Learn more about using alternative energy sources. Develop a better understanding of how to become less reliant on the electricity and gas companies and save money through alternative energy sources. This online course will provide you with a knowledge and understanding of the types of alternative energy and, more efficient ways to manage energy consumption. How electric and non-electric systems work, different techniques for storing electricity, and use this knowledge to plan how to convert a buildings energy supply to an alternative system.

There are 8 lessons:

1. Introduction: The Problems and the Energy Sources.
   • Scope and Nature
   • Terminology
   • and more!
2. Understanding Energy
   • Terminology
   • Understanding electricity
   • and more!
3. Generating Electricity
   • Turbines
   • Generators
   • and more!

   Storage and Using Electricity

   • Terminology
   • Cells – simple cell, car battery, gel, AGM, Nickel etc
   • and more!

   Non-Electric Systems

   • Scope and nature
   • Passive Solar
   • and more!

   Energy Consumption

   • Reducing energy consumption
   • Pricing
   • and more!
4. Energy Conservation
   • How a home owner can reduce energy consumption
   • Temperature control
   • and more!

   Converting to Alternative Systems

   • Estimating Energy Needs
   • Building Efficiency
   • and more!

I remember the first time I saw a Greater Spotted Woodpecker. I was in a beech woodland in Sussex during autumn time. The leaves had started to turn golden brown but the wood had enough canopy to instil a cathedral-like sense of calm, with the trees around me like majestic pillars. I was tidying up some clearance brush from a conservation job, and the bird flew silently over my head, wings spread wide, and landing on a tree 10 ft away, it started to peck furiously. I was stunned into reverence. Whenever I see a woodpecker now, I am transported back into that sense of awe.

You may have recently heard some new information which questioned one of the classically held beliefs in biology; that woodpeckers don’t get brain damage despite their lifestyle of pecking their beaks against tree stumps. They of course do this with considerable force up to 1,000 times that of gravity. Scores of times per minute. All day long. Woodpeckers have been studied in some detail by scientists, so how does this new information stack up against what we already know about woodpecker biomechanics?

Farah, Siwek, and Cummings from Boston University School of Medicine’s Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology published research this month in the Public Library of Science (PloS) that demonstrated the presence of tangled tau proteins in the brains of woodpeckers. Tau proteins have been found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients and are thought to be implictaed in the disease process.  Normal tau acts like a conduit to help nerve cells transport food and other molecules. But in Alzheimer’s patients the protein’s strands collapse into tangles and eventually the cell dies. To date, there have been no microscopic tissue studies exploring the potential existence of such nerve damage in woodpeckers. It is not known from our study whether the tau accumulations are pathological or result in behavioral changes in woodpeckers. Despite the findings of tau tangles, the birds don’t exhibit any behaviours that suggest brain damage.

Woodpeckers don’t just need their beaks to locate and remove insects and sap from under tree bark. They additionally make nesting hollows which demand much greater investment of pecking activity. To mitigate against this natural tendency to incur brain damage, woodpeckers are bristling with many overlaying evolutionary adaptations to cushion the forces of beak strike against a solid object. Much of this information has been discovered within the last 10 years, or at least seen in its proper mechanical context. I have summarised these adaptations in the table below.

To expand your interest in the natural world, ADL have courses in Ecology, Conservation, Permaculture, Eco-Tourism, Adventure Activities, and Animal Studies.

References

Alzheimer’s Tau protein interacts with cell membranes and forms toxic complexes. News Medical Life Sciences. November 22, 2017.  https://www.news-medical.net/news/20171122/Alzheimers-Tau-protein-interacts-with-cell-membranes-and-forms-toxic-complexes.aspx#

How woodpeckers avoid head injury. Jason PalmerScience and technology reporter, BBC News. 27 October 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15458633

Farah G, Siwek D, Cummings P (2018) Tau accumulations in the brains of woodpeckers. PLoS ONE 13(2): e0191526. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191526

Sang-Hee Yoon and Sungmin Park. A mechanical analysis of woodpecker drumming and its application to shock-absorbing systems. 2011 Bioinspir. Biomim. 6 016003 IOP Publishing doi: 10.1088/1748-3182/6/1/016003

Wang, L. et al. Effect of Microstructure of Spongy Bone in Different Parts of Woodpecker’s Skull on Resistance to Impact Injury. Journal of Nanomaterials. Volume 2013 (2013), Article ID 924564, http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/924564

Wang L Z, Lu S, Liu X Y, et al. Biomechanism of impact resistance in the woodpecker’s head and its application. Sci China Life Sci, 2013, 56: 715–719, doi: 10.1007/s11427-013-4523-z

I remember the first time I saw a Greater Spotted Woodpecker. I was in a beech woodland in Sussex during autumn time. The leaves had started to turn golden brown but the wood had enough canopy to instil a cathedral-like sense of calm, with the trees around me like majestic pillars. I was tidying up some clearance brush from a conservation job, and the bird flew silently over my head, wings spread wide, and landing on a tree 10 ft away, it started to peck furiously. I was stunned into reverence. Whenever I see a woodpecker now, I am transported back into that sense of awe.

