Month: December 2018

Study shows mitochondrial DNA can be passed through fathers – what does this mean for genetics?

Some things you learn in school turn out not to be true, for example that there are just five senses or three states of matter. Now cutting-edge research has added to the list by proving the mitochondria (the power sources in our cells) comes from both … Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Christina Rossetti (1830)

Christina Rossetti was one of England’s most important female poets of the Victorian era. It is little wonder that she became a poet, given her lineage. Her great-grandfather was a poet, her grandfather was a writer and scholar, and her father was the famous poet and scholar Gabriele Rossetti. Her three siblings followed similar paths. Religious themes dominate her poems, which run the gamut from romantic to devotional to children’s poetry. What popular Christmas carol did she pen? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Energy Weapons

Directed-energy weapons are those that transfer energy to a target without the use of a projectile. Types of energy used or proposed for such weapons include sound, radio, light, particles, and plasma—all of which could be used for a number of different applications, including destroying targets, causing disorientation, or disabling machinery. Although many so-called energy weapons are the stuff of science fiction, some are in development or even in limited use. What are some examples? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Lebanon Hostage Crisis: Last US Captive Released after 7 Years (1991)

After reporting from Vietnam as a war correspondent, American journalist Terry A. Anderson became chief correspondent for the Associated Press in Lebanon. In March 1985, he was abducted from a Beirut street by Shiite Hezbollah militants retaliating against the US for supplying Israel with weapons. Held with other American hostages taken at around the same time, Anderson remained in captivity for nearly seven years and was the last to be released. What has he done since regaining his freedom? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Francisco Franco (1892)

A career army officer and skillful leader, Franco was appointed the Spanish army’s chief of staff in 1935. The next year, he joined the military uprising that precipitated the Spanish Civil War and became the leader of the Nationalist forces bent on overthrowing the republican government. Over the next few years, a bloody war was waged. The Nationalists emerged victorious, and from 1939 until his death in 1975, Franco served as virtual dictator of Spain. Whose aid helped secure Franco’s victory? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Frost Flowers

Frost flowers form when thin layers of ice are extruded from long-stemmed plants in autumn or early winter and freeze. They appear along cracks in plant stems created when sap is frozen and expands. Water is continually drawn through the cracks due to capillary action and freezes upon contact with air, curling into lovely petal-like shapes. A rare sight, frost flowers are most often observed in shaded areas in the early morning and usually melt when exposed to sunlight. What is a “frost beard”? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary