Wired News: Mighty Mice Regrow Organs

Wired News: Mighty Mice Regrow Organs

I'm sorry Deb, I know this is about mice, not books, but the implications of this discovery are mind-numbing. Just imagine.... regrow missing bits... fingers, toes, arms, legs, spinal cords, hearts, lungs... brains....

The most incredible part is, "When cells from the regenerative mice were injected into normal mice, the normal mice adopted the ability to regenerate." One simple innoculation and we could be immunized against injury, amputation, paralysis, cardiovascular disease, pulmonary disease, alzheimer's.... Wow. Really, wow.

We stand perched on a precipice over the endless vista that is "The Possible", and the view is staggering.

Ten Steps to Help You Write Better Essays and Term Papers / Neil Sawers

"I wish I had this when I was in school" is the subtitle of a small but clearly written guideline to writing term papers. Ten steps to help you write better essays and term papers walks the essay writer through the process of paper writing following these ten simple steps:

1. Be proactive ("I can do this!")
2. Plan your work (plan from the due date back to present day)
3. Come up with the right topic (use mind maps or sticky notes to help you)
4. Identify the thesis (a supportable argument that can persuade the reader)
5. Do the research (Sawer suggests several sources of information and provides brief APA and MLA style guides)
6. Develop the organization/outline (put your information in logical order)
7. Write with your reader in mind (your final product should be reader-focused)
8. Complete the first draft (includes how to overcome writer's block)
9. Edit and revise the draft (try reading your work out loud)
10. Take one last look (after you've let it sit for a day or two)

Ten steps to help you write better essays and term papers can be found on the shelves at PE 1478 .S39 2002

Mouse Grounds Flight for Over 12 Hours - Yahoo! News

Mouse Grounds Flight for Over 12 Hours - Yahoo! News

How nice, a rodent terrorist.....

The Open Timber Roofs of the Middle Ages / Raphael and J. Arthur Brandon.

This 1999 reprint of the original 1849 publication is a detailed study of the four main church-roof styles of the Middle Ages:

- Tie-beam roofs,
- Trussed-rafter roofs,
- Hammer-beam roofs, and
- Collar-braced roofs.

The illustrations in The open timber roofs of the Middle Ages, many of which are full-page and some include colour details, are highly detailed drawings of open timber roofs, often with cornice and decorative details and measurements. The authors were architects who "...visited many of our remaining specimens, and selected for illustration those roofs which appeared most worthy of remark, as well as for the excellence of their framing and design, as for affording specimens of the various methods of construction; of these we have have furnished geometrical and perspective drawings from careful admeasurements, in every instance taken by ourselves; we have also accompanied them with such remarks and comments as we think may be serviceable, the more fully to explain them." (taken from preface)

The open timber roofs of the Middle Ages can be found on the shelves at NA 2900 .B8 1999

Governing for results : a director's guide to good governance / Mel D. Gill

To be effective and accountable, a board must be informed of its role and responsibilities. Too often, board members do not know the role of the board, what is expected of them as directors or if they will be personally liable for decisions of the board. Governing for results is a valuable resource for volunteer board members, guiding them through their responsibilities, practices and problems they may face. It provides answers to such questions as:

• What is governance?
• What are the responsibilities of a board?
• What is the structure of the board?
• How does the board work?

It also provides sample meeting agendas, a summary of rules of order, conflict of interest policies and donor confidentiality policies as well as explaining board types and organizational forms.

This book is thorough, practical and user-friendly - a great read for anyone considering serving as a board member.

Governing for results can be found on the shelves at HD 2741 .G55 2005

Juvenile Justice Systems : an International Comparison of Problems and Solutions

It is widely held that children and adolescents should not be treated the same as adults in the criminal justice system. Juvenile justice systems analysizes juvenile justice systems in eight English speaking countries: Canada, the United States, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.

Experts from each country compare the different responses to youth criminal behaviour, analyze the political and social context of youth crime, describe the rates of youth crime, and identify the policies and innovative approaches that have been successful in their countries. Studying the responses to and experiences of the youth criminal justice systems in various countries provides a comparision of the strengths and weaknesses of the various systems.

The legal treatment of youth crime has evolved over time and is different in each country based largely on public sentiment toward crime committed by young people. Policy makers are continually searching for ways to reduce youth crime. Juvenile justice systems provides a broad perspective on the issues they are facing.

Juvenile justice systems can be found on the shelves at HV 9069 .J796 2002

Survival Kit for New Teachers : Empowering Beginning Educators for Classroom Success / Emma S. McDonald, Dyan M. Hershman

Survival Kit for New Teachers is an easy-to-read, practical guide for new teachers. Filled with hints and tips and hundreds of suggestions to save the teacher time and energy, Survival Kit for New Teachers is an excellent resource for both new teachers and seasoned professionals.

Inside are tips to help the teacher:

- Get a teaching job
- Get organized before school starts
- Plan for the first day of school
- Implement classroom management strategies
- Plan engaging lessons
- Deflate discipline problems before they happen
- Motivate students to want to learn
- Implement reading and writing skills across the curriculum
- Implement effective teaching strategies
- Develop a method for grading students and recording grades
- Incorporate technology in the classroom on a daily basis

Survival Kit for New Teachers can be found on the shelves at LB 1044.9 .M33 2003

My Life Among the Serial Killers : Inside the Minds of the World's Most Notorious Murderers / Helen Morrison.

Four hundred hours alone with murderers has resulted in Helen Morrison's My Life Among the Serial Killers. Morrison's hours of interviews with killers, among them Richard Macek, John Wayne Gacy and Robert Berdella, their families and the families of their victims has has led her to conclude that serial killers are the result of genetics - that killers are killers from the moment of conception. Dr. Morrison's goal: to discover why serial killers are compelled to murder, how they choose their victims, and what we can do to prevent their crimes in the future. Her conclusions may surprise you.

