Tuesday, August 31
During The American Revolution
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A new book highlights the writings of Jane Strachey, a middle-class woman whose husband worked for the famed Howe family.hear the bell at the gate, or the door open.”These lines, written a month after the United States declared its independence from Britain, evoke the letters written by Abigail Adams to her husband, John, while he was at the Continental Congress. Between 1774 and 1777, the couple exchanged over 300 letters celebrated for their poignant blending of war and politics with domestic concerns and heartfelt devotion.
Yet the words above came from the pen of Englishwoman Jane Strachey, who was separated from her husband by 3,000 miles of ocean. In August 1776, English Member of Parliament Henry Strachey was at the epicenter of the looming confrontation between the British and American armies in New York, serving on the administrative staff of Admiral Richard Lord Howe and General William Howe.
Jane’s letters, composed between 1776 and 1778, are buried in the Strachey family papers at the Somerset Archives in England. The private correspondence of a middle-class English wife, they have been virtually ignored by historians of the home front in Britain during the American Revolution. Yet they open a unique window into the experience of ordinary British women. And their intimate tone, everyday detail and authentic chronicling of wartime events provide a fascinating parallel to Adams’ letters. READ MORE
Monday, August 30
Independent Press
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Gut Bacteria
"Our gut microbiome plays a key role in metabolizing flavonoids to enhance their cardioprotective effects, and this study provides evidence to suggest these blood pressure-lowering effects are achievable with simple changes to the daily diet," said lead investigator of the study AedÃn Cassidy, Ph.D., chair and professor in nutrition and preventive medicine at the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Flavonoids are compounds found naturally in fruits, vegetables and plant-based foods such as tea, chocolate and wine, and have been shown in previous research to offer a variety of health benefits to the body. Flavonoids are broken down by the body's gut microbiome—the bacteria found in the digestive tract.
Recent studies found a link between gut microbiota, the microorganisms in the human digestive tract, and cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is the leading cause of death worldwide. Gut microbiota is highly variable between individuals, and there are reported differences in gut microbial compositions among people with and without CVD.
With increased research suggesting flavonoids may reduce heart disease risk, this study assessed the role of the gut microbiome on the process. Researchers examined the association between eating flavonoid-rich foods with blood pressure and gut microbiome diversity. The study also investigated how much variance within the gut microbiome could explain the association between intake of flavonoid-rich foods and blood pressure. READ MORE
With increased research suggesting flavonoids may reduce heart disease risk, this study assessed the role of the gut microbiome on the process. Researchers examined the association between eating flavonoid-rich foods with blood pressure and gut microbiome diversity. The study also investigated how much variance within the gut microbiome could explain the association between intake of flavonoid-rich foods and blood pressure. READ MORE
Ten Quadrillion Power Watts
Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Northern California said they had focused 192 giant lasers at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) onto a pea-size pellet, resulting in the release of 1.3 megajoules of energy in 100 trillionths of a second — roughly 10% of the energy of the sunlight that hits Earth every moment, and about 70% of the energy that the pellet had absorbed from the lasers.
The scientists hope one day to reach the break-even or "ignition" point of the pellet, where it gives off 100% or more energy than it absorbs. The energy yield is significantly larger than the scientists expected and much greater than the previous record of 170 kilojoules they set in February.
The researchers hope the result will expand their ability to research nuclear fusion weapons, the NIF's core mission, and that it could lead to new ways to harness energy from nuclear fusion — the process that powers the sun and other stars. Some scientists hope that nuclear fusion could one day be a relatively safe and sustainable method for generating energy on Earth.
"This result is a historic step forward for inertial confinement fusion research, opening a fundamentally new regime for exploration and the advancement of our critical national security missions," Kim Budil, the director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, said in a statement. READ MORE
The researchers hope the result will expand their ability to research nuclear fusion weapons, the NIF's core mission, and that it could lead to new ways to harness energy from nuclear fusion — the process that powers the sun and other stars. Some scientists hope that nuclear fusion could one day be a relatively safe and sustainable method for generating energy on Earth.
"This result is a historic step forward for inertial confinement fusion research, opening a fundamentally new regime for exploration and the advancement of our critical national security missions," Kim Budil, the director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, said in a statement. READ MORE
Indestructible Ancient Material
The full moon sets behind Stonehenge on April 27, 2021 in Amesbury, England. Photo by Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images.A long lost piece of England’s Stonehenge monument is helping experts understand the mysterious prehistoric structure.
Analysis of a core sample taken from one of the site’s massive slabs suggests that the stone’s geochemical composition may have made it uniquely well-equipped to stand the test of time.
Made from 99.7 percent quartz crystals, the stones are practically indestructible, according to a new study published in the journal Plos One.
“Now we’ve got a good idea why this stuff’s still standing there,” study co-author David Nash, a professor of physical geography at the University of Brighton, told Business Insider. “The stone is incredibly durable—it’s really resistant to erosion and weathering.”
The study was made possible thanks to a former diamond cutter, Robert Phillips, who died last year.
Made from 99.7 percent quartz crystals, the stones are practically indestructible, according to a new study published in the journal Plos One.
“Now we’ve got a good idea why this stuff’s still standing there,” study co-author David Nash, a professor of physical geography at the University of Brighton, told Business Insider. “The stone is incredibly durable—it’s really resistant to erosion and weathering.”
The study was made possible thanks to a former diamond cutter, Robert Phillips, who died last year.
