Research & Rescue

Caterpillars use fake eyes to stare down birds

Why do hundreds of species of tropical caterpillars display a fascinating variety of eye-like and face-like color patterns—the kinds of designs that scare off insect-eating birds and make a harmless and vulnerable caterpillar look like a poisonous snake? Daniel Janzen, a biologist at the University of Pennsylvania, may have the answer.

Read the rest at futurity.org

Purple Snow in Russia

I missed this story when it came out back in early May but, fortunately, Bodewadmi on Twitter posted a link to it Sunday evening. Apparently, back in May, Stavropol experienced a storm of purple snow, that was the result of a dust cyclone in Africa that mixed with clouds and descended again in Russia as part of the precipitation. You can watch the video here and theres a link to the article below.

Read the original at Prime Time Russia

Monsoon Awareness

Last night in Rancho Viejo, Eldorado, Lamy, and Galisteo, we were treated to one the most spectacular lightning shows we'd seen in a long time (if you know of some great pictures from last night, please post links in the comments of this post). As we were driving, I was suggesting that it was a bit early for monsoons and that I remembered them being closer to July. Apparently, though, we're pretty much right on target and this is Monsoon Awareness Week in New Mexico. Check out the info page at the National Weather Service:

New Mexico is affected by the North American Monsoon System (NAMS) every summer, and the “Monsoon Season” is designated as the period lasting from June 15th through September 30th. With the onset of the Monsoon, New Mexico is typically impacted by a variety of weather hazards that can often put the population at risk for serious injury or death. Thunderstorm frequency increases during this period, while exceptionally hot days are common as well.

via www.srh.noaa.gov

How to Forecast Weather

Coolness from Marisys Marine Electronics. I guess you use this if their product fails? Just kidding. Click the image for larger poster.

via www.marisys.com

Government Report Finds Dangerous Residues in Meat

I don't have any proof of this and it's purely conjecture but I suspect that all the maladies that seem to be appearing in society, like autism, skin problems, fibromyalgia, etc. have a lot to do with all the crap that goes into our food and into our food and water supply.

Many food consumers worry about pathogens like E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria in their meat. But according to a new government report, they should worry more about veterinary drugs, pesticides and heavy metals in their food.

A new Office of Inspector General (OIG) report released last month finds the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) fails to test for many drugs in cattle, inadequately tests for others and fails to recall meat which is clearly contaminated.

Read the rest at blogs.alternet.org

Are engineers more likely to become terrorists?

I promise to no longer give my engineering colleagues a hard time. Oh, well maybe except for occasionally bringing this piece from Slate up at every given opportunity...

A paper (PDF) released this summer by two sociologists, Diego Gambetta and Steffen Hertog, adds empirical evidence to this observation. The pair looked at more than 400 radical Islamic terrorists from more than 30 nations in the Middle East and Africa born mostly between the 1950s and 1970s. Earlier studies had shown that terrorists tend to be wealthier and better-educated than their countrymen, but Gambetta and Hertog found that engineers, in particular, were three to four times more likely to become violent terrorists than their peers in finance, medicine or the sciences. The next most radicalizing graduate degree, in a distant second, was Islamic Studies.

via www.slate.com

'Mini skirt meteorology' used to predict weather

The rises and falls in the length of skirts are said to be a good way of forecasting what the weather will be like three days in advance, based on research at eBay.

Analysts at the company said the length of skirts sold on the website becomes shorter several days before the weather changes for the better, and lengthens when colder conditions are due.

Read the rest www.telegraph.co.uk

New Ebola Drug 100 Percent Effective In Monkeys

The Ebola virus first emerged in 1976, striking fear with the uncontrollable bleeding it causes and mortality rates up to 90 percent. Ever since then, scientists have been struggling to find a way to treat the infection or protect against it.

There has been progress, but nothing quite like the report in the May 28 issue of the scientific journal The Lancet. A team led by Thomas Geisbert of Boston University has used an experimental drug to protect monkeys from death after injecting them with massive doses of the most lethal strain of Ebola.

Read/listen to the rest at www.npr.org

Futurity.org – No link between cell phones and brain cancer

Sorry, Mr. Tinfoil Hat Man....

Results from the largest epidemiological study of mobile phone use to date shows no link between mobile phones and brain tumors.

The study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, combines information from the 13 countries that took part in the study and focuses on the two main types of brain tumor: glioma and meningioma.

“Overall this research has not shown evidence of an increased risk of developing a glioma or meningioma brain tumor as a result of using a mobile phone. This is consistent with published biological studies, which have not established any effect of exposure to radiation from mobile phones at a cellular level nor found a mechanism by which cancer could be caused,” says Patricia McKinney, epidemiologist at the University of Leeds and leader of the U.K. North part of the Interphone study.

Read the rest at futurity.org

ADHD Linked to Pesticides in Produce

NEW YORK - Children exposed to pesticides known as organophosphates could have a higher risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a new study.

"There is growing concern that these pesticides may be related to ADHD," said Marc Weisskopf of the Harvard School of Public Health, who worked on the study. "What this paper specifically highlights is that this may be true even at low concentrations." (photo by Flickr user D'Arcy Norman)

Researchers tracked the pesticides' breakdown products in kids' urine and found those with high levels were almost twice as likely to develop ADHD as those with undetectable levels.

The findings are based on data from the general U.S. population, meaning that exposure to the pesticides could be harmful even at levels commonly found in children's environment.

"There is growing concern that these pesticides may be related to ADHD," said Marc Weisskopf of the Harvard School of Public Health, who worked on the study. "What this paper specifically highlights is that this may be true even at low concentrations."

Read the rest at www.commondreams.org