Impact

NEW BEAUTY HAPPENING IN FOOTPRINTS IN THE SNOW NOW

by Alan Watson. Bears and tracks in the snow.

Footprints in the snow can be beautiful. They can be poetic… they can be telling. Today we are sharing some new discoveries, new creations, as well as just a couple of old favorites, so get ready to enjoy and marvel at Beautiful Footprints in the Snow.

FOOTPRINTS IN THE SNOW CAN SAVE POLAR BEARS

Footprints in the snow might be able to save the animals who made them. Scientists on an Arctic expedition have isolated polar bear DNA from frozen skin cells left behind in tracks in the snow.

Because the Arctic environment is changing so rapidly, wildlife conservation there is of growing importance.

During the Norwegian Polar Institute expedition to Svalbard, Norway, earlier this year, the World Wildlife Fund worked with scientists at SPYGEN, a DNA specialist firm, to pioneer an innovative identification technique using footprint DNA.

“At present, researchers use expensive, invasive techniques,” says Arnaud Lyet of WWF in a news release. “Using footprint DNA, we could dramatically cut the investment required, so monitoring populations could be done more easily.”

Researchers gathered the polar bear cells from the snow around their paw prints. They extracted the DNA from cells in the meltwater, then amplified it, to aid in their identification. They also identified seal and seagull DNA in the snow, indicating a recent encounter among all three sets of animals.

The team is now looking for molecular markers that will allow them to identify individual bears and their behaviors.

FOOTPRINTS IN THE SNOW -- JULIAN TREASURE

Check out this dreamy clip of Footprints in the Snow, a new soundscape by Julian Treasure of The Sound Agency. This beautiful soundscape will be one of a set of original soundscapes available on the new BeautifulNow DailyFix App scheduled for release later this month. Stay tuned!

FOOTPRINTS IN THE SNOW -- ROBERT EARL KEEN

Check out Master backroads storyteller Robert Earl Keen’s new cover of Bill Monroe’s “Footprints in the Snow” on his forthcoming album, Happy Prisoner.

It’s due to drop on February 10, 2015 via Dualtone. The album features 15 beloved songs from the likes of Flatt and Scruggs, Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family, among others.

FOOTPRINTS IN THE SNOW -- GREG LAKE

If one day your stars won't shine

I will give you some of mine

Cause they could fall so easily

We both know there's footprints in the snow

Footprints in the Snow – Greg Lake (Emerson Lake & Palmer).

DES PAS SUR LA NEIGE -- CLAUDE DEBUSSY

Des Pas sur la Neige, by French composer Claude Debussy, is the sixth piece in the composer's first book of Préludes, written between late 1909 and early 1910.

American composer David Schiff suggests that the inspiration for the title could have stemmed from a painting depicting a snowy landscape, such as those painted by Claude Monet. It is a beautiful, ethereal piece -- one of our favorites.

Check out Michelangeli’s rendition in this video.

Enter your own images and ideas about Beautiful Snow in this week’s creative Photo Competition. Open for entries now until 11:59 p.m. PT on 02.8.15. If you are reading this after that date, check out the current BN Creative Competition, and enter!