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archive of the Charles Babbage Institue: it is also meant to be an additional resource of information and recommended reading for my students of the prehystories of new media class that i teach at the school of the art institute of chicago in fall 2008. the focus is on the time period from the beginning of the 20th century up to today. archive of the Charles Babbage Institue: from the artists' website: http://www.monochrom.at/turingtrainterminal/abstract_eng.htm "Scale trains have existed for almost as long as their archetypes, which were developed for the purposes of traffic, transportation and trade. Economy and commerce have also been the underlying motivations for the invention of computers, calculators and artificial brains. Allowing ourselves to fleetingly believe in an earlier historical miscalculation that "... Computers in the future may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and perhaps weigh 1 1/2 tons." (Popular Mechanics, March 1949), we decided to put some hundred tons of scaled steel together in order to build these calculating protozoa. The operating system of this reckoning worm is the ultimate universal calculator, the Turingmachine, and is able to calculate whatever is capable of being calculated. One just would have to continue building to see where this may lead..." "There are three types of points in the layout. - The lazy points look the same but appear in different colors; - And the most common point is the sprung point, which is drawn with a clear preference for the route of the train. In order to prep the layout for input, all distributors and lazy points have to be set to 0. This is done, by pressing the RESET-Button. Now, the tape is set to 000. To set the input to the tape, press the red SET-Buttons. So to set up the input 1+1 on the three-block layout, you need to send the train to the outer two SET lines: 1 0 1. Then press SET1, leave SET2 untouched and press SET3. These Buttons control the three points on the yellow ringline. Afterwards the green RUN-Button lets the train first write the INPUT-value into each read/write head. It then gets directed into the SET1 read/writehead and comes back out on that line. This has effectively set the digit stored in that block on the "tape" to 1. It passes the SET2 point, moves into SET 3 and sets this value to 1. Now the Input 1 0 1 is set - visible through the I/0-lamps. The next station is the START point – Once the locomotive enters the system from that point the calculating starts. Now watch the train as it leaves again and finds a rest at the start point. The altered state, visible on the lamps, is the result. In this example 1 1 0, actually means 2 in the notation of this apparatus. To set up the train set for a calculation it needs to be re-set. By pressing the yellow RESET Button all points get set to the value "0". This is visible through the three 1/0-lightsigns. Now one can re-set the machine, by pressing the red SET-Buttons. After this the locomotive is ready to calculate and it gets started with the green RUN-Button. First the requested value gets written into the read/write-head (pink and orange) and then the train enters the system at the start-rail and gets directed through the system as the points have been pre-set and eventually leaves after a while. The altered state is the result. The following operations can be calculated: 0+0 000 000 = 0 0+1 010 100 = 1 1+0 100 100 = 1 1+1 101 110 = 2 0+2 011 110 = 2 2+0 110 110 = 2 background info: http://www.monochrom.at/turingtrainterminal/Chalcraft.pdf go and visit his site: http://www.stelarc.va.com.au/arcx.html We mostly operate as Absent Bodies. THAT'S BECAUSE A BODY IS DESIGNED TO INTERFACE WITH ITS ENVIRONMENT - its sensors are open-to-the-world (compared to its inadequate internal surveillance system). The body's mobility and navigation in the world require this outward orientation. Its absence is augmented by the fact that the body functions habitually and automatically. AWARENESS IS OFTEN THAT WHICH OCCURS WHEN THE BODY MALFUNCTIONS. Reinforced by Cartesian convention, personal convenience and neurolo gical design, people operate merely as minds, immersed in metaphysical fogs. The sociologist P.L. Berger made the distinction between "having a body" and "being a body". AS SUPPOSED FREE AGENTS, THE CAPABILITIES OF BEING A BODY ARE CONSTRAINED BY HAVING A BODY. Our actions and ideas are essentially determined by our physiology. We are at the limits of philosophy, not only because we are at the limits of language. Philosophy is fundamentally grounded in our physiology . . . It is time to question whether a bipedal, breathing body with binocular vision and a 1400cc brain is an adequate biological form. It cannot cope with the quantity, complexity and quality of information it has accumulated; it is intimidated by the precision, speed and power of technology and it is biologically ill-equipped to cope with its new extraterrestrial environment. The body is neither a very efficient nor very durable structure. It malfunctions often and fatigues quickly; its performance is determined by its age. It is susceptible to disease and is doomed to a certain and early death. Its survival parameters are very slim - it can survive only weeks without food, days without water and minutes without oxygen. The body's LACK OF MODULAR DESIGN and its overactive immunological system make it difficult to replace malfunctioning organs. It might be the height of technological folly to consider the body obsolete in form and function, yet it might be the height of human realisations. For it is only when the body becomes aware of its present position that it can map its post-evolutionary strategies. It is no longer a matter of perpetuating the human species by REPRODUCTION, but of enhancing male-female intercourse by human-machine interface. THE BODY IS OBSOLETE. We are at the end of philosophy and human physiology. Human thought recedes into the human past. redesigning the body It is no longer meaningful to see the body as a site for the psyche or the social, but rather as a structure to be monitored and modified - the body not as a subject but as an object - NOT AN OBJECT OF DESIRE BUT AS AN OBJECT FOR DESIGNING. The psycho-social period was characterised by the body circling itself, orbiting itself, illuminating and inspecting itself by physical prodding and metaphysical contemplation. But having confronted its image of obsolescence, the body is traumatised to split from the realm of subjectivity and consider the necessity of re-examining and possibly redesigning its very structure. ALTERING THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE BODY RESULTS IN ADJUSTING AND EXTENDING ITS AWARENESS OF THE WORLD. As an object, the body can be amplified and accelerated, attaining planetary escape velocity. It becomes a post-evolutionary projectile, departing and diversifying in form and function. the hum of the hybrid Technology transforms the nature of human existence, equalising the physical potential of bodies and standardising human sexuality. With fertilisation now occuring outside the womb and the possibility of nurturing the foetus in an artificial support system, THERE WILL TECHNICALLY BE NO BIRTH. And if the body can be redesigned in a modular fashion to facilitate the replacement of malfunctioning parts, then TECHNICALLY THERE WOULD BE NO REASON FOR DEATH - given the accessibility of replacements. Death does not authenticate existence. It is an out-moded evolutionary strategy. The body need no longer be repaired, but could simply have parts replaced. Extending life no longer means "existing" but rather "being operational". Bodies need not age or deteriorate; they would not run down nor even fatigue; they would stall then start - possessing both the potential for renewal and reactivation. In the extended space-time of extraterrestrial environments, THE BODY MUST BECOME IMMORTAL TO ADAPT. Utopian dreams become post-evolutionary imperatives. THIS IS NO MERE FAUSTIAN OPTION NOR SHOULD THERE BE ANY FRANKENSTEINIAN FEAR IN TAMPERING WITH THE BODY. the anaesthesised body The importance of technology is not simply in the pure power it generates but in the realm of abstraction it produces through its operational speed and its development of extended sense systems. Technology pacifies the body and the world, and disconnects the body from many of its functions. DISTRAUGHT AND DISCONNECTED, THE BODY CAN ONLY RESORT TO INTERFACE AND SYMBIOSIS. The body may not yet surrender its autonomy but certainly its mobility. The body plugged into a machine network needs to be pacified. In fact, to function in the future and to truly achieve a hybrid symbiosis the body will need to be increasingly anaesthetised. the shedding of the skin Off the Earth, the body's complexity, softness and wetness would be difficult to sustain. The strategy should be to HOLLOW, HARDEN and DEHYDRATE the body to make it more durable and less vulnerable. The present organ-isation of the body is unnecessary. The solution to modifying the body is not to be found in its internal structure, but lies simply on its surface. THE SOLUTION IS NO MORE THAN SKIN DEEP. The significant event in our evolutionary history was a change in the mode of locomotion. Future developments will occur with a change of skin. If we could engineer a SYNTHETIC SKIN which could absorb oxygen directly through its pores and could efficiently convert light into chemical nutrients, we could radically redesign the body, eliminating many of its redundant systems and malfunctioning organs - minimising toxin build-up in its chemistry. THE HOLLOW BODY WOULD BE A BETTER HOST FOR TECHNOLOGICAL COMPONENTS. high fidelity illusion With teleoperation systems, it is possible to project human presence and perform physical actions in remote and extraterrestrial locations. A single operator could direct a colony of robots in different locations simultaneously, or scattered human experts might collectively control a particular surrogate robot. Teleoperation systems would have to be more than hand-eye mechanisms. They would have to create kinesthetic feel, providing the sense of orientation, motion and body tension. Robots would have to be semi-autonomous, capable of "intelligent disobedience". With Teleautomation (Conway/Voz/Walker), forward simulation - with time and precision clutches - assists in overcoming the problem of real time-delays, allowing prediction to improve performance. The experience of Telepresence (Minsky) becomes the high-fidelity illusion of Tele-existence (Tachi). ELECTRONIC SPACE BECOMES A MEDIUM OF ACTION RATHER THAN INFORMATION. It meshes the body with its machines in ever-increasing complexity and interactiveness. The body's form is enhanced and its functions are extended. ITS PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS ARE NEITHER LIMITED BY ITS PHYSIOLOGY NOR BY THE LOCAL SPACE IT OCCUPIES. Electronic space restructures the body's architecture and multiplies its operational possibilities. The body performs by coupling the kinesthetic action of muscles and machine with the kinematic pure motion of the images it generates. Technologies are becoming better life-support systems for our images than for our bodies. IMAGES ARE IMMORTAL, BODIES ARE EPHEMERAL. The body finds it increasingly difficult to match the expectations of its images. In the realm of multiplying and morphing images, the physical body's impotence is apparent. THE BODY NOW PERFORMS BEST AS ITS IMAGE. Virtual Reality technology allows a transgression of boundaries between male/female, human/machine, time/space. The self becomes situated beyond the skin. This is not a disconnecting or a splitting, but an EXTRUDING OF AWARENESS. What it means to be human is no longer the state of being immersed in genetic memory but rather in being reconfigured in the electromagnetic field of the circuit - IN THE REALM OF THE IMAGE. The self-similarity found throughout nature - the small-scale infinitely reflecting the large-scale - could be absorbed into the human/machine symbiosis, in terms of both form and function. Granted the evolutionary importance of the human hand, for example, a post-evolutionary strategy might see each of the fingers having its own hand, vastly amplifying and fine-tuning human dexterity. Alternatively, PYRAMID-PERSONAGES, able to operate simultaneously through macro to micro scales, could experience space/time realms and relations perceptually veiled from our present physiological perspective. THE RECURSIVE BEING WOULD MORE EFFECTIVELY EXTRUDE ITS EXISTENCE THROUGH A TELEMATIC SCALING OF THE SENSES. - a body that is directly wired into the Net - a body that stirs and is startled by the whispers and twitches of REMOTE AGENTS - other physical bodies in other places. AGENTS NOT AS VIRAL CODES BUT AS DISPLACED PRESENCES - a body whose authenticity is grounded not in its individuality, but rather in the MULTIPLICITY of of remote agents that it hosts - a body whose PHYSICALITY IS SPLIT - voltage-in to induce involuntary movements (from its net-connected computer muscle stimulation system) and voltage-out to actuate peripheral devices and to respond to remote transmissions - a body whose pathology is not having a split personality, but whose advantage is having a split physiology (from psycho-social to cyber-systemic) . . a body that can collaborate and perform tasks REMOTELY INITIATED AND LOCALLY COMPLETED - at the same time, in the one physiology . . or a body whose left side is remotely guided and whose right side intuitively improvises - a body that must perform in a technological realm where intention and action collapse, with no time to ponder - A BODY ACTING WITHOUT EXPECTATION, producing MOVEMENTS WITHOUT MEMORY. Can a body act with neither recall nor desire ? Can a body act without emotion ? - a body of FRACTAL FLESH, whose agency can be electronically extruded on the Net - from one body to another body elsewhere. Not as a kind of remote-control cyber-Voodoo, but as the DISPLACING OF MOTIONS from one Net-connected physical body to another. Such a body's awareness would be neither "all-here" nor "all-there". Awareness and action would slide and shift between bodies. Agency could be shared in the one body or in a multiplicity of bodies in an ELECTRONIC SPACE OF DISTRIBUTED INTELLIGENCE - a body with TELEMATIC SCALING OF THE SENSES, perceiving and operating beyond its biology and the local space and human scale it now occupies. Its VIRTUAL VISION augmenting and intensifying it retinal flicker - a body remapped and reconfigured - not in genetic memory but rather in electronic circuitry. A body needing to function not with the affirmation of its historical and cultural recall but in a ZONE OF ERASURE - a body no longer merely an individual but a body that needs to act beyond its human metabolism and circadian rhythms - a body directly wired into the Net, that moves not because of its internal stimulation, not because of its being remotely guided by another body (or a cluster of remote agents), BUT A BODY THAT QUIVERS AND OSCILLATES TO THE EBB AND FLOW OF NET ACTIVITY. A body that manifests the statistical and collective data flow, as a socio-neural compression algorithm. A body whose proprioception responds not to its internal nervous system but to the external stimulation of globally connected computer networks "SymbioticA is a research facility dedicated to artistic inquiry into new knowledge and technology with a strong interest in the life sciences. SymbioticA has resident researchers and students undertaking projects that explore and develop the links between the arts and a range of research areas such as neuroscience, plant biology, anatomy and human biology, tissue engineering, physics, bio-engineering, museology, anthropology, molecular biology, microscopy, animal welfare and ethics. Having access to scientific laboratories and tools, SymbioticA is in a unique position to offer these resources for artistic research. Therefore, SymbioticA encourages and favours research projects that involve hands on development of technical skills and the use of scientific tools. The research in SymbioticA is speculative in nature. SymbioticA strives to support non utilitarian, curiosity based, and philosophically motivated research. In broad term the research ranges from identifying and developing new materials and subjects for artistic manipulation, researching strategies and implications of presenting living art in different contexts, and developing technologies and protocols as artistic tool kits. Some of the projects in SymbioticA are also very relevant to scientific research and the complexity of art and science collaborations is intensively explored. • Art and Biology In broad terms the main focus of research in SymbioticA is to do with the interaction between the life science, biotechnology, society and the arts. As an area of growing interest, SymbioticA is well positioned as one of the major international centres researching and developing art and biology projects. Beside the support for hands on art and biology projects, SymbioticA has already hosted philosophers, anthropologists and social scientists for short and long term research projects into art and biology. • Art and Agriculture/ Art and Ecology As a subset of art and biology and through the strong connections with the Faculty of Agriculture and natural Sciences, SymbioticA is interested in research in the somewhat contradictory areas of agriculture and ecology. As part of the engagement with debate over the implications of developments in the life sciences with culture and society; SymbioticA encourage research into the ethics of manipulating living systems for utilitarian, speculative and seemingly frivolous ends. Art can act as an important catalyst for ethical exploration. In addition some of the research in SymbioticA attempts to approach bioethics form a secular non-anthropocentric perspective. SymbioticA has a long involvement with neuroscience as it is one of the main research areas of SymbioticA’s scientific director Prof. Stuart Bunt. Projects that deal with neuroscience and robotics are of particular interest. See www.fishandchips.uwa.edu.au • Tissue Engineering SymbioticA have built a reputation as the leading laboratory that investigates the in vitro growth and manipulation of living tissue in three dimensions. The work of The Tissue Culture & Art Project, and many other subsequent projects, guided the developments of protocols and specific techniques of tissue engineering. The development of a life sustaining device for tissue engineered art is an area of investigation that requires expertise in diverse knowledge pools from biology, through engineering and fluid dynamics to art and display strategies. Artists in SymbioticA and scientists from the School of Anatomy and Human Biology have been researching the development of an “artistic” bioreactor for the last five years. SymbioticA was established in 2000 by cell biologist Professor Miranda Grounds, neuroscientist Professor Stuart Bunt and artist Oron Catts. Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr from the Tissue Culture and Art Project (TC&A) had been working as artists/researchers in residence in the School of Anatomy and Human Biology and the Lions Eye Institute since 1996. The shared vision of Grounds, Bunt and Catts for a permanent space for artists to engage with science in various capacities led to the building of the artists’ studio/lab on the second floor of the School of Anatomy and Human Biology at The University of Western Australia. Funding for the space was provided by the Lotteries Foundation of WA and The University of Western Australia School of Anatomy and Human Biology and History with Artists______ The School of Anatomy and Human Biology has a long tradition of working with artists, with the departmental corridors lined with art and scientific images. Hans Arkeveld, sculptor and painter, has been working with the department for the last three decades. Other artists have come and gone on an ad hoc basis, but although many observed and gained inspiration there, it was not until Catts and Zurr entered the laboratories and used the tools of scientific research to produce their art work that the potential of a space such as SymbioticA was conceived. Winners of the 2007 inaugural Golden Nica for Hybrid Arts in the Prix Ars Electronica SymbioticA is an artistic laboratory dedicated to the research, learning and critique of life sciences. SymbioticA is the first research laboratory of its kind, in that it enables artists to engage in wet biology practices in a biological science department. SymbioticA sets out to provide a situation where interdisciplinary research and other knowledge and concept generating activities can take place. It provides an opportunity for researchers to pursue curiosity-based explorations free of the demands and constraints associated with the current culture of scientific research while still complying with regulations. SymbioticA also offers a new means of artistic inquiry, one in which artists actively use the tools and technologies of science, not just to comment about them, but also to explore their possibilities. "My transgenic artwork "GFP Bunny" comprises the creation of a green fluorescent rabbit, the public dialogue generated by the project, and the social integration of the rabbit. GFP stands for green fluorescent protein. "GFP Bunny" was realized in 2000 and first presented publicly in Avignon, France. Transgenic art, I proposed elsewhere , is a new art form based on the use of genetic engineering to transfer natural or synthetic genes to an organism, to create unique living beings. This must be done with great care, with acknowledgment of the complex issues thus raised and, above all, with a commitment to respect, nurture, and love the life thus created. I will never forget the moment when I first held her in my arms, in Jouy-en-Josas, France, on April 29, 2000. My apprehensive anticipation was replaced by joy and excitement. Alba -- the name given her by my wife, my daughter, and I -- was lovable and affectionate and an absolute delight to play with. As I cradled her, she playfully tucked her head between my body and my left arm, finding at last a comfortable position to rest and enjoy my gentle strokes. She immediately awoke in me a strong and urgent sense of responsibility for her well-being. Alba is undoubtedly a very special animal, but I want to be clear that her formal and genetic uniqueness are but one component of the "GFP Bunny" artwork. The "GFP Bunny" project is a complex social event that starts with the creation of a chimerical animal that does not exist in nature (i.e., "chimerical" in the sense of a cultural tradition of imaginary animals, not in the scientific connotation of an organism in which there is a mixture of cells in the body) and that also includes at its core: 1) ongoing dialogue between professionals of several disciplines (art, science, philosophy, law, communications, literature, social sciences) and the public on cultural and ethical implications of genetic engineering; 2) contestation of the alleged supremacy of DNA in life creation in favor of a more complex understanding of the intertwined relationship between genetics, organism, and environment; 3) extension of the concepts of biodiversity and evolution to incorporate precise work at the genomic level; 4) interspecies communication between humans and a transgenic mammal; 5) integration and presentation of "GFP Bunny" in a social and interactive context; 6) examination of the notions of normalcy, heterogeneity, purity, hybridity, and otherness; 7) consideration of a non-semiotic notion of communication as the sharing of genetic material across traditional species barriers; 8) public respect and appreciation for the emotional and cognitive life of transgenic animals; 9) expansion of the present practical and conceptual boundaries of artmaking to incorporate life invention. GLOW IN THE FAMILY "Alba", the green fluorescent bunny, is an albino rabbit. This means that, since she has no skin pigment, under ordinary environmental conditions she is completely white with pink eyes. Alba is not green all the time. She only glows when illuminated with the correct light. When (and only when) illuminated with blue light (maximum excitation at 488 nm), she glows with a bright green light (maximum emission at 509 nm). She was created with EGFP, an enhanced version (i.e., a synthetic mutation) of the original wild-type green fluorescent gene found in the jellyfish Aequorea Victoria. EGFP gives about two orders of magnitude greater fluorescence in mammalian cells (including human cells) than the original jellyfish gene . The first phase of the "GFP Bunny" project was completed in February 2000 with the birth of "Alba" in Jouy-en-Josas, France. This was accomplished with the invaluable assistance of zoosystemician Louis Bec and scientists Louis-Marie Houdebine and Patrick Prunet . Alba's name was chosen by consensus between my wife Ruth, my daughter Miriam, and myself. The second phase is the ongoing debate, which started with the first public announcement of Alba's birth, in the context of the Planet Work conference, in San Francisco, on May 14, 2000. The third phase will take place when the bunny comes home to Chicago, becoming part of my family and living with us from this point on. FROM DOMESTICATION TO SELECTIVE BREEDING The human-rabbit association can be traced back to the biblical era, as exemplified by passages in the books Leviticus (Lev. 11:5) and Deuteronomy (De. 14:7), which make reference to saphan, the Hebrew word for rabbit. Phoenicians seafarers discovered rabbits on the Iberian Peninsula around 1100 BC and, thinking that these were Hyraxes (also called Rock Dassies), called the land "i-shepan-im" (land of the Hyraxes). Since the Iberian Peninsula is north of Africa, relative geographic position suggests that another Punic derivation comes from sphan, "north". As the Romans adapted "i-shepan-im" to Latin, the word Hispania was created -- one of the etymological origins of Spain. In his book III the Roman geographer Strabo (ca. 64 BC - AD 21) called Spain "the land of rabbits". Later on, the Roman emperor Servius Sulpicius Galba (5 BC - AD 69), whose reign was short-lived (68-69 AD), issued a coin on which Spain is represented with a rabbit at her feet. Although semi-domestication started in the Roman period, in this initial phase rabbits were kept in large walled pens and were allowed to breed freely. Humans started to play a direct role in the evolution of the rabbit from the sixth to the tenth centuries AD, when monks in southern France domesticated and bred rabbits under more restricted conditions . Originally from the region comprised by southwestern Europe and North Africa, the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is the ancestor of all domestic breeds. Since the sixth century, because of its sociable nature the rabbit increasingly has become integrated into human families as a domestic companion. Such human-induced selective breeding created the morphological diversity found in rabbits today. The first records describing a variety of fur colors and sizes distinct from wild breeds date from the sixteenth century. It was not until the eighteenth century that selective breeding resulted in the Angora rabbit, which has a uniquely thick and beautiful wool coat. The process of domestication carried out since the sixth century, coupled with ever increasing worldwide migration and trade, resulted in many new breeds and in the introduction of rabbits into new environments different from their place of origin. While there are well over 100 known breeds of rabbit around the world, "recognized" pedigree breeds vary from one country to another. For example, the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) "recognizes" 45 breeds in the U.S.A., with more under development.In addition to selective breeding, naturally occurring genetic variations also contributed to morphological diversity. The albino rabbit, for example, is a natural (recessive) mutation which in the wild has minimal chances of survival (due to lack of proper pigmentation for camouflage and keener vision to spot prey). However, because it has been bred by humans, it can be found widely today in healthy populations. The human preservation of albino animals is also connected to ancient cultural traditions: almost every Native American tribe believed that albino animals had particular spiritual significance and had strict rules to protect them . FROM BREEDING TO TRANSGENIC ART "GFP Bunny" is a transgenic artwork and not a breeding project. The differences between the two include the principles that guide the work, the procedures employed, and the main objectives. Traditionally, animal breeding has been a multi-generational selection process that has sought to create pure breeds with standard form and structure, often to serve a specific performative function. As it moved from rural milieus to urban environments, breeding de-emphasized selection for behavioral attributes but continued to be driven by a notion of aesthetics anchored on visual traits and on morphological principles. Transgenic art, by contrast, offers a concept of aesthetics that emphasizes the social rather than the formal aspects of life and biodiversity, that challenges notions of genetic purity, that incorporates precise work at the genomic level, and that reveals the fluidity of the concept of species in an ever increasingly transgenic social context.As a transgenic artist, I am not interested in the creation of genetic objects, but on the invention of transgenic social subjects. In other words, what is important is the completely integrated process of creating the bunny, bringing her to society at large, and providing her with a loving, caring, and nurturing environment in which she can grow safe and healthy. This integrated process is important because it places genetic engineering in a social context in which the relationship between the private and the public spheres are negotiated. In other words, biotechnology, the private realm of family life, and the social domain of public opinion are discussed in relation to one another. Transgenic art is not about the crafting of genetic objets d'art, either inert or imbued with vitality. Such an approach would suggest a conflation of the operational sphere of life sciences with a traditional aesthetics that privileges formal concerns, material stability, and hermeneutical isolation. Integrating the lessons of dialogical philosophy and cognitive ethology , transgenic art must promote awareness of and respect for the spiritual (mental) life of the transgenic animal. The word "aesthetics" in the context of transgenic art must be understood to mean that creation, socialization, and domestic integration are a single process. The question is not to make the bunny meet specific requirements or whims, but to enjoy her company as an individual (all bunnies are different), appreciated for her own intrinsic virtues, in dialogical interaction. One very important aspect of "GFP Bunny" is that Alba, like any other rabbit, is sociable and in need of interaction through communication signals, voice, and physical contact. As I see it, there is no reason to believe that the interactive art of the future will look and feel like anything we knew in the twentieth century. "GFP Bunny" shows an alternative path and makes clear that a profound concept of interaction is anchored on the notion of personal responsibility (as both care and possibility of response). "GFP Bunny" gives continuation to my focus on the creation, in art, of what Martin Buber called dialogical relationship , what Mikhail Bakhtin called dialogic sphere of existence , what Emile Benveniste called intersubjectivity , and what Humberto Maturana calls consensual domains : shared spheres of perception, cognition, and agency in which two or more sentient beings (human or otherwise) can negotiate their experience dialogically. The work is also informed by Emmanuel Levinas' philosophy of alterity , which states that our proximity to the other demands a response, and that the interpersonal contact with others is the unique relation of ethical responsibility. I create my works to accept and incorporate the reactions and decisions made by the participants, be they eukaryotes or prokaryotes . This is what I call the human-plant-bird-mammal-robot-insect-bacteria interface. In order to be practicable, this aesthetic platform--which reconciles forms of social intervention with semantic openness and systemic complexity--must acknowledge that every situation, in art as in life, has its own specific parameters and limitations. So the question is not how to eliminate circumscription altogether (an impossibility), but how to keep it indeterminate enough so that what human and nonhuman participants think, perceive, and do when they experience the work matters in a significant way. My answer is to make a concerted effort to remain truly open to the participant's choices and behaviors, to give up a substantial portion of control over the experience of the work, to accept the experience as-it-happens as a transformative field of possibilities, to learn from it, to grow with it, to be transformed along the way. Alba is a participant in the "GFP Bunny" transgenic artwork; so is anyone who comes in contact with her, and anyone who gives any consideration to the project. A complex set of relationships between family life, social difference, scientific procedure, interspecies communication, public discussion, ethics, media interpretation, and art context is at work. Throughout the twentieth century art progressively moved away from pictorial representation, object crafting, and visual contemplation. Artists searching for new directions that could more directly respond to social transformations gave emphasis to process, concept, action, interaction, new media, environments, and critical discourse. Transgenic art acknowledges these changes and at the same time offers a radical departure from them, placing the question of actual creation of life at the center of the debate. Undoubtedly, transgenic art also develops in a larger context of profound shifts in other fields. Throughout the twentieth century physics acknowledged uncertainty and relativity, anthropology shattered ethnocentricity, philosophy denounced truth, literary criticism broke away from hermeneutics, astronomy discovered new planets, biology found "extremophile" microbes living in conditions previously believed not capable of supporting life, molecular biology made cloning a reality. Transgenic art acknowledges the human role in rabbit evolution as a natural element, as a chapter in the natural history of both humans and rabbits, for domestication is always a bidirectional experience. As humans domesticate rabbits, so do rabbits domesticate their humans. If teleonomy is the apparent purpose in the organization of living systems , then transgenic art suggests a non-utilitarian and more subtle approach to the debate. Moving beyond the metaphor of the artwork as a living organism into a complex embodiment of the trope, transgenic art opens a nonteleonomic domain for the life sciences. In other words, in the context of transgenic art humans exert influence in the organization of living systems, but this influence does not have a pragmatic purpose. Transgenic art does not attempt to moderate, undermine, or arbitrate the public discussion. It seeks to offer a new perspective that offers ambiguity and subtlety where we usually only find affirmative ("in favor") and negative ("against") polarity. "GFP Bunny" highlights the fact that transgenic animals are regular creatures that are as much part of social life as any other life form, and thus are deserving of as much love and care as any other animal .In developing the "GFP Bunny" project I have paid close attention and given careful consideration to any potential harm that might be caused. I decided to proceed with the project because it became clear that it was safe . There were no surprises throughout the process: the genetic sequence responsible for the production of the green fluorescent protein was integrated into the genome through zygote microinjection . The pregnancy was carried to term successfully. "GFP Bunny" does not propose any new form of genetic experimentation, which is the same as saying: the technologies of microinjection and green fluorescent protein are established well-known tools in the field of molecular biology. Green fluorescent protein has already been successfully expressed in many host organisms, including mammals . There are no mutagenic effects resulting from transgene integration into the host genome. Put another way: green fluorescent protein is harmless to the rabbit. It is also important to point out that the "GFP Bunny" project breaks no social rule: humans have determined the evolution of rabbits for at least 1400 years. ALTERNATIVES TO ALTERITY As we negotiate our relationship with our lagomorph companion , it is necessary to think rabbit agency without anthropomorphizing it. Relationships are not tangible, but they form a fertile field of investigation in art, pushing interactivity into a literal domain of intersubjectivity. Everything exists in relationship to everything else. Nothing exists in isolation. By focusing my work on the interconnection between biological, technological, and hybrid entities I draw attention to this simple but fundamental fact. To speak of interconnection or intersubjectivity is to acknowledge the social dimension of consciousness. Therefore, the concept of intersubjectivity must take into account the complexity of animal minds. In this context, and particularly in regard to "GFP Bunny", one must be open to understanding the rabbit mind, and more specifically to Alba's unique spirit as an individual. It is a common misconception that a rabbit is less intelligent than, for example, a dog, because, among other peculiarities, it seems difficult for a bunny to find food right in front of her face. The cause of this ordinary phenomenon becomes clear when we consider that the rabbit's visual system has eyes placed high and to the sides of the skull, allowing the rabbit to see nearly 360 degrees. As a result, the rabbit has a small blind spot of about l0 degrees directly in front of her nose and below her chin . Although rabbits do not see images as sharply as we do, they are able to recognize individual humans through a combination of voice, body movements, and scent as cues, provided that humans interact with their rabbits regularly and don't change their overall configuration in dramatic ways (such as wearing a costume that alters the human form or using a strong perfume). Understanding how the rabbit sees the world is certainly not enough to appreciate its consciousness but it allows us to gain insights about its behavior, which leads us to adapt our own to make life more comfortable and pleasant for everyone. Alba is a healthy and gentle mammal. Contrary to popular notions of the alleged monstrosity of genetically engineered organisms, her body shape and coloration are exactly of the same kind we ordinarily find in albino rabbits. Unaware that Alba is a glowing bunny, it is impossible for anyone to notice anything unusual about her. Therefore Alba undermines any ascription of alterity predicated on morphology and behavioral traits. It is precisely this productive ambiguity that sets her apart: being at once same and different. As is the case in most cultures, our relationship with animals is profoundly revealing of ourselves. Our daily coexistence and interaction with members of other species remind us of our uniqueness as humans. At the same time, it allow us to tap into dimensions of the human spirit that are often suppressed in daily life--such as communication without language--that reveal how close we really are to nonhumans. The more animals become part of our domestic life, the further we move breeding away from functionality and animal labor. Our relationship with other animals shifts as historical conditions are transformed by political pressures, scientific discoveries, technological development, economic opportunities, artistic invention, and philosophical insights. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, as we transform our understanding of human physical boundaries by introducing new genes into developed human organisms, our communion with animals in our environment also changes. Molecular biology has demonstrated that the human genome is not particularly important, special, or different. The human genome is made of the same basic elements as other known life forms and can be seen as part of a larger genomic spectrum rich in variation and diversity. Western philosophers, from Aristotle to Descartes , from Locke to Leibniz , from Kant to Nietsche and Buber , have approached the enigma of animality in a multitude of ways, evolving in time and elucidating along the way their views of humanity. While Descartes and Kant possessed a more condescending view of the spiritual life of animals (which can also be said of Aristotle), Locke, Leibniz, Nietsche, and Buber are -- in different degrees -- more tolerant towards our eukaryotic others . Today, our ability to generate life through the direct method of genetic engineering prompts a re-evaluation of the cultural objectification and the personal subjectification of animals, and in so doing it renews our investigation of the limits and potentialities of what we call humanity. I do not believe that genetic engineering eliminates the mystery of what life is; to the contrary, it reawakens in us a sense of wonder towards the living. We will only think that biotechnology eliminates the mystery of life if we privilege it in detriment to other views of life (as opposed to seeing biotechnology as one among other contributions to the larger debate) and if we accept the reductionist view (not shared by many biologists) that life is purely and simply a matter of genetics. Transgenic art is a firm rejection of this view and a reminder that communication and interaction between sentient and nonsentient actants lies at the core of what we call life. Rather than accepting the move from the complexity of life processes to genetics, transgenic art gives emphasis to the social existence of organisms, and thus highlights the evolutionary continuum of physiological and behavioral characteristics between the species. The mystery and beauty of life is as great as ever when we realize our close biological kinship with other species and when we understand that from a limited set of genetic bases life has evolved on Earth with organisms as diverse as bacteria, plants, insects, fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals. TRANSGENESIS, ART, AND SOCIETY The success of human genetic therapy suggests the benefits of altering the human genome to heal or to improve the living conditions of fellow humans . In this sense, the introduction of foreign genetic material in the human genome can be seen not only as welcome but as desirable. Developments in molecular biology, such as the above example, are at times used to raise the specter of eugenics and biological warfare, and with it the fear of banalization and abuse of genetic engineering. This fear is legitimate, historically grounded, and must be addressed. Contributing to the problem, companies often employ empty rhetorical strategies to persuade the public, thus failing to engage in a serious debate that acknowledges both the problems and benefits of the technology. There are indeed serious threats, such as the possible loss of privacy regarding one's own genetic information, and unacceptable practices already underway, such as biopiracy (the appropriation and patenting of genetic material from its owners without explicit permission). As we consider these problems, we can not ignore the fact that a complete ban on all forms of genetic research would prevent the development of much needed cures for the many devastating diseases that now ravage human and nonhumankind. The problem is even more complex. Should such therapies be developed successfully, what sectors of society will have access to them? Clearly, the question of genetics is not purely and simply a scientific matter, but one that is directly connected to political and economic directives. Precisely for this reason, the fear raised by both real and potential abuse of this technology must be channeled productively by society. Rather than embracing a blind rejection of the technology, which is undoubtedly already a part of the new bioscape, citizens of open societies must make an effort to study the multiple views on the subject, learn about the historical background surrounding the issues, understand the vocabulary and the main research efforts underway, develop alternative views based on their own ideas, debate the issue, and arrive at their own conclusions in an effort to generate mutual understanding. Inasmuch as this seems a daunting task, drastic consequences may result from hype, sheer opposition, or indifference. This is where art can also be of great social value. Since the domain of art is symbolic even when intervening directly in a given context , art can contribute to reveal the cultural implications of the revolution underway and offer different ways of thinking about and with biotechnology. Transgenic art is a mode of genetic inscription that is at once inside and outside of the operational realm of molecular biology, negotiating the terrain between science and culture. Transgenic art can help science to recognize the role of relational and communicational issues in the development of organisms. It can help culture by unmasking the popular belief that DNA is the "master molecule" through an emphasis on the whole organism and the environment (the context). At last, transgenic art can contribute to the field of aesthetics by opening up the new symbolic and pragmatic dimension of art as the literal creation of and responsibility for life. >> additional class blogs - Alan Turing (2) - animation (1) - AR (1) - archive (14) - Ars Electronica (4) - art (3) - art + technology (6) - art + science (1) - artificial intelligence (2) - artificial life (3) - artistic molecules (1) - artistic software (21) - artists (68) - ASCII-Art (1) - atom (2) - atomium (1) - audiofiles (4) - augmented reality (1) - Baby (1) - basics (1) - body (1) - catalogue (3) - CAVE (1) - code art (23) - cold war (2) - collaboration (7) - collection (1) - computer (12) - computer animation (15) - computer graphics (22) - computer history (21) - computer programming language (11) - computer sculpture (2) - concept art (3) - conceptual art (2) - concrete poetry (1) - conference (3) - conferences (2) - copy-it-right (1) - Critical Theory (5) - culture industry (1) - culture jamming (1) - curating (2) - cut up (3) - cybernetic art (9) - cybernetics (10) - cyberpunk (1) - cyberspace (1) - Cyborg (4) - data mining (1) - data visualization (1) - definitions (7) - dictionary (2) - dream machine (1) - E.A.T. 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(1) - William's Tube (1) - world fair (5) - world machine (1) - Xerox PARC (2) - ► 09 (28) - ▼ 18 (7) - ▼ 7 (141) >> cloudy with a chance of tags Powered By:Blogger Widgets - Nina Wenhart ... - ... is a Media Art historian and independent researcher. She is currently writing on "speculative archiving && experimental preservation of Media Art" and graduated from Prof. Oliver Grau's Media Art Histories program at the Danube University in Krems, Austria with a Master Thesis on Descriptive Metadata for Media Arts. For many years, she has been working in the field of archiving/documenting Media Art, recently at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Media.Art.Research and before as the head of the Ars Electronica Futurelab's videostudio, where she created their archives and primarily worked with the archival material. She was teaching the Prehystories of New Media Class at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and in the Media Art Histories program at the Danube University Krems.

