Diamond the Size of a Squash Ball Sells for £3million (Daily Mail UK)
4. Researchers Retrieve Authentic Viking DNA from 1,000 Year Old Skeletons (Physorg.com)
5. Five Fisherman Rescued off Kinmen Island (Taiwan) After Boat Sinks (Taiwan Headlines)
Honorable Mention:
1. Rains End Drought in North-eastern Spain (Earth Times)
Today's Top 5:
1. Childhood 'Toy' Revealed as Ancient Persian Relic
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080528/od_afp/lifestylebritainauctionhistory_080528122922
Wed May 28, 8:29 AM ET
LONDON (AFP) - An ancient gold cup mysteriously acquired by an English scrap metal dealer is expected to fetch close to a million dollars at auction after languishing for years in a shoe box under its current owner's bed.
Owner John Webber says his grandfather gave him the 5.5-inch (14-centimetre) high mug to play with when he was a child, back in 1945.
He assumed the golden cup, which is decorated with the heads of two women facing in opposite directions, their foreheads garlanded with two knotted snakes, was made from brass.
But he decided to get it valued when he was moving house last year and was told it was actually a rare piece of ancient Persian treasure, beaten out of a single sheet of gold hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus Christ.
Experts said the method of manufacture and the composition of the gold was "consistent with Achaemenid gold and gold smithing" dating back to the third or fourth century BC.
The Achaemenid empire, the first of the Persian empires to rule over significant portions of Greater Iran, was wiped out by Alexander the Great in 330 BC.
Auction house Duke's, in Dorchester, south-west England, will put the cup under the hammer on June 5, with an estimate of 500,000 pounds (630,000-euro, 988,000-dollars).
Webber, 70, told The Guardian newspaper that his grandfather had a "good eye" for antiques and picked up "all sorts" as he plied his trade in the town of Taunton in south-west England.
"Heaven knows where he got this, he never said," he added, revealing that as a child, he used the cup for target practice with his air gun.
2. Thousand-year-old Lombard Warrior Skeleton Discovered Buried with Horse in Italy
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2041811/Thousand-year-old-Lombard-warrior-skeleton-discovered-buried-with-horse-in-Italy.html
By Malcolm Moore in Rome
Last Updated: 11:44AM BST 28/05/2008
Italian archaeologists have discovered a perfectly preserved skeleton of a 1400-year-old Lombard warrior, buried with his horse.
The skeleton, which was found in a park at Testona, near Turin, is of a 25-year-old Lombard who died of a fever. Unusually, his horse was buried alongside him.
"This is a very rare find," said Gabriella Pantò, the archaeologist leading the dig. "We have not seen many precedents in Italy. We have seen horses' heads buried with warriors, but this find shows the area is vitally important," she added.
The Lombards were a nomadic tribe of Germans who settled near the Danube and launched an attack on Italy in the sixth century.
Under the leadership of King Alboin, the Lombards stormed across the Alps in the spring of AD568 with an army of around 500,000.
Vicenza, Verona and Brescia were quickly conquered from the Byzantines, who were still suffering from battling the Goths. Lombardy was established across the whole of the north of the country, an empire which lasted for around 100 years.
The dig revealed a Lombard camp had settled at Testona, and the skeleton of a dog was also found nearby. The invaders had built an aqueduct and irrigation system and a series of small wooden huts, without any foundations.
The warrior was also buried with a treasure chest being x-rayed by archaeologists. In addition, a small bag held a pair of pincers, a bronze belt buckle and some armour.
He wore a ring on his left index finger and also had both a knife and a "scramasax", a short sword designed for close combat.
3. 'Flawless' Diamond the Size of a Squash Ball Sells for £3million
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1022528/Flawless-diamond-size-squash-ball-sells-3million.html?ITO=1490
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:27 PM on 28th May 2008
A giant diamond the size of a squash ball was sold at auction yesterday for £3 million. The 101.27-carat stone is the largest colourless gem to be sold in Asia. The diamond, which is internally flawless was sold after patchy bidding.
Set in a tiara, the diamond is one of only four colourless diamonds of over 100 carats to have come up for sale.
The auction was the biggest jewellery sale ever conducted by Christie's in terms of value.
More than £30 million worth of jewellery was sold at the event in Hong Kong.
A Christie's spokesman said the diamond's appearance on the market had "created a sensation".
It was put up for sale by an anonymous private individual and bought by a first-time telephone buyer from Hong Kong.
The new owner will have the right to name the diamond.
Francois Curiel, Christie's international director for jewellery, said the crowd at the event was "flabbergasted" by the high prices on display.
He added: "The world record price for the colourless diamond sale was broken...the atmosphere in the room was very excited."
4. Researchers Retrieve Authentic Viking DNA from 1,000-year-old Skeletons
http://www.physorg.com/news131171878.html
28 May 2008
Although “Viking” literally means “pirate,” recent research has indicated that the Vikings were also traders to the fishmongers of Europe. Stereotypically, these Norsemen are usually pictured wearing a horned helmet but in a new study published in the journal PLoS ONE this week, Jørgen Dissing and colleagues from the University of Copenhagen, investigated what went under the helmet; the scientists were able to extract authentic DNA from ancient Viking skeletons, avoiding many of the problems of contamination faced by past researchers.
Analysis of DNA from the remains of ancient humans provides valuable insights into such important questions as the origin of genetic diseases, migration patterns of our forefathers and tribal and family patterns.
Unfortunately, severe problems connected with the retrieval and analysis of DNA from ancient organisms (like the scarcity of intact molecules) are further aggravated in the case of ancient humans. This is because of the great risk of contamination with abundant DNA from modern humans. Humans, then, are involved at all steps, from excavation to laboratory analyses. This means that many previous results have subsequently been disputed as attributed to the presence of contaminant DNA, and some researchers even claim that it is impossible to obtain reliable results with ancient human DNA.
Using freshly sampled material from ten Viking skeletons from around AD 1,000, from a non-Christian burial site on the Danish island of Funen, Dissing and colleagues showed that it is indeed possible to retrieve authentic DNA from ancient humans.
Wearing protective suits, the researchers removed the teeth from the jaw at the moment the skeletons were unearthed when they had been untouched for 1,000 years. The subsequent laboratory procedures were also carefully controlled in order to avoid contamination.
Analysis of the Viking DNA showed no evidence of contamination with extraneous DNA, and typing of the endogenous DNA gave reproducible results and showed that these individuals were just as diverse as contemporary humans. A reliable retrieval of authentic DNA opens the way for a valuable use of prehistoric human remains to illuminate the genetic history of past and extant populations.
Citation: Citation: Melchior L, Kivisild T, Lynnerup N, Dissing J (2008) Evidence of Authentic DNA from Danish Viking Age Skeletons Untouched by Humans for 1,000 Years. PLoS ONE 3(5): e2214. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002214 ; http://www.plosone.org/doi/pone.0002214
5. Five Fisherman Rescued off Kinmen Island (Taiwan) After Boat Sinks
http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=121253&CtNode=39
05/28/2008 (CNA)
Taipei, May 28 (CNA) Five fishermen were rescued by a Coast Guard vessel in waters off the outlying island of Kinmen after their fishing boat sprang a leak and sank in the wee hours of Wednesday.
According to the Coast Guard Administration, the seven-ton "Hehsing" vessel set off from Hsinhu Fishing Port in Kinmen at 3: 15 a.m. to fish in nearby waters.
Twenty minutes later, the captain of the boat, Wu Bing-huang, sent out a distress call after noticing that the vessel was taking on large amounts of water about 500 meters from the port.
The coast guard responded immediately by dispatching the "PP2066" patrol vessel, which was operating off Lialuo Port, to the scene.
Another coast guard vessel, the "Tsaihueishun, " which was already near the scene, also responded and picked up the five fisherman who had jumped off the sinking vessel.
Those rescued were Yu Kuo-hsing, Chen Hsiang-shuei, Yu Kuo, Yu Chu, and the vessel's captain. All five are experienced fisherman, ranging in age from 50-70 years.
The crew members said that the "Hehsing" probably sank as a result of years of wear and tear on the aged vessel, which was nearly 30 years old. (By Steve Bercic)
Honorable Mentions:
1.Rains End Drought in North-eastern Spain
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/208256,rains-end-drought-in-north-eastern-spain.html
Posted : Tue, 27 May 2008 14:48:01 GMT
Author : DPA
Category : Environment
Barcelona, Spain - Spring rains have ended the worst drought that north-eastern Spain had experienced for 60 years, doubling the level of water in reservoirs to 43 per cent of their capacity, the local authorities said Tuesday. The region of Catalonia nevertheless is maintaining emergency measures to guarantee supplies of drinking water in the Barcelona region, such as building a 62-kilometre piping system to divert water from the river Ebro. Water has also been brought in by tanker ships.
The neighbouring Aragon region opposes the Ebro plan, but Catalonia only intends to cancel the emergency measures if water reservoirs become filled to 58 per cent of their capacity.
Today was sooooo busy! Of course one would expect the first day back after a four day to be hectic, but whew! Anyway, here are the news articles for today. :)
Today's Top 5:
1. Childhood 'Toy' Revealed as Ancient Persian Relic (Yahoo News)
2. Thousand-year-old Lombard Warrior Skeleton Discovered Buried with Horse in Italy (Telegraph UK)
3. 'Flawless' Diamond the Size of a Squash Ball Sells for £3million (Daily Mail UK)
4. Researchers Retrieve Authentic Viking DNA from 1,000 Year Old Skeletons (Physorg.com)
5. Five Fisherman Rescued off Kinmen Island (Taiwan) After Boat Sinks (Taiwan Headlines)
Honorable Mention:
1. Rains End Drought in North-eastern Spain (Earth Times)
Today's Top 5:
1. Childhood 'Toy' Revealed as Ancient Persian Relic
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080528/od_afp/lifestylebritainauctionhistory_080528122922
Wed May 28, 8:29 AM ET
LONDON (AFP) - An ancient gold cup mysteriously acquired by an English scrap metal dealer is expected to fetch close to a million dollars at auction after languishing for years in a shoe box under its current owner's bed.
Owner John Webber says his grandfather gave him the 5.5-inch (14-centimetre) high mug to play with when he was a child, back in 1945.
He assumed the golden cup, which is decorated with the heads of two women facing in opposite directions, their foreheads garlanded with two knotted snakes, was made from brass.
But he decided to get it valued when he was moving house last year and was told it was actually a rare piece of ancient Persian treasure, beaten out of a single sheet of gold hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus Christ.
Experts said the method of manufacture and the composition of the gold was "consistent with Achaemenid gold and gold smithing" dating back to the third or fourth century BC.
The Achaemenid empire, the first of the Persian empires to rule over significant portions of Greater Iran, was wiped out by Alexander the Great in 330 BC.
Auction house Duke's, in Dorchester, south-west England, will put the cup under the hammer on June 5, with an estimate of 500,000 pounds (630,000-euro, 988,000-dollars).
Webber, 70, told The Guardian newspaper that his grandfather had a "good eye" for antiques and picked up "all sorts" as he plied his trade in the town of Taunton in south-west England.
"Heaven knows where he got this, he never said," he added, revealing that as a child, he used the cup for target practice with his air gun.
2. Thousand-year-old Lombard Warrior Skeleton Discovered Buried with Horse in Italy
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2041811/Thousand-year-old-Lombard-warrior-skeleton-discovered-buried-with-horse-in-Italy.html
By Malcolm Moore in Rome
Last Updated: 11:44AM BST 28/05/2008
Italian archaeologists have discovered a perfectly preserved skeleton of a 1400-year-old Lombard warrior, buried with his horse.
The skeleton, which was found in a park at Testona, near Turin, is of a 25-year-old Lombard who died of a fever. Unusually, his horse was buried alongside him.
"This is a very rare find," said Gabriella Pantò, the archaeologist leading the dig. "We have not seen many precedents in Italy. We have seen horses' heads buried with warriors, but this find shows the area is vitally important," she added.
The Lombards were a nomadic tribe of Germans who settled near the Danube and launched an attack on Italy in the sixth century.
Under the leadership of King Alboin, the Lombards stormed across the Alps in the spring of AD568 with an army of around 500,000.
Vicenza, Verona and Brescia were quickly conquered from the Byzantines, who were still suffering from battling the Goths. Lombardy was established across the whole of the north of the country, an empire which lasted for around 100 years.
The dig revealed a Lombard camp had settled at Testona, and the skeleton of a dog was also found nearby. The invaders had built an aqueduct and irrigation system and a series of small wooden huts, without any foundations.
The warrior was also buried with a treasure chest being x-rayed by archaeologists. In addition, a small bag held a pair of pincers, a bronze belt buckle and some armour.
He wore a ring on his left index finger and also had both a knife and a "scramasax", a short sword designed for close combat.
3. 'Flawless' Diamond the Size of a Squash Ball Sells for £3million
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1022528/Flawless-diamond-size-squash-ball-sells-3million.html?ITO=1490
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:27 PM on 28th May 2008
A giant diamond the size of a squash ball was sold at auction yesterday for £3 million. The 101.27-carat stone is the largest colourless gem to be sold in Asia. The diamond, which is internally flawless was sold after patchy bidding.
Set in a tiara, the diamond is one of only four colourless diamonds of over 100 carats to have come up for sale.
The auction was the biggest jewellery sale ever conducted by Christie's in terms of value.
More than £30 million worth of jewellery was sold at the event in Hong Kong.
A Christie's spokesman said the diamond's appearance on the market had "created a sensation".
It was put up for sale by an anonymous private individual and bought by a first-time telephone buyer from Hong Kong.
The new owner will have the right to name the diamond.
Francois Curiel, Christie's international director for jewellery, said the crowd at the event was "flabbergasted" by the high prices on display.
He added: "The world record price for the colourless diamond sale was broken...the atmosphere in the room was very excited."
4. Researchers Retrieve Authentic Viking DNA from 1,000-year-old Skeletons
http://www.physorg.com/news131171878.html
28 May 2008
Although “Viking” literally means “pirate,” recent research has indicated that the Vikings were also traders to the fishmongers of Europe. Stereotypically, these Norsemen are usually pictured wearing a horned helmet but in a new study published in the journal PLoS ONE this week, Jørgen Dissing and colleagues from the University of Copenhagen, investigated what went under the helmet; the scientists were able to extract authentic DNA from ancient Viking skeletons, avoiding many of the problems of contamination faced by past researchers.
Analysis of DNA from the remains of ancient humans provides valuable insights into such important questions as the origin of genetic diseases, migration patterns of our forefathers and tribal and family patterns.
Unfortunately, severe problems connected with the retrieval and analysis of DNA from ancient organisms (like the scarcity of intact molecules) are further aggravated in the case of ancient humans. This is because of the great risk of contamination with abundant DNA from modern humans. Humans, then, are involved at all steps, from excavation to laboratory analyses. This means that many previous results have subsequently been disputed as attributed to the presence of contaminant DNA, and some researchers even claim that it is impossible to obtain reliable results with ancient human DNA.
Using freshly sampled material from ten Viking skeletons from around AD 1,000, from a non-Christian burial site on the Danish island of Funen, Dissing and colleagues showed that it is indeed possible to retrieve authentic DNA from ancient humans.
Wearing protective suits, the researchers removed the teeth from the jaw at the moment the skeletons were unearthed when they had been untouched for 1,000 years. The subsequent laboratory procedures were also carefully controlled in order to avoid contamination.
Analysis of the Viking DNA showed no evidence of contamination with extraneous DNA, and typing of the endogenous DNA gave reproducible results and showed that these individuals were just as diverse as contemporary humans. A reliable retrieval of authentic DNA opens the way for a valuable use of prehistoric human remains to illuminate the genetic history of past and extant populations.
Citation: Citation: Melchior L, Kivisild T, Lynnerup N, Dissing J (2008) Evidence of Authentic DNA from Danish Viking Age Skeletons Untouched by Humans for 1,000 Years. PLoS ONE 3(5): e2214. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002214 ; http://www.plosone.org/doi/pone.0002214
5. Five Fisherman Rescued off Kinmen Island (Taiwan) After Boat Sinks
http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=121253&CtNode=39
05/28/2008 (CNA)
Taipei, May 28 (CNA) Five fishermen were rescued by a Coast Guard vessel in waters off the outlying island of Kinmen after their fishing boat sprang a leak and sank in the wee hours of Wednesday.
According to the Coast Guard Administration, the seven-ton "Hehsing" vessel set off from Hsinhu Fishing Port in Kinmen at 3: 15 a.m. to fish in nearby waters.
