Racially diverse 'new majority' set to reshape US public schools
Modes of thought
For the first time, classrooms in public schools are filled mostly by nonwhite students. The concerns of minority parents could change American schools and education policies.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/The Christian Science Monitor/FILE
America’s public schools are a snapshot of a changing America: Since 2014, for the first time in the country’s history, a majority of those in public schools have been students of color.
That’s more than just a statistic. The rise of this “new majority” promises to have sweeping effects on American schools over time. The voices and interests of these students and their parents will need to be better woven into the decisionmaking that affects United States classrooms, many education experts say.
What’s their emerging message? In part it’s in keeping with the age-old desires of families everywhere: a good education in safe schools. But it’s also a call for greater equity in school quality – a longstanding sore spot in America’s education system that’s growing harder to ignore. And for some in this new majority, the definition of a good education includes shaping lessons that truly embrace diversity.
Consider just this one finding from a new poll of black and Latino parents: The sense of racial bias was so strong for some parents that a quarter of Latinos and a third of African-Americans agreed with the statement, “Schools in the US are not really trying to educate Black/Latino students.”
The poll focused on education, and that one finding suggests that, despite years of education reforms, states have a long way to go to succeed in the dawning new-majority era. One of the places to start, judging by responses in the poll, is figuring out how to better fund schools in communities that don’t have the tax base of middle-class suburbia.
“The quality is not the same due to less funding,” a Latino parent said of schools serving primarily students of color, during a Chicago focus group tied to the poll. The parent said the money gap means “less teachers, less technology available … and less overall academic opportunities.”
And opportunity is the goal for these new-majority parents. Judging by the poll and focus-group responses, they want their kids held to rigorous standards and expectations, and they’re ready to do their part to prod their children forward. They just want schools to be up to the task at hand.
“Will states and school districts rise to the occasion and build a K-12 public education system designed to address the educational needs of students of color? Or will they shirk their duty … and condemn a majority of public school students to a future with little to no promise?” asks Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference Education Fund, in a report on the poll results.
What parents see
Mr. Henderson’s group is the research and education arm of a large civil rights coalition, and sponsored the new poll for a report titled, “New Education Majority: Attitudes and Aspirations of Parents and Families of Color.” The survey included 400 black and 400 Latino parents and guardians of school-age children, interviewed by phone in March by the polling firm Anzalone Liszt Grove Research (ALG).
More than three-quarters in the poll said schools in low-income communities – often those with many African-American or Latino residents – receive less funding than schools in wealthy communities. Parents who believed there are racial disparities in the quality of education attributed it primarily to this lack of funding. The next two factors they pointed to: lower teacher quality and overall racial bias.
“I’ve seen it so many times before. They don’t offer to black schools what they offer to white schools,” an African-American parent told a focus group in Philadelphia.
In all, 6 in 10 Latinos and 8 in 10 African-Americans in the survey said schools serving their group receive less than schools in white communities.
The vast majority also believed students should be challenged more and that low-income students should be held to the same or higher expectations, because of the importance of education as a path out of poverty or limited opportunities.
The call for better schools and greater equity comes at an important moment in national education policy. States are working to refine their school accountability systems within the parameters of the new federal education law known as the Every Student Succeeds Act. The law replaced the law known as “No Child Left Behind,” giving states greater flexibility in how to ensure strong schools.
As is often the case with polls of parents, more than 8 out of 10 said the school their children attend is good or excellent. But even within this question, the backdrop of racial equity lurked. Among African-Americans whose child attended a school that is mostly white, 94 percent rated the school highly, compared with 75 percent of those whose school was mostly black.
When asked an open-ended question about what factor is most important to make a great school, half cited good teachers.
Considering new priorities
The poll results may help broaden education policy agendas. In the dominant narrative around education reform, “a lot of the debates that we hear about … just don’t reflect what these new-majority parents have to say,” says Liz King, director of education policy for The Leadership Conference Education Fund. “The hemming and hawing about opt-out [related to standardized testing], for example, we just don’t see that as a priority concern.”
A majority of poll respondents said that when their children make it to college, it is largely due to the student’s and family’s efforts, while only about 15 percent said the school’s role was the most important factor.
But such family support is not always top of mind for educators at struggling schools.
In a high school in Florida that had some of the worst outcomes, an intervention leadership team at first thought of the families as largely unemployed and not particularly valuing education. The team believed that, in turn, this caused the children to not aspire to higher education.
After they surveyed the students, they found quite the opposite, according to an account by Rebecca Carlo, then-coordinator of a Florida project working with struggling learners.
Nearly all the students believed attending school beyond high school was an important goal, and more than 9 out of 10 said their family supported their educational goals and encouraged them to keep trying when things were difficult.
“Too often, the prevailing dialogue faults families of color for bad educational outcomes instead of grappling meaningfully and seriously with the need for the system to make different policy choices,” notes Mr. Henderson of The Leadership Conference Education Fund in the report, which acknowledges that the new majority includes Asians and Native Americans, who are likely to be included in future polls. “We cannot hope to build the public education system all children deserve without including the parents and families of the students who will most benefit from a truly high-quality education.”
But to truly engage with families in Latino and African-American neighborhoods to ensure equity will require a deeper dive into the subtext of the poll, said Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade, a longtime teacher in largely Latino East Oakland, Calif., and a professor at San Francisco State University, during a panel discussion following the poll’s release April 11.
When parents of color call for “rigor” in education, for instance, they aren’t necessarily calling for more academic tests. “You can’t be engaged in academically rigorous education without being engaged in a culturally relevant education,” he said. “For us, the inclusion and centrality of valuing our culture, valuing our history … is by definition what we mean by academic rigor.”


