#source: George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon

[incorrectlooneytunesquotes]

Genius is only a greater aptitude for patience.

Wile E. Coyote 

[yr-obedt-cicero]

I know the term was only coinned in like, the mid-19th century, but did the founding fathers knew of dinosaurs? even if the name for them wasn't really a thing?? thank you!

I find it funny I saw that meme way back, and see it's circling around again.

It's true, the founding fathers had never heard of dinosaurs, and the notion or scientific discovery wasn't until much after their time. But that does not mean fossils were not still found even during their days. Though the popular belief at the time was that some of these fossils belonged to giants, and that's due to the religious influence as many in the colonies were Christian (or had to convert to Christianity) and they believed giants to have once existed like in biblical stories.

But some known founding fathers actually had quite a fascination with paleontology. Even before the first known dinosaur bones from America were described by Joseph Leidy in 1856, there was still significant American study of paleontology. Although not necessarily concerned with dinosaurology, it is kinda important to understand these early paleontologists and the impacts of their findings, and how it was important during the Georgian era. Patriotism was one of the major reasons the founding fathers cared so much about the fossils they were uncovering. Influential Europeans like Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon argued that species found in the “New World” were inferior to the ones found in Europe. As I said above, some theorized they were the remains of once giant humans, while others more reasonably compared them to living hippopotamuses and elephants — They were, in fact, Mammoth's — Contrary to popular belief that it was merely Thomas Jefferson who thought of this; extinction was not really a finalized concept or common thought at the time, so the possibility of an extinct animal was not yet considered. Once again, due to religious beliefs, as many believed the Creator would not kill of his own creations. (Yes, most notably Thomas Jefferson thought this way too). Thus this mysterious creature, called the incognitum — meaning ‘unknown’ in Latin — was thought to still roam the uncharted areas of the North American continent, as many other fossils explorers found. The incognitum sparked interest among many of the easily influential explorers, and would be primarily the reason behind for starting serious investigation into paleontology.

That being said, our first president, George Washington actually had some experiences with fossils!

During 1780, in Orange County, New York, some unknown bones and teeth were discovered by a digger in a ditch on the farm of the Reverend Robert Annan. Washington and the Continental Army were in winter quarters nearby, and word of the discovery of the new fossils reached Washington. He was curious as he gathered some officers and went to see the bones for himself. Robert Annan wrote that Washington, himself, actually owned a strange tooth back at Mount Vernon, and talked about it. Apparently it was the tooth of an unknown animal collected from Big Bone Lick near the Ohio River in Kentucky.

“He told me, he had in his house a grinder which was found on the Ohio, much resembling there.”

(source)

Research proves Washington received the tooth by Dr. John Connolly. He was a trader and land speculator in western Pennsylvania, and had also dined with GW in 1770, and wrote to Washington in September, 1772, describing a visit to Big Bone Lick where he had; “just stumbled upon the tooth I now present you with.” But Washington had many other opportunities to learn of such fossils. The Ohio Company was responsible for exploring the Ohio River Valley and promoting English occupation against the French, and it was a land speculation company that drew the participation of Washington and a few of his relatives. In 1751, Christopher Gist, who was an explorer, surveyor, and frontiersman active in Colonial America. He was one of the first white explorers of the Ohio Country. Also knew Washington quite well, and had while traveling through Ohio had received two teeth of a giant beast from an Indian trader. But it's unknown if he actually knew anything more of it, other than it existed.

Next on the list, is nature-loving, first Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson.

Jefferson was fascinated by the fossils of the incognitum. Interestingly, Jefferson believed that these creatures still roamed North America, and collected many accounts of their supposed continued existence. He even hoped that Lewis and Clark would find a living specimen of the mammoth on their famous 1804-1806 expedition. Clark and Lewis would often send him back fossils and other wonders they found, and he would excitedly analyze them. Jefferson’s paleontological career truly began in 1797 with reading of a short paper to the American Philosophical Society. This paper possibly was the first ever published work concerning paleontology, as it described strange fossils recovered from a cave located in West Virginia, including a set of large claws. Jefferson called it Megalonyx, meaning “giant claw”, and incorrectly identified the bones as belonging to a giant lion, apparently (the identification of Megalonyx as a lion was probably part of TJ's attempt to find an American carnivore to reflect against the European claims of superior fossil findings). Fast forward, during his presidency in 1807, he hired William Clark to collect fossils from the “birthplace of paleontology”, as it is famously known as; Big Bone Lick in Kentucky. Jefferson then had Clark's collection, numbering around three hundred bones of various extinct mammals including mammoths, shipped back to the White House the next year, displaying all of it on the floor of the East Room. There he collaborated with Caspar Wistar in analyzing and formally describing the numerous fossils. The Jefferson-Clark collection, as it would come to be known, would remain the most extensive assemblage of fossils in the United States for decades. There have been many debates wether Jefferson is to be truly credited in the field of paleontology, considering his analysing and identification was mostly incorrect. But others argue he still contributed to the stepping stones of early discovery of paleontology. The remainder of Jefferson's collection was divided between the Society and Monticello, where the fossils were displayed in the Entrance Hall;

“There is a tusk and a femur which Genl. Clark procured particularly at my request for a special kind of Cabinet I have at Monticello,”

(source)

[cassidyparisposts]

2. Jardins des Plantes

I believe I have found one of my favorite spots in Paris. The Jardins des Plantes is a gorgeous space in the 5th arrondissement, just a 20 minute walk from our hotel!

Before going on and on about how beautiful the area is, here's a bit of history: In 1626, two of the king's physicians were allowed to put the Royal Medicinal Herb Garden in the St. Victor district. This garden grew to become a school, and in 1640, it was opened to the public. The space flourished during the time of the curator Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (meaning Count of Buffon). The Count is known for his research and discoveries in the world of biology, particularly Histoire naturelle, a work spanning 36 volumes in which he attempted to gather all known research concerning Earth's natural history. He acquired more land for the gardens and established the natural history museum that still stands there today. He also placed a small Labyrinthe with a small gazebo near the museum.

Today, the Jardins des Plantes, has museums, greenhouses, a library, and a zoo. When I walked through, I noticed runners, families, couples, and a few loners, all able to enjoy the wonderful weather in this fantastic space. It is still a space of learning, in addition to the museums, there are also signs that point out the different sorts of plants and plaques describing the history of a certain area or sculpture.

I experienced the area as a place of adventure and discovery. I loved walking around and seeing what I could find. I found the rosary, a lovely area filled with all kinds of different roses and a few sculptures.

I found the Labyrinthe. While it was a simple spiral up to the middle, I did discover a few treats along the way. There are a few paths within the hedges. Whether or not those are intentional, I found them to be a fun path on the way down.

At the very top, in the gazebo, I found a view of the trees and plants surrounding the Labyrinthe.

Unfortunately, I have reached the photo limit for this post, but trust me, the little hidden paths were there.

I amazed by the large amount of green spaces within the city, and the size of those spaces. Because of the cheap public transportation and free entry, they're accessible to anyone and provide a wonderful respite for tourists and citizens.

Sources: The Michelin Paris Green Guide, and http://scihi.org/comte-de-buffon/

[biomedres]