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Gay Rights and Same-Sex Marriage: Facts and Numbers There are big differences between countries in the world in treating people in LGBT communities. In some countries, same sex couples have the full rights to marry, adopt, divorce… like any other citizens; gay rights are human rights and protected by the law from any discrimination. In other countries, gay marriage is prohibitden and there are even laws that criminalize anyone who performs, witnesses, aids or abets such ceremonies. This infographic will show the best and the worst places to be gay. Regarding public opinions about this issue, there are multiple perspectives, some people believe that gay and lesbian couples should be treated equally as their heterosexual counterparts while people who oppose same-sex marriage argue that that marriage between same-sex couples do not guarantee a healthy society. Especially, there are also people say “yes” to gay marriage, but say “no” to adoption. That is why same-sex couples in France can only marry but cannot adopt children. In the US, the public has gradually become more supportive for gay rights and same-sex marriages over the past decade. In 2001, 57% of American adults opposed gay marriage while only one-third (35%) supported it. In 2013, there is more support for same-sex marriage (49%) than opposition to it (44%). It is predicted that by 2020, voters in 44 states of the US would support same-sex marriage. Who support gay marriage most? Answer: People who are religiously unaffiliated, Millennials (almost twice as likely as the Silent Generation), and Democrats and independents (6 in 10) while Most Republicans continue to oppose. If you have never heard about Genderbread man, this infographic will introduce him to you with four independent elements regarding sex and gender.

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Congress Passes Historic Mental Health Parity Bill After over a decade of struggling and aborted attempts, Congress passed a bill yesterday that provides for equal treatment of mental health, alcohol and substance abuse disorders, ending a decades-long practice of discrimination against these concerns by insurance companies and employers. Although not quite done (funding still needs to be agreed-upon and it still needs the President’s signature), we’re very close to a historic change in the way employers and insurance companies view mental health problems. Forced to put these on equal footing with medical and surgical procedures (because they wouldn’t do it on their own), maybe people will finally get the message — mental disorders are just as real and debilitating as any physical injury, disease, or problem. Over 110 million Americans will be positively affected by the new legislation, and will enjoy enhanced mental health benefits and access to mental health services. Read the full article: Congress Passes Historic Mental Health Parity Bill Grohol, J. (2008). Congress Passes Historic Mental Health Parity Bill. Psych Central. Retrieved on June 29, 2016, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2008/09/24/congress-passes-historic-mental-health-parity-bill/

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Individual differences | Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology | Enjoying the attention of others is socially acceptable in some situations. In some instances, however, the need for attention can lead to difficulties. The term attention seeking (or drawing attention) is a form of situation managing and generally reserved for such situations where excessive and "inappropriate attention seeking" is seen. It can be voluntarily or involuntarily. The term is most often used in domestic, theatrical, tactical, marketing, and other situations. It also can be used as a situational decoy. In different pathologies or contextsEdit - Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - Münchausen by Internet - Münchausen syndrome - Münchausen syndrome by proxy - Personality disorders – A sustained pattern of attention seeking in adults is often associated with, in particular, histrionic personality disorder – but it may instead be associated with narcissistic personality disorder or borderline personality disorder. The expression drama queen is associated with histrionic behavior. - Self-destructive behavior – It is a common misconception that self-destructive behavior is inherently attention seeking, or at least that attention is a primary motive. While this is undoubtedly true in some cases, normally the motivation runs much deeper than that. Many self-injurers are very self-conscious of their wounds and scars and feel guilty about their behavior leading them to go to great lengths to conceal their behavior from others. - Voluntary false confession - Main article: Tactical ignoring Tactical ignoring, also known as planned ignoring, is a behavioral management strategy used in response to challenging behavior that seeks to receive attention or to gain a reaction from others. It is a commonly used strategy when the person displaying the attention seeking behavior still feels rewarded by a negative response. - ↑ Burns, Robert B. Essential Psychology, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1991; ISBN 0-7923-8957-3 - ↑ Armstrong, K.J. & Drabman, R. (1994) The clinical use of sports skills tutoring with grade school boys referred for school behavioural problems. Child and Family Behavior Therapy, 16, 43–48 (p.44). - ↑ Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth edition Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) American Psychiatric Association (2000) - ↑ Truth Hurts Report, Mental Health Foundation, 2006, ISBN 978-1-903645-81-9, http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/?EntryId5=38712, retrieved on 2008-06-11 - Gewirtz, Jacob L Three determinants of attention-seeking in young children (1956) - Gewirtz, Jacob L A factor analysis of some attention-seeking behaviors of young children Child Development (1956) - Harvey, Eric & Mellor, Nigel Helping Parents Deal With Attention Seeking Behaviour (2009) - Leit, Lisa & Jacobvitz, Deborah & Hazen-Swann, Nancy Conversational Narcissism in Marriage: Narcissistic attention seeking behaviors in face-to-face interactions: Implications for marital stability and partner mental health (2008) - Mellor, Nigel Attention Seeking: A Practical Solution for the Classroom (1997) - Mellor, Nigel The Good, the Bad and the Irritating: A Practical Approach for Parents of Children who are Attention Seeking (2000) - Mellor, Nigel Attention Seeking: A Complete Guide for Teachers (2008) - Smith-Martenz, Arden Attention-seeking misbehaviors (1990) |This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).|

