technologythe use of technology is an important part of the curriculum and every day life for students and teachers at qatar academy. it can look very different from one class to the next, but how it is used to compliment student education and teacher instruction creates the foundation of technology at qa. the e - learning vision serves to support the mission and vision of qatar academy and provides students with an opportunity to become critical and independent thinkers as they develop problem solving and organizational skills. the school has developed a 21st - century learning program that is embedded into the curriculum and has been designed to complement essential elements of the international baccalaureate programme. to that end, the school has also established a one - to - one laptop program with windows netbooks and macbooks from grade 2 to 10. the students from grades 6 through 10 are required to use macbook laptops to assist their learning and facilitate work and file sharing. the students in grades 2 - 5 use individually assigned classroom laptops to collaborate, research and present work on their e - portfolios as they reflect on their learning journeys. school - wide technology is supported by a wireless network that allows students to access files, emails and classroom work at any time. qatar academy ’ s it and e - learning department oversees ten state - of - the - art computer labs, mobile learning equipment, audio and video recording equipment and an online learning management system, making qa one of the most technologically advanced schools in the region.


lives and times of african migrants & immigrants in post - apartheid south africa mcdonald, lephophotho mashike, and celia golden southern african migration project migration policy series no. 13 please note : readers are welcome to reproduce this article as long as appropriate acknowledgments are given. since 1996, the southern african migration project ( samp ) has conducted a series of cross - national surveys of attitudes towards migration and immigration in the region. the aim of the surveys is to provide policy - makers, ngos and researchers with up - to - date, comprehensive and rigorous information on people ' s experiences with, and attitudes towards, cross - border migration in the southern african region. the first major survey, the five nation survey, focused on the attitudes towards migration of residents of countries bordering south africa ( lesotho, mozambique, namibia, botswana and zimbabwe ). the second examined south african attitudes towards immigrants and immigration. the third complementary survey studies the attitudes and experiences of african migrants living in south africa at the time of the survey. this publication reports the results of the third survey and, for a fuller picture, should be read in conjunction with the samp reports on the first two surveys. the survey of 501 migrants from other african countries living in south africa was conducted in mid - 1998. the research was undertaken in three provinces - - gauteng, western cape and kwazulu - natal. the difficulties of identifying and interviewing migrants in south africa are well - known to researchers. as a result, this survey certainly does not claim to be statistically representative of the entire migrant population in the country. indeed, this would be impossible given the unknown numbers of undocumented migrants and their relative importance compared to legal migrants. however, this is still the largest survey undertaken by anyone to date of migrants from other african the survey permits the construction of the following general profile of the african migrant population within south africa : - most migrants from sadc countries have visited south africa before this current visit and are at least the third generation of their family to have done so. migrants from other parts of africa are generally visiting south africa for the first time. - few migrants have the desire to settle permanently in - migrants are motivated to come to south africa largely, but not entirely, by economic opportunities. - migrants are motivated, educated, skilled and - although migrants find work easily, they do not earn high - migrants have substantial responsibilities in their home country, which in most instances includes the maintenance of a house and family. - although economic opportunities and certain social services


are motivated, educated, skilled and - although migrants find work easily, they do not earn high - migrants have substantial responsibilities in their home country, which in most instances includes the maintenance of a house and family. - although economic opportunities and certain social services are deemed to be better in south africa than in the home country, most migrants would prefer to raise a family in their home country and find the overall quality of life to be better at home. - the vast majority of migrants are legal and in spite of significant difficulties obtaining official documentation, most have entered south africa through designated customs points, using formal modes of transport, and have pre - arranged accommodation. - there is growing evidence to suggest that far from being the perpetrators of crime, migrants are disproportionately the victims of crime and xenophobia, made worse be inadequate redress in the law or lack of protection by the police. - migrants feel strongly that they should be offered the same social and economic rights as south african citizens ( e. g. opportunities for a job, same access to medical services ), but should not necessarily be allowed to vote in south african elections. - migrants take borders seriously and support immigration policy if it is fair and applied humanely. - most migrants feel that south africa has a moral obligation to the african countries that took up positions against apartheid, and should therefore embrace and welcome foreign migrants. these results correspond with the findings of the survey conducted in lesotho, mozambique, zimbabwe, and namibia in 1997, and reinforce the central argument of this paper. cross - border migration from other parts of africa into south africa is predominantly legal, short - term, and highly formalized. popular perceptions of poor, uneducated criminals doing whatever it takes to sneak into south africa and stay in the country forever are simply not born out in the research. these popular perceptions may in fact contribute to a hardening of immigration sentiment and growing xenophobia in south africa. the ironic result is that an eminently manageable process becomes increasingly clandestine and difficult to control. the policy implications of the research are as follows : - migration would appear to be a highly regularized and legalized process conducted by responsible people, and it is important that south africa build on this process rather than forcing migrants and migration into more clandestine modes of operation. - new immigration legislation should address human rights abuses and make immigration policy more consistent with the bill of rights in the south african constitution. - immigration and security authorities should address human rights abuses at a more practical level with their staff in terms of education and


. - new immigration legislation should address human rights abuses and make immigration policy more consistent with the bill of rights in the south african constitution. - immigration and security authorities should address human rights abuses at a more practical level with their staff in terms of education and discipline. - immigration policy - makers and practitioners should recognize the importance of cross - border movement for socio - economic stability in the region ( and beyond ) as well as the need to address the more micro - economic impacts that migration policy can have on household opportunities and welfare outside the country. - the bulk of the cross - border traffic in south africa would appear to be short term and it is important that immigration policy be cognizant of the very different legislative and practical differences between long - term or permanent immigration and short - term, purpose - driven - basotho stand out as distinct from other african nationals in terms of their experiences with, and attitudes towards, migration to south africa. these results bring into further focus the need to explore the possibility of some kind of special immigration compact between south africa and lesotho. - migration into south africa is now a truly pan - african phenomenon and will become increasingly so. it is important that policy - makers are sensitive to the regional differences in migration into the country, and that they acknowledge the new role that south africa has begun to play with respect to the movement of people on the continent as a whole. - women are an increasingly important part of the migration nexus, and their experiences and aspirations with cross - border migration are different in many respects from those of men. policy - makers must pay attention to these gender dynamics when it comes to legislating and managing immigration policy. - although the majority of migrants interviewed do not intend to stay in south africa permanently, they do plan to stay for several months or several years and they expect to have access to basic social and economic services. access to housing, education, health care and other social and welfare services needs to be addressed as part of a larger basket of immigration rights and responsibilities. it is essential that these decisions be based on reliable, empirical evidence about what is happening on the ground, as well as by reference to international policy experiences and treaty obligations.


" to know the whole world " : women ’ s travel writings from the schlesinger library, 1819 – 1972 the exhibit opens on friday, october 2, 2009, and runs through friday, february 26, 2010, and will be on view in the schlesinger library ’ s first floor exhibit area during regular library hours : monday through friday from 9 : 30 a. m. to 5 p. m. “ i still have managed to know the whole world as few people of any kind have had the chance to know it.... no magic formula has made this possible — simply the idea that we have just one chance at it and that chance must be taken while the taking is there. ” lillian schoedler papers recognizing a growing demand for sources for the study of travel and life writing, adam matthew digital and the schlesinger library have collaborated to digitize a selection of the library ’ s travel diaries and correspondence. these digitized sources will be published in travel writing, spectacle and world history, a new on - line resource available to students and scholars. this exhibit highlights just a few of the many travel diaries and related correspondence, selected from over 50 of the library ’ s collections, that were included in the project. the sources document women as they progress through time and space, from the united states to europe, asia, australia, south america, and africa. they travel by foot, ship, covered wagon, car, and plane. they are keen observers and recorders, using pen, camera, and brush. diverse in their motivations, their socioeconomic backgrounds, and their relationships, the women travel alone, with family, or with friends. the travel diaries and letters in this collection offer commentary on topics such as frontier life in america, missionary work, historic world events, and local customs. the writers compare themselves to the women in the places they visit, speculate on what they are missing at home, and reflect on finding themselves, sometimes for the first time, in the public arena. the writings provide snapshots of cities, impressions of cultures and customs, and personal reactions to events of the time. collectively, the documents chart the rise of modern tourism and the travel industry in the 19th and 20th centuries. for most, travel was not the center of their lives, but each was transformed by travel. the records they created were intended for themselves alone or for family and friends. they could not have anticipated the interest their thoughts and impressions would generate, or the unprecedented access to them made possible by the


hello friends of railway dental! let ’ s talk baby teeth! i just found a fantastic collection of resources on the australian dental association ’ s website providing detailed info covering right from pregnancy, all the way up until your child loses their last baby tooth! did you know that it ’ s quite common for people to be congenitally missing some adult teeth, and sometimes baby teeth are retained well into adulthood! primary teeth ( baby teeth ) are structurally and functionally a lot different to permanent adult teeth. parents, teachers, and any other child - care workers should all be educated about the significance! decay travels faster through primary teeth, so it ’ s particularly important that children are getting check - ups every 6 months if they are taking good care of their teeth, and every 3 months if they ’ re not! i ’ ll never forget listening to a lecture from a specialist orthodontist when i was working in tasmania on oral hygiene in children. parents brush their children ’ s teeth every day until their child is ten years old!!! i was shocked when i heard that, but the specialist pointed out that children don ’ t have sufficient dedication to clean their teeth properly every day, and that it can even be considered negligent of a parent not to ensure that their children ’ s teeth are cleaned well and checked regularly. good to know, right? the website covers the recommendations relating to oral hygiene from infancy, provides info about teething, and another really important issue that people often don ’ t ask about : the effects of thumb - sucking on the development of your jaw bones, and the effect that has on the straightness of your child ’ s teeth, and their face shape! the info is easy to read and understand, plus downloadable and printable, and i recommend that every parent with children less than 15 years old, and everyone working in the child - care industry should have a browse. let me know what you think!


