betweenthebookshelves

[betweenthebookshelves]

HeyChem Update

Hello hello! Welcome to HeyChem if this is your first time visiting, and a warm welcome back to any returning users. As you can see, there has been not much activity on here since about October or November 2017. It’s been crazy behind the scenes here, trying to build an adult life and what not. As some things are shifting in the background, we hope to start producing content soon. Lots of things…

[betweenthebookshelves]

Wetland key to reducing nitrate pollution

Image credit: Amy Hansen

Fertilizers used by farmers are good for plant growth, but often contain harmful amounts of nitrate. Excess nitrate from crop fertilizer drains into nearby waterways, making it harmful to ecosystems and human health.

In a recent study, NSF-funded researchers found that wetlands significantly reduce nitrate pollution.

Using water samples collected over a four-year period from more than 200 waterways in the 17,000-square-mile Minnesota River Basin, researchers isolated the effects of wetlands on stream and river nitrate concentrations.

They found that when stream flows are high, wetlands are five times more efficient at reducing nitrate than the best land-based conservation practices. The results also demonstrated that the arrangement of wetlands in a watershed is a predictor of the magnitude of nitrate reduction.

Researchers say the study shows that wetland restoration could be one of the most effective methods for improving water quality in the face of climate change and the increasing global demand for food.

[betweenthebookshelves]

New Update to Bi’s of Colour Book, edited by the Bi’s of Colour Collective

Bi’s of Colour Anthology: call for contributors WORLDWIDE!

Are you a bisexual/pansexual/fluid-sexuality person of colour? Are you sick of having everyone else speak for/over us?

If you answered YES, then read on!

We are making plans to write a book about the lives and experiences of bisexuals of colour.

This is part of our longer term project to document and celebrate the richness of our lives; to connect us with one another.

It will be built on the foundations of the Bi’s of Colour History Report. We previously had confined this call for submissions to Europe, but now we are opening this up to bisexuals around the world.  We plan to have the following chapter headings, but this is just a guide.

Creativity and the Arts Visibility and Erasure of Bi’s of Colour - where we are welcome, and where we aren’t White Academics versus Activists of Colour Dominant culture gaze - hypersexual, fetishes, imperialism and colonialism Dating and Relationships Isolation, exclusion and loneliness Health - Sexual health, Mental health, Disabilities Bi’s of Colour and BAME organisations Bi’s of Colour and LGBT organisations Families, Carers, Acceptance and Rejection Racism Religion, belief and spirituality or lack of Body image and fashion Class Ageing Violence We are open to other headings, so if you think of something you can’t wait to express, let us know. We are also interested in non-fiction, art, photography or things we haven’t thought of yet! You can always contribute using a pen name if you want to be anonymous.

All contributors will be paid - we’ll be crowdfunding, so everyone will get an equal share - the amount will depend on how much we raise and how many contributors

If you are interested in contributing, email us at bis.of.colour@gmail.com .

THIS IS A BIG FLIPPIN’ DEAL!

Please reblog widely.

Thanks

Bis of Colour Collective

[betweenthebookshelves]

Hey this is my alma mater! Let's go, Beavs!

Optimizing software for diversity

Computer Scientist Margaret Burnett of Oregon State University has developed a method called GenderMag to help software developers create programs that are optimal for a diverse group of users. We’re featuring her “Engineering Out Loud" interview on Science360 Radio: bit.ly/2nx6VmY

Above: Margaret Burnett, http://eecs.oregonstate.edu/people/burnett-margaret 

Photo Credit: Johanna Carson

Burnett’s GenderMag Project: http://gendermag.org/index.html

Below: Burnett is a dedicated mentor to undergraduate and graduate students. Here, she is with one of her grad students, Charles Hill, has overcome some challenges of his own: 

http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2014/jun/computer-science-student-beats-odds-hopes-expand-computer-usability 

Photo Credit: Karl Maasdam

[betweenthebookshelves]

Temples are built for gods. Knowing this a farmer builds a small temple to see what kind of god turns up.