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Individual differences | Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology | In statistics, Cochran's C test, named after William G. Cochran, is a one-sided upper limit variance outlier test. The C test is used to decide if a single estimate of a variance (or a standard deviation) is significantly larger than a group of variances (or standard deviations) with which the single estimate is supposed to be comparable. The C test is discussed in many text books and has been recommended by IUPAC and ISO. Cochran's C test should not be confused with Cochran's Q test, which applies to the analysis of two-way randomized block designs. The C test assumes a balanced design, i.e. the considered full data set should consist of individual data series that all have equal size. The C test further assumes that each individual data series is normally distributed. Although primarily an outlier test, the C test is also in use as a simple alternative for regular homoscedasticity tests such as Bartlett's test, Levene's test and the Brown–Forsythe test to check a statistical data set for homogeneity of variances. An even simpler way to check homoscedasticity is provided by Hartley's Fmax test, but Hartley's Fmax test has the disadvantage that it only accounts for the minimum and the maximum of the variance range, while the C test accounts for all variances within the range. The C test detects one exceptionally large variance value at a time. The corresponding data series is then omitted from the full data set. According to ISO standard 5725 the C test may be iterated until no further exceptionally large variance values are detected, but such practice may lead to excessive rejections if the underlying data series are not normally distributed. The C test evaluates the ratio: - Cj = Cochran's C statistic for data series j - Sj = standard deviation of data series j - N = number of data series that remain in the data set; N is decreased in steps of 1 upon each iteration of the C test - Si = standard deviation of data series i (1 ≤ i ≤ N) - H0: All variances are equal. - Ha: At least one variance value is significantly larger than the other variance values. The sample variance of data series j is considered an outlier at significance level α if Cj exceeds the upper limit critical value CUL. CUL depends on the desired significance level α, the number of considered data series N, and the number of data points (n) per data series. Selections of values for CUL have been tabulated at significance levels α = 0.01, α = 0.025, and α = 0.05. CUL can also be calculated from: - CUL = upper limit critical value for one-sided test on a balanced design - α = significance level - n = number of data points per data series - Fc = critical value of Fisher's F ratio; Fc can be obtained from tables of the F distribution or using computer software for this function. The C test can be generalized to include unbalanced designs, one-sided lower limit tests and two-sided tests at any significance level α, for any number of data series N, and for any number of individual data points nj in data series j. - Bartlett's test - Cochran Q test - Levene's test - Brown–Forsythe test - Hartley's test - F-test of equality of variances - ↑ W.G. Cochran, The distribution of the largest of a set of estimated variances as a fraction of their total, Annals of Human Genetics (London) 11(1), 47–52 (January 1941). - ↑ D.L. Massart, B.G.M. Vandeginste, L.M.C. Buydens, S. de Jong, P.J. Lewi, J. Smeyers-Verbeke, Handbook of Chemometrics and Qualimetrics: Part A, Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1997 ISBN 0-444-89724-0. - ↑ 3.0 3.1 P. Konieczka, J. Namieśnik, Quality Assurance and Quality Control in the Analytical Chemical Laboratory – A Practical Approach, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, 2009; ISBN 978-1-4200-8270-8. - ↑ J.K. Taylor, Quality Assurance of Chemical Measurements, 4th printing, Lewis Publishers, Chelsea, Michigan, 1988; ISBN 0-87371-097-5. - ↑ W. Horwitz, Harmonized protocol for the design and interpretation of collaborative studies, Trends in Analytical Chemistry 7(4), 118–120 (April 1988). - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 ISO Standard 5725–2:1994, “Accuracy (trueness and precision) of measurement methods and results – Part 2: Basic method for the determination of repeatability and reproducibility of a standard measurement method”, International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland, 1994; http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=11834 - ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 R. Moore, Mathematics Department, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, 1999: http://faculty.washington.edu/heagerty/Books/Biostatistics/TABLES/Cochran. - ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 R.U.E. 't Lam, Scrutiny of variance results for outliers: Cochran's test optimized, Analytica Chimica Acta 659, 68–84 (2010); DOI:10.1016/j.aca.2009.11.032 - ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 R.U.E. 't Lam, Variance Outlier Test, blog: http://rtlam.blogspot.com/ - ↑ 10.0 10.1 Table of critical values of the F-distribution:NIST |This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).|

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Individual differences | Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology | Biological: Behavioural genetics · Evolutionary psychology · Neuroanatomy · Neurochemistry · Neuroendocrinology · Neuroscience · Psychoneuroimmunology · Physiological Psychology · Psychopharmacology (Index, Outline) |style="background: #F8EABA; text-align: center;" colspan="2"||Selenocysteine| |Molar mass||168.053 g/mol| |style="background: #F8EABA; text-align: center;" colspan="2"|| Except where noted otherwise, data are given for| materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa) Infobox disclaimer and references Selenocysteine is an amino acid that is present in several enzymes (for example glutathione peroxidases, tetraiodothyronine 5' deiodinases, thioredoxin reductases, formate dehydrogenases, glycine reductases and some hydrogenases). Selenocysteine has a structure similar to cysteine, but with an atom of selenium taking the place of the usual sulfur. Proteins that contains one or more selenocysteine residues are called selenoproteins. Unlike other amino acids present in biological proteins, however, it is not coded for directly in the genetic code. Selenocysteine is encoded in a special way by a UGA codon, which is normally a stop codon. The UGA codon is made to encode selenocysteine by the presence of a SECIS element (SElenoCysteine Insertion Sequence) in the mRNA. The SECIS element is defined by characteristic nucleotide sequences and secondary structure base-pairing patterns. In eubacteria, the SECIS element is located immediately following the UGA codon within the reading frame for the selenoprotein. In archaea and in eukaryotes, the SECIS element is in the 3' untranslated region (3' UTR) of the mRNA, and can direct multiple UGA codons to encode selenocysteine residues. When cells are grown in the absence of selenium, translation of selenoproteins terminates at the UGA codon, resulting in a truncated, nonfunctional enzyme. Like the other amino acids used by cells, selenocysteine has a specialized tRNA. The primary and secondary structure of selenocysteine tRNA, tRNA(Sec), differ from those of standard tRNAs in several respects, most notably in having an 8-base (bacteria) or 9-base (eukaryotes) pair acceptor stem, a long variable region arm, and substitutions at several well-conserved base positions. The selenocysteine tRNAs are initially charged with serine by seryl-tRNA ligase, but the resulting Ser-tRNA(Sec) is not used for translation because it is not recognised by the normal translation factor (EF-Tu in bacteria, EF1-alpha in eukaryotes). Rather, the tRNA-bound seryl residue is converted to a selenocysteyl-residue by the pyridoxal phosphate-containing enzyme selenocysteine synthase. Finally, the resulting Sec-tRNA(Sec) is specifically bound to an alternative translational elongation factor (SelB or mSelB) which delivers it in a targeted manner to the ribosomes translating mRNAs for selenoproteins. The specificity of this delivery mechanism is brought about by the presence of an extra protein domain (in bacterial SelB) or an extra subunit (SBP-2 for eukaryotic mSelB) which bind to the corresponding RNA secondary structures formed by the SecIS elements in selenoprotein mRNAs. The SecIS elements of bacterial selenoproteins (as far as analysed) are located within the coding sequences immediately following the UGA codons for selenocysteine, those of Eukarya and Archaea are located in the 3' UTR of the respective mRNAs. In addition, at least one case has been described for an archaeal selenoprotein mRNA containing its SecIS in the 5' UTR. - ↑ IUPAC-IUBMB Joint Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature (JCBN) and Nomenclature Committee of IUBMB (NC-IUBMB) (1999). Newsletter 1999. European Journal of Biochemistry 264 (2): 607-609. - F. Zinoni, A. Birkmann, T. C. Stadtman and A. Bock (1986). Nucleotide Sequence and Expression of the Selenocysteine-Containing Polypeptide of Formate Dehydrogenase (Formate-hydrogen-lyase-Linked) from Escherichia coli. PNAS 83 (13): 4650-4654. - F. Zinoni, A. Birkmann, W. Leinfelder and A. Bock (1987). Cotranslational Insertion of Selenocysteine into Formate Dehydrogenase from Escherichia coli Directed by a UGA Codon. PNAS 84 (10): 3156-3160. - Boyce E. Cone, Rafael Martin Del Rio, Joe Nathan Davis, and Thressa C. Stadtman (1976). Chemical Characterization of the Selenoprotein Component of Clostridial Glycine Reductase: Identification of Selenocysteine as the Organoselenium Moiety. PNAS 73 (8): 2659-2663. |This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).|

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"With Their Whole Lives Ahead of Them" is the first of three reports describing young Americans' views on higher education and college completion. Coming at a time when the United States has slipped to tenth place in international college completion rates, these reports explore the issue directly from the student point of view. Based on a national survey of young adults, ages 22 to 30, this research dispels some common myths about why so many students do not graduate and details what kinds of changes -- by government, higher education, business and others -- might make a difference. Read the Report Commentary & Coverage Most students leave college because the stress of work and study just becomes too difficult. Young people who fail to finish college are often going it alone financially. For students who donít graduate, the college selection process often seems limited and uninformed. Students who leave college may not fully recognize the impact dropping out will have on their future. So What Would Help? Download the PDF

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Damaged By 1928 Flood, Pompeii Painting By John Martin Now Restored "A painting considered beyond repair after being submerged in filthy floodwater when the Thames breached its banks in 1928 will be seen in something approaching its wild and lurid former glory on Tuesday when it goes on public display for the first time in a century," The Guardian writes. It's The Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum, by artist John Martin (1789-1854), who as Britain's Tate Museum says was known for his paintings "of apocalyptic destruction and biblical disaster." Until 2010, it was thought that Martin's painting could not be restored. A section showing Mount Vesuvius was missing. The rest had been soaked. But, says Patricia Smithen, the museum's head of conservation, "when tissue was pulled away from the painting ... the [remaining] surface was really intact and the figures in the foreground particularly were in really great condition." So restorer Sarah Maisey set to work. The Guardian says that "if you look very closely ... you can see which is Martin's brushwork" and which is the restorer's. But, says Maisey: "I wanted the overall impact of Martin's work to have been retained." Now, it's going to be part of an exhibition — "John Martn: Apocalypse" — at the Tate Britain in London, which has produced this promotional video that might make you think you were there when Vesuvius erupted.

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Published in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the 1906 earthquake View looking southeast along the straight valley of Upper Stevens Creek. The stream valley roughly follows the trace of the San Andreas Fault in the central Santa Cruz Mountains. Insets show (top) the San Andreas Fault scarp at Mission San Juan Bautista, (left middle) a historical photograph of a fence in Olema offset by the 1906 earthquake, (right middle) granitic sea cliffs of the Point Reyes headlands west of the fault, and (bottom) redwood trees growing along the fault in Sanborn County Park in Santa Clara County. This volume is a general geology field guide to the San Andreas Fault in the San Francisco Bay region. Before going out in the field, it is recommended that you read the chapter about your target destination and make note of the specific features you wish to see. Examine directions and maps so you can focus on driving while making observations about the surrounding landscape. Depending on your destination, check on weather, tides, and road conditions. Geologic maps are available for all areas described in each field-trip chapter. This first chapter provides a brief overview of the San Andreas Fault in context to regional earthquake history and geology with emphasis of the section of the fault that ruptured in the Great San Francisco earthquake of 1906. This first section also contains earthquake information and discussions about making field observations of fault-related landforms, landslides and mass-wasting features, and the plant ecology in the San Francisco Bay region. The remainder of the volume is a collection of selected field-trip stops and recommended hikes on public lands in the Santa Cruz Mountains, along the San Mateo Coast, and at Point Reyes National Seashore. These trips focus on public-accessible locations along the San Andreas Fault and associated faults and on significant rock exposures and landforms. Note that more stops are provided in each of the sections than might be possible to visit in a day. This extra material is intended to provide optional choices to visit in a region with a wealth of natural resources. Selected references provide a more technical and exhaustive overview of the fault system and geology in the San Francisco Bay region. Although this resource is intended as an introductory guide, some discussions contain more technical information necessary to maintain scientific accuracy. A limited glossary at the front of the guide is provided for frequently used terms. A review of a basic high-school or introductory college Earth science or geology textbook would be useful for individuals who have not taken or had an introductory geology course. An important companion publication about earthquake awareness and safety that everyone living in the region should see is Putting Down Roots In Earthquake Country—Your Handbook For The San Francisco Bay Region (http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/2005/15/). More information about the San Andreas Fault, earthquakes, and regional of geology of California can be found on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) website at http://www.usgs.gov. Get the Guidebook now. (142 pages; 52 MB PDF file) Includes new first and second chapters. Cover and Introduction (36 pages; 5.7 MB PDF file). Revised 2010 Hollister and San Juan Bautista (14 pages; 1 MB PDF file). Revised 2010 South Bay including Lexington Reservoir & Loma Prieta, Forest of Nisene Marks, lyndon Canyon & Lake Ranch Reservoir, and Sanborn County Park (32 pages; 16 MB PDF file) Peninsula including Skyline Ridge and San Mateo County (31 pages; 14.5 MB PDF file) Point Reyes National Seashore; including back cover with index map (28 pages; 18.3 MB PDF file) For questions about the content of this report, contact Phil Stoffer You can download a free copy of the latest version of Adobe Reader. | PDF help | Publications main page | | Western General Information Products | | Geologic Division | Earthquake Hazards Program | This report with the two revised chapters is available only on the Web.

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Research Paper Introduction is the Start of Future Research There’s No Research Paper Without a Research Paper Introduction The important part of every research paper is an introduction. Research paper introductions outline the main focus of the research and give the reader hints as to what field of study the paper dwells on. For the challenging task of research paper writing one needs to be full of eagerness and devotion as it requires much time and ability to cope with obstacles and difficulties. Even when you are confident about your writing skills and have some experience in research writing, it is never enough to know how to make a profound and well-grounded research paper. The major constituent parts of any research project are: • research paper Introduction, which a part where one concisely and accurately describes the background of the research to covered in the main body; • Introduction of the research paper is usually followed by Literature review where one introduces all possible views and position on the problem researched. Here it is important to read as much sources as possible and make certain conclusion and mark some directions for future research. When writing literature review a researcher can learn and opposing evidence and views on the problem and shape his own position, which can be proved in the process of primary research. • Research paper Methodology outlines the tools of conducting it- qualitative or quantitative methods can be used and the researcher defines what better suits for this or that goal. • Data Analysis describes the findings of the research conducted and interprets them; • Based on data interpretation and information from secondary sources retrieved one can make a Conclusion. • References page contains of the sources used in the research. It documents the name of an author, date of publication, the title of the sources and some other relevant data. This is an important part of research paper since here one gives credit to all authors who have been helpful for one’s own research project. The first task in research writing is working out a thesis which defines the focus of research. This is usually done at preliminary stage or in research proposal writing. Here one also indicated working title of a research, a reading list and paper objectives. In research paper writing process one needs to be careful with observing small details, which are a significant part of decent research paper. A researcher has to be knowledgeable about different citation style formats and know how to cite a paper in this or that format. For example, having the requirement of submitting MLA format paper, it means that in-text citation and items of reference page as well as cover page of a research should have specific structure and formatting. There are far more nuances to know when starting to write research paper. Research paper introduction is only a small part what should be covered in research. One needs to be a diligent student or researcher to complete impeccable research. That’s what Samedayessay.com can offer you without a hind of doubt about ability to help with incredible research paper, essay or even custom dissertation. Trying this custom essay and research paper writing service once, you are never to refuse from its benefits.

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expert advice MORE Are There Writing Worksheets for a Child with LD? Q: I'm looking for some worksheets that can help my child who has LD in writing. Would you also suggest some websites where I might download this information? A: Having your child complete worksheets to help him to improve his writing skills will probably not address his needs. Are his writing problems in the formation of letters? Does he have difficulty planning what he is going to write about? Are his difficulties primarily in the mechanics of writing (capitalization, punctuation, and spelling)? Talk to his teacher to get some guidance about exactly where his stumbling blocks are occurring. After consulting with her, ask what kind of practice you can do with him to reinforce the skills he is being taught in school. Many children benefit from using the computer to complete writing assignments. Can your child touch type? That's certainly something you could teach him at home that would help him in school with his writing. If he has difficulty getting his ideas organized and down on the page, there's a software program that might help. You can download the program Inspiration for free for 30 days. There are templates that can help with jumpstarting writing. The Resource Room website has teaching ideas for writing and other subjects. More on: Expert Advice For more than 20 years, Eileen Marzola has worked with children and adults with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders, and with their parents and teachers. She has been a regular education classroom teacher, a consultant teacher/resource teacher, an educational evaluator/diagnostician, and has also taught graduate students at the university level. Marzola is an adjunct assistant professor of education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and Hunter College of the City University of New York. She also maintains a private practice in the evaluation and teaching of children with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders.

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Most ecosystems rely on the ozone to protect them from harmful ultraviolet (UV) light. If you know much about the light spectrum, you'll remember that the varying wavelengths of light determine the color or kind of light. Ultraviolet light falls outside of the range of light that's visible to the human eye, much like microwaves, X-ray and radio waves. When it comes to UV light, what we don't know (or don't see) can hurt us. UV light from the sun's rays burns our skin and freckles our noses when we're outside on a sunny day. But skin blemishes are the least of our worries. Exposure to UV light can lead to skin cancer and cataracts, and can damage the body's immune system [source: EPA]. Thankfully, the ozone layer protects us from most of the sun's harmful UV rays. Ninety percent of the atmospheric ozone is in the earth's stratosphere -- the altitude starting at six to 11 miles (9.6 to 17.7 kilometers) above the earth and extending to about 30 miles (48.3 kilometers) above the earth [source: Fahey]. The stratosphere provides a natural setting conducive to the formation of the ozone, where gas forms a protective layer that completely envelops the earth. Ozone gas forms in the stratosphere when UV sunlight hits oxygen gas in what is known as the ozone-oxygen cycle: - The first stage of this cycle occurs when short-wavelength UV light from the sun hits a molecule of oxygen gas. The light has so much energy that it breaks the oxygen bond holding the atoms together, thus creating two oxygen atoms. Through this process, the oxygen essentially absorbs the short-wavelength UV light, but this still leaves a significant amount of UV light with longer wavelengths, which is where ozone comes in. - In the second stage, each of the two remaining oxygen atoms will then latch onto two oxygen gas molecules, creating two separate ozone molecules [source: Fahey]. - Short-wavelength UV light has enough energy to break apart ozone molecules (which are more volatile and easier to separate than oxygen molecules). Thus, in the third stage of the cycle, the ozone gas then breaks into one oxygen gas molecule and an oxygen atom, hence absorbing much of the remaining UV light. If you're wondering why these processes "absorb" UV light, it is because they create exothermic reactions, meaning they release heat. Essentially, oxygen and ozone convert UV light to heat. Together, ozone and oxygen gas are effective at absorbing about 98 percent of the harmful UV light [source: Sparling]. On the next page, we'll discuss the different methods and instruments scientists use to measure ozone levels in the ozone layer.

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Biology is the study of life and living processes (what living things do). You will learn everything from DNA - the building blocks of life, to how entire populations of living things interact. Not to mention the secrets of your bodies! Taxonomy is putting organisms into catagories; by kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species. There are five kingdoms. Speciation the creation of new species, this results from isolation. There are two types of variation between people: continuous and discontinuous, this variation can be caused by meiosis, the process of cell division in gametes. Steps include crossing over and bivalent formation. Microorganisms are used for industrial processes as diverse as manufacturing yogurt and penicillin. For many processes, it is necessary to isolate enzymes and immobilze them, by entrapment, binding or bonding. It is important to be able to identify various molecules from reducing sugars to proteins using various techniques. You can also use chromatography and use Rf values to identify any compounds. There has been some major rearranging of the Biology section, there is a singal tier of 7 catagories that should make more sense. Pages that have been moved or merged have got redirections so you know where to go for the content. Appologies for this, but hopefully it will make the site easier to use.

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“C” is for chemistry Science you didn't know you were doing In a time-lapse video, it looks like a monster coming alive. For a moment, it sits there innocuously. Then it pulsates. Ripples move across its surface. It begins to bulge outwards, bursting with weird boils. In mere seconds, it triples in volume, its color darkens ominously, and its surface hardens into an alien topography of peaks and craters. Then, the kitchen timer dings. Your cookie is ready. What happened inside that oven? Don’t let the sugar and spice deceive you, for the baker is a mad scientist. In an act of aproned alchemy, she uses her oven to transform one substance into another. As her sugary creation heats up, the chemical compounds in the dough undergo a series of reactions that change them into different ones. When the dough reaches 92° Fahrenheit, the butter melts, causing the dough to start spreading out. As it melts, it releases trapped water, and as the cookie gets hotter, the water expands into steam. It pushes against the dough from the inside, trying to escape through the cookie walls like Ridley Scott’s chestbursting alien. When the temperature reaches 136°, it’s too hot for any salmonella that may have been squirming around in the eggs. They die off. You’ll live to test your fate with the raw dough from your next batch. At 144°, change begins to occur in proteins, which come mostly from the eggs in your dough. Eggs are composed of dozens of different kinds of proteins, each sensitive to a different temperature. In an egg fresh from the hen, these proteins look like coiled-up balls of string. When they’re exposed to heat energy, the protein strings unfold and get tangled up with their neighbors until they form a linked structure. This structure is what transforms an egg from watery to almost solid, and gives substance to squishy dough. Water boils away at 212°, so like mud baking in the sun, your cookie dries out and stiffens. Cracks spread across its surface. The steam that was bubbling inside evaporates, leaving behind airy pockets that make the cookie light and flaky. Now it’s nearly ready for a refreshing dunk in a cool glass of milk. One of science’s tastiest transformations occurs at 310°. This is the temperature for Maillard reactions, which turn food Thanksgiving turkey-brown and emit the rich, nutty aromas that we associate with things like burgers and bacon. They result when proteins and sugars bind together and then break down, forming brand-new compounds that human taste buds are partial to. Caramelization is the last reaction to take place inside your cookie. And in fact, if your recipe calls for a 350° oven, it will never happen, since caramelization starts at 356°. If your ideal cookie is barely browned, like a Northeasterner on a beach vacation, you could have set your oven to 310°. If you like your cookies to have a nice tan, crank up the heat (caramelization continues up to 390°). And here’s another trick: you don’t even need that kitchen timer. Your nose is a readily accessible, sensitive, scientific instrument. When you smell the nutty flavors of the Maillard reaction or the toasty ones that signal caramelization, your cookies are ready. Grab your glass of milk, put your feet up, and reflect that science can be pretty sweet. Get more food science at Stephanie’s blog, testtubekitchen.com.

