This biggest news in science this week still has to be the U.S. State of the Birds report I mentioned the other day. One of the interesting aspects of this report is the fact that a lot of the data has come from "citizen science" programs like the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, Cornell's eBird, Great Backyard Bird Count, and Project Feederwatch (Cornell has even more options here), and HawkCount.
Yet another way we can help ornithologists is a new project from the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center's North American Bird Phenology Program. Begun in 1881, the NABPP houses some 6 million data cards on migration patterns and populations of birds. They are currently seeking volunteers to, first, help scan the cards (for those who live in the Baltimore & Washington area) and, second, enter the data into their computer to create a computer database (you can live anywhere). If you are interested in assisting with this project, you can sign up here.
There's so much more we can do as well. Put up feeders, bird baths, and nesting boxes to support the birds in your neighborhood. To help protect forest birds use recycled paper for copiers and printers, then be sure to switch to "green" paper towels and toilet tissue. For the aridland species do I like I did and cut down on the beef, since so much of that habitat is being destroyed by cattle (besides, there's nothing like going for a walk out in the wilderness to look for birds and encountering giant piles of excrement they've left behind).
Yet another way we can help ornithologists is a new project from the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center's North American Bird Phenology Program. Begun in 1881, the NABPP houses some 6 million data cards on migration patterns and populations of birds. They are currently seeking volunteers to, first, help scan the cards (for those who live in the Baltimore & Washington area) and, second, enter the data into their computer to create a computer database (you can live anywhere). If you are interested in assisting with this project, you can sign up here.
There's so much more we can do as well. Put up feeders, bird baths, and nesting boxes to support the birds in your neighborhood. To help protect forest birds use recycled paper for copiers and printers, then be sure to switch to "green" paper towels and toilet tissue. For the aridland species do I like I did and cut down on the beef, since so much of that habitat is being destroyed by cattle (besides, there's nothing like going for a walk out in the wilderness to look for birds and encountering giant piles of excrement they've left behind).
A report released Monday in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (abstract, full report requires subscription) describes the smallest dinosaur yet discovered in North America. It wasn't very big, weighing in at about 2kg/4.5 lbs. and about 50 cm/19 in tall. "It was half the size of a domestic cat and probably hunted and ate whatever it could for its size - insects, mammals, amphibians and maybe even baby dinosaurs," said Nick Longrich, a paleontology research associate in the University of Calgary's Department of Biological Sciences. Interestingly, some of these fossilized remains were found in 1982 but were believed to have come from juveniles. "The claws were thought to come from juveniles- they were just so small. But when we studied the pelvis, we found the hip bones were fused, which would only have happened once the animal was fully grown", Longrich said. "Until now, the smallest carnivorous dinosaurs we have seen in North America have been about the size of a wolf. Judging by the amount of material that was collected, we believe animals the size of Hesperonychus must have been quite common on the landscape."
(No comment yet from the folks at the Creation (non)Museum in Kentucky, but they would probably have you believe that Adam and Eve kept them around as "mousers" - after the"Fall" of course, since according to that group of wackaloons these dinosaurs, and all the other carnivores, would have been vegetarian before "original sin" . . .)
Another exciting recent find are some fossilized Octupi (or octopuses or octopods - all are correct!) from the mid-Cretaceous. Fossils of these animals are exceedingly rare because, with no bones and only soft tissue, conditions have to be absolutely perfect for them to fossilize. We know, of course, that there are times when a living thing is buried in sediments that conditions can be "just right" for fossilization of soft tissues, since paleontologists will occasionally find fossilized skin from dinosaurs, for example. The octopod fossils were found in 95 million year old rocks in Lebanon and included in the find are 5 separate speciments representing 3 different species. According to the report, some of the fossils show traces of gills and even ink.
From Bad Astronomy, via Universe Today, came word of another close approach by an asteroid on Wednesday of this week. This piece of rock was estimated to be about 20 meters/65 feet across (the size of a small house) and would be zipping by at about 80,000 km/50,000 mi. The BA, one whose knowledgeable about the things (see his book Death from the Skies), suggests that if it were on a trajectory to hit Earth and composed mostly of iron there would be a chance that it would still be somewhat intact and potentially do some serious damage. However, most are made of rock, and one this size would almost completely burn up in the atmosphere and then explode before hitting the ground. He also notes that there would probably be some damage on the ground from the shockwave associated with the explosion.
