Sunspots 1002

 

Some things that I have spotted that may be of interest to others:

SpaceDaily reports on an extensive study of the genetics of anxiety. We're a long was from understanding it, but this is a serious first step.

A summary of the evidence for fraud in US elections.

It's been 30 years since Dolly, the sheep, was developed from a cloned cell. Nature reflects on what has happen ed since. (Hint: we don't seem close to cloning a numan.)

You've heard of Leap Years. There are also (or have been) Leap seconds, and now those in charge of such things are considering a leap hour.

MSN and other sources discuss China's attempt to grow a Great Green Wall -- trees: billions of them,  planted in the desert, and whether or not it can help us fight global climate change. 

SpaceDaily reports that zebta stripes may have evolved to cut down on bites from flying insects

Sunspots 635

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

The Arts: Listverse tells us about the original Star Trek characters, 10 of them.

Christianity: Perry Noble, fired from the pastorate of what is probably the largest church in South Carolina, because of his alcohol use, almost committed suicide.

Christianity Today on why racially uniform congregations are unfortunate, and why we integrated worship is a good thing.

(Sort of) Relevant reports that a human chain rescued some people from drowning, caused by a riptide, on a beach in Florida.


Education: Scientific American reports that college students would do better if they didn't bring laptop computers to class.

Food: (and religion) Relevant reports that the Catholic church refuses to use gluten-free wafers as part of communion.

Health: (sort of) Listverse tells 10 true horror stories of medical malpractice.

Scientific American reports that most people have at least one episode of mental illness some time in their life, and most of us recover from such episodes.

Listverse discusses some interesting facts about breast implants.

Politics: (or something) The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group is composed of 90 large cities, from around the globe, who are attempting to mitigate climate change. It was interesting to discover, in the list of members, huge cities that I had not heard of.

Christianity Today reports that there will be a lot less Christians immigrating to the US in 2017 than did in 2016, because of the Trump administration's policies on admission.

National Public Radio reports that six Afghan girls, formerly refused visas by the US State Department, have been allowed to participate in a robotics competition in the US. President Trump evidently intervened on their behalf.

I didn't choose the title of this post, in the Village Voice, but it's a sane and sobering corrective to the political strife that most of us engage in.

Michael Gerson, Washington Post: "A faith that makes losing a sin will make cheating a sacrament."


Science: Scientific American on how babies perceive and distinguish colors.

Nature reports that scientists have figured out how to store a brief, low-resolution movie in bacterial DNA.




Image source (public domain)