Though often mentioned in the same breath as such mythical places as El Dorado or Shangri-La, Timbuktu is quite real. The Malian city on the edge of the Sahara was an intellectual and cultural center from the Middle Ages through the 19th century Replica IWC 3227-02 Ingeniuer Automatic AMG watch. Scholars arrived by caravan to study astronomy, botany, Islam, law, and history in the citys many libraries, which were built with proceeds from a thriving gold, salt, and slave trade. Now, many of the books from these libraries are being rescued from decay and digitized for the Internet, according to a story in the New York Times. At least 300 manuscripts will be available to students and scholars on Aluka.org by the end of the year.--Emily Matchar
The ticks are back and out for blood. Besides Lyme Disease, theyre carrying Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Tularemia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The Minnesota Department of Health reports a record number of tick-borne diseases for 2007 and warns against lackadaisical protection again this summer. Seems weve forgotten to get properly scared of the little eight-legged critters.National figures are yet to be released by the Replica IWC 3714-32 Portuguese Automatic watch Center for Disease Control, but if the Minnesota numbers reflect national trends, reported cases of Lyme Disease should top 20,000 again in 2007, for the first time since 2005. Many of the cases are concentrated in the wooded states of the Northeast, where the outdoor season is just getting under way.For a quick refresher course on tick control, visit the CDCs Stop Ticks. Detailed information regarding Lyme disease prevention is available here. And check your children.
Germany, the improbable frontrunner of solar energy, turned just a little bit of sunshine into a thriving photovoltaics market. Now they’re wondering if it was too much too soon, according to The New York Times. Germans install somewhere around Replica IWC 5021-19 Portuguese Perpetual watch half of the world’s solar units and come in third, after China and Japan, for photovoltaic production. With 40,000 people working in the solar industry, the country now gets 14.2 percent of their power from renewable energy, well over the EU’s 2010 goal. And solar adds less than $2 to a typical energy bill.
