Word: weightfulness
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...study published in the July 27 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) shows that orangutans keep their footing - and their fingering - in the trees by moving with an irregular, offbeat rhythm that effectively counters the shaking caused by their considerable weight. "Orangutans rock flexible tree trunks from side to side with increasing magnitude until they can cross gaps in the [tree] canopy," says Susannah Thorpe, a bioscientist at the University of Birmingham in England and the lead author of the PNAS paper...
Earlier reports from Perera's group had found that higher prenatal exposure to PAHs is associated with lower weight and smaller head size at birth and developmental delays at age 3. Studies of children in China who live near coal-burning plants have found that PAH exposure is associated with delayed motor development. The current Pediatrics study, however, is the first to link exposure to reduced performance on IQ tests. Kids in the low-exposure group scored a mean IQ of 101.6, while the mean score in the high-exposure group...
...message was clear: There is no such thing as tourism in this corner of Africa. Ultimately, however, my run-in with the authorities is just another example of the shortsighted mismanagement of Equatorial Guinea. While the government lavishes in oil wealth, the citizenry suffer under the weight of unbearable poverty. Tourism could be an avenue for Guineans outside of the government sector to begin taking control of their own economic potential. The country itself is a vibrant and beautiful place, with landscapes ranging from volcanic mountains to elephant forests to grassy plains and sleepy seaside villages. With the right resources...
...jockey-plus-horse system," as the researchers call the racehorse-and-rider team, will start off essentially the same as any other: a combined mass of roughly 1,100 lb. (500 kg) of living flesh, with the horse representing about 87% of the total weight and the jockey making up the rest. One key to speed will be how lightly the horse can carry that 13% load. The investigators found that the horse's back oscillates up and down about 6 in. (150 mm) throughout its stride, and fore and aft about 4 in. (100 mm). The jockey moves...
...Whether the jockey is sitting in the saddle or not, the horse still has to carry his weight," Spence says. "But by absorbing the jiggles of the horse, the jockey prevents the animal from having to make him go up and down with each stride. It's the difference between the horse carrying a moving rider or simply a quantity of lead that weighs the same." The crouched position the jockey assumes throughout pays an additional dividend by minimizing wind resistance...