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terrier breed is known for its tenacity and for catching rats. In third grade I would ask each student to chose a breed of dog or cat and then research |
the characteristics of that breed in regard to physical traits. I would then ask the students to share with the class how the breed differs from others and why breeders |
have selected those qualities. I would then discuss how it is that breeders can purposefully bred dogs that have puppies with those desirable characteristics. Session 6 Guided Channel-TalkLife Posting Both |
the National Science Education Standards and Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy propose standards or goals for understanding big ideas in evolution starting in the elementary grades. Of the ideas addressed in |
Session 5 (variation, genes, mutation, adaptation, natural selection, artificial selection) and Session 6 species, evolution of new species, relatedness, common ancestry, tree of life), which do you consider appropriate introduce |
at the grade level you teach? Why? Discuss this with your colleagues in your Channel-TalkLife posting for this session. Be sure to share any experiences you've had. In third grade |
appropriate concepts to introduce are: variation adaptation, genes, natural selection, artificial selection, species, evolution of new species, tree of life and common ancestry. I think that if conversations develop within |
the classroom at an early age that teachers should have the knowledge and background in science to explain these concepts in an age appropriate way. I think that it would |
be unprofessional to teach the vocabulary only and not provide hands-on activities for younger children to be able to begin making connections with these concepts. I have taught some evolutionary |
On February 1st, the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the “Convention”) announced the pledges made by countries under the Copenhagen Accord (the “Accord”). Developed country parties to the Accord pledged greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets to be achieved by 2020. Mo... |
parties to the Accord also pledged mitigation actions. By the January 31st deadline, pledges had been provided by countries representing approximately 80% of global GHG emissions. pledges made under the Accord Adhering to legislation passed in its House of Representatives, the U.S. pledged a 17% reduction from 2005 lev... |
also pledged a 17% reduction from 2005 levels, “to be aligned with the final economy-wide emissions target of the United States in enacted legislation.”2 Like Canada, many parties made pledges contingent on action by others. The European Union, for example, pledged to reduce its emissions 20% below 1990 levels, or |
by 30% should other parties make comparable commitments. As an example of a mitigation action pledge of a developing country, China pledged to lower its carbon intensity (per unit GDP) by 40-45% by 2020, to increase to 15% the share of non-fossil fuels used in primary energy consumption, and to |
increase its forest coverage and forest stock volume.3 In comments following the announcement of the pledges, U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change, Todd Stern has made it clear that the U.S. expects of developing countries, stronger mitigation actions than those contained in the Accord.4 the 2009 UN climate change con... |
The Accord was the outcome of the fifteenth Conference of the Parties (the “Conference”) to the Convention,5 attended by yours truly. In an unprecedented display of the prominence that climate change is gaining on the world stage, the Conference was attended by 115 heads of state and over 40,000 delegates. |
The stage that was the Conference was not without its share of theatrics. When the leaders arrived in the final days to find that little progress had been made, the drama moved behind the scenes. In a telling moment, frustrated by negotiating only with Chinese Premier Wen’s aides, U.S. President |
Obama walked in on a private meeting between Wen and the leaders of Brazil, India, and South Africa.6 It was largely these five major economies that would go on to produce the Accord, which calls for any global temperature increase to be limited to two degrees Celsius.7 However the parties |
to the Convention’s Kyoto Protocol (the “Protocol”), the first commitment period of which ends in 2012, were unable to agree to its extension. The lack of consensus leaves in suspension the status of the Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the value of the Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs) generated by |
thousands of projects thereunder. The International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), which held a parallel conference, nevertheless remains optimistic: “an international injection of increased demand remains a strong possibility over investment timescales but still has to be treated as an upside rather than a give... |
mentioned above, Canada’s climate change policy is explicitly tied to that of the United States. 2009 saw in the U.S. the passage in the House of Representatives of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (“Waxman-Markey”). Waxman-Markey calls for a 17% reduction of emissions below 2005 levels by 2020 and |
