in such a world art | veg | academia | geekery

What else don’t we know?

• Animal Minds - National Geographic Magazine. “Brainy fellow creatures show that humans are not alone in their ability to invent, plan, or contemplate.” Interesting article with examples of observed animal cognition.
• At the core of snowflakes, bacteria - Los Angeles Times. “Moisture must cling to something in order to condense into precipitation, but scientists were surprised to learn how frequently that something is bacteria.”
• Happy Meat on the cover of this month’s “Good.” While I have been enjoying the magazine Good for a while for many reasons (one of which was my perception that it was honest and critical in hopes for a better future), it looks like I might have second thoughts after their recent questionable coverage of “happy meat” and a cover shot I find insulting.
• Swimmers’ Sunscreen Killing Off Coral. “Danovaro says banning sunscreen won’t be necessary, and points out two simple things swimmers can do to reduce their impact on coral: Use sunscreens with physical filters, which reflect instead of absorb ultraviolet radiation; and use eco-friendly chemical sunscreens.”
• Coral Reefs Vanishing Faster Than Rain Forests. “For the last two decades, Indo-Pacific reefs have shrunk by 1 percent each year—a loss equivalent to nearly 600 square miles (1,553 square kilometers). That makes the rate of reef loss about twice the rate of tropical rain forest loss.”
• Fish can count to four - but no higher - Telegraph.  “We have provided the first evidence that fish exhibit rudimentary mathematical abilities.”