University of Alaska Fairbanks

UAF scientists at the NASA Lunabotics competition. The contest...

Fri, 24 May 2013 14:01:25 -0800

UAF scientists at the NASA Lunabotics competition. The contest simulates mining on Earth’s moon.

Teen Who Was Expelled From School For Science Explosion Receives Full Scholarship U.S. Space Academy

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:15:23 -0800

Teen Who Was Expelled From School For Science Explosion Receives Full Scholarship U.S. Space Academy:

ikenbot:

thescienceofreality:

“Kiera Wilmot made an honest mistake, but the police were trying to throw away her life with a felony. After the community stood up for the girl, the charges were dropped, and she was allowed to move on with her life. Well, her greatness is really starting to shine, as she was recently granted several extraordinary opportunities through scholarship offers she has received.

Dr. Christopher Emdin, a professor of education at Columbia University, says that the schools are now very similar to prisons in terms of how they are structured, and how the inhabitants are treated. Kiera overcame her situation, but there are thousands of kids across the country who aren’t so lucky. Maybe it’s time to attack the system that is attacking us.

Check this out from Gawker:

“Kiera Wilmot, the 16-year-old honor student expelled from her high school after she allegedly ignited a chemical explosion on school property, received a full scholarship to the U.S. Space Academy, courtesy of a NASA veteran who, as a teenager, was accused of starting a forest fire during a science experiment.”

The lessons here are simple: Black kids have potential, and we can’t allow this system to destroy them. Also, hard work always pays off, especially when it comes to education. Dr. Boyce Watkins and Minister Louis Farrakhan recently held a forum called “Wealth, Education, Family and Community: A New Paradigm for Black America.” In the forum, Dr. Watkins and Min. Farrakhan both agree that African Americans are going to have to think differently when it comes to deciding what it means for your kids to be educated.”

Read more…

Just when I feel like all hope is lost :) may she grow up to become another awesome woc scientist, we need more of those too.

I’m so happy that the charges were dropped, and that her future remains bright.

Achillea millefolium

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:00:48 -0800

Achillea millefolium

VACVIT pollen and stigma

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:01:00 -0800

VACVIT pollen and stigma

Students at the campus terrain park.

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:01:20 -0800

Students at the campus terrain park.

Footage found in the archive.

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:51:28 -0800

Footage found in the archive.

Climbing race last winter.

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:01:02 -0800

Climbing race last winter.

Mt. Hayes rises to an altitude of 13,832 feet in the Eastern...

Fri, 24 May 2013 09:01:04 -0800

Mt. Hayes rises to an altitude of 13,832 feet in the Eastern Alaska Range, about 40 miles southeast of Delta Junction.

UAF - 2013 - Qiviut combing (by uafairbanks) Qiviuq [sg]...

Fri, 24 May 2013 08:01:39 -0800

UAF - 2013 - Qiviut combing (by uafairbanks)

Qiviuq [sg] or qiviut [pl] (/ˈkɪviət/ kiv-ee-ət; Inuktitut syllabics, ᕿᕕᐅᖅ; Inuinnaqtun, qiviuq;^[1] Inupiaq qiviu or qiviuq^[2] sometimes spelled qiveut) is an Inuit word commonly used to indicate the wool of the muskox. The word was originally used to refer to the down feathers of birds as well as the inner wool of the muskox.^[3] It is valued for its use as a fiber as, unlike sheep’s wool, it does not shrink in water at any temperature. (However, this means that it also is not useful for felting.) It is most commonly used for hats and scarves, and is among the softest wools. It is very expensive; a high quality knitted scarf can cost more than 300 U.S. dollars,^[4] but will last over 20 years with good care.

The muskox has a two-layered coat, and qiviut refers specifically to the soft underwool beneath the longer outer wool. The muskox sheds this layer of wool each spring. Qiviut is plucked from the coat of the muskox during the molt or gathered from objects the animals have brushed against; unlike sheep, the animals are not sheared. Much of the commercially available qiviut comes from Canada, and is obtained from the pelts of muskoxen after hunts. In Alaska, qiviut is obtained from farmed animals or gathered from the wild during the molt.

Qiviut is stronger and eight times warmer than sheep’s wool, and softer than cashmere wool. Wild muskoxen have qiviut fibers approximately 18 micrometres in diameter. Females and young animals have slightly finer wool.

(x)

COLORS OF NATURE: the intersection of Art and Science explored through color

Fri, 24 May 2013 07:00:56 -0800

COLORS OF NATURE: the intersection of Art and Science explored through color

Research finds wood and plains bison not subspecies

Fri, 24 May 2013 06:00:49 -0800

Photo courtesy AWCC
Wood bison are kept at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage. An Alaska Fish and Game plan to release them into the wild was halted due to their status as an endangered species.

Nancy Tarnai
907-474-5042
5/20/13

DNA analysis does not support the designation of wood bison and plains bison as different subspecies, according to recently published research results from a University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist.