Twenty minutes later, the captain of the boat, Wu Bing-huang, sent out a distress call after noticing that the vessel was taking on large amounts of water about 500 meters from the port.
The coast guard responded immediately by dispatching the "PP2066" patrol vessel, which was operating off Lialuo Port, to the scene.
Another coast guard vessel, the "Tsaihueishun, " which was already near the scene, also responded and picked up the five fisherman who had jumped off the sinking vessel.
Those rescued were Yu Kuo-hsing, Chen Hsiang-shuei, Yu Kuo, Yu Chu, and the vessel's captain. All five are experienced fisherman, ranging in age from 50-70 years.
The crew members said that the "Hehsing" probably sank as a result of years of wear and tear on the aged vessel, which was nearly 30 years old. (By Steve Bercic)
Honorable Mentions:
1.Rains End Drought in North-eastern Spain
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/208256,rains-end-drought-in-north-eastern-spain.html
Posted : Tue, 27 May 2008 14:48:01 GMT
Author : DPA
Category : Environment
Barcelona, Spain - Spring rains have ended the worst drought that north-eastern Spain had experienced for 60 years, doubling the level of water in reservoirs to 43 per cent of their capacity, the local authorities said Tuesday. The region of Catalonia nevertheless is maintaining emergency measures to guarantee supplies of drinking water in the Barcelona region, such as building a 62-kilometre piping system to divert water from the river Ebro. Water has also been brought in by tanker ships.
The neighbouring Aragon region opposes the Ebro plan, but Catalonia only intends to cancel the emergency measures if water reservoirs become filled to 58 per cent of their capacity.
Monday, May 26, 2008
2008: May 26th Good News (Mars Craft Makes Successful Landing, Billionaire Treats Wounded Soldiers to Vegas Weekend, more...)
Good afternoon all,
I ran out of time last night, so I'm correcting the layout this morning. The Cheju Do trip has been fun but is about to end. Our flight leaves today at 1pm...so we'll just get some breakfast and maybe look for souvenirs. Yesterday we hike Halla Mountain, which is the most famous mountain on Cheju Do,as it is the dead volcano that once created this island.
Anyway, let me introduce you to a couple interesting articles. First, today was the successful landing on Mars! Yea! The mission has already sent back pictures. :) Second, there was a woman who miraculously returned to life, after starting rigormortis, and being pronounced dead by doctors. They said she was dead more that 10 minutes when she awoke, just before the doctors were about to operate. The first thing she asked for was her son. Interesting!
I hope you enjoy today's articles. I'll be back tomorrow with more! :)
Today's Top 5:
1. Mars Craft Makes Successful Landing, Sends Images (The Arizona Republic)
2. Billionaire Treats Wounded Soldiers to Vegas Weekend (Las Vegas Sun)
3. Birds Instinctively Pick Healthy Fruits (Indian Info)
4. The Mother Who Came Back from the Dead -- Ten Minutes after her Life Support Machine was Turned Off (Daily Mail UK)
5. How Green is the College? Time the Showers. (New York Times)
Honorable Mentions:
1. Rare Camel Fossil Unearthed in Southeast Gilbert Arizona (MSNBC)
2. Star Watch - Archaeologists Discover a "Cosmic Clock" (Tenerife News)
Today's Top 5:
1.Mars Craft Makes Successful Landing, Sends Back Images
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0526mars0526.html
Anne Ryman
The Arizona Republic
May. 26, 2008 12:00 AM
TUCSON - The Phoenix Mars Mission spacecraft has survived its fiery ride
through the atmosphere of the Red Planet and transmitted a signal back to Earth, the first indication the spacecraft made a successful landing. Scientists who had been nervously awaiting the end of the 10-month journey erupted in cheers and applause as the signal of a safe landing
came in around 5 p.m. Sunday.
"We are on the surface of Mars," said Chris Shinohara, science operations center manager at the University of Arizona, where the mission is headquartered. Several hundred scientists, their family and friends gathered at the operations center to hear a live feed from NASA as the
craft touched down.
A second wave of cheering followed less than two hours later, when the first images from the spacecraft showed that both of its solar panels had deployed. These are critical to recharging the craft's batteries.
The $420 million mission is the first to land in the northern polar region of Mars, where orbiting cameras have detected evidence of subsurface ice. Scientists want to study the history of water on the planet and find out whether the habitat could have supported life.
Loaded with 130 pounds of scientific equipment, the spacecraft has a nearly 8-foot robotic arm capable of scraping through soil into ice. The arm is designed to scoop up samples and transfer them to an onboard chemistry lab for analysis.
Phoenix covered 422 million miles on its journey to Mars. On Sunday afternoon around 4:45 p.m., the spacecraft dived into the planet's atmosphere at 12,600 mph and relied on a parachute and thrusters to slow itself to 5 mph. Three shock-absorber legs on the craft's bottom helped
cushion the landing.
NASA officials were nervous about the landing, and for good reason. More than half of the 13 international attempts to land on Mars have been unsuccessful. NASA's last try at a powered landing in 1999 ended with the
Mars Polar Lander entering the atmosphere and never being heard from again. After that failure, NASA identified and fixed more than two dozen potential problems that could have plagued the Phoenix landing.
Diana Blaney, a scientist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, clasped her hands together before the landing and tried to keep from biting her nails. She had spent the day before the landing going to a spa and getting a massage in an attempt to keep her nerves at bay.
"It's kind of out of my control," she said as she waited in Tucson for word that Phoenix had landed.
Blaney has seen great success and disappointment. She is a deputy project manager for the Mars rovers, which still operate on the surface more than four years after landing. She also was part of the failed Mars Polar Lander in 1999.
She clapped and smiled when the touchdown signal came back from NASA. "It's a huge relief," she said.
Then she prepared to work. She planned to spend Sunday evening analyzing the first pictures that come in from Phoenix. The images will give scientists clues about where to dig into the soil and ice.
Lead scientist Peter Smith expects Phoenix to take thousands of photos. One camera on the robotic arm is designed for close-up pictures; another, for panoramic views.
Scientists also can track the weather thanks to a $37 million meteorological station from the Canadian Space Agency. They can monitor temperatures, gauge wind speed and measure cloud cover.
The mission is expected to last three months, although it's possible Phoenix could function into mid-November or even December or January. Eventually, the sinking winter sun will deprive Phoenix of enough light to recharge its batteries.
Scientists said there's a slight possibility that Phoenix could come back to life after winter ends, but that's unlikely. The thick ice expected to envelope the spacecraft may damage its solar panels.
Phoenix joins two other ground missions already on Mars. NASA operates two golf-cart-size rovers near the equator that crawl at turtle speed. Both show signs of wear, even though they continue to take pictures and make discoveries. Dust coats their solar panels, and one of the rovers drags a broken wheel.
In addition to the land missions, NASA has two orbiters equipped with cameras and is a partner in a third orbiter operated by the European Space Agency.
The next NASA Mars mission, a rover project called Mars Science Laboratory, is planned for 2009. If Phoenix failed, it may have been difficult for NASA to justify more Mars missions, Smith said. Eventually, NASA would like to send a spacecraft to Mars that could return with a soil sample.
Reach the reporter at anne .ryman@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8072.
2. Billionaire Treats Wounded Soldiers to Vegas Weekend
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/may/26/billionaire-treats-wounded-soldiers-to-vegas-weeke/
The Associated Press
Mon, May 26, 2008 (4:07 a.m.)
All too familiar with the gambles of war, Jimmy Kinsey, Kyle Riley and a few dozen fellow soldiers landed in the desert. But for these guys this Memorial Day, the most at stake is a few bucks.
The soldiers-turned-high rollers took a private jet to Las Vegas over the weekend for an all-expenses-paid getaway with all the perks normally saved for casinos' richest regulars.
They were greeted at the airport by Wayne Newton, chilled backstage with the guys from Blue Man Group and hobnobbed with Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino mogul who runs Las Vegas Sands Corp. and paid for the trip.
The trip, organized by the Armed Forces Foundation, brought 40 wounded soldiers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md., to the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
"I'm gonna be bragging about this for a long while," said Kinsey, 23, while hanging out in his penthouse overlooking the nearby Wynn Golf Course. Each of the soldiers, mostly in their 20s, stayed in a penthouse, and several who came alone got one to themselves.
Kinsey, a Marine corporal from Foley, Ala., who lost part of his left leg to an improvised explosive device in Iraq in 2006, said he hadn't spent too much time gambling _ just a few slots.
"On a scale from one to 10 I gave this trip a 15 when I got on the plane," he said.
Riley, a 21-year-old from Catlett, Va., who also lost part of his left leg to an IED in Iraq, was so overwhelmed by the trip he decided with his fiancee, Alyssa Mergler, to make it their wedding weekend. They planned to wed Monday on a gold and white gondola, courtesy of Adelson, whom Mergler said insisted on having his staff handle the plans.
Mergler, 21, said a wedding coordinator showed up at their suite with a thick book of flower choices.
"I don't have the money to do that," said Riley, who asked Kinsey to be his best man.
Armed Forces Foundation officials said the trip was a dream distraction from the everyday life at the hospitals, where the soldiers lived while recovering from their injuries.
Armed Forces Foundation spokesman Doug Stone said the trip would be the first of many, and said Adelson wanted to eventually extend the all-expenses-paid offer to every veteran who had been admitted to the two hospitals.
A spokesman for Adelson said the executive was not available for comment because he was traveling.
On the Net:
Armed Forced Foundation: http://www.armedforcesfoundation.org
Venetian: http://www.venetian.com
3. Birds Instinctively Pick Healthy Fruits
http://lifestyle.indiainfo.com/2008/05/26/0805261347_birds_instinctively_pick_healthy_fruits.html
May 26, 2008
Hamburg (Germany): Birds instinctively choose the fruit which is healthy and shun less health-giving food options, German researchers have found.
Given a choice, birds flock to fruits with the highest levels of antioxidants known as flavonoids, which boost the immune system.
The German researchers offered a group of blackcaps, a common European summertime bird, a choice of two foods containing different amounts of flavonoids.
They found that the birds deliberately selected the food with added antioxidants.
Birds fed modest amounts of flavonoids over a period of four weeks developed stronger immune systems.
Carlo Catoni, from the University of Freiburg, who led the study, said: "We fed the birds an amount of flavonoids that they would obtain by eating one to two blackberries, bilberries or elderberries a day.
"We used this modest intake of flavonoids because high quantities are only available during the limited time of maximum berry abundance.
"Our study shows for the first time that flavonoids are beneficial compounds that can boost the immune system in a living organism. We also found that wild birds actively select food containing flavonoids.
"Our results have important implications for the study of ecology and immunity in birds, and for the evolution of the relationship between plants and the birds and animals they rely on to disperse their seeds," Catoni said.
Dark fruits such as blackberries tend to contain higher levels of flavonoids. As they did in nature, the compounds made the foods used in the study darker.
Catoni, whose research is reported in the British Ecological Society journal Functional Ecology, said: "We are confident that our results are due to a learned selection for flavonoid content and not due to innate selection of darker food per se."
Flavonoids, found in high concentrations in fruits and vegetables, are among the commonest antioxidants in nature.
Scientists believe antioxidants may protect against heart disease and cancer by mopping up destructive molecules called free radicals.
4. The Mother Who Came Back from the Dead - Ten Minutes after Her Life Support Machine Was Turned Off
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1021818/The-mother-came-dead--minutes-life-support-machine-turned-OFF.html
By Paul Thompson
Last updated at 11:11 PM on 25th May 2008
A mother of two has stunned doctors by apparently coming back from the dead.
Velma Thomas's heart stopped beating three times and she was clinically brain dead for 17 hours. Her son had left the hospital to make funeral arrangements, having been told she would not survive.
But ten minutes after her life support system was shut down and doctors were preparing to take her organs for donation, the 59-year-old woke up.
Heart specialist Kevin Eggleston said: 'There are things that as physicians and nurses we can't always explain. I think this is one of those cases.'
He said Mrs Thomas had no pulse, no heartbeat or brain activity after her admission to hospital. She had been found unconscious after suffering a heart attack at her home in West Virginia.
While at the Charleston Area Medical Centre she suffered two further heart attacks and was placed on a life support system.
About 25 family members and friends gathered inside the hospital waiting room. 'We just prayed and prayed and prayed,' said her son Tim, 36. 'And I came to the conclusion she wasn't going to make it.
'I was given confirmation from God to take her off the ventilator and my pastor said the same thing. I felt a sense of peace that I made the right decision. Her skin had already started hardening, her hands and toes were curling up. There was no life there.'
He said after he left the hospital he was called and told she had shown signs of life.
By the time he got to her hospital room, Mrs Thomas was alert and talking. 'She had already asked, "Where's my son?",' he said.
Dr Eggleston added: 'It's a miracle.'
5. How Green is the College? Time the Showers
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/26/education/26green.html?hp
Published: May 26, 2008
OBERLIN, Ohio — Lucas Brown, a junior at Oberlin College here, was still wet from the shower the other morning as he entered his score on the neon green message board next to the bathroom sink: Three minutes, according to the plastic hourglass timer inside the shower. Two minutes faster than the morning before. One minute faster than two of his housemates.
Students in the Oberlin house, including Lucas Brown, left, and Kathleen Keating, on sofa.
Mr. Brown, a 21-year-old economics major, recalled the marathon runner who lived in the house last semester, saying: “He came out of the shower one morning and yelled out: ‘Two minutes 18 seconds. Beat that, Lucas!’ ”
Another of Mr. Brown’s seven housemates, Becky Bob-Waksberg, racked up the morning’s longest shower: Eight minutes. The house cuts Ms. Bob-Waksberg slack, Mr. Brown said, because of her thick, curly hair, which takes longer to shampoo.
So it goes at Oberlin’s new sustainability house — SEED, for Student Experiment in Ecological Design — a microcosm of a growing sustainability movement on campuses nationwide, from small liberal arts colleges like Oberlin and Middlebury, in Vermont, to Lansing Community College in Michigan, to Morehouse in Atlanta, to public universities like the University of New Hampshire.
While previous generations focused on recycling and cleaning up rivers, these students want to combat global warming by figuring out ways to reduce carbon emissions in their own lives, starting with their own colleges. They also view the environment as broadly connected with social and economic issues, and their concerns include the displacement of low-income families after Hurricane Katrina and the creation of “green collar” jobs in places like the South Bronx.
The mission is serious and yet, like life at the Oberlin house, it blends idealism, hands-on practicality, laid-back community and fun.
“It’s not about telling people, ‘You have to do this, you have to do that,’ ” Mr. Brown said. “It’s about fitting sustainability into our own lives.” And hoping, he added, “that a friend will come over, recognize that it’s fun, start doing it, and then a friend of theirs will start doing it.”
With their professors as collaborators, and with their own technological and political savvy, students are persuading administrators to switch to fossil-free fuel on campus — Middlebury is building an $11 million wood-chip-powered plant, part of its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2016 — serve locally grown food in dining halls and make hybrid cars available for shared transportation when, say, the distance is too far to bike and there is no bus. Students are planting organic gardens and competing in dorm energy-use Olympics. At Oberlin last year, some students in the winning dorm did not shower for two weeks, officials said.
“This is a generation that is watching the world come undone,” said David Orr, a professor of environmental studies at Oberlin. Projects like the Oberlin house, he said, are “helping them understand how to stitch the world together again.”
Dr. Orr’s course in ecological design became the incubator for the house when Mr. Brown and the two other founders of SEED, Kathleen Keating and Amanda Medress, enrolled in it last spring. They had done research on sustainability houses at Middlebury, Brown and Tufts, and had persuaded the college to turn over an aging, drafty two-story house. But before they could move in, they needed to make the house energy efficient.
The class studied water and energy use, insulation, heating and cooling, and financing. Nathan Engstrom, Oberlin’s sustainability coordinator — an essential position on many campuses these days — gave advice. John Petersen, the college’s environmental studies director, checked out the house’s wiring.
The college spent $40,000 to renovate the house over the summer, bringing it up to safety code. Mr. Brown used the carpentry skills he had learned from his father to pitch in on weatherizing.
The students moved in last September. “We sat down and had a meeting — ‘O.K., what next?’ ” Mr. Brown recalled. “We didn’t know what it meant to have a sustainable house.”
That first night, amid confusion about who was home and who was out, they left the lights on. “We said, ‘Oh, no, we just had a terrible first day,’ ” Mr. Brown said. “ ‘We’re leaving lights on everywhere.’ ”
All year they studied together in the living room at night so they would not have to turn on lights in the other rooms. They mastered worm composting, lowered the thermostat — keeping it at 60 degrees for most of the winter and piling on blankets — and unplugged appliances. There is no television, but no one seems to consider that a hardship.
