Book Recommendation For Anyone Who Has Ever Spent Any Time In Academia As Either A Teacher Or A Student.
Book recommendation for anyone who has ever spent any time in academia as either a teacher or a student. The Saber-Tooth Curriculum is a 1939 sharp-witted critique of the educational system that hasn’t lost an ounce of relevance in the 77 years since its publication. Its pseudonymous author J. Abner Peddiwell describes a society of cavemen who refuse to update their curriculum of fish-grabbing, horse-clubbing, and tiger-scaring long after the environment around them has changed. The book serves as an excellent argument against the fallacious logic often used in the defense of preserving tradition in academia.
Illustrations taken from the classic edition.
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The Harvard Computers (Hint: They were women, not machines!)
Today is the birthday of Annie Jump Cannon, born December 11, 1863, known as one of ‘Harvard’s Computers’. She is credited along with Edward Pickering as the creator of the Harvard Classification Scheme which remains the foundation of today’s stellar classification system.
One of a dozen women hired by Pickering to do the hard work of identifying, classifying and cataloging hundreds of stellar objects, Cannon distinguished herself as the brightest of the bright and rose finally to a full professorship before her death in 1941. Pickering hired the first of his ‘computers’ in a pique of frustration, noting that his maid could probably do better work than he was getting from his students. Indeed, he hired his maid, Williamina Fleming, who became the first of his ‘computers’ and quickly distinguished herself. Pickering was pleased enough with her work (and lower wages) that he soon built a team comprised entirely of women to compose the catalog. Cannon was hired a little later to oversee a catalog of the southern skies. While no eponym celebrates her name, her contribution (along with the remaining group at Harvard) as well as the countless women throughout history to impact science, math, politics and all human endeavor, today we remember and say Happy Birthday. A true gifted scientist and true pioneer, gone but not forgotten. As in most human endeavors, nameless and tireless women support the work of more celebrated men with little or no credit. Newton said of his work: ’If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.’ Today we acknowledge that many of those giants were and are women.
Image curently in the public domain courtesy New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper.
Today’s post is for hb-she does twice the work and asks for half the credit. Our boys are who they are because of her.
Black Bread Mold
The above images show the sporangium (fruiting bodies) of the bread mold, Rhizopus Stolonifer, growing on the surface of bread.
MORE INCREDIBLE MICROGRAPHS OF BREAD MOLD
Spores circulate freely in the air. On a favorable medium, they germinate a network of hyphae (threads). Their function is to absorb food for growth & for spore production. Rhizopus produces stolons, or aerial hyphae, which on contact with the medium grow rhizoids or ‘rootlets’. They anchor the fungus & absorb some water. Spores develop in saclike bodies, or sporangia (globular structure). They are carried at the ends of specialized hyphae called sporangiophores.
Rhizopus sp. are generally saprophytic, feeding on decaying animal and plant matter. However they can also be parasitic, feeding on living plants, animals and even humans.
Images above © Science Source
Space Lettuce in the White House Kitchen Garden
While most people plant gardens on Earth, we’re working to cultivate one in space!
On April 5, the First Lady welcomed students from across the country as well as NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman and NASA astronaut Cady Coleman to the White House Kitchen Garden.
While there, they planted various produce, including the same variety of lettuce that will be sent to the International Space Station on the April 8 SpaceX cargo launch.
These seeds were prepared and packaged for both the First Lady’s garden, as well as the batch headed up to space station. “Outredgeous” Red Romaine Lettuce and “Tokyo bekana” Chinese Cabbage will soon be growing in both gardens!
Why do we grow plants in space?
Our Veggie plant growth system on the space station provides lighting and nutrient supply for a space garden. It supports a variety of plant species that can be cultivated for educational outreach, fresh food and even recreation for crew members on long-duration missions.
When crews travel farther into space, they will need a self-sustaining life support system, and that means growing their own food.
How do we grow plants in space? Here’s a resource for “Space Gardening 101”.
Want to see the space station seeds launch? You can watch Friday’s SpaceX cargo launch live online starting at 3:30 p.m. EDT, with launch scheduled for 4:43 p.m.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
We take for granted that drops which impact a solid surface will splash, but, in fact, drops only splash when the surrounding air pressure is high enough. When the air pressure is low enough, drops simply impact and spread, regardless of the fluid, drop height, or surface roughness. Why this is and what role the surrounding air plays remains unclear. Here researchers visualize the air flow around a droplet impact. In (a) we see the approaching drop and the air it pulls with it. Upon impact in (b) and © the drop spreads and flattens while a crown of air rises in its wake. The drop’s spread initiates a vortex ring that is pinned to the drop’s edge. In later times (d)-(f) the vortex ring detaches from the drop and rolls up. (Photo credit: I. Bischofberger et al.)
