Science/Nature
Cats, Science/Nature
Friday Catblogging: Why Most Cats Prefer Sleeping on Their Left Sides
by JOHN ADAMS •
Climate, Daily Bread, Science/Nature, Wisconsin
Daily Bread for 6.19.25: A Hazy Shade of Summer
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning. Thursday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 81. Sunrise is 5:16 and sunset is 8:36, for 15 hours, 20 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 40.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated. Whitewater’s Community Development Authority meets at 5:30 PM. It’s Juneteenth. On this day in…
Cats, Science/Nature
Friday Catblogging: Cats Can Identify Owners from Strangers by Scent
by JOHN ADAMS •
Embed from Getty Images Cats can identify owners from strangers by scent: The study by Tokyo University of Agriculture found cats spent significantly longer sniffing tubes containing the odours of unknown people compared to tubes containing their owner’s smell. This suggests cats can discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar humans based on their odour, the researchers…
Cats, Science/Nature
Friday Catblogging: The Genetics of Orange-Colored Cats
by JOHN ADAMS •
Embed from Getty Images Two new studies identify the genetics behind orange house cats: Now two papers, published concurrently on Thursday in Current Biology,reveal a remarkably unique genetic pathway that has never been seen in other felines—or any other mammals. With their colleagues, two separate groups at Stanford University and Kyushu University in Japan independently arrived at the same surprising…
Cats, Science/Nature
Friday Catblogging: The Slow Blink
by JOHN ADAMS •
Cats, Science/Nature
Friday Catblogging: Building the World’s Largest Feline Genetic Database.
by JOHN ADAMS •
As was earlier completed with dogs’ data, scientists are now building a vast database of cats’ genetic information: Cat owners are being asked share their pet’s quirky traits and even post researchers their fur in an effort to shed light on how cats’ health and behaviour are influenced by their genetics. The scientists behind the…
Daily Bread, Science/Nature, Space
Daily Bread for 3.1.25: What Happens When You Send Unusual Objects to Space?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Saturday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 29. Sunrise is 6:30 and sunset is 5:44, for 11 hours, 15 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 3.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1872, Yellowstone National Park is established as the America’s first national park.
What Happens When You Send Flowers to Space?:
What’s Up: March 2025 Skywatching Tips from NASA:
Animals, Daily Bread, Science/Nature, Wisconsin
Daily Bread for 11.30.24: Studying Wisconsin’s Black Bears
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Saturday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 24. Sunrise is 7:05, and sunset is 4:22, for 9 hours, 17 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 0.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1939, the Soviet Red Army crosses the Finnish border in several places and bombs Helsinki and other Finnish cities, starting the Winter War.
So, why build a muon collider? A three minute guide:
Daily Bread, Science/Nature
Daily Bread for 11.21.24: Some Science About Snow
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Thursday in Whitewater will be snowy with a high of 40. Sunrise is 6:55, and sunset is 4:26, for 9 hours, 31 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 63.6 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Community Development Association meets at 5:30 PM.
On this day in 1877, Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph, a machine that can record and play sound.
Someone faraway is enjoying snow, too:
Daily Bread, Dogs, Science/Nature
Daily Bread for 11.10.24: The Neuroscience Behind… Wet Dog Shakes
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Sunday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy, with scattered morning showers, and a high of 58. Sunrise is 6:41, and sunset is 4:36, for 9 hours, 57 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous, with 65.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1958, the Hope Diamond is donated to the Smithsonian Institution by New York diamond merchant Harry Winston.
The neuroscience behind wet dog shakes:
This instinctive reflex is shared by many furry mammals including mice, cats, squirrels, lions, tigers and bears. The move helps animals to remove water, insects or other irritants from hard-to-reach places. But underlying the shakes is a complex — and previously mysterious — neurological mechanism.
Now, researchers have identified the neural circuit that triggers characteristic ‘wet dog’ shaking behaviour in mice — which involves a specific class of touch receptors, and neurons that connect the spinal cord to the brain.
November Meteor Showers 2024 (Leonids in Mid-November):
See also Leonid meteor shower: All you need to know in 2024.
Cats, Science/Nature
Friday Catblogging: Why Cats Hate Closed Doors (Because, Ya Know, They Really Do)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Daily Bread, Plants, Science/Nature
Daily Bread for 8.3.24: The Most Dangerous Garden on Earth and Other Extreme Gardens
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Saturday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 87. Sunrise is 5:49, and sunset is 8:11, for 14h 21m 58s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 0.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1977, Tandy Corporation announces the TRS-80, one of the world’s first mass-produced personal computers.
0:20 Why is this tree so lonely?
04:06 It’s the world’s deadliest garden!
06:18 Imagine holding a 100-pound vegetable
08:45 The world’s hottest river!
Asking Kevin of the the_three_chimigos how he keeps his streets in order: