I chose this painting to start my blog because of it’s theme
and the combination of colors; they are my favorite. The nurturing wealth of
Mother Earth has also been a long time favorite subject of mine. Though I took
only one geology course in all my years in university, I fell in love with her
beauty, movement and power. She can also be awesome in the expression of her
internal alchemy.
The
southeast flank of Mount Etna slowly slides
towards the sea. A team of scientists showed for the first time movement of
Etna's underwater flank using a new, sound-based geodetic monitoring network. A
sudden and rapid descent of the entire slope could lead to a tsunami with
disastrous effects for the entire region.
And then her sublime tranquility. Haven’t we all experienced a
place like this at sometime in our lives? I found a place like this on the
lower flank of Mt. Shasta after taking mushrooms some years ago.
Imagine
you are in a beautiful place in nature. See it in vivid colour. Breathe it in.
Soak it in. This is your safe space. A space for your soul to rest. Namaste
All of that and this is what we look like from our closest
neighbor. A photo of Earth taken by Curiosity rover
on Mars.
Speaking of Mars these are two pics taken of how vast the dust
storms of Mars can be.
A tiny electric motor on the Curiosity rover played a role in identifying a global Martian
dust storm. The storm completely enveloped the planet between May and July,
2018. It was the biggest storm since 2007.
More astronomy coming but it’s time
for the animal people; for what are all these planets for if not to
harbor life?
Watching the show, big fellas' got my back.
Orca rising
Oh yeah?
The
brilliant raspberry hues of this red-gilled
nudibranch serve to warn predators of chemical defenses stored inside
its tissues. In a stunning biological feat, these nudibranchs can ingest the
stinging cells of their prey—tiny jellyfish-like invertebrates known as
hydroids—and then transfer the cells to their gill tips for use in their own
defense.
Baja California Whiptail
Flying?
Easy. Hunting? Much harder. That’s why even after young red-footed falcons have left the nest, doting parents continue
to deliver calorie-rich meals like this vole.
"The
way to resist stress in any organism is to evolve in response to that
stress," says coral scientist Raphael Ritson-Williams. "And to
evolve, you need genetic diversity." Although corals are clonal and can
reproduce asexually, sex is the best way to maintain a diverse gene pool.
That's why scientists like Ritson-Williams have turned to assisted sexual reproduction to help threatened corals survive
on a changing planet.
OK….one
more animal pic; just too beautiful and dignified to pass up.
So how about some human people.
One
of my very, very favorite ladies. She totally changed field work and threw the
“good old boys club” of male field workers into fits. Her work continues, she
is a world treasure.
Scientists and conservationists argue that primatologist Jane
Goodall should receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019.
Goodall’s
groundbreaking research uncovered startling revelations, including tool use by
chimpanzees, that blurred the lines between humans and animals.
Goodall, a
U.N. Messenger of Peace, now travels around the world to encourage living in
harmony with the natural world.
And
what about this lady? Anyone heard of her?
Cecilia Payne was the first person ever to earn a Ph.D. in astronomy from
Radcliffe College, with what Otto Strauve called
“the most brilliant Ph.D. thesis ever written in astronomy.”
“Since
her death in 1979, the woman who discovered what the universe is made of has
not so much as received a memorial plaque. Her newspaper obituaries do not
mention her greatest discovery. […] Every high school student knows that Isaac
Newton discovered gravity, that Charles Darwin discovered evolution, and that
Albert Einstein discovered the relativity of time. But when it comes to the
composition of our universe, the textbooks simply say that the most abundant
atom in the universe is hydrogen. And no one ever wonders how we know.”
Earth Knowledge
Apollo
17 and its destination captured in one photo.
And
then there are those who investigate the past, illuminating the journey we
humans have traveled.
The first draft of the
sequence of the Neanderthal genome was published in 2010 (“Neanderthal
Genome Decoded,” July/August 2010). One might think that it would tell us
everything we need to know about the genetic differences between modern humans
and our closest evolutionary cousins. But it turns out the raw genetic code is
only half the story. Just as important is epigenetics—features of the genome
that determine which genes are active and which are inactive, factors that can
in turn have a dramatic effect on one’s traits.
Ancient Africans took bone tools to a new level around 90,000 years ago by making pointed knives out of animals’ ribs, scientists say. Before then, bone tools served as simpler, general-purpose cutting devices.
Members of northern Africa’s Aterian culture, which originated roughly 145,000 years ago, started crafting sharp-tipped bone knives as fish and other seafood increasingly became dietary staples, researchers suggest online October 3 in PLOS ONE. The new find supports the view that strategic planning for survival and associated changes in toolmaking emerged much earlier in human evolution than has traditionally been assumed.
CAIRO, EGYPT—Egypt
Today
reports that work to reduce the level of groundwater at the Kom Ombo Temple in
Aswan revealed two inscribed pieces of sandstone.
Mostafa
Waziri, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the first piece of
sandstone dates to the 19th Dynasty (1295-1186 B.C.), and depicts King Seti I
standing in front of the god Horus and the goddess Sobek. The images are topped
with a winged sun, which is a symbol of protection. There are 26 lines of
hieroglyphic text below the images. The stone has been broken in two, but its
inscriptions are in good condition, Waziri added. The second stone shows King
Ptolemy IV, who ruled from 222 to 205 B.C., standing with his wife, Arsinoe III,
the god Horus, a winged sun, and 28 lines of text. Waziri said this stone was
found broken into several pieces. The discovery of a sandstone sphinx sculpture
at the site was announced earlier this month. To read in-depth about the
Hyksos, who immigrated to Egypt and ruled it for a century, go to “The Rulers
of Foreign Lands.”
There are infinite realities out there. Our journey as an
intelligent species has just begun.