The Eland, an ox-like antelope, is the largest in the world. It belongs to the ‘spiral-horned’ subfamily, along with the likes of kudu and bushbuck.
There are two species. The first is the giant eland (Taurotragus derbianus) is slightly the larger of the two, and occurs in central and Western Africa. The second is the more familiar, common eland (Taurotragus oryx). It occurs in east and southern Africa, from Kenya to Botswana. Bulls of both species may top 900kg and stand 1.7m at the shoulder. Females are about half the male’s weight.
Eland inhabit open country, from montane grasslands to semi-deserts. They are shy and quick to retreat from disturbance, so a safari sighting is always something special.
5 Fascinating Facts About the Eland
- They are great jumpers, despite their huge size, and can clear a two-metre fence with ease.
- Listen closely and you’ll hear a distinct clicking sound as they approach. This is thought to come from their hooves, which splay apart and click back together under the animals’ great weight.
- It was both food and spiritual inspiration to the prehistoric hunter-gatherer peoples of southern Africa. And it features prominently in rock- and cave-art across the region. Today place names such as Elandsfontein and surnames such as Mpofu (‘eland’ in Zulu) suggest how central to the region’s culture this antelope once was.
- The giant eland is also called ‘Lord Derby's eland’ in honour of Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby. It was first seen in England between 1835 and 1851. At that time, Lord Derby sent botanist Joseph Burke to South Africa to collect animals for his museum and menagerie.
- The common eland is better adapted than cattle to the African environment, and is easily domesticated. It has been farmed for its meat and milk in both South Africa and Russia. A female can produce up to 7kg of milk per day, which is richer in fat than cow milk.
African Safari Tours
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4-Day Masai Mara Budget Camping Safari
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Kenya: Shared tour (max 7 people per vehicle)BudgetTented Camp
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April 23, 2004
Brown School Desegregation Case Examined in Spring Prologue Magazine
In the landmark ruling 50 years ago this spring, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the U.S. Supreme Court gave great impetus to the growing civil rights movement and put the issue of school desegregation on the national agenda.
The Spring issue of Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives and Records Administration explores the background of that case and the impact on the Topeka, KS, schools since then in an article by Jean Van Delinder, an associate professor of sociology at Oklahoma State University.
"The ruling that 'separate educational facilities are inherently unequal' brought racial issues into the forefront of the national consciousness as never before and forced all Americans to confront a racially divided society and undemocratic social practices," writes Van Delinder.
Also in Prologue, in "An Alleged Wife," author Robert Barde recounts the story of one immigrant from China who fought for two years to enter the United States during the era of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Barde is deputy director of the Institute of Business and Economic Research at the University of California at Berkeley.
The Spring Prologue also features some of the letters that children have written to Presidents of the United States, including one to Franklin D. Roosevelt from a young Cuban boy named Fidel Castro. The issue also examines the shopping list Meriwether Lewis had 200 years ago for supplies he needed for the Lewis & Clark expedition, which set out for America's uncharted west in May 1804.
And "Sounds of Crisis" provides a preview of the National Archives Experience, a new permanent exhibition that will open at the National Archives Building in Washington later this year. The article offers a sample of the many historical recordings in the holdings of the Archives.
For 35 years, Prologue has shared with readers the rich resources and programs of the National Archives, its regional archives, and the Presidential libraries. Each issue features historical articles-drawn from National Archives' holdings and written by noted historians, archivists, and experts-as well as articles explaining and describing many of the National Archives' activities and programs as the nation's recordkeeping agency. The Washington Post said, "Prologue . . . can be regarded quite literally as an invitation for further study. It is also consistently absorbing reading."
A 1-year subscription to Prologue costs $20. To begin a subscription, call 301-837-1850 or 1-800-234-8861, or print out the order form found on the web site at www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/subscribe_to_prologue.html. Mail orders to Prologue, P.O. Box 100684, Atlanta, GA, 30384. You can also fax credit card orders to Prologue at 301-837-0319.
Single copies of Prologue are available at The Archives Shop or at the Cashier's Office in the Washington or at the Publications Sales Office in College Park. Back issues are also available at the College Park location.
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GNED-3210 Experience and Expression
Students discover the uniqueness of each human life by reading and comparing life stories about transformative experiences. They learn to write in their own voice from their own life experience employing rhetorical modes such as narration, description, and reflection.
GNED-3250 Modes & Methods of Learning
This course shows ways to identify and apply diverse modes of learning to achieve ends such as acquiring knowledge of self and world, solving problems, producing works of art, or engaging in public speaking. Students learn to distinguish facts from values, intuition from logic, imagination from objective representation, beliefs from arguments, synthesis from analysis, and qualitative from quantitative reasoning. They practice self-awareness and employ evidence and logic as foundations of inquiry.
GNED-3310 Literary Analysis & Argument
Students travel the world in literature to explore ideas, passions, and the lives of people in other times and places. Discussions focus on viewpoints and aims of characters, narrative techniques, cultural contexts, and intentionality in reading and writing. Students refine their ability to read closely and critically and to analyze literary texts using a variety of academic approaches. They learn both how to construct analytical arguments about literary themes and how this skill can be transferred to other professional situations.
GNED-3350 Culture, Conflict & Social Research
Introduces students to the historic and cultural origins of contemporary conflicts and the attitudes and institutions that perpetuate them. They learn methods of research that can effectively address the issues and questions that arise in conflict situations. Students learn how to pose productive questions, formulate hypotheses, design logical and effective research strategies, address issues of reliability and validity, and observe ethical protocols. They each conduct and compose a modest research project and make an oral presentation according to professional standards.
GNED-3450 Foundations of Civilization
This course focuses on understanding differences between cultures and civilizations, including how both evolve from specific environmental conditions, and are shaped to address local challenges. This course examines the religious, economic, and political systems in such foundational zones as ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, India and China, and Greece and Rome.
GNED-3510 Ecology, Technology & Society
This course explores the interdependency of natural and social systems, the factors that contribute to the evolution and disappearance of species, and the human impact on natural environments by factors such as overpopulation, pollution, war, and excess consumption. It also examines more sustainable initiatives in waste management, and agricultural production, the use of alternative energies and technologies, and policy efforts to both conserve natural resources and ecosystems and build more sustainable communities.
The course explores the concept of Leadership as science, as art, and as service. In the process of studying cases of successful and failed leadership the course requires students to reflect on how to make their lives meaningful and productive through the cultivation and exercise of leadership skills. They learn how to employ creative means to achieve constructive ends and how, in the process, to serve with integrity as they draw upon the capacities of diverse human resources and deploy the skills of community building.
HUM-3011 Ancient Civilizations: Africa to Asia
An exploration of the daily lives of people of antiquity, their worldviews and methods of social and political organization, their discoveries, inventions and creations in literature, science, and spiritual practice, and ways in which we can derive inspiration from their cultures and histories.
HUM-3021 Greek and Roman Civilization
This course explores the historical and cultural evolution of classical Greece and Rome through the epics, dramas, histories and philosophies that both reflected and shaped the minds and events from the Classical world. Students consider how reason and observation came to challenge Greek mythological thinking and how the Roman Empire rose to dominance throughout the Mediterranean world. The golden age of Greece is compared with the achievement of the Romans and students learn of the influence of both on the founding fathers and philosophies of the American Republic.
HUM-3031 Jewish, Christian and Islamic Heritage
In addition to learning about the main themes of the sacred scriptures, students explore the diverse ways scholars have interpreted the Hebrew Scriptures, the New Testament, and the Qurâan. They explore how Judaism and Christianity took institutional shape and diversified over time. They view the Islamic world from the inside, examine its contributions to European civilization during the early Renaissance, and assess contemporary tensions and prejudices between the Muslim peoples and the West.
HUM-3041 Medieval Europe and the Renaissance
Study daily life, literature and philosophy of Europe from the medieval period through the Renaissance, Reformation and Enlightenment. Themes include the rise of chivalry, cult of Mary, the Crusades, formation of trading cities, emergence of new merchant class, the Inquisition, religious wars, tension between faith and reason, the rebirth of the scientific spirit, and the initial encounters with the new world. Students study selections of the great literature and philosophy that expressed the dynamic changes taking place during this period and left its lasting legacy.
HUM-3051 Colonialism, Capitalism & the Modern World
Students explore the impact of colonial contacts between Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia, the rise of revolutionary modes of thinking which challenged all forms of inherited dogma, oppression and exploitation. Exploration of major classics of literature, philosophy and history reveals the expanding power of the human mind, a new freedom of expression, questions of justice (in relation to conquest, slavery, and industrialization), the gradual emancipation women, and the emergence of democracy, socialism, evolutionism, utilitarianism, fascism, relativism, existentialism, and the many independence movements from African to Asia.
COM-3570 Short Story Writing
Through this course, students will gain appreciation for the short story form through writing their own stories as well as through analyzing short story literature. Students will be expected to create a well-crafted short story by doing multiple drafts, which will provide experience in developing story ideas, characters, plot, setting, theme and dialogue as well as in story writing techniques such as pace, voice, tension, and description that can be applied to creating fiction of any length.
COM-3580 Playwriting and Performance
Students will develop their understanding of the basic principles of play construction and acting. They will do so by acting out monologues and dialogues written by published playwrights, and by acting out their own written materials. By the end of the course, the class should have written and performed at least one play for an invited audience.
COM-3650 Multi-Genre Writing
This course is an introduction to the basic processes that underlie most creative writing, regardless of genre. It serves as a first experience for those who have never tried to write a poem, fiction, or play, and as a vital reminder of the primal bases of the experience for those who have written. Students will develop their competencies in several different genres of writing, and will also learn how to mix genres to enhance whatever they are working on.
COM-3700 Professional Writing
This course will help prepare students for writing as a profession. Students will do hands-on editing work, and will work with publishers and academics to refine their writings.
HIS-3000 Ohio History
This course traces the early geographical history of Ohio, the settlement by various Native American tribes, the economic, social and political life of these tribes. Students study the impact of European migration, the impact of abolitionism and the Civil War, and developments in both agriculture and industry.
HIS-3500 US History
This course covers the history of contact between European immigrants and Native Americans, the rise of the institution of slavery and its opposition, the American Revolution, and the Civil War. It also includes the period of Reconstruction, the impact of the Industrial Revolution, the perennial conflicts of class and ethnicity, and epic movements for greater civil rights and personal freedom.
LIT-4320 Literature of the Americas
This course is a study of representative works of fiction from Canada, the United States, and Latin America, including the Caribbean. The novel as a literary form and as a means of presenting cultural history and national identity are primary focuses. Fiction of the 20th century is emphasized, and novels of literary quality are highlighted. Students learn to analyze novels from a number of perspectives.
LIT-4500 Contemporary Theory Criticism
This course introduces some of the most penetrating and challenging contemporary theories which are currently applied to the analysis of literary texts: e.g., Marxism, psychoanalytic theories, structuralism, phenomenology, feminism, deconstructionist, and post-colonial cultural studies. Emphasis will be placed on how these theories can open up complementary ways of understanding and interpreting texts.
LIT 4520 American Literature
The literature in this course spans both the history of the U.S. and the cultural diversity of writers, both male & female. Within this broad frame, students read works which embody characteristic American themes such as conflicts over race, the struggle for equality, the pursuit of individual freedom, the questions of truth and destiny, the role of religious belief in a secular world, and the emergence of a multi-ethnic society. Students will discuss the distinctiveness of American contributions to world literature.
LIT 4620 English Literature
This course surveys the literature of the British Isles from the late eighteenth century to the modern day. It explores trends such as Romanticism, Imagism and Formalism, while addressing such themes as individual freedom, alienation, industrialism, the changing role of the family, and the impact of Imperialism. This course includes the study of poetry, short stories, short novels, and essays from a representative sample of important modern British authors.
LIT 4650 Shakespeare
This course will examine Shakespeare’s major writings, including his important plays and sonnets. It will also include some biographical information, including some of his personal correspondences, so that students gain insight into the relationship between his personal life and his authorship. Besides reading Shakespeare’s works, students will also engage in critical research on his writings.
PRO-4970 Senior Project
In this seminar, each student develops and carries out a project relevant to professional goals. The project generally involves background study or research, planning, implementation, evaluation, and preparation of a written report. Instructor permission required.


Unlike baby teeth in children, when an adult loses their permanent teeth as a result of decay or even an accident, the only way to replace the missing gap is to get an implant. Dentists offer their patients many types of implants, some of which are made to look and feel like the real thing. For some people, however, the option is not available. Those with certain health conditions such as diabetes and even people who have had cancer in the past have until now been deemed ineligible for implants. The reason being that the body has to adjust to the foreign device; your jawbone has to shift and adapt to properly accommodate the implant, and this is where the trouble lies for many people.
An Implant Change for Jawbone Loss
Fortunately, a recent development by scientists at the Universitat Jaume I, an institute located in Castellón, may be the answer patients have been looking for. They have made an implant that features a biodegradable coating that will facilitate the jawbone integration process much faster than standard implants with titanium. Researchers believe the new prototype will be able to reduce patient waiting times up to two months, as dentists can now apply artificial crowns in due time.
Inside the Implant: What Makes the Prototype Successful
So, how does it work?
Well, according to Julio Jose Suay, the scientist that coordinated the development of the prototype, the key is in the biodegradable covering. It “upon contact with the bone, dissolves…[and is] able to release silicon compounds and other bioactive molecules which induce bone generation” (Science Daily). These words will offer a breath of fresh relief to the thousands of patients who have been unable to receive implants as soon as they would have liked. With this new technology, jawbone loss will no longer be a barrier.
A Stronger Coating for a Stronger Bond
Interestingly enough, the prototype has actually steered away from previous implant production methods, as those made currently consist of a rougher coating material that is aimed to integrate the objects into the jawbone. The research team in Castellón has now found, however, that it is better to let the body run its own course. The release of molecules by way of the biodegradable covering makes for an easier and stronger bond, something which is very important for every implant recipient. Traditional implants may work fine for people who have healthy jawbones, but they simply do not work for many others.
Read the full article here.