scientists study the illusive snow leopard in northern afghanistan ( the new york times ) - snow leopards have the advantage of living in “ one of the most remote and isolated mountain landscapes in the world, ” away from the human threats other large cats face. - increasingly, snow leopards have been eating livestock, and these encounters with humans might threaten this already endangered species as tensions arise. - scientists estimate there are between 4, 500 and 7, 500 snow leopards in the wild, but dr. schaller said, “ those figures are just wild guesses. ” q & a with will potter about his new book : green is the new red : an insider ’ s account of a social movement under siege ( grist ) - will potter discusses how corporations and lobbyists are attacking the environmental movement with accusations of terrorism, much like red scare. - “ as the scale of the ecological crisis we are facing becomes more apparent, and as the backlash against social movements that are challenging our self - destructive culture intensifies, it is difficult to not feel dark, to feel helpless. ” puma commits to eliminating all hazardous waste releases into chinese waterways as part of greenpeace ’ s detox challenge ( greenpeace ) - puma, the third largest sportswear producer in the world, just committed to stop releasing toxic chemical in chinese rivers by 2020, “ beating ” both nike and adidas in the detox challenge. the national petroleum reserve, bustling with biodiversity of arctic life, is soon to be tapped ( yale environment 360 ) - “ this wetland is home to the most spectacular gathering of migratory birds from all over the world, numbering in the millions. ” - the 23 million acre reserve will have is its fate decided in a year, and scientists are hurrying to study “ special spots, ” which the us will protect within the reserve. and lastly a video to inspire, relish and even lament conservation efforts ( treehugger ) if the above embedded video does not display, here to view it.


as figure 2 - 5 shows, the low - order word of each of these eight registers has a separate name and can be treated as a unit. this feature is useful for handling 16 - bit data items and for compatibility with the 8086 and 80286 processors. the word registers are named ax, bx, cx, dx, bp, sp, si, and di. figure 2 - 5 also illustrates that each byte of the 16 - bit registers ax, bx, cx, and dx has a separate name and can be treated as a unit. this feature is useful for handling characters and other 8 - bit data items. the byte registers are named ah, bh, ch, and dh ( high bytes ) ; and al, bl, cl, and dl ( low bytes ). all of the general - purpose registers are available for addressing calculations and for the results of most arithmetic and logical calculations ; however, a few functions are dedicated to certain registers. by implicitly choosing registers for these functions, the 80386 architecture can encode instructions more compactly. the instructions that use specific registers include : double - precision multiply and divide, i / o, string instructions, translate, loop, variable shift and rotate, and stack operations. complete programs generally consist of many different modules, each consisting of instructions and data. however, at any given time during program execution, only a small subset of a program ' s modules are actually in use. the 80386 architecture takes advantage of this by providing mechanisms to support direct access to the instructions and data of the current module ' s environment, with access to additional segments on demand. at any given instant, six segments of memory may be immediately accessible to an executing 80386 program. the segment registers cs, ds, ss, es, fs, and gs are used to identify these six current segments. each of these registers specifies a particular kind of segment, as characterized by the associated mnemonics ( " code, " " data, " or " stack " ) shown in figure 2 - 6. each register uniquely determines one particular segment, from among the segments that make up the program, that is to be immediately accessible at highest speed. the segment containing the currently executing sequence of instructions is known as the current code segment ; it is specified by means of the cs register. the 80386 fetches all instructions from this code segment, using as an offset the contents of the instruction pointer. cs is changed implicitly as the result of intersegm


current code segment ; it is specified by means of the cs register. the 80386 fetches all instructions from this code segment, using as an offset the contents of the instruction pointer. cs is changed implicitly as the result of intersegment control - transfer instructions ( for example, call and jmp ), interrupts, and exceptions. subroutine calls, parameters, and procedure activation records usually require that a region of memory be allocated for a stack. all stack operations use the ss register to locate the stack. unlike cs, the ss register can be loaded explicitly, thereby permitting programmers to define stacks dynamically. the ds, es, fs, and gs registers allow the specification of four data segments, each addressable by the currently executing program. accessibility to four separate data areas helps programs efficiently access different types of data structures ; for example, one data segment register can point to the data structures of the current module, another to the exported data of a higher - level module, another to a dynamically created data structure, and another to data shared with another task. an operand within a data segment is addressed by specifying its offset either directly in an instruction or indirectly via general registers. depending on the structure of data ( e. g., the way data is parceled into one or more segments ), a program may require access to more than four data segments. to access additional segments, the ds, es, fs, and gs registers can be changed under program control during the course of a program ' s execution. this simply requires that the program execute an instruction to load the appropriate segment register prior to executing instructions that access the data. the processor associates a base address with each segment selected by a segment register. to address an element within a segment, a 32 - bit offset is added to the segment ' s base address. once a segment is selected ( by loading the segment selector into a segment register ), a data manipulation instruction only needs to specify the offset. simple rules define which segment register is used to form an address when only an offset is specified. the low - order 16 bits of eflags is named flags and can be treated as a unit. this feature is useful when executing 8086 and 80286 code, because this part of eflags is identical to the flags register of the 8086 and the the flags may be considered in three groups : the status flags, the control flags, and the systems flags. discussion of the systems flags is delayed until part ii. shows, the low


with her sisters, fodla and eriu, she was part of an important triumvirate of goddesses. when the milesians arrived from spain each of the three sisters asked that her name be given to the country. eriu ( eire ) won the argument, but banbha is still sometimes used as a poetic name for ireland, much as albion is for england. according to seathrun ceitinn she worshipped macha, who is also sometimes named as a daughter of ernmas. the two goddesses may therefore be seen as equivalent. ceitinn also refers to a tradition that banbha was the first person to set foot in ireland before the flood, in a variation of the legend of cessair. in the ‘ tochomlad mac miledh a hespain i nerind : no cath tailten ’, it is related that as the milesians were journeying through ireland, ‘ they met victorious banba among her troop of faery magic hosts ’ on senna mountain, the stony mountain of mes. a footnote identifies this site as slieve mish in dingle, county kerry. the soil of this region is a non - leptic podzol if the character of banbha originated in an earth - goddess, non - leptic podzol may have been the particular earth - type of which she was the deification. initially, she could have been a goddess of war as well as a fertility goddess.


solid emulsion of fat globules and water made by churning cream, used as a food. presumably known since the advent of animal husbandry, butter has long been used as a cooking fat and as a spread. it was traditionally a farm product, but with the advent of the cream separator in the late 19th century it began to be mass - produced. it is a high - energy food, containing about 715 calories per 100 grams. it is high in butterfat ( 80 – 85percnt ) and low in protein. colouring is sometimes added to enhance its natural yellow colour ( from carotene ), and salt is often added. learn more about butter with a free trial on britannica. com. butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. it is used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications such as baking, sauce making, and frying. butter consists of butterfat, water and milk proteins. most usually made from cows ' milk, butter can also be manufactured from that of other mammals, including sheep, goats, buffalo, and yaks. salt, flavorings and preservatives are sometimes added to butter. rendering butter produces clarified butter or ghee, which is almost entirely butterfat. butter remains a solid when refrigerated, but softens to a spreadable consistency at room temperature, and melts to a thin liquid consistency at 32 – 35 °c ( 90 – 95 °f ). the density of butter is 911 kg / m3 ( 1535. 5 lb / yd3 ). it generally has a pale yellow color, but varies from deep yellow to nearly white. its color is dependent on the animal ' s feed and is commonly manipulated with food colorings in the commercial manufacturing process, most commonly annatto or carotene. in general use, the term " butter " refers to the spread dairy product when unqualified by other descriptors. the word commonly is used to describe pureed vegetable or nut products such as peanut butter and almond butter. it is often applied to spread fruit products such as apple butter. fats such as cocoa butter and shea butter that remain solid at room temperature are also known as " butters ". in addition to the act of applying butter being called " to butter ", non - dairy items that have a dairy butter consistency may use " butter ' to call that consistency to mind, including food items such as maple butter and witch ' s butter