“You have the rest of your life to watch TV,” Ms. Keating said.
The unplugging of the refrigerator was not so easy. The house is divided in two, and each half has a kitchen. With everyone eating meals at a nearby student-run co-op, a decision was made to save energy by disconnecting the refrigerator and appliances in one kitchen. But which one?
“The fridge was kind of controversial,” Ms. Bob-Waksberg said. “We kind of had a little feud going on for a while. We talked it out.”
Now that the weather is warm, the residents of the house like to barbecue. Oberlin’s president, Marvin Krislov, dropped by with his young daughter a few weeks ago for burgers and grilled corn. Offering the ritual tour, the students demonstrated how they caught their shower and sink water in buckets and reused it to flush their low-flow toilet, a budget model improvised with a couple of salvaged bricks in the tank.
David Maxwell for the New York Times
A picture of John Edwards, whom one student said had strong global warming policies, encourages short showers.
“He was using us to chastise his daughter for leaving lights on and the water running,” Mr. Brown said.
The bathroom is the showstopper on the tour. Besides the hourglass timer — Mr. Brown pointed out that it was called a shower coach and cost $3 online — the shower’s energy-saving motivational accessories include a picture of former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina plastered to the ceiling.
That was Ms. Bob-Waksberg’s idea. No one wants to linger in the shower with someone staring down from the ceiling, she said.
“You could also look at it another way,” she said, “that John Edwards is encouraging me to take a shorter shower.”
Why Mr. Edwards? “He had the strongest global warming policies of any of the candidates,” Mr. Brown said.
Ms. Bob-Waksberg, a religion studies major from California, was one of 25 students who applied to live in the house. With the house’s three founders looking for nonenvironmental studies types for diversity, Ms. Bob-Waksberg’s major, along with her confession that her environmental work had amounted to “various weed-pulling, clean-up-the-bay projects” back in high school, made her a shoo-in.
“We kind of roped Becky into sustainability,” Mr. Brown said.
Ms. Bob-Waksberg, along with Mr. Brown and carloads of other students, went to New Orleans to help after Hurricane Katrina. She will return to the city this summer to teach.
By next fall, the house’s 24-hour energy-use monitoring system will be fully up and running. Every turn of the faucet, every switch of a light, will be recorded, room by room.
The house, with its mismatched secondhand furniture, comic book posters and bicycles parked in the living room, is a popular meeting place for environmentally conscious student groups. Ms. Bob-Waksberg’s quirky, hand-printed signs (on recycled cardboard) admonish visitors to turn off lights and unplug appliances. The sign next to Mr. Brown’s electric keyboard in the living room says: “The music was beautiful. Now go do your homework and don’t forget to unplug me.”
“My keyboard,” Mr. Brown said, “is one of my indulgences.”
He confessed to another one. Sometimes, he said, “on a Friday after a long week of finals, I have to have a bath and a beer.”
What about the shower timer? He laughed, sheepishly.
“I hide it on the floor,” he said.
Honorable Mentions:
1. Rare Camel Fossil Unearthed in Southeast Gilbert Arizona
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24811307/
updated 2:31 p.m. ET May 25, 2008
Mesa, Arizona - When paleontologist Robert McCord comes to Gilbert, he knows he'll probably dig up something interesting. As chief curator of natural history at the Arizona Museum of Natural History in Mesa, McCord has been called in at least twice to excavate prehistoric fossils
unearthed at Gilbert constructions sites.
"It seems like there should be more," McCord said. Since the late 1990s, researchers have found four fossilized bone fragments in Gilbert. Two of those finds have been identified as Columbian mammoths - less hairy, larger relatives of woolly mammoths.
But to scientists, a fossilized bone fragment discovered at the site of a future water treatment facility in southeast Gilbert in March may be the most significant find in the area.
The bone fragment is now believed to come from the left distal humerus - upper arm bone - of the ancient Camelops, an extinct species of camels. "It probably looked a heck of a lot like a modern camel," McCord said. "A really big modern camel though."
The camel grew to about 7 feet tall at its shoulders and appeared in the late Pliocene epoch, which extended from about 5 million years ago to nearly 2 million years ago. It survived until about 10,000 years ago, during the Earth's last ice age.
For comparison, dinosaurs typically depicted in cartoons and movies became extinct about 65 million years ago.
"People probably saw these (camels)," McCord said. The bone was found about a mile and a half from where construction crews found "Tuskers," a fossilized mammoth discovered about two years ago that became a virtual town mascot. Town officials held a contest to name the fossilized animal and eventually settled on Tuskers.
The town later named Discovery Park to commemorate Tuskers' nearby final resting place.
"That's why we named it Discovery Park," Councilman Les Presmyk said.
"Though that wasn't the exact site the mammoth discovery was made, but it was close enough."
That case was also the first time Gilbert tested its "Mammoth Law," an ordinance passed in 1997 that said construction work must stop in areas where "features of archeological, paleontological or historical interest are encountered or unearthed," to allow for excavation and study.
Without the stipulation, paleontological remains found on private property belong to the property owner, who isn't required to report or donate them for study.
Mort Moosavy, an inspector with Carollo Engineers assigned to the project, didn't know about the law when he noticed the whitish bone fragments that contrasted with the surrounding reddish soil.
But he did exactly what the ordinance calls for by contacting area researchers, who eventually connected him with McCord at the Arizona Museum of Natural History.
Moosavy at first thought the pieces looked like examples of ancient pottery lying toward the bottom of a 15-foot-deep trench - until he took a closer look.
"Immediately I knew it was a fossilized bone," Moosavy said.
2. Star watch - Archaeologists Discover a “Cosmic Clock”
http://www.tenerifenews.com/cms/front_content.php?client=1&lang=1&idcat=8&idart=8078
25 May 2008
Overcrowded in their lower reaches they might be, but the Canary Islands still possess some solitary mountain wilder-nesses, places little visited thanks to their rugged inaccessibility, and which have hardly changed since they were frequented by the pre-colonial aboriginal islanders.
And traces of their presence are still turning up, often in the form of petroglyphs, enigmatic scratched marks on rocks and boulders which held some special significance about which we can only guess today.
The latest find is, say archaeologists, one of the most exciting. They are calling it a cosmic clock, a description guaranteed to get the imagination of any sci-fi fans racing.
But there are no flashing lights and strange dials. The reality, a piece of stone 44 centimetres high and 34 wide, would certainly disappoint them, but the experts are hailing the Summer Stone as a major discovery.
Found on the rarified heights of Cabeceras de Izcagua in La Palma, at an altitude of 2,140metres, on a site inhabited by the Awaras (as the original inhabitants of that island were called), it is thought that the stone was instrumental in calculations to mark the equinoxes. The stone
has symbols of the sun facing north-east scratched upon it.
The system used depended upon the alignment of three piles of stones with a facing mountain, from behind which the spring and autumn equinoctial sun rose – and still does.
Strangely enough that mountain is still associated with sky-watching. The Roque de Los Muchachos is the site of a world famous observatory which houses one of the world’s largest telescopes.
An odd case of back to the future.
I ran out of time last night, so I'm correcting the layout this morning. The Cheju Do trip has been fun but is about to end. Our flight leaves today at 1pm...so we'll just get some breakfast and maybe look for souvenirs. Yesterday we hike Halla Mountain, which is the most famous mountain on Cheju Do,as it is the dead volcano that once created this island.
Anyway, let me introduce you to a couple interesting articles. First, today was the successful landing on Mars! Yea! The mission has already sent back pictures. :) Second, there was a woman who miraculously returned to life, after starting rigormortis, and being pronounced dead by doctors. They said she was dead more that 10 minutes when she awoke, just before the doctors were about to operate. The first thing she asked for was her son. Interesting!
I hope you enjoy today's articles. I'll be back tomorrow with more! :)
Today's Top 5:
1. Mars Craft Makes Successful Landing, Sends Images (The Arizona Republic)
2. Billionaire Treats Wounded Soldiers to Vegas Weekend (Las Vegas Sun)
3. Birds Instinctively Pick Healthy Fruits (Indian Info)
4. The Mother Who Came Back from the Dead -- Ten Minutes after her Life Support Machine was Turned Off (Daily Mail UK)
5. How Green is the College? Time the Showers. (New York Times)
Honorable Mentions:
1. Rare Camel Fossil Unearthed in Southeast Gilbert Arizona (MSNBC)
2. Star Watch - Archaeologists Discover a "Cosmic Clock" (Tenerife News)
Today's Top 5:
1.Mars Craft Makes Successful Landing, Sends Back Images
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0526mars0526.html
Anne Ryman
The Arizona Republic
May. 26, 2008 12:00 AM
TUCSON - The Phoenix Mars Mission spacecraft has survived its fiery ride
through the atmosphere of the Red Planet and transmitted a signal back to Earth, the first indication the spacecraft made a successful landing. Scientists who had been nervously awaiting the end of the 10-month journey erupted in cheers and applause as the signal of a safe landing
came in around 5 p.m. Sunday.
"We are on the surface of Mars," said Chris Shinohara, science operations center manager at the University of Arizona, where the mission is headquartered. Several hundred scientists, their family and friends gathered at the operations center to hear a live feed from NASA as the
craft touched down.
A second wave of cheering followed less than two hours later, when the first images from the spacecraft showed that both of its solar panels had deployed. These are critical to recharging the craft's batteries.
The $420 million mission is the first to land in the northern polar region of Mars, where orbiting cameras have detected evidence of subsurface ice. Scientists want to study the history of water on the planet and find out whether the habitat could have supported life.
Loaded with 130 pounds of scientific equipment, the spacecraft has a nearly 8-foot robotic arm capable of scraping through soil into ice. The arm is designed to scoop up samples and transfer them to an onboard chemistry lab for analysis.
Phoenix covered 422 million miles on its journey to Mars. On Sunday afternoon around 4:45 p.m., the spacecraft dived into the planet's atmosphere at 12,600 mph and relied on a parachute and thrusters to slow itself to 5 mph. Three shock-absorber legs on the craft's bottom helped
cushion the landing.
NASA officials were nervous about the landing, and for good reason. More than half of the 13 international attempts to land on Mars have been unsuccessful. NASA's last try at a powered landing in 1999 ended with the
Mars Polar Lander entering the atmosphere and never being heard from again. After that failure, NASA identified and fixed more than two dozen potential problems that could have plagued the Phoenix landing.
Diana Blaney, a scientist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, clasped her hands together before the landing and tried to keep from biting her nails. She had spent the day before the landing going to a spa and getting a massage in an attempt to keep her nerves at bay.
"It's kind of out of my control," she said as she waited in Tucson for word that Phoenix had landed.
Blaney has seen great success and disappointment. She is a deputy project manager for the Mars rovers, which still operate on the surface more than four years after landing. She also was part of the failed Mars Polar Lander in 1999.
She clapped and smiled when the touchdown signal came back from NASA. "It's a huge relief," she said.
Then she prepared to work. She planned to spend Sunday evening analyzing the first pictures that come in from Phoenix. The images will give scientists clues about where to dig into the soil and ice.
Lead scientist Peter Smith expects Phoenix to take thousands of photos. One camera on the robotic arm is designed for close-up pictures; another, for panoramic views.
Scientists also can track the weather thanks to a $37 million meteorological station from the Canadian Space Agency. They can monitor temperatures, gauge wind speed and measure cloud cover.
The mission is expected to last three months, although it's possible Phoenix could function into mid-November or even December or January. Eventually, the sinking winter sun will deprive Phoenix of enough light to recharge its batteries.
Scientists said there's a slight possibility that Phoenix could come back to life after winter ends, but that's unlikely. The thick ice expected to envelope the spacecraft may damage its solar panels.
Phoenix joins two other ground missions already on Mars. NASA operates two golf-cart-size rovers near the equator that crawl at turtle speed. Both show signs of wear, even though they continue to take pictures and make discoveries. Dust coats their solar panels, and one of the rovers drags a broken wheel.
In addition to the land missions, NASA has two orbiters equipped with cameras and is a partner in a third orbiter operated by the European Space Agency.
The next NASA Mars mission, a rover project called Mars Science Laboratory, is planned for 2009. If Phoenix failed, it may have been difficult for NASA to justify more Mars missions, Smith said. Eventually, NASA would like to send a spacecraft to Mars that could return with a soil sample.
Reach the reporter at anne .ryman@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8072.
2. Billionaire Treats Wounded Soldiers to Vegas Weekend
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/may/26/billionaire-treats-wounded-soldiers-to-vegas-weeke/
The Associated Press
Mon, May 26, 2008 (4:07 a.m.)
All too familiar with the gambles of war, Jimmy Kinsey, Kyle Riley and a few dozen fellow soldiers landed in the desert. But for these guys this Memorial Day, the most at stake is a few bucks.
The soldiers-turned-high rollers took a private jet to Las Vegas over the weekend for an all-expenses-paid getaway with all the perks normally saved for casinos' richest regulars.
They were greeted at the airport by Wayne Newton, chilled backstage with the guys from Blue Man Group and hobnobbed with Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino mogul who runs Las Vegas Sands Corp. and paid for the trip.
The trip, organized by the Armed Forces Foundation, brought 40 wounded soldiers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md., to the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
"I'm gonna be bragging about this for a long while," said Kinsey, 23, while hanging out in his penthouse overlooking the nearby Wynn Golf Course. Each of the soldiers, mostly in their 20s, stayed in a penthouse, and several who came alone got one to themselves.
Kinsey, a Marine corporal from Foley, Ala., who lost part of his left leg to an improvised explosive device in Iraq in 2006, said he hadn't spent too much time gambling _ just a few slots.
"On a scale from one to 10 I gave this trip a 15 when I got on the plane," he said.
Riley, a 21-year-old from Catlett, Va., who also lost part of his left leg to an IED in Iraq, was so overwhelmed by the trip he decided with his fiancee, Alyssa Mergler, to make it their wedding weekend. They planned to wed Monday on a gold and white gondola, courtesy of Adelson, whom Mergler said insisted on having his staff handle the plans.
Mergler, 21, said a wedding coordinator showed up at their suite with a thick book of flower choices.
"I don't have the money to do that," said Riley, who asked Kinsey to be his best man.
Armed Forces Foundation officials said the trip was a dream distraction from the everyday life at the hospitals, where the soldiers lived while recovering from their injuries.
Armed Forces Foundation spokesman Doug Stone said the trip would be the first of many, and said Adelson wanted to eventually extend the all-expenses-paid offer to every veteran who had been admitted to the two hospitals.
A spokesman for Adelson said the executive was not available for comment because he was traveling.
On the Net:
Armed Forced Foundation: http://www.armedforcesfoundation.org
Venetian: http://www.venetian.com
3. Birds Instinctively Pick Healthy Fruits
http://lifestyle.indiainfo.com/2008/05/26/0805261347_birds_instinctively_pick_healthy_fruits.html
May 26, 2008
Hamburg (Germany): Birds instinctively choose the fruit which is healthy and shun less health-giving food options, German researchers have found.
Given a choice, birds flock to fruits with the highest levels of antioxidants known as flavonoids, which boost the immune system.
The German researchers offered a group of blackcaps, a common European summertime bird, a choice of two foods containing different amounts of flavonoids.
They found that the birds deliberately selected the food with added antioxidants.
Birds fed modest amounts of flavonoids over a period of four weeks developed stronger immune systems.
Carlo Catoni, from the University of Freiburg, who led the study, said: "We fed the birds an amount of flavonoids that they would obtain by eating one to two blackberries, bilberries or elderberries a day.
"We used this modest intake of flavonoids because high quantities are only available during the limited time of maximum berry abundance.
"Our study shows for the first time that flavonoids are beneficial compounds that can boost the immune system in a living organism. We also found that wild birds actively select food containing flavonoids.
"Our results have important implications for the study of ecology and immunity in birds, and for the evolution of the relationship between plants and the birds and animals they rely on to disperse their seeds," Catoni said.
Dark fruits such as blackberries tend to contain higher levels of flavonoids. As they did in nature, the compounds made the foods used in the study darker.
Catoni, whose research is reported in the British Ecological Society journal Functional Ecology, said: "We are confident that our results are due to a learned selection for flavonoid content and not due to innate selection of darker food per se."
Flavonoids, found in high concentrations in fruits and vegetables, are among the commonest antioxidants in nature.
Scientists believe antioxidants may protect against heart disease and cancer by mopping up destructive molecules called free radicals.