When the first tweet was warbled back in 2006, no one had a clue how popular the new social media format would become. People were too busy poking fun at the name "Twitter" and the word for its news blasts -- "tweets." But Twitter pretty quickly became a popular way to chat with friends, strangers and even celebrities, plus stay on top of news and hot topics in popular culture.
Unfortunately, as with other social media, users began unintentionally offending others. Ever received a group email at work, drafted a reply to the sender criticizing another staff member copied in, and then accidentally hit "reply all" -- allowing the criticized staff member to read what you wrote? Similar mistakes are made on Twitter, too. Generally, these occurred when someone tweets a nasty message about, say, Kim Kardashian, referring to her as "@KimKardashian" instead of just "Kim Kardashian." When the @ symbol is used, the subject can see the offending tweet.
Of course, sometimes a sender intends to offend another. Such cyberbullying is increasingly common today. And getting out of hand. After actor Ashley Judd sent a rather innocuous tweet during a basketball game, saying her team's opponents were "playing dirty & can kiss my team's free throw making a--," innumerable Twitterites spat out hateful and sexually violent tweets at her [source: Alter].
Starting to rethink when and how you've used the @ sign in your tweets? Let's look at the origin of the symbol on Twitter, and how it should be properly and respectfully used.


My career as a baker has to a great extent been defined by yeast. Of course, the species of yeast that is dearest to me is the one that leavens bread dough, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This affinity for fermenting grain is, for bakers, what makes it special among the 600 or so other yeast strains that ferment grapes, grain, molasses, and potatoes for wine, beer, and whiskey, or that cause all sorts of bodily afflictions like prickly heat, athlete’s foot, and candidiasis. Since my relationship with yeast, while deep and abiding, exists in the narrow, though wide-reaching context of bread, that’s what I’ll be focusing on in this primer.
Yeast is, both literally and metaphorically, a transformational agent, in that it has the ability to change things into something else, through the process of fermentation. In bread baking we refer to it as leaven, which means “to raise, to bring to life or vivify”; yeast turns a lifeless lump made from flour, salt, and water into a living, growing mass that we then call bread dough. For this reason, yeast has an almost magical or alchemical reputation. Before the late 19th century, when scientists were able to begin analyzing it properly, yeast was viewed with an even greater sense of almost mystical awe, but now, even though we know what it is and how it functions, it still retains an aura of mystery.
What Is Yeast?
Yeast, in its categorical sense, is a fungus, from the same general kingdom as other fungi such as mushrooms, truffles, and molds. There are more than 100,000 formal species of fungus but some scientists believe there are probably more like 1.5 to 5 million uncataloged types. Because the cell walls are made of a substance called chitin rather than cellulose (as found in plants), and do not produce chlorophyll, fungi are not considered part of the plant or animal world, but exist in their own distinct kingdom. Fungi can be visible to the naked eye, such as with mushrooms, or can be microscopic in size, as are the single-celled fungi that fall in the genus we know as yeast.
As with bacteria, yeast and other fungi can be beneficialserving as the basis of many foods as well as medicines such as penicillin and other antibioticsor harmful, toxic, or psychotropic. (Indeed, fungi can be transformational by either healing or killing us.) And, while yeast fungi have been acting upon other organisms in the world for millions of years, living in both combative and symbiotic relationships with bacteria, plants, and animals, it has been only about 6,000 years (as far as history can tell us) that they have come under directed application and cultivation to do our bidding.
How Is Commercial Yeast Manufactured?
Commercial yeast production, a late-19th-century innovation, is a fascinating process. I often show my baking students a video, made a number of years ago by the Fleischmann Yeast Company, of how baking yeast is manufactured. A small vial of active yeast cells is inoculated into a large vat of carbohydrate-rich water, spiked with molasses and other nutrients. It is then pumped with air, causing the yeast to rapidly reproduce through a process called budding, splitting into 2 identical cells, then 4, then 8, then 16, and on and on until, in just hours, the entire vat is swimming with trillions of living Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. This yeasty liquid is then either shipped as fluid “cream yeast” to large-scale production bakeries, or dried on rotating drums into a paste-like substance that can be pressed into cakes and sold to smaller bakeries and even to home bakers through a few specialty markets as fresh, compressed yeast (aka “baker’s yeast”). Or, the liquid can be dried even further into a dry granulated powder called dry active yeast, to be used by both home and commercial bakers. More recently (for about 40 years or so now), a heartier, newer strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae has also been cultivated and then dried into an even smaller sandlike grain and packaged under a variety of product names such as instant yeast, bread machine yeast, perfect rise yeast, or rapid rise yeast.
How Yeast Works: Feeding and Fermentation
What was so fascinating about the video was that it showed how quickly the yeast cells multiplied under those ideal growth conditions in the lab, but how much more slowly and differently they worked when deployed in bread dough. This is because yeast can grow both aerobically and anaerobically, but it multiplies much faster when in the presence of lots of dissolved oxygen in that vat pumped with bubbles of air. In bread dough, though, which has little air, it must rely on slow, anaerobic growth, fed by available sugar in the dough rather than by oxygen. Hardly any multiplication or budding of the yeast occurs in dough; instead, the yeast metabolizes the sugars and breaks them downit ferments them, causing them to release carbon dioxide (like burping) and ethyl alcohol, or ethanol (like sweating). The rate of this fermentation is directly proportional to the temperature of the dough; the warmer it gets the faster the metabolic transformations take placeto a point (more on that later).


A tiny tree frog preserved in amber is believed to have lived about 25 million years ago, a Mexican researcher says. The chunk of amber containing the centimetre-long frog was uncovered by a miner in southern Chiapas state in 2005 and bought by a private collector, who lent it to scientists for study.
Only a few preserved frogs have been found in chunks of amber — a stone formed by ancient tree sap — mostly in the Dominican Republic. Like those, the frog found in Chiapas was of the genus Craugastor, whose relatives still inhabit the region. Gerardo Carbot, the biologist with the Chiapas Natural History and Ecology Institute who announced the discovery on Wednesday, said it was the first such frog found in amber in Mexico.
Carbot said he would like to extract a sample from the frog’s remains to see whether they contain well-preserved DNA, in order to identify the frog’s species. However, he expressed doubt that the stone’s owner would allow researchers to drill a small hole into the chunk of amber.


This artist's concept shows a glowing patch of ultraviolet light near Saturn's north pole that occurs at the "footprint" of the magnetic connection between Saturn and its moon Enceladus. The footprint and magnetic field lines are not visible to the naked eye, but were detected by the ultraviolet imaging spectrograph and the fields and particles instruments on NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The footprint, newly discovered by Cassini, marks the presence of an electrical circuit that connects Saturn with Enceladus and accelerates electrons and ions along the magnetic field lines. In this image, the footprint is in the white box marked on Saturn, with the magnetic field lines in white and purple.
A larger white square above Enceladus shows a cross-section of the magnetic field line between the moon and the planet. This pattern of energetic protons was detected by Cassini's magnetospheric imaging instrument (MIMI) on Aug. 11, 2008.
The patch near Saturn's north pole glows because of the same phenomenon that makes Saturn's well-known north and south polar auroras glow: energetic electrons diving into the planet's atmosphere. However, the "footprint" is not connected to the rings of auroras around Saturn's poles (shown as an orange ring around the north pole in this image).
The Cassini plasma spectrometer complemented the MIMI data, with detection of field-aligned electron beams in the area. A team of scientists analyzed the charged particle data and concluded that the electron beams had sufficient energy flux to generate a detectable level of auroral emission at Saturn. Target locations were provided to Cassini's ultraviolet imaging spectrograph team. On Aug. 26, 2008, the spectrograph obtained images of an auroral footprint in Saturn's northern hemisphere.
The newly discovered auroral footprint measured about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) in the longitude direction and less than 400 kilometers (250 miles) in latitude, covering an area comparable to that of California or Sweden. It was located at about 65 degrees north latitude.
In the brightest image the footprint shone with an ultraviolet light intensity of about 1.6 kilorayleighs, far less than the Saturnian polar auroral rings. This is comparable to the faintest aurora visible at Earth without a telescope in the visible light spectrum. Scientists have not yet found a matching footprint at the southern end of the magnetic field line.
The background star field and false color images of Saturn and Enceladus were obtained by Cassini's imaging science subsystem.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif. manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The ultraviolet imaging spectrograph team is based at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The magnetospheric imaging team is based at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md. The Cassini plasma spectrometer team is based at the Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://www.nasa.gov/saturn and http://www.nasa.gov/cassini.