provides for the trading of allowances.9 Debate in the U.S. Senate of the similar Kerry-Boxer bill is nominally scheduled for debate this spring, though it may be 2011 before it comes to a floor vote. Tri-partisan senators John Kerry (D), Lindsey Graham (R) and Joe Lieberman (I) have taken it |
upon themselves to ensure passage of a climate (or “energy independence”) bill. For many U.S. senators, any climate legislation must be accompanied by developing country emissions reductions and the international verification thereof. As China and others are less keen on international monitoring, reporting and verifica... |
language. Countries will communicate their actions “with provisions for international consultations and analysis under clearly defined guidelines that will ensure national sovereignty is respected.”10 In any case, with more than two thirds of Americans supporting the regulation of GHG emissions,11 the passage of legisl... |
regulation, may be on the horizon. International climate change negotiations will occur in a number of fora this year. While the sixteenth Conference of the Parties will occur in December in Cancun, one might now wonder how much can be expected of 192-party negotiations. In June, Canada will host the |
G8 and G20 summits, and it is rumoured that climate change policy may be included on the agenda.12 Finally, it is likely that a second meeting of the Major Economies Forum will occur later this year to discuss climate policy.13 |
Positive Chronicles - East of eden by Dr Kailash Vajpeyi "Man is no longer to be the measure of all things, the center of the universe. He has been measured and found to be an undistinguished bit of matter, different |
in no essential way from bacteria, stones and trees. His goals and purposes, his egocentric notions of past, present and future; his faith in his power to predict and through prediction to control his destiny—all these are called into question, |
considered irrelevant, or deemed trivial." When Leonard B. Meyer yanked man down from the exalted status assigned him by the Judeo-Christian tradition, in his 1963 book, The End of Renaissance?, he triggered off a radical shift in the relationship between |
man and nature. Today, that understanding goes variously by the name of Gaia or Deep Ecology. The Gaia hypothesis postulates that Planet Earth is a living organism that adjusts and regulates itself like any other organism and that for 3.5 |
billion years, microbes, plants and animals have co-evolved with the environment as one globally integrated superorganism. In much the same vein, Deep Ecology believes in the essential ecological equality of all species, man and mouse, elephant and earthworm. In an |
interconnected, indivisible ecosystem, each part is as crucial as the next. Here, T.S. Eliot may have been tempted to comment on the return of things to their point of beginning. For interconnection was the fundamental premise of the relationship between |
all traditional civilizations and nature. Unlike the western equation of conqueror and conquered, traditional people related to nature much as an offspring to a benevolent mother, or a devotee to a deity. Most eastern religions such as Vedic Hinduism, Jainism |
and Buddhism, include within nature not only all forms of life but also that which is inanimate and invisible. Vedic texts uphold the doctrine called Madhu Vidya, or interdependence between man and nature. The Vedic worldview is beautifully expressed in |
that famous injunction, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family). In the Vedas, natural elements play a pivotal role. But the interrelationship of creation was always within the context of its relationship with the creator. The Vedic sages believed that |
everything in this world stems from divine knowledge (the word) which was first revealed to a group of seers, who then passed on this knowledge to successive generations of Vedic seers. And thus, Saraswati, the Goddess of Divine Speech, holds |
a special place among Hindu deities. May the divine speech, Saraswati, The fountainhead of all faculties (mental and spiritual), The purifier and bestower of true vision, The recompenser of worship: Be the source of inspiration and accomplishments For all our |
benevolent acts (Rig Veda 1-3-10) Thus, speech, or vak, has a preeminent role in the Indian tradition. Water, it is believed was literally produced by vak. In turn, if we accept the theory that the theory that the hydrogen molecule |
is the basis of all life, water could be said to have created the rest of life. Of the five basic elements that make up life—earth, space, wind fire and water—the last, in the Vedic view, is the primal element. |
No wonder there are dozens of Vedic verses in praise of water: O water source of happiness, we pray, Please give us vigor so that we may Contemplate the great delight Hail to you divine, unfathomable All purifying waters You |
are the foundation of all this universe The consciousness of being composed of the same elements was one more proof of the unity of all creation. The elements, both separately and jointly as life forms, were, at one and the |
same time, objects of reverence and intimately related to us. We hardly realize that there are cosmic forces which are working in cyclical patterns, and that the most fundamental pattern which governs our life is the movement of he earth |
on its axis. One shudders to think what would happen to life as we know it if the earth stopped spinning on its axis or the sun failed to rise in the morning. We are creatures of the planet but |
