Friday, January 29, 2021

Bird poop

 The use of guano in the world's driest desert made life possible for ancient people

Atacama Desert in South America

One of the driest deserts in the world is the Atacama Desert in South America. It is located along the Pacific coast in the Andes mountains in Peru and Chile and it is the only desert which is drier than the North and South Poles, which surprisingly are deserts too! the Atacama is so dry that it basically receives no rain or precipitation at all in some years. Despite these conditions, some ancient American Indians were able to create farms and villages in this extremely dry location. Scientists have determined that they had one main ingredient for success; bird poop! Otherwise known as guano, bird droppings have a great deal of nitrogen in them, which really helps plants grow. Scientists have discovered that the reason why ancient people were able to live in this desert was because the imported guano from the seacoast, 50 miles away. Along the Pacific coast there are millions of birds and guano is easily available. Ancient people brought this guano many miles to be able to use in Atacama gardens.

More pictures of the Atacama desert

This shows how even in the distant and ancient past, humans were very creative and clever in adapting to their environments!

Question: What are some interesting facts that you know about the ancient American Indians?

Ancient South American Civilizations Bloomed in the Desert Thanks to Seabird Poop

How a pre-Incan civilisation thrived in the Atacama Desert thanks to seabird poo fertiliser

Biden's new immigration acts

 Biden seeks to reform immigration

The Trump Wall
Former president Trump sought to stop illegal immigration by building a wall and pursuing more aggressive deportation policies. He was criticized for this approach over the four years he was in office, and now our new president, Joe Biden, will seek to take immigration policy in the opposite direction. Joe Biden has announced that he will suspend the deportations of illegal immigrants for 100 days. A Texas judge however put a hold on Biden's deportation freeze for 14 days, so it is unclear what will come of Biden's hold on deportations, but it is certain he will keep trying to end the deportations of illegal residents. Furthermore Biden will reverse Trump's policies on refugees. Under the previous president the flow of refugees slowed down significantly. In contrast, Joe Biden has promised to admit many more refugees and to allow refugees that do not have means of financial support, which means they will they will need government financial assistance, to come to the U.S. The Trump administration tried to admit refugees and immigrants that have money or jobs to support themselves rather than people that need help. Joe Biden has also discontinued the wall between the United States and Mexico that Donald Trump started to build. 

Migrant caravan from Honduras in 2021

President Biden has reversed Trump's immigration immediately after taking office. However in order to enact his new policies he will need the help of congress and the senate. We will see what policies actually are put in practice in the next four years. 

Question: Do you agree with President Biden's new immigration policies?

Texas AG Paxton on court win against Biden's 100-day deportation freeze: 'No one's above the law'

Biden expected to sign executive order to expand US refugee program

On immigration, Biden seeks a new approach to an old deadlock 


Thursday, January 28, 2021

Union versus administration in Chicago

 When will we all get back to school? In Chicago, not yet!

Chicago Mayor Lightfoot
In Chicago, students were supposed to resume on-site learning next Monday but the return to school buildings has been cancelled but have been cancelled due to pushback from the teacher's union. Teachers were scheduled to return to buildings on wednesday and prepare for the students' return after a few days. Now the return has been delayed while the administration and union negotiate. According to the Chicago Tribune:

At a news conference Tuesday, Lightfoot addressed teachers directly, saying: “Of course we want you to be safe. Of course we take your health and safety incredibly seriously, and we have built a plan to make sure you can get the vaccine. But you need to work with us, you need to talk to your leadership, because we can’t get there unless we get there together.” (CPS halts in-person learning for students already back as teachers strike looms; district still aims to open elementary schools Monday)

On the other hand the teachers' union president states:

“There are many options that we’ve proposed to staff classrooms where children are returning without putting every single member of the school community at increased risk — including thousands of educators with families at heightened risk from COVID,” said CTU President Jesse Sharkey. “Is the mayor creating a crisis just to get her way on a reopening date that ignores the risks in our schools and our neighborhoods?” (CPS halts in-person learning for students already back as teachers strike looms; district still aims to open elementary schools Monday)

What is the way forward? The new president Joe Biden has said he wants all students in school within 100 days. But the federal government does not control local schools, the local school board does. In other cities, online versus in-person learning varies. In Florida, students and families have their choice of how to learn, while in California in Los Angeles, all learning is online just like it is Chicago at this point. However, in New york, elementary students are in the buildings while middle and high school students are online only. I guess only time can tell when we will finally return to our buildings!