The Starting Point.
The unexamined life is not worth living - Socrates
Know Thyself - Oracle at Delphi
Something to think about
Would you rather know the truth; how things really are without a doubt.
What influences Identity?
culture - the era in which you live, the place you live (geography)
-genetics - inherited dispositions
Birth Order(rd Born to Rebel by Frank Sulloway)
Oldest:responsible, aggressive, leader
Only Child :mature, relates to adults, leader
Middle:diplomat, sociable, tender-hearted
Youngest:creative, innovative, initiates change
Effect on media on attention span:
What many people today perceive to be dullness in teachers, textbook authors, and work assignments may actually be their own deficiency.
Television viewing (and other modern entertainments) may have prevented them from developing a mature attention span.
Advertising :A Short History
19th century: common-sense strategy
1950's: consumer research based on statistical analysis, market research
Motivational Research: looked for the hidden whys of consumer behaviour
Dr. Ernest Dichter: ?Sex Sells?
60?s and 70?s: VALS (combined study of social values and buying habits) ? value and lifestyle
What is Critical Thinking?
?thinking? ? a mental activity over which we exercise some control
1.Testing the accuracy of statements
2.Evaluating the soundness of reasoning
3.Challenging ideas by asking questions
Critical Thinking is NOT?
-having the ?right answer?
-something you are either ?born with? or not
Mind or Brain?
-last 20 years: ?we know 1% of what there is to know about the brain? (T. Buzan)
-2 upper brains, not one
-Sperry and Ornstein: brain linked by complex network of nerve fibres called the ?Corpus Collosum?
Left CortexRight Cortex
-numbers-Gestalt (whole picture)
-Prof. Eran Zaidel (U of California): complimentarity of cortices
-Subsequent research showed...


The so-called “water softening filter” can also be called a “water softening device”. Its function can be understood from its name. The main filler of the water softening device is resin, which is used to remove calcium and magnesium ions from water and soften the water quality. The device can be used alone or as a pretreatment device for the reverse osmosis treatment process.
The overall working process of the water softening device can be divided into four processes: backwashing, salt absorption (regeneration), slow rinsing (exchange), and fast rinsing. The different equipment processes are very similar, but sometimes there are some additional processes due to the different actual processes or control needs.
After the backwashing equipment works for a long time, the pollutants intercepted by the upper part of the resin will be more. These are brought by raw water. To remove these pollutants, the ion exchange resin must be fully exposed so that regeneration can be achieved. The backwashing process is to wash water into the bottom of the resin and flow out from the top, washing away the pollutants intercepted at the top. The entire process takes about 5-15 minutes.
● Salt Absorption (Regeneration)
This is the process of injecting salt water into the resin tank. Traditional equipment often uses a salt pump to inject salt water, while our fully automatic equipment uses a dedicated built-in injector to suck in salt water. In the actual working process, the regeneration effect is better when the salt water flows through the resin at a slower speed than when the resin is simply soaked in salt water. Therefore, water softening devices use the method of slowing salt water flow through the resin for regeneration, which takes about 30 minutes.
● Slow Rinsing (Exchange)
After the resin flows with salt water, the salt in the resin is slowly rinsed out at the same flow rate. This process is called slow rinsing. Since a large amount of calcium and magnesium ions on the functional groups are exchanged with sodium ions during this rinsing process, according to experience, this process is the main process of regeneration, so many people call it exchange. The time required for the entire process is the same as the time for salt absorption, which is about 30 minutes.
● Fast Rinsing
In order to thoroughly rinse off the remaining salt, the resin should be rinsed with raw water at a flow rate close to the actual working flow rate. The effluent from this process should be standard soft water, and the fast rinsing process takes about 5-15 minutes.
As for the water softening filter equipment, it is widely used in steam boilers, hot water boilers, exchangers, evaporative condensers, central air conditioning, direct-fired engines, etc. The softening process of the makeup water in the system can be used. It can play a good role in the treatment of domestic water for hotels, restaurants, office buildings, and apartments, as well as softening water treatment in industries such as food, beverages, brewing, laundry, printing and dyeing, chemical, and pharmaceuticals.


In April 1962 fourteen Moroccan Bahá'í men were arrested in Nador. On 31 October 1962, after more than six months of imprisonment, they were tried before the Criminal Court of Nador on charges of rebellion and disorder, attacks on public security, constitution of an association of criminals, and attacks on religious faith. On 10 December 1962 they were found guilty and sentenced. Their cases were then appealed to the Supreme Court of Morocco, which overruled the lower court's verdict and released the men. A world-wide campaign to publicize the plight of the Bahá'í prisoners focused public opinion, favourable to the Bahá'ís, on the Moroccan authorities.
(Editorial explanatory footnotes concerning a message from the Universal House of Justice dated 17 October 1963; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986)


Thyroid disease, specifically hypothyroidism, is a common occurrence and can be accompanied by multiple debilitating symptoms. In some cases, symptoms can be so severe that patients may be unable to accomplish their daily tasks or fulfill their duties at work – if you’re still working, check out our tips for working with hypothyroidism.
Many of those suffering from severe thyroid symptoms may be able to get support by filing for disability with the Social Security Administration (SSA). If your thyroid condition makes it difficult or impossible to complete a reasonable workload, you may qualify for disability benefits. To receive benefits you must be familiar with hypothyroidism, seek out available support, and effectively navigate the application process which can be daunting. This is why we’ve explained the process, criteria for receiving benefits, and more below!
What is Hypothyroidism?
The thyroid is responsible for producing many different hormones that regulate important bodily functions ranging from metabolic activity to cognitive function. The thyroid also regulates essential organs including the heart, brain, liver, kidneys, and skin. There are multiple conditions that can affect the thyroid and by extension the rest of the body. One of the most common being hypothyroidism.
Hypothyroidism occurs when there is an inadequate amount of thyroid hormone. Some of the leading causes of hypothyroidism are iodine deficiency, overly aggressive treatment of hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid), and autoimmune disease in the form of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. There are however many other conditions and lifestyle factors that can negatively influence thyroid function resulting in the development of hypothyroidism.
The Debilitating Symptoms of Hypothyroidism
Because of its notable influence on a wide range of systems and functions, an underactive thyroid can trigger many different symptoms. Several common symptoms accompany hypothyroidism including weight gain, difficulty losing weight, dry skin, fatigue, depression, immune issues, migraines, muscle pain and weakness, osteoporosis, and others. Severe cases of hypothyroidism may cause one to experience excruciating muscle pain, unending fatigue, immobility, recurrent or crippling migraines, and depression – get the full list of hypothyroid symptoms here. Thyroid patients suffering from severe symptoms such as these may be able to acquire aid in the form of Social Security disability benefits.
The Equality Act of 2010 provides a brief definition of what qualifies a person as disabled. An individual is considered disabled if they have “a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.” Because symptoms of thyroid disease occur at varying frequencies and severity many thyroid patients may not qualify to receive disability benefits. However, if a patient experiences physical and/or mental disruption that impedes their ability to engage in reasonable and gainful employment they should certainly consider applying for government support through the SSA.
Finding Disability Coverage for Hypothyroidism
Because hypothyroidism affects each patient differently, it is often the case that there is not a one-size-fits all disability benefit. Therefore, regulations and benefits set by the SSA may or may not be easily recognizable as suitable for hypothyroid patients.
The SSA provides disability benefits for those suffering from a wide range of conditions. The conditions that qualify for assistance are found within the Blue Book. Currently, there is no specific designation for hypothyroidism. However, that does not mean hypothyroid patients cannot apply.
The Application Process
The application process should begin by acquiring your medical records and attempting to match your condition or symptoms to a listing already in the Blue Book. Even though the Blue Book does not have a category for general hypothyroidism the debilitating symptoms it causes may be covered. For example, thyroid dysfunction can disrupt heart health, which can make certain work environments unsafe for the individual. In such a situation, your application should include cardiac issues caused by thyroid dysfunction rather than general hypothyroidism.
The next step is evaluating your Residual Functional Capacity (RFC), or how much the condition inhibits your ability to work or maintain gainful employment. Medical record review and RFC are typically conducted by an SSA representative. However, if possible, enlist the assistance of a doctor who has been working with you for an extended period of time. The familiarity with your case and insight they provide can help determine if your thyroid condition qualifies for disability benefits.
In addition to acquiring medical records and assessing RFC, you will need to provide additional information including: identifying documentation such as SSN and proof of residency, work history, insurance information, proof of citizenship etc. A complete list of required information can be found here.
Criteria for Receiving Benefits
Each application is reviewed to see if it fulfills a large number of criteria including the following:
- Is there medical evidence showing that you are unable to perform reasonable or gainful activity due to your condition?
- Is your condition severe enough that you have been unable to engage in substantial gainful activity for 12 months or more?
- Did you provide a medical history recording the presence of hypothyroidism and its debilitating effects? This may include:
Notes on physical exams
Imaging exam reports
Lab work and/or blood tests
Other tests regarding thyroid function including but not limited to cardiac function, psychological assessments etc.
- Does your vocational or work history document an inability to complete required tasks because of your condition?
- Have you worked enough and paid taxes into the Social Security Administration to acquire adequate credits?
A complete list of the criteria required to win disability benefits can be found here.
Get the Support You Need for Your Debilitating Hypothyroidism
The application process for disability can be overwhelming. As such, many applicants enlist the assistance of a Social Security lawyer to review their claims. Because thyroid disorders are not as widely recognized or easily classified, it can be of great benefit to get the assistance of someone who is familiar with the system and the many factors involved. When you are satisfied that you have collected the requisite information you can apply for benefits online here or in person. Online applications can be filled out at the SSA website at any time whereas a physical application will require an appointment which can be arranged by calling 1-800-772-1213. If you are suffering from debilitating hypothyroidism or thyroid-related disease seek out support in the form of disability benefits.
1. Allsup Staff. “SSDI and Thyroid Disease.” TrueHelp – A Division of Allsup.
2. DBC Staff. “Social Security Benefits for Thyroid Gland Disorders.” Disability Benefits Center.
3. Disability Secrets Staff. “Can I Get Disability for Hypothyroidism?” Disability Secrets.
4. DBH Staff. “Can I Continue Working with Thyroid Gland Disorders?” Disability Benefits Help.
5. SSDRC Staff. “Facts about Hypothyroidism and Filing for Disability.” SSDRC.