the earth is not a geographical entity, it is us. The earth is not simply dust but a reservoir of all energy. It has given birth to four types of creatures: swedaj, udbhij, andaj and pindaj (aquarian, flora and fauna, |
avian and mammalian). To the Vedic seers, the idea of subjugating or exploiting the earth was incomprehensible. To them it was an object of worship and not of exploitation. Its conquest was tantamount to dissecting a mother's body to study |
her heartbeat or chopping her breasts to isolate the gland producing milk. But times have changed. Today, man has no qualms about expropriating the earth's wealth for his own benefit. This has resulted in the creation of a new fifth |
species, the yantraj—the technetronic being. According to Daniel J. Boorstin, the author of Cleopatra's Nose: "When the machine kingdom arrived on the scene, it entirely changed the fixedness of the idea of change. A natural species reacts to its environment |
and learns to adapt to it. But the technetronic species creates its own environment." For instance, media technology tends to create what can be termed asdiplopia or double image, where it is hard to distinguish reality from illusion. Television, for |
example, has the capacity to convert an event into virtual reality, what is there is also here at the same time or what is here can also be there if it has been filmed. For the vedic man, the earth |
was the bestower of blessings, she was the protector of life. All descriptions of Ramrajya, (the reign of Lord Rama, the hero of the Indian epic Ramayana) portrayed the earth as abundant and giving. The Mahabharata eulogized Yudhisthira's reign thus: |
"Earth yielded abundant crops and all precious things. She had become the provider of all goodness. Like kamdhenu, the celestial cow, the earth offered thousands of luxuries in a continuous stream." In Bhumi Sukta we come across verses such as: |
O purifying Earth, I you invoke O, patient Earth by sacred word Enhanced bearer of nourishment and strength of food and butter, O, Earth we would approach you with due praise Influenced by this holistic vision, the Indian way of |
life was integral, its purpose the well-being of creation. Even in the matter of eating, our ancestors emphasized the importance of feeding others before themselves. A householder could eat only after propitiating the ancestors, the devas representing different aspects of |
nature, the bhutas representing all created beings, guests, members of the household and servants. The practice of agriculture was deeply influenced by this sacred vision of interconnection. According to the activist Vandana Shiva's book, The Seedkeeper, new seeds were first |
worshipped before being consumed. New crop was worshipped before being consumed. For the farmer, field is the mother: worshipping the field is a sign of gratitude towards the earth, who as mother, feeds the millions of life forms who are |
her children. "In the place of chemical manures and pesticides, the traditional farmer used nature's own checks and balances to nurture fertility and keep pests at bay. A typical rice field supported and in some places continues to do so |
800 species of "friendly insects"—spiders, wasps, ants and pathogens that controlled 95 per cent of insect pests. These practices are still a living presence among India's tribal societies, for instance, the Warlis, a community near Mumbai, worship nature as Hirva |
(green) and consider all produce to be gifts of Hirva, rather the fruits of their own labor. Conservation of plants and animals was an innate aspect of their culture, illustrated in the concept of the sacred grooves: mangroves, marshlands and |
other tracts of land supposedly inhabited by spirits, where killing of plants and animals is taboo. The Bishnois of Rajasthan, too, will rather die than let a single tree be felled. The concept of coexistence took many forms. Before felling |
a tree to construct a temple, the carpenter traditionally sought the permission of the tree. And in Emperor Asoka's time, veterinary hospitals were state institutions. Among the five vital elements which sustain life on earth, the wind in the Rig |
Veda is called vata. Though the wind is connected with the primordial waters, its origin is not known. Vedas also address it as the spirit: May the wind breathe upon us Prolong our lifespan And fill our hearts with comfort |
Responding to the current environmental crisis, Susan Griffin in her book Women & Nature writes: "We live as if nature is only need to provide extras: paper, recreation, specialty foods, a job to provide money." Unlimited desire and man's greed |
has devastated this planet to such an extent that by the time you finish reading this article, at least 10 species of birds would be extinct forever. In contrast, personal fulfillment in Buddhism is sought through independence. Here the self |
is temporary and nonessential rather than the center of the universe. Writes Kerry Brown, co-author of Buddhism and Ecology, about the Buddhist philosophy: "Where infinite spiritual development is possible within a physical existence that is understood and accepted as infinite." |
Buddha attained enlightenment under a banyan tree, J. Krishnamurti had the same kind of realization under a pepper vine. No wonder the author of Bhamini Vilas called the tree Guru. "O tree! You bear fruits, leaves and flowers and protect |