He did repair work at Stonehenge in 1958, drilling into Stone 58 to help re-erect a fallen trilithon of three stones. READ MORE
Sunday, August 29
Redneck Ramblings
I am a Vietnam Veteran and I am amazed at the lack of leadership of the present administration as far as withdrawing from Afghanistan is concerned.
Our current President withdrew US military troops and closed the military air base BEFORE he removed the US Embassy Personnel and other Americans living in Afghanistan which is ON THE SURFACE... a really stupid decision.
A former high ranking official in the Obama administration said that our current President has not been on the RIGHT SIDE of foreign policy for the last 4 decades... that's 40 years.
The USA did not just FAIL in Afghanistan but the USA Military was defeated and humiliated at the hands of the TALIBAN, a terrorist organization.
The Parliment of Great Britain announced that it would not longer support any future military operations by the USA as long as our current president remains president.
CAN YOU IMAGINE THE IMPACT of a statement like that???
CHINA AND RUSSIA are no doubt laughing at us...
AND... what do our Democrats say???
NOTHING...
NOTHING at all...
This redneck cannot believe what just happened...
The Einstein Ring
The Hubble Space Telescope captured a stunning ‘Einstein Ring’ 3.4 billion light-years from Earth.
This cosmic display, formally known as gravitational lensing, occurs when the gravitational field from a massive object in space warps space and deflects light from a distant object behind it.
It then results in a bull’s-eye pattern, or ‘Einstein Ring.’ It was predicted by the famed physicist, Albert Einstein, in 1915.
The image shows six luminous spots of light clustered at the center, four of which are forming a circle around a central pair.
The formation, however, only consists of two galaxies and a single distant quasar that is magnified as it passes through the gravitational field of the galaxies.
The Hubble Space Telescope captured a stunning ‘Einstein Ring’ 3.4 billion light-years from Earth
The quasar, known as 2M1310-1714, sits farther away from Earth than the pair of galaxies.
A quasar is the extremely bright nucleus of an active galaxy and its powerful glow is created by the incredible amounts of energy released by gas falling toward the supermassive black hole at its center. READ MORE
Wandering Black Holes
Supermassive black holes tend to sit, more or less stationary, at the centers of galaxies. But not all of these awesome cosmic objects stay put; some may be knocked askew, wobbling around galaxies like cosmic nomads.
We call such black holes 'wanderers', and they're largely theoretical, because they are difficult (but not impossible) to observe, and therefore quantify. But a new set of simulations has allowed a team of scientists to work out how many wanderers there should be, and whereabouts - which in turn could help us identify them out there in the Universe.
This could have important implications for our understanding of how supermassive black holes - monsters millions to billions of times the mass of our Sun - form and grow, a process that is shrouded in mystery.
Cosmologists think that supermassive black holes (SMBHs) reside at the nuclei of all - or at least most - galaxies in the Universe. These objects' masses are usually roughly proportional to the mass of the central galactic bulge around them, which suggests that the evolution of the black hole and its galaxy are somehow linked.
But the formation pathways of supermassive black holes are unclear. We know that stellar-mass black holes form from the core collapse of massive stars, but that mechanism doesn't work for black holes over about 55 times the mass of the Sun.
Astronomers think that SMBHs grow via the accretion of stars and gas and dust, and mergers with other black holes (very chunky ones at nuclei of other galaxies, when those galaxies collide).
But cosmological timescales are very different from our human timescales, and the process of two galaxies colliding can take a very long time. This makes the potential window for the merger to be disrupted quite large, and the process could be delayed or even prevented entirely, resulting in these black hole 'wanderers'. READ MORE
Metaphysical Mysteries
In my 20s, I had a friend who was brilliant, charming, Ivy-educated and rich, heir to a family fortune. I’ll call him Gallagher. He could do anything he wanted. He experimented, dabbling in neuroscience, law, philosophy and other fields.
But he was so critical, so picky, that he never settled on a career. Nothing was good enough for him. He never found love for the same reason. He also disparaged his friends’ choices, so much so that he alienated us. He ended up bitter and alone. At least that’s my guess. I haven’t spoken to Gallagher in decades.
There is such a thing as being too picky, especially when it comes to things like work, love and nourishment (even the pickiest eater has to eat something). That’s the lesson I gleaned from Gallagher. But when it comes to answers to big mysteries, most of us aren’t picky enough.
There is such a thing as being too picky, especially when it comes to things like work, love and nourishment (even the pickiest eater has to eat something). That’s the lesson I gleaned from Gallagher. But when it comes to answers to big mysteries, most of us aren’t picky enough.
We settle on answers for bad reasons, for example, because our parents, priests or professors believe it. We think we need to believe something, but actually we don’t. We can, and should, decide that no answers are good enough. We should be agnostics.
Some people confuse agnosticism (not knowing) with apathy (not caring). Take Francis Collins, a geneticist who directs the National Institutes of Health. He is a devout Christian, who believes that Jesus performed miracles, died for our sins and rose from the dead. In his 2006 bestseller The Language of God,
Some people confuse agnosticism (not knowing) with apathy (not caring). Take Francis Collins, a geneticist who directs the National Institutes of Health. He is a devout Christian, who believes that Jesus performed miracles, died for our sins and rose from the dead. In his 2006 bestseller The Language of God,
Collins calls agnosticism a “cop-out.” When I interviewed him, I told him I am an agnostic and objected to “cop-out.” READ MORE
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