is tinnitus dangerous
Tinnitus describes a ringing in the ears that often accompanies hearing loss. Based upon the stats from the Hearing Health Foundation, an estimated 48 million individuals in the United States and practically 477 million worldwide experience these symptoms, particularly as they grow older. While preliminary tinnitus rarely shows a major condition, it can be really tough to cope with as it advances and ends up being more serious. is tinnitus dangerous
There could be many possible causes of tinnitus. Sadly, as soon as tinnitus sets in, it is really tough to get rid of the ringing sound.
In the myriad of offered solutions, consumers can get very baffled as to which are good choices to require to address their tinnitus difficulties. As such, we aim to evaluate the readily available alternatives and sift out the best tinnitus relief supplements for 2021. We also detail how we evaluate and made our choice at the end of this article. Be sure to check out till the end if you desire to understand how we did our comparison. is tinnitus dangerous
Current research study shows that hearing ringing noise in ears is simply a sign. That’s why, even using ear plugs do not stop the constant ringing. Rather, the origin of tinnitus is swelling occurring in the brain.
Silencil consists of a mix of 28 thoroughly mixed plant extracts and vitamins. These active ingredients are specially selected to lower inflammation in the brain and to motivate brain repair work and recovery. The explanation video lay it out in an easy 5-step approach to recuperating from Tinnitus as a simple explanation of how Silencil works. is tinnitus dangerous
We do not have a full list of all the 28 herbal components. However, we listed the prominent ones below. In addition, they do have research backing on their efficiency in boosting brain health. The pointed out active ingredients are:
- Oat Straw
- Mucuna Pruviens
- Vitamin B1, B2 and B6
- More different ingredient compared to the other 2 suggestions in this short article, which might mean more range of brain boosting nutrients in it.
- It is a 100% natural non-GMO natural formula, manufactured to a high level of purity.
- Suitable for Diabetics
- Active ingredient choices supported by research documents
- Convenient to use, in an easy pill kind
- FDA authorized and GMP certified making center is utilized for making Silencil
- Tried and evaluated by 122,000 ladies and males.
- Try it risk-free with the 60-day money back assurance is tinnitus dangerous
- Supply is rather restricted, so may need to act quickly to secure it.
Who is it for?
Chronic inflammation is something that impacts an individual’s entire health and not only the brain. It may also be affecting your brain if you observe other symptoms of swelling in your body. You might want to give Silencil a try to assist you to avoid or ease you of Tinnitus.
Tried and checked by 197,357 individuals, Quietum Plus is a hassle-free herbal extract formula which is developed to assist people to relief Tinnitus, a continuous ringing in their ears. In its proprietary blend, it consists of 12 plant extracts which is backed by research study to be able to have healing effect in handling and improving Tinnitus. is tinnitus dangerous
What are the 12 natural components in there? Here they are:
- Plant Isoflavones and Vitex Berry as the “first aid duo” that cools off your nervous system and makes sure absolutely nothing disrupts your recovery.
- Black Cohosh and Sage to restore the nerve cells
- Licorice and Red Clover to repair and regenerate your afferent neuron to eliminate any damage
- Blessed Thistle and Red Raspberry to improve neural networks interaction
- Blazing-Star, Squaw Vine to Supercharge your brain, strengthen your nerves & take your mental health to the next level
- Dong Quai and Meixcan Wild Yam to bulletproof your whole nerve system & never fret about hearing illness or brain conditions once again
- The selected 12 plant extracts in the formula are backed by research study to assist in managing and enhancing Tinnitus.
- Made from a completely natural blend, non-GMO and no use of herbicides
- Produced at an FDA registered and GMP licensed center that had a high-level disinfection policy to keep any germs or infections at bay
- Simple and practical capsule kind.
- 197,357 people have benefitted from this formula
- Other side benefits observered: sleeping better, mind feels sharper and clearer
- It has an Iron-clad 60-day cash back guarantee refund policy. is tinnitus dangerous
- Need constant use of Quietum Plus for a minimum of 90 days to be able to get best results.
Who is it for?
Quietum Plus is good for anybody aiming to manage their Tinnitus condition or prevent it from occurring and is searching for a 100% natural solution to it. You can attempt it run the risk of complimentary for 60 days. is tinnitus dangerous
Synapse XT is a 100% natural method that address the source of Tinnitus which is believed to be in the brain. With its mix of 8 Powerful Herbal Ingredients that operate in synergy, it potentially can provide on health benefits such as much better interaction in between brain cells, support your memory and brain health for clearer thinking and hearing.
What are the 8 Powerful Ingredients utilized? They are Hibiscus, Hawthorn Berry, Garlic and Specific B-Vitamins to reverse the years of brain deterioration, and Green Tea Extract to increase critical neural connections, Juniper Berries to clear your brain of toxic substances and Vitamin C to protect your brain versus illness. is tinnitus dangerous
These components are then blended in a particular ratio and in a particular order for best outcomes. The production facility at which Synapse XT is made is FDA approved and GMP licensed.
- 100% natural organic mix, which lessens risk of negative effects from typical drugs
- The active ingredients’ therapeutic capability is supported by appropriate research study articles.
- Hassle-free pill form, for simple usage.
- More than 50,000 satisfied clients
- Safe and Quality production: FDA approved and GMP certified.
- 60-day refund Policy, reveals strong self-confidence in their own product.
- Least variety of active ingredients among the 3 recommendations in this article. is tinnitus dangerous
Who is it for?
I ‘d say absolutely give Synapse XT a shot if you have actually attempted the above two suggestion and yet is still looking for another option. That’s because different components could work differently for different individuals.
What was our selection criteria for the 3 Best Tinnitus Relief Supplements?
- Natural Ingredients — We particularly checked out the active ingredient labels to make sure the ingredients were natural extracts. Not just a list of chemicals.
- Scientific evidence — We tried to find clinical research study proof backing up the use of the picked active ingredients in each case and validated that it existed. is tinnitus dangerous
- Safety – Quality manufacturing and purity of product has much to do with making sure safety of an item. So, we just shortlisted supplements with high purity, quality production that is FDA authorized and GMP licensed.
- Refund Policy — Typically, having a customer friendly refund policy suggests the confidence a company has in their own item. All picked options in this short article has a 60-day cash back reimburse policy.
All the 3 advised options in this short article ticked the boxes above. They only differ in the ingredients that are in them. Various ingredients have different extent of healing impacts on various individuals. Hence, pick which components list resonate with you best. Personally for me, I would choose Silencil initially because of the variety of nutrients there remain in it. is tinnitus dangerous


Workaholics beware: a new study by Columbia University confirms the long withstanding belief that stress turns your hair grey. While this concept is not a new one, the study goes on to explain the significance of this evidence in relation to how we age, with the study’s senior author Martin Picard, PhD stating “Our data adds to a growing body of evidence demonstrating that human aging is not a linear, fixed biological process but may, at least in part, be halted or even temporarily reversed.”
We know what you’re thinking: how can aging be reversed? Using 14 volunteers, Picard’s research team found that removing the stressor can cause greying hairs to regrow in their original pigment. The subjects’ hair follicles were split and inspected under a microscope and correlated with stress journals. Picard likens the process to that of cutting down a tree to reveal its age via the rings in the stump, as hair follicles are layered in a similar way.
This stress-induced pigment loss is primarily a concern for those in middle age, as natural aging factors combined with stress can push hair over the “greying threshold”. The study cites that individuals in their 70’s or older would most likely not see a change in their greying hairs, as natural aging still takes precedence over environmental factors like stress. In the same realm, a 10-20 year old individual is not likely to develop grey hairs due to an increase in stress.
The discovery that signs of aging can be temporarily reversed and halted has been widely researched in recent years, and the evidence from studies like this one are showing that there’s more to getting older than the passing of time.
Decreasing stress in your environment is a sure way to slow aging, and a well-timed vacation might just be the remedy to greying hair, “There was one individual who went on vacation, and five hairs on that person’s head reverted back to dark during the vacation, synchronized in time,” Picard states to Neuroscience News.