people from the scorching sun. Whoever come to you in scorching heat, you take away their suffering and give them coolness. This way you surrender yourself for others. That is why you are a Guru of all kind people." Anekantavada, |
the Jain concept that professes multiple views of reality, goes even deeper. Its verdict on the unmindful endeavors of mankind would be damning. The bacterial organism, as understood in modern science, can be compared with what is called nigodiya life |
in Jainism. And ahimsa or nonviolence, which is fundamental to Jain philosophy, teaches not harming even the basic forms of life. Jainism and other Indian religions advocate that compassion must be the foundation for any truly civilized community. Lawrence Joseph, |
the author of Gaia, has obviously been deeply influenced by all systems of Indian philosophy which adhere to the universal law of interdependence. Lynn Margulis, co-author of the Gaia theory along with James Lovelock, believes strongly that the biological microcosm |
provides a key controlling influence in the global environment and argues that the role of these tiny organisms has been underestimated because they are invisible. With the convergence of the most recent scientific understanding and the most recent ancient wisdom, |
there is hope yet for the survival of the earth and, in turn, life on it. There can be no better sign of it than NASA circulating, all over the USA, a photograph of the earth with the caption: Love |
Common streaming audio formats and players Uncompressed CD-quality WAV and AIFF files are too large to stream over the Internet for playback in real time. Instead, lighter-weight compressed formats such as MP3 and RealAudio are employed for streaming network audio. These formats use what are called "lossy" compression ... |
files without too significantly degrading playback sound quality. MP3 and RealAudio are excellent streaming formats, achieving performance factors great enough to allow real-time encoding/decoding over current network bandwidth conditions while delivering satisfying audio quality. MP3 and RealAudio are not the only pla... |
the Xiphophorus group. Since RealAudio's Internet history begins the earliest, we'll start with RealAudio. In 1995, Progressive Networks (now RealNetworks) introduced RealAudio, the Internet's first widely-deployed streaming audio format. The RealAudio player (RealPlayer) was freely distributed to users who at that tim... |
14.4 Kbps, which delivered audio quality comparable to the sound of a decent AM radio. Faster connections such as ISDN accordingly improved reception speed and sound quality. By giving away basic versions of RealPlayer and the RealProducer content-production utility, Progressive Networks seeded the market for their com... |
an astonishing number and variety of RealAudio-enabled sites. As a curious example, I searched Google for "realaudio history", hoping to find some background material on the format; instead, I found thousands of sites dedicated to various historical topics, all of which included audio presentations requiring RealPlayer... |
it for free as either an RPM or tarball package from the Real.com downloads page. Installation is fairly straightforward, but there are a few snags to report. Close your web browser before installing the software, then become the root user and run the installation package. The RPM file needs to be renamed: mv rp8_linux... |
with this command: rpm -i rp8.linux20.libc6.i386.cs1.rpm The tarball must have its permissions set (as root again): chmod u+x rp8_linux20_libc6_i386_cs1.bin Now you can run the installation package: The installation procedure will automatically set up RealPlayer as a helper application in Netscape, but be forewarned: I... |
report. TRPlayer: RealAudio for the console At least three RealAudio players are available for the Linux console. They all depend upon an existing installation of RealPlayer and act as wrappers for RealPlayer, making its functions available to console applications. The RAP and RaWrapper players require support for the ... |
support (such as SVGA, frame-buffer, or ncurses) in my console RealAudio player, so I chose Matthew Campbell's TRPlayer. TRPlayer is available as a binary in RPM and DEB packages, but I chose to build the latest beta version (2.0.b2) from the source tarball. TRPlayer's only unique requirement is the slang library and h... |
root), run make install, and you will have a new command-line RealAudio player. You can call it from the prompt at the console or in xterm, invoking it with an address linking the player to the RealAudio stream: You now have streaming RealAudio at the Linux console. Cool... RealNetworks deserves praise for maintaining ... |
for Linux, particularly since there's no other way to enjoy all those RealAudio-empowered sites. Harder-core users and developers might be dismayed to learn that Real's software is available only in binary format and that source code is not freely available. Nevertheless, there's only one place to go for RealPlayer, so... |
Gene fault linked to stroke risk A “single genetic mutation can double your risk of stroke”, the Daily Mail has reported. The newspaper added that scientists hope the discovery could lead to tailored treatments for the condition. The news is based on research which looked for genetic variations that were |
