Mar 05
Adriana NotonUncategorized animal, astronomy, biology, Canada, chemistry, engineering, Invention, Math, mathematics, Physics, research, science, society, sociology
Animal research has undergone many updates and transformations of the years, and certainly within the past few decades. Even up until the 1980s many leading cosmetic giants were insisting that animal testing was necessary in order to prove that their products were safe for human use.
Many organizations came out of nowhere to help protect animals that were, in their eyes, being mutilated and killed needlessly in the name of beauty. These organizations quickly came to the defense of these animals and made certain that the general public was well aware of what was happening at these cosmetic companies by releasing photos of tiny helpless bunny rabbits that were blinded or even worse, for no good reason. Cosmetic companies were forced to find alternative means to test their products and now, all cosmetic companies carry disclaimers on their labeling to alert consumers to the fact that they do not engage in animal research.
Even up until the 1970s, companies involved in animal research were heavily involved in a practice called vivisection where animals were tested and forced to undergo painful procedures without anesthesia.
If an animal even happened to survive one of these “tests”, he was simply brought back to his cage to await what was in store for him next. The use of vivisection was quickly stopped by legislation once the public was aware of all this inhumane suffering.
Regardless of these updates, medical research still needs animal research, yet most research facilities have been forced to find labs where they work away from the public eye and avoid as much scrutiny as possible. No longer housed in the basements of large inner city teaching hospitals, labs have sprung up behind secure barriers literally in foothills and desert communities.
Groups and organizations such as PETA have used what some have referred to as aggressive and unsavory tactics in their self appointed role of animal protectors, but it is largely due to their relentless investigations and the willingness of the mass media to listen, that unnecessary animal research and mutilation has been almost wiped out.
There have been, however, successful and much needed advances in various diseases and conditions that have plagued man for eons, all due to animal research. Researchers have been able to discover research methods, however, that do not mandate the death or permanent maiming of these creatures and instead they have learned to create vaccines and serums that have shown great promise in many diseases from cancer to AIDS.
With all that success, however, comes a new form of research: genetic engineering. This focuses on many types of cloning for replacement body parts, internal organs and skin. One of the most common procedures involves the use of mice on which to graft and grow human ears. Although the procedure has provided some incredible results and has been well received by both the medical community and recipients of their new fully functional ears, it does involve the ultimate (humane) euthanization of the host mouse. Because of this, there are qualified recipients who choose not to undergo the procedure.
Canada’s top science authority offers vast knowledge on a variety of Canadian research topics, including mathematics research, nature and science, and physics research.
Mar 01
Owen JonesUncategorized astronomy, children, education, entertainment, environment, galaxy, guide to, hobbies, how to, other, outdoors, planets, science, stars, Uncategorized
Previous to their implementation of the Western solar calendar scheme, the Chinese almost exclusively followed their own lunar calendar for determining the times of planting and harvesting and festival days. Although people in China today use the Western calendar for almost all business, governmental and practical matters of daily life, the old system still serves as the basis for working out numerous recurring holidays. This coexistence of two calendar schemes has long been acknowledged by the people of China.
However, this does not only apply to China, it also occurs in most other Eastern countries, like Thailand, and most Arabic countries.
A lunar month is determined by measuring the period of time required for the moon to finish its full cycle of 29 and a half days, a standard that makes the lunar year a full eleven days shorter than its solar counterpart. This disparity is corrected every 19 years by the addition of seven lunar months.
The 12 lunar months are further divided into 24 solar divisions characterized by the four seasons and times of heat and cold, all of which bear a close relationship to the yearly cycle of agricultural work.
The Chinese calendar – very much like the Hebrew calendar- is a mixture of the solar and lunar calendars in that it attempts to have its years concur with the tropical year and its months agree with the synodic months. It is not surprising that a few similarities exist between the Chinese and the Hebrew calendar.
For example, an ordinary year has 12 months, a leap year has 13 months. An ordinary year has 353, 354, or 355 days, a leap year has 383, 384, or 385 days. When working out what a Chinese year will be like, one must make a couple of astronomical calculations.