Question: are you ready to go back to the Brookside campus now?

Where the top US school districts stand with virtual vs. in-person learning

A Chicago teacher doing virtual class outside



Queen of Egypt

 Who was the real Cleopatra?

Cleopatra in the famous 1963 movie
One of the most famous of Egyptian queens in history was Cleopatra, who lived during the Roman period in Egypt, just before the birth of Christ. She was the last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt, meaning she was part of a Greek ruling family and was descended from one of Alexander the Great's generals, who was from  Macedonia in Europe. The Ptolemies were the last dynasty of rulers in Egypt before the Romans and later the Arabs controlled the country. Throughout history this last Egyptian queen was considered to have been very beautiful and was therefore able to form relationships with the great Roman Generals Mark Anthony and Julius Caesar. A new movie will soon be coming out about Cleopatra and there is an internet controversy over the choice of Gal Godot, a White, Jewish actress from Israel, who was also in the recent Wonder Woman movies. Some people claim that the actress should be a Black African actress or Arab because the identity of Cleopatra's mother was possibly uncertain and she may have been black or brown in skin color. Her father was certainly Greek and was the Ptolemaic king of Egypt, so he was therefore a White person. But some people claim that since Cleopatra's mother was not necessarily the Ptolemaic, Greek queen, perhaps she was not herself (completely) White.

A Roman painting of Cleopatra

However, most scholars who study ancient history state that Cleopatra's mother was a in fact a Ptolemaic queen, also of Greek origin. Furthermore, in ancient Egypt the native population was more closely related to the populations of the Middle East and Southern Europe rather than to Sub-Saharan Africa. (Schuenemann, V., Peltzer, A., Welte, B. et al. Ancient Egyptian mummy genomes suggest an increase of Sub-Saharan African ancestry in post-Roman periods. Nat Commun 8, 15694 (2017). This means even if Cleopatra's mother was Egyptian, Cleopatra herself would not have been black or brown, but partly Middle Eastern as well as partly Greek in ancestry, and therefore basically similar to modern Israelis, which may make Gal Gadot a good choice for the role.

Alexander the Great
It is important to remember that Africa is a very large continent with different regions and different peoples. In North Africa, the native people are different from the people in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan means south of the great Sahara desert, the largest desert in the world. In Sub-Sharan Africa the people are basically dark in skin color, like many African Americans. African-Americans are  descended from people that were brought from western Sub-Saharan Africa, from places such as Ghana and Nigeria. However, the peoples of North African countries like Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt are different, and are more similar to Middle Easterners and Southern Europeans. 
 
The Nubian pyramids of Meroe
There were ancient civilizations in Sub-Saharan Africa as well, such as Songhai, Aksum, Ghana and  Benin, and these societies were composed of Black Africans. So was the area of Nubia, south of Egypt in what is today Sudan. Nubians adopted Egyptian culture and created tombs and buildings like those in Egypt further north along the Nile river. 
 
Perhaps It is a waste of time to argue over the 'race' of historical figures like Cleopatra. Each group of people has their own history and ancestry and everyone should be proud of their own background and value their own identity.

Question: Who do you think should play Cleopatra?

