Gleanings of the Week Ending August 27, 2022

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

We asked children how they experienced poverty. Here are 6 changed needed now – This was a study done in Australia. I wonder how applicable these findings are around the world.

The identical twins who discovered their secret sibling – An adoption agency that separated twins for adoption in the 1960s…and the researchers that were part of that process. Fast forward to 2022.

Heat wave reveals 17th-century English gardens – Longleat Gardens….a whisper of the past…from before the transition to natural parkland in the 18th century.

Is this the end of DC’s most-beloved hidden landmark? – I’ve never seen (or known about) the Capitol stones in Rock Creek Park but I’ve noticed the old columns dating from the same period that are in the National Arboretum. They are certainly a landmark!

Painted Bunting: The Fun of Local Bird Quests – I remember seeing some painted buntings at a Florida National Wildlife refuge and an indigo bunting under my bird feeder in Maryland. They are special birds!

Colorful solar panels could make the technology more attractive – Color is a lower priority than efficiency for me, but it could be very important in some applications.

A Beginner’s Guide to Butterfly Watching – I wish there were more butterflies to watch! It seems like every year there are fewer of them around.

Taming Tomorrow’s Wildfires – There is a wildfire burning somewhere in the US all the time recently. It’s important that we make changes to reduce their devastation.

New drug candidate fights off more than 300 drug-resistant bacteria – Antibiotics have been around for my whole life…but there is always the discomfort that more bacteria are becoming resistant…and there could come a time that the pre-antibiotic killers will beginning killing people again. I’m glad there are new drugs in development to take up the fight.

Olmec contortionist Reliefs Uncovered in Mexico – Artifacts from a civilization known for colossal head sculptures….hints of their culture.

Gleanings of the Week Ending May 14, 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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