Another interesting bit of news from the world of astronomy is some new evidence that there may be some subsurface liquid water on Mars. Some photos NASA's Phoenix Lander took of one of its legs at 3 different intervals indicates to some scientists that it be some very salty (briny, if you will) liquid water that may have splashed up when it landed. Others think it may be frost, but, regardless, these water droplets/clumps of frost have merged together over time. At -68C/-90F the brine would likely be to cold to harbor any life but "The highly saline water could, however, act to preserve organic compounds and vestiges of life."
I might suggest, given that the U.S. ranks pretty near the bottom when compared to the rest of the industrialized world in science and math education, that those with children make use of some of the resources available on the web. I'll try to make some suggestions as we go along. A good place to start would be Science News for Kids (there's a pretty interesting recent article - even for adults - on the Platypus, for example). Get your hands on an RSS newsreader (I use Mozilla Thunderbird, an email client that also provides me with summaries of RSS feeds I subscribe to from different sites and blogs - Thunderbird is free and not that difficult to setup) and "git those kids some learnin' . . .".
Here's one for those who like to parrot the creationist's line about there being no transitional fossils to support the Theory of Evolution. It's from January but, if you think transitional fossils aren't there, you are just kidding yourself. Along these same lines is the often blind acceptance of the "6,000 years since the Creation" story that goes hand in hand with denial of evolutionary theory. I would argue that anyone buying into that (and, sadly, there are still quite a few of them in the U.S.) doesn't really know the source of the story. Here's a clue: That whole thing was all made up by an Anglican bishop in the 17th Century.
(No comment yet from the folks at the Creation (non)Museum in Kentucky, but they would probably have you believe that Adam and Eve kept them around as "mousers" - after the"Fall" of course, since according to that group of wackaloons these dinosaurs, and all the other carnivores, would have been vegetarian before "original sin" . . .)
Another exciting recent find are some fossilized Octupi (or octopuses or octopods - all are correct!) from the mid-Cretaceous. Fossils of these animals are exceedingly rare because, with no bones and only soft tissue, conditions have to be absolutely perfect for them to fossilize. We know, of course, that there are times when a living thing is buried in sediments that conditions can be "just right" for fossilization of soft tissues, since paleontologists will occasionally find fossilized skin from dinosaurs, for example. The octopod fossils were found in 95 million year old rocks in Lebanon and included in the find are 5 separate speciments representing 3 different species. According to the report, some of the fossils show traces of gills and even ink.
From Bad Astronomy, via Universe Today, came word of another close approach by an asteroid on Wednesday of this week. This piece of rock was estimated to be about 20 meters/65 feet across (the size of a small house) and would be zipping by at about 80,000 km/50,000 mi. The BA, one whose knowledgeable about the things (see his book Death from the Skies), suggests that if it were on a trajectory to hit Earth and composed mostly of iron there would be a chance that it would still be somewhat intact and potentially do some serious damage. However, most are made of rock, and one this size would almost completely burn up in the atmosphere and then explode before hitting the ground. He also notes that there would probably be some damage on the ground from the shockwave associated with the explosion.
Another interesting bit of news from the world of astronomy is some new evidence that there may be some subsurface liquid water on Mars. Some photos NASA's Phoenix Lander took of one of its legs at 3 different intervals indicates to some scientists that it be some very salty (briny, if you will) liquid water that may have splashed up when it landed. Others think it may be frost, but, regardless, these water droplets/clumps of frost have merged together over time. At -68C/-90F the brine would likely be to cold to harbor any life but "The highly saline water could, however, act to preserve organic compounds and vestiges of life."
I might suggest, given that the U.S. ranks pretty near the bottom when compared to the rest of the industrialized world in science and math education, that those with children make use of some of the resources available on the web. I'll try to make some suggestions as we go along. A good place to start would be Science News for Kids (there's a pretty interesting recent article - even for adults - on the Platypus, for example). Get your hands on an RSS newsreader (I use Mozilla Thunderbird, an email client that also provides me with summaries of RSS feeds I subscribe to from different sites and blogs - Thunderbird is free and not that difficult to setup) and "git those kids some learnin' . . .".
Here's one for those who like to parrot the creationist's line about there being no transitional fossils to support the Theory of Evolution. It's from January but, if you think transitional fossils aren't there, you are just kidding yourself. Along these same lines is the often blind acceptance of the "6,000 years since the Creation" story that goes hand in hand with denial of evolutionary theory. I would argue that anyone buying into that (and, sadly, there are still quite a few of them in the U.S.) doesn't really know the source of the story. Here's a clue: That whole thing was all made up by an Anglican bishop in the 17th Century.
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