4. The Mother Who Came Back from the Dead - Ten Minutes after Her Life Support Machine Was Turned Off
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1021818/The-mother-came-dead--minutes-life-support-machine-turned-OFF.html
By Paul Thompson
Last updated at 11:11 PM on 25th May 2008
A mother of two has stunned doctors by apparently coming back from the dead.
Velma Thomas's heart stopped beating three times and she was clinically brain dead for 17 hours. Her son had left the hospital to make funeral arrangements, having been told she would not survive.
But ten minutes after her life support system was shut down and doctors were preparing to take her organs for donation, the 59-year-old woke up.
Heart specialist Kevin Eggleston said: 'There are things that as physicians and nurses we can't always explain. I think this is one of those cases.'
He said Mrs Thomas had no pulse, no heartbeat or brain activity after her admission to hospital. She had been found unconscious after suffering a heart attack at her home in West Virginia.
While at the Charleston Area Medical Centre she suffered two further heart attacks and was placed on a life support system.
About 25 family members and friends gathered inside the hospital waiting room. 'We just prayed and prayed and prayed,' said her son Tim, 36. 'And I came to the conclusion she wasn't going to make it.
'I was given confirmation from God to take her off the ventilator and my pastor said the same thing. I felt a sense of peace that I made the right decision. Her skin had already started hardening, her hands and toes were curling up. There was no life there.'
He said after he left the hospital he was called and told she had shown signs of life.
By the time he got to her hospital room, Mrs Thomas was alert and talking. 'She had already asked, "Where's my son?",' he said.
Dr Eggleston added: 'It's a miracle.'
5. How Green is the College? Time the Showers
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/26/education/26green.html?hp
Published: May 26, 2008
OBERLIN, Ohio — Lucas Brown, a junior at Oberlin College here, was still wet from the shower the other morning as he entered his score on the neon green message board next to the bathroom sink: Three minutes, according to the plastic hourglass timer inside the shower. Two minutes faster than the morning before. One minute faster than two of his housemates.
Students in the Oberlin house, including Lucas Brown, left, and Kathleen Keating, on sofa.
Mr. Brown, a 21-year-old economics major, recalled the marathon runner who lived in the house last semester, saying: “He came out of the shower one morning and yelled out: ‘Two minutes 18 seconds. Beat that, Lucas!’ ”
Another of Mr. Brown’s seven housemates, Becky Bob-Waksberg, racked up the morning’s longest shower: Eight minutes. The house cuts Ms. Bob-Waksberg slack, Mr. Brown said, because of her thick, curly hair, which takes longer to shampoo.
So it goes at Oberlin’s new sustainability house — SEED, for Student Experiment in Ecological Design — a microcosm of a growing sustainability movement on campuses nationwide, from small liberal arts colleges like Oberlin and Middlebury, in Vermont, to Lansing Community College in Michigan, to Morehouse in Atlanta, to public universities like the University of New Hampshire.
While previous generations focused on recycling and cleaning up rivers, these students want to combat global warming by figuring out ways to reduce carbon emissions in their own lives, starting with their own colleges. They also view the environment as broadly connected with social and economic issues, and their concerns include the displacement of low-income families after Hurricane Katrina and the creation of “green collar” jobs in places like the South Bronx.
The mission is serious and yet, like life at the Oberlin house, it blends idealism, hands-on practicality, laid-back community and fun.
“It’s not about telling people, ‘You have to do this, you have to do that,’ ” Mr. Brown said. “It’s about fitting sustainability into our own lives.” And hoping, he added, “that a friend will come over, recognize that it’s fun, start doing it, and then a friend of theirs will start doing it.”
With their professors as collaborators, and with their own technological and political savvy, students are persuading administrators to switch to fossil-free fuel on campus — Middlebury is building an $11 million wood-chip-powered plant, part of its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2016 — serve locally grown food in dining halls and make hybrid cars available for shared transportation when, say, the distance is too far to bike and there is no bus. Students are planting organic gardens and competing in dorm energy-use Olympics. At Oberlin last year, some students in the winning dorm did not shower for two weeks, officials said.
“This is a generation that is watching the world come undone,” said David Orr, a professor of environmental studies at Oberlin. Projects like the Oberlin house, he said, are “helping them understand how to stitch the world together again.”
Dr. Orr’s course in ecological design became the incubator for the house when Mr. Brown and the two other founders of SEED, Kathleen Keating and Amanda Medress, enrolled in it last spring. They had done research on sustainability houses at Middlebury, Brown and Tufts, and had persuaded the college to turn over an aging, drafty two-story house. But before they could move in, they needed to make the house energy efficient.
The class studied water and energy use, insulation, heating and cooling, and financing. Nathan Engstrom, Oberlin’s sustainability coordinator — an essential position on many campuses these days — gave advice. John Petersen, the college’s environmental studies director, checked out the house’s wiring.
The college spent $40,000 to renovate the house over the summer, bringing it up to safety code. Mr. Brown used the carpentry skills he had learned from his father to pitch in on weatherizing.
The students moved in last September. “We sat down and had a meeting — ‘O.K., what next?’ ” Mr. Brown recalled. “We didn’t know what it meant to have a sustainable house.”
That first night, amid confusion about who was home and who was out, they left the lights on. “We said, ‘Oh, no, we just had a terrible first day,’ ” Mr. Brown said. “ ‘We’re leaving lights on everywhere.’ ”
All year they studied together in the living room at night so they would not have to turn on lights in the other rooms. They mastered worm composting, lowered the thermostat — keeping it at 60 degrees for most of the winter and piling on blankets — and unplugged appliances. There is no television, but no one seems to consider that a hardship.
“You have the rest of your life to watch TV,” Ms. Keating said.
The unplugging of the refrigerator was not so easy. The house is divided in two, and each half has a kitchen. With everyone eating meals at a nearby student-run co-op, a decision was made to save energy by disconnecting the refrigerator and appliances in one kitchen. But which one?
“The fridge was kind of controversial,” Ms. Bob-Waksberg said. “We kind of had a little feud going on for a while. We talked it out.”
Now that the weather is warm, the residents of the house like to barbecue. Oberlin’s president, Marvin Krislov, dropped by with his young daughter a few weeks ago for burgers and grilled corn. Offering the ritual tour, the students demonstrated how they caught their shower and sink water in buckets and reused it to flush their low-flow toilet, a budget model improvised with a couple of salvaged bricks in the tank.
David Maxwell for the New York Times
A picture of John Edwards, whom one student said had strong global warming policies, encourages short showers.
“He was using us to chastise his daughter for leaving lights on and the water running,” Mr. Brown said.
The bathroom is the showstopper on the tour. Besides the hourglass timer — Mr. Brown pointed out that it was called a shower coach and cost $3 online — the shower’s energy-saving motivational accessories include a picture of former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina plastered to the ceiling.
That was Ms. Bob-Waksberg’s idea. No one wants to linger in the shower with someone staring down from the ceiling, she said.
“You could also look at it another way,” she said, “that John Edwards is encouraging me to take a shorter shower.”
Why Mr. Edwards? “He had the strongest global warming policies of any of the candidates,” Mr. Brown said.
Ms. Bob-Waksberg, a religion studies major from California, was one of 25 students who applied to live in the house. With the house’s three founders looking for nonenvironmental studies types for diversity, Ms. Bob-Waksberg’s major, along with her confession that her environmental work had amounted to “various weed-pulling, clean-up-the-bay projects” back in high school, made her a shoo-in.
“We kind of roped Becky into sustainability,” Mr. Brown said.
Ms. Bob-Waksberg, along with Mr. Brown and carloads of other students, went to New Orleans to help after Hurricane Katrina. She will return to the city this summer to teach.
By next fall, the house’s 24-hour energy-use monitoring system will be fully up and running. Every turn of the faucet, every switch of a light, will be recorded, room by room.
The house, with its mismatched secondhand furniture, comic book posters and bicycles parked in the living room, is a popular meeting place for environmentally conscious student groups. Ms. Bob-Waksberg’s quirky, hand-printed signs (on recycled cardboard) admonish visitors to turn off lights and unplug appliances. The sign next to Mr. Brown’s electric keyboard in the living room says: “The music was beautiful. Now go do your homework and don’t forget to unplug me.”
“My keyboard,” Mr. Brown said, “is one of my indulgences.”
He confessed to another one. Sometimes, he said, “on a Friday after a long week of finals, I have to have a bath and a beer.”
What about the shower timer? He laughed, sheepishly.
“I hide it on the floor,” he said.
Honorable Mentions:
1. Rare Camel Fossil Unearthed in Southeast Gilbert Arizona
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24811307/
updated 2:31 p.m. ET May 25, 2008
Mesa, Arizona - When paleontologist Robert McCord comes to Gilbert, he knows he'll probably dig up something interesting. As chief curator of natural history at the Arizona Museum of Natural History in Mesa, McCord has been called in at least twice to excavate prehistoric fossils
unearthed at Gilbert constructions sites.
"It seems like there should be more," McCord said. Since the late 1990s, researchers have found four fossilized bone fragments in Gilbert. Two of those finds have been identified as Columbian mammoths - less hairy, larger relatives of woolly mammoths.
But to scientists, a fossilized bone fragment discovered at the site of a future water treatment facility in southeast Gilbert in March may be the most significant find in the area.
The bone fragment is now believed to come from the left distal humerus - upper arm bone - of the ancient Camelops, an extinct species of camels. "It probably looked a heck of a lot like a modern camel," McCord said. "A really big modern camel though."
The camel grew to about 7 feet tall at its shoulders and appeared in the late Pliocene epoch, which extended from about 5 million years ago to nearly 2 million years ago. It survived until about 10,000 years ago, during the Earth's last ice age.
For comparison, dinosaurs typically depicted in cartoons and movies became extinct about 65 million years ago.
"People probably saw these (camels)," McCord said. The bone was found about a mile and a half from where construction crews found "Tuskers," a fossilized mammoth discovered about two years ago that became a virtual town mascot. Town officials held a contest to name the fossilized animal and eventually settled on Tuskers.
The town later named Discovery Park to commemorate Tuskers' nearby final resting place.
"That's why we named it Discovery Park," Councilman Les Presmyk said.
"Though that wasn't the exact site the mammoth discovery was made, but it was close enough."
That case was also the first time Gilbert tested its "Mammoth Law," an ordinance passed in 1997 that said construction work must stop in areas where "features of archeological, paleontological or historical interest are encountered or unearthed," to allow for excavation and study.
Without the stipulation, paleontological remains found on private property belong to the property owner, who isn't required to report or donate them for study.
Mort Moosavy, an inspector with Carollo Engineers assigned to the project, didn't know about the law when he noticed the whitish bone fragments that contrasted with the surrounding reddish soil.
But he did exactly what the ordinance calls for by contacting area researchers, who eventually connected him with McCord at the Arizona Museum of Natural History.
Moosavy at first thought the pieces looked like examples of ancient pottery lying toward the bottom of a 15-foot-deep trench - until he took a closer look.
"Immediately I knew it was a fossilized bone," Moosavy said.
2. Star watch - Archaeologists Discover a “Cosmic Clock”
http://www.tenerifenews.com/cms/front_content.php?client=1&lang=1&idcat=8&idart=8078
25 May 2008
Overcrowded in their lower reaches they might be, but the Canary Islands still possess some solitary mountain wilder-nesses, places little visited thanks to their rugged inaccessibility, and which have hardly changed since they were frequented by the pre-colonial aboriginal islanders.
And traces of their presence are still turning up, often in the form of petroglyphs, enigmatic scratched marks on rocks and boulders which held some special significance about which we can only guess today.
The latest find is, say archaeologists, one of the most exciting. They are calling it a cosmic clock, a description guaranteed to get the imagination of any sci-fi fans racing.
But there are no flashing lights and strange dials. The reality, a piece of stone 44 centimetres high and 34 wide, would certainly disappoint them, but the experts are hailing the Summer Stone as a major discovery.
Found on the rarified heights of Cabeceras de Izcagua in La Palma, at an altitude of 2,140metres, on a site inhabited by the Awaras (as the original inhabitants of that island were called), it is thought that the stone was instrumental in calculations to mark the equinoxes. The stone
has symbols of the sun facing north-east scratched upon it.
The system used depended upon the alignment of three piles of stones with a facing mountain, from behind which the spring and autumn equinoctial sun rose – and still does.
Strangely enough that mountain is still associated with sky-watching. The Roque de Los Muchachos is the site of a world famous observatory which houses one of the world’s largest telescopes.
An odd case of back to the future.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
2008: May 25th Good News (Beached Dolphin Rescued by American Innkeepers, Archaeologist Claims Discovery of Cleopatra's Tomb, more...)
Good Morning all,
Today was a splendid and long day. We got to visit 4 museums, and a folk village, and we attempted to catch a Cheju Do sunset. Although the sun fell behind a cloud before setting, we did capture a lively crab on film at the beach we'd planned to catch our sunset.
Anyway, in honor of memorial weekend, two of the stories today are about veterans. The first is about PFC Ross McGinness who has been posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for shielding his buddies from a grenade thrown into a HMMWV in Iraq. The second is about a Civil War soldier who for years was buried in an unmarked grave. After researching the unmarked grave, Allan McKenny decided to research who was in that grave. Eventually he discovered that the grave belonged to a union soldier. A headstone with enscription was set on the grave, and a proper ceremony is scheduled for the soldier.
There are several other good articles today as well. Most notibly, I would like to point out the article about the Canadian teenager who figured out which microbes biodegrade plastic. Because of his reasearch it is now thought that plastic bags can be decomposed in as little as 3 months!
Anyway hope you enjoy the news! See you tomorrow!
Today's Top 5:
1. Photodynamic Therapy Breakthrough in Cancer Treatment (Science Daily)
2. Beached Dolphin Rescued by American Innkeepers on Mexico Island (Press Release Newswire)
3. Long-forgotten Civil War Veteran Gets His Due (Idaho Statesman)
4. Hundreds Flock to Boat of Learning (Fiji Times)
5. Archaeologist Claims Discovery of Cleopatra’s Tomb (Archaeology News)
Honorable Mentions:
1. 76 Year-old Man Oldest to Scale Mount Everest (San Francisco Chronicles)
2. Licorice Extract Provides New Treatment Option for Canker Sores (Eurekalert)
3. PFC Ross McGinnis Posthumously Awarded Medal of Honor (North Shore Journal)
4. WCI Student Isolates Microbe that Lunches on Plastic Bags (The Record News)
5. Wired How to Wiki: Tips for Green Lawn Care (Wired.com)
Today's Top 5:
1. Photodynamic Therapy Breakthrough in Cancer Treatment
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080523100553.htm
ScienceDaily
May 25, 2008
Researchers from the Peninsula Medical School in Cornwall, UK, have modified a photodynamic therapy (PDT) treatment that combines a topically applied cream with visible light to destroy cancer cells while leaving surrounding tissue unharmed.
The cream is applied directly to skin cancers and pre-cancers, which then naturally produces a photosensitive drug. A special red light is then shone on the tumour a few hours later, to activate this light sensitive compound. This results in cellular damage and the destruction of the tumour.
This technique results in reduced scarring and little or no damage to the surrounding healthy cells.
By adding the iron chelator CP94 to the cream, the research team have found that the effects of PDT are greatly improved and achieve greater reductions in tumour depth in tumours currently too thick to be treated easily by the non-enhanced form of this treatment.
This is the first time in the world that PDT trials of this modified PDT treatment have been carried out involving humans. Trials involving patients have taken place at clinics at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust in Truro.
PDT is achieving success in the treatment of actinic keratoses (lesions that can develop after years of exposure to UV light); Bowen's disease (the growth of abnormal calls that can turn into skin cancer, and that is partly due to long-term exposure to the sun); and basal cell carcinoma (the most common form of skin cancer).
Dr. Alison Curnow from the Peninsula Medical School in Cornwall, commented: "PDT is very effective non-surgical treatment for certain types of dermatological cancers and precancers. It normally destroys the tumour without scarring or damage to surrounding healthy cells."
She added: "Through years of research we have been able to develop a modified PDT treatment enabling for the first time for thicker nodular basal cell carcinomas to be treated effectively with a single PDT treatment. This is important, as this is a very common form of skin cancer."
The work of Dr. Curnow and her team are part of a developing research theme for the Peninsula Medical School, which is Environment and Human Health. Operated mainly from the Peninsula Medical School in Cornwall, but with collaboration from colleagues within the institution across the South West of England, this research theme seeks to identify and study the links between our health and well-being and the environment.
