More 60 degree "winter" days

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/revealing-the-leopard-full-film/8384/
A 2010 episode of Nature about the leopard.

http://www.genengnews.com/insight-and-intelligence/adenovectors-for-gene-therapy/77900582/
Crispr-Cas9 and other new gene-editing technologies are bringing back the promise of adenovectors.

http://artchaelogicalmuseum.blogspot.com/
My friends Dina and Julie have The Open Studio in Catskill, NY and this is Dina's blog.

http://www.folkmusic.com/lyrics/christmas-trenches
Lyrics to a song about the famous Christmas truce in WW1 in 1914.

http://qz.com/516672/ancient-romans-had-no-need-for-dentists-because-of-one-food-they-didnt-eat/
From NYT, without sugar, ancient Romans (and English tudors) had excellent teeth. When sugar production reduced the price of sugar, people started to have rotten teeth and dental problems. From October, 2015 

364 Days to Christmas

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/26/world/middleeast/us-foreign-arms-deals-increased-nearly-10-billion-in-2014.html?_r=0
Arms deals assure US is top seller. Foreign arms sales to such peace-loving areas as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea by the US increased in 2014 by $10 billion, almost 35%,according to a congressional study. US controls over half the globe's arms trade, according to NYT this morning.We will still be praying for peace next Christmas and providing armaments to fuel the world's disagreements. Those of us with grandchildren take a moment to cry for them.

Christmas Day and we are all united in our wish for peace, and happy, maybe

http://www.democracynow.org/2013/11/28/a_tribute_to_blacklisted_lyricist_yip
From Democracy Now, a tribute to Yip Harburg, blacklisted lyricist who wrote "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", among other hummables.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joel-shatzky/educating-for-democracyad_b_8871390.html
From the Huff Post, a blog about "Adjunctivitis", a disease I seem to have contracted in 2007.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2015/12/journey-nazareth-bethlehem-today-151224135702070.html
From Al Jazeera, a contemporary perspective on the trip fro Nazareth to Bethlehem, complete with checkpoints.

Another hero of mine from The Ricrad Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science's FB page:


http://www.nature.com/news/the-science-myths-that-will-not-die-1.19022
From Nature 17 December 2015 Science Myths that Won't Die (false beliefs such as increasing thyroid screening will decrease death rate, example of Korea)

From National Center for Science Education (NCSE)
DARWIN DAY BILL IN THE SENATE

Senate Resolution 337, introduced in the United States Senate on
December 17, 2015, would, if passed, express the Senate's support of
designating February 12, 2016, as Darwin Day, and its recognition of
"Charles Darwin as a worthy symbol on which to celebrate the
achievements of reason, science, and the advancement of human
knowledge."

Introduced by Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), S. Res. 336
is the second Darwin Day resolution ever to appear in the Senate. A
string of similar bills have been introduced in the House of
Representatives, the most recent of which -- H. Res. 548 -- was
introduced by Representative Jim Himes (D-Connecticut) on December 3,
2015.

In a December 18, 2015, press release from the Secular Coalition of
America, which worked with Blumenthal on the resolution, Kelly
Damerow, the organization's interim executive director, commented,
"This resolution celebrates the intellectual bravery and scientific
discovery that contribute to the well-being of all people."

Christmas Eve, not the warmest on record

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/12/23/traditional-toys-may-beat-gadgets-in-language-development/?_r=0
In this article in NYT, traditional toys and books produced more interaction and words spoken by parent to child than electronic toys.

http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/12/what-chief-justice-roberts-misunderstands-about-physics/421755/ 
This is an article from the Atlantic in which Chief Justice Roberts responded to Justice Scalia's suggestion that separate but equal might be the best route after all by speculating that a physics class might not benefit from diversity to the extent that a humanities class might. Hail SCOTUS, the most powerful court in the land with the most powerful, crippling and pernicious misunderstandings.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/rare-christmas-full-moon-will-add-to-holiday-light/
Full moon on Christmas

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/listen-bob-dylan-read-twas-night-christmas-180957632
Bob Dylan reads "Night before Christmas" from Smithsonian

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/24/health/brain-cancers-reveal-novel-genetic-disruption-in-dna.html
This is a very interesting article from NYT about a metabolic gene that is responsible in brain cancer for disrupting the 3-D structure of DNA and bringing 2 genes together to cause cell proliferation. Formerly thought of as a "housekeeping" gene.