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Devel::Eval - Allows you to debug string evals use Devel::Eval 'dval'; dval "print 'Hello World!';"; In the Perl debugger, code created via a string eval is effectively invisible. You can run it, but the debugger will not be able to display the code as it runs. For modules that make heavy use of code generation, this can make debugging almost impossible. Devel::Eval provides an alternative to string eval that will do a string-eval equivalent, except that it will run the code via a temp file. Because the eval is being done though a physical file, the debugger will be able to see this code and you can happily debug your generated code as you do all the rest of your code. dval function takes a single parameter that should be the string you want to eval, and executes it. Because this is intended for code generation testing, your code is expected to be safe to run via a 'require' (that is, it should return true). Bugs should be always be reported via the CPAN bug tracker at For other issues, or commercial enhancement or support, contact the author. Adam Kennedy <[email protected]> Copyright 2009 Adam Kennedy. This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself. The full text of the license can be found in the LICENSE file included with this module.

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Seismologists Gather for "Discourse Over Materials"published Jan 24, 2010 "Discourse over materials" is a phrase coined by scholars who use ethnographic techniques to study the behavior of scientists and science students as though they (we) were a recently-contacted tribe with mysterious customs and folkways. "Discourse," in this context, lies somewhere in the triangle bounded by "conversation," "discussion," and "argument." "Over materials" refers to the situation where a knot of people gathers around some physical object or representation, which serves as focal point, statement of the problem, source of evidence, and visual aid in the discussion. This form of discourse includes lots of gestures and pointing, and some bouts of "muddle talk." Meaning-making emerges in some complicated way through the interplay among the materials, the spoken words, and gestures (Roth & Welzel, 2001; Ochs et al, 1996.) The seismologists don't call what they are doing "discourse over materials"; they call it "record reading." In the early days, they would look at the record of wiggles on the Lamont seismograph produced by whatever earthquakes had occured that week. Seismograms are a classic example of what scholars of science studies call "inscriptions" (Latour, 1987), i.e. representations that capture an aspect of the world in a form that can be preserved, transported, and manipulated. I attended record reading the week of the January 12 Haiti earthquake, and found that interpretation of seismograms is still a central aspect of the exercise. In the photo below, senior seismologist Bill Menke is sketching his interpretation of the data record, but rather than just the wiggles recorded locally at Palisades NY, he is interpreting an inscription that aggregates the signal from an array of instruments deployed across the U.S. Other seismograms are strewn across the table, and students and colleagues gather round. The essence of "discourse over materials" is that multiple sets of eyes, multiple minds, and multiple voices are all attending to the same visual information source. In the photo below, look at the intense focus on some detail on the map in hand, some detail so tiny that the smallest fingernail is called into play to point it out. In normal conversation, we are accustomed to look each other in the eye, to look at the speaker. But these folks don't look at each other; they are too busy looking at the materials. Not being a seismologist myself, it looks to me that record reading is a ritual that helps to inculcate apprentice seismologists into the discipline. Because the data are brand new, no one in the room knows the correct interpretation in advance, and insights could come from anyone gathered around the materials. Senior seismologists share their interpretive tricks and display their tacit knowledge, while students bring fresh eyes, leveraging the power of distributed cognition in an effort to outwit nature's puzzler of the week. Just below the surface, unspoken but compelling, is the realization that this is not an idle academic exercise but an opportunity to inch towards insights that could help humanity become more resilient in the face of natural hazards. According to Lynn Sykes, the eldest of the village elders among Lamont seismologists, record reading was started by Jack Oliver in the 1960's. All photographs are by Kim Martineau, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. The idea that scientific communities have shared rituals that serve to inculcate apprentice scientists into a community of practice came to me from Chuck Goodwin, a cognitive anthropologist and participant in the Synthesis of Research on Thinking & Learning in the Geosciences. Latour, B. (1987). Science in Action: How to follow scientists and engineers through society. Milton, Keynes, England: Open University Press. Ochs, E., Gonzales, P., & Jacoby, S. (1996). "When I come down I'm in the domain state": Grammar and graphic representation in the interpretive activity of physicists. In E. Ochs, E. A. Schegloff & S. A. Thompson (Eds.), Interaction and grammar (pp. 328-369). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Roth, W. M., & Welzel, M. (2001). From activity to gestures and scientific language. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 38, 103-136. Comment? Start the discussion about Seismologists Gather for "Discourse Over Materials"

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What is a Bird? In this activity students will compare characteristics of birds with characteristics of animals from other classifications. They will list the characteristics that are unique to birds. The animal world is diverse. Birds have unique characteristics. Wings, Beak, Bill, Feathers Cooperative Group procedures Context for Use Time: 20-25 minutes. Pictures or models of birds, and pictures or models of non-bird animals. Skills needed prior to activity: Cooperative group skills Oral speaking skils Basic listing skills This is an introductory activity for a unit on birds. Resource Type: Activities:Lab Activity, Classroom Activity Grade Level: Primary (K-2) Description and Teaching Materials Materials: notebook for the recorder, pictures or models of birds, pictures or models of non-bird animals. Students are placed into cooperative groups. The student in charge of materials picks out a model or a picture of a bird for his/her group. Group members work together to create a list of characteristics of a bird. These may be seen or unseen. The recorder lists the groups findings. Student in charge of materials will next pick up a picture or model of a non-bird animal. Groups are instructed to analyze their list of bird characteristics and eliminate those characteristics shared with the non-bird animal. Reporters will share with the class those characteristics that remain on their lists. Discussion with class follows concerning the differences and similarities between the groups' findings. Teaching Notes and Tips 2.IV.D.2 variation among individuals of one kind in a population

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Did You Know? - Of all the varieties of chocolate available, from white to milk, dark chocolate is the healthiest. - Dark chocolate contains high levels of antioxidants that work to reduce your risk of cancer. - Dark chocolate contains flavonoids that can decrease your blood pressure. - The flavonoids in dark chocolate also help blood flow more smoothly, decreasing your risk of heart attack. - The flavonoids in chocolate that help your blood flow more smoothly also improve your cardiovascular function. - Some suggest the phenylethylamine in dark chocolate stimulates the nervous system, acting as an aphrodisiac. - Cocoa contains substances known to kill the bacteria in your mouth that cause tooth decay and cavities. - The higher cocoa content a chocolate has, the bigger the health benefit. - White chocolate has none of the antioxidant benefits of other chocolates since it contains no cocoa.

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Pineal Gland Structure And Function Understanding Complete Structure Of Pineal Gland Sleep disorders have strong relation with pineal gland. So, to treat up sleep disorders, one should get thorough understanding of pineal gland. It is a gland shaping like pine cone. This gland is related to endocrine system. In Human brain, pineal gland performs brilliant job. It helps producing important hormones like melatonin. Melatonin which is a hormone exists in human brain and encourages healthy sleeping habits as per external environment. Apart from influencing sleeping cycle, pineal gland function includes sexual development. It is also a perfect composition of cells which are named as pinealocytes. These cells are also referred as Glial Cells and have strong relation with human nervous system. Various Functions Of Pineal Gland It has relations not only with endocrine system but also with human nervous system. The gland plays significant role in nerve signal conversion into signals. The functions of pineal gland involve melatonin hormone secretion, proper regulation for the endocrine functions, enhancement of urge to sleep, sexual development and so on. A healthy pineal gland is required to perform all these functions in proper way and in cases, when pineal gland gets disrupted, it results into various health disorders in which sleep disorders are one of them. Scientific Factors Of Pineal Gland The location of pineal gland is quite clear as it resides in human brain, but this is not sufficient because the structure of human brain may confuse you to find out exact location of pineal gland. It mainly locates behind cerebral ventricle and exactly in brain midline. The name of pineal gland has taken from its structure as it is similar to pine cone. The healthy length of pineal gland in adults is around 0.8 cm with approximately weight of 0.1gram. In children, the pineal gland size is larger than adults because with age, the gland gets to shrink. Pineal Gland Functions Get Influenced By Adrenergic Nerves There in pineal gland is sufficient amount of adrenergic nerves supply and this supply puts a great influence on gland functions. Testing through microscope, it has found that pineal gland is emerged from pinealocyter. The pinealocyter provides full support to various cells in brain which are alike astrocytes. Constant consumption of required calcium in children can help making pineal gland visible in body through X-rays. Whether, it is adults, seniors or children, pineal gland should be in appropriate amount for a healthy life. Endocrine Function & Pineal Gland Endocrine functions are mainly functioned by pineal gland. The presence of pineal gland is essential for healthy functioning of various body functions. The endocrine functions include seasonal breeding, sexual development and hibernation. The gland contains neurotransmitters and neuropeptides like serotonin, norepinephrine and somatostatin. The melatonin hormone is taken from amino acid which helps brightening skin. Apart from it, the melatonin is quite useful for perfect stimulation of nervous system.

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SIMD — IntroductionSIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple Data). SIMD describes any extension to microprocessors that allow it to operate on data in parallel. Some common SIMD extensions are MMX, 3DNow!, SSE, and AltiVec (related to VMX). There are many others, but these are the most common ones found in ordinary PCs. Most SIMD instruction sets have gone through a few revisions since their initial implementation. This gives us extended sets of each variety, including MMX, extended MMX, 3DNow!, 3DNow!2 (sometimes called 3DNow! Professional or 3DNow!+), SSE (also known as Katmai New Instructions or simply KNI), SSE2 (also known as Willamette New Instructions or simply WNI), SSE3 (also known as Prescott New Instructions or simply PNI), and SSE4 (also known as Tejas New Instructions or simply TNI). In 2008, Intel added AES NI, CLMUL (which is a subset of AES NI), and AVX, a radical departure from SSE. In 1997, Cyrix extended the MMX Instruction set and called it EMMX. With their XScale line of mobile processors, Intel developed a variation of MMX Called WMMX, and later WMMX2. ARM added NEON as their processors became more media-centric with consumers.

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The keys for control of glyphosate-resistant Palmer pigweed in cotton sound simple enough – start clean, overlap residuals and manage escapes. But this approach may demand a little more luck, better eyesight and a few more calluses than previous methods of pigweed control, according to Ken Smith, Extension weed scientist at the University of Arkansas. “In 2004, we made three applications of Roundup, put out a layby on 25 percent of our acres, and the crop was relatively clean. But there was a field out there (in 2004) that was not clean. We were selecting for these resistant biotypes even back then. We probably started selecting for the resistant population as early as 2000,” said Smith, a speaker at the National Conservation Systems Cotton and Rice Conference in Tunica, Miss. Smith believes that even if producers had been using residual herbicides with the Roundup Ready system, resistance to the herbicide was likely inevitable. “We could have delayed it, and we could have lessened the impact. But we could not have prevented it.” Since glyphosate-resistant pigweed gained a foothold in the Mid-South in 2005, it has progressively covered almost every county in Arkansas, noted Smith. “It has caused us a lot of consternation and caused us to change our cultural practices in a way that we weren’t quite ready for.” Smith referred to studies conducted by University of Tennessee weed scientist Larry Steckel that indicate that one pigweed per 60 feet of row can reduce a yield of 1,340 pounds per acre by 390 pounds, or 38 percent. Four pigweed every 60 feet of row can reduce yield by 600 pounds or 45 percent, while 8 or more pigweed per 60 feet of row essentially took the crop. Smith says both the strength and weakness of pigweed can be found in its seed. “Cocklebur seed will live for a very long time in the soil. That’s its method of survival. Pigweed seed do not last long. You’ll lose 80 percent of them the first year. But pigweed win with sheer numbers. They flood the soil every year with seed.” Smith’s assistants counted over 1.8 million seed produced by a single plant, nicknamed Elvira. “Even if you lose 90 percent of them the first year, you still have a lot of seed to contend with.” Producers should follow three steps for success in managing glyphosate pigweed — start clean, overlap residual herbicides and manage escapes. But just because a field looks clean doesn’t mean it is. Producers should check closely for small pigweed. Can be risky approach Relying on a pre-emergence residual herbicide only can be risky, according to Smith. “Cotoran or Direx behind the planter will work well if you get some rain. The worst scenario is you come in, you have good moisture, you knock the top of the bed off for good soil moisture, plant into it, put down your Cotoran, then it just doesn’t rain. For seven days, the pigweed comes up with the cotton. That is a no-win situation. There is not anything you can do at that point that is not a salvage situation. So don’t let them get a head start on you. If they do, you’ll never catch up.” An application of a pre-plant herbicide in a Roundup Ready program can alleviate some of that risk, according to Smith. “If we put out Reflex pre-plant, it’s already activated when we get there with the planter. You’re clean.” Smith noted that producers who prefer to knock the top of the bed off prior to planting should have beds ready to plant ahead of time. “Put out Reflex, wait for a rain, come in and plant.” While many residuals may last as long as three weeks, Smith recommends putting out a new residual every two weeks. “We can’t allow the residual to break. We get a week’s overlap, hoping to get a rain to get one activated before that other one plays out. It’s critical we overlap residual herbicides.” Smith says there may be a little more flexibility with a LibertyLink herbicide program. “It can include either a pre-plant or pre-emergence herbicide. “If the pigweed is coming up with the cotton, we have Liberty herbicide to take out the escapes.” During the season, producers should make chopping pigweed escapes a priority. While it is not likely that this will eliminate the pigweed problem, it can make it more manageable. “One farmer reduced pigweed to below detectable levels by going in and taking out every pigweed in the field. In that field, we moved from 110 hours of chopping in 2010 to five hours in 2011. “In another field, we reduced the seed in the field by 65 percent in the first year and we got to undetectable levels in year 2. Some of our farmers have gone into area wide zero tolerance, where each farmer in a geographical area works to keep his fields clean, to keep the problem from spreading.” The bottom line for Smith is to control the number of pigweed seed in the soil. “If our soil seed bank continues to increase, this is not sustainable. “It’s hard for us to comprehend, but when we’re dealing with pigweed, Liberty (formerly Ignite), Roundup, Staple and all those over-the-top herbicides are not our base programs anymore. Our base program today is a soil residual herbicide. We use the over-the-top herbicides to clean up escapes. “It’s a little hard to conceptualize this as many years as we’ve sprayed Roundup and for as many years as it’s worked for us. Roundup is no longer a pigweed material.” Smith added that lower glyphosate prices and rebates for the use of residual herbicides have helped lower the costs of a residual-based control program.

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• Diversifying planting dates is always a good strategy to deal with unpredictable weather. • Planting crops early will avoid the late summer when soil is usually driest during a drought. IN MANY AREAS, the drought that challenged U.S. soybean farmers across the country last year has continued into the early months of 2013. Preserving soil moisture can be hard, but Rob Myers, adjunct associate professor of plant sciences at the University of Missouri, shared these five management techniques that could help alleviate the effects of drought conditions. Consider cool-season crops. Adding winter wheat or other cool-seasons to rotations breaks up disease and insect cycles as well as boosts soybean yields. Also, since cool-season crops are planted in the fall, when moisture is more plentiful, and harvested in June before the worst of a drought typically takes place, they avoid the late summer when drought conditions typically peak. Think yield stability. Rather than concentrating solely on a single high yielding soybean variety, even one marketed as drought resistant, farmers should consider planting beans from multiple maturity groups that yield well in a variety of environments Stagger planting dates. Planting crops early will avoid the late summer when soil is usually driest during a drought. On the flip side, having a portion of the soybean acreage planted a little later was helpful last year for areas that got late rain from Hurricane Isaac, allowing those soybeans to get some additional growth and yield better than the beans that matured earlier. Diversifying planting dates is always a good strategy to deal with unpredictable weather. Give your soil a blanket. Practicing no-till leaves a blanket of leaf and stalk residue on top of the soil, keeping it cool and locking in moisture. Tilling itself removes moisture from soil, which is especially bad during a drought year. Combining cover crops and manure can increase soil’s organic matter, which can help soil retain moisture. A no-till system also helps increase the organic matter content in soil. For additional information from the United Soybean Board, visit http://www.unitedsoybean.org/.

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|Athenian tetradrachama, 5th cen. B.C.| |Athena with Owl, Louvre| Owls have large, forward-facing eyes. When we do see a live owl, it appears alert. It surveys its realm with attention and vigilance. It looks intelligent. It looks “wise as an old owl.” But are owls wise? One writer put it succinctly: “To put it kindly, owls are no wiser than they need to be, i.e., not very.” Owls are wise enough not to “rotate their heads through 360 degrees as is commonly supposed and which would in the event result in owls heads coming clean off and bouncing about all over the place.” (owlpages.com ) Owls cannot rotate their eyes in their sockets and have compensated by developing extra vertebrae in their necks which allow them to turn their heads about 270 degrees. However, they rarely turn their heads more than 180 degrees. In other words, an owl can look to its left by turning its head to the right but prefers not to. Owls are primarily night hunters and are superbly equipped for their task Their eyes and ears are adapted to finding prey in the dark. Their feathers are designed for silence. They are the stealth flyers of the bird world. Owls cannot “see” in the dark. A dead mouse in a totally darkened room went undiscovered by a Barn Owl. But an owl can see in light levels so low that we would be rendered totally blind. Light is measured in “lux”. The lowest number of lux in which humans can see is 37,000. Experiments on a Tawny Owl revealed that the lowest number of lux at which it was able to see was seven! Or, consider the ears: The ears are asymmetrically located in the skull. The right ear is higher than the left ear. The ear openings are differing shapes. This means that sound reaches each ear a split second apart, enabling the owl to “triangulate” the location of its prey, pinpointing a sound to within ten millimeters with no aid from sight whatsoever. The flat face of the owl, formed by feathers, acts like a satellite dish to capture and direct sound to the ears. Some owls are capable of finding prey by sound alone. An experiment put live mice in a totally darkened room with a Barn Owl. Using hearing alone, the Barn Owl caught the mice every single time. Daytime sightings of the Barred Owl are uncommon, but not unusual. It happens most often in the winter when food may be scarce, or under deep snow cover, or both. A Barred Owl active during the day is a hungry owl. It may also be a young owl which did not have time to hone its hunting and survival skills before winter arrived to make the task of finding food even more difficult. The Barred Owl is one of the few owls which will reveal itself to humans. In “The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Vermont,” 1985, the Barred Owl is described this way: “A gentle creature with an engaging personality, the Barred Owl can be quite tame and curious even in the wild. One individual raised at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science’s raptor care facility in Woodstock returned there each winter for four years after his release, greeting his former benefactors with hoots, and swooping down to pluck mice from their hands.” |Great Horned Owl| |Great Horned Owl - John James Audiubon| Fishers often get blamed for the disappearance of domestic cats, but it could just as well be the work of a Great Horned Owl. They rule the night, with no natural enemies. Outside of your home, both of these predators are in their home. Your cat is no match for either. The best way to protect your cat is to keep it indoors. One early winter morning, I heard through my open window distant hoots: “Who’s awake? Me, too. Who’s awake. Me, too.” The Great Horned Owl was probably calling for its mate, but he also told me that the night belonged to him. I was glad to let him have it. I rolled over and went back to sleep.

