ANN ARBOR FEATURES

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Ten dead crows and two very ill crows were recently found along railroad tracks west of the Gandy Dancer restaurant in Ann Arbor. The live crows exhibited symptoms of poisoning and have since died.

Given the large crow population locally, Leslie Science and Nature Center staff members took some questions about crows to the experts at the Washtenaw Audubon Society, which counted almost 30,000 crows in Ann Arbor in the group's annual Christmas Bird count on Dec. 20.

American crows gather in the fall and winter in spectacularly large roosting flocks. In the late afternoon, crows gather in small- to medium-sized groups around Ann Arbor and outside of the city to perform their acrobatic antics.

Scientists at the University of Michigan are joining with their counterparts at several Israeli universities in the hopes of winning funding to work together on research into human disease.

Called the U-M/Israel Partnership for Scientific Research, the joint effort grew out of personal connections between researchers at U-M and Israel. The Life Sciences Institute, the laboratory facility at U-M dedicated to basic scientific research, has hosted an exchange of Israeli scientists, and U-M scientists have gone to Israel to pursue their own research interests.

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The Ypsilanti High School varsity and junior varsity cheerleading squads are hosting an "Ypsi Idol" talent contest as a fundraiser for the teams.

Carrie Williams most likely remembered the events of May 23, 1928, for the rest of her life. That was the day she shot and killed Will Speed in the bedroom of her home.

Cookware store Kitchen Port had a rough holiday season, like a lot of retailers, as its sales were off 40 percent.

The store is now up for sale, according to president Roberta Shrope. And yes, there are deals to be had.

Everything inside the Scio Township shop is now 20 percent off at least through Friday, probably longer - that includes all of its fancy gadgets, high-end cookware and accessories.

The sales have been great this week at Bello Vino Marketplace, as the specialty grocer gets ready to shut its door.

Most of the most sought-after beer, wine and cheese left the shelves last weekend and early this week, but there are still deals to be had. The store is offering discounts of 25 percent to 50 percent various food, beer and wine merchandise.

But you'd be well-served to get there fast; the shelves are starting to look pretty empty. The store's last day in business will be Jan. 15.

Q: How cold is cold? - Paul S.
 
A: Most people know that water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. That is cold, but it isn't as cold as cold gets. There's a colder cold: zero degrees Fahrenheit. But that isn't all, there's the coldest cold: absolute zero.   

Molecules are the building blocks of practically everything and they are always moving, like little bumper cars. That movement makes heat. Heat is just the energy of moving molecules. Think of warm water. The molecules in warm water are moving fast. The molecules in cold water, by comparison, are moving much more slowly.

You can tell by putting your hand in the water. The warm water molecules bump into your hand and shake the molecules that make up your skin. By sensing the amount of shaking, your nerves and brain can recognize the water as warm instead of cold.

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Leisa Thompson | The Ann Arbor NewsWilliam Fink, professor and curator director of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, holds a rattlesnake which is in the herpetology collection among scores of other creatures at the Alexander G. Ruthven Museums Building Friday, Dec. 26, 2008. U-M plans to spend $20 million to build a new storage area for millions of specimens from zoology department's wet collection.

Inside the thousands of liquid-filled glass containers are untold stories about the natural world, waiting to be discovered by researchers at the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.

One container holds geckos from Costa Rica. Inside another is a viperfish pulled from the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean. A coiled rattlesnake floating inside its container is so lifelike that its rattle makes the characteristic sound when the specimen is taken out and examined.

Preserved in ethyl alcohol are more than 3.3 million specimens of fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians and other animals - a record of sorts of life on Earth. In some cases, the specimens were collected more than 100 years ago and the animals are now extinct.

Racial discrimination has shaped June Thomas' life. She was one of the first black students to integrate her high school in South Carolina. The Baha'i faith's message of racial unity won her over.

The best way to get a good deal at a place like ABC Warehouse is to ask about deals on display models when you get there. Just ask Dexter resident Lauren Thompson who got a few hundred dollars knocked off a flat screen TV a few minutes ago by asking for a deal on a display model from a salesman. Moral of the story: You certainly can't get a deal on everything - but it never hurts to ask.

Ever since a couple of friends persuaded him to pay the $2 fee it cost to join the Michigan Bow Hunters in 1952, Don Schleede has been a fervent bow hunter.

Schleede, who is 77 years old and lives in Ann Arbor for half of the year, hasn't missed the opening day of archery deer season in Michigan since he began and regularly hunts more than 30 of the 45 days of the hunting season in October and November.

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By Diane Gale Andreassi
News Special Writer

People around town have something a little more special planned than cookies and milk to leave Santa this Christmas Eve.

Caroline Mandel, director of sports nutrition for the University of Michigan athletic department, wants to keep Santa loaded on carbohydrates and liquids for his marathon trek delivering presents to children around the globe.