Care Study
Graham O'Neill, 54, is technical marketing director at Imerys Minerals in Cornwall and lives near Mevagissey.
Graham was raised in the West Indies, and although his mother was very careful about protecting him from the sun, his exposure to the sun's rays at an early age led to the discovery of melanomas on his skin in 1983.
"Back then the treatments were quite severe," said Graham. "It involved liquid nitrogen, scraping out the melanoma and cauterizing it. Not only was this very painful, but it also left scarring."
He now receives treatment with PDT, which is much better for him. He said: "The treatment is extremely good. From a personal point of view it is much less unpleasant and seems to be more effective. It also treats quite a big area in one go, which means fewer treatments in the long run. The other issue with melanomas is that they keep coming back. With PDT I have found that they do not return as frequently and, when they do, they are far less severe."
On balance Graham is delighted with the treatments, which he has been receiving at Treliske Hospital, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust in Truro. He said: "Compared with the old way of doing things, PDT is a fantastic therapy and one which I would recommend to other patients. It is very exciting that the Peninsula Medical School is taking such a worldwide lead in research in this area."
The work of the Peninsula Medical School in this area of research is funded in part by the Duchy Health Charity in Cornwall.
Adapted from materials provided by The Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
2. Beached Dolphin Rescued by American Innkeepers on Mexican Island
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/05/prweb971194.htm
Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo MX (PRWEB)
May 25, 2008
A large male dolphin stranded himself Sunday morning May 18, 2008, on the coral on the beach just beside Villa La Bella, an American owned bed and breakfast, on Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Their quick actions resulted in a successful rescue and release.
One of the workers Luis Alberto Romero Trujillo at Villa La Bella spotted the distressed dolphin around 8:45 AM Sunday morning when he went to hang the hammocks in the yard overlooking the beach. He quickly notified Curtis and Ashley Blogin, American owners of the bed and breakfast, and the two raced to see what they could do to help.
He seemed to know all along that we were trying to help
The dolphin was quite large, and the two could not move him at all. Curtis kept water on the dolphin while Ashley raced back to the house, gave directions to the location to the police, and phoned Pepe, the island vet. Curtis yelled for help from a small crowd that was gathering on the cliff above, and a couple of men climbed down the rocks to help Curtis get the dolphin back into the water.
Unfortunately the dolphin was so exhausted and disoriented that it was swimming sideways and kept running into the large rocks just off the shore. Ashley and Curtis got in the water and acted as human bumpers between the dolphin and the rocks; however, the dolphin finally found a sandy path to the beach and stranded itself again.
The dolphin had bite marks on his nose and tail as well as injuries from the coral on his side. While waiting for the Navy and other rescue boats to arrive, the island vet Pepe arrived and jumped right in the water, cowboy boots and all. Ashley, Curtis and Pepe kept the dolphin as comfortable as possible until two civil protection representatives arrived, and the group of five were able to get the dolphin back into the water and let it rest in their arms.
A Navy boat was first to arrive followed closely by the park patrol and a Profepa (government environmental impact) boat, and two divers with a harness headed for the dolphin. The harness was successfully attached, and although the water had gotten rougher, the dolphin never resisted.
"He seemed to know all along that we were trying to help," said Curtis.
With the harness safely attached the boat slowly led the dolphin to deeper water beyond the reef where they could remove the harness and lead the dolphin back to the south end of the island where a deep-water channel is located. By the time they got the dolphin to the Puenta Sur, the dolphin had time to rest, regain his strength, and swam away on his own.
While it is only speculation, the male dolphin appeared to be a 20- 25 year old male weighing more than 350 pounds. Based on the dolphin's injuries, he had been in a fight with another dolphin and sustained damage to his body and sonar, which is located in the nose. Between being exhausted from the fight and having his ability to navigate damaged, he beached himself accidentally.
For additional information on the news that is the subject of this release, contact Ashley M. Blogin or visit http://www.villalabella.com.
Villa La Bella is a boutique, oceanfront bed and breakfast located on Isla Mujeres just 8 miles off the coast of Cancun.
Contact:
Ashley M. Blogin,
Villa La Bella
011-52-998-888-0342
http://www.villalabella.com
3. Long-forgotten Civil War Veteran Gets His Due
Determined Boisean wins Memorial Day recognition and a headstone for Union Pvt. James Kern
http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/390960.html
25 May 2008
At Boise's Morris Hill Cemetery, Civil War veterans lie in a section known as Silent Camp. The Women's Relief Corps placed a statue of a Union soldier there in the 1920s. Not far from the statue is a small patch of grass - a grave that was unmarked, forgotten for 80 years.
It might have stayed that way had Allan McKenney not decided a near century of anonymity was unacceptable.
Union Army Pvt. James Kern was a bugler with the 1st Kentucky Cavalry during the Civil War.
Later, he became a house painter and moved to Condon, Ore., a town whose population still doesn't break 1,000.
He spent his last days at the U.S. Veterans Hospital in Boise and died in 1928, three days after his 84th birthday.
He left behind a brief death notice in the paper and no known relatives.
Now, thanks to McKenney, the soldier is getting a long overdue headstone from the Veterans Administration and a Memorial Day service with burial rituals straight from the 1890 guidelines of the
Grand Army of the Republic.
Kern's new grave marker is made of dark granite. It will stand out among the white marble markers in the Silent Camp, which only seems fair, after all this time.
As for McKenney, he has given credence to the idea that nothing worthwhile is ever accomplished without a bit of obsession.
GIVING EACH MAN HIS DUE
McKenney, 63, works part time for an auto auction company. He has closer ties to the Civil War than most, especially in this part of the country.
He is one of only five Idaho members of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War - a group for direct descendants of veterans.
McKenney's great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather served in the Union Army. They're buried in the East.
When McKenney learned the Sons of Union Veterans, or SUV, had no listings in its national registry for any of the Civil War dead buried in Idaho, he decided to document as many graves as he could, Union and Confederate alike, and submit them.
He started last year at Morris Hill, where there are close to 200 Civil War graves.
"He walked up and down the rows for weeks and weeks, writing down all the information on every one of the stones," said Sheila Coleman, a Morris Hill staffer who watched McKenney work.
CALLING ROLL FOR 'THE FELLAS'
McKenney admits that the project overtook him. His first thought in the mornings was getting to the cemetery and taking notes.
He refers to the soldiers buried at Morris Hill as "the fellas," as though he's come to know them personally.
"I'll tell you something corny," he said. "I would go down the rows, write down the information, then say each man's name out loud. Just so they were remembered. Call it a roll call."
McKenney's "roll call" brought him to an odd, empty space in one of the rows, which by logic and layout also should have been a grave.
So he asked Coleman to check the burial maps in the cemetery office.
He was right. It was a grave - Kern's.
"I felt sorry for the guy. It got 'my sentimental' going," McKenney said.
Not content to leave Kern and continue his research, McKenney learned through the SUV that no matter where or when a veteran dies, the Veterans Administration will pay for a stone if someone can provide documentation.
McKenney collected the scant records of Kern's life at the state historical library, filled out the paperwork and sent it to Washington.
Earlier this month, a truck delivered a cardboard box to Morris Hill Cemetery. Inside was a 200-pound stone etched with Kern's name.
ONE STEP TOWARD HIS GOALS
McKenney is actively recruiting Idahoans to join the Sons of Union Veterans, and he dreams of the day when Idaho membership increases to at least 10, so Idaho can have its own local unit or "camp" with elected officers. He also continues to document Civil War graves.
Steve Barrett, with the Idaho Historical Society, estimates that between 2,500 and 3,000 Union and Confederate soldiers lived or died in Idaho. Finding exact numbers is difficult because it involves several types of records, from obituaries to death certificates, many with duplicate or missing information.
McKenney has gone through thousands of these records, and so far he's found 25 Idaho Civil War veterans whose papers are complete enough to be accepted to the SUV national registry. Their rules, he said, "are very picky."
Kern will get his listing.
"But I'm sure some poor guy is still out there," McKenney said. "Look at all the people who died along the Oregon Trail. Hundreds died and there are no markers at all. But at least Kern will have his day."
Barrett plans to take his young daughter to the Memorial Day ceremony at Morris Hill.
One of the Barretts' ancestors served in the Union Army - in the 1st Kentucky Cavalry, the same unit as Pvt. Kern.
Anna Webb: 377-6431
4. Hundreds Flock to Boat of Learning
http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=90198
Sunday, May 25, 2008
HUNDREDS of people flocked to the book boat, MV Doulos, which has called into Suva for the second time in 19 years.
With a second day at the Suva wharf yesterday, media liaison officer Marli Tireli said they expected greater crowds during the weekend.
She said on Friday not many people turned up but they expected more yesterday and today.
The ship has 6000 books that cover education, cookery, Christian literature, sports, business and many more topics.
Alex Chung, of Kinoya, Nasinu, said this was the first time he had visited a book boat.
He said books sold on the boat were affordably priced.
Arati Prasad, of Vatuwaqa, Suva, said the boat was good for kids as there were many books for school children.
"There are a lot of religious books which are sold at affordable price," she said.
About 350 volunteers are on the board. The ship attracted 46,000 visitors on its first visit in 1989.
The MV Doulos was built in 1914, two years after the Titanic.
It has visited 100 countries and welcomed 20 million visitors on board in 30 years of service.
It is based in Germany and travels the globe with one mission taking knowledge, help and hope.
The ship will be in Suva for two weeks and is open to the public. Admission is $1 but free for children.
It will be open to the public today from 10am to 9pm.
5. Archaeologist Claims Discovery of Cleopatra’s Tomb
http://www.archaeologynews.org/story.asp?ID=290938&Title=Archaeologist%20claims%20discovery%20of%20Cleopatra’s%20tomb
May 25th, 2008 - 5:03 pm ICT
London, May 25 (ANI): A flamboyant archeologist claims to have identified the final resting place of Cleopatra, the Hellenistic ruler of Egypt, who originally shared power with her father Ptolemy XII and eventually gained sole rule of Egypt.
Zahi Hawass, the head of Egypts Supreme Council of Antiquities along with a team of 12 archaeologists and 70 excavators, has started searching for the entrance to her tomb.
And after a breakthrough two weeks ago, he suspects Cleopatra is buried with her Roman lover Mark Antony at a temple 30km from Alexandra called Tabusiris Magna.
Hawass has found a 400ft tunnel beneath the temple containing clues that the supposedly beautiful queen may lie beneath.
Weve found tunnels with statues of Cleopatra and many coins bearing her face, things you wouldnt expect in a typical temple, Times Online quoted him, as saying.
A fortnight ago the team unearthed a bust of Mark Antony, the Roman general who became Cleopatras lover and had three children with her before their ambitions for an Egyptian empire brought them into conflict with Rome.
They committed suicide after being defeated by Octavian in the battle of Actium in 31BC.
Our theory is that both Cleopatra and Mark Antony are buried here, said Hawass.
The 60-year-old archeologist believes that the temples location would have made it a perfect place for Cleopatra to hide from Octavians army.
Work on the site has been suspended until the summer heat abates and is due to resume in November, when Hawass will use radar to search for hidden chambers.
If Hawass thinking is true, he could make the greatest archaeological discovery in Egypt since British archaeologist Howard Carter uncovered Tutankhamuns tomb in 1922. (ANI)
Honorable Mentions:
1. 76-year-old Man Oldest to Scale Mount Everest
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/05/25/international/i001722D09.DTL&tsp=1
By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA, Associated Press Writer
Sunday, May 25, 2008
KATMANDU, Nepal (AP)
A 76-year-old Nepalese man reached the summit of Mount Everest on Sunday and became the oldest person to climb the world's highest mountain, a tourism official said.
Min Bahadur Sherchan reached the 29,035-foot summit early in the morning with his climbing guides, said a Nepal Tourism Ministry official, Ramesh Chetri.
Sherchan was just 25 days away from his 77th birthday, Chetri said.
He beat the record set last year by Japanese climber Katsusuke Yanagisawa, who scaled the peak at age 71. Sherchan was in good health and was descending from the summit, Chetri said.
The former soldier climbed smaller mountains before Everest and has been an active sportsman, Chetri said.
He said about a dozen climbers scaled Everest on Sunday following one of the busiest weeks in the mountain's climbing season.
A veteran Sherpa guide scaled Everest on Thursday for a record 18th time. Appa, who like most Sherpas goes by only one name, reached the summit along with several colleagues. He was among more than 80 climbers to reach the summit that day — the largest number ever in a single day from the Nepalese side of the peak.
Mountaineers were able to resume Everest climbs on May 9 after the Nepalese government lifted a temporary ban ordered to prevent protests against China's rule in Tibet during an ascent by Chinese climbers carrying the Olympic torch.
The Chinese torch team scaled the summit on May 8 — from the northern Tibetan side of Everest — and Nepal lifted the ban a day later.
On the Net:
News about Everest: www.mounteverest.net
2. Licorice Extract Provides New Treatment Option for Canker Sores
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-05/aogd-lep052208.php
CHICAGO
May 22, 2008
What common oral condition appears as shallow ulcers of different sizes, affects one in five Americans, can be caused by food allergies and hormonal changes, and also can cause severe mouth pain? Commonly referred to as “canker sores,” recurrent aphthous ulcers (RAU) now can be treated by an extract in licorice root herbal extract, according to a study published in the March/April 2008 issue of General Dentistry, the Academy of General Dentistry’s (AGD) clinical, peer-reviewed journal.
The authors examined the effects of an over-the-counter medicated adhesive patch (with extract from the licorice root) for treatment of RAU versus no treatment. After seven days of treatment, ulcer size in the group who received the adhesive patch with licorice extract was significantly lower, while ulcer size in the no-treatment group had increased 13 percent.
Licorice root extract was used as a prescribed treatment for gastric ulcers until the 1970s, according to the study. In its original form, licorice root extract has a very strong taste. However, when combined with a self-adhering, time-release, dissolving oral patch, the taste is mild and pleasant.
Among the causes of canker sores, a genetic predisposition might be the biggest cause, says Michael Martin, DMD, PhD, lead author of the study. “When both parents have a history of canker sores, the likelihood of their children developing them can be as high as 90 percent,” he says.
The most serious side effect of canker sores is sharp pain in the mouth, which can interfere with an individual’s quality of life and affect their eating, drinking or speech. Dr. Martin revealed that “in addition to speeding healing of the canker sores, the adhesive patch helped to reduce pain after just three days of treatment.”
Those who experience canker sores on a regular basis can visit their dentist for treatment techniques. “Dentists can give patients the proper medication and treatment options to seal the lesions, which will prevent further infection,” says Eric Shapira, DDS, MAGD, AGD spokesperson and expert on alternative medicine. “Also, increasing vitamins and other herbs, such as Vitamin C and zinc, can help treat canker sores because they help to regenerate tissue cells,” Dr. Shapira adds.
Common causes of canker sores:
Local trauma and stress
Diet and food allergies
Hormonal changes
Use of certain medications
Common treatments of canker sores:
Antimicrobial mouthwashes
Local painkillers
Over-the-counter remedies (oral adhesive patches, liquids and gels)
The AGD is a professional association of more than 35,000 general dentists dedicated to staying up-to-date in the profession through continuing education. Founded in 1952, the AGD has grown to become the world’s second largest dental association, which is the only association that exclusively represents the needs and interests of general dentists.
More than 786,000 persons are employed directly in the field of general dentistry. A general dentist is the primary care provider for patients of all ages and is responsible for the diagnosis, treatment, management and overall coordination of services related to patients’ oral health needs.
3. PFC Ross McGinnis Posthumously Awarded Medal of Honor
http://northshorejournal.org/index.php/2008/05/ross-mcginnis-and-the-medal-of-honor
May 23, 2008
Redemption, Courage, Sacrifice
Somewhere near here, Valhalla or Fiddler’s Green, a band of brothers is welcoming a new friend. Standing at attention are men like Alvin York, Audie Murphy and Douglas MacArthur. A new hero has come home.
It wasn’t a very long road for Ross McGinnis. He was just 19 when he became a legend. It had not been a long road but it had some twists and turns.
Ross McGinnis was not always hero material. He grew up in a small town in western Pennsylvania, the only boy in a family with two gifted girls. His father suggests Bart Simpson as a good image of this underachiever.
At fourteen he made several mistakes, bought some marijuana and talked about it at school. When school administrators looked further, they found a couple of knives in his locker.
Suspension and court followed.
Given time to think, Ross thought. At some point he talked with an Army recruiter. In his junior year he enlisted in the United States Army under the delayed enlistment program. Those who knew him saw the change. Despite academic struggles, he graduated from high school and joined the Army.