Gal Gadot defends her casting as Cleopatra after director was accused of 'whitewashing' 

Greek or Arab? Race Controversy Erupts Over White Actress Portraying Cleopatra

Gal Gadot Defends Playing Cleopatra After 'Whitewashing' Controversy: 'Anybody Can Make This Movie' 

Gal Gadot as Cleopatra is a backwards step for Hollywood representation

Was Cleopatra White? After Controversial Gal Gadot Casting, Experts Weigh In

Ancient Egyptian mummy genomes suggest an increase of Sub-Saharan African ancestry in post-Roman periods 

Roman statue of Cleopatra

Gal Gadot and Roman statue of Cleopatra

Roman portrait of Cleopatra
 
Modern Egyptian Women at a demonstration against the government





Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Lockdown Protests around the globe

 Where and why are people protesting lock downs?

Violent protests in the Netherlands recently

Around the world since the pandemic began people have been protesting the lock-downs? Why is this happening and what are the gals of the protestors? 

As you know we have been in a lockdown or semi-lockdown state since last March, almost one year. As you are also probably aware, this fact has cost millions of people their jobs and their businesses. World-wide poverty has increased and disparities between the wealthy and ordinary people has increased dramatically. This has caused unrest in many places in world. Most recently in the Netherlands, a normally very law-abiding place, there have been widespread protests over the last weekend against a curfew that goes into effect after 9 PM. People disobeying the curfew are fined $100. During the protests at least 3,600 people were fined and after the initial protests, some teens attacked and looted stores. The police used water cannons on the protestors and the government said it would not tolerate further protests. In Denmark protests against lockdowns also broke out and an effigy ro life-size doll of the female prime minister was burned and a sign on the dummy said the prime minister should be killed. Similar demonstrations have broken out around the world, from Latin America to Africa, including in the United States last summer. 

According to experts, the protests are of three main varieties:

The first are libertarian “pro-citizen” movements which have occurred primarily in developed countries of the West, where participants have taken issue with governments restricting their personal freedoms. These attract large crowds– an example being the August 29 protest in Germany, when 38,000 protested in front of the national parliament in Berlin.
The second type is seen taking place in developing economies with large informal sectors, where agitators target the impact of lockdowns on their livelihoods. Such protests were seen in Mexico, South Africa and Belgium, where hospitality and retail workers protested against limitations on in-person activities.
The third kind of protests are those objecting to how the lockdown restrictions are being enforced, accusing authorities of acting arbitrarily or of using excessive force. In China’s Xinjiang province, home to the persecuted Uighur ethnic minority, there have been online protests in which social media users have described the allegedly cruel measures imposed during the lockdown. (Explained: Why are there protests in Europe over new Covid-19 lockdowns?)

So the protests against Covid 19 lock downs and restrictions have different causes. Although all violence is regrettable and essentially wrong, it is understandable that people are protesting against loss of income and being forced to stay home for many months. Perhaps there are better ways to fight the pandemic rather than by repeatedly shutting down entire countries. 

Question: Do you think the protests against the lock downs are right or wrong?










Ready to eat out?

 Lake County, Illinois moves to 'tier 1', in other words we can eat inside restaurants again!

You may already have been dining inside restaurants this last week or two in Lake County, even though yesterday was the official start of indoor dining once again in our area. Many Lake countians have been going to Wisconsin, just across the state line, or to McHenry county just west of us, in order to eat inside restaurants. I have seen restaurants open with indoor dinning for weeks all around this area, despite it supposedly not being allowed due to the pandemic. But in any case it is finally, officially, okay to dine inside a building. According the Lake and McHenry County Scanner:

Under Tier 1, bars and restaurants can have indoor service limited to the lesser of 25% capacity or 25 persons per room. Tables exceeding four people are not allowed indoors and indoor service is not allowed if the facility does not serve food.
Meetings and gatherings, excluding in-person school or sports, are limited to the lesser of 25 guests or 25% capacity indoors and outdoors under Tier 1 guidelines. The move to Tier 1 also allows more sports play in schools.
 (State moves Lake and McHenry counties into Tier 1, reopening indoor dining today)

Does this announcement really matter since so many restaurants have had indoor dining anyways, in violation of the pandemic guidelines?

