Monday, July 27, 2015

PubMed Central

Looking for information about mass shootings and mental health?  Maybe you're trying to find out why bees are mysteriously dying? If the topic you're researching is related to biology, medicine, or other life sciences, you may want to start with PubMed Central (PMC):

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/

This archive of full-text journal literature is provided by the National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine.  It currently includes about 3.5 million articles from a variety of sources.  It even offers a special "PubReader" view to make use of the archive easier on tablets and other small screen devices.  An overview and a Users' Guide are available on the site.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Cuba

This week the U.S. re-established diplomatic relations with Cuba.  Among other things, this means that a U.S. embassy has been officially located in Havana.  If you have questions about how U.S. relations with Cuba are progressing, the Embassy's site might be a good place to look for answers:
 
http://havana.usembassy.gov/

For instance, one fact sheet on the site makes clear that, "The embargo on Cuba is still in place and legislative action is required to lift it."  So, if you were hoping that low-cost Cuban cigars would soon be flooding the shelves of your local retailers, you may be out of luck for now.

Monday, July 13, 2015

Avian Influenza

If you enjoy watching the poultry judging at your state fair, you may be out of luck this year.  At least one state (Michigan) has cancelled the judging of poultry and water fowl due to concerns about the spread of Avian Influenza (AKA bird flu).  To read more about this disease and where cases have been confirmed, see this page from the U.S. Department of Agriculture:

http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=avian_influenza.html

And, if you really need to see some poultry, perhaps you can find an old Foghorn Leghorn cartoon on TV or online.

Monday, July 6, 2015

Tornadoes

In recent months, it seems the national news has reported on severe weather and tornadoes almost every night.  Are there really more tornadoes now than there were a few years ago?  How about a few decades ago?  This page from the National Climatic Data Center may tell you everything you'd like to know:
 
https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/climate-information/extreme-events/us-tornado-climatology/trends

It certainly does provide a whirlwind of information.  ;-)