After basic and advanced infantry training, Ross came home on leave. He was a changed man. He was a soldier.
In Germany, training for deployment to Iraq, Ross made his mark with his fellow soldiers. He was the platoon funny man, able to make men laugh even after a long day. He was also recognized as a born leader, and excelled at the skills a combat soldier needs.
His unit was assigned to northeastern Baghdad, and violence was a daily happening. In late November his unit fought off a five hour attack in which dozens of the enemy were killed. McGinnis’s photo was on the cover of the Middle East edition of Stars & Stripes for November 30 as they covered that battle.
December 4, 2006 was like most days. The unit geared up for a patrol and the delivery of a generator. Six vehicles pulled out of Combat Outpost Apache. McGinnis was the .50 cal gunner on the rear vehicle, a position he was expert at.
The vehicles ahead heard an explosion and when they looked, found McGinnis’s vehicle severely damaged with all four of its doors blown off. Medics found four wounded soldiers and McGinnis. McGinnis was dead.
It all happened in a matter of seconds.
McGinnis saw an insurgent throw a grenade from a nearby rooftop. He tried to deflect it but it dropped through the hatch behind him. Training told him to holler “Grenade” and then jump clear. That is not what this hero did.
He saw the grenade lodged in some equipment below him. The doors were locked and the four soldiers in the truck had no chance to escape. McGinnis dropped down into the Humvee and pressed his back against the radio where the grenade had come to rest, covering the blast with his body.
Ross McGinnis, a little over six feet tall and a lanky 130 some pounds, took the force of the explosion. One of the other soldiers was seriously wounded, and the other three received less serious injuries. All of them lived because of Ross McGinnis.
On June 2, 2008 the President of the United States will present the Medal of Honor to the family of Ross McGinnis. He will speak about courage and sacrifice. His fellow heroes in Valhalla and Fiddler’s Green know all about that.
It may be the the President of the United States will also talk about redemption. Ross McGinnis was once a troubled youth on a clear path to nowhere. Then, he chose to become a soldier in the United States Army. He chose to become a warrior.
This young man, this ordinary young man, found a place that gave him a path, people who became comrades and friends, and he found a time that for all eternity became his time.
God bless you, Ross McGinnis.
4. WCI Student Isolates Microbe that Lunches on Plastic Bags
http://news.therecord.com/article/354044
Karen Kawawada
22 May 2008
Getting ordinary plastic bags to rot away like banana peels would be an environmental dream come true. After all, we produce 500 billion a year worldwide and they take up to 1,000 years to decompose. They take up space in landfills, litter our streets and parks, pollute the oceans and kill the animals that eat them.
Now a Waterloo teenager has found a way to make plastic bags degrade faster -- in three months, he figures.
Daniel Burd's project won the top prize at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Ottawa. He came back with a long list of awards, including a $10,000 prize, a $20,000 scholarship, and recognition that he has found a practical way to help the environment.
Daniel, a 16-year-old Grade 11 student at Waterloo Collegiate Institute, got the idea for his project from everyday life.
"Almost every week I have to do chores and when I open the closet door, I have this avalanche of plastic bags falling on top of me," he said. "One day, I got tired of it and I wanted to know what other people are doing with these plastic bags."
The answer: not much. So he decided to do something himself.
He knew plastic does eventually degrade, and figured microorganisms must be behind it. His goal was to isolate the microorganisms that can break down plastic -- not an easy task because they don't exist in high numbers in nature.
First, he ground plastic bags into a powder. Next, he used ordinary household chemicals, yeast and tap water to create a solution that would encourage microbe growth. To that, he added the plastic powder and dirt. Then the solution sat in a shaker at 30 degrees.
After three months of upping the concentration of plastic-eating microbes, Burd filtered out the remaining plastic powder and put his bacterial culture into three flasks with strips of plastic cut from grocery bags. As a control, he also added plastic to flasks containing boiled and therefore dead bacterial culture.
Six weeks later, he weighed the strips of plastic. The control strips were the same. But the ones that had been in the live bacterial culture weighed an average of 17 per cent less.
That wasn't good enough for Burd. To identify the bacteria in his culture, he let them grow on agar plates and found he had four types of microbes. He tested those on more plastic strips and found only the second was capable of significant plastic degradation.
Next, Burd tried mixing his most effective strain with the others. He found strains one and two together produced a 32 per cent weight loss in his plastic strips. His theory is strain one helps strain two reproduce.
Tests to identify the strains found strain two was Sphingomonas bacteria and the helper was Pseudomonas.
A researcher in Ireland has found Pseudomonas is capable of degrading polystyrene, but as far as Burd and his teacher Mark Menhennet know -- and they've looked -- Burd's research on polyethelene plastic bags is a first.
Next, Burd tested his strains' effectiveness at different temperatures, concentrations and with the addition of sodium acetate as a ready source of carbon to help bacteria grow.
At 37 degrees and optimal bacterial concentration, with a bit of sodium acetate thrown in, Burd achieved 43 per cent degradation within six weeks.
The plastic he fished out then was visibly clearer and more brittle, and Burd guesses after six more weeks, it would be gone. He hasn't tried that yet.
To see if his process would work on a larger scale, he tried it with five or six whole bags in a bucket with the bacterial culture. That worked too.
Industrial application should be easy, said Burd. "All you need is a fermenter . . . your growth medium, your microbes and your plastic bags."
The inputs are cheap, maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because microbes produce heat as they work, and the only outputs are water and tiny levels of carbon dioxide -- each microbe produces only 0.01 per cent of its own infinitesimal weight in carbon dioxide, said Burd.
"This is a huge, huge step forward . . . We're using nature to solve a man-made problem."
Burd would like to take his project further and see it be used. He plans to study science at university, but in the meantime he's busy with things such as student council, sports and music.
"Dan is definitely a talented student all around and is poised to be a leading scientist in our community," said Menhennet, who led the school's science fair team but says he only helped Burd with paperwork.
Other local students also did well at the national science fair.
Devin Howard of St. John's Kilmarnock School won a gold medal in life science and several scholarships.
Mackenzie Carter of St. John's Kilmarnock won bronze medals in the automotive and engineering categories.
Engineers Without Borders awarded Jeff Graansma of Forest Heights Collegiate a free trip to their national conference in January.
Zach Elgood of Courtland Avenue Public School got honourable mention in earth and environmental science.
kkawawada@therecord.com
5. Wired How to Wiki: Tips for Green Lawn Care
http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Tips_for_Green_Lawn_Care
From Wired How-To Wiki
23 May 2008
A lush, well-manicured lawn is one of those features that helps define suburbia. Large swaths of neatly-cut grass aren't typically a dominant characteristic of the big city landscape, but lawns sure seem important in the 'burbs. And the greener the better.
The problem is, green isn't particularly Green, at least using traditional equipment and methods. Excessive lawn watering, pesticides and millions of gas-powered lawn mowers have all helped put the boots to the environment. Fortunately, there are ways to make that suburban green space a little more green.
The Environmental Protection Agency has long recognized that gas lawn mowers pose a threat to the environment. They are significant sources of air pollution and contribute to escalating urban smog issues, with some researchers claiming that fully 5% of all air pollution in the US is directly caused by gas lawn mowers. Emissions include carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides. In 1996, the EPA announced a program to enforce new emission standards for gas mowers, claiming that a single machine would put out as much air pollution in an hour as eleven cars. You may have noticed that was twelve years ago; the deadline for that program has been repeatedly delayed but has most recently been proposed for an effective date of 2011.
Regardless of whether you believe the studies or not, there's no disputing the fact that firing up your gas burner is noisy and the fuel is becoming increasingly expensive. Here are some common sense tips for minimizing your environmental impact should you opt to stick with or purchase a new gas lawn mower:
Unless you have mobility issues or live on the suburban equivalent of a plantation, you probably don't need a riding mower. It takes a big engine and a lot of energy to lug you around -- you could be getting some exercise by pushing.
Ditto for self-propelled mowers, although obviously on a smaller scale.
If you must use a riding mower, surely you have better things to do than race it, despite what Hank Hill might have to say on the matter.
Make sure you right size the engine. If you have a 500 square foot lawn that you cut weekly, chances are a 6.75 HP behemoth is overkill for your situation. Consider a mower with a smaller, more fuel-efficient engine
The EPA has a series of tips for making the best of your gasoline-guzzling beast including these:
- Avoid spilling gasoline when filling the tank (apparently, someone did the math and calculated that gas spills while filling lawn mowers add up to in excess of 12 million gallons per season)
- Maintain your mower, including regular oil and air filter changes and tune-ups
- Keep the blade sharp
- The EPA's full list of tips is available as a PDF download
Electric and Battery Powered Mowers
There are two options when it comes to electric mowers: plug-in models and battery-powered versions. Both save you from having to buy and store gasoline and both put an end to the smelly, noxious emissions of the gas engines. They are also considerably quieter than gas mowers. A typical yard is estimated to require approximately ten cents worth of electricity to cut, whether it's via plug in or charging a battery); of course your actual mileage will vary depending on local utility rates and the size of your yard.
Plug-in Mowers
These can be a nuisance, since you're effectively tethered to an electrical outlet and you have to avoid running over the power cord. However, there are advantages: no battery means an extremely light push and no worries about recharging or running out of power mid-cut.
Battery-Powered Mowers
Still lighter than most gas-powered counterparts and you get all the bonuses of electric power. Depending on the mower and the size of your yard, you may have to buy a second battery to get through the whole job, but keeping power available when you need it is mostly a matter of organization.
The Wired Test
Wired tested a series of electric lawn mowers in the summer of 2007, and there are even more choices now. I bought a Neuton battery-powered model this spring, and while it hasn't seen a lot of use yet, I have been impressed so far by its lack of noise, maneuverability, charge duration and quality of cut. My wife appreciates how light it is and likes the funky color and little lizards molded onto the wheels. I would have been happier with charging grizzly bear wheels or even a growling jaguar, but hey, we're all doing our part to be Green, right?
The Cost of Switching
Does it use more energy and generate more pollution to build and ship a new mower than you'll remove from the equation by making the switch? And where is that gas mower going- to a landfill? What about the fuel used to power the plant that generates the electricity used by your mower? It could be coal. Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all.
As with so many initiatives around replacing older, polluting technology with more efficient models, arguments can be made either way. According to The Clean Air Foundation, a standard gas-powered lawn mower will generate as much pollution in an hour of operation as a typical new car would if it were driven 340 miles (http://www.cleanairfoundation.org/mowdownpollution/index.asp). Canadian figures estimate that gas powered lawn mowers in that country consume 40 million gallons of gasoline per year and release nearly 90,000 tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Ultimately, getting rid of the old gas mowers and replacing them with cleaner technology will cut down on noise pollution, reduce localized air pollution (and smog), reduce oil use and should save the average consumer some money over the lifetime of their mower. Just make certain to dispose of the old gas mower at a recycling facility instead of simply throwing it in the landfill.
Ultimate Green: People Power
If you want to mow your grass in a way that has the least direct impact on the environment, it's tough to beat pushing around an old-fashioned push-reel mower. The kind your grandparents (or maybe their parents) used before gas mowers took over the yard. They still feature zero emissions, no fuel spillage risk and minimal noise pollution. Reel mowers are even less expensive to purchase than most gas mowers and they take up a lot less storage space. Also, most professionals agree that reel mowers offer a superior cut to a rotary blade (many golf courses use reel mowers).
Using them is beneficial for you, since you get exercise. Plus, you can cut the grass at 8am on a Sunday without worry of noise complaints from your neighbors.
So what's the catch? Well, people power has a few issues:
Sharpening the blades of a reel mower has become a lost art. Many manufacturers sell do-it-yourself sharpening kits, but there's no getting around the fact that it's a yearly pain.
Cutting your lawn will give you a workout -- for a large yard, this becomes more of an issue.
Tall, thick grass can become an extreme workout and grasses or weeds with tough stems can require multiple passes to cut. I spent last summer re-living my youth with a high quality reel mower, but turned it in this year for the electric model solely because my less-than-golf course-perfect lawn required me to spend an hour attacking it with a weed-whacker after multiple mowing passes, because of those tough weed stems that the reel mower simply couldn't handle.
If you live in a rural area you might want to consider sheep. The emissions aren't exactly pleasant, but they are biodegradable and the fuel cost is pretty much zilch.
Going back to the sheep model, manufacturers have brought a more high tech version of the semi-random, unmanned lawn care to the table: the robotic lawnmower. Most (if not all) models employ rechargeable batteries to do the grunt work while you're away working to pay for them, and some are available with solar recharging docking stations.
Don't worry, if our Robot Overlords take command of your robo-mower and turn it against you, you'd have to be pretty slow to fall victim to it; and wearing steel-toed boots would make you pretty much invincible, should it somehow sneak up on you. Wired has a news feature on robotic mowers, from consumer to industrial grades.
If you find the idea of a robotic lawn mower a tad threatening, how about softening the machine's image with a Ladybug Personality Sticker Kit?
Go Solar
For a slightly less cool, but still extremely green option, there are battery-powered hand mowers like a model from Solaris available with solar charging stations. That's right, you can take your lawn mowing completely off the grid.
Extreme Options: Lose The Grass Altogether
Photo: "something like this song" by nickd via Flickr
It may be subject to local bylaws, but some people have given up on the lawn altogether and opted for natural vegetation or even simply piled rocks where their lawns once were. Done right, this can look pretty good (the photo shows a nice urban front yard). The grass-free look certainly cuts down on maintenance, although if you have kids or play a lot of touch football in your yard, it may not be the option for you.
For a slightly less extreme variation, reduce the amount of grass and plant more gardens and shrubs instead. If you concentrate on native plant species, you can have an attractive garden that needs less watering and maintenance than grass, while saving you some mowing time.
Tips & Tricks for "Green" Lawn Maintenance
There's simply no excuse to be spraying pesticide on your lawn. Even if it's still legal in your city, pass on the poisons and pull out the weeds instead of spraying. Hire a kid to do it if that's not your thing.
Got grubs? Consider nematodes instead of chemical treatment options. The idea of a bunch of microscopic parasites hunting down and killing the grubs beneath your lawn has a certain macabre charm, doesn't it?
Mulch and leave the grass clippings on your lawn as natural fertilizer.
Cut the grass higher (try in the 3" to 3.5" range) to encourage deeper roots, retain moisture and discourage weeds.
If you must water your lawn, do it early in the morning to reduce evaporation; don't water at night as this could make the grass susceptible to disease.
A heavy watering (1" to 2" of water) once or twice a week promotes deeper root growth and is better for the lawn than frequent, light watering.
Today was a splendid and long day. We got to visit 4 museums, and a folk village, and we attempted to catch a Cheju Do sunset. Although the sun fell behind a cloud before setting, we did capture a lively crab on film at the beach we'd planned to catch our sunset.
Anyway, in honor of memorial weekend, two of the stories today are about veterans. The first is about PFC Ross McGinness who has been posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for shielding his buddies from a grenade thrown into a HMMWV in Iraq. The second is about a Civil War soldier who for years was buried in an unmarked grave. After researching the unmarked grave, Allan McKenny decided to research who was in that grave. Eventually he discovered that the grave belonged to a union soldier. A headstone with enscription was set on the grave, and a proper ceremony is scheduled for the soldier.
There are several other good articles today as well. Most notibly, I would like to point out the article about the Canadian teenager who figured out which microbes biodegrade plastic. Because of his reasearch it is now thought that plastic bags can be decomposed in as little as 3 months!
Anyway hope you enjoy the news! See you tomorrow!
Today's Top 5:
1. Photodynamic Therapy Breakthrough in Cancer Treatment (Science Daily)
2. Beached Dolphin Rescued by American Innkeepers on Mexico Island (Press Release Newswire)
3. Long-forgotten Civil War Veteran Gets His Due (Idaho Statesman)
4. Hundreds Flock to Boat of Learning (Fiji Times)
5. Archaeologist Claims Discovery of Cleopatra’s Tomb (Archaeology News)
Honorable Mentions:
1. 76 Year-old Man Oldest to Scale Mount Everest (San Francisco Chronicles)
2. Licorice Extract Provides New Treatment Option for Canker Sores (Eurekalert)
3. PFC Ross McGinnis Posthumously Awarded Medal of Honor (North Shore Journal)
4. WCI Student Isolates Microbe that Lunches on Plastic Bags (The Record News)
5. Wired How to Wiki: Tips for Green Lawn Care (Wired.com)
Today's Top 5:
1. Photodynamic Therapy Breakthrough in Cancer Treatment
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080523100553.htm
ScienceDaily
May 25, 2008
Researchers from the Peninsula Medical School in Cornwall, UK, have modified a photodynamic therapy (PDT) treatment that combines a topically applied cream with visible light to destroy cancer cells while leaving surrounding tissue unharmed.