You may have recently heard some new information which questioned one of the classically held beliefs in biology; that woodpeckers don’t get brain damage despite their lifestyle of pecking their beaks against tree stumps. They of course do this with considerable force up to 1,000 times that of gravity. Scores of times per minute. All day long. Woodpeckers have been studied in some detail by scientists, so how does this new information stack up against what we already know about woodpecker biomechanics?

Farah, Siwek, and Cummings from Boston University School of Medicine’s Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology published research this month in the Public Library of Science (PloS) that demonstrated the presence of tangled tau proteins in the brains of woodpeckers. Tau proteins have been found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients and are thought to be implictaed in the disease process.  Normal tau acts like a conduit to help nerve cells transport food and other molecules. But in Alzheimer’s patients the protein’s strands collapse into tangles and eventually the cell dies. To date, there have been no microscopic tissue studies exploring the potential existence of such nerve damage in woodpeckers. It is not known from our study whether the tau accumulations are pathological or result in behavioral changes in woodpeckers. Despite the findings of tau tangles, the birds don’t exhibit any behaviours that suggest brain damage.

Woodpeckers don’t just need their beaks to locate and remove insects and sap from under tree bark. They additionally make nesting hollows which demand much greater investment of pecking activity. To mitigate against this natural tendency to incur brain damage, woodpeckers are bristling with many overlaying evolutionary adaptations to cushion the forces of beak strike against a solid object. Much of this information has been discovered within the last 10 years, or at least seen in its proper mechanical context. I have summarised these adaptations in the table below.

To expand your interest in the natural world, ADL have courses in Ecology, Conservation, Permaculture, Eco-Tourism, Adventure Activities, and Animal Studies.

References

Alzheimer’s Tau protein interacts with cell membranes and forms toxic complexes. News Medical Life Sciences. November 22, 2017.  https://www.news-medical.net/news/20171122/Alzheimers-Tau-protein-interacts-with-cell-membranes-and-forms-toxic-complexes.aspx#

How woodpeckers avoid head injury. Jason PalmerScience and technology reporter, BBC News. 27 October 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15458633

Farah G, Siwek D, Cummings P (2018) Tau accumulations in the brains of woodpeckers. PLoS ONE 13(2): e0191526. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191526

Sang-Hee Yoon and Sungmin Park. A mechanical analysis of woodpecker drumming and its application to shock-absorbing systems. 2011 Bioinspir. Biomim. 6 016003 IOP Publishing doi: 10.1088/1748-3182/6/1/016003

Wang, L. et al. Effect of Microstructure of Spongy Bone in Different Parts of Woodpecker’s Skull on Resistance to Impact Injury. Journal of Nanomaterials. Volume 2013 (2013), Article ID 924564, http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/924564

Wang L Z, Lu S, Liu X Y, et al. Biomechanism of impact resistance in the woodpecker’s head and its application. Sci China Life Sci, 2013, 56: 715–719, doi: 10.1007/s11427-013-4523-z

Did you know that the pet population estimates that 13 million (46% of) UK households have pets. The pet population stands at around 65 million – including fish. This brings the importance of animals into sharp focus, and also the possibilities of animal care as a potential career.

Latest figures for the UK Top Ten Pets are:

1. Fish kept in tanks: 20 – 25 million (9% of households)

2. Fish kept in ponds: 20 million (5% of households)

3. Dogs: 9 million (24% of households)

4. Cats: 7.9 million (18% of households)

5. Rabbits: 1 million (2.4% of households)

6. Domestic fowl: 1 million (0.8% of households)

7. Caged birds: 1 million (1.4% of households)

8. Guinea Pigs: Half a million (1.1% of households)

9. Hamsters: 400,000 (1.4% of households)

10. Lizards: 400,000 (0.7% of households)

An animal care worker has a wide range of roles to consider – you could care for animals in a number of different places, such as kennels, animal rescue centres and animal sanctuaries. You could also be an animal welfare assistant at Blue Cross adoption centres, an animal collection officer for the RSPCA, or animal care auxiliary at an animal hospital.

So what does this work involve? Any sort of animal carer will be involved with the following:

• feeding animals in your care
• keeping animals clean and grooming them where appropriate
• exercising dogs
• cleaning kennels, cages and pens, and changing bedding
• giving special care to animals who become ill or distressed
• Dealing with queries from colleagues and visitors

In some job roles, you could have additional  duties, such as keeping records, taking bookings and advising owners on how to look after their animals.

There may also be opportunities to specialise in animal massage or hydrotherapy, working with animals recovering from injury or undergoing treatment for mobility problems.

One important aspect of animal care is that this is no nine-to-five job. Animals must be cared for after seven days a week, and you may need to work shifts. This could often include starting early, and some evenings and weekends. It can also involve hard physical work, and you could spend time working outdoors in all weathers. Nevertheless, it is a rewarding area of work, and well worth considering. The opportunities for voluntary work in this area are huge.

The Academy for Distance Learning provides courses in Animal Care.  Why not check details of these courses which could set you on your path to an interesting and worthwhile career?