http://www.pbs.org/parents/expert-tips-advice/2015/12/getting-kids-listen-without-losing-voice/
5 tips to get your kids to hear what you have to say- this article seems pretty obvious to me.

http://www.democracynow.org/2015/12/24/headlines/report_all_major_oil_companies_knew_of_climate_change_by_1970s   
This is supposed to be a surprise that Exxon-Mobil knew about the effects of our increasing reliance on fossil fuels on greenhouse gasses and climate change? Report by InsideClimate News that the American Petroleum Institute launched a campaign to oppose the Kyoto Protocol to limit greenhouse gasses; by the way, not ratified by US.

http://adjunctworld.tumblr.com/
Recommended blog

2 Days into Winter

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/grid-cells-how-the-brain-finds-its-way-video/
This is a video of two discoveries about the brain which were awarded the Nobel prize in 2014.

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/29693-higher-education-and-the-politics-of-disruption
From one of my heros, Henry Giroux, about how higher education is becoming a business. This is from Truthout, from March 2015.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn28704-sleep-isnt-needed-to-create-long-term-memories-just-time-out/
From the New Scientist about how it is important to take breaks, not necessarily to sleep, in order to encode long term memories. Note to self.

http://labor411.org/411-blog/840-here-is-the-hourly-wage-you-need-to-afford-a-2-bedroom-rental-in-each-state
From a blog called Labor 411, a graphic showing the hourly wage needed to afford a 2-bedroom apartment in each state.  Glad to be off the rental market and it's tougher than it was when I was renting.

http://www.sciencealert.com/it-looks-like-a-worldwide-coffee-shortage-is-inevitable
Science Alert predicts a world coffee shortage. Brazil produces a third of the world's coffee and is undergoing a drought.


http://www.livescience.com/53193-kangaroo-style-care-newborns-health.html
Livescience is reporting on "kangaroo care" and health outcomes in low birth weight newborns.

http://www.sciencealert.com/asthma-drug-appears-to-rejuvenate-elderly-brains-a-study-in-rats-has-found
From Science Alert, Monteleukast, an asthma drug, was shown to reduce brain inflammation and promote growth of new neurons in rodents.

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/44898/title/Genes--Cycles-Change-with-Age/
This report, in The Scientist, on the cycles of expression of genes in human brains, shows that certain genes lose their rhythmic cycles of expression while others gain rhythmicity. These were mainly genes that work in a circadian (daily) cycle.The report was in PNAS.

http://news.sciencemag.org/scientific-community/2015/12/top-10-images-2015
Science magazine top ten images of 2015

First Day of Winter with hyperlinks!

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/12/21/12-minutes-of-yoga-for-stronger-bones/?_r=0
Loren Fishman, physiatrist at Columbia U says yoga stimulates osteocytes to produce new bone.

http://www.democracynow.org/2015/12/21/headlines/fbi_releases_pete_seegers_1_800_page_fbi_file
Democracy Now reports that the FBI released Pete Seeger's 1,800 page file starting from when he was an army private in 1943. I guess we are well rid of that strumming, humming pinko.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-12-scientists-genes-motion-age-related-macular.html
Study in Nature Genetics revealed 52 genetic variations that may predispose an individual to AMD.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22830522-200-crispr-will-make-2016-the-year-of-gene-edited-organisms/
From New Scientist: Get a gene-edited pet courtesy of CRISPR gene-editing technology.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-auerbach/how-science-education-can_b_8854716.html
How Science Education Can Save the World, from Scott Auerbach at UMASS Amherst about the way we teach high school science and math (AKA STEM fields).

From the Smithsonian: Smart Bandages Monitor Wounds:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/introducing-band-aids-future-180957569/?no-ist


http://www.democracynow.org/2015/12/22/seymour_hershs_latest_bombshell_us_military
My hero Sy Hersh is at it again, reporting that US Govt supported Assad against jihadists. Oh, you rascal Obama! How can we condemn Putin for doing the same thing! Onward to the complete destruction of the beginnings of civilization. (From Democracy Now).

https://student.societyforscience.org/blog/doing-science/society-received-over-1700-applicants-sts-2016
Intel Science Talent Search's applicants were 54% female this year. The winners will be announced in January. NJ was one of the top five states!