. in addition to the act of applying butter being called " to butter ", non - dairy items that have a dairy butter consistency may use " butter ' to call that consistency to mind, including food items such as maple butter and witch ' s butter and non - food items such as baby bottom butter, hyena butter, and rock butter. unhomogenized milk and cream contain butterfat in microscopic globules. these globules are surrounded by membranes made of phospholipids ( fatty acid emulsifiers ) and proteins, which prevent the fat in milk from pooling together into a single mass. butter is produced by agitating cream, which damages these membranes and allows the milk fats to conjoin, separating from the other parts of the cream. variations in the production method will create butters with different consistencies, mostly due to the butterfat composition in the finished product. butter contains fat in three separate forms : free butterfat, butterfat crystals, and undamaged fat globules. in the finished product, different proportions of these forms result in different consistencies within the butter ; butters with many crystals are harder than butters dominated by free fats. churning produces small butter grains floating in the water - based portion of the cream. this watery liquid is called buttermilk — although the buttermilk most common today is instead a directly fermented skimmed milk. the buttermilk is drained off ; sometimes more buttermilk is removed by rinsing the grains with water. then the grains are " worked " : pressed and kneaded together. when prepared manually, this is done using wooden boards called scotch hands. this consolidates the butter into a solid mass and breaks up embedded pockets of buttermilk or water into tiny droplets. commercial butter is about 80 % butterfat and 15 % water ; traditionally - made butter may have as little as 65 % fat and 30 % water. butterfat consists of many moderate - sized, saturated hydrocarbon chain fatty acids. it is a triglyceride, an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acid groups. butter becomes rancid when these chains break down into smaller components, like butyric acid and diacetyl. the density of butter is 0. 911 g / cm3 ( 527 oz / in3 ), about the same as ice. before modern factory butter making, cream was usually collected from several milkings and was therefore several days old and somewhat fe


the density of butter is 0. 911 g / cm3 ( 527 oz / in3 ), about the same as ice. before modern factory butter making, cream was usually collected from several milkings and was therefore several days old and somewhat fermented by the time it was made into butter. butter made from a fermented cream is known as cultured butter. during fermentation, the cream naturally sours as bacteria convert milk sugars into lactic acid. the fermentation process produces additional aroma compounds, including diacetyl, which makes for a fuller - flavored and more " buttery " tasting product. today, cultured butter is usually made from pasteurized cream whose fermentation is produced by the introduction of lactococcus and leuconostoc bacteria. another method for producing cultured butter, developed in the early 1970s, is to produce butter from fresh cream and then incorporate bacterial cultures and lactic acid. using this method, the cultured butter flavor grows as the butter is aged in cold storage. for manufacturers, this method is more efficient since aging the cream used to make butter takes significantly more space than simply storing the finished butter product. a method to make an artificial simulation of cultured butter is to add lactic acid and flavor compounds directly to the fresh - cream butter ; while this more efficient process is claimed to simulate the taste of cultured butter, the product produced is not cultured but is instead flavored. dairy products are often pasteurized during production to kill pathogenic bacteria and other microbes. butter made from pasteurized fresh cream is called sweet cream butter. production of sweet cream butter first became common in the 19th century, with the development of refrigeration and the mechanical cream separator. butter made from fresh or cultured unpasteurized cream is called raw cream butter. raw cream butter has a " cleaner " cream flavor, without the cooked - milk notes that pasteurization introduces. throughout continental europe, cultured butter is preferred, while sweet cream butter dominates in the united states and the united kingdom. therefore, cultured butter is sometimes labeled european - style butter in the united states. commercial raw cream butter is virtually unheard - of in the united states. raw cream butter is generally only found made at home by consumers who have purchased raw whole milk directly from dairy farmers, skimmed the cream themselves, and made butter with it. it is rare in europe as well. several spreadable butters have been developed ; these remain softer at colder


found made at home by consumers who have purchased raw whole milk directly from dairy farmers, skimmed the cream themselves, and made butter with it. it is rare in europe as well. several spreadable butters have been developed ; these remain softer at colder temperatures and are therefore easier to use directly out of refrigeration. some modify the makeup of the butter ' s fat through chemical manipulation of the finished product, some through manipulation of the cattle ' s feed, and some by incorporating vegetable oils into the butter. whipped butter, another product designed to be more spreadable, is aerated via the incorporation of nitrogen gas — normal air is not used, because doing so would encourage oxidation and rancidity. all categories of butter are sold either in salted and unsalted forms. either granular salt or a strong brine are added to salted butter during processing. regions that favor sweet cream butter tend to prefer salted butter, possibly as a result of the more bland taste of uncultured butter. in addition to the enhanced flavor, the addition of salt acts as a preservative. the amount of butterfat in the finished product is a vital aspect of production. in the united states, products sold as " butter " are required to contain a minimum of 80 % butterfat ; in practice most american butters contain only slightly more than that, averaging around 81 % butterfat. european butters generally have a higher ratio, which may extend up to 85 %. clarified butter is butter with almost all of its water and milk solids removed, leaving almost - pure butterfat. clarified butter is made by heating butter to its melting point and then allowing it to cool off ; after settling, the remaining components separate by density. at the top, whey proteins form a skin which is removed, and the resulting butterfat is then poured off from the mixture of water and casein proteins that settle to the bottom. ghee is clarified butter which is brought to higher temperatures of around 120 °c ( 250 °f ) once the water has cooked off, allowing the milk solids to brown. this process flavors the ghee, and also produces antioxidants which help protect it longer from rancidity. because of this, ghee can keep for six to eight months under normal conditions. since even accidental agitation can form butter from cream, it is likely that its invention dates from the earliest days of dairying, perhaps in the mesopotamian area between 9000 and 8000 bce. the earliest butter would have been from sheep or goat '


since even accidental agitation can form butter from cream, it is likely that its invention dates from the earliest days of dairying, perhaps in the mesopotamian area between 9000 and 8000 bce. the earliest butter would have been from sheep or goat ' s milk ; cattle are not thought to have been domesticated for another thousand years. an ancient method of butter making, still used today in parts of africa and the near east, involves a goat skin half filled with milk, and inflated with air before being sealed. the skin is then hung with ropes on a tripod of sticks, and rocked until the movement leads to the formation of butter. butter was known in the classical mediterranean civilizations, but it does not seem to have been a common food. in the mediterranean climate, unclarified butter spoils quickly — unlike cheese it is not a practical method of preserving the nutrients of milk. the ancient greeks and romans seemed to have considered butter a food fit more for the northern barbarians. a play by the greek comic poet anaxandrides refers to thracians as boutyrophagoi ; " butter - eaters ". in natural history, pliny the elder calls butter " the most delicate of food among barbarous nations ", and goes on to describe its medicinal properties. later, the physician galen also described butter as a medicinal agent only. historian and linguist andrew dalby says that most references to butter in ancient near eastern texts should more correctly be translated as ghee. ghee is mentioned in the periplus of the erythraean sea as a typical trade article around the 1st century ce arabian sea, and roman geographer strabo describes it as a commodity of arabia and sudan. in india, ghee has been a symbol of purity and an offering to the gods — especially agni, the hindu god of fire — for more than 3000 years ; references to ghee ' s sacred nature appear numerous times in the rig veda, circa 1500 – 1200 bce. the tale of the child krishna stealing butter remains a popular children ' s story in india today. since india ' s prehistory, ghee has been both a staple food and used for ceremonial purposes such as fueling holy lamps and funeral pyres. the cooler climates of northern europe allowed butter to be stored for a longer period before it spoiled. scandinavia has the oldest tradition in europe of butter export trade, dating at least to the 12th century. after the fall of rome and through much of the middle ages, butter was a


europe allowed butter to be stored for a longer period before it spoiled. scandinavia has the oldest tradition in europe of butter export trade, dating at least to the 12th century. after the fall of rome and through much of the middle ages, butter was a common food across most of europe, but one with a low reputation, and was consumed principally by peasants. butter slowly became more accepted by the upper class, notabally when the early 16th century roman catholic church allowed its consumption during lent. bread and butter became common fare among the middle class and the english, in particular, gained a reputation for their liberal use of melted butter as a sauce with meat and vegetables. in antiquity, butter was used for fuel in lamps as a substitute for oil. the butter tower of rouen cathedral was erected in the early 16th century, when archbishop georges d ' amboise, oil was scarce at the time, authorised the burning of butter instead of oil during lent. across northern europe, butter was sometimes treated in a manner unheard - of today : it was packed into barrels ( firkins ) and buried in peat bogs, perhaps for years. such " bog butter " would develop a strong flavor as it aged, but remain edible, in large part because of the unique cool, airless, antiseptic and acidic environment of a peat bog. firkins of such buried butter are a common archaeological find in ireland ; the irish national museum has some containing " a grayish cheese - like substance, partially hardened, not much like butter, and quite free from putrefaction. " the practice was most common in ireland in the 11th – 14th centuries ; it ended entirely before the 19th century. until the 19th century, the vast majority of butter was made by hand, on farms. the first butter factories appeared in the united states in the early 1860s, after the successful introduction of cheese factories a decade earlier. in the late 1870s, the centrifugal cream separator was introduced, marketed most successfully by swedish engineer carl gustaf patrik de laval. this dramatically sped up the butter - making process by eliminating the slow step of letting cream naturally rise to the top of milk. initially, whole milk was shipped to the butter factories, and the cream separation took place there. soon, though, cream - separation technology became small and inexpensive enough to introduce an additional efficiency : the separation was accomplished on the farm, and the cream alone shipped to the factory. by 1900, more than half the butter produced in the united states was factory made ; europe followed suit


separation technology became small and inexpensive enough to introduce an additional efficiency : the separation was accomplished on the farm, and the cream alone shipped to the factory. by 1900, more than half the butter produced in the united states was factory made ; europe followed suit shortly after. in 1920, otto hunziker authored the butter industry, prepared for factory, school and laboratory, a well - known text in the industry that enjoyed at least three editions ( 1920, 1927, 1940 ). as part of the efforts of the american dairy science association, professor hunziker and others published articles regarding : causes of tallowiness ( an odor defect, distinct from rancidity, a taste defect ) ; mottles ( an aesthetic issue related to uneven color ) ; introduced salts ; the impact of creamery metals and liquids ; and acidity measurement. these and other adsa publications helped standardize practices internationally. per capita butter consumption declined in most western nations during the 20th century, in large part because of the rising popularity of margarine, which is less expensive and, until recent years, was perceived as being healthier. in the united states, margarine consumption overtook butter during the 1950s and it is still the case today that more margarine than butter is eaten in the u. s. and the eu. in the united states, butter sticks are usually produced and sold in 4 - ounce sticks, wrapped in wax paper and sold four to a carton. this practice is believed to have originated in 1907 when swift and company began packaging butter in this manner for mass distribution. due to historical variances in butter printers, these sticks are commonly produced in two differing shapes : both sticks contain the same amount of butter, although most butter dishes are designed for elgin - style butter sticks. the stick ' s wrapper is usually marked off as eight tablespoons ( ) ; the actual volume of one stick is approximately nine tablespoons ( ). india produces and consumes more butter than any other nation, and allocates almost half of its annual milk pool to butter production. in 1997, india produced of butter, most of which was consumed domestically. second in production was the united states followed by france germany and new zealand ( ). in terms of consumption, germany was second after india, using of butter in 1997, followed by france russia and the united states ( ). new zealand, australia, and the ukraine are among the few nations that export a significant percentage of the butter they produce. different varieties are found around the world.