Question: Do you think people in Lake County are following the state guidelines on indoor dinning and social distancing?

State moves Lake and McHenry counties into Tier 1, reopening indoor dining today

Lake and McHenry counties on track to reopening indoor dining on Tuesday, state says

Illinois Department of Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike


Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Chicago Public Schools return to the on site learning put on hold

 Will Chicago students return to the classroom?

 

Children in Chicago schools use PPE and social distancing
Big trouble in Chicago Public Schools as the district wants students to return to the classroom while the teacher's union says not yet. Kindergarten through 8th grade teachers were scheduled to return to the classrooms on Monday to get ready for the student return on Wednesday. However, on Sunday the teachers' union voted to continue distance learning in a vote of its members with 7i% wanting to stay working from home. According to CBS Chicago News:

“The overwhelming majority of our members have chosen safety, unity and solidarity, and an agreement is within reach, but we need a willing partner,” CTU President Jesse Sharkey said in a news release." (CPS Moves Return Date For Teachers To Wednesday After Chicago Teachers Union Votes Against Return To In-Person Learning)

Meanwhile the district administration has pushed back the return date to Wednesday in the hopes of reaching an agreement. The CTU, Chicago Teachers' Union said they have not reached an agreement with the administration at this point.  According to the union only 19% of eligible students have returned  to the classroom but the district is asking for 80% of teachers to return for less than 20% of students. 

If the teachers don't return, the district administration would consider it an illegal strike and some teachers have already been locked out of their school accounts. The district has previously said it would not pay teachers who do not return. 

At the same time the new president Joe Biden said he wants all students to return to school within 100 days of his inauguration. This may or may not be possible in current conditions and many teachers want to be vaccinated before returning to the classroom.

Question: When will you feel ready to return to the classroom?

CPS Moves Return Date For Teachers To Wednesday After Chicago Teachers Union Votes Against Return To In-Person Learning

CTU votes 'overwhelmingly' in favor for continued remote learning amid COVID-19 

Chicago school district delays in-class start after teachers union votes to continue remote work 

Your kid might not return to a classroom this year. Are teachers unions to blame? 


Will we ever go back this year?

 

 

The president's moon rock

 Joe Biden has a real moon rock in the oval office!

Biden's moon rock

The new president Joe Biden has had a genuine moon rock placed in the oval office! Now that the oval office in the White House belongs to Joe Biden for the next four years, he has redecorated the room. One of the items Joe requested was a moon rock from NASA. President Biden wishes the rock to remind us of the desire to send spacecraft and eventually astronauts to Mars by 2024. That is no long off at all. According to NASA:

The "Lunar Sample 76015,143" is from the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Apollo 17 astronaut Ronald Evans and moonwalkers Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan, the last humans to set foot on the Moon, chipped this sample from a large boulder at the base of the North Massif in the Taurus-Littrow Valley, 3km from the Lunar Module. This 332-gram piece of the Moon, which was collected in 1972, is a 3.9-billion-year-old sample formed during the last large impact event on the nearside of the Moon, the Imbrium Impact Basin, which is 1,145 km in diameter. (NASA Loans Precious 3.9-Billion-year-old Moon Rock to Joe Biden's Oval Office at White House)

 The rock was collected in 1972 during the last moon landing. Unfortunately 1972 was also the same year that a fatal car crash killed Joe Biden's first wife and one-year old daughter Naomi, so a sad year for the Biden's. None the less the moon rock symbolizes the future of the United States in space exploration. 

Question: Would you like to join the Mars expedition when it starts?

The Story of the Moon Rock in Joe Biden's Oval Office


 

 

Monday, January 25, 2021

Where's our Waukegan winter?

How's our Waukegan Winter doing this year?

 It is now nearing the end of January and we are wondering where our winter is going this year. So far we have had some snow, since the start of January, and it has been cold at times, but also pretty mild most of December and some of this month too. Because of e-learning we are not building up any snow days, so that is certainly a good thing. But we really haven't had much snow. 

