March, rally set for MLK Day in Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 12
The Tuscaloosa chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference will feature a number of activities Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The annual celebration will start with a Unity Day breakfast at 7 a.m. in Beulah Baptist Church. At noon, the group and others will meet at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School to march to Tuscaloosa City Hall … This weekend, the University of Alabama, Stillman College, Shelton State Community College and the SCLC will host the “Realizing the Dream” series, which celebrates the life and legacy of King. Gospel artist Kirk Franklin will headline the Realizing the Dream Concert at UA’s Moody Music Concert Hall at 7:30 p.m. Sunday
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Jan. 12
Largest ever shark was doomed by its taste for dwarf whales
New Scientist – Jan. 12
With a jaw up to 3 metres wide that had the power to crush a small car, megalodon had a formidable bite. But it seems the largest shark to ever live preferred to snack on amuse bouche rather than more substantial prey – and that could have been its downfall … But Dana Ehret, curator of palaeontology at the Alabama Museum of Natural History, believes megalodon may also have targeted larger whales from time to time … Big meal … “I’ve seen a specimen from Virginia yet to be published of a fairly large baleen whale found with a megalodon tooth lying on top of an indentation in the bone,” he says. But he adds it is unclear if the whale was alive or dead when the shark pounced. “It could have been scavenging on the whales like modern white sharks do today,” Ehret says.
Baboons Can Make Sounds Found in Human Speech
The Scientist – Jan. 13
Baboons can produce some of the precursors to human speech, according to a study published January 11 in PLOS ONE. These findings suggest human-like language, complete with vowel sounds, may have emerged much earlier than previously thought … “Theories of language evolution have developed based on the idea that full speech was only available to anatomically modern Homo sapiens,” Thomas Sawallis of the University of Alabama and a study co-author, told Scientific American. These theories suggest that language emerged 70,000 to 100,000 year ago, but this new study reveals it may have been as long as 25 million years ago, with the last common ancestor of humans and baboons.
International Society of Bionic Engineering – Jan. 12
Scientists On Twitter Made An Important List Of Animals That Fart And Puke
Buzz Feed – Jan. 12
Science Twitter really is a world of its own. If they’re not trying to find the most impressive animal genitalia using the hashtag #JunkOff, then they’re helping us answer the world’s burning questions, like “Do snakes fart?”… All the responses were put into a Google spreadsheet for everyone to learn and enjoy. The sheet, compiled by Nicholas Caruso, a PhD candidate at Alabama University, has more than 70 entries so far.
Popular Mechanics – Jan. 12
Steelers Lounge – Jan. 12
Equilibrio Informativo – Jan. 12
Tech Times – Jan. 12
Eurasia Review – Jan. 12
Veg News – Jan. 13
Policing the police
Vice News – Jan. 12
The troubled Baltimore Police Department may soon see some major reforms — or not. After five months of negotiations, Maryland’s largest metropolis and the U.S. Department of Justice just entered into a consent decree, legally binding Baltimore to implement reforms that were recommended as part of a damning report by the DOJ in August. Investigators identified racial bias at “every stage” of Baltimore PD’s enforcement activities, which included extreme tactics such as helicopter surveillance to monitor dice-playing and other misdemeanor crimes in minority neighborhoods. . . . Stephen Rushin, who teaches law at the University of Alabama, said he expects Sessions to “de-emphasize the enforcement” of consent decrees during his tenure as attorney general, adding that a similar “de-emphasis” on consent decrees was also seen in the last Republican administration, under George W. Bush. “I’d imagine that the DOJ would not go out of their way to disrupt consent decrees that are currently in effect,” Rushin said. “But I would expect Sessions to reduce the frequency of federal interventions into local police departments.”
Bolstered by bottling
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 12
Two of Tuscaloosa’s beer breweries have raised their game by adding or expanding in-house bottling capabilities so they can put their beers in the hands of customers who want to drink outside the taproom. At Band of Brothers Brewing Co., which opened on 23rd Avenue in September 2015, brothers Jeremy and Jeremiah Donald have designed and engineered their own machine to bottle and sell a pale ale they call Monk on the Radio … Hull said he and Spikes turned to their background in engineering and came up with a concept after watching YouTube videos of other bottlers in action. They also partnered with seniors in the University of Alabama’s mechanical engineering program for additional assistance making the machine.
Preview: UA to host to top high school debate tournament
Crimson White – Jan. 13
The University will be hosting the Hall of Fame High School Speech and Debate Tournament, Friday, Jan. 13 through Saturday, Jan. 14.
Preview: Echoes Along the Syrian Border Exhibit
Crimson White – Jan. 13
Acclaimed artist and Alabama native James Emmette Neel has chosen the University of Alabama to be the recipient of his latest exhibit: “Echoes along the Syrian Border: Family Archeology and the Sound of Distant Gunfire.”