Anne Frank once said: How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. This is something as inspirational as it is important to realize…

Inspiration är temat för Esenga denna vecka. Jag väljer att visa två bilder från Naturvetardagarna i Lund förra veckan, där forskare vid universitetet föreläser om sin forskning för studenter från hela Sverige (och deras lärare.)

Den första handlade om skogen och hållbar utveckling och den andra om att hundar och andra rovdjur faktiskt är värmesökande missiler. Forskaren fotograferade med värmekamera och kunde konstatera att den kalla nosen förmodligen används för att lokalisera bytesdjur med hjälp av den värme detta djur utstrålar. Inte bara doften skulle alltså styra rovdjuren, utan kroppsvärmen från bytet. Forskaren lyckas förmodligen bevisa detta, eftersom han till exempel redan tränat upp hundar att plocka ut den varmaste av flera uppvärmda lerkrukor.

As Ese wants to know what gives us inspiration, I immediately thought of our day in Lund last week – visiting the Science Days where lecturers at Lund University introduce science students from the whole of Sweden (and their teachers) to new scientific research. Inspirational indeed!

Here are two of them that I was fortunate enough to listen to. The first one was about trees (of course I had to listen to this one!) and sustainability, and the second one about dogs and other predators being heat-seeking missiles. They are able to track down their prey not only because of the smell, but also because of the heat the other animal is radiating. The scientist photographed the dogs and other predators in infrared, and tried to prove his theory that their noses are kept cold (using an intricate system in their heads) so that they can find their prey through feeling its heat. He was clearly going to succeed in proving this, because he had already trained dogs on heated pots – they could easily pick out the warmest pot of them.

Thought is the wind, knowledge the sail, and mankind the vessel.

Augustus Hare

As knowledge increases, wonder deepens.

Charles Morgan