, using of butter in 1997, followed by france russia and the united states ( ). new zealand, australia, and the ukraine are among the few nations that export a significant percentage of the butter they produce. different varieties are found around the world. smen is a spiced moroccan clarified butter, buried in the ground and aged for months or years. yak butter is important in tibet ; tsampa, barley flour mixed with yak butter, is a staple food. butter tea is consumed in the himalayan regions of tibet, bhutan, nepal and india. it consists of tea served with intensely flavored — or " rancid " — yak butter and salt. in african and asian developing nations, butter is traditionally made from sour milk rather than cream. it can take several hours of churning to produce workable butter grains from fermented milk. " french butter dishes " or " acadian butter dishes " involve a lid with a long interior lip, which sits in a container holding a small amount of water. usually the dish holds just enough water to submerge the interior lip when the dish is closed. butter is packed into the lid. the water acts as a seal to keep the butter fresh, and also keeps the butter from overheating in hot temperatures. this allows butter to be safely stored on the countertop for several days without spoilage. once butter is softened, spices, herbs, or other flavoring agents can be mixed into it, producing what is called a compound butter or composite butter ( sometimes also called composed butter ). compound butters can be used as spreads, or cooled, sliced, and placed onto hot food to melt into a sauce. sweetened compound butters can be served with desserts ; such hard sauces are often flavored with spirits. melted butter plays an important role in the preparation of sauces, most obviously in french cuisine. beurre noisette ( hazel butter ) and beurre noir ( black butter ) are sauces of melted butter cooked until the milk solids and sugars have turned golden or dark brown ; they are often finished with an addition of vinegar or lemon juice. hollandaise and bearnaise sauces are emulsions of egg yolk and melted butter ; they are in essence mayonnaises made with butter instead of oil. hollandaise and bearnaise sauces are stabilized with the powerful emulsifiers in the egg yolks, but butter itself contains enough emulsifiers — mostly remnants of the fat globule membranes


made with butter instead of oil. hollandaise and bearnaise sauces are stabilized with the powerful emulsifiers in the egg yolks, but butter itself contains enough emulsifiers — mostly remnants of the fat globule membranes — to form a stable emulsion on its own. beurre blanc ( white butter ) is made by whisking butter into reduced vinegar or wine, forming an emulsion with the texture of thick cream. beurre monte ( prepared butter ) is melted but still emulsified butter ; it lends its name to the practice of " mounting " a sauce with butter : whisking cold butter into any water - based sauce at the end of cooking, giving the sauce a thicker body and a glossy shine — as well as a buttery taste. in poland, the butter lamb ( baranek wielkanocny ) is a traditional addition to the easter meal for many polish catholics. butter is shaped into a lamb either by hand or in a lamb - shaped mould. butter is used for sauteing and frying, although its milk solids brown and burn above 150 °c ( 250 °f ) — a rather low temperature for most applications. the smoke point of butterfat is around 200 °c ( 400 °f ), so clarified butter or ghee is better suited to frying. ghee has always been a common frying medium in india, where many avoid other animal fats for cultural or religious reasons. butter fills several roles in baking, where it is used in a similar manner as other solid fats like lard, suet, or shortening, but has a flavor that may better complement sweet baked goods. many cookie doughs and some cake batters are leavened, at least in part, by creaming butter and sugar together, which introduces air bubbles into the butter. the tiny bubbles locked within the butter expand in the heat of baking and aerate the cookie or cake. some cookies like shortbread may have no other source of moisture but the water in the butter. pastries like pie dough incorporate pieces of solid fat into the dough, which become flat layers of fat when the dough is rolled out. during baking, the fat melts away, leaving a flaky texture. butter, because of its flavor, is a common choice for the fat in such a dough, but it can be more difficult to work with than shortening because of its low melting point. pastry makers often chill all their ingredients and utensils while working with a butter


its flavor, is a common choice for the fat in such a dough, but it can be more difficult to work with than shortening because of its low melting point. pastry makers often chill all their ingredients and utensils while working with a butter dough. butter also has many non - culinary, traditional uses which are specific to certain cultures. for instance, in north america, applying butter to the handle of a door is a common prank on april fools ' day. according to usda figures, one tablespoon of butter contains, all from fat, of fat, of which are saturated fat, and of cholesterol. in other words, butter consists mostly of saturated fat and is a significant source of dietary cholesterol. for these reasons, butter has been generally considered to be a contributor to health problems, especially heart disease. for many years, vegetable margarine was recommended as a substitute, since it is an unsaturated fat and contains little or no cholesterol. in recent decades, though, it has become accepted that the trans fats contained in partially hydrogenated oils used in typical margarines significantly raise undesirable ldl cholesterol levels as well. trans - fat free margarines have since been developed. butter contains only traces of lactose, so moderate consumption of butter is not a problem for the lactose intolerant. people with milk allergies need to avoid butter, which contains enough of the allergy - causing proteins to cause reactions. butter can form a useful role in dieting by providing satiety. a small amount added to low fat foods such as vegetables may stave off feelings of hunger.


their research is advancing on three fronts. fossils of skulls and bones expose anatomical changes. genetics reveals the timing and place of the eve of modern humans. and archaeology turns up ancient artifacts reflecting abstract and creative thought, and a growing self - awareness. just last month, researchers made the startling announcement that stone age paintings in spanish caves were much older than previously thought, from a time when neanderthals were still alive. to help make sense of this cascade of new information, a leading authority on modern human evolution — the british paleoanthropologist chris stringer — recently sat for an interview in new york that ranged across many recent developments : the evidence of interbreeding between neanderthals and homo sapiens ; the puzzling extinct species of little people nicknamed the hobbits ; and the implications of a girl ’ s 40, 000 - year - old pinkie finger found in a siberian cave. dr. stringer, an animated man of 64, is an anthropologist at the natural history museum in london and a fellow of the royal society. but he belies the image of a don : he showed up for our interview wearing a t - shirt and jeans, looking as if he had just come in from the field. a condensed and edited version of our conversation follows. in it and in a new book, he describes a new wrinkle to the hypothesis of a recent african origin of modern homo sapiens. his ideas may light up more debate in a contentious science.


opera essentials : eugene onegin a guide to tchaikovsky ’ s most popular opera. eugene onegin by pyotr il ’ yich tchaikovsky tells the story of literature - loving tatyana who falls passionately in love with dashing and worldly eugene onegin. onegin rejects her, despite having feelings for her. his subsequent actions lead to tragedy. years later, believing that he is incapable of happiness, onegin unexpectedly meets tatyana again … the story of eugene onegin is taken from the novel in verse of the same name by alexander pushkin. a singer friend of tchaikovsky suggested that pushkin ’ s story would make a fine opera. tchaikovsky became so excited that he stayed awake all that night working out the scenario. he wrote much of his libretto himself, sometimes setting pushkin verbatim as in tatyana ’ s letter scene, and occasionally ( as with prince gremin ’ s aria ) writing his own text. tchaikovsky wanted eugene onegin to be simple and direct in style, very different to the grand operas so popular in the 1870s. he referred to the piece as ‘ seven lyric scenes ’ rather than as an ‘ opera ’, and arranged for the premiere to be performed by moscow conservatory students, who he felt would act more convincingly than the singers at the bolshoi theatre. the premiere was admired, and by 1884 eugene onegin had become a staple of the russian repertory, and the favourite opera of tsar alexander iii. tchaikovsky demonstrates sympathy for all four principal characters in eugene onegin, particularly the complex tatyana and onegin. onegin begins as an elegant dandy ; his increasingly passionate music in the later scenes reveals his growing understanding both of his past mistakes and of his love for tatyana. tatyana evolves from the ardent girl of the letter scene to a woman still very much in love, but more restrained, aware that she cannot remake the past. kasper holten ’ s production focuses on the power of memory – how it shapes us and how we gain self - knowledge through experience. the stage becomes increasingly full of objects symbolic for tatyana and onegin as time passes and they and finally realize that they can never return to their past lives. eugene onegin runs from 4 – 20 february 2013. tickets have now sold out, but day tickets and returns may still be available. the production is generously supported by the monument trust with additional philanthropic support from sir simon and lady robertson, david hancock and the artists ’ circle. the production director is generously


