Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
The state’s oldest short-line railroad is still running
If you want a lesson on why running the state’s oldest short-line railroad is tough business, consider the 1994 Retsoff Salt Mine failure, when a small earthquake flooded a mine in western New York State that had been producing road salt for a century. Why does a...
Age before beauty – N.H. needs more “young forests” (which is harder to do than it sounds)
When it comes to convincing the public to support the ecosystem known as early successional forests, Scot Williamson of the Wildlife Management Institute knows he’s got a problem. “They’re ugly,” he said Tuesday. That name doesn’t help, either. “You won’t hear me say...
Warming world will release more carbon from the soil, no matter what we do
By UNH News Service: After 26 years, the world’s longest-running experiment to discover how warming temperatures affect forest soils has revealed a surprising, cyclical response: Soil warming stimulates periods of abundant carbon release from the soil to the...
No, darn it, a meteorite didn’t start that North Country forest fire
Sometimes I think my job title should be Wet Blanket Reporter - the man who throws cold water on fun but unlikely tales. A case in point: Although a UNH astronomer phrases it more cautiously, it’s safe to say that a falling meteorite did not start a fire in the North...
When Star Wars fans build a prosthetic arm they would call it, yes, “Luke”
Science Cafe NH in Nashua moved to a new venue last night - Riverwalk Cafe downtown, a very nice space - to discuss the technology of prosthetics, or replacement limbs. My favorite story came from Matt Albuquerque, founder of Next Step Bionics & Prosthetics in...
Mexico is seeing an invasion of monk parakeets – a species we decided not to ban because they’re cute
Back in 2011, there was a battle in New Hampshire between biologists and pet owners about whether to allow people to own monk parakeets, a.k.a. Quaker parrots. which have become an invasive pest up through the southern bits of Connecticut. They can damage certain...
At Dartmouth, insight into Nobel for understanding our biological clocks
When Dartmouth’s C. Robertson McClung heard that the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine had been given for work done in his own research field – the genetic underpinnings of the daily life cycles known as circadian rhythms – he swears his reaction was not, as mine...
Private passenger rail in NH – is that a crazy idea?
It might seem crazy that a private company says it wants to operate passenger train service in New Hampshire’s Merrimack River valley – an idea that has been fiercely debated for decades – by running on a different company’s tracks. It’s not crazy at all: Just look...
Cleverest project name of the week: “N+1 fish, N+2 fish” (data analysis of groundfishing catch)
Form the Nature Conservancy: More than 300 teams and individuals have joined a two-month competition to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to help New England fishermen provide accurate catch information in a cost-effective manner on groundfishing...
UNH one of three universities in world to get top “sustainability” rating
From UNH News Service: The University of New Hampshire is one of three higher education institutions in the world to earn a STARS Platinum rating--the highest possible--in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of...
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