That may change tonight. We are predicted to receive anywhere from 6 to 8 inches tonight. The last time we had 6 inches at one time was more than 2 years ago and the last time we had 12 inches at once was six years ago in 2015. This means we are due for a nice big snowfall. 

Since we are all still in online learning until mid-February at least, we can get out and enjoy the snow after our class and homework are finished!

Question: Do you like snow or would you prefer a warm and sunny winter?

When was the last time Chicago had a six-inch snow; a 12-inch snow? 

Chicago Weather: Up to 8 inches of snow forecast to fall on area beginning Monday afternoon 

Wintertime in Chicagoland

 

 




Why are people still protesting in Portland?

 Protests in Portland continue after Biden's inauguration

Boarded up buildings in Portland
 The west-coast city of Portland, Oregon has seen protests for many months since the George Floyd incident in Minneapolis last Spring. Protests have been occurring nearly every night since May 2020 and at times have included thousands of individuals. Two of the main groups represented in the protests are Black Lives Matter and Antifa (an 'antifascist' organization). Although some of the protests have been peaceful, many have descended into riots, with wide-spread vandalism, looting, arson and at times shootings and injuries to protestors and police. These protests have been going on so long now that the downtown area of Portland is heavily boarded up and many businesses have closed, due to the pandemic, lock-downs and rioting. Why have these destructive protests continued long after the George Floyd incident and now after a liberal, Democratic administration has entered office in Washington DC?

Police in Portland
Protestors claim that even though the Biden administration has promised to pursue racial justice, minorities are still oppressed and people are still assaulted by police. CNN reports that protestors say:

"We wanted to symbolize that both parties are the oppressor," said a 25-year-old protester who wished not to be identified, fearing government reprisal. "We've all experienced firsthand that police violence is police violence regardless (of which political party holds power). ... It doesn't make a difference to the person being beaten." (Here's why protesters say they're gathering in Portland)

On inauguration day Wednesday, the protestors once again took to the street and attacked and damaged the Democratic party headquarters in Portland.The Democratic party said that the attack was unfortunate, and that the new president and vice-president would be working for racial justice. 

A damaged Starbucks in Portland
Other groups of people in Portland however, blame the city government and the mayor, Ted Wheeler, for allowing violent protests to go on for too long. They say that the downtown of Portland has been seriously damaged and now needs to be revitalized. Mayor Ted Wheeler himself stood with protestors over the summer and was tear-gassed by federal police, but was also attacked by other protestors, who launched fireworks at his condo building and punched him in the face while dining in a restaurant. 

Mayor Ted Wheeler punched by protestor

Protestors attack Mayor Wheeler's condo building
Question: Do you think protestors should be allowed to continue demonstrating in Portland? 

Portland protesters occupied mayor's presumed condo complex

Frustrated Portland business leaders launch group to revive downtown, fault politicians for inaction 

Inauguration Day in Oregon: Protesters clash with police, feds during Inauguration Day march, ‘Abolish ICE’ protest

Here's why protesters say they're gathering in Portland 

Protesters Accosted Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler While He Was Dining Out





Friday, January 22, 2021

Sad whale situation in the Mediterranean

 Giant fin whale brought to Naples, Italy after dying at sea

The whale brought into harbor
A  very large fin whale was found in the Mediterranean sea of the coast of Naples in Southern Italy, after Italian the coast guard were led to a large fin whale carcass by a younger whale that was in distress. Unfortunately it is possible that the young whale was the child of the older whale that passed away, because the younger whale appeared to have been in mourning. Fin whales are the second largest species of whale and is recognized by its large dorsal (located on the top of its body) fin. This species is found all over the world and is one of the biggest whales in the Mediterranean ocean as well as in other oceans and seas. Sadly, this whale was brought to shore after its body was discovered. Italian authorities are trying to discover what caused its death and say that its skeleton will likely be put in a museum. Hopefully the young fin whale is okay. The Italian Coast Guard is keeping and eye out for it and will attempt to provide assistance when they locate the juvenile whale. 