tell me friend what strange man is this? his form is smeared with ashes white a serpent rears upon his hand in cryptic speech he seems well versed what manner of man is he? why look at his ashes or fear his serpent or heed his elusive all you need to know is this he is the essence the god of all that lives and moves1 so sang saint manikkavachakar of the god shiva, using the popular mode of a question - and - answer song ( calalo ) to acknowledge the paradox that the deity who is the highest of the high is at the same time the god of eccentric dress, ornaments and attributes. shiva is the beautiful god of the matted jata or dreadlocks, which are wound together and piled high on his head. adorning them are a crescent moon, a skull and a serpent, together with shiva ’ s favourite blossoms, the konrai or wild cassia and the unmattai or hornblower flower. on his forehead is a vertical third eye, symbolising his omniscient powers. 01shiva shiva as nataraja ( lord of dance ), eleventh century, bronze, height 111. 5 cm. the cleveland museum of art, purchase from the j. h. wade fund, 1930. 331. photo : © the cleveland museum of art, purchase from the j. h. wade fund 1930. 331 shiva as nataraja ( lord of dance ), eleventh century, bronze, height 111. 5 cm. the cleveland museum of art, purchase from the j. h. wade fund, 1930. 331. photo : shiva ’ s attributes are a trident and a battleaxe, his weapons of choice. his favourite companion, an antelope, invariably accompanies him, often transformed into an attribute poised on one of his rear hands. he is the lord adorned with serpents ; apart from peeping through his dreadlocks, serpents serve variously as his loincloth, belt, scarf, necklace, armlet, wristband or anklet. shiva ’ s mountain home is kailasa in the snowbound himalayas, and his consort parvati ( daughter of the mountains ) is likewise from the north. the sixty - three tamil shaivite poet - saints who lived between the sixth and ninth centuries relocated this god, together with his consort whom they called uma, to the lush paddy fields, sandy shores and coconut groves of southern india, singing of how he chose to take up residence in the temples of tamil nadu


between the sixth and ninth centuries relocated this god, together with his consort whom they called uma, to the lush paddy fields, sandy shores and coconut groves of southern india, singing of how he chose to take up residence in the temples of tamil nadu. in the sanctum itself, shiva is always represented in the form of a pillar - like linga emblem but on the outer walls of temples and in the bronze images created for temple festivals, shiva took on a number of manifestations, including nataraja ( lord of dance ), tripuravijaya ( victor of the three cities ), somaskanda ( with uma and infant skanda ), shrikantha ( lord of the auspicious neck ) and chandrashekhara ( lord crowned with the moon ). in his snowbound mountain home of kailasa, shiva is said to have invented 108 types of dance as nataraja ( lord of dance ), perhaps to be identified with the 108 karanas or poses of indian classical dance. shiva dances in triumph at defeating demons, or for the pleasure of his consort and, through his celebrated cosmic dance known as ananda tandava or dance of bliss, he is believed to dance the world into extinction only to dance it back into existence as part of the cyclical time system of india. as nataraja ( nata meaning dance and raja meaning king in sanskrit ), shiva stands in theatrical splendour on his bent right leg, while his gracefully poised left foot is raised high across his body. in his left rear hand he holds fire, signifying destruction, while his right rear hand holds a damaru drum, whose sound denotes creation. his right front hand is raised in a gesture of protection. closely associated with the sacred chola temple of chidambaram, dancing shiva, hailed by the french sculptor auguste rodin as the perfect embodiment of rhythmic movement, appears to have become almost a symbol for the chola dynasty. in this bronze nataraja, shiva stands serene and assured, master of the universe, within a circular prabha aureole framed with five - tipped flames that represent the oscillating universe. the god rests his right foot on the back of the dwarfish demonic figure of mushalagan, representing darkness and ignorance to be overcome, who meekly raises his head to look up at the lord. the detailing is finely executed and the skull, crescent moon and crane feathers crowning his head are clearly delineated, although his matt


burning animals alive. here can be no doubt but that a belief prevailed, until a very recent period, amongst the small farmers in the districts ' remote from towns, in cornwall, that a living sacrifice appeased the wrath of god. this sacrifice must be by fire ; and i have heard it argued that the bible gave them warranty for this belief. the accompanying notes, from hone ' s " every - day book, " and from drew and hitchen ' s " cornwall, " prove the prevalence - - at least at the commencement of this century - - of this idea. i have lately been informed that within the last few years a calf has been thus sacrificed by a farmer, in a district where churches, chapels, and schools abound. the burning of blood, drawn from a deceased animal, has been a very common mode of appeasing the spirits of disease. " there are too many obvious traces of the fact to doubt its truth, that the making of bonfires, and the leaping through them, are vestiges of the ancient worship of the heathen god bal ; and therefore it is, with propriety, that the editor of " time ' s telescope " adduces a recent occurrence from drew and hitchin ' s " history of cornwall, " as a probable remnant of pagan superstition in that country. he presumes that the vulgar notion which gave rise to it was derived from the druidical sacrifice of beasts : ' an ignorant old farmer in cornwall, having met with some severe losses in his cattle about the year 1800, was much afflicted with his misfortunes. to stop the growing evil, he applied - to the farriers in his neighbourhood, but unfortunately he applied in vain. the malady still continuing, and all remedies failing, he thought it necessary to have recourse to some extraordinary measure. accordingly, on consulting with some of his neighbours, equally ignorant with himself, and evidently not less barbarous, they recalled to their recollections a tale, which tradition had handed down from remote antiquity, that the calamity would not cease until he had actually burned alive the finest calf which lie had upon his farm ; but that, when this sacrifice was made, the murrain would afflict his cattle no more. the old farmer, influenced by this counsel, resolved immediately on reducing it to practice ; that, by making the detestable experiment, he might secure an advantage which the whisperers of tradition and the advice of his


afflict his cattle no more. the old farmer, influenced by this counsel, resolved immediately on reducing it to practice ; that, by making the detestable experiment, he might secure an advantage which the whisperers of tradition and the advice of his neighbours had conspired to assure him would follow. he accordingly called several of his friends together on an appointed day, and having lighted a large fire, brought forth his best calf, and without ceremony or remorse, pushed it into the flames. the innocent victim, on feeling the intolerable heat, endeavoured to escape ; but this was in vain. the barbarians that surrounded the fire were armed with pitchforks, or pikes, as in cornwall they are generally called ; and, as the burning victim endeavoured to escape from death, with these instruments of cruelty the wretches pushed back the tortured animal into the flames. in this state, amidst the wounds of pitchforks, the shouts of unfeeling ignorance and cruelty, and the corrosion of flames, the dying victim poured out its expiring groan, and was consumed to ashes. it is scarcely possible to reflect on this instance of superstitious barbarity without tracing a kind of resemblance between it and the ancient sacrifices of the druids. tins calf was sacrificed to fortune, or good luck, to avert impending calamity, and to insure future prosperity, and was selected by the farmer as the finest among his herd. ' every intelligent native of cornwall will perceive that this extract from the history of his county is here made for the purpose of shaming the brutally ignorant, if it be possible, into humanity. ' [ a ] the remarks in drew and hitchin are as follows " there is a tradition in cornwall, which has been handed down from remote antiquity, that farmers may prevent any calamity by burning alive the finest calf they possess. this was so fully believed, tbat even as late as the year i800, an ignorant old farmer, having met with some severe losses in his cattle, determined on being advised by some neighbours, not less barbarous than himself, to try this remedy. he accordingly, on an appointed day, called his friends together, lighted a large fire, brought forth his best calf, and without ceremony or remorse, pushed it into the flames. " [ while correcting these sheets, i am informed of two recent instances of this superstition. one of them was the sacrifice of a calf by a farmer near portreath, for the


the pages of reverend joseph felt ' s annals of salem, a two volume collection of historical facts about the town that was published in 1827 and 1828, are filled with fascinating tidbits about weather extremes and other oddities in salem ' s history. in july 1773 lightning struck a tree on gallows hill and rendered it the shape of a broom. in 1798 another bolt hit the ship martha in salem harbor, killing two sailors and wounding two others. salem experienced a violent hailstorm on august 1, 1815. some hailstones were five inches in circumference. the storm lasted but a few minutes but broke thirty thousand panes of glass in salem alone. every house in the town lost at least one pane. a similar storm in 1819 destroyed 168 panes of glass in a single home on essex street. felt notes : " human power quailed before its violence. " snowstorms in 1829 and 1978 dumped at least two feet of the white stuff on salem in a single day. and in what had been a normal july in 1804, snow fell one day in salem and surrounding towns. view of the phillips library, essex street, during a snowfall salem has experienced hurricanes, blizzards, earthquakes, eclipses, and many other natural phenomena. but to local townspeople nothing was as frightening as the " great darkness " that fell over the town on may 19, 1780. according to an entry in the diary of william pyncheon, the darkness began descending over the town at ten in the morning on that normal, bright day. over the next two hours the sky grew increasingly dark, and by noon people were eating and reading by candlelight. confused cocks crowed, and a general melancholy fell over the townspeople - - except the sailors, who went " halloing " through the streets and taunting the young ladies they encountered to divest themselves of some of their clothing. members of dr. nathaniel whitaker ' s church gathered for solace at their meeting house on school street, now washington street. instead they were rebuked by their pastor, who claimed the darkness was a punishment sent from the lord for past transgressions. the darkness, incidentally, was caused by the smoke from wildfires in northern new england. all rights reserved