My Life Among the Serial Killers can be found on the shelves at HV 6515 .M653 2004

Wanda and the Wild Hair / Barbara Azore

For every little (or not so little) girl who loves her hair, Wanda and the Wild Hair is for you.

Wanda loves her hair. It is really, really wild, shades her eyes in the summer and catches snowflakes in the winter. But Wanda hates it when her mom tells her to wash her hair, or her dad tells her she looks like an Old English Sheepdog and suggests she go to the poodle parlor for a trim. Her teacher makes her write "I must comb my hair" on the board fifty times.

Wanda's wild hair manages to catch her mother's earring, which causes a magpie to peck at it and a cat to chase the magpie through Wanda's wild locks. A dog lands on top of Wanda while chasing the cat. The result - Wanda's wild hair really does look like a bush and she finally agrees to visit the hairdresser.

Wanda and the Wild Hair is delightfuly illustrated by Georgia Graham using chalk pastel on paper.

Wanda and The Wild Hair can be found on the shelves at PZ 7 .A983 W35 2005

Welcome Guest Bloggers!

I'd like to welcome both Linda McClure from the University of Alberta and Nathon Hall from the College of the Rockies to this blog.

Thank you for your contributions Linda and Nathon!

Guest Review - Monday, September 19, 2005

Mutants: on genetic variety and the human body / Armand Marie Leroi

This is a wonderfully written book on the genetic diversity of humanity. Leroi examines a wide variety of genetic mutations that occur in people, and then goes on to explore what each of these mutuations can tell us about the "normal" developmental path. Through studying each of these mutations, and the mechanisms through which they occur, we are able to learn much about ourselves as biological entities, and even explore the roots of our humanity. The book examines the idea that we are far more similar to others of our species than external appearances may imply. In this book, Leroi proposes that we are all mutants, and that the only difference is one of degree; it is written with compassion and with the understanding that the core of humanity is determined not by the external physical manifestations that can be created by genetic mutations, but by the inner hopes, dreams, fears and ambitions - in short, by the soul. At no time does the author of this book lose sight of the essential humanity underlying the biological processes which he explores.

Mutants can be found at the University of Alberta library at QM 691 L47 2003

Louis Riel : a comic-strip biography / Chester Brown

Although a topic thoroughly covered in Canadian history, Louis Riel : a Comic-strip Biography presents the life of Louis Riel in a unique way: the graphic novel. Chester Brown's incredible illustrations support the story by presenting caricatures of the characters, giving the reader an insight into them in a way that a book filled simply with words never could. The book covers history from 1869 with the sale of the Red River Settlement in the territory that would become Manitoba, to Riel's death. Riel, who some think was one of Canada's founding fathers and others think was a murderer who tried to destroy the country, was a religious zealot and probably crazy. Brown presents a very subjective view of history, complete with maps, footnotes and a bibliography.

Louis Riel : a comic-strip biography can be found on the shelves at FC 3217.1 .R5 B76 2003

First, Break All The Rules : What The Worlds Greatest Managers Do Differently / by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman

Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, two consultants for the Gallup Organization, used a study of more than 80,000 managers in 400 companies to show readers why top managers have broken all the conventional management rules and what it takes to be a truly excellent manager. First, Break All the Rules : What The Worlds Greatest Managers Do Differently is filled with vital performance and career lessons for managers at every level and shows managers how to apply those lessons in their own situation.

According to Bernie Marcus, former Chairman and CEO, Home Depot, "Buckingham and Coffman prove just how crucial good people -- and specifically great managers -- are to the success of any organization."

First, Break All The Rules can be found on the shelves at HD 38.2 .B83 1999

The Food Substitutions Bible / David Joachim

This alphabetically organized, easy-to-use book has over 5,000 substitutions for food, measurements, utensils, weight, alternatives for ethnic food and alternatives for vegetarians. It is beautifully arranged into "If you don't have it", "To vary the flavour", "To save time" and "For better health" categories.

You can find The Food Substitutions Bible on the shelves at TX 652 .J62 2005

The Lobotomist / Jack El-Hai

The Lobotomist : a maverick medical genius and his tragic quest to rid the world of mental illness / Jack El-Hai opens with El-Hai referring to Walter Freeman, the man who refined and promoted the procedure called the lobotomy, as "the most scorned physician of the twentieth century." This book follows Freeman's rise to being one of America's most celebrated physicians to his fall as cultural shifts caused lobotomy to be seen as a barbaric procedure performed with an ice pick and a hammer.

The Lobotomist can be found on the shelves at RD 594 .F74 E4 2005

Starting the year

This blog is being produced as part of the requirements for EDIT 535 at the University of Alberta. EDIT 535, Communicating, Accessing and Providing Information, taught by Prof. Dwayne Harapniuk, is also know by the brief title "Nethowto".

My posts will involve the latest additions to the College of the Rockies Library, comments on these new items as well as reminders and updates on events around the library.

All summer we've been adding materials to our collection to support the new registered nursing program here at CoTR. To date, over 100 books, videos and periodicals have been added to the collection. My favourite is a book entitled: Photographic Atlas of the Body (published by Firefly.) This beautiful volume is 285 pages of dramatic full-colour photographic images of the human body - from papillae on the tongue to mesenteric arteries - and is supported by fact-filled text. I recommend it to anyone who's curious about what your insides really look like.

The Photographic Atlas of the Body can be found on the shelves at QC 125.2 .P59 1992