An editorial basically suggests that a simple map of cases of brain cancer in the McCullom Lake area suggests the rates are abnormally high. The local authorities and CDC deny that, but do note that the studies done can’t be further analyzed because they are too small. Said another way, a large portion of mailed surveys on the topic were not returned preventing useful analysis.
- http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2010/02/11/r_vbaxopu6ssiymong0yequg/index.xml”>Northwest Herald (McHenry County, IL)
In Slovkia there is a new Veterinary Information System that includes GIS:
The VIS coprehensively [sic] processes data on infectious diseases of livestock. Infected farms are displayed in GIS and automatically transfered into „protection zone“. The State Veterinary and Administration instantly identifies and monitors outbreaks of infectious diseases and quickly detects similar problems in different farms. This allows for faster and more efficient decisions about steps to contain them.
Researchers have GPS-satellite tagged eight giraffes in Niger, West Africa as part of a pilot project aimed at conserving the threatened species. The £25,000 research project funded by the British Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) and marks the first time giraffes have been tagged for tracking. Anaesthetising giraffe is quite dangerous for the animal and thus has not been attempted much.
Air pollution (as measured by living near a highway) seems to be directly related to heart disease, according to a recent research study.
Artery wall thickness among those living within 100 metres (328 feet) of a road increased by 5.5 micrometres - one-twentieth the thickness of a human hair - per year, or more than twice the average progression observed in study participants.
Ed Fluentes give the new map, “part of a campaign by the Ad Council encouraging parents to spend quality time with their children” high marks for its graphics, but a museum that since closed is located blocks from its former location.
MAD Maps are special maps for special people: they are maps for folks who don’t want the direct route, but the fun route. The crompany’s paper maps, electronic maps and now iPhone app maps, are all geared to serve the adventurous set. Among them the two wheeled HD motorcycle set. (I know of them in part because of Don Cooke’s passion for the maps and the company; I don’t ride those kinds of bikes!)
The company’s new iPhone app is 99 cents and comes with five maps of rides within the U.S. Additional maps are 99 cents. And, the company makes it clear these are not regular maps made from satellites, but by local scouts on actual bikes.
Our scouts are our product,” said MAD Maps Founder Jennifer Lefferts. “Instead of relying on satellites in the sky, our development depends on real people on the ground.”
Does it matter? I can’t speak for motorcycle routes, but I know real queue sheets for cycling from real riders are 1000% better than drawing a route using Google Maps! While I’m lucky enough to use “free ones” from my local cycling club, I’d pay for others when traveling, especially if they were regularly checked for updates/accuracy.
In this episode of DMTV, geospatial cloud computing is explained in a simple example of geocoding and pin mapping. Three steps are presented: storing, processing and visualizing geospatial information without the need for executable programs that are resident on your local computer. The objective is to show a workflow using as many cloud-based solutions as are available today to process georeferenced data.
