Senior conservator of paintings Ann Hoenigswald works to fill in elements of Paul Czanne's Riverbank c. 1895 in the National Gallery of Art's Paintings Conservation Lab in Washington, D.C. Liam James Doyle/NPR hide caption Senior conservator of paintings Ann Hoenigswald works to fill in elements of Paul Czanne's Riverbank c. 1895 in the National Gallery of Art's Paintings Conservation Lab in Washington, D.C. Behind the scenes at major art museums, conservators are hard at work, keeping masterpieces looking their best. Their methods are meticulous and sometimes surprising. The painting conservation studio at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is filled with priceless works sitting on row after row of tall wooden easels, or lying on big, white-topped worktables. Associate conservator of paintings Joanna Dunn uses a microscope to examine Jacopo Tintoretto's Summer, c. 1555. Liam James Doyle/NPR hide caption Associate conservator of paintings Joanna Dunn uses a microscope to examine Jacopo Tintoretto's Summer, c. 1555. The studio is where I first met Senior Conservator Ann Hoenigswald years ago as she was fixing the sky on one of Claude Monet's impressions of the Rouen Cathedral in France. Bits of paint had flaked off over time, and Hoenigswald was carefully … Continue reading →

June 26, 2017 by Kristen French Upsala Glacier, Argentina, where scientists collected glacial dust samples. When glaciers move across bedrock, they scrape against it (see glacial grooves in the foreground), and grind it into smaller particles, which may then get blown out to sea, fertilizing phytoplankton. Credit: Michael Kaplan/Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory For many years, scientists have speculated that seeding the ocean with iron might help to stave off climate change. Iron in seawater promotes the growth of phytoplankton, which in turn devours carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Iron basically allows the ocean to soak up carbon. But only dissolved iron, not the undissolved particle forms, was thought to stimulate phytoplankton growth, despite iron's low solubility in seawater and the abundance of particulate iron in the ocean. Further, the quantity of iron rather than its chemical signature was thought to determine the rate of phytoplankton growth. Now an interdisciplinary team of scientists led by Elizabeth M. Shoenfelt and Benjamin Bostick of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory has discovered that particulate iron does stimulate phytoplankton growth, and that the chemical form that particulate iron takes is critical to ocean photosynthesisnot just the quantity of iron available. The team found that … Continue reading →

Credit: DC Comics "It's complicated." Batgirl writer Hope Larson admits that the relationship between Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon isn't the easiest to re-ignite. But in the upcoming "Summer of Lies" storyline, the writer will be exploring what happened in the couple's "Rebirth" past and whether their "insane chemistry" can help the couple come together to defeat a new villain and maybe more. The Batgirl title saw Barbara just finishing up a disastrous relationship with Ethan Cobblepot (yes, that family). And in this week's Batgirl #11 and July's #12, the hero will be immersed in one-shot adventures. But starting in Batgirl #13 in August, "Summer of Lies" brings Barbara together with Dick to deal with events from their past that have "come back to haunt them," Larson said. Newsarama talked to Larson to find out more about the path Barbara has taken so far in the Batgirl series and what readers can expect from her reunion with Dick. Newsarama: Hope, how do you think Batgirl has grown since you took over her book? And what has she learned? Hope Larson: Batgirl has developed new ways of manipulating and suspending her eidetic memory, which is useful. And I'd say she's grown … Continue reading →

G. Wayne Miller Journal Staff Writer gwaynemiller PROVIDENCE, R.I. City native Melanie S. Sanford, a prominent scholar now at the University of Michigan, has been named one of three researchers to receive a $250,000 Blavatnik National Award for Young Scientists. Starting with a pool of 308 nominees the most promising scientific researchers aged 42 years and younger nominated by Americas top academic and research institutions a distinguished jury first narrowed their selections to 30 finalists, and then to three outstanding laureates, one each from the disciplines of Life Sciences, Chemistry, and Physical Sciences & Engineering, the Blavatnik Family Foundation and New York Academy of Sciences said. Sanford, 42, is this years Blavatnik national laureate in chemistry. Feng Zhang, of MIT and Harvard, is the national laureate in life sciences. Stanford's Yi Cui, is the national laureate in physical sciences and engineering. A graduate of Classical High School, Sanford earned her bachelors degree from Yale University and a doctoral degree from the California Institute of Technology. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton University and is a MacArthur genius grant recipient. One might think of organic chemist Dr. Melanie Sanford as an architect and a builder, the Blavatnik foundation and the … Continue reading →

When the New York Giants signed veteran wide receiver Brandon Marshall earlier this offseason, they knew exactly what they were getting a hard working, high IQ player willing to do whatever it takes to win. Marshall has lived up to that reputation in his short time with the Giants, going above and beyond to not only learn their offensive system and coach up the young players, but to build chemistry with quarterback Eli Manning. He sent me a text yesterday and said, Hey, can we get on FaceTime and keep going over some of these signals? I dont want to forget everything that Ive learned in the past two months,' Manning said via NJ Advanced Media. Thats what its all about having a guy who has a passion and a desire to get better, to keep learning the game of football, to keep having something to prove and were both in that same boat going into Year 12, Year 14. Always want to get better and make improvements and build a championship team, so thats what were working on. Marshall admits theres still more than a few loose ends to tie up as he adjusts to the teams timing-based offense, … Continue reading →