If you’ve ever visited a museum or a manufacturing plant, you’ve probably heard a tour guide say something like this: “And if you laid all these bottles end-to-end, they’d stretch clear across the state of Kansas!”
Through time and repetition, certain comparisons have become standardized, so that we now measure square footage in football fields — and we measure pollution with cars.
It’s happened so slowly that we barely notice it anymore. But several of us sat bolt upright earlier this week, when an outfit called the Environmental Working Group published a report about the impact of food production on the environment. What got our attention? The group uses cars as its dirty yardstick to measure pollution.
Generally speaking, measuring things is easier when we compare them to other things. Saying that something is 1400 feet high doesn’t make much of an impression on a listener other than, “Oh, that’s probably really high.” Saying that something is as tall as the Empire State Building, however, gives that same listener a reference point.
In this case, the Environmental Working Group has calculated the greenhouse-gas emissions that accumulate over the lifespan of certain agricultural products. And to drive home its points (no pun intended), the group measures out that pollution in auto emissions.
A serving of broccoli, for example, generates the same carbon-dioxide emissions as driving half a mile by car. Eating cheese, however, is like cruising more than 6.5 miles, and downing a four-ounce slab of lamb is equivalent to driving over seven miles.
What’s the standard?
Right away, car fans can point out some flaws in the group’s metrics — the major one being that while the group takes great pains (63 pages, in fact) to explain its methodology for calculating agricultural pollution, we can’t seem to find a straightforward explanation of how it established an average emissions rate for cars.
Is it relying on data from SUVs? Sedans? It’s certainly not picking on the Toyota Prius.
How can the group do that? Because the car is an unquestioned stand-in for filth. Consider this statement from page 2: “IF YOU eat one less burger a week…it’s like taking your car off the road for 320 miles, or line-drying your clothes half the time.” Line-drying? Does anyone under 40 even know what that means? Stick with cars for reference points, please.
The big takeaway
We should point out that we’re not attacking the Environmental Working Group. Clearly, it put a lot of effort into its data, and there’s no reason to believe it’s not sound.
For us, the big takeaway from this study has nothing to do with agriculture or the human diet. The big takeaway is that cars have become so thoroughly synonymous with pollution that we take the metaphor for granted.
Apart from proud owners of Leafs and Priuses (or Prii, if you must), few people are going to look at this report and object to the comparison. In fact, we’d wager that the equation of cars with pollution is so ingrained that people from all points along the political spectrum buy it.
Then again, maybe we’re getting too philosophical about this — or too optimistic that everyone sees cars as pollutants. In the comments section below, feel free to share your opinions, as well as your own favorite metaphors for pollution. (But please leave line-drying out of it.)
This story originally appeared at Green Car Reports


How Apparent aims to catalyze a cleaner, smarter grid
How Apparent aims to catalyze a cleaner, smarter grid
Given the growing interest in a low-carbon economy and renewable energy, it would follow that when it comes to adding solar and wind power to the electrical grid, more is better.
Not exactly. It turns out that not all electricity is equal, at least from the grid’s point of view. The grid can't recognize the incoming electricity from solar panels and wind turbines in such a way that enables it to signal fossil fuel power plants to produce less electricity. As a result, the grid gets overloaded, with potentially disastrous effects. Grid operators must limit or even halt the amount of renewable energy connected into the system.
What you end up with is the situation Hawaii experienced earlier this year. After years of rapid growth in solar, the Aloha State slowed down new installations amid worries that more solar would destabilize the grid.
Our aging grid infrastructure is notoriously unreliable, and states such as Hawaii and California are feeling the early growing pains as more solar and wind installations are coming online among homes, businesses and utilities. As policies shift to encourage renewables, and solar costs reach grid parity, threats to grid stability are only getting worse.
Most proposed smart grid solutions require overhauling our grid infrastructure, so the transition — to enable two-way energy flows and increase grid stability — has been slow and expensive. As a result, most utilities and regulators are unprepared to handle increased distributed generation, a situation where energy consumers become producers and communities become more self-sufficient.
However, a startup that has been operating somewhat under the radar believes it has found the answer. Apparent, Inc., has built a suite of technologies which, in effect, rounds out the profile of solar power so the grid can recognize and use it as identical to conventional power. It’s a bit of a magic trick that, if it succeeds, could be a game-changer — not just in the world of renewables, but for energy overall.
Enhancing, not destabilizing, the grid
We had a chance to view Apparent's sophisticated platform, which aims to make renewable energy an equal, more stable partner in the electric grid. The company has developed the first microgrid inverter (MGi for short) to turn “real energy” into “apparent energy” on demand. The company’s name reflects its secret sauce: "apparent" energy is electricity in its most complete form.
Apparent’s MGi hardware and software integrates into existing grid infrastructure to improve overall efficiency and stability as more renewables come online. It also forms a smart, local and adjustable microgrid within the larger electrical grid. The MGi is meant to improve the efficiency of energy transportation throughout the grid by dropping the voltage required to push energy through power lines.
As the company’s website puts it:
Apparent’s patented and breakthrough technologies enable renewable energy assets to extract more energy from renewable sources, and produce apparent energy (consisting of both real and reactive energy) as needed. Renewable energy assets employing Apparent’s technology operate on parity with traditional energy resources. Which means renewable energy assets can fully integrate with the grid to participate in markets previously limited to traditional systems.
This is geeky stuff, but hugely significant. The technology allows solar and wind producers to participate in a wider range of market opportunities, including integrating solar into residential, commercial, and utility-scale installations. It effectively creates a smart grid without the need to overhaul existing infrastructure or regulatory barriers.
Apparent represents “a major opportunity to change markets, to enable technology to do something that no one else was even talking about doing, which is to elevate solar,” the company’s chairman and CEO, George Salah (pictured above), told us from the company’s Novato, Calif., headquarters.
A legacy of game-changing
Salah came to Apparent last year from Google, where he was employee No. 35. For 14 years, Salah headed real estate and workplace services at Google, where he was responsible for the company’s facilities worldwide. Soon after he joined Google in 1999, he and cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin shaped the company's culture, as the employee base grew past 50,000 — and from one Silicon Valley office to 20 million square feet across 125 cities in 55 countries.
Salah is well known for his strong focus on creating healthy buildings for Googlers. He has been a vociferous advocate of transparency in building materials as a means of identifying unwanted chemicals, and leveraged Google’s brand and buying power to spur change in the building and facilities markets.
At Google, Salah became one of Apparent’s early customers and advocates. He joined its board in 2012 and became CEO last fall. In Apparent, Salah saw a major opportunity, one at least as game-changing as transforming markets for buildings and workspaces.
“This technology represents a major opportunity to make change happen today and to benefit the world of energy, which benefits not just the utilities and the energy generators, but the consumers, all of us," he said.
Optimizing electricity’s 'three-legged stool'
The need for Apparent’s microgrid inverter stems from the complexities of electric power. You can think of electricity as a "three-legged stool" consisting of real power (measured in watts, or W), reactive power (measured in volt-ampere reactive, or VAR) and apparent power (measured in volt-amperes, or VA).
Real power is what you typically think of when you say “power” — it's the energy provided to and distributed by the grid. It must overcome the reactive power of the system, the background energy movement in an alternating current electrical system (such as a power plant) arising from the production of electric and magnetic fields. While reactive power does no work at the load, it heats the wires and wastes energy, increasing energy losses and as a result, limiting the capacity of cables and lines in the grid. Conductors, transformers and generators must be sized to carry the total current, not just the current that does useful work.
When you produce solar energy, you’re producing only one of the three "legs," that is, real power. That’s enough to send power to the grid, but it cannot affordably overcome the reactive power of the system. As a result, the grid becomes unstable as more renewables come online.
That’s where apparent power comes in, as the bridge that's needed to balance the other two "legs." It’s what makes the real energy compensate for the resistance of the reactive energy in the grid (and is measured as the magnitude of the vector sum of real and reactive power).
The challenge, says Salah: “How do you take it from just one leg to all three?”
To solve the problem, Apparent provides a hardware device (connected to both production and consumption sides) and software platform to enable real-time decision-making and energy trading digitally. It communicates with the grid bi-directionally, understanding what the grid needs, millisecond by millisecond. It informs the device and platform about how to maintain loads among solar production and grid behavior, grid production, impedance and energy direction. In essence, Apparent’s technologies put renewables on a level playing field with conventional power within our existing grid.
Stefan Matan, Apparent’s co-founder and chief technical officer, summarized it this way: “In order to enable more renewables to penetrate the current grid, you have to have a platform where human behavior, energy production behavior and energy transportation behavior are integrated into the system and put exactly what you need when you need it, when you use it and when you produce it.”
Aloha, green power
Matan showed us a demonstration. Three live, digital displays visualized the electricity output from a series of solar installations on the Big Island of Hawaii. Matan issued a command at each installation, and the system indicated onsite solar power — real power — being produced, with everything else coming from a diesel generator. Less than 20 minutes after Matan switched the solar installations over to Apparent’s technology, they increased production by 30 percent using the same resources.
As Matan explained: “The grid knows what the load looks like because we provided that information bundle and we say, ‘Okay, here it is. We can produce this solar on the site, so back off your diesel generator.’ That means that they’re not going to burn one gallon of fuel because now we’re producing it.”
Matan is a veteran of the energy world. An electrical engineer by training, he worked on state-run Chernobyl-style nuclear reactors in Bulgaria before moving to the United States. “That’s when I saw an inverter for the very first time,” said Matan. “An inverter is actually a power supply in reverse. And when you see something like this plugged into the grid, you see that it’s really a renewable energy generator and it’s terrifying for the person who understands it for several reasons.”
Salah is quick to point out that while photovoltaic solar is a prime focus of Apparent’s work, “this is not just about solar. It is about the smart grid. It’s about the intelligence that is inherent in all of the communications that need to happen to create the ability for the consumer and the energy producers to come together in a way that they’ve never been able to come to before.”
Top image of George Salah via Tony Cane-Honeysett


Blackbeard, the world’s most famous pirate, lost his flagship in 1718 when the ship ran aground on a sandbar in North Carolina. But in 1996, the wreck of the Queen Anne’s Revenge was rediscovered, and archaeologists began excavating the ship. Since then, the excavation project has revealed that the ship contained many medical instruments of the day, hinting that Blackbeard put great effort into keeping his crew healthy.
Medical Equipment From A 300-Year-Old Pirate ShipPublished January 28, 2015 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: 1718, antique Medical Equipment, Blackbeard, clyster pump, health care, medical instrument, medicine, North Carolina, pirate, pirate ship, Queen Anne's Revenge, sailing ship, ship wreck, urethral syringe


Sprint has long been an innovation leader. It introduced the first fiber-optic cable and 4G network to the U.S. as well as eco-friendly cell phones. Cell phones are central to American youth -- 58% of 12-year-olds and 83% of 17-year-olds own mobile phones. Smart phones are replacing calculators, cameras, camcorders and books.
But most cell phones are made from toxic materials. Millions of used phones are causing environmental concern, as only 10% are recycled in the U.S. annually. It is estimated that 140 million end up in landfills, accounting for 65,000 tons of waste material. How could we tackle the problem? With green phones, says Sprint.


