Sunspots 697

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: Christianity Today reports on the shockingly low numbers of refugees, and refugees who have been persecuted for being Christians, that entered the US last year.

A Christianity Today author on the stress of caring for kids at home and for aging parents, at the same time.

Relevant responds to a question about whether giving to Christian charities makes it unnecessary to tithe to one's church.

Relevant also offers an essay on "Five Myths of Christian Political Engagement."


Computing: Gizmo's Freeware on an application that lets you listen to radio stations from all over the world, free.


Health: National Public Radio reports that patients with colds want doctors to prescribe antibiotics, even though such medications aren't effective against viruses, and may contribute to antibiotic resistance.

National Public Radio also reports on using apps to help you go to sleep. Some of them work!
The Scientist reports that abdominal fat can play a role in protecting us. (Too much of it is still bad for us!)

Philosophy: A Scientific American writer argues that science can never solve the mind-body problem. (Here's the Wikipedia article on that problem.)


Science: Listverse tells us about Europa, the most interesting moon of Jupiter.

Earther reports on high-flying (like about 8+ kilometers up) bacteria, and their effect on weather, and maybe on disease transmission.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, I believe, it is public domain.
Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 560

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: A list of 50 books a child should read before age 12.

ListVerse gives us an annotated list of the origins of 10 common words, including poison, influenza and OK.

Christianity: Relevant asks why more churches don't put women in various leadership roles.

Relevant also points out five scripture passages that Christians tend to ignore.

And Relevant asks if Muslim refugees are really a threat to Christianity in the U.S.

And Relevant has posted 10 "profound quotes" from D. L. Moody.

Finance: (and politics) FiveThirtyEight reports on a study that shows that the children of richer parents, or parents who are married to each other, are better off than other children. This is especially true for boys.

Health: Wired reports that we aren't certain that the Zika virus causes microcephaly.

The History Blog reports that a Canadian First Nations group has been using a certain clay deposit for medicinal purposes, and that this same clay may be effective against some of the most dangerous microbes.

Politics: A post in Relevant reminds us of 7 things Christians need to remember about politics.

Science has posted about what the Presidential candidates (some no longer viable) say they believe about various scientific issues, such as funding for research, global climate change, and vaccination. There is nothing about origins in the article.

ListVerse has posted about 10 previous episodes where the US had to decide what to do with refugees. Our reactions were a mixed bag, for sure.

Science: The BBC says that the gut bacteria of bears help them to prepare for winter, by storing more fat shortly before they hibernate.

Wired tells us, with photos, that there have been several different volcanic eruptions over the last few days.


Image source (public domain)