The cream is applied directly to skin cancers and pre-cancers, which then naturally produces a photosensitive drug. A special red light is then shone on the tumour a few hours later, to activate this light sensitive compound. This results in cellular damage and the destruction of the tumour.
This technique results in reduced scarring and little or no damage to the surrounding healthy cells.
By adding the iron chelator CP94 to the cream, the research team have found that the effects of PDT are greatly improved and achieve greater reductions in tumour depth in tumours currently too thick to be treated easily by the non-enhanced form of this treatment.
This is the first time in the world that PDT trials of this modified PDT treatment have been carried out involving humans. Trials involving patients have taken place at clinics at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust in Truro.
PDT is achieving success in the treatment of actinic keratoses (lesions that can develop after years of exposure to UV light); Bowen's disease (the growth of abnormal calls that can turn into skin cancer, and that is partly due to long-term exposure to the sun); and basal cell carcinoma (the most common form of skin cancer).
Dr. Alison Curnow from the Peninsula Medical School in Cornwall, commented: "PDT is very effective non-surgical treatment for certain types of dermatological cancers and precancers. It normally destroys the tumour without scarring or damage to surrounding healthy cells."
She added: "Through years of research we have been able to develop a modified PDT treatment enabling for the first time for thicker nodular basal cell carcinomas to be treated effectively with a single PDT treatment. This is important, as this is a very common form of skin cancer."
The work of Dr. Curnow and her team are part of a developing research theme for the Peninsula Medical School, which is Environment and Human Health. Operated mainly from the Peninsula Medical School in Cornwall, but with collaboration from colleagues within the institution across the South West of England, this research theme seeks to identify and study the links between our health and well-being and the environment.
Care Study
Graham O'Neill, 54, is technical marketing director at Imerys Minerals in Cornwall and lives near Mevagissey.
Graham was raised in the West Indies, and although his mother was very careful about protecting him from the sun, his exposure to the sun's rays at an early age led to the discovery of melanomas on his skin in 1983.
"Back then the treatments were quite severe," said Graham. "It involved liquid nitrogen, scraping out the melanoma and cauterizing it. Not only was this very painful, but it also left scarring."
He now receives treatment with PDT, which is much better for him. He said: "The treatment is extremely good. From a personal point of view it is much less unpleasant and seems to be more effective. It also treats quite a big area in one go, which means fewer treatments in the long run. The other issue with melanomas is that they keep coming back. With PDT I have found that they do not return as frequently and, when they do, they are far less severe."
On balance Graham is delighted with the treatments, which he has been receiving at Treliske Hospital, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust in Truro. He said: "Compared with the old way of doing things, PDT is a fantastic therapy and one which I would recommend to other patients. It is very exciting that the Peninsula Medical School is taking such a worldwide lead in research in this area."
The work of the Peninsula Medical School in this area of research is funded in part by the Duchy Health Charity in Cornwall.
Adapted from materials provided by The Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
2. Beached Dolphin Rescued by American Innkeepers on Mexican Island
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/05/prweb971194.htm
Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo MX (PRWEB)
May 25, 2008
A large male dolphin stranded himself Sunday morning May 18, 2008, on the coral on the beach just beside Villa La Bella, an American owned bed and breakfast, on Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Their quick actions resulted in a successful rescue and release.
One of the workers Luis Alberto Romero Trujillo at Villa La Bella spotted the distressed dolphin around 8:45 AM Sunday morning when he went to hang the hammocks in the yard overlooking the beach. He quickly notified Curtis and Ashley Blogin, American owners of the bed and breakfast, and the two raced to see what they could do to help.
He seemed to know all along that we were trying to help
The dolphin was quite large, and the two could not move him at all. Curtis kept water on the dolphin while Ashley raced back to the house, gave directions to the location to the police, and phoned Pepe, the island vet. Curtis yelled for help from a small crowd that was gathering on the cliff above, and a couple of men climbed down the rocks to help Curtis get the dolphin back into the water.
Unfortunately the dolphin was so exhausted and disoriented that it was swimming sideways and kept running into the large rocks just off the shore. Ashley and Curtis got in the water and acted as human bumpers between the dolphin and the rocks; however, the dolphin finally found a sandy path to the beach and stranded itself again.
The dolphin had bite marks on his nose and tail as well as injuries from the coral on his side. While waiting for the Navy and other rescue boats to arrive, the island vet Pepe arrived and jumped right in the water, cowboy boots and all. Ashley, Curtis and Pepe kept the dolphin as comfortable as possible until two civil protection representatives arrived, and the group of five were able to get the dolphin back into the water and let it rest in their arms.
A Navy boat was first to arrive followed closely by the park patrol and a Profepa (government environmental impact) boat, and two divers with a harness headed for the dolphin. The harness was successfully attached, and although the water had gotten rougher, the dolphin never resisted.
"He seemed to know all along that we were trying to help," said Curtis.
With the harness safely attached the boat slowly led the dolphin to deeper water beyond the reef where they could remove the harness and lead the dolphin back to the south end of the island where a deep-water channel is located. By the time they got the dolphin to the Puenta Sur, the dolphin had time to rest, regain his strength, and swam away on his own.
While it is only speculation, the male dolphin appeared to be a 20- 25 year old male weighing more than 350 pounds. Based on the dolphin's injuries, he had been in a fight with another dolphin and sustained damage to his body and sonar, which is located in the nose. Between being exhausted from the fight and having his ability to navigate damaged, he beached himself accidentally.
For additional information on the news that is the subject of this release, contact Ashley M. Blogin or visit http://www.villalabella.com.
Villa La Bella is a boutique, oceanfront bed and breakfast located on Isla Mujeres just 8 miles off the coast of Cancun.
Contact:
Ashley M. Blogin,
Villa La Bella
011-52-998-888-0342
http://www.villalabella.com
3. Long-forgotten Civil War Veteran Gets His Due
Determined Boisean wins Memorial Day recognition and a headstone for Union Pvt. James Kern
http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/390960.html
25 May 2008
At Boise's Morris Hill Cemetery, Civil War veterans lie in a section known as Silent Camp. The Women's Relief Corps placed a statue of a Union soldier there in the 1920s. Not far from the statue is a small patch of grass - a grave that was unmarked, forgotten for 80 years.
It might have stayed that way had Allan McKenney not decided a near century of anonymity was unacceptable.
Union Army Pvt. James Kern was a bugler with the 1st Kentucky Cavalry during the Civil War.
Later, he became a house painter and moved to Condon, Ore., a town whose population still doesn't break 1,000.
He spent his last days at the U.S. Veterans Hospital in Boise and died in 1928, three days after his 84th birthday.
He left behind a brief death notice in the paper and no known relatives.
Now, thanks to McKenney, the soldier is getting a long overdue headstone from the Veterans Administration and a Memorial Day service with burial rituals straight from the 1890 guidelines of the
Grand Army of the Republic.
Kern's new grave marker is made of dark granite. It will stand out among the white marble markers in the Silent Camp, which only seems fair, after all this time.
As for McKenney, he has given credence to the idea that nothing worthwhile is ever accomplished without a bit of obsession.
GIVING EACH MAN HIS DUE
McKenney, 63, works part time for an auto auction company. He has closer ties to the Civil War than most, especially in this part of the country.
He is one of only five Idaho members of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War - a group for direct descendants of veterans.
McKenney's great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather served in the Union Army. They're buried in the East.
When McKenney learned the Sons of Union Veterans, or SUV, had no listings in its national registry for any of the Civil War dead buried in Idaho, he decided to document as many graves as he could, Union and Confederate alike, and submit them.
He started last year at Morris Hill, where there are close to 200 Civil War graves.
"He walked up and down the rows for weeks and weeks, writing down all the information on every one of the stones," said Sheila Coleman, a Morris Hill staffer who watched McKenney work.
CALLING ROLL FOR 'THE FELLAS'
McKenney admits that the project overtook him. His first thought in the mornings was getting to the cemetery and taking notes.
He refers to the soldiers buried at Morris Hill as "the fellas," as though he's come to know them personally.
"I'll tell you something corny," he said. "I would go down the rows, write down the information, then say each man's name out loud. Just so they were remembered. Call it a roll call."
McKenney's "roll call" brought him to an odd, empty space in one of the rows, which by logic and layout also should have been a grave.
So he asked Coleman to check the burial maps in the cemetery office.
He was right. It was a grave - Kern's.
"I felt sorry for the guy. It got 'my sentimental' going," McKenney said.
Not content to leave Kern and continue his research, McKenney learned through the SUV that no matter where or when a veteran dies, the Veterans Administration will pay for a stone if someone can provide documentation.
McKenney collected the scant records of Kern's life at the state historical library, filled out the paperwork and sent it to Washington.
Earlier this month, a truck delivered a cardboard box to Morris Hill Cemetery. Inside was a 200-pound stone etched with Kern's name.
ONE STEP TOWARD HIS GOALS
McKenney is actively recruiting Idahoans to join the Sons of Union Veterans, and he dreams of the day when Idaho membership increases to at least 10, so Idaho can have its own local unit or "camp" with elected officers. He also continues to document Civil War graves.
Steve Barrett, with the Idaho Historical Society, estimates that between 2,500 and 3,000 Union and Confederate soldiers lived or died in Idaho. Finding exact numbers is difficult because it involves several types of records, from obituaries to death certificates, many with duplicate or missing information.
McKenney has gone through thousands of these records, and so far he's found 25 Idaho Civil War veterans whose papers are complete enough to be accepted to the SUV national registry. Their rules, he said, "are very picky."
Kern will get his listing.
"But I'm sure some poor guy is still out there," McKenney said. "Look at all the people who died along the Oregon Trail. Hundreds died and there are no markers at all. But at least Kern will have his day."
Barrett plans to take his young daughter to the Memorial Day ceremony at Morris Hill.
One of the Barretts' ancestors served in the Union Army - in the 1st Kentucky Cavalry, the same unit as Pvt. Kern.
Anna Webb: 377-6431
4. Hundreds Flock to Boat of Learning
http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=90198
Sunday, May 25, 2008
HUNDREDS of people flocked to the book boat, MV Doulos, which has called into Suva for the second time in 19 years.
With a second day at the Suva wharf yesterday, media liaison officer Marli Tireli said they expected greater crowds during the weekend.
She said on Friday not many people turned up but they expected more yesterday and today.
The ship has 6000 books that cover education, cookery, Christian literature, sports, business and many more topics.
Alex Chung, of Kinoya, Nasinu, said this was the first time he had visited a book boat.
He said books sold on the boat were affordably priced.
Arati Prasad, of Vatuwaqa, Suva, said the boat was good for kids as there were many books for school children.
"There are a lot of religious books which are sold at affordable price," she said.
About 350 volunteers are on the board. The ship attracted 46,000 visitors on its first visit in 1989.
The MV Doulos was built in 1914, two years after the Titanic.
It has visited 100 countries and welcomed 20 million visitors on board in 30 years of service.
It is based in Germany and travels the globe with one mission taking knowledge, help and hope.
The ship will be in Suva for two weeks and is open to the public. Admission is $1 but free for children.
It will be open to the public today from 10am to 9pm.
5. Archaeologist Claims Discovery of Cleopatra’s Tomb
http://www.archaeologynews.org/story.asp?ID=290938&Title=Archaeologist%20claims%20discovery%20of%20Cleopatra’s%20tomb
May 25th, 2008 - 5:03 pm ICT
London, May 25 (ANI): A flamboyant archeologist claims to have identified the final resting place of Cleopatra, the Hellenistic ruler of Egypt, who originally shared power with her father Ptolemy XII and eventually gained sole rule of Egypt.
Zahi Hawass, the head of Egypts Supreme Council of Antiquities along with a team of 12 archaeologists and 70 excavators, has started searching for the entrance to her tomb.
And after a breakthrough two weeks ago, he suspects Cleopatra is buried with her Roman lover Mark Antony at a temple 30km from Alexandra called Tabusiris Magna.
Hawass has found a 400ft tunnel beneath the temple containing clues that the supposedly beautiful queen may lie beneath.
Weve found tunnels with statues of Cleopatra and many coins bearing her face, things you wouldnt expect in a typical temple, Times Online quoted him, as saying.
A fortnight ago the team unearthed a bust of Mark Antony, the Roman general who became Cleopatras lover and had three children with her before their ambitions for an Egyptian empire brought them into conflict with Rome.
They committed suicide after being defeated by Octavian in the battle of Actium in 31BC.
Our theory is that both Cleopatra and Mark Antony are buried here, said Hawass.
The 60-year-old archeologist believes that the temples location would have made it a perfect place for Cleopatra to hide from Octavians army.
Work on the site has been suspended until the summer heat abates and is due to resume in November, when Hawass will use radar to search for hidden chambers.
If Hawass thinking is true, he could make the greatest archaeological discovery in Egypt since British archaeologist Howard Carter uncovered Tutankhamuns tomb in 1922. (ANI)
Honorable Mentions:
1. 76-year-old Man Oldest to Scale Mount Everest
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/05/25/international/i001722D09.DTL&tsp=1
By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA, Associated Press Writer
Sunday, May 25, 2008
KATMANDU, Nepal (AP)
A 76-year-old Nepalese man reached the summit of Mount Everest on Sunday and became the oldest person to climb the world's highest mountain, a tourism official said.
Min Bahadur Sherchan reached the 29,035-foot summit early in the morning with his climbing guides, said a Nepal Tourism Ministry official, Ramesh Chetri.
Sherchan was just 25 days away from his 77th birthday, Chetri said.
He beat the record set last year by Japanese climber Katsusuke Yanagisawa, who scaled the peak at age 71. Sherchan was in good health and was descending from the summit, Chetri said.
The former soldier climbed smaller mountains before Everest and has been an active sportsman, Chetri said.
He said about a dozen climbers scaled Everest on Sunday following one of the busiest weeks in the mountain's climbing season.
A veteran Sherpa guide scaled Everest on Thursday for a record 18th time. Appa, who like most Sherpas goes by only one name, reached the summit along with several colleagues. He was among more than 80 climbers to reach the summit that day — the largest number ever in a single day from the Nepalese side of the peak.
Mountaineers were able to resume Everest climbs on May 9 after the Nepalese government lifted a temporary ban ordered to prevent protests against China's rule in Tibet during an ascent by Chinese climbers carrying the Olympic torch.
The Chinese torch team scaled the summit on May 8 — from the northern Tibetan side of Everest — and Nepal lifted the ban a day later.
On the Net:
News about Everest: www.mounteverest.net
2. Licorice Extract Provides New Treatment Option for Canker Sores
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-05/aogd-lep052208.php
CHICAGO
May 22, 2008
What common oral condition appears as shallow ulcers of different sizes, affects one in five Americans, can be caused by food allergies and hormonal changes, and also can cause severe mouth pain? Commonly referred to as “canker sores,” recurrent aphthous ulcers (RAU) now can be treated by an extract in licorice root herbal extract, according to a study published in the March/April 2008 issue of General Dentistry, the Academy of General Dentistry’s (AGD) clinical, peer-reviewed journal.
The authors examined the effects of an over-the-counter medicated adhesive patch (with extract from the licorice root) for treatment of RAU versus no treatment. After seven days of treatment, ulcer size in the group who received the adhesive patch with licorice extract was significantly lower, while ulcer size in the no-treatment group had increased 13 percent.
Licorice root extract was used as a prescribed treatment for gastric ulcers until the 1970s, according to the study. In its original form, licorice root extract has a very strong taste. However, when combined with a self-adhering, time-release, dissolving oral patch, the taste is mild and pleasant.
Among the causes of canker sores, a genetic predisposition might be the biggest cause, says Michael Martin, DMD, PhD, lead author of the study. “When both parents have a history of canker sores, the likelihood of their children developing them can be as high as 90 percent,” he says.
The most serious side effect of canker sores is sharp pain in the mouth, which can interfere with an individual’s quality of life and affect their eating, drinking or speech. Dr. Martin revealed that “in addition to speeding healing of the canker sores, the adhesive patch helped to reduce pain after just three days of treatment.”
Those who experience canker sores on a regular basis can visit their dentist for treatment techniques. “Dentists can give patients the proper medication and treatment options to seal the lesions, which will prevent further infection,” says Eric Shapira, DDS, MAGD, AGD spokesperson and expert on alternative medicine. “Also, increasing vitamins and other herbs, such as Vitamin C and zinc, can help treat canker sores because they help to regenerate tissue cells,” Dr. Shapira adds.
