The Story of ONIONS! I had never heard this!!!

As far as I remember,  I already read this story about ONIONS. How  about you? I found it again in my friend's facebook wall.  The Green Thumb would love to  share it to the  readers of this blog. Whether this is true or not, it is still worth to read.

PLEASE READ TO THE END: IMPORTANT

In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu... Many of the farmers and their families had contracted it and many died.

The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.

U.S.: Global warming is biggest challenge

A good infos worthy of sharing??are we really conscious of our environment?? keep reading!!

U.S.: Global warming is biggest challenge
Copyright 2008 by United Press International

WASHINGTON (UPI) -- A U.S. official says meeting energy needs in the 21st century while fighting global warming will be one of the biggest challenges humanity has faced.

U.S. Department of Energy Undersecretary for Science Raymond Orbach says meeting that challenge will demand "transformational breakthroughs in basic science."

He cited as one example the development of artificial versions of photosynthesis, the natural process that plants use to produce energy from water and sunlight. Artificial photosynthesis, which Orbach calls "photosynthesis without the plant," could theoretically open the door to fueling cars of the future with water rather than gasoline.

Artificial photosynthesis units would split water into hydrogen and oxygen, producing clean-burning hydrogen fuel, he said.

Orbach made the statement in a two-part podcast in the American Chemical Society's Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions series.

Sunflowers in the neighborhood

photo by Eurostar

Why it is called sunflower??? I have an answer for you..keep reading!! have a great day!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower

The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is an annual plant in the family Asteraceae and native to the Americas, with a large flowering head (inflorescence). The stem can grow as high as 3 metres, and the flower head can reach 30 cm in diameter with the "large" seeds. The term "sunflower" is also used to refer to all plants of the genus Helianthus, many of which are perennial plants.

Description

What is usually called the flower is actually a head (formally composite flower) of numerous florets (small flowers) crowded together. The outer florets are the sterile ray florets and can be yellow, maroon, orange, or other colors. The florets inside the circular head are called disc florets, which mature into what are traditionally called "sunflower seeds," but are actually the fruit (an achene) of the plant. The inedible husk is the wall of the fruit and the true seed lies within the kernel.

The florets within the sunflower's cluster are arranged in a spiraling pattern. Typically each floret is oriented toward the next by approximately the golden angle, producing a pattern of interconnecting spirals where the number of left spirals and the number of right spirals are successive Fibonacci numbers. Typically, there are 34 spirals in 1 direction and 55 in the other; on a very large sunflower you may see 89 in one direction and 144 in the other.

Greenland glaciers still disintegrating

sharing this news I received last Aug. 25, 2008 from a subscribed email...just for info!!

Greenland glaciers still disintegrating

COLUMBUS, Ohio (UPI) -- U.S. scientists monitoring Greenland's glaciers say they expect two of the largest glaciers to disintegrate within the next year.

Ohio State University Associate Professor Jason Box of the school's Byrd Polar Research Center says a massive 11-square-mile piece of the Petermann Glacier in northern Greenland broke away last month.

Box and graduate students Russell Benson and David Decker say they're even more concerned about what appears to be a massive crack farther back from Petermann's margin. They said that crack, seen in satellite images, might signal an imminent and much larger breakup.

"If the Petermann glacier breaks up back to the upstream rift, the loss would be as much as 60 square miles," said Box. That would represent a loss of one-third of the massive ice field.

At the same time, the scientists say the margin of the immense Jakobshavn glacier has retreated farther inland than it has during 150 years of observation. The researchers believe the glacier hasn't retreated to where it is now in at least the last 4,000 to 6,000 years.

The scientists are using data from National Aeronautics and Space Administration satellites and from cameras that monitor global warming effects on Greenland's glaciers.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International
arcamax.com

Nature's Trivia

Just sharing this little information called trivia from arcamax.com..

Are there any hummingbirds in Alaska?

The Rufous is the only species of hummingbird to nest in Alaska. They migrate 2,000 miles to Mexico each winter, and then back to Alaska in the spring.

How many eggs will an oyster lay?

The female American Oyster lays an average of 500 million eggs per year. Usually only one oyster out of the bunch reaches maturity.

Study: Increased Greenland ice melt likely

Copyright 2008 by United Press International (armax.com)

MADISON, Wis. (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say an analysis of the Laurentide Ice Sheet -- the last Northern Hemisphere ice sheet to disappear -- suggests increased Greenland ice melt.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin and Columbia University's Center for Climate Systems Research said the disappearance of the Laurentide Ice Sheet is the closest example of what can be expected in Greenland during the next century.

The study shows sea level rise as a result of ice sheet melt can occur very rapidly.

"We have never seen an ice sheet retreat significantly or even disappear before, yet this may happen for the Greenland ice sheet in the coming centuries to millennia," said University of Wisconsin Assistant Professor Anders Carlson, who led the study. "What we don't know is the rate of melting of the Greenland ice sheet."

"The word 'glacial' used to imply something was very slow," said Allegra LeGrande, who led the computer modeling portion of the study. "This new evidence … indicates that 'glacial' is anything but slow. Past ice sheets responded quickly to a changing climate, hinting at the potential for a similar response in the future."

The findings appear in the online edition of the journal Nature Geoscience.