BITS &a PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE:NATURE

THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE SPAN OF  THE
BOWHEAD WHALE

The extraordinary life span of the Bowhead whale is 
in excess of 230 years! “Bowhead whales have perhaps 
the world’s strongest immune system. Cardio vascular 
disease, cancer, diabetes, inflammation, are unheard 
of in these exceptionally long lived creatures. Bowhead 
whales are enormous, second only, but not by much, 
to the blue whale, the largest animal that has 
ever lived. Bowhead whales don’t migrate. They live 
in the Arctic seas. "

THE JOURNAL OF ALTERNATE THERAPIES
(August 2021)

**
BEES GET BUZZ FROM CAFFEINE

"It's not just humans who get a jolt from their 
morning coffee --bees also perform better after 
a dose of caffeine. That's the conclusion of a 
new study aimed at improving rates of pollination, 
reports The Guardian (.U.K.) Previous research 
had shown that bees will regularly return to 
flowers laced with caffeine, but it was unclear 
whether the caffeine had boosted the insects' 
ability to remember a food-rich site or they were 
simply craving the stimulant."

The Week (August 20, 2021)

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SAFFRON IS EXPENSIVE

“Harvesting saffron is extremely laborious hence its
high cost. Saffron comes from the Crocus sativus plant,
which produces two flowers, each one with three stigmas 
(saffron threads) . The delicate flowers are
harvested by hand in the fall and must be picked in a
matter of hours each morning before they wilt. The 
stigmas are then hand-plucked and dried,. It takes 
about 200 flowers to produce one gram of saffron."

Naz Deravian. “Just a Little Saffron Can Go a Long
Way” in The New York Times (August 18, 2021)

**

LANGUAGE OF WEAVER ANTS

Scientists have likened weaver ant communication 
to a type of language with primitive syntax. 
Urban planners examine the organization of ant 
societies. Mathematicians draw upon analyses of 
ant behavior to devise parallel computing formulas 
(where multiple problems are solved simultaneously).  
Ants serve as models in all kinds of studies aimed 
at figuring out how big, complex jobs get done 
with small parts and a minimum of instruction."

Mark Moffett. “Sisterhood of Weavers” in National
Geographic (May 2011).
**

U.S. STATES HONORING MICROBES

“ I thought we have a state bird,” (NCAUR biochemist 
Neil) Price says. “Why not a state microbe?” Illinois
is only the third state to take this step, joining the
ranks of  Oregon (which similarly honors Saccharomyces erevisiae, or brewer’s yeast) and New Jersey , 
whose state microbe, Streptomyces griseus also 
produces an antibiotic. 
   Some efforts to designate official microbes have
faltered: Wisconsin failed to pass legislation 
honoring Lactococcus lactis in 2010….”

Jim Daley. “Bacterial Bi partisanship” in 
Scientific American (September 2021)
**

THE ANTARCTIC ICE BLANKET

" The Antarctic ice blanket is on average about
a mile and a half thick -- at its thickest it is
more than two and a half miles, about twelve
Empire State Buildings stacked atop one another.
And even though the surface temperature averages
-50 to -60 degrees Fahrenheit over the year, at 
the base of this ice pile, the temperature is warm
enough to melt the ice. The heat comes from deeper
within Earth, and although it is only a trickle of
heat compared to what the Sun supplies, over time
it has been enough to melt the base of the ice."

Henry Pollack. "On Thin Ice" (2010) in Lapham's
Quarterly , XI (Summer 2018).

       **
THE SEASONS

Winter is getting ready to drop
One more gut-bucket-honky-tonk cruel oil
On somebody's lid.

Let roots freeze
& the small crib of the moon
Hold delicate shadows

Of long ago sorrows.
I've got enough summer in me
To last a long time.

Louis Phillips