war horse booktalk a gentle horse, forced to live and work in a world at war - grades : 6 – 8 about this book in the town hall of a small english village hangs a picture of a horse. he stands, a beautiful red bay with a white cross on his forehead and four perfectly matched white hocks. he look wistfully out of the picture, head turned as if he ' d just noticed someone standing there. to the villagers, it ' s been there so long that they don ' t notice it any more. but to someone looking at it more carefully, it ' s easy to see the inscription at the bottom of the frame. " joey. painted by captain james nicholls, autumn, 1914. " this is joey ' s story, written so no one will ever forget him or those who knew him, or the war that they lived and died in. joey was a farm horse, half thoroughbred, but still forced to pull a plow. still, he was a young horse, fond of albert, the boy who took care of him, and he enjoyed his life. but all that changed when war was declared. albert ' s father needed money for the farm, and he sold joey to captain nicholls. the transformation from farm horse to cavalry horse was difficult. joey had to learn discipline, to obey his rider quickly and instinctively. the trainer was harsh, but the captain was as gentle as albert had been. joey trusted him. it wasn ' t long before they were on a ship headed to france and the war. a soldier artist and a farm horse — they ' d never been to war, or even heard a shot fired in anger. they would have preferred to be almost anywhere else. but they had no choice — they were military and the battle lines had been drawn. they saw the results as soon as they stepped off the ship to walk past unending lines of wounded waiting to go back to england, faces etched with misery and pain. finally, the captain and his men saw for themselves the kind of war they ' d be going into, and there wasn ' t a single man in the squadron who seemed prepared for it. horses and swords against german machine guns and artillery. gentle men and animals forced to become killers, and dying to protect their country and their beliefs, not knowing if they ' d ever get home again. the world at war — world war one.


the magic school bus gets programmed - grades : prek – k, 1 – 2, 3 – 5 ms. frizzle ' s class arrives early to open the school for mr. ruhle. but there ' s so much to do! ' there must be a way of doing all these chores without actually doing them, ' says carlos. the school handyman, mr. mcclean, is in total agreement. enter mr. ruhle ' s new computer! then enter mikey, carlos ' s whiz - kid brother, who programs the computer to do all the chores. but when ms. frizzle shrinks mikey and sends him inside the computer for a guided tour, everything goes crazy. and the only person who can fix the problem is mikey - who is somewhere between the cpu and the hard drive! time : 40 minutes group size : 4 one tiny mistake in mikey ' s computer program has the school ' s system in an uproar. your kids learn that computer tasks must be broken into small parts. what you need for each student : - copy of i compute page talk about it ask : what do computers do? how are computers like other machines? how are they different? what to do - ask : what tells a computer what to do? ( a program in a computer language ) what is a program? ( a set of step - by - step instructions to accomplish a task ) can you follow a program? - space groups in separate squares, with four pencils in the center of the square. - have kids act out the pencil pass program instructions. are more instructions needed for bit # 1 and bit # 2? are there “ bugs ” - mistakes? if so, challenge kids to fix them. - have groups compete the program to pass out pencils. let them present the programs they write. ask : how many ways did we find to accomplish the same task? examine a computer. unplug it from the wall. where do the cables go? unscrew and remove the cover. find - don ’ t touch - the floppy drive, hard drive, motherboard, cpu, other components. caution! never open a monitor. it stores shocking voltage.


mini darwin on galapagos : evolution in the words of children friday 09th october 2009 from 10h15 to 11h45 salle 2 / grand amphitheatre - directed by - paola catapano - written by - simona cerrata & paola catapano - produced by - socia & pistoia srl / rai educational / ruvido produzioni documentary, italy, 2007, 40 min during an expedition on the galapagos islands, seven children follow charles darwin ’ s tracks to repeat his observations and experiments in a playful and didactic way and discover the evolution of the species through natural selection. by observing the geology of the volcanic archipelago, the children draw conclusions on adaptation. by making drawings of turtles and blue or red - footed birds, they learn all the secrets of taxonomy and differences among species. an amusing " eggs ’ hunting " game is their way of understanding mimetism, while the " beauty " game reveals the mechanisms of sexual selection. oceanography lessons teach them why one can find penguins on the equator. at the darwin station they analyze their samples of phytoplankton just fished in the sea, in preparation of a lesson on the food chain... debate with : - paola catapano, director - guillaume lecointre, team leader at the umr 7138 cnrs - upmc - mnhn - ird


one of the more intriguing, and controversial, thematic aspects of ridley scott ’ s new film prometheus involves its overt discussions of science and faith. the character of dr. elizabeth shaw is a scientist whose father was a catholic missionary. she retains her religious faith even after she finds scientific evidence that an ancient alien species created humanity in its own image using genetic engineering. rather than question the concept of a supernatural creator, she merely shifts her belief to the notion of an intergalactic god who created the creator species. it will certainly be interesting to see how the scientific community responds to ridley scott ’ s embracing of the pseudoscience “ ancient astronaut theory ” promoted in erich von daniken ’ s 1968 book chariots of the gods. but, it will be even more interesting to see how religious communities respond to this plotline. the notion of an external force playing a role in humanity ’ s creation is a concept which has the potential to both delight and anger religious groups. on the one hand, the film ’ s positing of humanity ’ s descent from ancient aliens takes human creation out of god ’ s hands. on the other hand, the film provides support for the idea that human development required direct assistance from an outside entity. the film also leaves open the possibility that a supernatural being was responsible for the larger act of creation. as part of a book i am writing on science, religion, and cinema i have examined a number of ways in which religious groups, in particular christian communities, have responded to scientific depictions and themes in movies. it is still too early to tell how religious groups will react to prometheus, but we can examine how religious groups have previously reacted to science fiction films featuring alien beings as the creators or saviors of humanity. prometheus is not the first science fiction film to embed issues related to science and religion within its plot of extraterrestrial visitors. the concept of aliens coming to earth was a rarity in science fiction films until the 1950s, but one of the first films featuring this storyline was a not so subtle christian allegory. in 1951 ’ s the day the earth stood still, a visitor from the heavens comes to earth with a message of peace and love, is killed by the authorities, and resurrected before leaving and promising to return again. the parallels to the christian story were hard to ignore and the similarity did not sit well with hollywood ’ s censorship board — the production code administration ( pca ). the head of the pca, joseph breen, particularly objected to the


again. the parallels to the christian story were hard to ignore and the similarity did not sit well with hollywood ’ s censorship board — the production code administration ( pca ). the head of the pca, joseph breen, particularly objected to the fact that the messiah figure klaatu was brought back from the dead through the use of alien science and technology. to avoid offending religiously minded audiences, the filmmakers added dialogue in which klaatu answers a question of whether his robot gort “ has the power of life and death ” by claiming : “ no, that power is reserved to the almighty spirit. ” the pca was founded in 1934 to address religious concerns about morality in cinema and the organization had strong ties to the catholic church. so, it was particularly sensitive to overt depictions of religion including the juxtaposition of science and religion in films involving alien visitors. a case in point was the 1953 film version of h. g. wells ’ novel war of the worlds about technologically advanced alien invaders. in wells ’ novel, religion was depicted as the last refuge of the desperate. breen was concerned that the depiction of clergy in the film adaptation would be equally negative. to underscore the pca ’ s desire for positive depictions of religious figures, breen reminded paramount pictures several times that “ with regard to the portrayal of reverend collins, it will be necessary for you to obtain adequate technical advice. ” they ultimately screened the film for a theologian to “ certify the religious angles. ” given that the film version privileges religion over science it is not surprising that the pca ’ s theologian approved of the film ’ s religious depictions. although the aliens in 1950s films tried to influence human civilization, they were not directly influencing human evolutionary advancement as occurred in stanley kubrick ’ s 1968 film 2001 : a space odyssey. the film ’ s scriptwriter arthur c. clarke had previously played around with the notion of aliens impacting future human evolution in his novels, but 2001 was the first time he indicated the possibility of an alien species directing human evolution in the past. it turns out that their film struck a chord with many religious groups. the national catholic office for motion pictures even bestowed on the film its 1968 award for “ best film of educational value. ” both kubrick and clarke were bemused by the positive response the film received from religious groups. as far as they were concerned the film was about an alien species directing human evolution, not god. but for certain religious audiences, the important point of the