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(i) To measure the ductility of a given sample of bitumen (ii) To determine the suitability of bitumen for its use in road construction. The apparatus as per IS: 1208-1978 consists of (i) Briquette mould: It is made of brass. Circular holes are provided at ends called clips to grip the fixed and movable ends of the testing machine. The mould when properly assembled form a briquette specimen of following dimensions. Total length 75.0 ± 0.5 mm Distance between clips 30.0 ± 0.3mm Width at mount of slip 20.0 ± 0.2mm Width at minimum cross-section (half way between clips) 10.0 ± 0.1mm Thickness throughout 10.0 ± 0.1mm (ii) Water bath: A bath maintained within 27.0° ±0.1 °C of the specified test temperature containing not less than 10 litres of water, the specimen being submerged to a depth of not less than 10 cms and supported on a perforated shell and less than 5 cms from the bottom of the bath. (iii) Testing machine : For pulling the briquette of bituminous material apart, any apparatus may be used which is so constructed that the specimen will be continuously submerged in water while the two clips are being pulled apart horizontally at a uniform speed of 50 ± 2.5 mm per minute. (iv) Thermometer. Range 0-44°C and readable up to 0.2°C The ductility test gives a measure of adhesive property of bitumen and its ability to stretch. In flexible pavement design, it is necessary that binder should form a thin ductile film around aggregates so that physical interlocking of the aggregates is improved. Binder material having insufficient ductility gets cracked when subjected to repeated traffic loads and it provides pervious pavement surface. Ductility of a bituminous material is measured by the distance in centimeters to which it will elongate before breaking when two ends of standard briquette specimen of material are pulled apart at a specified speed and specified temperature. (i) Melt the bituminous test material completely at a temperature of 75°C to 100° C above the approximate softening point until it becomes thoroughly fluid. (ii) Strain the fluid through IS sieve 30. (iii) After stirring the fluid, pour it in the mould assembly and place it on a brass plate. In order to prevent the material under test from sticking, coat the surface of the plate and interior surfaces of the sides of the mould with mercury or by a mixture of equal parts of glycerine and dextrine. (iv) After about 30-40 minutes, keep the plate assembly along with the sample in a water bath. Maintain the temperature of the water bath at 27° C for half an hour. (v) Remove the sample and mould assembly from the water bath and trim the specimen by levelling the surface using a hot knife. (vi) Replace the mould assembly in water bath for 80 to 90 minutes. (vii) Remove the sides of the mould. (viii)Hook the clips carefully on the machine without causing any initial strain. (ix) Adjust the pointer to read zero. (x) Start the machine and pull clips horizontally at a speed of 50 mm per minute. (xi) Note the distance at which the bitumen thread of specimen breaks. Mean of two observations rounded to nearest whole number is ductility value. Note: Machine may have a provision to fix two or more moulds so as to test three specimens simultaneously. (i) The plate assembly upon which the mould is placed shall be perfectly flat and level so that the bottom surface of the mould touches it throughout. (ii) In filling the mould, care should be taken not to distort the briquette and to see that no air pocket is within the moulded sample. (i) Bitumen Grade = (ii) Pouring Temperature = (iii) Test Temperature = (iv) Period of cooling in minutes (a) In air = (b) In water bath before trimming = (c) In water bath after trimming = (a) Initial Reading (b) Final Reading Ductility value = Suitability of bitumen is judged depending on its type and proposed use. Bitumen with low ductility value may get cracked especially in cold weather. Minimum values of ductility specified by ISI for various grades are as follows. Source of paving bitumen and penetration grade Min ductility value (cms) Assam Petroleum A25 A65, A90 & A200 Bitumen from sources other than Assam Petroleum S35 S45, S65 & S90

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Why did animals with limbs win the race to invade land over those with fins? A new study comparing the forces acting on fins of mudskipper fish and on the forelimbs of tiger salamanders can now be used to analyze early fossils that spanned the water-to-land transition in tetrapod evolution, and further understand their capability to move on land. Research conducted by Sandy Kawano and Richard Blob at Clemson University compared terrestrial locomotion in tiger salamanders and mudskipper fish, which have similar characteristics to early tetrapod ancestors. The researchers filmed these organisms as they walked over a force platform which measures forces like a bathroom scale but separates them into 3 directions (upward, fore-aft, and side-to-side). They compared the forces experienced by the pectoral fins of the mudskipper fishes to the forelimbs and hind limbs of walking tiger salamanders. The results showed that that mudskippers' pectoral fins experience more medial forces than the limbs of salamanders, and that the forelimbs could have a played a similar weight-bearing role as the hind limbs.

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Review with children the Pledge of Allegiance: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Explain that the word "pledge" is a synonym for the words "promise" or "guarantee." Brainstorm together a a list of situations in which people make pledges or promises (a public official being sworn into office, a doctor taking the Hippocratic oath, a bride and groom exchanging wedding vows, etc.). Many pledges or guarantees are written down so that both the person who is making the promise and the person(s) receiving the promise may be certain of what is to be done. Work in small groups to draft a class pledge, then vote on pledges and adopt one. You may make modifications as necessary. Or work as a family to formulate a family pledge. Whether the pledge is short like the Pledge of Allegiance or a little longer, it needs to outline a commitment that every person who takes the pledge can fulfill. For instance, pledging to donate $10,000 to the school library is unrealistic; but students could realistically pledge to be honest on quizzes and tests.... What It Means to Me... Read the story behind "The Star-Spangled Banner." Francis Scott Key wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner" not as a national anthem, but rather as a personal expression of what the flag meant to him. As long as he saw the flag waving over Baltimore, he knew that Fort McHenry had not surrendered to the British and the Maryland was still free. The American flag means many things to many people. Write about what it means to you. If possible, interview others and find out what the flag means to them. Possibilities for interviews include veterans of foreign wars, active military personnel and their families, local government officials, people who have recently immigrated to the United States, American citizens who have lived abroad, and so forth. A Family Flag Ask children to look at the American flag and name the colors it contains. Explain that each color used in a flag has a special meaning. In the American flag, for instance, the blue stands for justice, the white stands for purity, and the red stands for courage. Not only the colors but also the symbols on the flag are significant. The original flag bore thirteen stars and thirteen stripes--one for each of the colonies. Today the American flag proudly displays fifty stars, one for each state in the union. The thirteen stripes remain unchanged, reminding America of its beginning as thirteen colonies. Ask children to think of items that have special significance to them or their family. Direct them to create a family flag, using only the most important of these symbols. You might also share the meanings of the following colors commonly used on flags so that children can choose appropriate colors for their designs. All content not attributed to another source is original and may not be re-posted on any other website. Material on this site may be reproduced in printed form for non-commercial use (including school, church, and community/civic club use) as long as proper credit, including a link to this site, is given. Material may not be reproduced for commercial use without written permission.