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2015/dec/21/cosmonauts-soviet-union-space-relics-science-museum
This is a show at the Science Museum of London about the Soviet space program. We live in a super-science era but let's remember how the Soviet space program sparked the US effort to be more competitive in space as well as in "land-based" sciences. From the Guardian (UK)

http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2015/12/virus-particles-engineered-hold-enzymes-generate-carbon-free-hydrogen-fuel
From Science magazine- engineering viruses to generate carbon-free sources of energy.  (Do not try this at home.)

http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2015/12/hate-gmos-then-prepare-kiss-bananas-goodbye
Bananas are in trouble! The Cavendish banana is being devoured by a fungus!

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/inside-school-research/2015/12/in_wake_of_essa_senate_passes_.html?_ga=1.154838654.730198068.1450815583 
the Strengthening Education Through Research Act passed the Senate.
This is part of the ESSA or Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaced NCLB and places more authority in the hands of the states. This is from a blog called Education Week.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151218084326.htm
Explosion of life on earth after slow rise of oxygen about 600 million years ago,earlier than thought from Science News from Nature Communications.

Christmas is coming....hooray

Dot One will make a scarf from the 0.1% of your DNA, obtained from a cheek swab, that distinguishes you from everyone else, your STR (short tandem repeats) and put this information into a scarf. One potential drawback I see with this is if you commit a crime and leave the scarf at the site you may be in serious trouble, otherwise a very personal, thoughtful gift.
http://www.wired.com/2015/12/if-your-dna-were-a-scarf-this-is-what-itd-look-like/

This makes perfect sense to me:

Arabic Calligraphy Assignment Prompts Countywide School Shutdown in Virginia

• by Claire Voon on December 18, 2015

(all photos courtesy Support Laporte)

Officials in a Virginia county have closed all local schools following a backlash over one teacher’s homework assignment on Islamic calligraphy. As News Leader reported, world geography teacher Cheryl LaPorte this week asked her students at Riverheads High School to copy an Islamic statement of faith, or shahada, to understand firsthand the artistic complexity of calligraphy. Translated from Arabic, the oath reads, “There is no God but Allah. Mohammed is the messenger of Allah.” Upon learning of the assignment, some upset parents accused LaPorte of indoctrinating their students and contacted the school, demanding the administration fire her. As the news spread, emails and calls came in from beyond the county, leading to a complete shutdown “based on the recommendations of law enforcement and the Augusta County School Board out of an abundance of caution,” says a release issued today. It also clarifies that the community faces no specific threat.

1995 edition of the World Religions workbook by Teacher Created Materials, Inc. (click to enlarge)

According to News Leader, many of the outraged parents — who are Christian — said LaPorte was “violating children’s religious beliefs.” LaPorte, however, did not personally draft the one-page lesson, which came from a workbook titled “World Religions,” published by Teacher Created Materials, Inc. in 1995. The lesson introduces calligraphy as an art form before inviting students to practice it, in order to give them “an idea of [its] artistic complexity.”
On Tuesday night, over 100 people gathered at a forum at a local church to protest the assignment. The organizer, outraged parent Kimberly Herndon, led the discussion, noting that she wanted to take the case as far as the Supreme Court.
“If my truth cannot be spoken in schools, I don’t want false doctrine spoken in schools,” she said. “That’s what keeps it even across the board.
“[LaPorte] gave up the Lord’s time,” she continued. “She gave it up and gave it to Mohammed.”
Virginia’s Department of Education and Augusta County Superintendent Eric Bond reviewed the assignment and found that it remains within state standards. In a statement, Bond reiterated that the directions only asked students to write the calligraphy for comprehension purposes:

When they study a geographic region, students study the religion and written language of the region. Consequently, students learn about Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, and Islam, among others … The students were presented with the statement to demonstrate the complex artistry of the written language used in the Middle East, and were asked to attempt to copy it in order to give the students an idea of the artistic complexity of the calligraphy. … The students in the class will engage in similar calligraphy and drawing assignments when they study China, its unique written language and the yin and yang (a traditional symbol in Taoism and Confucianism).

LaPorte still has her job, but the school is arranging a board meeting on January 7 to host further discussions. Meanwhile, a group on Facebook called “SUPPORT LAPORTE” has emerged in solidarity with the teacher; on its page, students, alumni, parents, and others beyond the immediate community are posting messages of support. This morning, LaPorte’s daughter, Kacey LaPorte Bunch, posted:

My mother wanted me to share the following message with you:
‘I have been humbled by the love and support I have received from so many wonderful people. Thank you all, and please know you put the HAPPY back in my holidays.’
Mrs.LaPorte