more common in people who had had an ischaemic stroke than in people who had not had one. Ischaemic strokes occur when the blood flow to a part of the brain is blocked. They account for 80% of stroke cases. By testing the DNA of several thousand participants, the researchers |
identified a new genetic variant that was associated with increased risk of a type of ischaemic stroke called a “large vessel stroke”. In large vessel strokes, one or more of the arteries supplying blood to the brain become blocked. People can carry up to two copies of the variant, and |
the study’s authors estimated that each copy of the variant a person carried was associated with about a 42% increase in the odds of a large vessel stroke. However, it is not yet known whether this genetic variant raises the risk of a stroke, or if it is found near |
to another variant that is responsible for the increased risk. This well-designed study has identified a new association between a genetic variation and strokes. However, the study cannot confirm whether the variation itself causes the increased risk of a stroke. This key issue will need to be clarified before these |
findings can contribute to the development of the new treatments that many newspapers optimistically predicted. Where did the story come from? The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Oxford, St George’s, University of London, and a number of other UK and international universities and research i... |
It was funded by The Wellcome Trust. The study was published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature Genetics. This study was covered by a number of newspapers. In general, the coverage of the research was good, although many news stories focused on its potential to lead to the development of |
screening tests and new treatments. However, there is no guarantee that this research will lead to such advances. If it does, they are likely to be some way off. What kind of research was this? This case-control study aimed to identify genetic factors that are associated with an increased risk |
of ischaemic strokes. Ischaemic strokes occur when there is a blockage of blood flow to part of the brain. This can deprive brain cells of vital oxygen and nutrients. Around 80% of strokes are ischaemic. The remainder are haemorrhagic strokes, caused by a blood vessel rupturing in or around the |
brain. To find genetic variants associated with strokes, the researchers read the DNA sequences of a group of patients who had had an ischaemic stroke. They compared them to the sequences of a group of healthy people. Their theory was that genetic variations that were more common among the stroke |
group could potentially be linked to stroke risk. To verify whether the variants they initially identified in these groups were associated with strokes, the researchers tested if the same pattern was seen when another group of stroke patients were compared with another group of healthy individuals (controls). This is a... |
accepted method that is used when performing genetic studies of this type. Although this was a well-designed study, genetic studies like this one can only show that a particular genetic variant is associated with a disease. Further experiments are required to see if the variants identified have a role in |
causing strokes, or if they lie close to other genetic variants that have this effect. What these variants do still needs to be identified, so media claims that this research could lead to potential new treatments seem premature. It is also important to remember that genetic, medical and lifestyle factors |
are likely to contribute to a person’s risk of a stroke. It should not be assumed that a person’s genetics mean that they will definitely have a stroke. Equally, people without high-risk genetics may still be at risk of a stroke risk because of lifestyle factors, such as smoking. What |
did the research involve? In the first phase of the study, researchers recruited 3,548 individuals who had had an ischaemic stroke (the cases) and 5,972 healthy individuals (the controls). The researchers looked for genetic variants that were more common in the stroke group. In a second phase, the researchers confirmed |
their findings in a new group of 5,859 cases and 6,281 controls. The new genetic variation they identified was then re-confirmed in a further 735 cases and 28,583 controls. What were the basic results? The researchers identified genetic variants at three locations that have been associated with different subtypes of |
ischaemic stroke in previous studies (near the genes PITX2 and ZFHX3, and on the short arm of chromosome 9). In addition, they identified a genetic variant at a new position within the HDAC9 gene, which was associated with a subtype of ischaemic stroke called large vessel stroke. In large vessel |
strokes, one or more of the large arteries supplying blood to the brain become blocked. This variant in HDAC9 occurs on about 10% of chromosomes in people in the UK. Humans have two copies of each chromosome, and therefore we can carry up to two copies of this variant (one |
on each chromosome). The researchers calculated that each copy of the variant that a person possessed was associated with a 42% increase in the odds of having a large vessel stroke (odds ratio 1.42, 95% confidence interval 1.28 to 1.57 for each copy). How did the researchers interpret the results? |
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