First of all, you have to determine the dates for the new moons. In these cases, a new Moon is the completely black Moon (that is to say, when the Moon is in conjunction with the Sun), not the first visible crescent, as is used by the Islamic and Hebrew calendars. The date of a new moon is then the first day of a new month.
The reason why the majority of countries which had their own calendars had to drop them in favour of the Western, Julian calendar that we use today, is business. First the British and then the Americans ran international business and they used the Julian calendar.Anyone who wanted to work with them had to follow suit. This is why national policy often differs from local custom in Third World countries.
The government desires to deal on the International markets, but the ordinary family in the country can not. So, the government adopted the Julian calendar but the people only pay lip service to it. I live in Thailand and people here do not even use the 24 hour day divided into two halves. Their day has four sections of six hours each and the first part starts at 6AM, not midnight. Therefore, they have four 4 o’clocks a day, for example but no 7 o’clocks. They are also 543 years ahead of us, although this is more common, for example in Muslim countries.
If you are interested in astronomy, then why not pop along to our website at: Astronomy Today
Feb 24
Owen JonesUncategorized astronomy, business, Calendars, commentary, current events, history, Holidays, other, politics, religion, science, sociology, Time, Uncategorized
Before their implementation of the Western solar calendar system, the Chinese almost exclusively followed their own lunar calendar for determining the times of planting and harvesting and festival days. Although people in China today use the Western calendar for almost all business, governmental and practical matters of daily life, the old method still serves as the basis for working out numerous recurring holidays. This coexistence of two calendar schemes has long been accepted by the people of China.
However, this does not only apply to China, it also happens in most other Eastern countries, like Thailand, and most Arabic countries.
A lunar month is determined by measuring the period of time needed for the moon to complete its full cycle of 29 and a half days, a standard that makes the lunar year a whole eleven days shorter than its solar counterpart. This difference is made up every 19 years by the addition of seven lunar months.
The 12 lunar months are further divided into 24 solar divisions distinguished by the four seasons and times of heat and cold, all of which bear a close relationship to the annual cycle of agricultural work.
The Chinese calendar – very much like the Hebrew calendar- is a combination of the solar and lunar calendars in that it strives to have its years concur with the tropical year and its months coincide with the synodic months. It is not surprising that a few similarities exist between the Chinese and the Hebrew calendar.
For instance, an ordinary year has 12 months, a leap year has 13 months. An ordinary year has 353, 354, or 355 days, a leap year has 383, 384, or 385 days. When working out what a Chinese year will be like, one must make a number of astronomical calculations.
First of all, you have to determine the dates of the new moons. In these instances, a new Moon is the completely black Moon (that is to say, when the Moon is in conjunction with the Sun), not the first visible crescent, as is used by the Islamic and Hebrew calendars. The date of a new moon is then the first day of a new month.
The reason why the majority of countries which had their own calendars had to drop them in favour of the Western, Julian calendar that we use today, is business. First the British and then the Americans ran international business and they used the Gregorian calendar. Anyone who sought to work with them had to follow suit. This is why national policy often differs from local custom in Third World countries.
The government desires to trade on the International markets, but the ordinary family in the country can not. So, the government took up the Gregorian calendar but the people only pay lip service to it. I live in Thailand and people here do not even use the 24 hour day divided into two halves. Their day has four sections of six hours each and the first part starts at 6AM, not midnight. Therefore, they have four 4 o’clocks a day, for instance and no 7 o’clocks. They are also 543 years ahead of us, although this is more common, for instance in Muslim countries.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching Franklin planner pages. If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our web site now at Promotional Desk Calendars
Feb 20
Brian TubbsUncategorized arts, astronomy, education, entertainment, family, hobbies, hobby, home family, horoscope, learn, metaphysical, reference, religion, science, Uncategorized
Did you know that astronomy and space is really all about education. Did you also know that astronomy is also one of the oldest subject’s of study for man kind? To be straight about it, astronomy is one of the oldest sciences that has ever been studied. So the study of our universe is not new but you should remember that astronomy is a science. This is a science for everyone. And, astronomy is a field about which most of the world knows very little.