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Authority and Obedience by John A. Hardon, S.J. The concept of obedience to superiors is built into the history of civilized society, and no culture worthy of the name has existed without stressing the respect which is due to legitimate authority or the duties of those in command. While much diluted through centuries of use, the very word piety, derived from the Latin pietas, basically means devotion to the source of our being beginning with the parents to whom we owe physical existence, to the state which is responsible for our social well-being. Among the ancient Chinese, for example, Confucian ethics placed the family at the foundation of the whole political and communal structure of the state. Even the sovereign could rule successfully only if he imitated the paternal relationship that should obtain in the family. In proportion as the domestic virtues of kindness, obedience to authority, respect for elders, and devotion to the memory of one's ancestors were cultivated, the civic life of the nation was considered assured. All the extant codes of law from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor, going back to the second and third millennium before Christ, universally mention the obligations that children have towards their parents, subjects to their rulers, workmen to their employers and the correlative responsibilities on the other side. A single provision of the Code of Hammurabi (1728 -1686 B.C.) is eloquent testimony to the high regard in which respect for one's parents was held among the Babylonians: "If a son has struck his father, they shall cut off his hand." (1) If the sanctions among these Orientals were extreme, at least the underlying principle was commonly recognized that without some kind of jurisdiction no society can exist and that the welfare of families and nations depends on obedience to those in authority. Duties to Parents In Judaeo-Christianity, the Decalogue is the primary source of moral obligations which children owe their parents, epitomized in the deceptively short commandment, "Honor your father and mother." (2) If the duty arose from the natural law, it was given a religious context, both because it was specially commanded by Yahweh and because it carried with it a divine imperative and promise, assuring those who honored their parents a lifetime of prosperity from God. Although among the Jews the father had the great power in the family, yet the mother also had a claim to honor and obedience from the children, and the proverb poets require that she be respected even as the father. The classic passage in the Old Testament occurs in the Wisdom of Sirach. Children, pay heed to a father's right; do so that you may live. For the Lord sets a father in honor over his children; a mother's authority He confirms over He who honors his father atones for sins; he stores up riches who reveres his mother. He who honors his father is gladdened by children, and when he prays he is heard. He who reveres his father will live a long life; and he obeys the Lord who brings comfort to his mother. He who fears the Lord honors his father, and serves his parents as rulers. In word and deed honor your father that his blessing may come upon you; for a father's blessing gives a family roots, but a mother's curse uproots the growing Children are to be grateful to their parents, for without them they would have no existence: "With your whole heart honor your father; your mother's birthpangs forget not. Remember, of these parents you were born; what can you give them for all they gave you?" (4) God Himself is declared to be the source of parental rights, and therefore children are bound in religious duty to obey their instructions: "Observe, my son, your father's bidding, and reject not your mother's teaching; keep them fastened over your heart always, put them around your neck; for the bidding is a lamp, and the teaching a light, and a way of life are the reproofs of discipline." (5) The Scriptures always distinguish between obedience to parents for those who are still young and under parental care, and honor towards parents even when children grow up and may have reared families of their own. Obedience, then, is a temporary obligation, conditioned by time and circumstances, but respect is a life-long duty that ceases only with death. Thus when parents become old and feeble, the children must still honor and provide for them in a kindly way: "My son, take care of your father when he is old; grieve him not as long as he lives. Even if his mind fail, be considerate with him; revile him not in the fullness of your strength. For kindness to a father will not be forgotten, it will serve as a sin offering it will take lasting root. In time of tribulation it will be recalled to your advantage, like warmth upon frost it will melt away your sins. A blasphemer is he who despises his father; accursed of his Creator, he who angers his mother." (6) Few themes in the Bible are more soberly menacing than the blessings that grateful and respectful children may expect from God, or the punishments to be visited on those who gravely violate the precepts of piety. The one who honors his parents, expiates his sins, and those who honor their mothers are like men hoarding up a rich treasure. (7) They will be rewarded by their own children, their prayers will be answered, and they will experience the truth of the promise that as they have treated their parents, so will they be treated by their offspring In many ways, the New Testament simply confirmed the teachings of the Old, and, when Christ was asked by the rich young man what he should do to enter eternal life, he was told, among other things, to honor his father and mother. Yet Christianity added a new dimension to the Old Law and made explicit what was often merely implied in the earlier dispensation. By and large, the stress in former times was on the observance of precepts that had to do with external conduct; and, without denying the need for internal motivation, the emphasis was not on the interior dispositions of soul. In the New Covenant, however, there was an interiority about all the commandments, including honor to one's parents, to a point unheard of in previous injunctions. The Sermon on the Mount is a mosaic of new depth in the practice of justice and charity, bidding Christians not only not to kill but not even to use offensive language against the neighbor, not only to love others but even to love their enemies and do good to those who are hateful. By analogy, then, the duties of children towards their parents, on the triple plane of love, honor and obedience, are sublimated in the Christian ethic far above what they had been before. If this means extraordinary generosity, the means of grace are ready at hand, even to performing acts of heroism, if need be, in the pursuit of filial virtue. Coming down to particulars, children ought to show their love by helping parents with housing, food, clothing, medical care, and other necessities, as far as their own resources permit. One of the acutest problems facing countries like the United States is adequate care for the aged, where the basic responsibility rests with the younger generation of sons and daughters whose parents are either invalids or at least depend on physical and other assistance in their declining years. The issue is so critical because the life span has been greatly increased in the past generation, due mainly to the advances in medical science. Life expectancy in America for men rose each decade from 1900 to 1960 as follows: 48.2, 50.2, 60.6, 66.3, 67.3; and for women, in the same period: 44.5. 51.1, 53.6. 60.6, 67.3, 72.0, 73.9. In other words, the average life of men and women was increased over fifty per cent since the turn of the century. As a result, millions of parents are now living years after their children reach maturity and beyond middle age, so that a new factor has entered the complex of filial responsibility, and no amount of legislation in favor of our "senior citizens" can supply for the basic sense of duty among the children themselves. As experience shows, old age brings many trying ailments and inconveniences that younger people are spared. A person advanced in years may feel psychologically isolated from those with whom he lives. For years his family looked to him for advice and financial help, and gave him the companionship he craved; with his powers weakened and dependence on others increased, he may be ignored or shoved aside and made to feel he is either not wanted or certainly a burden to those on whom perhaps he spent all his energy and fortune. Loneliness and a feeling of futility are the common lot of most people at some time in their lives, but never more so than as a person reaches advanced age. In the spirit of Christian piety, however, instead of feeling themselves abandoned or forgotten, these old men and women should be the most revered members of the family circle. They are in the evening of life and have a right not only to rejoice in the memory of happiness gone by, but to feel they are still wanted and needed and loved. There can be an unconscious tyranny of youth towards the aging or elderly, so that older people will have the sense of intrusion even where they have a perfect right to be present. Painful statistics on the neglect of the aged suggest the difficulties inherent in the precept of honoring one's parents until death. On the specific duty of obedience to parents before a child reaches maturity or leaves home to start a family of his own, the only real limitation is when they might command something sinful. No human authority has a right to order something against the will of God. Short of this obvious exception, parents may tell their children to do whatever seems best to them, even when another course might possibly be more efficient or less inconvenient. The reason is that parents hold the place of God with respect to their children, and are divinely authorized to spell out the natural law and its implications for those whom nature has placed under their care. Any other estimate of parental authority is not even good pragmatism, since the native instinct to independence is too strong to be controlled without such religious motivation. One subtlety in the notion of obedience deserves clarification because of its application in a later context. Parents do not have to make an explicit demand of obedience or expressly intend to bind their children under them. They have a divinely-authorized right to be obeyed, and the extent of their children's obligation depends on what and how much the parents wish to be obeyed. In practice, it is recommended that children learn to distinguish between something a mother or father would like to have done, as a choice or option, and what they want under obedience. And, of course, all the norms that common sense dictates should be observed in telling children what to do. The apostle's advice to fathers not to provoke their sons is good psychology because it takes cognizance of a fundamental rule in governing people: do not impose your will on others but, as far as possible, propose what you wish done without harshness and you may expect to be obeyed with ease. Obligations Towards Children Parental rights imply corresponding obligations, and these may be summed up in two words, nurture and education, which span the whole gamut of responsibilities shared by parents who are not only to bring their offspring into the world but also care for them physically, mentally, morally and spiritually until such time as the children can competently take care of themselves. Human beings are unlike animals in remaining helpless for a long time and relatively dependent for years after birth. This implies the natural duty incumbent on parents to meet the helplessness and supply their children's needs. Child psychologists define infancy as the period from birth to about thirty months, during which physical needs predominate. While some experts place great stress on the techniques of infant care, all emphasize the prior importance of a right kind of attitude, especially in the mother, when caring for her child. This is visualized in American culture as loving, tolerant, and permissive, joined to an early training in those external habits that will later become rooted in moral virtues. As the child develops, he gains a certain amount of autonomy, which he enjoys and usually grasps eagerly. Learning to walk, talk, feed and care for his bodily needs, he also learns that his freedom is far from complete. At this critical stage he should be trained to yield to authority as one phase in the development of his autonomy. He must be helped to see that independence may be safely exercised only within certain cultural limitations, that is, within the role of an obedient child. His mother being his chief teacher, her most effective method will be through the example she gives and the degree to which she can evoke responsive love from a child that is still dependent on her and is conscious of his need of her loving protection. In the next stage, to the age of five or six, the dominant trait is a gradual unfolding of the mind, so that the child now not only obeys his parents to please them (or from fear of being punished), but he begins to learn the rudiments of right and wrong as taught by his father and mother. Even in their absence, he starts to conform to their standards of right and wrong. His conscience begins to operate, although still on the primary level of reflecting what the parents stand for. He has begun to internalize their actions by adopting their standards and dimly perceiving their beliefs and values. From the age of six to thirteen or fourteen, the child changes his environment for many hours each school day, and is faced with new demands on his behavior. Coming out of the protective and relatively permissive atmosphere of home, he is now required to conform to routine and regulation, some of which may be easy to accept, but a great deal is also confining or (as progressive educationists would say) repressive. Schools are not apt to treat the child in terms of his private idiosyncrasies, as parents often do, and no small part of the child's education at this stage depends on a close cooperation between home and school - where the parents support the school authority and discipline, and the school recognizes its minor role of parental delegate, not substitute. During the time of middle childhood, children normally become more and more independent of their parents, not only as regards physical needs, but also in matters of judgment and morality. Their conscience develops along lines that rest on abstract principles rather than on specific approval or disapproval of their elders. Hence the importance of cultivating this faculty in the right direction, especially in training the young to obey the inner voice even when external pressures are absent or when, perhaps, following its dictates may actually bring humiliations or worse. Parents will not do this unless they recognize conscience for what it is, the voice of God in man, speaking to his mind through reason and the impulses of grace. Newman's description of conscience is a lesson to parents, instructing them in the rudiments of moral pedagogy, to recognize that children have a more suasive preceptor deep in their souls than ever could be the words of mother or father, as important as these may be. Awareness of this fact will go far towards instilling a consciousness of God's presence that is priceless for developing moral balance and a Christian character. Inanimate things cannot stir our affections, these are correlative with persons. If, as is the case, we feel responsibility, are ashamed, are frightened, at transgressing the voice of conscience, this implies that there is One to whom we are responsible, before whom we are ashamed, whose claims upon us we fear. If on doing wrong, we feel the same tearful, brokenhearted sorrow which overwhelms us on hurting a mother; if on doing right, we enjoy the same sunny serenity of mind, the same soothing, satisfactory delight which follows on our receiving praise from a father, we certainly have within us the image of some person, to whom our love and veneration look, in whose smile we find our happiness, for whom we yearn, towards whom we direct our pledges, in whose anger we are troubled and waste away. These feelings in us are such as require for their exciting cause an intelligent being; we are not affectionate towards a stone, nor do we feel shame before a horse or a dog, we have no remorse on breaking a mere human law; yet so it is, conscience excites in us all these painful emotions, and on the other hand it sheds upon us a deep peace, a sense of serenity and resignation and a hope which there is no sensible, no earthly object to elicit. (8) The only mistake would be for parents to suppose these sentiments are pious rhetoric and smile at the idea of training their children from tenderest years to listen to the whisperings of conscience and recognize it as the inner sanctuary to which all human judgments must have recourse. Adolescence has been called the period of unco-ordination for many youth. At some time early in their teens, the girl becomes a woman and the boy a man. Incidentally, the biological growth is not always going on at the same rate for all parts of organism. At one point it may seem that a person is all nose, or all feet, or all face when they seem too large for the rest of the body. In the same way, not all adolescents develop at the same rate; some grow so fast they feel awkward in their own age group, and others so slow they become objects of notice (or derision) for being too small. Boys and girls do not develop at the same pace. Most girls experience the usual pre-adolescent growth spurt at about eleven, puberty or first menstruation at thirteen, followed by other developments into womanhood. Masculine patterns are similar but start a year or two later. Girls become interested in boys about two years earlier than the boys of their own age become interested in girls. Here the problem of adjustment is so acute, that unless parents are both aware of what is going on in their children and do all they can to assist them, maladjustments may develop which can be difficult to change in later years. Sympathetic understanding and a strong sense of right and wrong must be communicated to the adolescents, who feel themselves physically equal or superior to adults, but recognize their Sexual drives come to full maturity during this period, and the hyperstimulation of modern society tends to exaggerate the importance of sex in young people's lives, to the point of preoccupation. The control of these drives and the problems to which they give rise will be seen in a later context. We are here concerned only with parental responsibility. Assuming the need of careful nurture along moral and religious lines, a large contributing factor that helps children meet the demands of adolescence properly is the right kind of sex education by the parents that carries through from the dawn of reason (as early as the age of three) to the full maturity of adulthood (at eighteen or older, if need be). Failure to do this, or to do it incorrectly, often leads to moral complications not only in adolescence but into married life, sometimes with devastating consequences to many others than the person himself. Experts in child psychology suggest that sex education should be gradual, private as far as possible, repeated for clarification and emphasis, and continued throughout the whole period of growth for at least fifteen years. It is remarkable how many otherwise well-meaning parents are either unaware of these norms, or carelessly ignore what generations of experience have taught us about the imparting of knowledge in matters of sex. (9) The gradualness of sex education is only common sense. Some people imagine that a single "heart to heart" talk with their offspring is enough, as though any body of information could be imparted en bloc and expected to be assimilated at one gulp! When a child of six asks what makes an automobile go, a mother does not try to explain (if she could) all the principles of auto mechanics. She simply answers, "Gasoline," or "the motor," and lets it go at that. In the same way, the same basic subject matter is covered in grammar school, in high school, and again in college on the assumption that the human mind learns gradually, and with the passage of time is better able to grasp what before was only vaguely surmised. Besides the native limitations of the mind is the presence of concupiscence, which warns against awakening a child's sexual passions too soon. The quantity of Freudian literature, which crudely takes for granted that all children from the age of two or three are already erotic, only highlights the need for clarity and prudence in this delicate area. Without subscribing to the theory, it is instructive to read what psychoanalysts say about the so-called "phallic phase" of a child's life, around the age of three. At this stage, it is said, when the child becomes interested in the organs of reproduction as a source of pleasure, the central phenomenon is the "Oedipus complex." A child's attachment to the parent of the opposite sex becomes compounded with the competing demands of the parent of the same sex, leading to feelings of hostility to the latter. The paths of development are somewhat different for the boy and the girl. The boy becomes erotically attached to his mother, wants her exclusive love, and feels jealous of his father, whom he views as a rival for the mother's affection. However, the parents do not allow the boy to gain The girl, in this phase, becomes strongly attached to her father and feels hostile and jealous towards her mother But the girl, too, in the ordinary course of development, is prohibited or shamed out of her love-choice, and, fearing punishment and loss of love, represses her erotic desires towards her father. Omitting the more salacious references in this manual on child development, it is still clear that by Freudian standards the libido may be aroused earlier than most people suspect, and therefore sex instruction should be gradual, or take the responsibility for stirring up unnatural impulses. The recommendation for privacy in imparting sex information refers mainly to the intimate facts of sex life, and once more assumes that careless imparting of knowledge too much, too soon may arouse curiosity that should be satisfied, indeed, but according to the child's capacity to learn and make his own. It is commonly known that this runs counter to what some educational theorists hold regarding sex instruction. Subscribing to a "scientific" concept of education, "the method of inquiry and test, that has wrought marvels in one field, is to be applied so as to extend and advance our knowledge in moral and social matters." This means that "the truths in morals (are) of the same kind as in science namely, working hypotheses that on the one hand condense the results of continued prior experience and inquiry, and on the other hand direct further fruitful inquiry." (11) Consequently, the only thing necessary to promote good morals among people is to furnish them early, with an adequate body of facts, and to encourage them to put these facts into experimental practice with a view to arriving at some working hypothesis which may serve as a temporary standard of moral conduct. Thus, arguing that what young people need to control their libido is knowledge of its functions and the evils of abuse, certain educators have made sex instruction a commonplace in many American schools. Occasional complaints from parents indicate to what limits this instruction can go. In a nationally syndicated article, one mother said that "far too many of our school children are being taught far too much about sex." She went on to explain that her sixteen year old daughter in high school was given assigned reading in a medical textbook on sexology, illustrated and so detailed that a few years ago a similar book could not have been purchased from the bookseller without a doctor's certificate. It is not clear, she confessed, how boys and girls in their teens are "benefited by learning the most satisfactory positions for conjugal relations." Books and magazines are supplemented by visual aids that leave nothing to the imagination, and only rarely are criticized for imposing Freudianism and Pragmatism on the instruction of the young. Repetition in teaching children about sex is essential, no less than in other forms of learning. What is heard once or twice is forgotten, or when something is told, the child was distracted, and always present is the element of growth, mental, physical and emotional. Added details, clearer explanations, more forceful presentation of facts will be demanded with each successive stage of development. Continuity is equally important. While parents should always answer truthfully when asked about sex matters, they cannot tell everything at once. There is too much to say, and, besides, only a certain amount of this information is useful at any one time. As a general rule, it is advisable to meet and slightly anticipate the need of the individual, which differs between boys and girls, among brothers and sisters in the same family, and especially according to the environment in which the family lives, the school attended and the company that Matters of such serious import should not be left to chance, and parents have a grave obligation to know their children well enough and win their confidence, to make sex instruction easy on both sides and profitable not only physically or emotionally but especially morally. Well before puberty, boys and girls should be taught the mechanism of their bodies and the meaning of what changes will take place in their sexual apparatus: seminal emission and menstruation, venereal pleasure and attraction, and how to cope with the moral implications which this involves. Otherwise a distorted view of sex, learned from magazines or friends, can blight a young person's whole outlook on life and create false values that may take years (if even then) to eradicate. Moral and Spiritual Values in Education The school in present-day America has taken on more and more the role of substitute for parents, and its function in shaping the character of youth is becoming annually more significant. One of the anomalies of this dominance of formal education is the rift being created between what is still the religious faith of the average home and the religious neutralism that has entered, partly through necessity and partly by design, into a growing segment of American education. Conscious of this tendency, educators on every academic level and in every religious tradition have expressed concern and are trying to remedy what they feel is an impossible situation. Private schools offer less of a problem, because their administration is normally under church-affiliation and the whole purpose of such institutions is to integrate religious values with the curriculum. "It is not correct," declares a Lutheran statement of policy, "to divide education into a religious and non-religious category, to separate the one from the other, and to set up a dual education offered by institutions which differ in their nature and philosophy." (12) Yet church-affiliated schools are a minority, and even the majority of Catholic children are attending tax-supported What are the moral implications for parents, teachers and others who can influence public opinion in this crucial matter of religious principles in tax-supported education? They are being spelled out by various agencies, like the National Education Association, whose massive statement on policies began by stating that, "a great and continuing purpose of education has been the development of moral and spiritual values. To fulfill this purpose, society calls upon all its institutions. Special claims are made on the home and the school because of the central role of these two institutions in the nurture of the young." Shortly after its organization in 1950, the National Council of Churches held a conference on Religion and Public Education. Its main resolution was that, "since religious truth is a part of our heritage of truth, it should be included in the child's education wherever relevant to the subject matter The American Council on Education has published several volumes and sponsored a national symposium at Columbia University on the question. In the opinion of the American Council, "the intensive cultivation of religion is, and always has been, the function of religious institutions. To create an awareness the school is but rounding out its educational task, which culminates in the building of durable convictions about the meaning of life and personal commitments based upon them." (14) The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education finished a five year study of how to raise the religious literacy of teachers in public schools. "The chief purpose of this study," it was stated, "will be to discover and develop ways and means to teach the reciprocal relation between religion and other elements in human culture in order that the prospective teacher, whether he teaches literature, history, the arts, science or other subjects, be prepared to understand, to appreciate, and to convey to his students the significance of religion in human affairs."(15) Dr. A.L. Sebaly of Western Michigan University was national coordinator of this research program. Most recently the National Council of Churches completed its own five year analysis of religious values in public education to publish a second report to the forty million Protestant and Orthodox membership of the Council. It concluded that "the public school should recognize the function of religion in American life, and maintain a climate friendly to religion, doing its share to assure to every individual the right to choose his own beliefs. (16) This sudden outburst of interest in religious values for schools would seem strange unless seen as the spontaneous reaction of a believing people to the growing challenge of secularism in the United States, which threatens to deprive teachers of the right to communicate and pupils to receive a solid grounding in those fundamental spiritual principles on which our nation is built. It is one of the paradoxes of history that the United States, where human liberty is specially prized and religious institutions have flourished as nowhere else in modern times, should yet be the only great country in the West where teachers have to defend their claim to transmit the religious heritage on which the existence of America depends. What should be the attitude of dedicated teachers towards this crucial problem? As teachers they have a professional desire to give the students all the benefits of a well-rounded education, as believers they are interested in the spiritual welfare of those under their academic care, and as Americans they wish to promote those values which are more important than nuclear weapons to preserve our country from the dangers of a rampant Communism. The areas of concern are a correct concept of religion, the meaning of "intrinsic to learning experiences" as applied to religion in the classroom, an understanding of the value of religion on the part of the teacher along with his appreciation of those religious values which he is expected to cultivate, and the methodology or technique by which teachers are to convey these values to students in the public school classroom. Correct Concept of Religion. The first issue that needs clarification is the meaning of religion. Agencies like the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education are sincerely urging the integration of religion and public education, but they labor under the handicap of not knowing exactly what religion means. After years of research and consultation, they came up with such admissions as, "we have not flattered ourselves into assuming we could define 'religion' in a way that would be acceptable to all." Or again, "it would be unwise for us to be stopped at dead center by our failure to agree on a definition." Yet absolute clarity on the clarity on the meaning of the very object of concern is indispensable. No doubt the main reason why research experts in the National Education Association and elsewhere have been stopped at dead center on defining terms is the radical tension that now exists between two contradictory notions of religion in the educational world, only one of which is valid and the other has so intruded itself as to obfuscate the genuine concept. When John Dewey wrote that "any activity pursued in behalf of an ideal and against obstacles and in spite of threats of personal loss because of conviction of its general and enduring value is religious in quality," (17) he arbitrarily removed belief in a personal God from the notion of religion and appropriated the traditional name to include his own brand of naturalistic humanism. Properly defined, religion is the sum-total of all the principles and laws which determine our responsibilities to God. Many of these can be recognized by the light of pure reason, and then the religion to which they give rise is natural; when additional ideas or precepts are supplied by a special, miraculous communication from the Deity, the consequent religion is revealed or supernatural. As applied to its integration with education, the term "religion" is generic and covers both, the natural and supernatural forms; but indispensable in either case is the recognition of a personal God. Coming closer to the classroom, what is the nature of those religious factors which the teacher is supposed to find intrinsic to the subjects he is handling? Take the field of literature. What does religion mean in Chaucer, Shakespeare or Milton, if not the acceptance of a personal God; or in history, in the religious institutions of the Greeks and Romans, in the origins of Christianity, the rise of Islam, the Crusades, the Protestant Reformation, the migration to America in search of religious freedom? Their common factor is always belief in a Supreme Being, with intellect and will, who is responsible for man's existence and determines his future destiny. Religion as Intrinsic to Learning Experiences. Quite as important as a clear notion of what we mean by religion is a definite understanding of how precisely religion may be considered intrinsic to the learning process. Religion may be intrinsic to the process of learning in two ways: in terms of the subject matter of a given course, and of the student who is being taught. In the first case the object is to do justice to an apparently secular discipline like English or History, and teach it with all the religious data and explanation demanded for the academic integrity of the subject. In the second case, the aim is to do equal justice to the needs of the pupil as a human being and a member of civil society. Both types deserve to be more fully explained. Religion is intrinsic to the contents of any subject in so far as the latter deals with human activity, of whatever kind, in relation to the Deity. The forms of this relation are myriad. They can be purely informational, as in a historical study of ancient Greece and Rome; or causal, as in tracing the religious inspiration of the Crusades; or reflective, as in the poetry of John Milton and the essays of John Henry Newman; or interpretative, as in the origins of the Reformation and the Bezboznik movement of Communism; or motivational, as in teaching civics and the social sciences. It may be asked whether this correlation includes teaching about the doctrinal position of various religious systems, say, Mohammedanism or the different kinds of Protestantism. Yes, to the extent to which such information is necessary for an intelligent grasp of the subject under consideration. Thus, for example, not to treat of the faith of the English Separatists would deprive the student of a proper understanding of why the Pilgrim Fathers came to America. Religion is also intrinsic to the learning process because of the subjective needs of the student, as a human being and a member of society. He has a personality that requires development, specific duties to others that have to be learned and rights that should be respected. In a word, his character must be trained in accordance with objective values, at the risk of becoming a burden to himself and a liability to everyone else. As expressed by the Policies Commission of the National Education Association, "The American people have rightly expected the schools of this country to teach moral and spiritual values. The schools have accepted this responsibility. The men and women who teach in these schools, as responsible members of society, share its system of values. As educators, they are engaged in a vocation that gives central place to values as guides to conduct." (18) However, it is one thing to say that schools should teach moral and spiritual values and another to identify these values as religious and based on the recognition of a personal God. Yet in principle and practice the two are inseparable. Man is a creature, and as such is subject to his Creator in all that he does. His moral conduct, therefore, is to be measured by its agreement or discord with the order established by the Creator in the universe. Consequently morality has its source in God and cannot be divorced from Him. Unless man's conscience is enlightened by the knowledge of principles that express the divine law, there can be no firm and. lasting morality. So that without religion morality becomes simply a matter of individual tastes, or public opinion, or of popular vote. Understanding the Significance of Religion. Knowledge is the prerequisite for action. Unless teachers understand what religion means, what impact it had on the history and literature of nations, and how it contributes to the shaping of character, they can hardly take it seriously or treat it competently in the classroom. In fact, their ignorance of religious values will be a deterrent from using them to the advantage of their pupils. Christians believe that man, as he now exists, is not in the condition he would have been if he had not become originally estranged from the Creator. A primordial fall has left his mind and will substantially intact but also gravely wounded in their capacity for right knowledge and right conduct without assistance from God. The help he needs for the mind is revelation, the aid for the will (along with the mind) is grace. The first he obtains through faith in the God who made him, the second through humble prayer. It is invalid to object that recognition of faith and the need of recourse to God into public schools is sectarian. It is sectarian only to those who do not believe in God. To those in the Judaeo-Christian tradition, includes the admission of man's inability, of himself, to reach the destiny of his existence, and the corresponding necessity of divine aid. This fact emphasizes the importance of having teachers in the classroom who personally appreciate what they academically understand, in order to give their students the full benefit of a balanced integration of religious values. An appreciation of religious values, therefore, psychologically implies a personal dedication to those values in the teacher's private and social life. What the teaching profession most needs, and without which all the talk about integrating religion and education remains sterile, is a growing number of men and women who instinctively communicate what they cherish because religious principles are the bedrock of their own lives. In the measure that a person has learned to live and deal easily with the invisible Teacher who abides in the depths of his soul, will he treat of spiritual things with a delicacy that does not offend and a prudence that will not obtrude on the autonomy of the youngest Conveying the Significance of Religion. The final stage in this process is the actual communication of moral and spiritual values, which in itself would not be hard were it not for the limitations imposed by a heterogeneous student body, the civil law, and the American concept of separation of Church and State. Limitation, however, is not elimination. There is a definable substratum of principles which underlies the great religious cultures in America, and within whose limits teachers should consider themselves free to deal in the classroom. It would not be hard to isolate these principles in abstract language, but we can draw them verbatim from the writings of Moses Maimonides, the medieval Jewish sage whose thirteen articles are as close as Judaism ever came to a formal confession of faith, and are commonly accepted by the Jewish people. Four of these articles may serve as the basic Judaeo-Christian framework for teaching moral and spiritual values in the schools, whether public or private. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, praised be He, is the Creator and Guide of all creation, and that He alone made, does make, and will make I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, praised be He, knows every deed of men and their thoughts, as it is written. "He fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds." I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, praised be He, rewards those who keep His commandments and punishes those who transgress His commandments. I believe with perfect faith that there will be a revival of the dead at a time when it shall please the Creator, praised be He, and exalted His name forever. To anyone familiar with the current national efforts in the field of religion and public education, the major problem is right here. How, concretely and realistically, can the fundamental religious truths be correlated with the academic disciplines in such a way as to avoid the two extremes of teaching sectarian doctrine or indulging in meaningless platitudes? The platitudes offer no trouble and nobody worries about them. But the danger of sectarian indoctrination is the bête noire, and the one issue that plagues every educator who studies the question. It is also the ostensible motive for opposition in some quarters to any program in education that would involve a change in the status quo. One of the great services that Christian teachers can render to the present cause is to clarify certain concepts for others in the teaching profession whose vision in this matter is less clear. They can show that there are religious values, basic to Judaism and Christianity, which are not sectarian or denominational but represent the common spiritual heritage of our nation. They can distinguish between a legitimate separation of Church and State, and an impossible separation of religion from civil society and its institutions, including public schools. They can prove, from their own experience, how easily and effectively the deepest spiritual convictions may be cultivated in students without encroaching on their particular creed and with recognized benefits to individuals and to society. A typical plan was worked out by a teacher in the public school system of Detroit. She called it "Training for Moral and Ethical Values," and after more than twenty years of unqualified success has inspired numerous other teachers to follow her example. Her own preamble of objectives is clear. To present a unified plan of instruction for the individual growth and social development of our children, according to God's moral law, the Ten Commandments, as the foundation of the American Way of Life in a Nation under God. To train our children to understand better the Changeless pattern of God's moral law as the true guide in the changing events and circumstances of life, and to direct them in the daily practice of God's Way of Love rather than hate, knowing God as the Father of the human family, who desires us to live together in brotherly love, regardless of color, creed, or social, national origin or To use the daily events and situations in school life as opportunities to learn by thinking and by doing; to see desirable effects in habitual practices of God's moral law, as we willingly direct our efforts to happy and satisfying living, which is the best possible preparation for all to build a better world; in other words, to encourage every child to build a better person within. (20) Needless to say, a program of this kind will take foresight and a degree of communicability that differs with different people, schools, and concrete situations. Some time ago in the State of Iowa a study showed that of all teachers in public schools, those who were least communicative or, as the report called it, the "most self-arrestive," were Catholic. By actual count, teachers of other persuasions were up to six times as willing to raise religious issues in the classroom and discuss them with pupils. Future Prospects. About a century ago, a Princeton theologian, Dr. A.A. Hodges, argued that "if every party in the state has the right of excluding from public schools whatever he does not believe to be true, then he that believes most must give way to him that believes least, and then he that believes least must give way to him that believes absolutely nothing, no matter in how small a minority the atheists or the agnostics may be." It is self-evident, Hodges concluded, that on this scheme, if it is consistently and persistently carried out in all parts of the country, the United States system of national popular education will be the most efficient and wide instrument for the propagation of unbelief which the world has ever seen. (21) Much has happened since Hodges wrote just after the Civil War. His fears about public education becoming "the most appalling enginery for the propagation of anti-Christian and atheistic unbelief" have not been verified. On the contrary, public schools have become the bulwark of American democracy and one of the principal instruments of unity in a melting pot of nations. They have done much to safeguard American traditions, including religion, and have helped to produce some of the greatest of this country's spiritual leaders. But now they must cope with a new element that has entered the scene. Certain interests, influential in shaping national opinion, are opposed to any semblance of religious values in public education. As expressed in a bulletin of the American Humanist Association, there is a growing pressure to conformity, which those who do not believe in theism must resist by all the means at their disposal. Among the targets of resistance is "a steady encroachment of religion upon public education: through released time for religious instruction, through Bible reading and the recitation of prayers in the schools, and through the efforts to incorporate religious teachings in the curriculum itself." (22) Aroused by such pressures, the Protestant Churches of America have declared themselves unequivocally in favor of integrating religion with the regular curriculum and warn against any shibboleths about mixing church and state. "We believe that religion has a rightful place in the public school program," officially declares the Methodist Church, "and that it is possible for public school teachers, without violating the traditional American principle of separation of church and state, to teach moral principles and spiritual values. Such teaching would afford a background for further and more specific instruction on the part of home and church. The home and church must carry the chief responsibility for nurturing vital faith which motivates life, but the home and church must have the support of our public schools." (23) Currently two forces are struggling for mastery of the American school system: high-minded religionists in every denomination who are deeply concerned for the spiritual welfare of the country, and straddling or confused secularists who place selfish and doctrinaire interests before what they call "ethical theism," which derives from the acceptance of a personal God. Parents and teachers are faced with an option between the two philosophies. Rights of Civil Authority The question of obedience to civil authority and the problems to which their relation has given rise, are as old as Christianity. In a true sense there was no problem before the advent of Christ when, for all practical purposes, the public authority was regarded equally competent in the field of religion as in the secular domain. With the coming of the Church, however, an essential change was introduced by her Founder, who transferred to her the sphere of religion and the whole moral direction of mankind independent of the power of the State. Our immediate purpose is to see the development of this mutual relation between two disparate societies, one derived from nature and created by the social instincts of the human race, the other based on the supernatural order and founded by the Incarnate Son of God. As we examine their relationship, the issues will be seen to fall into two categories, those which are immutable because flowing from the natural law or determined by divine revelation, and others that are adaptable to different times and ages and even in the same period may vary according to different circumstances. There is more than academic value in not divorcing these issues from the historical context in which they occurred. Otherwise the real development in conscience and State policy can scarcely be appreciated and, more seriously, the distinction between eternal principles and adaptable norms would be hard to recognize. Scripture and Tradition. Significantly the classic statement of Christ on the relation of Christianity to the civil power was provoked by religionists who had no sympathy with the secular authority to which they were subject. The Pharisees sought to trap Jesus by asking Him if it was lawful to render tribute to Caesar, where the word "tribute" embraced all kinds of taxes payable to state officials. Pharisees and Herodians had long since adjusted their conscience to the payment. But they hoped to force Christ to compromise Himself no matter how He answered. If He advised non-payment, as they expected, He becomes indictable to Rome. The pseudo-Messias, Judas the Galilean, had perished for this very cause some twenty years before. Should He advise payment, He would lose His Messianic hold on the people for whom Messianism meant complete independence of foreign domination. Instead of falling into the trap set for Him, Jesus forced His enemies to convict themselves by asking for a coin with Caesar's image on it, and then declaring that, since the coin had come from Caesar, justice requires that it be returned to him. "Render to Caesar," He said, "the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." (24) Civil transactions like the payment of taxes are on one plane, the rights of God on another. There is no inevitable clash provided, as happened in the relationship of Rome to the Jewish people, that the civil demands did not hinder the exercise of man's duties to One aspect of Christ's reply to the Pharisees that may be overlooked, accentuates His recognition of the rights of civil authority, as distinct from those of the Church. The emperor to whom Christ declared tribute could be lawfully paid was officially a god. From the first beginnings of the Empire, the deification of Roman rulers became an established practice of the nation. Julius Caesar was proclaimed to be a god. Divus was the term used the title given him by senatorial decree, and his worship was put on a full ceremonial basis, with temple, priests, and ritual. The same things were done for Augustus, Claudius, Vespasian and Titus. As time went on, this phase of Roman religion grew spontaneously and accounted in great measure for the hostility of Rome to Christianity. The last of the Divi, deified in 307 A.D., was Romulus, the son of Maxentius, whom Constantine defeated at the Milvian bridge. When Christ, therefore, granted the right of rulers to demand obedience in temporal and secular affairs, He made the most drastic distinction possible between legitimate civil authority and its illegitimate pretensions. In so far as the Emperor commanded what was due to him as a ruler of state, all the citizens, including Christians, were bound to obey notwithstanding his abuse of power and even the blasphemous claim to divinity. In the apostolic Church, Peter implemented the teaching of his Master by urging the Christians to accept the established form of government and submit to those in authority "for the Lord's sake," that is, Christ, in order not to bring discredit on His followers. "Be subject to every human creature" with valid authority, "whether to the king, as supreme, or to governors as sent through him ...For such is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men." And he concluded, "fear God, honor the king." (25) As in the case of Christ, so here the injunction to be subject to the king, really "emperor" in the Greek that Peter wrote, takes on added significance when the king is identified as Nero, and the motive indicated is the will of However, the most elaborate exponent of Church and State relations in early Christianity was St. Paul. His exhortation to the Romans remains to this day an epitome of the obedience that a Christian owes to the civil rulers. "Let everyone be subject to the higher authorities," he enjoins, "for there exists no authority except from God, and those who exist have been appointed by God. Therefore, he who resists the authority resists the ordinance of God; and they that resist bring condemnation on themselves. For rulers are a terror not to the good work but to the evil." Yet the ultimate reason for submission is not the physical punishment that follows on disobedience. Rather, "you must needs be subject, not only because of the wrath, but also (and primarily) for conscience sake." Even in matter of taxes, "this is why you pay tribute, because state officials are the ministers of God." (26) All subsequent theology on the duties of Christian citizens has appealed to this dictum of St. Paul, that there exists no authority, including the civil, except from God, and those who possess it have been appointed by God. One conclusion that later generations have drawn from the principle is the licity of honestly regarding as divinely appointed every de facto government, even when tyrannical or anti-religious, as happened during the Roman persecutions, and more recently in Elizabethan England or modern satellites of Russia. In the first three centuries of the Christian era, the relation of Church and State was one of incessant conflict, in which the Roman Empire reacted against the Church as its mortal enemy, conscious on the one hand of the latter's inherent power over the hearts and minds of men, but blind to the fact that Christianity was not a political rival and still less a threat to civil authority. Pliny's letter to Trajan (112 A.D.), describing how he dealt with the Christians in Bithynia gives us an insight into motives behind the pagan persecution. "I asked them if they are Christian," wrote Pliny. "If they admit it, I repeat the question a second and a third time, threatening capital punishment; if they persist, I sentence them to death. For I do not doubt that, whatever kind of crime it may be to which they have confessed, their pertinacity and inflexible obstinacy should certainly be punished." The crime for which the Christians were punished was nothing more or less than "obstinacy" in professing their religious belief against the mandates of the civil power. "All who denied that they were or had been Christians," Pliny explained, "I considered should be discharged, because they called upon the gods at my dictation, and especially because they cursed Christ, a thing which, it is said, genuine Christians cannot be induced to do." (27) Yet all the while they were being persecuted, the Christians protested their loyalty to the government and only pleaded for justice, not to be punished for crimes they did not commit or, as Christ had demanded, to be shown wherein they had done wrong. "If it is certain," Tertullian asked, "that we are the most guilty of men, why do you treat us differently from our fellows, that is, from other criminals ...Christians alone are not allowed to say anything to clear themselves, to defend truth, to save a judge from injustice. That alone is looked for, which the public hate requires the confession of the name, not the investigation of the charge." In spite of the manifest injustice, however, "we call upon God for the welfare of the Emperor, upon God the eternal ...whose favor, beyond all others, the Emperor desires." If this seems incredible to the pagan mind, let them "examine God's words, our scriptures (and) learn from them that a superfluity of benevolence is enjoined upon us, even so far as to pray for our enemies and to entreat blessings for our persecutors." (28) Evidently the early Christians distinguished between the spiritual allegiance they owed the Church and the civic loyalty that was due to the State. Where the latter encroached on the former, it could not be obeyed; but within the limits of due authority the State had a right to perfect obedience and a title to Christian prayer, that the Lord might direct the rulers in their government and assist their temporal reign. Modern Situation. There are two sides to the role of civil society, notably in a democracy like the United States: civil authorities have, as their first duty, to provide for the common temporal and cultural welfare of their subjects and of those whom they represent; citizens have the manifold duty to love their country, respect those in authority, elect worthy representatives to offices in the government, and obey the laws which duly qualified legislatures pass for the common good. Of all the words in the English language, few have suffered more badly at the hands of careless writers than the word "politics," which has become almost synonymous with dishonest management to secure the success of candidates for public office or insure profit for those in positions of civil authority. Yet sound Christian philosophy teaches that politics is the characteristic virtue of civil officials, whose moral function is to preserve peace, order and justice among those under their charge. The practical difficulty, however, is that politics is a part of the real world, where the simple choice between what is wholly right and wholly wrong may not always be given. Conscientious holders of public office testify that the ideal they desire is not often realized and in some cases cannot even be advocated. Prudence, they say, may require the toleration of a measure of evil in order to prevent something worse, or to save the limited good. It is the good effect, limited though it be, which they will and desire, not the evil they must tolerate. Prudence may dictate a decision to let the cockle grow with the wheat, not to outdrive the flock lest all fall by the wayside. They quote the famous passage in Aquinas where he speaks of the purpose of human law, as distinct from the Human law is framed for the multitude of human beings, the majority of whom are not perfect in virtue. Therefore, human laws do not forbid all vices, from which the virtuous abstain, but only the more grievous vices from which it is possible for the majority to abstain; and chiefly those that are injurious to others, without the prohibition of which human society could not be maintained. Aside from the exercise of prudence in tolerating evils to avoid greater harm or impeding a positive good, those in public office have the corresponding duty of making their moral convictions felt and not take refuge in political compromise ostensibly to choose the lesser of two evils but often to protect their own If the first obligation of citizens is to love their country and respect those in authority, these virtues remain sterile unless people exert themselves at some sacrifice for the promotion of the common good. Thus voting is a civic duty that is binding at all times, but especially whenever a good candidate has an unworthy opponent and neglect to exercise one's franchise might result in the election of the latter. On the rare occasion when an unworthy candidate is still more worthy than someone else, the former may be voted for in order to avoid a greater evil, although in such cases an explanation should be given, if possible, to avoid scandal. Obedience to the laws is part of the virtue of justice that a citizen owes his country and the community in which he lives. Tax legislation comes under this heading, although a careful distinction should be made here between obedience to the law and the duty of restitution if a person evades the tax laws. The latter does not always apply, notably in what are called indirect taxes, such as customs duties and revenues levied on alcoholic beverages, tobacco and the like. Nevertheless, to default in payment of ones taxes whether indirect (as above) or direct (as personal, real estate, property and income taxes) may be gravely sinful, especially if a large sum of money is involved or if great scandal is given to others. Obedience to the Church An obvious difference exists between the Catholic and other Christian concepts of ecclesiastical authority. Where the Catholic believes his Church to be invested with divine authority and demanding complete obedience, Protestants and others do not feel themselves so bound. Their implicit idea is that no visible agency, not even the Church, has access to the fullness of truth or its correlative certitude. It cannot, therefore, command absolute submission to its precepts if it does not claim to possess infallible certainty. Any form of compulsion is a contradiction of faith. The highest truths are the truths which are spiritually discerned, and spiritual discernment, as the Bible says, always takes place in freedom. Christian authority is always consistent with assurance, never with certainty. A quest for certainty in the Christian life is an expression of bad faith. (30) A Catholic, on the other, by the very fact of his religious profession believes that the Church is God's vice-gerent, His visible spokesman to the world and authorized by Him to direct its members on the road to heaven. In the degree to which his faith is strong, he is ready to put aside his own private judgment and prompt to obey in all things what he considers not an authoritarian institution but an extension of Christ Himself. Three levels of obedience are conceivable. The first and lowest, is the obedience of execution which carries a command into external effect, but without internal submission of mind and will. This scarcely merits the name of obedience. The second degree, or obedience of the will, is praiseworthy and highly meritorious because it involves the sacrifice of human freedom for the love of God. At the highest level stands obedience of the intellect which is possible because, except in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the will for its own motives can bend the understanding; it is reasonable because, for the Catholic, nothing could be more intelligent than submission of mind to infinite wisdom; it is also necessary to insure proper subordination in a hierarchical society and protect the subject from internal Basic Ecclesiastical Precepts. Depending on the calculation, there are at least seven fundamental precepts of the Church that affect the average layman, over and above the commandments of God which are binding on all persons, whether they are even Christian or not. They are, in sequence: to hear Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, to fast on days appointed, to go to Confession at least once a year, to receive Holy Communion during the Easter time, to contribute to the support of the Church, to observe the marriage laws, and not to read forbidden books. A Catholic is obliged under penalty of grave sin to assist at Mass on all Sundays of the year and, in the United States, on what are called Holy Days, namely, Christmas or the Birth of Jesus Christ (December 25), New Year's or the feast of the Circumcision (January 1), the Ascension of Christ into heaven (fortieth day after Easter), the Assumption of Mary into heaven (August 15), the feast of All Saints (November 1), and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin (December 8). The obligation of assisting at Mass is binding from the time a Catholic passes his seventh birthday, and continues as long as a person is physically and morally capable of attending the Eucharistic sacrifice. Yet, any moderately grave reason will excuse a person from attending Mass, such as considerable hardship or bodily harm either to oneself or others. Consequently, the sick, convalescents, pregnant women, people hindered by the duties of their state or office, women or children who would incur the grave displeasure of their husbands or parents, those who have charge of the sick, or when the performance of some work of charity makes it impossible to attend Mass. According to the law of fasting, only one full meal a day is permitted to persons who have completed their twenty-first year and have not yet begun their sixtieth year. Two other meals, without meat, are allowed, but together they should not equal another full meal. The norm for these two meals is: enough to maintain one's strength. Although eating between meals on fast days is forbidden, liquids are allowed. When health or the ability to work would be seriously affected by fasting, the law does not oblige. Abstinence means not taking flesh meat, and obliges all Catholics who have completed their seventh year until the end of their life. Partial abstinence allows the use of meat at the principal meal. However, whether a person is fasting or not, he must observe abstinence, when prescribed, either total or partial according to regulations. The easiest way to remember what days are affected by the laws of fasting or abstinence, is to divide them into three categories: those on which fast and complete abstinence are required, those with fasting and only partial abstinence, and those with abstinence alone. Fast and total abstinence are binding on the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception, either December 23 or 24 according to a person's option, Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent, and the Ember Fridays which occur four times a year. Fast and partial abstinence are required on Ember Wednesdays and Saturdays, and the Vigil of Pentecost. Abstinence alone is to be kept on all Fridays that are not included in the above listing. The annual Confession is self-explanatory. It need not be made at Easter time, and strictly speaking it does not oblige those who (although they have not been to confession for a year) are not conscious of having during that time committed a mortal sin. All Catholics who have reached the age of reason are affected by the law of annual confession and Holy Communion. The latter is to be made during the Easter season which, in the United States, extends from the First Sunday of Lent until Trinity Sunday inclusive. Contribution to the support of the Church follows as a duty in justice and is binding according to a person's means. It immediately affects the parish, school and other facilities that a Catholic uses in the practice of his religion; indirectly there is also a duty in charity to help the work of the Church in its missions, social welfare and other forms of piety again depending on circumstances and the degree to which support can be given without grave detriment to one's Catholics have a great deal to learn here from those Protestant denominations which make tithing part of their policy and even obligate the members to contribute a tenth of their earnings to the support of the Church. Marriage lairs in the Catholic Church are of two kinds: those arising from what the Church believes to be the divine law, like the prohibition of remarriage after divorce, and those of ecclesiastical prescription, like forbidding marriage festivities during Lent and Advent. From the first there is never dispensation, but the second type allow of dispensation for sufficient reason. The whole gamut of marital duties will be treated in separate chapters. Church legislation about reading forbidden books derives from the general principle that a person should not endanger his faith or morals by careless exposure to temptation. Some kinds of reading is considered forbidden by the natural law, i.e., as constituting a grave risk (proximate occasion of sin) for a person, whether there were any ecclesiastical legislation or not; other kinds of reading is forbidden by the Church directly, as dangerous to faith or morals for the generality of people, and so Catholics are bound by this prohibition. Few areas of Catholic thought or policy have been more roundly criticized than the legislation on "forbidden books." Yet nothing could be more consistent with the Church's historical concern to safeguard the Christian faith and conduct of its members. As a matter of fact, the average Catholic is in daily contact with ideas that are alien or hostile to his faith and tradition because the exigencies of modern life expose him to a constant barrage from mass media of communication newspapers, periodicals, movies and television that are created by those who are only minimally guided by Christian (let alone Catholic) ideals. Ultimate Motivation. When Catholics are urged to observe the precepts of the Church, the appeal is to their whole personality: with the body for external execution, with the will for internal submission, and with the mind for perfect consent. The function of the mind is to find reasons to defend" the Church's mandates against the tendency to disobedience that is partly occasioned by the nature of the Christian religion, and partly determined by the character of the precept and the attitude of the person affected. Catholics are prone to overlook the fact that Christianity is founded on the truths of revelation which demand one's belief on the word of God. This holds quite as much for truths that are naturally knowable as for strict mysteries, and as much for doctrines that are simply to be believed as for commandments that are also to be obeyed. The Christian faith is essentially obscure, i.e., accepted on divine authority and not because intrinsically evident. Its very nature, therefore, places a burden on the intellect that needs to be recognized and properly handled. For example, the Church tells a Catholic to assist at Mass on Sunday under penalty of grave sin. The human mind, no matter how intelligent, will never see on purely rational grounds why the Sunday precept should be so grave or even why hearing Mass is important. Apart from revelation a man has no motive for going to Mass and he will naturally rebel against the imposition unless he has faith and acts on the reasons that faith proposes for submitting to the obligation. For a Catholic, the fundamental reason is the Church's divine mission, given by Christ, to establish laws and prescribe their observance. Corollary motives are the dignity of the Mass and the necessity of grace, with all their implications. These and similar reasons must be accepted on faith, and when need arises, invoked to obey the Sunday precept intelligently. The same applies to all the commandments of the Church, and not only the universal precepts but every command, even personal, made by valid ecclesiastical authority. There is another aspect to the obedience of the intellect expected of a Catholic. The difficulty with obeying ecclesiastical authority may be a persuasion that the command is too hard for me. Marital obligations interpreted by the Church are examples of this difficulty. To meet it effectively over a period of years and in spite of a hostile atmosphere requires courage of a high order, which in turn requires cultivation of the right mental attitude. Feelings of inadequacy, poor health, the memory of past failures, the dread of being estranged or humiliated, and the fear of all sorts of possibilities, real or imaginary, will conspire to make a precept of obedience seem like a piece of tyranny unless the mind uses a heavy counterpoise to maintain a balanced judgment. The counterpoise, which comes from the depths of one's faith, is a settled conviction that "God does not command the impossible. But when He commands, He warns you to do what you can, and also to pray for what you cannot do, and He helps you so that you can do it. For His commandments are not burdensome; His yoke is sweet and His burden light." (31) This conviction is indispensable. Unless nourished and developed, even the gravest obligations will be disobeyed and their gravity obscured by the pressure of the emotions on the mind. One phase of ecclesiastical obedience more directly affects the clergy, men and women under vows, and, in general, those who are technically not the laity. But the principles which underlie it have application to all Catholics, including the lay people in the world. It may happen that a command seems unreasonable on the score of inefficiency, ineptitude, or any one of a dozen natural causes. Assuming that due representation has been made and there is no suspicion of sin if the order is carried out, the perfectly obedient man will look for reasons to support the precept and instinctively avoid any mental criticism. The ground for this attitude is once more the faith. From a natural standpoint the order may be a poor decision and scarcely suited to achieve the purpose intended, but supernaturally a Catholic knows that his obedience can never be fruitless. When the apostles cast their nets into the water at the bidding of Christ, they were obedient, as Peter said, only the word of the Master; and the miraculous draught which followed symbolizes this higher than ordinary providence, which disposes all things surely to their appointed end as foreseen and directed by God and beyond the calculations of men. There is no question here of conceiving a deus ex machina or relying on miracles, while admitting their possibility. It is rather a firm belief that a person's submission to the divine will has a guarantee of success that he can always hope for from the One whom he ultimately obeys, because it involves the prevision of myriad hidden forces, which He infallibly foresees, and their infinite combinations, which He infallibly designs. Authority and Obedience References - Ancient Near Eastern Texts, p. 175. - Exodus 20:12; Leviticus 19:13. - Sirach 3:1-9. - Ibid., 7:27-28. - Proverbs 6:20-23. - Sirach 7:12-16. - Ibid., 3:3-4. - John Henry Newman, Grammar of Assent, 5, 1. - Henry V. Sattler, Parents, Children and the Facts of Life, Garden City, Doubleday, 1962, pp. 52-60. - Frederick Elkin, The Child and Society, New York, Random House, 1960, p. 39. - John Dewey, "Challenge to Liberal Thought," Fortune, vol. 30, p. 188. - A.C. Stellhorn, Lutheran Schools, St. Louis, Lutheran Education Association, pp. 4-5. - Moral and Spiritual Values in the Public Schools, Educational Policies Commission, N.E.A., p. 3. - "Religion and Public Education," Religious Education, July-August, 1957 p. 248. - Teacher Education and Religion Project (Statement of Principles), American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, 1958. - Relation of Religion to Public Education, National Council of Churches, 1960, p. 22. - John Dewey, A Common Faith, New Haven, 1934., p. 27. - Moral and Spiritual Values in the Public Schools, p. 3. - Judaism (Arther Hertzberg, editor), New York, 1961, pp. 22-23. - Mary C. Sullivan, Training for Moral and Ethical Values, Detroit, n.d., p. 3. - Christianity Today, February 27, 1961, p. 4. - Free Mind: Bulletin of the American Humanist Association, September, 1955 p. 3. - Doctrine and Discipline of the Methodist Church, Nashville, p. 653. - Matthew 22:21. - I Peter 2:13-17. - Romans 13:1-7. - C. Plinius Secundus Minor, "Epistola ad Trajanum," Num. - Tertullian,"Apologeticus," MPL 1, 258 sqq. - St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, I_II, 96, 2. - Carl Michalson, "Authority," A Handbook of Christian Theology, New York, 1962, pp. 27-28. - St. Augustine, Homily 20. Copyright © 2004 by Inter Mirifica