[betweenthebookshelves]

Preventing false confessions

False confessions are more common than you might think. In 20-25 percent of cases where a convicted person is later exonerated by DNA evidence, the innocent person confessed to the crime. Counterintuitively, the more serious the crime, the more likely a false confession. False confessions are a leading cause of wrongful convictions, and whenever someone is falsely convicted of a crime, the true culprit goes free and may continue to commit crimes.

Psychologist Saul Kassin at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice studied the process of confessions through interviews with people who falsely confessed, analysis of court case data of people who were later exonerated with DNA evidence, and controlled experiments to test whether subjects can be induced to confess falsely to an error like making a computer crash.

Kassin found that certain characteristics of the suspect as well as certain tactics used in interrogation are more likely to lead to false confession. Suspects who have experienced trauma or have a mental disability are more susceptible to confessing falsely. So are children. Interrogation techniques that minimize the severity of the crime or offer a moral justification for it lead to increases in false confessions. In addition, extremely long interrogations can lead to false confessions, with confessors often indicating that they confessed because they wanted the ordeal to be over.

One of several implications from Kassin’s research is the importance of videotaping interrogations. Having a record allows judges, jurors, and investigators to understand the process that led to a confession and better assign it weight as they seek to assess guilt.

Kassin has worked directly with numerous police departments including the Providence Police Department in Rhode Island to improve the reliability of their interrogation procedures.

NSF Award: 1021442

Photo credit: Photographee.eu/Shutterstock.com

[betweenthebookshelves]

Cetacean species all have their own unique identifiers that can be photographed by researchers and used to ID individuals. ⠀ #whaletales #photoID #whales #dolphins #whalesareawesome #photography #storytelling #dolphinsareawesome #getonaboat #whalewatching #science #research @hakaimag @erich.hoyt

[betweenthebookshelves]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Meet the Ocean (@meettheocean)

The shores of South Georgia are blanketed with King Penguins. Regal on land, and ever curious in the water. @lindbladexp #podcast #nonprofit #listen #learn #give #kids #teacher #penguin #scuba #diving #ocean #audio #education #conservation #swim #explore #nature #travel (at South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands)

[betweenthebookshelves]

[betweenthebookshelves]

Tiny but Tough: Oregon State Supervisor Gets His Hands Slimy with Borax Lake Chub Counts

This blog was written by Paul Henson, State Supervisor for the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office

Biologists empty minnow traps at Borax Lake. Photo credit: Paul Henson/USFWS

The sun was setting behind me as I dropped down into the Alvord Desert on the east side of Steens Mountain.  I love driving through this part of southeastern Oregon.  It was early October and a full moon was rising on the other side of the desert, illuminating the playas and rusty colored mountains that stretched out as far as the eye could see.  Hidden down in the playa directly below me was tiny Borax Lake.  I was on my way to assist the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) with a population survey of one of the rarest fishes in the world, the Borax Lake chub.  This minnow-sized fish is found only in this remote lake and nowhere else.

Borax Lake and its namesake chub are geologic and biological wonders.  This part of Oregon’s Great Basin was once dominated by Alvord Lake prior to it drying approximately 10,000 years ago.  Alvord Lake receded as the larger Great Basin dried, and native fishes became restricted to remaining springs, lakes and creeks. Individuals from Alvord Lake’s ancestral chub became isolated in the geothermal springs of Borax Lake, and over time the isolation and unique environmental conditions resulted in adaptations that differentiated the fish into the species now recognized as Borax Lake chub.    In addition to the Borax Lake chub, there are other rare and unique fish species and populations scattered throughout the Great Basin.

The Borax Lake chub had a rigorous challenge to survive for thousands of years in this 10-acre lake.  The lake is perched on large sodium-borate deposits and its alkaline waters contain high concentrations of arsenic and lead.  While the average water depth is about three feet, it drops to a depth of 88 feet where geothermally heated spring water rises from a vent.  The average lake temperatures reach as high as 102.6 degrees F, but nearby spring pools are even much hotter.   Besides the chub, the lake also supports some very unique creatures – living stromatolites. These beautiful formations are actually mounds formed under the lake surface by the growth of layer upon layer of cyanobacteria, a single-celled photosynthesizing microbe.