While astronomy is a science, it has become more of a hobby than anything else. International boundaries blur when it comes to the study of astronomy.. Astronomy is more of an exact science than any other science that people study. When people study the stars it takes precise calculations in there observations, particularly when recording the positions of the constellations. The study of astronomy is defiantly bigger than all of us together.
The use of physics and astrophysics is extremely important when researching the stars. So is there a difference between astronomy and astrophysics? The study of astrophysics is more the study of how the stars and universe formed to begin with. Astronomy is more a matter of making observations.
The telescope is undoubtedly a very important investigative tool in astronomy. The first person to use the telescope to study and chart the stars was Galileo. Purchasing a telescope is something that most people who get interested in astronomy need to do.
Before you buy a telescope, make sure to do some research into the best type of telescope you will need for what you want to accomplish. Due to the fact that every person on the planet have different tastes and needs, one telescope is not the same as another and different people want different things. While you will want to get the best telescope you can find you must understand that they can cost anywhere from a hundred to a few thousand dollars so make an affordable choice for your needs.
Telescope parts and accessories can be a very useful addition to your astronomy experience. If you are just going to be using your telescope for simple observations and you are not going to be taking it too seriously, you can get away with a one or two hundred dollar telescope.
You may want to search in your family and friends garage’s and attic’s, many people have a telescope packed away somewhere. You also need to understand that if you acquire a older telescope the lens’s and technology will not be up to date with todays telescopes. You will find that many people will want to use your telescope as long as you have it set up, people are curious by nature and space is the final frontier.
Public curiosity in astronomy is unlimited. The study of the sky’s is the key to unlocking the secrets of the stars. As mentioned above, it may be a science, but it also is an outdoor nature hobby. And while it is a science, you don’t need to think about what other people think of you, because everyone thinks that it is really cool. Looking at the stars is also a great way to get the whole family together for some quality time, don’t forget that everyone is curious about astronomy and our universe.
Do you read your horoscope? Did you know that your horoscope is created by the stars.
If you would like to get your free daily horoscope, even for libra, use one of these hyperlinks.
Feb 17
Owen JonesUncategorized astronomy, Calendars, education, environmental, hobbies, organising, other, outdoors, recreation, science, solar system, Time, Uncategorized
A lot of people predicted that the start of the new Millennium, the year 2000 would be the date of the apocalypse. However, fortunately, they were very wide of the mark.
What is it that makes people to attempt to predict disasters? Is it because they are attempting to warn people or because they wish to scare people? Frighten people, I think and thereby gain advantage over the naive.
These apocalyptic prophesies go back thousands of years and even appear in the Bible. Their only raison d’etre is to frighten people and so gain money, power and influence over them.
Even the millennium bug turned out not to be a problem with computers working perfectly well after midnight despite claims by ‘computer experts’ that there would be a worldwide crash of astounding significance. The computer industry made a fortune out of scaring businesses and individuals with their deceit. That was the swindle of the Nineties to end all scams!
So why all the hype? Was it simply the dawn of a new millennium, which gave rise to so many to make predictions on this date rather than stick to their usual common sense? Yes, I think. People saw the chance of a lifetime to rip others off and they jumped at it.
Needless to say there were thousands of prophesies made ranging from the arrival of aliens and the Second Coming of Christ to plane crashes. None of which came true. Here are a couple of those less than accurate prophesies:
May 5th was the day upon which all the planets lined up. The prediction was that the gravitational force of all these heavenly bodies in alignment would bring about massive earthquakes, huge tides and volcanic eruptions.
A lot of individuals also prophesied that the shifting of the poles would occur during 2000 and that this would cause disastrous events such as high tides, widespread electrical failure and computer failures, which would mean economic failure for the larger countries and insurance companies.
I do not know what you think, but perhaps instead of worrying about the end of the world (most doom-mongers have settled on the year 2012 for the destruction of the world) we should work together to make the best of the time we have left on this planet, as well as ensuring that we pass the planet on to the next generation in the same condition as we received it.
If we behave in this way, we may hold off the apocalypse for a long while yet. We are far more likely to undergo apocalypse through nuclear war, global warming and events which are avoidable and within our control, than cosmic events which we have little control over such as asteroids or the Sun’s turning into a red dwarf and eventually exploding.
Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with custom wall calendars If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars
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