Monte Carlo Simulation in Radionuclide Therapy Dosimetry - BJSTR Journal

Monte Carlo Simulation in Radionuclide Therapy Dosimetry by Argyrou Maria* in Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research https://biomedres.us/fulltexts/BJSTR.MS.ID.002647.php Monte Carlo [MC] method is a modeling tool, capable of achieving a close adherence to reality, concerning the analysis of complex systems. Generally is a method for estimation of the solution of mathematical problems by means of random numbers. MC techniques have been proposed for solving Boltzmann equation by simulating the interaction of particles with matter, using stochastic methods. This method obtains solutions by simulating individual particles and recording some aspects (named tallies) of their average behavior rather than solving an explicit equation. The information required from tallies depends on user’s request. It is generally attributed to scientists working on the nuclear weapons in Los Alamos during the 1940s. However, its roots go back much further. The idea of simulation could be attributed to Compte Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon in 1772. Monte Carlo method was first introduced by Snyder at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in order to assess the fraction of photon and electron energy emitted from radionuclides in source tissues, deposited in various target tissues. This was the concept of absorbed fraction defined within the later conceived Medical Internal Radiation Dose (MIRD) method of Internal Dosimetry.Values of specific absorbed fraction were tabulated for a variety of source and target tissues combinations and were later used to calculate the so called S- factors. S-factor was initially calculated for the Reference Man that is for geometrically shaped organs. In the decade of 1980, the specific absorbed fractions were optimized because of the introduction of mathematic phantoms by Cristy and Eckerman, encompassing adult, child and pregnant anatomy. Calculations were performed by simulating some thousand decades’ photon histories, a value limited by the computer resources of that time. For more articles on Journal on medical science please click here bjstr Follow on Twitter : https://twitter.com/Biomedres01 Follow on Blogger :https://biomedres01.blogspot.com/ Like Our Pins On : https://www.pinterest.com/biomedres/

[muspeccoll]

Tree rings are an important source of data about past climates. Each year, as trees grow, they add a layer of tissue, which shows up as a ring in a cross section. Rings are usually wide in good growing seasons and narrow in less favorable conditions.

Although people have known that trees have rings for millennia, Duhamel and LeClerc were among the first to discover that tree rings could be studied scientifically.  In this paper, they identified a dark ring in French trees that corresponded with the Great Winter of 1709, a particularly cold winter that still perplexes scientists with its severity.  For decades after this discovery, botanists used this dark ring as a reference point for dating.

Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau (1700-1782) and Georges-Louis LeClerc de Buffon (1707-1788). “Observations des différents effets que produisent sur les végétaux les grandes gelées d'hiver et les petites gelées du printemps.” Mémoires de l'Académie royale des science. Paris: Gauthier-Villars [etc.], 1737, pp. 273-298. Rare Q46 .A13

[pangolinconservation]

Our occasional series: Pangolin Prints of the Past. PLUS, some info about our upcoming work in 2018! This tree Pangolin print was made via the copper plate engraving printing process, in 1765! Taken from the "Histoire Naturelle Generale et Particuliere Avec La Description Du Cabinet Du Roi" by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon. Published/printed in Paris. It's the end of 2017 & we thank you for all of your support! With your donations we have been able to do AMAZING things this year! We'd like to also do some AMAZING in 2018! We need your help! Some projects we are focused on for 2018. Here is a small taste of a few of them. You know how quickly technology evolves? We want our work to take a similar approach. In 2018 we’ll be engaging in new ways to decrease poaching & will be set up to rapidly evolve towards increasing successful programs. We'll be unveiling a digital citizen-science project to ID West African habitat using satellite imagery. We're engaged in going deep into the illicit markets of pangolins in the USA, Canada, Europe, & Asia. As we ID species, sources, and transit routes we'll be able to develop projects to decrease these markets. Yes, YOU will be able to help save pangolins through DIRECT research! We heard you want to participate, but not everyone can get into the field. This is for you to help in a BIG way! With our zoological partners, we will be offering a grants program to pangolin researchers and conservationists. This will help provide the resources needed to understand & help decrease the problems pangolins face. We’re currently working on the development of an upgraded "Pangolin Conservation" building, that’ll be open occasionally to the public to visit! It’ll be a home for our conservation breeding group of pangolins, & it will allow nearby researchers to access to our Pangolin ambassadors. It’ll be set-up to where we can offer LIVE interactive education programs that can be broadcast into classrooms worldwide. It’ll either be in partnership with a zoological facility or standalone, both options are being explored. To donate or purchase a t-shirt/gift to support our work, go to PangolinsConservation.org http://ift.tt/2kM0JGr

[auclairdelalun]

Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc (1707-1788 ; comte de) : "Histoire naturelle des oiseaux"; 10 vol. ; in-4 ; , A Paris, de l'Imprimerie royale. M. DCCLXX [-M. DCCLXXXVI] - (1770-1786); 

Tome premier: oiseaux de proie. 

Source : BNF