Common causes of canker sores:
Local trauma and stress
Diet and food allergies
Hormonal changes
Use of certain medications
Common treatments of canker sores:
Antimicrobial mouthwashes
Local painkillers
Over-the-counter remedies (oral adhesive patches, liquids and gels)
The AGD is a professional association of more than 35,000 general dentists dedicated to staying up-to-date in the profession through continuing education. Founded in 1952, the AGD has grown to become the world’s second largest dental association, which is the only association that exclusively represents the needs and interests of general dentists.
More than 786,000 persons are employed directly in the field of general dentistry. A general dentist is the primary care provider for patients of all ages and is responsible for the diagnosis, treatment, management and overall coordination of services related to patients’ oral health needs.
3. PFC Ross McGinnis Posthumously Awarded Medal of Honor
http://northshorejournal.org/index.php/2008/05/ross-mcginnis-and-the-medal-of-honor
May 23, 2008
Redemption, Courage, Sacrifice
Somewhere near here, Valhalla or Fiddler’s Green, a band of brothers is welcoming a new friend. Standing at attention are men like Alvin York, Audie Murphy and Douglas MacArthur. A new hero has come home.
It wasn’t a very long road for Ross McGinnis. He was just 19 when he became a legend. It had not been a long road but it had some twists and turns.
Ross McGinnis was not always hero material. He grew up in a small town in western Pennsylvania, the only boy in a family with two gifted girls. His father suggests Bart Simpson as a good image of this underachiever.
At fourteen he made several mistakes, bought some marijuana and talked about it at school. When school administrators looked further, they found a couple of knives in his locker.
Suspension and court followed.
Given time to think, Ross thought. At some point he talked with an Army recruiter. In his junior year he enlisted in the United States Army under the delayed enlistment program. Those who knew him saw the change. Despite academic struggles, he graduated from high school and joined the Army.
After basic and advanced infantry training, Ross came home on leave. He was a changed man. He was a soldier.
In Germany, training for deployment to Iraq, Ross made his mark with his fellow soldiers. He was the platoon funny man, able to make men laugh even after a long day. He was also recognized as a born leader, and excelled at the skills a combat soldier needs.
His unit was assigned to northeastern Baghdad, and violence was a daily happening. In late November his unit fought off a five hour attack in which dozens of the enemy were killed. McGinnis’s photo was on the cover of the Middle East edition of Stars & Stripes for November 30 as they covered that battle.
December 4, 2006 was like most days. The unit geared up for a patrol and the delivery of a generator. Six vehicles pulled out of Combat Outpost Apache. McGinnis was the .50 cal gunner on the rear vehicle, a position he was expert at.
The vehicles ahead heard an explosion and when they looked, found McGinnis’s vehicle severely damaged with all four of its doors blown off. Medics found four wounded soldiers and McGinnis. McGinnis was dead.
It all happened in a matter of seconds.
McGinnis saw an insurgent throw a grenade from a nearby rooftop. He tried to deflect it but it dropped through the hatch behind him. Training told him to holler “Grenade” and then jump clear. That is not what this hero did.
He saw the grenade lodged in some equipment below him. The doors were locked and the four soldiers in the truck had no chance to escape. McGinnis dropped down into the Humvee and pressed his back against the radio where the grenade had come to rest, covering the blast with his body.
Ross McGinnis, a little over six feet tall and a lanky 130 some pounds, took the force of the explosion. One of the other soldiers was seriously wounded, and the other three received less serious injuries. All of them lived because of Ross McGinnis.
On June 2, 2008 the President of the United States will present the Medal of Honor to the family of Ross McGinnis. He will speak about courage and sacrifice. His fellow heroes in Valhalla and Fiddler’s Green know all about that.
It may be the the President of the United States will also talk about redemption. Ross McGinnis was once a troubled youth on a clear path to nowhere. Then, he chose to become a soldier in the United States Army. He chose to become a warrior.
This young man, this ordinary young man, found a place that gave him a path, people who became comrades and friends, and he found a time that for all eternity became his time.
God bless you, Ross McGinnis.
4. WCI Student Isolates Microbe that Lunches on Plastic Bags
http://news.therecord.com/article/354044
Karen Kawawada
22 May 2008
Getting ordinary plastic bags to rot away like banana peels would be an environmental dream come true. After all, we produce 500 billion a year worldwide and they take up to 1,000 years to decompose. They take up space in landfills, litter our streets and parks, pollute the oceans and kill the animals that eat them.
Now a Waterloo teenager has found a way to make plastic bags degrade faster -- in three months, he figures.
Daniel Burd's project won the top prize at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Ottawa. He came back with a long list of awards, including a $10,000 prize, a $20,000 scholarship, and recognition that he has found a practical way to help the environment.
Daniel, a 16-year-old Grade 11 student at Waterloo Collegiate Institute, got the idea for his project from everyday life.
"Almost every week I have to do chores and when I open the closet door, I have this avalanche of plastic bags falling on top of me," he said. "One day, I got tired of it and I wanted to know what other people are doing with these plastic bags."
The answer: not much. So he decided to do something himself.
He knew plastic does eventually degrade, and figured microorganisms must be behind it. His goal was to isolate the microorganisms that can break down plastic -- not an easy task because they don't exist in high numbers in nature.
First, he ground plastic bags into a powder. Next, he used ordinary household chemicals, yeast and tap water to create a solution that would encourage microbe growth. To that, he added the plastic powder and dirt. Then the solution sat in a shaker at 30 degrees.
After three months of upping the concentration of plastic-eating microbes, Burd filtered out the remaining plastic powder and put his bacterial culture into three flasks with strips of plastic cut from grocery bags. As a control, he also added plastic to flasks containing boiled and therefore dead bacterial culture.
Six weeks later, he weighed the strips of plastic. The control strips were the same. But the ones that had been in the live bacterial culture weighed an average of 17 per cent less.
That wasn't good enough for Burd. To identify the bacteria in his culture, he let them grow on agar plates and found he had four types of microbes. He tested those on more plastic strips and found only the second was capable of significant plastic degradation.
Next, Burd tried mixing his most effective strain with the others. He found strains one and two together produced a 32 per cent weight loss in his plastic strips. His theory is strain one helps strain two reproduce.
Tests to identify the strains found strain two was Sphingomonas bacteria and the helper was Pseudomonas.
A researcher in Ireland has found Pseudomonas is capable of degrading polystyrene, but as far as Burd and his teacher Mark Menhennet know -- and they've looked -- Burd's research on polyethelene plastic bags is a first.
Next, Burd tested his strains' effectiveness at different temperatures, concentrations and with the addition of sodium acetate as a ready source of carbon to help bacteria grow.
At 37 degrees and optimal bacterial concentration, with a bit of sodium acetate thrown in, Burd achieved 43 per cent degradation within six weeks.
The plastic he fished out then was visibly clearer and more brittle, and Burd guesses after six more weeks, it would be gone. He hasn't tried that yet.
To see if his process would work on a larger scale, he tried it with five or six whole bags in a bucket with the bacterial culture. That worked too.
Industrial application should be easy, said Burd. "All you need is a fermenter . . . your growth medium, your microbes and your plastic bags."
The inputs are cheap, maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because microbes produce heat as they work, and the only outputs are water and tiny levels of carbon dioxide -- each microbe produces only 0.01 per cent of its own infinitesimal weight in carbon dioxide, said Burd.
"This is a huge, huge step forward . . . We're using nature to solve a man-made problem."
Burd would like to take his project further and see it be used. He plans to study science at university, but in the meantime he's busy with things such as student council, sports and music.
"Dan is definitely a talented student all around and is poised to be a leading scientist in our community," said Menhennet, who led the school's science fair team but says he only helped Burd with paperwork.
Other local students also did well at the national science fair.
Devin Howard of St. John's Kilmarnock School won a gold medal in life science and several scholarships.
Mackenzie Carter of St. John's Kilmarnock won bronze medals in the automotive and engineering categories.
Engineers Without Borders awarded Jeff Graansma of Forest Heights Collegiate a free trip to their national conference in January.
Zach Elgood of Courtland Avenue Public School got honourable mention in earth and environmental science.
kkawawada@therecord.com
5. Wired How to Wiki: Tips for Green Lawn Care
http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Tips_for_Green_Lawn_Care
From Wired How-To Wiki
23 May 2008
A lush, well-manicured lawn is one of those features that helps define suburbia. Large swaths of neatly-cut grass aren't typically a dominant characteristic of the big city landscape, but lawns sure seem important in the 'burbs. And the greener the better.
The problem is, green isn't particularly Green, at least using traditional equipment and methods. Excessive lawn watering, pesticides and millions of gas-powered lawn mowers have all helped put the boots to the environment. Fortunately, there are ways to make that suburban green space a little more green.
The Environmental Protection Agency has long recognized that gas lawn mowers pose a threat to the environment. They are significant sources of air pollution and contribute to escalating urban smog issues, with some researchers claiming that fully 5% of all air pollution in the US is directly caused by gas lawn mowers. Emissions include carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides. In 1996, the EPA announced a program to enforce new emission standards for gas mowers, claiming that a single machine would put out as much air pollution in an hour as eleven cars. You may have noticed that was twelve years ago; the deadline for that program has been repeatedly delayed but has most recently been proposed for an effective date of 2011.
Regardless of whether you believe the studies or not, there's no disputing the fact that firing up your gas burner is noisy and the fuel is becoming increasingly expensive. Here are some common sense tips for minimizing your environmental impact should you opt to stick with or purchase a new gas lawn mower:
Unless you have mobility issues or live on the suburban equivalent of a plantation, you probably don't need a riding mower. It takes a big engine and a lot of energy to lug you around -- you could be getting some exercise by pushing.
Ditto for self-propelled mowers, although obviously on a smaller scale.
If you must use a riding mower, surely you have better things to do than race it, despite what Hank Hill might have to say on the matter.
Make sure you right size the engine. If you have a 500 square foot lawn that you cut weekly, chances are a 6.75 HP behemoth is overkill for your situation. Consider a mower with a smaller, more fuel-efficient engine
The EPA has a series of tips for making the best of your gasoline-guzzling beast including these:
- Avoid spilling gasoline when filling the tank (apparently, someone did the math and calculated that gas spills while filling lawn mowers add up to in excess of 12 million gallons per season)
- Maintain your mower, including regular oil and air filter changes and tune-ups
- Keep the blade sharp
- The EPA's full list of tips is available as a PDF download
Electric and Battery Powered Mowers
There are two options when it comes to electric mowers: plug-in models and battery-powered versions. Both save you from having to buy and store gasoline and both put an end to the smelly, noxious emissions of the gas engines. They are also considerably quieter than gas mowers. A typical yard is estimated to require approximately ten cents worth of electricity to cut, whether it's via plug in or charging a battery); of course your actual mileage will vary depending on local utility rates and the size of your yard.
Plug-in Mowers
These can be a nuisance, since you're effectively tethered to an electrical outlet and you have to avoid running over the power cord. However, there are advantages: no battery means an extremely light push and no worries about recharging or running out of power mid-cut.
Battery-Powered Mowers
Still lighter than most gas-powered counterparts and you get all the bonuses of electric power. Depending on the mower and the size of your yard, you may have to buy a second battery to get through the whole job, but keeping power available when you need it is mostly a matter of organization.
The Wired Test
Wired tested a series of electric lawn mowers in the summer of 2007, and there are even more choices now. I bought a Neuton battery-powered model this spring, and while it hasn't seen a lot of use yet, I have been impressed so far by its lack of noise, maneuverability, charge duration and quality of cut. My wife appreciates how light it is and likes the funky color and little lizards molded onto the wheels. I would have been happier with charging grizzly bear wheels or even a growling jaguar, but hey, we're all doing our part to be Green, right?
The Cost of Switching
Does it use more energy and generate more pollution to build and ship a new mower than you'll remove from the equation by making the switch? And where is that gas mower going- to a landfill? What about the fuel used to power the plant that generates the electricity used by your mower? It could be coal. Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all.
As with so many initiatives around replacing older, polluting technology with more efficient models, arguments can be made either way. According to The Clean Air Foundation, a standard gas-powered lawn mower will generate as much pollution in an hour of operation as a typical new car would if it were driven 340 miles (http://www.cleanairfoundation.org/mowdownpollution/index.asp). Canadian figures estimate that gas powered lawn mowers in that country consume 40 million gallons of gasoline per year and release nearly 90,000 tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Ultimately, getting rid of the old gas mowers and replacing them with cleaner technology will cut down on noise pollution, reduce localized air pollution (and smog), reduce oil use and should save the average consumer some money over the lifetime of their mower. Just make certain to dispose of the old gas mower at a recycling facility instead of simply throwing it in the landfill.
Ultimate Green: People Power
If you want to mow your grass in a way that has the least direct impact on the environment, it's tough to beat pushing around an old-fashioned push-reel mower. The kind your grandparents (or maybe their parents) used before gas mowers took over the yard. They still feature zero emissions, no fuel spillage risk and minimal noise pollution. Reel mowers are even less expensive to purchase than most gas mowers and they take up a lot less storage space. Also, most professionals agree that reel mowers offer a superior cut to a rotary blade (many golf courses use reel mowers).
Using them is beneficial for you, since you get exercise. Plus, you can cut the grass at 8am on a Sunday without worry of noise complaints from your neighbors.
So what's the catch? Well, people power has a few issues:
Sharpening the blades of a reel mower has become a lost art. Many manufacturers sell do-it-yourself sharpening kits, but there's no getting around the fact that it's a yearly pain.
Cutting your lawn will give you a workout -- for a large yard, this becomes more of an issue.
Tall, thick grass can become an extreme workout and grasses or weeds with tough stems can require multiple passes to cut. I spent last summer re-living my youth with a high quality reel mower, but turned it in this year for the electric model solely because my less-than-golf course-perfect lawn required me to spend an hour attacking it with a weed-whacker after multiple mowing passes, because of those tough weed stems that the reel mower simply couldn't handle.
If you live in a rural area you might want to consider sheep. The emissions aren't exactly pleasant, but they are biodegradable and the fuel cost is pretty much zilch.
Going back to the sheep model, manufacturers have brought a more high tech version of the semi-random, unmanned lawn care to the table: the robotic lawnmower. Most (if not all) models employ rechargeable batteries to do the grunt work while you're away working to pay for them, and some are available with solar recharging docking stations.
Don't worry, if our Robot Overlords take command of your robo-mower and turn it against you, you'd have to be pretty slow to fall victim to it; and wearing steel-toed boots would make you pretty much invincible, should it somehow sneak up on you. Wired has a news feature on robotic mowers, from consumer to industrial grades.
If you find the idea of a robotic lawn mower a tad threatening, how about softening the machine's image with a Ladybug Personality Sticker Kit?
Go Solar
For a slightly less cool, but still extremely green option, there are battery-powered hand mowers like a model from Solaris available with solar charging stations. That's right, you can take your lawn mowing completely off the grid.
Extreme Options: Lose The Grass Altogether
Photo: "something like this song" by nickd via Flickr
It may be subject to local bylaws, but some people have given up on the lawn altogether and opted for natural vegetation or even simply piled rocks where their lawns once were. Done right, this can look pretty good (the photo shows a nice urban front yard). The grass-free look certainly cuts down on maintenance, although if you have kids or play a lot of touch football in your yard, it may not be the option for you.
For a slightly less extreme variation, reduce the amount of grass and plant more gardens and shrubs instead. If you concentrate on native plant species, you can have an attractive garden that needs less watering and maintenance than grass, while saving you some mowing time.
Tips & Tricks for "Green" Lawn Maintenance
There's simply no excuse to be spraying pesticide on your lawn. Even if it's still legal in your city, pass on the poisons and pull out the weeds instead of spraying. Hire a kid to do it if that's not your thing.
Got grubs? Consider nematodes instead of chemical treatment options. The idea of a bunch of microscopic parasites hunting down and killing the grubs beneath your lawn has a certain macabre charm, doesn't it?
Mulch and leave the grass clippings on your lawn as natural fertilizer.
Cut the grass higher (try in the 3" to 3.5" range) to encourage deeper roots, retain moisture and discourage weeds.
If you must water your lawn, do it early in the morning to reduce evaporation; don't water at night as this could make the grass susceptible to disease.
A heavy watering (1" to 2" of water) once or twice a week promotes deeper root growth and is better for the lawn than frequent, light watering.
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