A geothermal vent at Borax Lake. Photo Credit: Paul Henson/USFWS

Although this lake is located in one of the most remote parts of the American West, the chub was emergency listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1980 due to threats to its unique habitat, primarily the potential for geothermal development that might affect the lake’s water level and temperature.  During the last three decades our office has been working closely with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the Nature Conservancy, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to reduce these threats. The Nature Conservancy purchased the land surrounding the lake, and the BLM provided additional conservation by designating the adjacent 600 acres as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern.  ODFW acquired water rights to protect lake levels and has regularly monitored the fish numbers in the lake.  

As the sun was rising the next morning, I joined the ODFW/USFWS/BLM field crew to count fish at the lake. Our crew set minnow traps throughout the lake the night before.  Using a traditional method of fish population estimation known as “mark-recapture,” our job was to retrieve the traps and mark the fish by snipping off a tiny piece of fin.  We then released the fish, reset the traps, and repeated the process the next day.  The proportion of recaptured marked fish to unmarked fish gave us an estimate of the lake’s total population.  

A Borax Lake chub. Photo credit: Bridget Moran/USFWS

Counting chubs for hour after hour was tedious work, and I was impressed by the dedication and good humor of the field crew as we processed the fish.  As we pulled up more traps, it quickly became clear that this year the chub population was way up after several years of drought and low numbers. The official count confirmed our first impressions:  ODFW estimated there were over 76,000 fish in the lake this year, the highest estimate on record.  

It was a great way to end the survey and my trip to Borax Lake.  Even in this harsh desert environment, and thanks to the good work of BLM, USFWS, TNC, and ODFW, this unique fish’s future now seemed much more secure.

[betweenthebookshelves]

Least favorite lab equipment?

idk it really depends on the day

but my favorite lab equipment will always be our hand crank centrifuge

[betweenthebookshelves]

Episode 4: Reactions

https://videopress.com/embed/sVliFw8O?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=0&loop=0 I realize I didn’t post this earlier! My bad on that. Questions? Comments? Concerns? Drop us a line at heychemblog@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you. Video troubles? You can find us on Youtube as well.

[betweenthebookshelves]

Profile: Marie Maynard Daly

Profile: Marie Maynard Daly

Marie Maynard Daly was born on April 16th, 1921 in Corona, Queens, New York City. She was the child of an immigrant father Irving C. Daily and Washington D.C. native, Helen Page. Ivan C. Daly worked day to day as a postal worker, but was incredibly passionate about chemistry. He immigrated to the U.S. to study chemistry, and was admitted to Cornell University. However, due to lack of funds, he…

[betweenthebookshelves]

I'm terrible at sexing humpbacks, do you think the calf in the video is female?

Ooh I have to admit I suck at that as well, but thanks to this amazing diagram by Deborah A. Glockner, I would say that’s actually a boy.

Females have this thing called ‘hemispherical lobe’ located under their genital opening. Males don’t. So that’s what you need to look for. 

HERE’s two decent pictures of what an hemispherical lobe looks like. It’s usually hard to see, especially if the whale is dark or if it has many scars, but that calf is perfectly showing us its rear and it doesn’t seem to have one of these. Its anus is also lower down, towards the tail, had it been a female it would have been right under the hemispherical lobe and genital opening.

So I’d say that’s a male. But then again I’m aware I suck at this. So I could be wrong. At least you’ve got a nice diagram of Humpback genitalia now. Diagrams are cool.

[sources: x - x - x ] 

[betweenthebookshelves]

Credit: @pelagicventures

[betweenthebookshelves]

Back at it again! Remember, your study space is yours. It doesn't need to look a certain way, it needs to help you think. :^)