Gleanings of the Week Ending October 5, 2013

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Travel into the Wilderness of Olympic National Park and Listen to the Sounds of Nature - A short video from Olympic National Park. It’s about the sounds but had good sights from the park as well.

Birch for Breakfast? Meet Maple Syrup's Long-Lost Cousins - Learn about other trees that have sweet sap.

125th Anniversary Issue of National Geographic Magazine - The October issue of National Geographic is about ‘the power of photography.’ My Modern Met posted a sampling of the images.

The science behind power naps, and why they're so damn good for you - Isn’t it wonder that something so enjoyable is also good for you?

10 Cities Most at Risk from Natural Disasters - The list includes: Tehran, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Kolkata, Nagoya, Jakarta, Osaka and Kobe, The Pearl River Delta (includes Hong Kong), Manila, Tokyo and Yokohama. Look through the slide show to see the rationale for why they are in the top 10. The report that the post was derived from is here.

Rising Rates of Severe and Fatal Sepsis during Labor and Delivery - This is a finding in developed countries! There are some conditions that increase the risk (microbial resistance, obesity, smoking, substance abuse and poor general health) but many cases occur in women with no recognized risk factors. What a terrible trend.

Striking natural landscapes that look like works of fantasy art - From around the world.

A mysterious fire transformed North America's greatest city in 1170 - I walked around Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site a few years ago....glad to see what recent research has found.

Digital Inequality and Inclusion in Japan - A post from an undergraduate student from Japan at MIT.

3D printing techniques will be used to construct buildings, here and in outer space - There has been a lot of hype about 3D printing. Could ‘Contour Crafting’ really be used to build a house in less than 20 hours? Reading the article left a lot of unanswered question. It is an interesting idea though.