Ancient Green Technology

Today, we celebrate the earth and we think about all the ways we can help to cherish and protect it. We have come so far in our efforts to develop new ways of preserving our planet and with modern technology our carbon footprints are getting smaller every day, but the concepts that allow us to “go green” actually date back tens of thousands of years.

You can learn all about “seven incredibly innovative uses of geothermal, water, wind and solar power from around the ancient world” in the fascinating article 7 Ancient Wonders of Green Design & Technology from WebEcoist.

As you celebrate today’s earth, remember the ancients who cared for and protected their planet and provided us with the blueprints to do the same.

It’s the Power of Love: St. Valentine and the Romantic Brain

It’s Valentine’s Day.  Moonlight and roses, chocolate and Hallmark cards… ahhh, the power of love.  But why do we love?  What is that irresistible draw to the heart and soul of another human being?

For such a popular holiday, Valentine’s Day is marked by an interesting historical fact—we’re not really sure of its true origins.  The actual St. Valentine is a martyred figure associated with three stories from the early Christian Church.   In one, St. Valentine was a Christian priest thrown into a Roman prison for preaching his beliefs.  On February 14, he was beheaded not only for disputing Roman deities but also for allegedly curing the jailer’s daughter of blindness—a miracle not looked kindly upon by the Romans trying to suppress the upstart religion.  His farewell letter to the jailer’s daughter, signed “From your Valentine,” and the letters he received and sent from jail to the friends who cared for him supposedly began the exchange of notes of affection for this holiday.

Suffering the Flu? Be Happy It Isn’t the Plague!

This is the worst flu season since 2010, and we haven’t even hit the official peak of the season, which is typically in February.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is calling the outbreak an epidemic. According to Curtis Allen, spokesperson for the CDC, “When the H3N2 virus circulates, we tend to have a more severe season. It can cause more hospitalizations and kill more people ages 65 and over.” In fact, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has declared a state of emergency and ABC named Boston a “city under flu crisis.”

What’s That Baby T-Rex Doing in My Birdcage?

Image credit left: Copyright © 2005 David Monniaux, Image credit right: Peter Tan on Flickr

You may not think your beloved family parakeet resembles a giant, meat-eating reptile, but according to a study published in the Nature journal, the two actually have a lot in common. Modern birds retain the physical characteristics of baby dinosaurs. Specifically, the skulls of modern birds and juvenile dinosaurs are remarkably similar.