Snowflakes Up Close: A Small, Fragile World
If you’re one of those people who likes to ponder things while looking out a frosty window on a cold winter day, these pictures will clear up one of those long standing wonders: each snowflake really IS unique. Some look like roman columns, others circuit boards or spaceships. Taken under high magnification using a microscope, these images bring a fragile and beautiful world into view. See Also HARMFUL VIRUSES MADE OF BEAUTIFUL GLASS They say that every snowflake is different. Source: akirathedon.com Known in some circles as the most amazing man in the universe, he once saved an entire family of muskrats from a sinking, fire engulfed steamboat while recovering from two broken arms relating to a botched no-chute wingsuit landing in North Korea.
3 Ways to Tell Time Without a Clock
Edit Article Sun PositionReading the MoonNorth Star Clock Edited by Jen, Nicole Willson, Dan McGillen, [UCF] grego and 50 others For many people, knowing the correct time is vital to everyday life. If you're in an unfamiliar environment without any kind of clock, however, figuring out the time could be a matter of safety and survival. Without a clock or watch, finding the exact time may not be possible, but you can figure the approximate time using the sun, moon or stars. Ad Steps Method 1 of 3: Sun Position 1Make note of the position of the sun. 4Determine which segment the sun is in. Method 2 of 3: Reading the Moon[2] 1Find the moon. Method 3 of 3: North Star Clock 1Locate the Big Dipper constellation. 6Correct for daylight saving time and time zone variation. Tips Don't forget to correct for daylight saving time.Don't stress out about exact numbers. Warnings
Lungs Can Taste! Weird Discovery Points to New Asthma Treatments | 80beats |...
Your lungs know a bitter sensation when they taste one. Yes, taste. In a Nature Medicine study, Stephen B. Like tastebuds on the tongue, the receptors react to bitterness, but unlike tastebuds they do not send any signals to the brain. The researchers first thought that bitter compounds might trigger a constriction of the airways, to prevent toxins from further infiltrating the lungs. Liggett’s team had been looking for new means to relax and open up a person’s airway, beyond the standard beta 2 agonist inhalant for asthma patients, when they stumbled upon this. When the researchers tried bitter aerosols on constricted airways in mice or on sections of human airways freshly removed from cancer patients, they were surprised to discover the lung muscles quickly relaxed. The team’s discovery doesn’t point to a cure for asthma. There are thousands of compounds known to have a bitter taste, such as quinine and many drugs, he said. Image: iStockphoto
72 Uses For Simple Household Products To Save Money & Avoid Toxins
Limiting the amount of products you bring into your home will not only cut down on costs at the grocery store but will keep you and your family healthier. Below is a list of some common uses for seven household products. Add some drops of essentials oils like lavender, rose, or sweet orange to any of them for extra pleasure! Here are a few more tips to help you go green and save money! Cut up old bath towels. Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com
UC Berkeley Press Release
By Yasmin Anwar, Media Relations | 08 December 2009 BERKELEY — Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, are challenging long-held beliefs that human beings are wired to be selfish. In a wide range of studies, social scientists are amassing a growing body of evidence to show we are evolving to become more compassionate and collaborative in our quest to survive and thrive. (Photo illustration by Jonathan Payne) In contrast to "every man for himself" interpretations of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, Dacher Keltner, a UC Berkeley psychologist and author of "Born to be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life," and his fellow social scientists are building the case that humans are successful as a species precisely because of our nurturing, altruistic and compassionate traits. They call it "survival of the kindest." Empathy in our genes "The tendency to be more empathetic may be influenced by a single gene,” Rodrigues said. Cultivating the greater good
Jungle Survival: Finding Water"
Because jungles are so wet, collecting rainwater is probably the easiest part of survival. Leaves on the rainforest floor are large because of the limited amount of sunlight they get. The larger the leaf, the more of the sun's rays it can soak up. You'll fare even better if you can find a running water source. Believe it or not, plastic bottles also work for boiling. Green bamboo has clear and odorless water inside it that you can drink. Another way to collect water is to make a solar still. Choose a moist area that gets sunlight for most of the day.Dig a bowl-shaped hole about 3 feet across (91 centimeters) and 2 feet deep (60 centimeters), with an additional sump, or deeper pit, in the center.Place the container into the sump.Place the plastic over the hole and cover the sides with rock and soil to keep it secure.Put your rock in the center of the sheet and let it hang down about 18 inches (45 centimeters), directly over the container, to form an inverted cone.
How did life originate?
How did life originate? Living things (even ancient organisms like bacteria) are enormously complex. However, all this complexity did not leap fully-formed from the primordial soup. Instead life almost certainly originated in a series of small steps, each building upon the complexity that evolved previously: Simple organic molecules were formed. Simple organic molecules, similar to the nucleotide shown below, are the building blocks of life and must have been involved in its origin. Multicellularity evolved.