kubrick and clarke were bemused by the positive response the film received from religious groups. as far as they were concerned the film was about an alien species directing human evolution, not god. but for certain religious audiences, the important point of the movie was the recognition that evolution is too complex a process to happen without external intervention. kubrick and clarke called it advanced alien technology, religious communities called it god. some more recent films have included the concept of alien - directed human evolution or aliens as god - like saviors. the response to these films from the christian community has been mixed. the 2000 film mission to mars, for example, has a plotline similar to prometheus with an ancient martian race seeding the galaxy, including earth, with its dna. some catholics appreciated the film ’ s underlying conceit for the same reasons the church had embraced 2001 previously. the film acknowledged the necessity for unearthly intervention in human evolution while leaving the larger question of ultimate creation unanswered. yet, mission to mars did upset other christians who did not take kindly to the thought of creation being displaced from god ’ s realm to the materialistic domain of technologically superior martians. on the other hand, another recent film featuring alien visitors, 2009 ’ s knowing, was warmly received by protestant and catholic commentators who supported the film ’ s message of benevolent extraterrestrials rekindling a scientist ’ s religious faith while offering salvation to a doomed planet. in this case, the rapture involves spaceships rather than spiritual transcendence, but the film ’ s message about the need for belief resonated with many christian reviewers. so what does this mean for prometheus? reviews so far suggest that while some christians are pleased with the scientist heroine ’ s faith in the film, most are more disturbed by the ancient alien creators. one christian reviewer sees the film not just as biblically problematic, but morally dangerous because in his view it “ helps to prepare the world for a satanic deception. ” despite the earlier award for the similarly themed 2001 and the acceptance of a similar plot in mission to mars, the official catholic review of prometheus from the catholic news service finds that the alien - directed human evolution plotline “ renders prometheus extremely problematic for viewers of faith. ” do these responses indicate a trend? it is still too early to tell, but ( spoiler alert ) given that the film ultimately ends with the creator species trying to wipe out humanity, these negative reviews may well represent the primary reaction


athens, ga. – a new university of georgia study suggests that health agencies investigating salmonella illnesses should consider untreated surface water as a possible source of contamination. researchers, whose results appear in the march issue of the journal applied and environmental microbiology, tested water over a one - year period in rivers and streams in a region of south georgia known for its high rate of sporadic salmonella cases. the team found salmonella in 79 percent of water samples, with the highest concentrations and the greatest diversity of strains in the summer and after rainfall. " streams are not routinely tested for salmonella, and our finding is an indication that many more could be contaminated than people realize, " said erin lipp, associate professor in the uga college of public health. " we found our highest numbers in the summer months, and this is also the time when most people get sick. " lipp, who co - authored the study with former uga graduate student bradd haley and dana cole in the georgia division of public health, said that although contaminated water used to irrigate or wash produce has been linked to several well - publicized outbreaks of salmonellosis in recent years, the environmental factors that influence salmonella levels in natural waters are not well understood. she said understanding how salmonella levels change in response to variables such as temperature and rainfall are critical to predicting — and ultimately preventing — the waterborne transmission of the bacteria. the team studied streams in the upper reaches of the suwannee river basin, which begins in south georgia and flows into central florida. the study area contains a mix of forested lands, row crops, pasturelands, wetlands and small cities. the researchers chose sampling sites near a variety of those environments but found little variation in salmonella concentrations by location. the diversity of salmonella strains, however, was highest near a farm containing cattle and a pivot irrigation system, suggesting that close proximity to livestock and agriculture increase the risk of contamination. the researchers also found a strong and direct correlation between rainfall for the two days preceding sample collection and the concentration of salmonella, suggesting that runoff contributes to the contamination. salmonella can be found in the intestinal tracts of several species of animals and in humans. the bacteria are shed in feces, but lipp said recent data suggest that they can persist and possibly grow in water if given the right conditions. her study found that the diversity and concentration of salmonella increased as temperatures increased. the highest concentrations and greatest diversity of strains were found in august, the warmest month of the year.


can persist and possibly grow in water if given the right conditions. her study found that the diversity and concentration of salmonella increased as temperatures increased. the highest concentrations and greatest diversity of strains were found in august, the warmest month of the year. lipp adds that her study, which was funded by the national oceanic and atmospheric administration joint program on climate variability and human health, lends support to the idea that salmonella illnesses could increase as a result of global warming. lipp notes that her study area had 58 cases of salmonella illness per 100, 000 people in 2007, the last year for which figures are available, compared to a state average of 22 cases per 100, 000 people and a national average of 15 cases per 100, 000 people. she said the exact mechanisms by which people in her study area are being exposed to environmental salmonella are unclear, but the most commonly detected strain in the studied streams was among the top ten associated with human infections in the health district. the porous nature of the soil in the study area means that surface water and groundwater are prone to mixing, especially after rainfalls, and lipp said that poorly sited wells might be a factor in many illnesses. another possibility, especially common among children, is so called incidental exposure by which people become infected with the bacteria when playing in or near contaminated waterways. " understanding the environmental factors that contribute to salmonella illnesses can guide our efforts to educate people about how they can avoid being sickened through the proper construction and maintenance of wells, basic hygiene such as hand washing and good food safety practices, " lipp said. " we also have the potential to decrease the likelihood of larger outbreaks related to produce, because in many cases contaminated irrigation water, and not the produce itself, may be the cause of the outbreak. "


feb. 24, 2011 early in the formation of earth, some forms of the element chromium separated and disappeared deep into the planet ' s core, a new study by uc davis geologists shows. the finding, to be published online by the journal science feb. 24, will help scientists understand the early stages of planet formation, said qing - zhu yin, professor of geology at uc davis and coauthor on the paper. yin, former postdoctoral scholar frederic moynier and edwin schauble of the department and earth and space sciences at ucla used specialized equipment at uc davis to make very exact measurements of chromium isotopes in meteorites, compared to rocks from earth ' s crust, and use modern high performance computers to simulate early earth environment. they studied a class of meteorites called chondrites, which are leftovers from the formation of the solar system over four and half billion years ago. as well as adding shiny, rust - proof surfaces to metalwork, chromium adds color to emeralds and rubies. it exists as four stable ( non - radioactive ) isotopes with atomic masses of 50, 52, 53 and 54. it has been known for decades that chromium isotopes are relatively underrepresented in earth ' s mantle and crust, yin said. that could either be because they were volatile and evaporated into space, or got sucked into earth ' s deep core at some point. by making very accurate measurements of chromium isotopes in the meteorites compared to earth rocks and comparing them to theoretical predictions, the researchers were able to show for the first time that the lighter isotopes preferentially go into the core. from this the team inferred that some 65 percent of the missing chromium is most likely in earth ' s core. furthermore, the separation must have happened early in the planet building process, probably in the multiple smaller bodies that assembled into earth or when earth was still molten but smaller than today. moynier is now assistant professor at the department of earth and planetary sciences and mcdonnell center for the space sciences, washington university in st louis. the work was funded by grants from nasa and the national science foundation. other social bookmarking and sharing tools : note : materials may be edited for content and length. for further information, please contact the source cited above. - frederic moynier, qing - zhu yin and edwin schauble. isotopic evidence of cr partitioning into earth ’ s core. science, 24 february 2011


diseases and epidemics selection of gold and silver pomanders, europe the black death ' the ideal way to get rid of any infectious disease would be to shoot instantly every person who comes down with it. ' h l mencken humanity and disease share a long and eventful history. as we emerged and evolved, so did the diseases that blight our lives. diseases exist in the fossil record, but our ancestors were actually less exposed to them. this changed around 10, 000 years ago when they began living in more settled agriculturally based communities. animals were a major part of this revolution. but settlement brought disease and epidemics. close contact, often in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, allowed some animal diseases to jump species and become deadly human infections. what did early people think about disease? like their prehistoric ancestors, most ancient egyptians blamed evil spirits or angry gods. some egyptian doctors had other ideas. they blamed blocked channels within the body, a theory that has echoes in other medical traditions, particularly traditional chinese medicine. in ancient greece hippocrates proposed a theory about the body which centred on humours, a notion which has parallels elsewhere, most obviously in ayurvedic medicine. this greek medical philosophy eventually took root among greece ’ s conquerors in rome, from where the writings of galen resonated across much of the world and remained influential for hundreds of years. the decline of the roman empire and rise of the islamic empire as the east roman empire declined, an islamic empire expanded westwards. muslim scholars collected, translated and supplemented classical greek works as well as texts from india and northern africa. to this body of learning they added their own innovative work, with physicians al - razi and ibn sina among the most prolific and influential scholars of this period. these texts were archived at the house of wisdom in baghdad and other centres of study. emerging from the early medieval period, europe remained ignorant of much of this knowledge. galen and the spread of disease galen coined the word ‘ plague ’ to describe a quickly spreading fatal disease. he had lived through the antonine plague - one of the great epidemics of the ancient world. the black death that devastated europe in the 1340s was just that and more, the most deadly pandemic in recorded history. as a recovering europe enjoyed the cultural renaissance of the following century, the ancient texts were rediscovered and newer texts from the islamic world became accessible. but the older texts were not simply revered, they were also questioned. new empires and epidemics despite more research into


a recovering europe enjoyed the cultural renaissance of the following century, the ancient texts were rediscovered and newer texts from the islamic world became accessible. but the older texts were not simply revered, they were also questioned. new empires and epidemics despite more research into the nature of disease, little could be done in the face of frequent and deadly epidemics. new empires grew in this time of exploration and discovery. but armies, colonisers and traders all imported and exported disease. as citizens of a growing trading nation, thousands of british people succumbed to smallpox, sweating sickness and bubonic plague - all epidemic in the 1500s and 1600s. old supernatural beliefs remained embedded, with thousands presenting themselves to charles ii believing only his touch could cure them of ' king ' s evil '. conquest and colonialism but conquest and colonialism also brought exposure to new medical knowledge. smallpox inoculation was successfully imported to britain and america in the early 1700s, a procedure edward jenner would subsequently improve with his safer vaccination technique. germ theory and industrialisation in the 1800s, laboratory research - notably by pasteur, koch and their pupils - significantly advanced our understanding of disease. the resulting germ theory gradually supplanted the prevailing miasma and contagion theories. ironically, proponents of miasma theory had greatly influenced public health reforms. industrialised and overcrowded, 19th - century cities were havens for diseases such as typhoid, tuberculosis and, increasingly, cholera. it was while researching a cholera outbreak in 1854 that london doctor john snow produced his ground - breaking work on disease transmission. penicillin, the poor and the protection of the state despite some improvements, infant mortality rates in britain in 1900 were actually higher than in 1800. diphtheria, measles and whooping cough all took a cruel toll on poor and ill - nourished children. fortunately, growing state intervention and the wider fruits of biomedical research reversed this trend. germ theory focused research onto the newly identified disease pathogens and the results were new vaccines and ‘ magic bullet ’ antibacterial drugs which revolutionised treatment. the pinnacle of these achievements was the production of penicillin during the second world war ( 1939 - 45 ). the decline of disease in the developed world the flu pandemic of 1918 was the last occasion a killer disease swept rapidly across the world. at least 50 million people died. since that notable blip, infectious diseases have continued to decline in the developed world, although smaller epidemics have occurred. pol


