| News Briefs - January-February - Online Extra |
Huge Texas Spider Web
Along a 200-yard stretch of trail in
a North Texas park is a sprawling
spider web that covers several
trees, shrubs and the ground.
The web is a big attraction for
some visitors, but its origin is a
matter of debate among
entomologists. It likely is either the
work of social cobweb spiders
working together or the result of a
mass dispersal in which the
arachnids spin webs to spread out
from one another. The whitish
web now has turned brown from
the millions of mosquitoes caught
in it.—www.cnn.com (8/30/07)
Why Human Eyes
Are So Good
Human eyes are not that
structurally different from those of
animals, so why is it that our eyes
can detect fine details in objects
that most animals cannot detect?
Researchers at Boston University
may have uncovered evidence
that the constant jerky movements
in human eyes may be the
answer. When they used a
computer system to stabilize eyes,
the researchers found that the
ability to note fine details
decreased by almost 20%.—
Discover (October, 2007)
What Causes the Moon
To Belch
The moon appears to be belching
gas. Astronomers have long been
puzzled by visions of hazy spots
on the moon’s surface. Now an
astrophysicist from Columbia U.
has matched up these mystery
spots with records of radon
emissions which have been
collected by lunar spacecraft. The
radon emission locations
perfectly match the distortions.—
Discover (October, 2007)
Along a 200-yard stretch of trail in
a North Texas park is a sprawling
spider web that covers several
trees, shrubs and the ground.
The web is a big attraction for
some visitors, but its origin is a
matter of debate among
entomologists. It likely is either the
work of social cobweb spiders
working together or the result of a
mass dispersal in which the
arachnids spin webs to spread out
from one another. The whitish
web now has turned brown from
the millions of mosquitoes caught
in it.—www.cnn.com (8/30/07)
Why Human Eyes
Are So Good
Human eyes are not that
structurally different from those of
animals, so why is it that our eyes
can detect fine details in objects
that most animals cannot detect?
Researchers at Boston University
may have uncovered evidence
that the constant jerky movements
in human eyes may be the
answer. When they used a
computer system to stabilize eyes,
the researchers found that the
ability to note fine details
decreased by almost 20%.—
Discover (October, 2007)
What Causes the Moon
To Belch
The moon appears to be belching
gas. Astronomers have long been
puzzled by visions of hazy spots
on the moon’s surface. Now an
astrophysicist from Columbia U.
has matched up these mystery
spots with records of radon
emissions which have been
collected by lunar spacecraft. The
radon emission locations
perfectly match the distortions.—
Discover (October, 2007)
Around the World
Using Human Power
October 6 British adventurer
Jason Lewis proceeded up the
River Thames, completing a 13-
year 46,000-mile trip around the
world using no source of power
but his own muscles. His vehicles
included pedal boats, bicycles,
kayaks and inline skates. The
adventure was not trouble free.
He was hit by a car in Colorado,
attacked by a crocodile in
Australia, arrested as a suspected
spy in Egypt and needed to
survive illness and periods of
despair.—(Racine) Journal Ties
(10/7/07)
Kids on the Internet
Parents are underestimating how
much time their children are
spending on the Internet,
according to a study by Webroot
software. Almost half of children
between the ages of 11 and 17
reported they averaged at least 3
or 4 hours online a day, but more
than 3/4 of the parents said they
believed in was only two hours or
less. Also while more than half the
children said they have made at
least one online purchase, 71% of
the parents said their children
never did.—Smart Computing
(August, 2007)
Using Human Power
October 6 British adventurer
Jason Lewis proceeded up the
River Thames, completing a 13-
year 46,000-mile trip around the
world using no source of power
but his own muscles. His vehicles
included pedal boats, bicycles,
kayaks and inline skates. The
adventure was not trouble free.
He was hit by a car in Colorado,
attacked by a crocodile in
Australia, arrested as a suspected
spy in Egypt and needed to
survive illness and periods of
despair.—(Racine) Journal Ties
(10/7/07)
Kids on the Internet
Parents are underestimating how
much time their children are
spending on the Internet,
according to a study by Webroot
software. Almost half of children
between the ages of 11 and 17
reported they averaged at least 3
or 4 hours online a day, but more
than 3/4 of the parents said they
believed in was only two hours or
less. Also while more than half the
children said they have made at
least one online purchase, 71% of
the parents said their children
never did.—Smart Computing
(August, 2007)
Good Chocolate
A small German study confirms
the health benefits of eating dark
chocolate. As reported in the July
4, 2007 issue of the Journal of the
American Medical Association, 44
older adults with high blood
pressure were assigned to eat a
small amount of either dark or
white chocolate daily. After 18
weeks the dark chocolate group
saw a drop of from 2-3 mm Hg in
their blood pressures while there
was no improvement in the white
chocolate group. Dark chocolate
is a good source of flavonoids, an
antioxidant thought to improve the
function of blood vessels.—Mayo
Clinic Health Letter (November,
2007)
Smithsonian in Trouble
Deteriorating conditions at
facilities belonging to the
Smithsonian Institute have
resulted in damage to historic
airplanes, threats to collections,
and the leaking of millions of
gallons of water at a National Zoo
enclosure. Cuts in security staff
have at the institution’s 18
museums also have resulted in
acts of vandalism and theft
involving valuable artifacts. The
Smithsonian has a backlog of
$2.5 billion in maintenance
projects, but it has depended
upon federal appropriations and
spurned most offers of private
money.—Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel (9/29/07)
A small German study confirms
the health benefits of eating dark
chocolate. As reported in the July
4, 2007 issue of the Journal of the
American Medical Association, 44
older adults with high blood
pressure were assigned to eat a
small amount of either dark or
white chocolate daily. After 18
weeks the dark chocolate group
saw a drop of from 2-3 mm Hg in
their blood pressures while there
was no improvement in the white
chocolate group. Dark chocolate
is a good source of flavonoids, an
antioxidant thought to improve the
function of blood vessels.—Mayo
Clinic Health Letter (November,
2007)
Smithsonian in Trouble
Deteriorating conditions at
facilities belonging to the
Smithsonian Institute have
resulted in damage to historic
airplanes, threats to collections,
and the leaking of millions of
gallons of water at a National Zoo
enclosure. Cuts in security staff
have at the institution’s 18
museums also have resulted in
acts of vandalism and theft
involving valuable artifacts. The
Smithsonian has a backlog of
$2.5 billion in maintenance
projects, but it has depended
upon federal appropriations and
spurned most offers of private
money.—Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel (9/29/07)
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