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Pro-pollution Sen. Inhofe aims to block life-saving standards By Arpita Bhattacharyya and Daniel J. Weiss Americans can celebrate a big step toward cleaner air and healthier communities today as the final Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for power plants are published in the Federal Register. This is a significant milestone for the life-saving Environmental Protection Agency rules that were announced on December 16, 2011. However, these long overdue safeguards from the known neurotoxin mercury continue to face relentless attacks from coal heavy utilities, coal companies and their Congressional allies. Today, Senator Inhofe (R-OK) filed a Congressional Review Act resolution to block the rule, just as it made it onto the Federal Register. The Federal Register is the official publication for proposed and final rules. Publication of the mercury rule begins the implementation process. The rule requires power plants to reduce mercury, lead, arsenic, acid gasses, and other toxic chemicals from their smokestacks. The huge reduction in toxics would save 11,000 lives, prevent 130,000 asthma attacks and avoid 4,700 heart attacks annually. Such drastic health improvements would provide economic benefits of up to $90 billion every year. Senator Inhofe disregards these important health benefits and calls on his colleagues to join him to “stop EPA’s destructive agenda” through a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act. The Congressional Review Act allows Congress to completely block rules it opposes. It works like this: Once the mercury rule is published in the Federal Register, legislators have sixty legislative days to introduce and vote on it. According to the Library of Congress, a legislative day begins: “when a house of Congress meets and ends when it adjourns…the Senate often does not adjourn at the end of a daily session, but instead ‘recesses,’ so when the Senate next meets, it continues in the same legislative day. As a result, a legislative day in the Senate may extend over days, weeks, or even months.” In addition, the resolution requires a simple majority of senators voting for it to pass – it cannot be blocked by a filibuster that requires 60 votes to end. Albert A. Rizzo of the American Lung Association blasted Senator’s Inhofe’s attempt to block the standards, stating that “These safeguards have been delayed for far too long already. The public cannot wait any longer for these life-saving clean air protections.” Senator Inhofe will likely have the support of many utilities and coal companies that have ignored the health benefits. Instead, they want to prevent, weaken or delay these vital safeguards, claiming that the cost of cleanup is simply too high. The emitters claim that the rules will reduce electricity reliability, increase electricity prices, and increase unemployment. Many also assert that they don’t have enough time to comply. The Center for American Progress and other clean air defenders have proven these claims false time and time again. - A CAP Analysis found that 22 members of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a coal industry coalition which is leading the charge against the rule, has nearly $18 billion in cash reserve which could go towards scrubbers and other equipment necessary to slash these pollutants. - The Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Congressional Research Service, and the North American Reliability Corporation have all done analysis showing that the rule will not threaten Americans’ access to reliable electricity. - Studies by the Center for American Progress and Ceres found that many of the plants already have the capability to meet the air toxics rule. - The EPA concluded that increase in electricity price increase would be relatively small and would actually account for the harmful costs of pollution on the public. - The Economic Policy Institute determined that the rules would yield a net increase of 84,500 direct jobs by 2015. - The rules go into effect in 2015 and the utility Exelon has testified that three years is enough time to implement pollution control technology. - EPA also makes a fourth year option widely available. - Opponents’ predictions of high costs are likely overblown. History shows that estimates of reductions costs under earlier pollution laws are always higher than the actual costs. For instance, In 1989, the EPA calculated that complying with the acid rain program would cost $2.7 billion to $4.0 billion but a decade later, an EPA analysis found that the actual cost was substantially lower at $1 to $2 billion per year. EPA Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy summed it up best: “For 40 years, we have been able to implement the Clean Air Act, grow the American economy and keep the lights on.” We will do it again with the Mercury and Air Toxics rule. It is time for Senators to ignore polluters’ rhetoric and protect the health of our kids, families, and communities by opposing Sen. Inhofe’s Congressional Review Act resolution to block the rules.