Wood bison from northwest Canada and plains bison from southern Canada and the Lower 48 have been designated as different subspecies, although scientists don’t all agree that they should be. Wood bison are listed as an endangered subspecies, while plains bison are not.

“This is important because the Endangered Species Act allows subspecies to be listed as species,” said Matthew Cronin, UAF professor of animal genetics. “The ESA is mandated to use the best available science, so thorough assessment of the subspecies status is necessary.”

Cronin and his collaborators found that the animals in some plains bison herds are genetically more different from each other than some plains bison are from wood bison, yet those herds are not identifiable as two distinct groups. They also found that wood and plains bison are much more genetically similar than cattle subspecies and breeds, such as Angus and Texas Longhorn cattle.

The bison herds Cronin studied are located in Alaska, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, New York, Alberta and the Northwest Territories and include plains bison in Alaska at Delta Junction, Chitina, Copper River and Farewell, and wood bison at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. Cronin’s findings are published in the online May 10 issue of the Journal of Heredity.

Cronin emphasized that the term “subspecies” denotes a formal taxonomic category and that evolutionary history is a primary criterion for subspecies designation. For example, European cattle and tropical cattle have separate origins, are genetically distinct and thus have a scientifically supported subspecies designation. Wood and plains bison originally had contiguous ranges, were mixed in the 1900s and are not genetically distinct groups. These factors do not support subspecies designation, he said.

“My work replicates previous work,” said Cronin. “I worked with different herds and got the same results, that they are not distinct subspecies.”

It’s common for wildlife to be named as subspecies without adequate evidence, Cronin said, often resulting in lack of consensus in the scientific community.

“This creates a paradox for biologists because subspecies can be designated by one author, rejected by another and still others reject the entire subspecies ranking,” he said. “These factors make formal designation of bison subspecies a seemingly intractable taxonomic exercise.”

Cronin said in his paper that plains bison and wood bison should be considered geographic populations and not subspecies.

“The bison subspecies are currently recognized by management agencies so their taxonomy needs to be assessed,” Cronin said. “I hope that bison management across North America can be done in a practical manner and not by preconceived notions about subspecies.”

Cronin is also doing genetic research studies on wolves and bears. The bison research was supported by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Cronin is a professor in the UAF School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences and is based at the Matanuska Experiment Farm in Palmer.

CONTACT: Matthew Cronin, professor of animal genetics, 907-227-1753, macronin@alaska.edu.

Journal of Heredity article:http://jhered.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/05/09/jhered.est030.abstract?sid=6fde43b1-288b-4d53-adae-61cc2628db1e

Frozen Fireweed Farm finds life up north

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:01:14 -0800

Photos courtesy of Frozen Fireweed Farm
German Angora rabbits produce beautiful fiber.

Nancy Tarnai
907-474-5042
5/21/13

After earning a degree in space physics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz., Amber O’Dell-Andersen had a shocking revelation. Her heart was much drawn to soil than the atmosphere.

“It hit me that farming was what I wanted to do,” O’Dell-Andersen said. “And now I am working my way there.”

At Frozen Fireweed Farm in the Steele Creek area off Chena Hot Springs Road, O’Dell-Andersen and her husband Nathan are getting a start in agriculture. Having grown up on a farm in Colorado, O’Dell Anderson is no stranger to producing food, but learning to do it in Fairbanks has its challenges. Prior to moving here, the Arizona climate offered different problems. “I wanted out of the desert,” she said. “I was done with heat and sand. When Nathan got a job offer in Fairbanks it was a 30-second decision to come here and we love it.”

She keeps layer hens all year long and raises broilers and turkeys in the summer and grows barley and all manner of vegetables.

She also has German Angora rabbits that need to be sheared every three months. Frozen Fireweed is one of the few farms in Alaska that raise this type of rabbit, which is a large, gentle breed. “The fiber is very soft and warm,” O’Dell-Andersen said. “I like the fact that you shear them. Other rabbits you have to pluck and comb every day. These produce a lot more fiber.”

The rabbits are kind of delicate so O’Dell-Andersen doesn’t mind pampering them, even keeping them in her basement when it’s cold.

While in college in Arizona, O’Dell-Andersen kept a garden and when she moved to Fairbanks five years ago she knew she wanted enough land to start a farm. Her day job is with Doyon Drilling as a document control specialist and Nathan is a database administrator with Utility Services of Alaska. The farm is Amber’s but Nathan is in charge of watering and building things. “It’s probably not what he thought when he proposed,” she said. “There is no way I could do this if he wasn’t on board.

“The farm speaks to me,” she said. “I like being outside when it’s warm and smelling the dirt. I like eating what we grow and knowing where things came from. I have this idea that it’s important to help other people get food that hasn’t come 18,000 miles.”

