Bison trigger a camera trap set up on the prairie at The Nature Conservancy’s Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Pawhuska, Oklahoma.
We have posted on this topic a few times, and can predict there will be more:
9 Animal Cams You Need in Your Life
Eating healthy will do more for your immune system than megadoses of supplements. Gillian Blease/Ikon Images/Getty Images
Want To Prevent The Flu? Skip The Supplements, Eat Your Veggies
KATHERINE HOBSON
Flu season is upon us, which means it’s time for the wave of advertisements promoting $8 juices or even more expensive supplements to “boost your immunity” or “support immune function.”
But those are marketing terms, not scientific ones. And there’s no proof that those products are going to keep you from getting sick. Continue reading
male – Gallon Jug Estate, Belize
Click the image above to go to Phaidon’s website or see a couple of the book’s photographs and blurbs about the book’s intent below:
Beautiful and bizarre beasts behind Darwin’s theory
Photographer Robert Clark’s new book offers some striking supporting evidence for the theory of natural selection
Southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) by Robert Clark. © Robert Clark. From Evolution: A Visual Record
Already, from the cover, we like it. Some of the sample images from inside the book seal the deal. Continue reading
The Timbisha Shoshone elder Pauline Esteves in 1999. In 1933, when Esteves was eight, her tribe’s homeland was declared Death Valley National Monument. PHOTOGRAPH BY LAURA RAUCH / AP
We had already published several posts mentioning one of the earth’s more remarkable deserts. But the spectacle that desert displayed this year brought it back to our attention, for several important reasons. Click here (or on the image above) to go to Alex Ross’s update of the epic article he published on Death Valley recently, which we linked to here:
“In the desert, you see, there is everything and there is nothing,” Balzac wrote. “It is God without mankind.” The sensation of sublime emptiness, of a sacred void, explains the enduring romantic appeal of a place like Death Valley,: Continue reading
Estero San Jose del Cabo, BCS, Mexico
Thanks to American Scientist for this book review:
From Little Acorns
SEEDS: A Natural History. Carolyn Fry. 192 pp. University of Chicago Press, 2016. $35.
Plant conservationists, horticulturists, plant ecologists, and the like face a perplexing public relations problem when it comes to their beloved subject: For many people, plant life—even though it is essential to the existence of all living things on our planet—may seem dull, especially in comparison with animal life. In 1998 American botanists James Wandersee and Elizabeth Schussler coined the term plant blindness, defining it as “the inability to see or notice the plants in one’s own environment,” leading to “the inability to recognize the importance of plants in the biosphere and in human affairs.” In the pages of Seeds, Carolyn Fry offers an almost certain cure for this malady. Continue reading
The title is either wishful thinking, or stating the obvious; we are not sure which. Thanks to our colleagues at Clean Technica for this:
Hawai’i Solar Power (In Depth)
Glorious blue skies and endless sunshine. Warm, balmy breezes. Isn’t that how you envision Hawai’i? Like the slogan, “Everything’s better in Hawaii,” right? Oops, one thing does dampen the impression of Hawai’i, though: its high cost of living, especially for energy. Continue reading
Dinokeng Game Reserve, Pretoria, SA
Credit James Rajotte for The New York Times
Some of La Paz Group’s senior contributors have recollections of Santorini going back three decades, and the history of the place is both geological and cultural; the complexity of that history is still being revealed:
An Ancient Tsunami That Ended a Civilization Gets Another Look
In the 17th century B.C., Santorini was a small volcanic island in the Aegean Sea, home to Akrotiri, a Late Bronze Age outpost of Minoan civilization, which preceded ancient Greece. Then the volcano erupted, burying Akrotiri in ash and obliterating much of Santorini, turning it into a few smaller islands. Continue reading
If you are a fan of grapefruit, as we are of the salt (National Public Radio, USA) read the entire article:
Grapefruit And Salt: The Science Behind This Unlikely Power Couple
NADIA BERENSTEIN
Grapefruit’s bitterness can make it hard to love. Indeed, people often smother it in sugar just to get it down. And yet Americans were once urged to sweeten it with salt.
