Celebrating a 125th anniversary...

Hi everyone,

125th anniversary: isn't it a respectable event for a society?

January 2013 is the 125th anniversary of The National Geographic Society! Wow!

Respect!
-> http://www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/expeditions/explorers-jet-tour/detail
-> http://press.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/13/national-geographic-to-celebrate-125th-anniversary-in-january-2013/
-> http://www.nationalgeographic.com/


I can tell you that they published a special issue of the American magazine and it is a marvel.
Its summary is:
- World of Explorers (lunar landing, volcanic action, ancient African footprints)
- Restless Genes (what drove us out of Africa and to the moon)
- Risk Takers (snakes, glaciers, parasites - always push the limits)
- Crazy Far (will we ever reach the stars?)
- Rain Forest Sale (Ecuador's Yasuni Park: orchids, birds, jaguars... and oil)
- Ultimate Trek (95 polar miles to go)
- Small, Small World (microbes that we inhale)

To those who don't know, NG is a society and not a commercial company i.e. the price is low, subscribing makes you a member, the staff is mainly composed of passionate journalists...

I'm looking forward to reading this issue!

Hi everyone,

I've been a subscriber for about 13 years now and I'm very fond of the NG (in fact the American version of the National Geographic Magazine).

The NG is: texts, photos, and other qualities.
Muriel very kindly wrote that I was good at English yesterday (and forbid me to post ). I don't agree: when I read the NG, there're always lots of words, of grammar patterns I never met so that the magazine is the source of fascinating articles as well as learning documents.
I feel like a beginner in English when I read the NG (people told me the language was a high level one and at the same time, I'm often in front of specialized vocabulary that many readers don't know -about volcanoes, about microbes, names of birds, etc. unusual words for many)!

Hi,

I must fix my speech.

I wrote NG was a Society. I'm sure the NG Magazine is a society because I've got a member card, because the rate is rather low.
But behind the society, there are many commercial companies: TV channel, several magazines, product, ad including spam.

Anyway, I still am a fan of NG -> http://www.nationalgeographic.com/

Hi everyone,

I could read about 20 pages (on the train) and I've got a list of 15 words to check thouroughly; I understood them but I want to tidy things and check all of their meanings.

Hi,

I now almost became a specialist of scat (not the music LOL), guess what

"You can learn a lot about a species by what it leaves behind." did you guess?
I learned many words about the shape, the contents, and other features of up to 8 animal droppings.

Difficult to place this in a conversation you think?
Who knows!
First, this knowledge could save my life in the wild world.
Second, I might meet anthropologists/paleologists and have savvy exchanges about diets of animals and their tracks.

Good to know isn't it?

He Gerard
I don't know what kind of animal the scat is ?

Hi Muriel,

I'm sorry for this mystery that I pampered but it was to generate some funny atmosphere.

"Scat" stands here for "Scatology" and my posting speaks about excrement.

I now know about dung, pellets, and other droppings of various animals: elephants, lions, hyena, baboons, buffaloes and so on and so forth.


I won't provide further details on this article but speak about another subject.

Hi Muriel, hi everyone,

I'm reading on the latest issue of the NG. I read 34 new pages (on the train again which explains I didn't have a dictionary) and I wrote down 21 words that I didn't know or for which I want more knowledge than by the context. NG indeed is a magazine I like.

I'll write more in a few days but the topic I'm reading is very exciting: it addresses the move of humanity out of Africa.
A couple of years ago, the NG sent tools to its subscribers to take a sample of their saliva for global DNA analysis. The present article is a result of the survey providing the routes and the dates - very exciting!!

Hi Gerard ! Hi everyone !
Is it becauxe of climate changes that man migrated out of Africa or is there any other reason ?
what are the conclusions of This global DNA analysis ? it is very interesting indeed....

Hi Muriel, everyone,

Thanks for your response.

> what are the conclusions of This global DNA analysis ?
I cannot reply in a single word while the benefits of DNA survey provided resources to heaps of specialties (history, anthropology, linguistics, medecine, etc.)... I am also unable to summarize as I'm not savvy enough...

> Is it becauxe of climate changes that man migrated out of Africa or is there any other reason ?
The answer is definitely no: climate changes are not the cause of human migrations... as far as I know Neanderthals had to suffer very cold weather.
According to the National Geographic, humans have a gene (also present in animals but more humans have it) which plays a role in adventure and the hunger to move on and reach the summit of the mountain to see what's beyond.
I don't write that one gene is the cause but it is an additional item to other skills and features. This gene is named "7R" or "DRD4-7R" and is "carried by roughly 20 percent of all humans". It "makes people more likely to take risks; explore new places, ideas, foods, relationships, drugs, or sexual opportunities; and generally embrace movement, change, and adventure."

Look -> http://evolvify.com/the-adventure-gene-no-excuses-for-being-boring/ I didn't read this Web page. You have to know that -of course- some people conclude this is the Key to explain everything while other scientists are wiser and say it's ridiculous because life is far more complex than 1 gene... the truth is in between: this gene is a very important item but among other features.

> it is very interesting indeed....
I'm very excited!