O’Dell-Andersen will be at the Downtown Market this summer (Mondays from 4 to 8 p.m., June to September, in Golden Heart Park) to sell fiber, veggies, chocolates, honey, lip balm, soaps, jams and jellies. The eggs sell without any effort. “I don’t even have to try,” she said.

She enjoys making jams and jellies so much that she is going to put in more crabapple and other fruit trees and more berries. She has honey berries and saskatoons now. “I’m impressed how well the berries do,” O’Dell-Andersen said. “It was less than ideal conditions when we put them in but I kept watering them.”

Photos courtesy of Frozen Fireweed Farm
Nathan O’Dell-Andersen holds a radish grown at Frozen Fireweed Farm.

Her planting style is a bit unusual, as she uses box-type planters and covers them with hoop houses that she moves around for crop rotation. She has learned by doing, and by asking. “I talk to people,” she said. “We have great resources, like Calypso Farm, the Sustainable Ag conference and Steve Seefeldt” (UAF Cooperative Extension Service agent).

Her goal is to move to a location where she can put more land in production. “I hope to make this a viable enterprise and provide food for my family and our community,” she said. “Alaska needs a little more food security.”

As for challenges, O’Dell-Andersen said, “I have the same problems all farmers have, being time and money. I split my time between the farm and my regular job. I can’t afford to be a farmer full time so I work late at night planting seed starts.”

The secret to her success has been hard work and the midnight sun. “We’ve done well because I’ve had good support and a husband who doesn’t mind being up late at night planting seeds with me.”

When not working or farming, O’Dell-Andersen enjoys spinning, crocheting, weaving, sewing and cooking.

CONTACT: frozenfireweedfarm@gmail.com

This column is provided as a service by the UAF School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences and the Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. Nancy Tarnai is the school and station’s public information officer. She can be reached at ntarnai@alaska.edu.

it-sfullofstars: climateadaptation: After reading Adam Welz’s...

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:42:37 -0800

it-sfullofstars:

climateadaptation:

After reading Adam Welz’s take down, “Bloodthirsty “factual” TV shows demonize wildlife,” of the Discovery Planet’s animal killing TV show, Yukon Men, I did a little bit of research. The City of Tanana, where the show is filmed, is absolutely not the secluded, dangerous place as the Discovery Channel advertizes. The town has never been “attacked” by bears, wolves, wolverines, lynx, etc., as the show will have you believe. Still, each type of these animals is gunned down for your viewing pleasure.

The City of Tanana (above) is small, no doubt. But it is not a remote outback full of danger.

Above, a TV show character uses an AR-15 semi-automatic (rather than a hunting rifle) to kill a wolf.

Local Alaskans posting in various wilderness and hunting forums are calling Discovery’s ‘Yukon Men’ a joke, full of lies and exploitation. They even make fun of the choices of guns that the characters in the show use (no local hunter, they say, uses an AR-15 to shoot animals in Alaska).

One man wrote that, unlike actual remote villages, the City of Tanana has a burger joint, functioning utilities, and cell phone, internet, and satellite services, making it far from “remote” and hardly dangerous.

I dug around and found other interesting facts that belie the Discovery Channel’s claim that the town is a dangerous remote outback. Tanana has schools, an agricultural extension of the University of Fairbanks, annual foot and dog-sled races, and even family and emergency services provided by the Tanana Chiefs Council (this is in addition to services provided by the State of Alaska).

Indeed, Tanana even has its own airport, with over 3,000 flights per year (see #516). The airport has a webcam, radio towers, and weather stations. This is not remote. Nor are provisions hard to obtain - twice daily a plane lands with food, fuel, mail, visitors, and materials.

Learning from and enjoying the wilderness is one of the greatest privileges we Americans enjoy. Creating a false myth that nature is scary is not what we need, especially now with so many people unhealthy from increasingly sedentary lifestyles. In my opinion, Discovery needs to set the record straight. They need to refocus on educating viewers of the deep importance of our dwindling natural resources. They need to do this rather than exploiting animals and creating fear all for a quick buck.

Discovery Channel, and others like it, make me sick.

Photo

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:01:57 -0800

: What's up with "irony"?

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:26:57 -0800

: What's up with "irony"?:

theyuniversity:

“Irony” is one of the most misunderstood terms in English.

Basically, “irony” is the contrast between expectation and outcome.

Unfortunately, numerous people think that “irony” is the same thing as “funny,” “coincidence,” or “bad timing.” This misunderstanding is due, in part, to the…

Fish tank.

Sat, 18 May 2013 06:32:58 -0800

Fish tank.

Musicians in concert on campus.

Sat, 18 May 2013 05:43:56 -0800

Musicians in concert on campus.

Some rubgy.

Sat, 18 May 2013 04:54:56 -0800

Some rubgy.

Fencer

Sat, 18 May 2013 04:05:52 -0800

Fencer

From the Instagram of official student photographer J.R....

Sat, 18 May 2013 03:16:46 -0800

From the Instagram of official student photographer J.R. Ancheta.