Ad campaigns from the first and second world wars tried to convince us that“Grapefruit Tastes Sweeter With Salt!” as one 1946 ad for Morton’s in Life magazine put it. The pairing, these ads swore, enhanced the flavor. Continue reading
Sattal, Uttarakhand
Image from thousandwonders.net
Described as “Europe’s last wilderness,” Sarek National Park is a dream destination for hikers, mountaineers, and adventure fanatics who are looking for untamed and challenging terrain. The park is in the province of Norrbotten in northern Sweden and located north of the Arctic Circle (burrrr!). The park has precipitous mountains that reach heights greater than 2000 meters and has almost 100 glaciers. In addition, long, deep, narrow valleys and wild, turbulent waters wind between the mountain chains, creating a sensational sight of unrestricted wilderness. Continue reading
An image of the well-preserved medieval ship found at the bottom of the Black Sea, one of more than 40 wrecks discovered. Photogrammetry, a process using thousands of photographs and readings, produced a rendering that appears three-dimensional. Credit Expedition and Education Foundation/Black Sea MAP
For divers, as well as anyone fascinated by ancient maritime trade routes, this must be the best news in a long while:
‘We Couldn’t Believe Our Eyes’: A
Lost World of Shipwrecks Is FoundArchaeologists have found more than 40 vessels in the Black Sea, some more than a millennium old, shedding light on early empires and trade routes. Continue reading
A supermoon seen above Cairo in October. Credit Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters
Thanks to the New York Times for this reminder:
The Supermoon and Other Moons That Are Super in Their Own Ways
By NICHOLAS ST. FLEUR
Shrug off the supermoon.
Yes, it’s true that on Sunday and Monday nights the full moon will be at its closest to Earth in nearly 70 years. But to the casual observer, it probably won’t look much different from a regular full moon. Yet headlines heralding the event as some sort of don’t-miss spectacle are everywhere. Continue reading
Barva Volcano, Costa Rica
Fritz Lang’s 1927 film “Metropolis”
ARCHIVES NEW ZEALAND
In the wake of a U.S. election that left half the population bracing for a dystopian future, it seems a timely moment to present Fritz Lang’s 1927 silent classic, Metropolis. Considered the “father” of science fiction cinema, the film was meticulously restored in 2010.
But it’s the extra element of a live score composed and presented by the Alloy Orchestra that makes this screening an exceptional event. This unusual three man musical ensemble writes and performs live accompaniment to classic silent films using a combination of found percussion and state-of-the-art electronics to generate an amazingly varied array of musical styles. Continue reading
This past week I have been at Villa del Faro with Seth and Jocelyn, reviewing plans for 2017. It was a week in which the thought came to us: people need time to reflect (among other important things). I took this photo of the Stone Beach Cottage at about 5:30 p.m. yesterday and I can visualize many friends, colleagues, and plenty of as yet unknown folks who would benefit from some reflection time there. Continue reading
In a village in southern Vietnam, a woman weaves a fishing net. By tradition, Vietnamese women make nets for their husbands. Danny Yen Sin Wong
Thanks to National Public Radio (USA) for this story on the SIPA collection of remarkable images from around the world:
Absolutely Gorgeous Photos Reveal The Beauty In A Hard Life
Can you find beauty in a life of hardship?
If the photos from the Siena International Photo Awards are any indication, the answer is yes. Last month, the winners and runners-up in 11 categories, including travel, nature, people and portraits, were announced. Continue reading
The fact that we’re rather “into birds” should come as no surprise to anyone giving even a quick perusal of this site. In addition to the birds themselves, we enjoy highlighting those who photograph them, those who paint them, those who study them, as well as those who craft them. Continue reading
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