Improve your Listening Skills
To improve your listening skills is an essential part of communication in any language. In a city like London, it can be tricky as there are so many different accents.
What can I do?
There are many ways you can practice your listening. For example:
Listen to the radio while you are at home. You could listen to music or a talk show. Choose something you find interesting, listen for the general idea then [as you improve] try and pick up on specific details.
Watch films with the English subtitles switched on. This is one of the most common and popular ways of improving listening outside the classroom. It is useful to hear English spoken at the natural speed of native speakers. If you need to (or, simply, want to), watch the film a few times. You can use subtitles to help you but after watching the film a few times, or when your listening skills improve, try to watch the film without subtitles.
Similarly, listening to music will increase the difficulty and challenge you a bit more. You can start by listening to songs you enjoy and then try different varieties of music. It is a bit more challenging as there is no video in the background. Typically, the speed of the singing and background music often changes, too.
Below is a list of popular websites that have many listening activities. These activities are free, graded to different levels and cover a variety of different subjects. There are activities that you can complete after the listening to test your understanding. If you missed something you can go back and listen again.
Listening doesn’t always involve sitting down in front of a computer, radio or TV. You can combine listening with going about your day. Listen while you’re on the tube or bus, listen to the buskers as you walk home and listen to announcements at stations. There are opportunities everywhere to practise your listening skills!
Lastly, surround yourself with English speakers or make sure you and your friends or family speak in English as much as possible. That way, you will all have to listen in English! You will hear many different accents, which will help your understanding. You will also pick up on pronunciation and, of course, you will also be practicing your speaking and learning new vocabulary!


Kentucky Tax Records
This entry was originally written by Wendy Bebout Elliott, Ph.D., FUGA, for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
One of the most valuable sources for early Kentucky to date is its tax records. Most counties have yearly tax records from the date of organization. Some early tax schedules list watercourse, value and acreage of real estate, men over age twenty-one, young men between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one, slaves, and horses. Extant county tax schedules from the date of organization of the county through 1892 have been microfilmed for most counties and are available from the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives and the FHL. Numerous original tax records from 1892 are available at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. The Kentucky Historical Society has tax records to 1875.
Kentucky tax lists are arranged by county and date. Within the counties, residents within its districts are grouped together and names usually arranged under the beginning letter of the surname, although these are not in strict alphabetical order. Some early tax records have been published and are available in research libraries (see Census Records for Kentucky).


MANY YEARS AGO, I paid good money out of my own pocket to learn how to design a duct system. I won’t say to whom I paid this money, because I got ripped off. What I “learned” was how to find .1 on a ductulator. You may have had a similar experience. And for the duration of this article, where I use .1, you can insert your magic number (.08, .06, this one on supply and that one on return, whatever…) instead.
That’s not duct design. And if you aren’t changing the blower characteristics at the end it’s not even blower design. It’s just half-ass design.
A duct doesn’t hold a fixed amount of air. Duh. Imagine a single duct connected to a system. Use a higher or lower speed on your blower and you change the amount of air through it. Have a homeowner put in their own filter and you’ll get so little airflow out of that duct that the coil will freeze faster than you can say “but they guy at the big-box store said this was the best one!” You know this. It’s not news.
So why are we taught to use a .1 friction rate? Because it works? Nope. Well… sort of. It works ONLY IF you can pick and choose your blower characteristics after you use it. And they never teach that part.
Let’s break this down:
- .1 is a friction rate. It tells you the energy lost moving through the duct. What does that mean? Well, let’s look at it this way:
- The blower is trying to move the air: we’ll call that FORCE for simplicity’s sake.
Everything else is causing friction or getting in the way: we’ll call that RESISTANCE.
When you use .1 on the ductulator you can measure friction or RESISTANCE. If you know how much duct there is, you can know how much RESISTANCE you’ve created. But duct isn’t the only thing that creates RESISTANCE. So then you can look up all of the other RESISTANCE numbers for everything else air has to go through (coils, filters, fittings, etc.). Once you do that, you can take all of those RESISTANCE numbers and add them up. Now you know just how much total RESISTANCE the blower is working against.
Now all you have to do is configure the blower to have enough FORCE to overcome this. You might change speeds, or pulleys, or motors or whatever you need to overcome that RESISTANCE with the right airflow.
See? BLOWER design. And in commercial work, that works pretty well. But when was the last time you saw a new residential install involve adjusting pulleys or changing blower motors? Right. Which is why you’re supposed to do DUCT design.
What if you started with how much FORCE your blower had? Then you subtracted all of the RESISTANCES you can’t do much about (filter, coil, etc.)?
You would be left with the amount of FORCE the blower had left over to deal with the RESISTANCE the duct system will create.
Then- now hear me out- what if you then changed your friction rate accordingly, designing the duct to make sure the blower would do its job correctly? Using lower RESISTANCE friction rates (and bigger ducts) when there isn’t as much FORCE left over, and higher RESISTANCE friction rates (and smaller ducts) when there’s more FORCE. Well that would be DUCT design and it’s just crazy enough to work.
By the way, there’s a name for this crazy duct design method. It’s called ACCA’s Manual D. And I might know a guy who could get you some software to do this stuff for you.


View Animal Cell Diagram And Functions Of Organelles Pictures. Under the microscope, an animal cell shows many different parts called organelles, that work together to keep the cell functional. An animal cell ranges in size from 10 to 30 µm.
Animal cells contain organelles known as centrioles, which are not present in plant cells. In the labeled animal cell diagram it is nearly circular in shape and lacks outer cell wall. The role and function of the plasma membrane;
This is where the digestion of cell nutrients takes place.
Animals are made up of basic building blocks called the animal cell. It controls many of the functions of the cell (by controlling protein synthesis) and contains dna (in animal cells do not have cell walls, but have ecm, i.e., a meshwork of macromolecules outside. Animal cell organelles and functions. Organelles are structures within the cell that are specialised for particular functions.