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China needs energy just about any way they can get it — coal, gas, solar, wind, biomass, nuclear — they’ll take it. However the country’s heavy reliance on coal is is becoming a heavy liability. Coal-fired power plants and other industrial outlets that ring China’s growing urban hubs are creating near-permanent smog centers that choke out the sun and leave residents and visitors alike engulfed in a debilitating hazy mess. China’s top-down government is addressing this issue ever more urgently, extending influence into pollution monitoring, new regulations and most of all, new power sources. Renewables and natural gas are at the top of the list, but nuclear is also a cornerstone of China’s energy future. With only 20 nuclear plants currently operating, China already has 28 under construction, according to the World Nuclear Association — about 40 percent of the total global number being built. Last year China expected to add nearly 9 gigawatts to nuclear capability to its grid. Even with that additional amount, nuclear still provides less than two percent of the country’s electricity (with around 70 percent still coming from coal). However, in China, plans matter. And China has big plans for nuclear, hoping to generate almost 60 gigawatts of nuclear energy by 2020 and 150 gigawatts by 2050. By 2020, Hong Kong plans to get half of its power from mainland nuclear plants. Nuclear power comes with well-known risks. Japan had similar nuclear ambitions before the Fukushima nuclear meltdown threw the country’s energy ambitions out of orbit. Aside from being highly radioactive, uranium, which fuels traditional nuclear power plants, is also expensive and in limited supply. China is currently an importer of the uranium it uses for its nuclear power plants. China has big plans for this too, as authorities recently set a 10-year deadline to develop a totally different kind of nuclear power plant not dependent on uranium. In January, Jiang Mianheng, son of former leader Jiang Zemin, launched China’s push to develop thorium nuclear energy, which uses the radioactive element thorium instead of uranium as the primary element of production. The Chinese National Academy of Sciences has a start-up budget of $350 million, according to The Telegraph, with 140 scientists at the Shanghai Institute of Nuclear and Applied Physics already working on the project — and a plan to staff-up to 750 by next year. The scientists had a 25-year timeline to build their first fully-functioning thorium reactor until this week when it got moved up 15 years. “In the past the government was interested in nuclear power because of the energy shortage,” Professor Li Zhong, a leading scientist working on the project, told the South China Morning Post. “Now they are more interested because of smog:” “The problem of coal has become clear. If the average energy consumption per person doubles, this country will be choked to death by polluted air. Nuclear power provides the only solution for massive coal replacement and thorium carries much hope.” Research into thorium reactors is not new, and the U.S. actually developed an eight-megawatt prototype at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the late 1960s. However interest and funding waned in the ensuing 40 years as engineering challenges remained and uranium reactors took precedence. Plutonium associated with uranium reactors was also needed for nuclear weapons development. However, as the environmental costs — both to acquire uranium and over potential meltdowns — build and the ambition to develop fossil fuel alternatives heats up, programs in the U.S., the U.K., and Japan are also looking into thorium reactors. With a 10-year deadline, China has set the bar extremely high, as much of the technology remains unproven and major challenges are yet to be resolved. “This is definitely a race,” Li said. “China faces fierce competition from overseas and to get there first will not be an easy task.” He added that the conditions they are working under are war-like. This is befitting, since earlier in March, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang declared a “war on pollution.” With so much research going into thorium, some are hopeful that technical and engineering challenges can be overcome in a short timeframe. Scientists are pushing a similar timeframe in which address climate change before “abrupt, unpredictable and potentially irreversible changes occur” — as bluntly stated by the the American Association for the Advancement of Science this week in a new report. “There is a fair bit of research going on at the moment into the use of thorium,” Jonathan Cobb, of the World Nuclear Association told The Guardian. “And technology-wise, using thorium would not be too much of a leap. It is certainly something that is well under way in terms of research.” Thorium is a plentiful chemical element, and while acquiring it is not the challenge, it would still create significant radioactive waste and still presents significant safety challenges for any large-scale plant. It would likely be harder to create nuclear weapons from thorium than traditional uranium enrichment processes, so it would be beneficial to efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation. Then there’s also the issue of overcoming the power of the existing nuclear industry, which is deeply enmeshed in the global energy infrastructure and most likely resistant to any significant changes that could add costs or new safety or oversight concerns. “I wouldn’t read a whole lot into it,” Tom Cochran, senior scientist in the Natural Resource Defense Council’s Nuclear Program and a member of the Energy Department’s Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee, told ThinkProgress. “China has been looking into everything when it comes to nuclear power. They have a broad civil nuclear R&D program and interest. It remains to be seen whether anything will come of this thorium effort.” Cochran mentioned that some companies in the U.S. are looking into thorium reactors and that India has had a longstanding program to develop the technology, but he doesn’t think it’s going anywhere. And even if China did come up with a working thorium reactor in a decade, “so what? Meanwhile they will have dozens of traditional nuclear reactors using low-enriched uranium,” Cochran said.

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Thanks to favorable weather and record production from solar and wind power, renewable energy accounted for approximately 31 percent of Germany’s electricity generation in the first half of 2014. Non-hydro renewables made up 27 percent of the country’s power, up from 24 percent last year, according to new data released by the Fraunhofer Institute. And for the first time ever, renewable energy sources accounted for a larger portion of electricity production than brown coal. Production of wind and solar in particular saw substantial gains over the same time last year. Solar grew by 28 percent in the first half of 2014 compared to 2013 and wind power grew by 19 percent over the same period last year. “Solar and wind alone made up a whopping 17 percent of power generation, up from around 12-13 percent in the past few years,” reported Renewables International. CREDIT: B. Burger/Fraunhofer ISE Helped along by low demand on a holiday, Germany nevertheless set another solar power record in June, generating 50 percent of its overall electricity demand from solar for part of the day. And in May, renewable energy sources combined to account for 75 percent of power demand for part of the day. As a point of comparison, approximately 13 percent of the U.S. electricity supply was powered by renewables as of the end of 2013, roughly half of Germany’s rate. Dr. Bruno Burger with the Fraunhofer Institute explained that the gains made by renewables thus far in 2014 can be attributed to the combination of good weather and growing production of clean energy. “In the first half year 2013 we had really bad weather and the solar and wind production was below the long term average,” Burger said via email. “In 2014 we started with more [sun] and wind and the production is higher than in average years.” The Fraunhofer Institute’s analysis found that brown coal generation is down four percent and the production of hard coal-fired power plants decreased 11 percent from 2013’s record levels. However, in the first half of 2014, brown coal production was still at the high level of 2012 and about five percent above the average of the last 10 years. Gas power plants saw the largest decline, with generation down 25 percent compared to the same period last year. For his calculation, Burger used the production of power plants for public electricity and said that once the data becomes available for self-production of big industrial companies later this year, the total percentage of electricity generated by renewables may dip slightly to around 28 percent. Burger also pointed out the increase in electricity exports thus far in 2014. “Despite the fact that we had high production of renewables, we did not reduce the conventional production,” he said. “Therefore we achieved an export surplus of 18 Terawatt-hours. If this trend continues until the end of the year, Germany will achieve a third record in a row in electricity exports.” Germany’s Energiewende, or energy transformation, is an ambitious plan that aims to achieve 80 percent renewable energy generation by 2050. While the country has been criticized for its continued reliance on coal-fired generation, Craig Morris at Renewables International argues that it’s the electricity exports keeping coal production high. Renewable electricity has priority on the German grid and therefore offsets conventional (fossil fuel) generation, meaning that much of conventional generation will go to neighboring countries as exports. Morris points out that the net importers of German power don’t order it directly from one source, like coal or wind, but receive the electricity mix, which is typically one-quarter renewables but can vary depending on production. “Nonetheless,” he writes, “the effect of net exports on German power production is to raise the share of conventional electricity, which would otherwise be offset by renewables.”

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The Holy Mountain of Arunachala rises up with an elevation of 2669 feet (800 m). The Road encircling the mountain where devotees circumbulate is 8 1/2 miles which is 14 kms long. On Full Moon days and festival days (like Karthigai, first day of the Tamil month, Tamil New Year day) hundreds of thousands of devotees circumbulate (GIRIVALAM) the mountain and get the blessings of the Lord Arunachala. Though devoid of vegetation the hill stands in prominence amidst picturesque surroundings and is visible for miles around. This hill is of Igneous rock (connected with fire) which is one of the four kinds of mountains classified by geology. So one sees the truth behind the tradition regarding the origin and formation of this hill. Our religious philosophy is based on science and there is always the combination of Vignana and Meygnana. These two are inextricably intertwined. An American Geologist has stated about this mountain thus:- "Arunachala should have been thrown up by the earth under the stress of some violent volcanic eruption in the dim ages before even the coal-bearing strata were formed. This rocky mass of granite may be dated back to the earliest epoch of the history of our planet's crust, that epoch which long preceded the vast sedimentary formation in which fossil records of plants and animals have been preserved. It existed long before the gigantic saurians of the pre-historic world moved their ungainly forms through the primeval forests that covred our early earth. It was contemporaneous with the formation of the very crust of earth itself. Arunachala was almost as hoary and as ancient as our planetary home itself"." It was indeed a remnant of the vanished continent (Kumarikandam) of Eunken Lemuria, of which the indigenous legends still keep a few memories. The Tamil traditions not only speak of the vast antiquity of this and other hills, but assert that Himalayas were not thrown up till later. Untold centuries, therefore, pressed their weight upon this time defying pile which arose so abruptly from the plains. The whole peck offers no pretty panorama of regular outline, straight sides and balanced proportions, but rather the reverse. Even its base wanders aimlessly about an eight mile circuit, with several spurs and foot hills, as though unable to make up its mind as to when it shall come to an end. Its substance is nothing but igneous and laterise rock". What a miracle! Such a barren rock has captivated the souls of sages and saints for ages together. Legends say that Tiruvannamalai was a fire (Agni) mountain in Krathayuga, Gold (Swarna) mountain in Thrathayugha, Copper (Thambra) mountain in Duvaparayuga and rock mountain in this Kaliyuga. Arunachala hill has a high status in our sacred tradition and Tamil legends hold that it is far more ancient than the Himalayas which are comparatively known to be of later origin. Arunachala is a combination of two Sanskrit words Aruna and Achala. Aruna means 'red' and Achala means ' immovable' mount, there by known as "Red Mount". It is also called the "Hill of the Holy Beacon" and "Hill of the Holy Fire". The philosophers would give another interpretation for the word Arunachala. Aruna is force(Sakthi) and Achala is Shiva i.e. that which cannot be moved. The Hill therefore represents Shiva and Parvathi. There is still another interpretation Aruna means "Free from Bondage" and Achala means "motionless, steady". The true inner meaning of the word is that one can attain salvation only by concentration on God free from wordly bondage. The popular Tamil name is "Annamalai" which is also a combination of two words 'Anna' and 'malai'. Anna or "attained" and malai means hill. This denotes the story of dispute between Brahma and Vishnu and the philosophic truth behind it. From an inscription in the temple and from the Sanskrit work "Sahitya Retnakara" it is seen that the hill is called as Sonachala(Red Mount). The hill is regarded as Tejo linga(the fire symbol of God) or Jothi linga. It stands at the rear end of the town and the temple is at the foot of the hill. There are Eight Lingas,Eight Nandis more than 350 tanks and many mandapas around the hill.The Eight Lingums are 1. Indira Lingum (direction:East) is the first lingam in the girivalam. 2. Agni Lingum (direction:South East) is the second lingam in the girivalam is in the chengem Road near tamary kulum.This is the Only Lingum situated in the righten side of the girivalam path,other lingams are in the Southern side. 3. Ema Lingum (direction:South) This is the third lingum in the girivalam path.It is 3 k.m. from Raja Gopuram. 4. Niruthi Lingum (directon:South West) This is the fourth lingum in the girivalam path. Sani thirthum is nearer to this lingum. 5. Varuna Lingum (direction:West) It is in the Western direction and 8 k.m. from the Raja Gopuram.Varuna thirthum is next to this. 6. Vaaiu Lingum (direction:North West) is the sixth in the Row. 7. Kubera Lingum(direction:North) is the important Lingum in the Girivalam. People throw coins on this lingum. 8. Esanya Lingum (direction:North East) is the Last lingum in the girivalam.

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If you ever fly into Australia you need to have your camera at the ready as the flight over the city centre and harbour / River Paramatta gives you simply stunning views. It's one of those flights where virtually everybody is trying to look out the window. After all it is the biggest natural harbour anywhere in the world! I can't take credit for the photo at the top - which I found on Wikimedia Commons (thanks Joel). Here's my version (right) taken just before 7.00am on a slightly overcast morning. Both views are taken from the west of the city looking east across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to the "Heads" and the Pacific. Building the bridge, which opened in 1932, led to the expansion of settlements north of the harbour. In both the photographs, North Sydney, the Northern Beaches and the northern suburbs (where I stayed) are to the left of the photograph. The first thing I was amazed by in Sydney is just the huge amount of land which has a sea or river frontage or one nearby. The second thing I was amazed by is the enormous numbers of trees around and about the place. The suburbs north of central Sydney, which I became quite familar with during drives in and out of town, are incredibly 'low-rise' (lots of one storey homes) and have masses and masses of trees. Sydney also has an awful lot of national parks which extend into the suburbs - and my sister and her family lived on the edge of a major one of these. Overall, it makes it a very pleasant area to be in. "Green" soon began to be a word I very much associated with Sydney. A 'few' facts about Sydney Anyway - just to remind myself (and for anybody else who's interested) - here's a few facts about Sydney - some 3.6 million people live in the urban area of Sydney plus it gets over 10 million visitors a year - and yet I rarely felt crowded due to its very low population density. People are just very spread out! - At the centre of Sydney is Port Jackson, which is the largest natural harbour in the world (it's a flooded river valley for the geographers amongst us!) - The discovery of Sydney harbour is attributed to Captain Cook in 1770. However this is actually when it was discovered by a European as it was already extremely well known to the various tribes who had lived around the harbour area for some 30,000 years prior to his arrival! - the first British penal settlement was at Sydney Cove - now home to Sydney Ferries, Circular Quay and The Rocks. It looks a little different today! - there are more than 70 harbour and open beaches in the urban area - making for a very outdoor oriented lifestyle. Those wanting to look at or check out the beaches and surf at different times of the day can so using Coastalwatch and its surf cams. Here's the 'surfcam' for Sydney Harbour - and just for Belinda and Robyn(!) here's the one for Mona Vale.....but you have lots to choose from! - January - June is much wetter than July - December....and for Australians living overseas who'd like to check out the weather back home right now we have the New South Wales' government weather forecast website which provides a weather forecast which is very accessible. Alternatively check out the webcam and other details on the Weather Underground's Sydney website - it has the most fantastic choice of places and types of food to eat - with a leaning towards the Far East which suited me very well. Let's just say those living in Sydney enjoy their food! - my experience of the transport system is that it worked well for me - although I gather not everybody living in Sydney now thinks likewise. For those visiting, Wikitravel provides a good overview of options for getting in and getting around. It's also worth checking out the Public transport in Sydney page on Wikipedia. If likely to use the trains, check out also the Cityrail page and the Day Tripper map here. I used to come down the North Shore line and travelled across the Harbour bridge by train. The bonus for many commuters is that they can commute by ferry. - it has to have a downside - and Sydney is apparently the 16th most expensive city in the world - the Sydney pages on Wikipedia and Wikitravel both provide a lot more information about the actual area. - Wikipedia is best at giving an overview of the various aspects of a place and has lots of links for more detail. - Wikitravel is much more focused on the practical details of being a traveller. It's headings are very focused - Get in; [+] Get around; [+] See; Learn; [+] Do; [+] Buy; Eat; Drink; Stay safe; [+] Sleep; Read; Get out After I'd had a bath and a short sleep after the flight, my sketchbook tells me that Helen took me to Balmoral Beach for fish and chips! This was the beach she used to go to all the time when she first arrived in Sydney as she used to live and work nearby. Belinda and Robyn have already started to wax lyrical about Balmoral Beach (see earlier comments). The fact is it's incredibly picturesque and also very popular with Mums as the waters are shallow and hence it's much safer for small children. You can find it on the map in the Mosman area here (which also shows where it is relative to central Sydney - very close!!!) It's apparently got some of the best fish and chips you can find in Sydney. I know the ones I had were absolutely delicious. The next post is about the iconic Sydney Royal Easter Show. Balmoral Beach in Autumn - looking northNote: You'll note that I'm making quite a bit of use of Wikimedia Commons images. This is partly because I didn't have my camera with me on every occasion and/or didn't get shots of some of the things I remember very vividly - like Circular Quay from particular perspectives and there are photos on Wikimedia which do represent the place very well. Also, one has to remember that these are pre-digital days when I certainly didn't take as many photos as I do now..... courtesy Wikimedia Commons courtesy Wikimedia Commons

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December 5, 2006 > Avoid the Flu – Wash Your Hands! Avoid the Flu – Wash Your Hands! Hand Washing Awareness Week Gives Everyone a Helping Hand by Washington Hospital One of the easiest and most effective ways to prevent infection is proper hand washing. Germs on your hands are a primary way to pass bacteria and viruses from your surroundings to yourself and to other people. National Hand Washing Awareness Week runs from December 5 – 11 to remind everyone of the importance of hand washing and to encourage proper hand washing procedures. “The most important preventive measure I tell people is to keep their hands off their face,” explains Wendy Kaler, MPH, Infection Control Coordinator at Washington Hospital. “If you touch your eyes, nose or mouth with dirty hands, you may be allowing a cold or flu virus to enter your body.” Cold and flu viruses can be spread through droplets in the air (example: when someone with the virus sneezes or coughs), through direct contact (example: shaking hands or kissing someone with the virus) or through indirect contact (example: sharing beverage or objects with someone with the virus.) “These examples of how viruses easily spread rings especially true during the holiday season,” says Kaler. “During this time of year, people touch a number of items that contain bacteria and viruses such as shopping carts, phones and escalator railings which all spread germs to your hands.” How long are you washing your hands? Most people do not wash their hands long enough, or thoroughly enough, to remove the germs from their skin. Proper hand washing should be done with soap, flowing water, and friction (rub hands together) for about 15 seconds. Kaler recommends singing two verses of “Happy Birthday” in your head while washing your hands to get a feeling for how long 15 seconds is. She also says people need to remember to wash all parts of their hands, including the sides of the fingers and the sides of the thumb. When to Wash Your Hands Children and adults should wash with plain or antimicrobial soap: - Before touching your eyes, nose or mouth - When hands are visibly dirty - Before you eat and prepare food items - After touching raw meats like chicken or beef - After changing infant or adult diapers - After touching animals and pets - After using the restroom Alcohol sanitizing gels If you’re out and about this holiday season and soap and water are not available, alcohol-based sanitizing gels can be a good substitute. You don’t need to use a lot, but be sure to use enough of the product to cover all the surfaces of your hands while you rub it in, just as if you were using soap and water. Tips on how to use alcohol handrubs include: - Do not wipe off alcohol handrubs. Let hands air dry. - It is NOT necessary, or recommended, to routinely wash hands after application of alcohol-based handrubs. - Choose alcohol handrubs containing 60 to 95 percent alcohol, listed as ingredients isopropyl, ethanol or n-propanol. Another way to help keep your hands clean is to keep your skin in good shape. Using hand lotion a couple of times a day can keep your hands from getting dry or chapped. Bacteria can hide in broken skin and is almost impossible to get out without a scrub brush. Good hand hygiene is especially important if you are around young children, the elderly or anyone with a compromised immune system. The germs on the gas pump or doorknob you just touched may not be harmful to you, but they could be harmful to those around you. Community members visiting the hospital for any reason can help prevent the spread of infection and other illness by making sure their hands are well washed. Washington Hospital is encouraging good hygiene practices by making hand sanitizer readily available to visitors in waiting rooms and high traffic areas. For more information about hand washing, and especially how to teach kids about clean hands, visit www.henrythehand.com. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site also offers information about hand hygiene at www.cdc.gov. Flu season is here, get your flu shot The flu vaccine is recommended as a way to prevent the flu, especially for people who are at high risk for developing serious complications – such as the elderly and people with lung disease, heart disease, or another chronic illness. Washington Hospital Healthcare System offers flu vaccinations at several locations in the Tri-City area. (See the ad on the opposite page for clinic sites and hours.)

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Evidence That Earth Was Seeded From Off World A 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite from northwest Africa has yielded one of the earliest minerals of the solar system. Officially called krotite, the mineral had never been found in nature before, though it is a human-made constituent of some high-temperature concrete, according to study researcher Anthony Kampf, curator of Mineral Sciences at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. [Image of new mineral] "This is one that simply was not known in nature until we found it here," Kampf told LiveScience. "That's pretty dramatic." The meteorite containing krotite is called NWA 1934 CV3 carbonaceous chondrite. Chondrites are primitive meteorites that scientists think were remnants shed from the original building blocks of planets. Most meteorites found on Earth fit into this group. The mineral, a compound of calcium, aluminum and oxygen, needs temperatures of 2,732 degrees Fahrenheit (1,500 degrees Celsius) to form, supporting the idea that it was created as the solar nebula condensed and the planets, including Earth, were formed, the researchers say. The tiny mineral sample — just 0.2 inches (4 millimeters) long — came from a grain in the meteorite dubbed "cracked egg" for its appearance. In addition to krotite, the cracked egg grain contains at least eight other minerals, one of which is new to science, the researchers say. Studying this mineral and other components of the ancient meteorite is essential for understanding the origins of the solar system, the scientists say. When meteors hit the ground they are called meteorites. Most are fragments of asteroids (space rocks that travel through the solar system), and others are mere cosmic dust shed by comets. Rare meteorites are impact debris from the surfaces of the moon and Mars. Article continues: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42937748/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Rani Lakshmi Bai,The Queen An epitome of bravery and courage Lead her army in 1857 To defend Jhansi For Indian Revolution against British Colonialism. The above poem is written in 5W form using the five 'W" questions for Magpie prompt. Warrior , he is the One Wandering around the army field Wringing their withers out Watching over 24 hrs a day Wondrous defender of the country Walking over the challenges thrown to them Wisely through his dedicated body and soul Where he stood on the border feeling Worthy of guarding his love at home Worship , his love ..... The above poem uses Acrostics "W" poetry. Join the PARTY and Grab your Award! Click here

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