Potspoon!

What's Going On...

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 12:54:00 +0000

Bad Blogger! Oops, my bad! Hey guys! Sorry about my erratic posting behavior. I haven't really figured out my new schedule. There are lots of reasons behind my current state of affairs and since I do like to keep Potspoon! more science related, if you wish to know what is going on, please read my current ramblings at Roogoodoo. To better understand what that post is all about, click on the tab above marked Bipolar Disorder. As many of you know, mental health is not something I take for granted...

Plastic found in nine percent of 'garbage patch' fishes

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 13:42:00 +0000

ScienceDaily (2011-07-01) -- The first scientific results from an ambitious voyage led by a group of graduate students from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego offer a stark view of human pollution and its infiltration of an area of the ocean that has been labeled as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch." Read more here. Credit: J. Leicther addthis_pub = 'marimoy'; addthis_pub = 'marimoy';

Yum Yum Strawberies are Healthy!

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:36:00 +0000

I love strawberries. A lot. They are yummy and sweet and refreshing and juicy... and pretty darned healthy, too. Besides just having a bunch of good vitamins and being great jams, strawberries are appearing to be beneficial in another way: boosting red blood cells. The boost they get is in how responsive they are to anti-oxidants. Oxitative stress (the "oxi" you are trying to "anti") is associated with various diseases. The study was done by Spanish and Italian researchers. Subjects were...

New Mammals Discovered

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 21:18:00 +0000

addthis_pub = 'marimoy'; Here we are: in the Philippines, again. Luzon, again. Like last time, we are finding more critters, too! This time, seven species of mammal. Mice. All very genetically different; some only found on ONE mountain. This increased the number of known mammals (excluding bats) from 42 to 49. They increased mammalian integration by 17%! Where were these mice all this time? Apparently they are very shy and liked to hide. They aren't pests and prefer to eat earthworms...

Debate!: Childhood Allergies

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 16:02:00 +0000

Bailey Jane and Piper Jaimes in their favorite spot: the kitchen. My gal pal, Bailey and her partner in crime and cuteness Piper, have this great blog called Foodie Patoodie! addthis_pub = 'marimoy'; (love the use of exclamation points in titles, by the way) where she actually got some heat for giving her 10+ month old baby a PB&J for the first time. This, coupled with my obnoxious obsession with teaching people, made me realize how misinformed... and slightly paranoid... a lot of...

Area 51 Revealed... finally

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Sun, 22 May 2011 17:03:00 +0000

Ok, so yes I am a geek. I even went to Roswell and all that fun stuff, but Area 51 documents are becoming unclassified and many old vets of the site are coming forward to talk, finally. Tonight at 10 pm EST, you can watch them talk. On National Geographic Channel, you can watch the new documentary, Area 51 Declassified. Am I excited? Oh, yes! Will I get to watch it? Probably not. My house has it, but the cable goes in and out (yay island living) and even though it is behaving, chances...

News Snippets

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Sun, 15 May 2011 18:19:00 +0000

As most of you know, science happens all the time, and usually I was really good at reporting all the fun science news. Then I got busy, then I got lazy (Twitter makes sharing stories to darn easy), then busy again... but who cares??? I have a blog to write! Who says all the post have to be long and amazing?!?! Here are some stories that I have found to be interesting these past few days: Sixty Second Science did a podcast about sugar being able to flush out microbes. Sugar actually helps...

Earth Week Tip #3: Get Out!

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:50:00 +0000

addthis_pub = 'marimoy'; Pay attention to your vistas. How does going outside help with being green? Well, there are a few, but don't think of it as just being green (or "blue" as I like to call it), think of it as a key to better overall health and yet ANOTHER money saving tip! People who go out in nature have the tendency to have a better appreciation for the natural world. Not only that, but there is strong evidence that people who have more green spaces around (i.e. parks...

Earth Week Tip #2: Gas Reduction

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 22:59:00 +0000

addthis_pub = 'marimoy'; From Jcarlosn's photostream on Flickr. Now it doesn't seem to make much sense that thinking of gas would be on a tip list. Remember, this is about ways you can take little steps. Maybe little steps will lead to bigger steps, but for now, leave the tree-hugging to us and enjoy the fuzzy feelings with the easy stuff. Besides, if you get better gas mileage, you use less fuel. Less fuel = less pollution AND a little spare change in your pocketbook. With...

Earth Week Tip #1: Tap Water

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 18:12:00 +0000

Refreshing! Going out to eat? Drinking still water? Unless you are getting fancy mineral water, or sparking water, or something really specific, just get tap. Odds are, the bottles of cheapy water usually served are municipal water anyway. Plastic bottles have a heavy toll on the environment. According to treehugger, 1.5 million barrels of oil are consumed each year in the US just for the production of these bottles. That's a years worth of fuel for 100,000 cars. Since 90% of bottles are...

Earth Week!

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 15:40:00 +0000

Baobab, Adansonia sp. We here at Potspoon! get a little excited about things like Earth Day. It's the little things. So to celebrate, we are posting tips all week long on easy ways you can go blue (or green, even though Earth is predominately water). We are turning it into Earth WEEK! The tips will all be way that you can go evironmentally concious without a drastic lifestyle change or without breaking the bank.. Feel free to post your simple tips on the wall of our Facebook page or Tweet them...

Local Science

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:26:00 +0000

addthis_pub = 'marimoy'; Here in the VI, science based articles seem to be in the news a lot lately. It makes me feel especially nice as a lot of them are (while technically political news) pertaining to the environment. The first one I want to talk about is the fact that our current governor is trying to tackle the problem of fossil fuel usage in the VI. As laughable as it may seem, we still burn oil for electricity here. The governor laid out a plan that has the VI reducing usage and...

