Dropping the Ball, then Kicking the Heck Out of It!

So I didn't post yesterday even though I said I would post everyday in the month of October. It's also Wednesday, and I just do not have the inspiration to do my weekly Debate! again. Maybe it is because of all the political debates recently. I just don't have the patience for it. I do, however, have the energy to do a little bit of sciency news snippets! Here goes:

Fish with Fingers: Researchers have taken x-rays of a fish fossil, Panderichthys, and found that there are rudimentary fingers in the fins. This show that rudimentary fingers were first seen in development earlier than first thought. Weird, huh?

A "Nobel" Woman: The Nobel Prizes are being announced and this week the talk was all Chemistry. It seems to be on all the news sources. However, the award for physiology and medicine has already be granted and one of the winners was a woman! Françoise Barré-Sinoussi from France won the prize for her earlier work discovering HIV. I can't believe they are finally honoring her. Originally this was posted on Women in Science and apparently I missed it. (DOH!)

"Tubular" Solar Energy: A company in California, Solyndra, Inc., designs photovoltaic (solar) cells that are cylindrical in shape to capture light from many angles. This increases the amount of energy one can harness from the sun.

Life Saving Birds: A study done at Washington University in St. Louis shows that areas high in bird diversity have lower risks of West Nile Virus. Yay for mosquito eating birds!

Going Glacier Gone: A study done by United States Geological Survey (USGS) show that Alaska's glaciers are disappearing despite people's assumptions that climate change is a farce. More than 99% of the glaciers in Alaska are retreating at an alarming pace.

Now you guys are all filled with science news! Happy Wednesday!


Photo of Panderichthys courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

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Mystery Solved

So the mysterious whistle pig I mentioned in an earlier post turned out to NOT be a whistle pig (woodchuck) but a Wyoming Ground Squirrel or Spermophilus elegans. Either way very cute so here is another picture!
Isn't she(?) adorable. Oh, and just to prove how in the middle of nowhere I was, this was the nearest town to Mrs. (I'm assuming here) Ground Squirrel.



I have to admit, since a fellow blogger of Q's Corner fame pointed it out, this really is Big Sky Country. I don't know what it is but the sky in that part of the world is enormous... I'm not sure how else to describe it and pictures NEVER do it justice...


This is my husband somewhere on Beartooth Pass looking at a glacial lake as the sky started to clear. The white stuff really is snow. I'm in awe over that! Lol. I'm a Floridian, I still don't get the whole "snow" thing! haha.


All photos licensed under creative commons.... same as before, you can use them, just give me credit!

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WOO HOO!!!! I'm back!

I had such an amazingly awesome time out west! Between the farmers' markets and the lakes and the incredible wildlife, my head is spinning. I saw four large states and tons of diverse landscapes... alas, no elk! I did however see wild buffalo and wild horses, antelope, bald eagles, cottontail and jack rabbits, fawns were everywhere because they had a late spring, and even a fox. I don't even know where to start and until I finish developing all the film, here is a sample of what I took digitally. I got tons of great footage too, so I am SUPER excited!

Some bald eagles watched over my first campsite.

There were antelope everywhere in Wyoming.

This little chipmunk followed me around the view from Dead Indian Pass.

Yes this is snow... in August.

Utah vistas.

The red rock is always beautiful.

Wind power on the UT/WY border

Wide open spaces.

My husband tells me they call this a whistle pig. It does whistle, but I'm not sure what it is... yet!

Like I said, this is a sample so keep checking back for days when I am being lazy and am just gonna post random picts! I start classes on Monday so I may be going back to a lot of science talk too, just cause it helps me study! In sad news though, The Wall Arch at Arches National Park fell. *sniff* It's a shame because it's so beautiful. I am glad no one got hurt.



Western Travels by M. Moya is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at scienceforfood.blogspot.com.

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