By CARL ZIMMER
A refuge won’t save the threatened whitebark pine from climate change, so scientists are pondering a radical idea: moving the trees to where they will be more comfortable.
Published: September 23, 2014 at 12:00AM
By HENRY FOUNTAIN
A study of the Chernobyl fallout area has found that some bird species have adapted to the radioactive environment by producing more protective antioxidants, with correspondingly less genetic damage.
Published: May 6, 2014 at 12:00AM
By KENNETH CHANG
Mathematicians have long believed that there are an infinite number of twin primes. A new paper gets closer to an answer.
Published: May 21, 2013 at 12:00AM
When people think of mountain biking they always think of the same sorts of things: mountains, trees, dirt trails, rock formations, and sunshine. A city in Virginia is looking to change the way people think about mountain biking as well as how inaccessible it can be to those who don’t have the time or the means to venture out into the woods. Richmond, Virginia had a field that was sitting there doing nothing and two groups of cyclists that needed a place to practice. The field, between the Fairfield Court Elementary School and the Fairfield Court public housing complex (the 4th largest in the city) will be a place for both the cycling teams and the community to gather and connect in new ways. The elementary school is known as a hotspot for drug deals and so the field is also being used as an outreach program so that kids don’t engage in harmful behavior.
Along with an actual cycling course, the new field also offers hills, obstacles, and dirt embankments to imitate real life mountain biking conditions and terrain. The project is estimated to cost about $25,000 and the funds have been provided by the nonprofit Richmond Cycling Corps (who supplied half the money) as well as other donations from local companies and private citizens. In a show of unity, local companies also sent volunteers to help with the grand opening so that everything would run smoothly. With only half of the money used to far, there are plans to also open a community garden as well as build storage sheds and other structures and more landscaping. The number of these sorts of courses have swelled in the past few years which points to mountain biking growing in popularity. And with added benefits from parks such as this one is adding, it’s only a matter of time before there are even more.
If you’d like to read more, the link is here.
from Yaser Khalifa and Mountain Biking http://ift.tt/1qZgXsU
By JAMES GORMAN
A new survey suggests that violence is a natural part of chimp behavior and not the result of actions by humans that push the animals to lethal attacks.
Published: September 18, 2014 at 12:00AM
By PAM BELLUCK
The committee said the health care system was geared toward delivering costly additional care that patients often do not want.
Published: September 18, 2014 at 12:00AM
Tomorrow is the day that the entire UK has been both looking forward to and dreading for years; tomorrow is the day Scotland holds the referendum vote regarding it’s independence and status in the United Kingdom. While the race was once a clear victory for those who wanted to maintain the union, it is now too close to call with the results going both ways falling into the margin of error. As the pressure ramps up and the date comes closer, representatives and politicians for both sides have increased their efforts to get their message out and sway voters towards their respective sides. With the most recent unofficial polling (that excludes undecided voters) saying that pro-independence had 48% while pro-union had 52%, both campaigns have launched into overdrive to maintain their lead and win over the voters who still haven’t made up their minds.
While Scottish independence has been a movement since the borders wars during the Middle Ages, this is the first time that there has been an actual threat to the integrity of the United Kingdom and it has many people worried. For those who were born with the UK and who have never experienced anything else, this is a momentous occasion that is leading to both formerly unseen patriotic fervor as well as crises of national being. If Scotland gained independence it would mean a number of things for both people who live there as well as for the world’s newest country. For one, Scotland would have to reapply to join the EU as well as facing the loss of the NHS, the UK welfare state, and the possibility of a number of companies fleeing Scotland and moving to England. For the people, they will now have to deal family members living in other countries and wrapping their heads around their new political reality.
If you’d like to read more, the link is here.
from Yaser Khalifa’s General Website http://ift.tt/XiLIgb
