Has your income increased by 17% over the past two years? If so, congratulations. In Toronto you’ll need it. Following a huge 9.5% property tax increase last year Mayor Olivia Chow and budget chief Shelley Carroll announced a 6.9% property tax increase this year. This year’s total is comprised of a 5.4% plus the 1.5% increase in the city building levy for capital expenditures on transit and housing. That is a compounded two year total — with tax...

To study microorganisms in laboratory settings, scientists often rely on a perhaps surprising medium: agar, a jelly-like substance that, when mixed with other nutrients, supports the growth of bacteria and similarly small living things. But agar hasn’t always fulfilled this function. Prior to the late 19th century, it was more commonly used as an ingredient in desserts and soups. At the time, researchers lacked a method to easily grow microorganisms (also known as microbes) as pure cultures isolated from other species—a crucial step in finding a cure for the diseases caused by these organisms. Solid substances like potato slices and coagulated egg whites presented several drawbacks, chief among them their high opacity. Gelatin offered some advantages, but it was easily consumed by microbes and melted at the high temperatures needed to cultivate bacteria. Adding agar to a nutrient-rich mixture avoided these problems, providing a transparent growth medium that wouldn’t be degraded by bacteria.

Angry Birds Agar.io style Our Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/bowserjr12345Bowser12345">https://twitter.com/bowserjr12345Bowser12345</a> is a flash animation channel focused on Angry Birds, SpongeBob SquarePants, Plants vs. Zombies and more. If you enjoy our videos, make sure to hit “Like” or share them on your social mediaHave an idea for the next video? Post a comment below!Make sure to subscribe to the channel: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Bowser12345?sub_confirmation=1Our">http://www.youtube.com/user/Bowser12345?sub_confirmation=1Our</a> Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/bowserjr12345"Kick">https://twitter.com/bowserjr12345"Kick</a> Shock" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Merry Christmas. You can say it. Christmas is not under attack. We have indeed seen a difference in what used to be the traditional Christmas concert and/or play at school. For many people, Christmas is merely cultural and cultures change, but that isn’t you. Your Christmas is your Christmas. If you don’t get to see a costumed gaggle of five-year-olds playing out the nativity scene, with some lucky tyke getting to be the donkey, and a plastic...