Question: What do you think might have caused the death of the whale? 

Italian Coast Guard Recovers Carcass of Huge Whale in Mediterranean Sea

Italian coastguard recover huge whale carcass 

A fin whale at sea

The skull of a fin whale in a museum

 

Butterflies flutter and flap

 Just how do Butterflies fly? Scientists have figured it out!

There are many ways for a creature to fly. Birds and insects all have different methods of taking to the air, just like propellor-driven aircraft and jets have different methods of propulsion and movement through the sky. In the case of butterflies however, scientists have long wondered at how they actually use their wings. Butterfly wings are very large compared to their bodies, which are small and thin. In addition, butterfly wings are broad and flexible. For a long time entomologists were unable to figure out exactly how butterfly wings functioned, until recently. Some Swedish scientists tested the hypothesis that these insects 'clap' their wings. It turns out through creating model butterflies whose wings function like the real insect, that butterfly wings do clap and because they are flexible, push air backwards, which propels the butterflies forward. Bird and bat wings push air downwards and 'flap', rather than 'clap'. The Swedish entomologists believe that they butterflies evolved this method of flying to better escape from predators. However they do it, butterflies are beautiful insects that make us feel like spring and summer is coming when we see them!

Question: Would you like to learn to fly? 

Scientists have finally worked out how butterflies fly




Thursday, January 21, 2021

A look back at Trump

 Donald Trump; the Good, the Bad and the Ugly; a library editorial

Donald and Melania Trump saying goodbye

Donald Trump left office yesterday after four years of very controversial leadership that has seen great turmoil in the United States along with some interesting accomplishments. Donald Trump was in many ways one of the most controversial presidents in U.S. history. Many people claimed he was a racist due to the fact that he attempted to halt illegal immigration to the United States by building a wall on the southern border. This fact was viewed as racist because the majority of people crossing the border illegally were Hispanic/Latino. Many other people however, including some people of Hispanic background, viewed stopping illegal immigration as a necessary measure to protect American citizens. Other presidents, in particular Barack Obama,  deported more illegal migrants than Trump did. ICE arrests under Trump were significantly  lower than under Obama, so it is difficult to say that Trump was a racist based on his immigration policies. Initially, some people also considered Trump to be anti-LGBT. Trump did limit transgender people's rights in the U.S. military, but it is not really clear from this act that Trump was actually anti-LGBT as few of his other policies limited the rights of LGBT people in any way. Similarly, although Trump was viewed by some people as being anti-African American, many Black people supported some of his actions and Trump  pardoned prominent Black rappers on his last day in office, including Lil Wayne and Kodak Black as well as a number of other African Americans in prison for drug-related offenses who were not celebrities. If Trump is in fact a racist, it is hard to believe he would pardon these individuals as he leaves office. 

Donald Trump and Lil' Wayne
So even though in our view Trump was not likely a 'racist', he did have some major short comings. First, he frequently relied far too much on social media to communicate his personal opinions and ideas, which is not the most presidential way to communicate. Trump's 'tweets' were often not checked or proofread and sometimes contradicted official statements. In addition, Trump responded unprofessionally and overly-emotionally to criticism by the media and the other politicians on too many occasions. There also seemed to be a lack of coherence to Trump's policies and a lack of clear direction that unnerved the rest of Washington. This problem was especially noticeable during the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic, when Trump's policies did not appear well organized and coordinated. Despite this fact, other countries have had similar outcomes as the U.S. in terms of the pandemic, even if their initial response appeared more organized. Trump also seemed to encourage conspiracy theorists, such as QAnon, which also helped lead to the riot in the capitol a week ago. Finally, the 'capitol insurrection' that Trump instigated because, essentially he was a sore loser, was completely unacceptable and will very much damage his reputation.
Trump and QAnon supporters
What about the good things Trump did? The out-going Trump administration has published a list of Trump's accomplishments and at least some of them are accurate. Prior to the Covid 19 pandemic the American economy was the strongest it has been in many years. In fact the unemployment rate among all Americans, especially Black and Hispanic Americans, was at historic lows and incomes for all groups of people rose. According to ABC News:

Trump's Clintonian tack of "it's the economy, stupid," despite the myriad scandals and investigations that dogged him, largely worked as GDP grew at a healthy clip, the stock market soared and unemployment rates hit a half-century low, until the coronavirus pandemic gutted the job market. (A look at Trump's economic legacy

The Trumps depart Washington DC
 So yesterday it was goodbye to President Donald Trump and hello to President Joe Biden. I am certain that there are many reasons why we are happy to see Trump leave the White House. Yet in hindsight, Donald Trump did create some positive policies that benefited all Americans, despite the animosity against him from much of the media and Democrats. At least in terms of the economy, it will be difficult for Joe Biden to match Trump's accomplishments, although we hope Biden does equal Trump's economic success. In the end we all hope for the best from the new president and the new administration and look forward to a more peaceful presidency under Joe Biden.

Big bad wolves

 What were Dire Wolves?

Dire Wolf in the Game of Thrones
In the recent television series, the Game of Thrones, one of the scary animals depicted was the 'dire wolf'. This wolf lived during the ice ages in the Americas and was significantly larger than modern wolves. One of the newest branches of science is the sequencing of DNA to discover the origins and migrations of living things throughout history. Until recently scientists thought Dire Wolves were related to modern Eurasian wolves. However studying the DNA of ancient dire wolves shows that they lived in the Americas before modern wolves migrated here. Thus they are not related to wolves, although they are still canines, and actually are not wolves at all. 

Dire wolves (reddish color) and modern wolves

In addition dire wolves have no modern decedents like wolves, coyotes or dogs. Eurasian (modern) wolves can interbreed with coyotes and dogs to produce hybrid species. In contrast, we know dire wolves could not interbreed with wolves since they have no living children. Scientists believe dire wolves died out along with the large prey that they hunted, such as camels and woolly rhinos. Since dire wolves were very large and likely very ferocious, we are lucky that the are extinct!

Question: Would you like to see a dire wolf in real life?

Analysis of ancient DNA reveals details about the dire wolf, inspiration for 'Game of Thrones' creature

Dire Wolves Were Not Really Wolves, New Genetic Clues Reveal 





Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Our new homes in space

 Giant space station proposed as new home for humans in space

A proposed space station

Would you like to live in a giant, earth-like space station? A Finnish scientist has proposed that instead of colonizing Mars, we should build floating, connected space stations that would surround the the mini planet Ceres. Ceres is a small planet that is just a little farther than Mars. Its atmosphere contains lost of nitrogen like the atmosphere of Earth. It also has water on its surface, although it may be under the ground and frozen. In addition, its surface also contains many mineral and chemical resources that could be used by colonists in space stations above the little planet. The Finnish scientist who proposes this project is Pekka Janhunen, and his proposal is that it would be cheaper and easier to build such connected space stations above Ceres than reconstructing the surface of Mars to meet the needs of humans. One major problem of Mars is that its gravity is a lot weaker than that of earth's. This means humans raised on that planet would have many health issues related to muscle development. Orbiting space stations could have a rotation that would recreate the gravitational pull of Earth. A 24 hour day/night could also be more easily recreated on a space station. Janhunen believes that such a space station could be built after maybe 20 years!

Question: would you volunteer to live on a space station?

Humans could move to this floating asteroid belt colony in the next 15 years, astrophysicist says

Our new home?

 

 

An end and a beginning

 The Covid 19 pandemic: where we've been and where we are going! A year ago on March 11, 2020, the Covid 19 virus had effected enough co...