Published 12-4-2015 Proteins begin their lives as chains of amino acids in the body. In humans, protein-forming amino acids are either acquired in foods we eat (essential amino acids) or…
Published 11-19-2015 Our bio-science vocabulary is expanding. Within the lifetimes of today’s senior citizens, the molecule of DNA was named as the bearer of genetic information. By mid 20th century,…
Published 10-16-2015 Looking out across our back deck into the trees of our northwest Illinois neighborhood in autumn, our birds (I’ve called this area “bird heaven”) occasionally stage an impressive…
Published 9-18-2015 Sources of wonder and worship spring from knowledge of mysteries of the distant universe. But lest we overstress the mighty wonders of astronomy discussed in the last few…
Published 7-14-2015 Mammals in South Africa? Birds in the US Midwest? We highlight two geographic regions almost half a world apart for a brief wildlife discussion on animal diversity and…
Published 7-8-2015 On June 23, 2015, vicious thunderstorms and windstorms tore through northeastern Iowa. Our local newspaper described widespread damage. Heavy winds knocked down trees and damaged multiple homes. There…
Published 7-3-2015 Our personal neighborhood in extreme northwest Illinois has been struck many times in the last dozen years by monumental rainfall events. It is debatable whether their frequency has…
Published 5-20-2015 Childish dreams sometimes materialize into adult reality. When I was in early primary school I envisioned becoming a teacher after observing my classroom instructor hold forth. The seed…
By: Jim Virkler; ©2015 Jim Virkler explains how the large hadron collider relates to the Higgs boson. One of today’s science buzzwords is straight from the realm of the arcane.…
By: Jim Virkler; ©2012 Jim Virkler provides more information on the Higgs boson. Buntings and Bosons? Could any title be more unusual? In the world of particle physics, the Higgs…
