".... [I]f you or anyone you know has a spoken word recording in English and you're interested in getting some airplay (webplay?), please send it to: Charlie Rossiter, 705 S. Gunderson Ave, Oak Park, IL 60304 U.S.A. By submitting a recording you are affirming that you own the copyright to the material (this includes background music, if any) and that you grant us permission to play it. ... Poetry World Radio is a joint project of ... Charlie Rossiter, Bill DuPree who is the tech wizard of www.poetrypoetry.com, and C.J.Laity who runs the equally wonderful website, www.Chicagopoetry.com."
5:47:48 PM    comment []  

"The secret life of acid dust"
http://www.pnl.gov/news/2004/04-69.htm
Dry dust reacts with air pollutants to form dewy particles whose sunlight-reflecting and cloud-altering properties are unaccounted for in atmospheric models....

"Calcite-containing dust particles blow into the air and encounter gaseous nitric acid in polluted air from factories to form an entirely new particle of calcium nitrate," said Alexander Laskin, a senior research scientist at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington.

"These nitrates have optical and chemical properties that are absolutely different from those of originally dry dust particles, and climate models need to be updated to reflect this chemistry." ... A key change in the properties of the newly formed nitrate particles is that they begin to absorb water and retain the moisture. These wet particles can scatter and absorb sunlight [^] presenting climate modelers, who need to know where the energy is going, a new wild card to deal with. Companion studies of dust samples from the Sahara and the Saudi coast and loess from China show that the higher the calcium in the mineral, the more reactive they are in with nitric acid. And once the particle is changed, it stays that way.

And--"Study Reveals Smog-Clearing Properties of Atmosphere"
http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/science/mcoh.asp
Chemists at the University of California, San Diego and Purdue University have discovered that natural chemical processes in the atmosphere may be removing smog and other damaging hydrocarbons at a faster rate than once believed. In the May 24th issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists report that naturally-occurring atmospheric chemicals react with sunlight more effectively than scientists previously thought, breaking down smog and other pollutants after they absorb energy from sunlight. ...

"Research Shows Overfishing of Sharks Key Factor in Coral Reef Decline ":
http://scrippsnews.ucsd.edu/article_detail.cfm?article_num=670
In the Caribbean, overfishing of sharks triggers a domino effect of changes in abundance that carries down to several fish species and contributes to the overall degradation of the reef ecosystem. Overfishing species randomly, the study shows, is not likely to cause these cascading effects.

"It appears that ecosystems such as Caribbean coral reefs need sharks to ensure the stability of the entire system," said Sala, deputy director of the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps.

When sharks are overfished, a cascade of effects can lead to a depletion of important grazers of plant life. This is because there are fewer sharks to feed on carnivorous fish such as grouper, causing an increase in their numbers and their ability to prey on parrotfishes. The removal of plant-eating animals such as parrotfishes has been partly responsible for the shift of Caribbean reefs from coral to algae dominated, the authors note. Thus overfishing of sharks may contribute further to the loss of resistance of coral reefs to multiple human disturbances.

Pretty scary--"Controlling Brain Wiring With the Flick of a Chemical Switch":
http://www.hhmi.org//news/ginty2.html
With the flick of a chemical switch, researchers can now exert unprecedented control over the activity of molecules that help wire the developing brains of mice.

The new technique permits researchers to use drugs to switch the molecules on and off as precisely and reversibly as a light switch controls a lamp. Current genetic and chemical manipulation techniques are more akin to eliminating entire electrical circuits or breaking the light bulbs in the lamps.

"Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer Nearly Doubles Risk for Rectal Cancer":
http://www.docguide.com/news/content.nsf/news/
8525697700573E1885256FD60051C621?OpenDocument&id=
9A36E34ABA795A7085256F5F006F76BB&c=&count=10
A University of Minnesota Cancer Center study indicates that men who undergo radiation therapy for prostate cancer have nearly double the risk of developing rectal cancer when compared to men who opt to have surgery to treat prostate cancer.

The study found that men who receive radiation for prostate cancer have about 70 percent higher risk of developing rectal cancer than those who underwent surgery, a risk similar to that posed by having a family history of the disease. This is the first study to quantify rectal cancer risk associated with prostate radiation.

This one's really fun--"PNNL seeks maxi space exploration via mini technology":
http://www.pnl.gov/news/2005/05-34.htm
...Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., which is operated by Battelle for the Department of Energy, will launch the development of a lightweight and extraordinarily compact system for NASA applications. These microchemical and thermal systems, also known as MicroCATS, configure such things as microchannel absorbers, reactors, separators and heat exchangers to produce the propellant from resources found on Mars and the moon. In addition, the system also will be designed to regenerate breathable air for life support. The NASA contract is valued at $13.7 million over four years.... The compact microtechnology processing station, referred to as ISPP, the In Situ Propellant Production system, will collect carbon dioxide from the Martian atmosphere and have it react with hydrogen gas to produce methane fuel and oxygen forming the propellant for the return voyage. "Additionally, by collecting and reconditioning exhaled air, the system will produce pure oxygen for crew members; a problem that nearly doomed the Apollo 13 mission," noted Brooks. Both methane and oxygen also can be used to generate electrical power for vital life support systems making this capability central to a manned outer space infrastructure.

"Since the system uses modular banks of identical microchannel components, there is a built-in redundancy achieving enhanced safety and reliability," stated Brooks. "We anticipate increased system efficiency as well as improved economic benefits when the research is complete."

Microchannel technology generally has at least one dimension that is 200 microns or less in size [^] a human hair is about 20-50 microns. Due to improved heat and mass transfer rates, the microtechnology process can be intensified, resulting in significant size reductions over conventional hardware. At these small scales, hydrodynamic, surface, and interfacial forces dominate, allowing the devices to operate independent of gravity. Gravity independence and reduced size and weight make microtechnology an ideal candidate for many NASA applications.

"We also hope to demonstrate the concept of making use of resources found both on the moon and Mars, not only for propellant and breathing air, but ultimately to build a community in space," says Brooks. "For instance, silica, iron and titanium retrieved from soil on the moon could be used to produce photovoltaics capable of generating electricity, and producing metals for building construction and other manufacturing processes." Brooks admits that these capabilities are still conceptual, but says that by demonstrating the next generation of microchannel technology for ISPP, researchers may be able to advance these capabilities as well.

But you probably knew about that; it's over a month old.

How about "Feeling Pain and Witnessing it Have Same Effect on Muscles"?:
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18625035.500
Salvatore Aglioti and colleagues at La Sapienza University in Rome report that both observers and victims of pain exhibit the same physical reactions. Volunteers were shown videos of a needle being inserted into someone's hand or foot while electrodes on their skin measured the activity of muscles in their own hands and feet to see if they behaved in the same way as someone actually feeling pain in those places. To reveal the physical effects of watching the needle pricks, the researchers used a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation to trigger muscle twitches in subjects by inducing electrical field changes in parts of the brain that control movement. Previous studies showed that when people actually experience pain in a particular muscle, the induced twitching in the same muscle diminishes.

This "freeze" response may reduce further pain by limiting movement. Aglioti's team found that the "freeze" also happens in the same muscles when subjects see others being hurt (Nature Neuroscience, DOI: 10.1038/nn1481). (From issue 2503 of New Scientist magazine, 11 June 2005, page 19.)

Also, "Researchers Get First Peek at Amyloid's Spine":
http://www.hhmi.org//news/eisenberg.html
Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have provided the first detailed look at the spine of amyloid, the abnormal protein filaments found in at least 20 devastating diseases, ranging from Alzheimer's to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the human version of "mad cow" disease.

The images reveal that the filaments form a short zipper that is closed and stuck. The fibrils form a towering stack of zippers, each of which is tightly bonded to the one below by molecular Velcro.

Finally, there's "Addiction Keeps Its Own Clock":
http://www.hhmi.org//news/takahashi7.html
The Clock gene, widely appreciated as a driver of circadian rhythms, has now been shown to aid in regulating the brain's reward circuitry, which is triggered by cocaine and other addictive drugs. The findings from this study and others continue to build the case that Clock is a key cog in the machinery that drives an ever-widening range of behaviors....
5:13:55 PM    comment []  

It's cold today. Gray and chill and windy. 55 degrees F. right now. Quite nice. It was getting a little too bright, too warm. Spend six or seven months in a cavern of winter and you come out blinking, a little reluctant. Adjusting takes time. And then there's winter again.

I'm trying to find more moldy hay. It's not fun to work with--my arms get an itchy rash--but it's free when you can find it, and you can't get better mulch. We'll Ruth-Stout it this year. Low-toil gardening. Keep in a holding pattern.

***

I find it interesting that in October my good friend the Tarot lady predicted that a woman would tell me something, and when I heard her words I would have an epiphany, would understand my past at last. And that this breakthrough would lay the foundation for all my future life.

For this is exactly what has happened--not the spiritual breakthrough I'd expected, but better, in a way: a diagnosis, a woman doctor explaining to me the physiological anomaly that has dictated the way I've lived and failed to live for decades. I finally know why I went into months of deep sleep in my third pregnancy and finally lost the child, which had stopped developing. I slept on for months after, and was convinced I was going to die, in the moments when I could think at all. I made out a will and wrote good-bye letters to my children. I was 31. I was not depressed. I was physically incapable of staying awake; it was a horror. And this recurred and recurred. And the doctors shrugged. And people kept yelling at me to get exercise, and I wanted to, but it always made me feel terrible. And when I rode bikes I would fall down for no reason and finally I stopped riding bikes.

If I can find a way to correct this, consult with someone who has experience with it, maybe I can climb out of the abyss finally. My own cards have been saying I won't hit my stride until late in life. Sigh. Well, if Grandma Moses could do it... It gives me something to shoot for, anyway.

***

I forgot to mail Father's Day cards yesterday. To Harry in Estherville, and to Uncle Paul in Wickieup. So I must rush in to town and Priority Mail them today. They still won't get there in time, but I will have tried. So then--phone calls on Sunday. Yes, it's a bogus holiday, but I know how one listens for the phone, anyway, and feels just awful when it doesn't ring.
10:32:32 AM    comment []