The Ganges is revered by Hindus across the world and a plunge in the holy river is considered to free the human soul from their sins.
However, the holiest of all rivers for the Hindus has been turned into an unholy mess. The increasing population, mismanaged sewage and industrialization has caused serious implications for the Ganges in the holy town of Varanasi, India.
From the Christian Science Monitor's Holy Man, Secular Plan: Clean Up the River Ganges:
The Ganges, revered as a symbol of spiritual purity for more than 2,000 years, is today a filthy soup. This is especially true in the ancient pilgrimage site of Varanasi, where 32 old pipes on the riverbank disgorge raw sewage into the flow.
But people like Veer Bhandra Mishra, one of Time's Heroes of the Planet in 1999, are standing up with a mission to clean the polluted river.
According to CSM, Mishra - a professor of hydraulics at Benaras Hindu University and hereditary priest of the nearby Sankat Mochan temple - along with scientists from the University of California in Berkeley, had developed a cheap, sustainable system for diverting the city's sewage away from the river, and cleaning it more than a decade ago. But then the state and central government rejected his plan and a $242-million plan was set aside by the Indian government (From CSM's 1987 story: Cleaning Ganges, India's Polluted Symbol of Purity, No Easy Task).
Today, Mishra stands successful by his plan.
Gentle-mannered Mishra continued his tenacious lobbying, and last year secured a meeting with prime minister Manmohan Singh.
Last month, he heard what he describes as "the best news in 20 years."
On June 30, the central government wrote to him, telling him it would support a pilot run of his scheme in Varanasi and suggesting it would hold back support for a much costlier, ineffective state government-led scheme.
Mishra's scheme, instead of depending on scarce supplies of electricity, the system would use gravity to carry sewage to four big pools, built on wasteland several miles outside the city, where it would be broken down by bacteria, algae, and sunlight, CSM reports.
But it's not only a single person like Mishra working toward the goal of cleaning the Ganges. There are different organizations supporting Mishra in his endeavors, such as The Sankat Mochan Foundation. The foundation has been working since 1982 with its Swatcha Ganga (Clean Ganges) Campaign educating people and implementing various river clean-up activities.
The increasing population and industralization is indeed a huge challenge not only for a river like the Ganges having a religious significance, but for all of the world's water masses. But when it comes to the Ganges, it is a matter of "health of Hinduism – how a dirty river might damage the faith," in Mishra's words.
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If you’ve seen any of our social media or blog posts you’ve likely heard us tout our products as being free from contamination by the top 8 allergens. If you’re someone who suffers from food allergies and are wondering which foods you should avoid and which foods are safe to eat, keep reading!
Here is a list of the top 8 allergens:
Milk accounts for the most commonly occurring food allergy in infants and toddlers, but thankfully, up to 90% of kids outgrow their milk allergy by the age of 6. Few adults are affected by this allergy. With milk being so prevalent in many cuisines, those with milk allergies must always be cautious as milk can often be hidden in many prepared foods including baked goods and protein powders. Don’t fret though, since a plethora of delicious milk substitutes exist, with our 2 favorites being almond milk and oat milk.
Similar to milk, egg allergies seem to be incredibly common in infants before they are outgrown by early childhood. Virtually all of the proteins that have been tied to egg allergies are found in the egg white but, of course, those with egg allergies should avoid the entire egg. Eggs also tend to hide in many different foods: baked goods, pastas, mayonnaise and salad dressings. Those with an egg allergy can substitute vegan egg powder for eggs when baking or cooking breakfast.
Even though there are many different types of fish, individuals who are allergic to one type of fish tend to be allergic to many species of finned fish. Unlike milk and eggs, over 40% of fish allergies don’t develop until adulthood. It may seem easy to avoid eating fish, but fish is used in many prepared foods, including Caesar dressings and Worcestershire sauce. Luckily, those with a fish allergy can get their proteins and healthy fats from other foods like lean meats, nuts, and avocados.
An allergy to one type of finned fish typically equates to an allergy to all finned fish, but it does not always equate to a shellfish allergy. Shellfish encompass all fish with a shell, like shrimp, crab, and lobster, and it’s most common for older children and adults to suffer from this type of food allergy. People with shellfish allergies should read foods labels very carefully as shellfish can also be found in many sauces and dressings, particularly in Asian prepared foods.
5. Tree Nuts
There are many different types of tree nuts, but the most well-known are almonds, cashews, pecans and walnuts. Nuts are the most potent of the top 8 allergens; consuming a very small amount—and even just touching or inhaling them—can cause anaphylactic shock, so those with nut allergies should be extremely cautious of cross- contamination when eating out.
With how often we tend to hear about peanut allergies nowadays, it’s quite shocking to learn that less than 1% of the US population suffers from this allergy. Peanuts are a type of legume, a crop that accounts for over 25% of crop production in the nation, and thus are very commonly used in packaged foods. People eat them on their own, add them to chocolate bars and trail mixes, use them in savory recipes, and of course, consume them in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Those with peanut allergies don’t have to miss out on this classic staple; substituting sunflower butter for peanut butter is incredibly delicious and satisfying – try it the next time you crave a childhood snack!
Wheat is one of the world’s most commonly consumed grains. Wheat allergies are often mistaken for Celiac disease, but they are actually quite different. Celiac Disease is characterized by a distinct reaction to gluten, a type of protein found in wheat, while general wheat allergies can be caused by a reaction to over 27 different allergens, separate from gluten. Foods that are safe for those with a wheat allergy may not be safe for those with a gluten allergy and vice versa. Those with a wheat allergy should avoid breads, pastas, noodles and baked goods that are made with wheat.
Just like peanuts, soy is considered a legume. Soy can be incredibly potent in even the smallest doses, but fortunately, soy allergies are much less prevalent than peanut allergies. Soy can be found in many foods such as edamame, which are premature soybeans, as well as tofu whose main ingredient is soy. Soy can also be used as an emulsifier, so those with a soy allergy should double check food labels before eating.
That's it. A Top 8 Allergen Free Snack
If you live with one or more of these allergies, That's it. Fruit Snacks are a fantastic option. Free From The Top 8 Allergens and made in a dedicated facility, our fruit bars and truffles are a tasty, safe, and all natural way to curb your cravings and get your energy on-the-go. Try our allergy friendly snacks today.


New evidence has emerged from China indicating that the large
majority of coronavirus infections do not result in symptoms. Experts say that
it was quite likely that the virus had been circulating for longer than
generally believed and that large swathes of the population had already been
Link to article: https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1375
Study shows that by the end of February 2020 without non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in China– such as early detection, isolation of cases and social distancing – the number of infected people would have been 67 times larger than that which occurred. If NPIs could have been conducted one week, two weeks, or three weeks earlier in China, cases could have been reduced by 66%, 86%, and 95%, respectively, together with significantly reducing the number of affected areas. Improved disease detection, isolation of cases and social distancing are likely to a far greater positive impact on containment than travel restrictions, says the study.
Link to study: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.03.20029843v3
The pandemic is shutting down industrial activity and temporarily slashing air pollution levels over China, satellite imagery from the European Space Agency shows.
Linkt to data: https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-5P/COVID-19_nitrogen_dioxide_over_China
In this pre-print researchers analyzed the timing of control measures and of community spread of COVID-19 in the Chinese cities of Wuhan and Guangzhou from January 10 to February 29, 2020. Early intervention resulted in Guangzhou having “lower epidemic sizes and peaks” than Wuhan in the first wave of the outbreak.
Link to paper: https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/42599304
Not a paper or report but a very well researched book written by someone on the front lines. “China Syndrome is a fast-moving, truth-is-stranger-than-fiction thriller that doubles as an excellent primer of emerging infections for scientists and laypeople alike. Beyond the superb writing, is a detailed look at China’s culture of secrecy in the throes of a global public health crisis”
Link to book: https://www.amazon.com/China-Syndrome-Story-Centurys-Epidemic/dp/0060587237
Preliminary results of how air temperature and humidity influence the transmission of COVID-19.
PDF: High Temperature and High Humidity Reduce the Transmission of COVID-19
Phyloepidemiologic analyses indicated the SARS-CoV-2 source at the Hua Nan market should be imported from other places. The crowded market boosted SARS-CoV-2 rapid circulations in the market and spread it to the whole city in early December 2019.
Link to Study: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339351990_Decoding_evolution_and_transmissions_of_novel_pneumonia_coronavirus_SARS-CoV-2_using_the_whole_genomic_data


By Joanne Guidoccio
I realize this is contrary to all the advice that’s out there. But there is something to be gained by analyzing the selected thoughts of our inner critic and taking action.
How can you distinguish those selected thoughts?
Very simply, take note of all sentences that start with “Someone should…”
Here are some examples:
“Someone should write a letter to the editor about that issue. It’s bugging me.”
“Someone should organize an arts festival that showcases the talents of artists, artisans, musicians, and writers in our county.”
“Someone should put her name forward for an executive position on that board. We need new blood.”
“Someone should design and create clothes that fit and flatter women over fifty.”
“Someone should offer decorating services for seniors, who are moving into assisted living, retirement and nursing homes, or downsizing to a condo.”
“Someone should write a cookbook filled with nutritious, easy-to-prepare recipes for singles and couples on budgets.”
“Someone should run for mayor.”
Once you have identified your favorite “Someone should,” it’s time to…
Entering the political arena, assuming an executive role in a non-profit organization, organizing an arts festival, writing a novel…these are all goals that can be accomplished but probably not within the immediate future.
Instead, set move-the-needle steps for the season in which you are in. These small steps will lead to larger ones, and subsequent steps will always be within your grasp
You could start by attending an information meeting, offering to help with an established arts festival, signing up for an online or offline course, joining a local writing group, or listening to a webinar. Don’t worry if certain steps don’t work out. Keep moving forward and course-correct along the way.


In Year 3 pupils will further develop their word processing skills, learning how to take 'screen shots', and keyboard shortcuts using Microsoft Word. They will use painting and graphics programs to create posters, learning how to combine text and graphics, manipulate objects and create effective layouts.
They will develop their understanding of effective searching on the internet. They will learn how to communicate on line using emails on the VLE. With parental permission, they will have access to the VLE at home, following guidelines for safe use.
They will continue to use Turtle Logo, learning how to program the computer to draw simple shapes. They will learn to draw shapes in Scratch.
They will continue with Year 3 Block Coding in Espresso Coding.


If you get the chance to admire some river otters in Wisconsin, treasure it for as long as you can. It is the entertainment of a lifetime. River otters are known to be extremely playful and fun to watch. They like jumping in and out of water and enjoy chasing each other around. River otters are so adapted to water that they are able to stay underwater for up to four minutes. An interesting fact about the river otter is that because of the time that they spend grooming their fur with their forepaws, their fur becomes waterproof. This is a great advantage for them since they spend so much time in the water.
Many humans will tend to trap the river otters either for their soft fur or because of their unfortunate liking for fish. If you have a favorite fishing spot in the nearby river, you might have a competitor for "the big one." Wisconsin river otters are known for taking all day fishing trips. River otters do however; do what they need to keep other animals out of their territory. They will cover the area in their feces, urine, and musk to warn others away. This may sound disturbing, but is successful. River otters have many interesting qualities and adaptations that make them wonderful entertainment.
Name: River Otters
Scientific Name: Lutra canadensis
Measurements: length: 2-4ft, weight: 44-82lbs, tail length: 1-1.5ft
Habitat: anywhere near water
Diet: varieties of fish, birds, and vegetation
Behavior: very playful, like to play with prey, travel during winter by pushing off with feet and sliding across snow.
Reproduction: 2-4 pups born in April-may, gestation for one year, after one year of age-go out on their own to find their own territories.
Predators: human, bald eagles, some bears, and coyotes.
Life Expectancy: 10-15 years old in wild.
Extra Facts: largest member of the weasel family, make high-pitched scream when fighting or mating, can dive depths of more than 40ft.
Part of Wisconsin it generally resides: mainly in northern portion of Wisconsin, but some can be found in other parts of the state.