pandemic of 1918 was the last occasion a killer disease swept rapidly across the world. at least 50 million people died. since that notable blip, infectious diseases have continued to decline in the developed world, although smaller epidemics have occurred. polio notably brought a decade of post - war panic and with it the wheezing spectre of the iron lung. this machine helped patients to breath - a symbol of new life - saving technologies but also of the helplessness of many of polio ’ s victims. elsewhere, improvements have been slower. while smallpox has been eradicated, ancient diseases such as malaria still kill millions. and although aids causes fear and death in the west, its strongholds are mainly among the world ’ s poor. because of limited access to health education programmes and expensive western drugs, it is now predominantly a disease of poverty. increasingly, the resources of rich nations have concentrated on disease at a more individual level, targeting cancer, heart and circulatory diseases, respiratory and nervous diseases, the faults of genes and heredity, the diseases of affluence and, increasingly, the diseases of old age. related themes and topics there are 583 related objects. view all related objects a j bollet, plagues and poxes : the impact of human history on epidemic disease ( new york : demos, 2004 ) p bourdelais, epidemics laid low : a history of what happened in rich countries ( baltimore : johns hopkins university press, 2006 ) j n hays, epidemics and pandemics : their impacts on human history ( oxford : abc - clio, 2006 ) m b a oldstone, viruses, plagues, and history ( oxford : oxford university press, 1998 ) r porter, the greatest benefit to mankind : a medical history of humanity ( london : harper collins, 1999 ) s watts, disease and medicine in world history ( london : routledge, 2003 ) a sudden widespread occurance of an infection with high numbers of people affected. an acute contagious fever with high levels of mortality. both the ' black death ' that swept europe in the 1340s and the great plague of london in 1665 are believed to have been bubonic plague. an epidemic that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population. smallpox is an infectious virus unique to humans. it results in a characteristic skin rash and fluid - filled blisters. after successful vaccination campaigns throughout the 1800s and 1900s, the world health organisation certified the eradication of smallpox in 1979


population. smallpox is an infectious virus unique to humans. it results in a characteristic skin rash and fluid - filled blisters. after successful vaccination campaigns throughout the 1800s and 1900s, the world health organisation certified the eradication of smallpox in 1979. smallpox is the only human infectious disease to have been completely wiped out. thought to have been the cause of the black death, the bubonic plague is caused by a bacterial infection of the lymphatic system, the network of capillary vessels in the human body. the plague is most commonly transmitted via the bites of fleas. characteristic symptoms include enlarged lymph glands ( buboes ). a historic expression referring to the transmission of disease between people by means of direct contact. an acute infection of the digestive system, resulting in general weakness, high fever, rash, chills and sweating. it is transmitted through food or drinking water contaminated by the faeces or urine of patients or carriers. an infectious disease that is caused by a bacterium first identified by robert koch in 1882. the disease usually affects the lungs first, and is accompanied by a chronic cough. an acute highly contagious infection, generally affecting the throat but occasionally other mucous membranes and the skin. diphtheria has been largely eradicated due to world - wide vaccination efforts. disease caused by a virus most commonly found in children. measles is spread through airborne fluids. in roughly the last 150 years, measles has been estimated to have killed 200 million people worldwide. an acute highly infectious disease, primarily affecting infants. whooping cough gets its name from the severe hacking cough followed by intake of breath that sounds like a ‘ whoop ’. a highly effective vaccine was introduced in the 1940s. the name given to the medical practice that is based on the sciences of the body, such as physiology ( the functioning of the body ). the first antibiotic drug to treat infections which is made from the mould penicillium. its discovery is attributed to alexander fleming in 1928. acquired immune deficiency syndrome ( aids ) is a disease caused by infections resulting from a weakened immune system due to the hiv virus. it leads to failure of the immune system and is usually fatal. it is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids. diseases of poverty a phrase that refers to diseases that are seen to be more common in conditions of poverty. they are often contagious and can be associated with overcrowding, malnutrition or environmental and industrial factors. three major diseases of poverty


it ' s a natural : federally funded researchers at the argonne national laboratory are trying to improve the efficiency of natural gas - powered engines, spurred by anticipated consumer demand for fuel that is cheaper and greener than gasoline, and without the hassles of other alternative fuels. pictured : a natural gas - powered honda civic at the 2011 los angeles auto show. image : la wad, courtesy flickr dear earthtalk : i recently saw an article extolling the virtues of natural gas as an abundant, inexpensive and domestically produced automotive fuel. is this going to be the automotive fuel of the future and how green is it? — jason kincaide, new bedford, mass. it is difficult to say which of the growing number of fuel options will power the cars of the future. but natural gas, given its domestic abundance, low price and lesser carbon footprint, is certainly a contender, at least as far as researchers at the federally funded argonne national laboratory are concerned. some of the same engineers there who developed the batteries now used in electric cars have been tasked with improving natural gas powered engine technologies, thanks to anticipated consumer demand for vehicles powered by something cheaper and greener than gasoline but without the hassles of other alternative fuels. “ our conclusion is that natural gas as a transportation fuel has both adequate abundance and cost advantages that make a strong case to focus interest in the technology as a real game changer in u. s. energy security, ” mike duoba, an engineer at argonne ’ s transportation technology research and development center outside of chicago, told the talking points memo news blog. “ in terms of consumer ownership and use costs, the case to make a switch from current fuels to compressed natural gas ( cng ) is much more compelling than for other alternative fuels like ethanol and electricity. ” given this promise — in addition to a february 2012 department of energy announcement of a $ 30 million competition aimed at finding ways “ to harness our abundant supplies of domestic natural gas for vehicles ” — duoba and his colleague have been ramping up vehicle systems analysis and engine research and testing around cng as a way to wean ourselves off of foreign fuel sources. their goal is to improve the efficiency of the cng combustion process so that it can fit into a new line of engines that can run on gasoline or cng equally as well, giving consumers the flexibility of choice without any trade - offs. duoba thinks such a vehicle would have significant consumer appeal, especially in light of sluggish sales of the latest round of electric


that can run on gasoline or cng equally as well, giving consumers the flexibility of choice without any trade - offs. duoba thinks such a vehicle would have significant consumer appeal, especially in light of sluggish sales of the latest round of electric vehicles from the major automakers. “ at least for some time, compared to plug - in vehicle batteries, cng storage offers lower weight, higher energy storage and lower costs — as well as faster refueling / recharging. ” and while cng vehicles would generate emissions from their tailpipes, the argonne team believes that their overall emissions footprint would be smaller than that of an electric vehicle drawing power from the fossil - fuel - based electric grid. but to duoba the appeal of cng is more about reducing america ’ s dependence on foreign oil sources than on saving the planet. “ various technologies have been successful at reducing the environmental impact ( criteria pollution ) over the decades, ” duoba wrote. “ to the extent that consumption of foreign petroleum has not been reduced to acceptable levels, this could be viewed as the principal motivation. ” but cng faces the same major hurdle to becoming widely accepted as any other challenger to gasoline as king of the road : a lack of refueling stations. whatever does finally unseat gasoline will no doubt have to have a system for refueling that rivals the convenience we ’ ve come to expect from our corner gas stations. contacts : argonne center, www. transportation. anl. gov. earthtalk® is written and edited by roddy scheer and doug moss and is a registered trademark of e - the environmental magazine ( www. emagazine. com ). send questions to : email @ example. com. subscribe : www. emagazine. com / subscribe. free trial issue : www. emagazine. com / trial.


while many of these animals are elusive to see in the wild, the sight of a big cat can be a life - changing experience. see big cats on these conservation safaris - costa rica jaguar volunteer expedition - costa rica ultimate wildlife adventure - mozambique : by land and by sea - desert & delta ( namibia & botswana ) - india wildlife & birding safari - natural jewels of nepal & bhutan - tanzania : the great migration - transfrontier wildlands of africa - tigers & travels in india did you know? - a recent study hypothesizes that tigers and snow leopards are the most closely related to each other with lions, leopards, and jaguars evolving from the same ancestor. - lions are the only big cats that live in groups, called “ prides ”. - these individual species have been on earth for between 2 to 4 million - populations of these species are all considered either endangered, vulnerable, or near threatened and all of their populations are declining. learn more here. what is seethewild? we ' re a non - profit organization that promotes conservation travel through wildlife tours that help protect endangered species. we work with quality tour operators who have passed our criteria to ensure low environmental impact. we ' re part of the ocean foundation. want to see big cats? contact us!