New Ways to View Potspoon!

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:13:00 +0000

Blogger has some new view options so you can see your favorite blogs (like Potspoon! or Roogoodoo) In views you want. All you have to do is add /view to the end of the blog address and play around. Maybe you'll find an article you missed or even forgot about that was an old favorite, like the one I did about "Sexless Insects" I stumbled across.. Happy playing! addthis_pub = 'marimoy';

Waste Water Electricity?

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 17:53:00 +0000

River water and salty ocean water used to generate electricity Great article. Researcher at Stanford University found a way of converting water (and not even clean water) into electricity. The ScienceDaily article at the link above does a great job of summarizing the research. addthis_pub = 'marimoy'; addthis_pub = 'marimoy';

EPA Visits VI

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 19:45:00 +0000

Fig. 1Not related to visit, but they ARE in the VI. :D The EPA is celebrating their 40th birthday. Part of the celebratory festivities included a visit to the Virgin Islands. The reason for the visit? Well, they help a public conference in St. Croix to talk about air quality in the USVI and to discuss methods of waste reduction, which is an ongoing issue here. Underlying many of the things discussed was the urgent need for job creation and economical effects locally. The conference...

There's A New Fly on the Wall!

noreply@blogger.com (NyNy) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 21:38:00 +0000

I’m all for science improving the life of humanity, but at what cost? Recently in Malaysia 6,000 genetically altered male mosquitoes were released into the wild. The Malaysian government claims that their efforts were to decrease the spread of dengue, a disease spread by female mosquitoes that killed in Asia an estimated 136 people last year. The current solution being presented is that if scientists can genetically alter the life spans of mosquito, then they won’t live long enough to spread...

The Pleasure Derived from Music: Chills, Thrills, and Dopamine

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 17:20:00 +0000

addthis_pub = 'marimoy'; Anyone who has read Potspoon! for any length of time can attest that I am kind of a music junkie. I love making it, dancing to it, watching it, listening to it. Watching someone passionately sing their heart out is one of the most spiritual (to me) moments that one can be a part of. The chills that you get when the music does what it is supposed to is one of my favorite experiences. Making music is a very intimate thing for a lot of people and when...

Laser Weapons

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:38:00 +0000

addthis_pub = 'marimoy'; To any sci-fi geek worth their salt, laser weaponry is really "where it's at." Now I am not talking about fantasy here, but honest to goodness laser weaponry. In an attempt to battle pirates out at sea, a defense company believes it has the answer: laser cannons. Well, these cannons won't fry the ship or anything, but the lasers can be used to disorient and blind pirates giving sailors on other vessels a good chance. The company, BAE Systems, tested the lasers...

News Snippets: Grapes, Ginger, Beetles and Butterflies

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:49:00 +0000

Three snippets that I found interesting today follow: two are about food and one about butterflies. The second one also has to do with beetles. Woo, invertebrates! Could my day get any better? Grapes made the news again. Well, actually, resveratrol did. I have posted about this interesting compound a few times on Potspoon! and I am still waiting on the reveratrol beer. Well, besides the fact that this compound is good for its anti-aging properties, it also appears to display...

Play a PC Game On Your TV

noreply@blogger.com (NyNy) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 18:55:00 +0000

addthis_pub = 'marimoy'; The holiday season is upon us. Time to empty the savings accounts, max out the credit cards and wait in line on Black Friday to play let's make a deal in the cold with large groups of people. If this doesn't sound like loads of fun, let me suggest and alternative purchase for the gamers in your life. One word OnLive. OnLive is a streaming service on sale today, product wont' ship until December 2, that has the potential to change the way we as consumers...

My Holiday Wishlist

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 15:01:00 +0000

Okay, yes I am a dork, but I am ecstatic about all the cool things out there for the holidays. This is what I want. I know I will end up with treats for my dog, but a girl can dream, right? First up: this awesome Bluetooth Retro Phone Handset and ThinkGeeks definition?: Yeah, we know all about those bluetooth headsets for cell phones, but forget that stuff! We have here the latest development in cell phone technology and it's a big hunk of beautiful plastic. An accessory for...

Debate!: No More F's in School !?!

noreply@blogger.com (NyNy) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 03:50:00 +0000

addthis_pub = 'marimoy'; As an educator and life long learner I thought that it was important to bring this to every ones attention. According to an article published on Sunday November 14, 2010 in the Washington Post by Dona St. George , West Potomac High School in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County have removed F's from the grading system. Instead students will now get Is for incomplete. For the full article click here. What kind of message does this say to the American...

Science Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 14:04:00 +0000

Wow! There actually has been a lot going on in the world and I've mainly been posting links to articles on the Potspoon! Fan Page just to save on time, but I may as well write up some snippets here. We have quite a bit of a range of science stories to cover but I am only putting up a few with links so you can explore on your own. Paleontologist finally believe they have identified the oldest known dinosaur embryos. The embryos belong to genus Massospondylus and are believed to be about 190...

Amoeba Song

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 11:23:00 +0000

addthis_pub = 'marimoy'; Anyone who follows Potspoon! on Facebook knows that I randomly post things pertaining to science, but that are not really post worthy like science songs, animal guessing games, science jokes and more. Well this video is short enough and silly enough that I deemed it worthy of posting here. It is the Amoeba Song by the Adolescents. Science humor is awsome. addthis_pub = 'marimoy';

Monarch Medicine

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 16:02:00 +0000

Fantastic article on ScienceDaily about monarchs medicating their offspring. You all know how much I love butterflies. Pretty amazing that the host plants the larvae eat can actually reduce parasitic infection. Go inverts! addthis_pub = 'marimoy'; addthis_pub = 'marimoy';