For thousands of years, nomadic herdsmen have roamed the harsh, semi-arid lowlands that stretch across 80% of Kenya and 60% of Ethiopia. Descendants of the oldest tribal societies in the world, they survive thanks to the animals they raise and the crops they grow, their travels determined by the search for water and grazing lands. (more…)
*The Global Plants Initiative Meets at the Smithsonian in Panama Jan. 11-13*
For centuries, jungle explorers from Europe and North America have created art of the plants they discover—pressing bright flowers and green tendrils onto herbarium sheets for prestigious museums and plant collections. But scientists in the most biodiverse countries lack easy access to this basic information needed to identify plants. The Global Plants Initiative, meeting Jan. 11-13 at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, catapults biodiversity research to a new level, sharing plant collections in a massive online database of high-resolution scans. (more…)
*Jeremy Copp to Speak at M-Days Conference in Frankfurt*
Hamburg, Germany, January 12, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released 
data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the German smartphone market during the three month average period ending November 2010. The report ranked the leading smartphone operating system (OS) platforms in Germany according to their share of current mobile subscribers ages 13 and older. The November report found that Symbian led among smartphone platforms with 47.7 percent market share, followed by Apple (19.5 percent), Microsoft (13.7 percent), Google (10.6 percent) and RIM (4.8 percent). Google Android gained the largest market share and went up 9.2 percentage points compared to November 2009. (more…)
UCLA scientists use new scientific method to verify vintage 4100 B.C. wine
Analysis by a UCLA-led team of scientists has confirmed the discovery of the oldest complete wine production facility ever found, including grape seeds, withered grape vines, remains of pressed grapes, a rudimentary wine press, a clay vat apparently used for fermentation, wine-soaked potsherds, and even a cup and drinking bowl. (more…)
Large wildlife die-off events are fairly common, though they should never be ignored, according to the U.S. Geological Survey scientists whose preliminary tests showed that the bird deaths in Arkansas on New Year’s Eve and those in Louisiana were caused by impact trauma. (more…)
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Biological fathers are more likely to spank their children when they are unable to cope with stress from parenting or they use abuse alcohol and drugs, a new study indicates.
The study also finds that fathers used corporal punishment—which involves physical force to a child to correct a behavior—more often on boys than girls. (more…)
ARMONK, N.Y. & CINCINNATI, Ohio – 11 Jan 2011: IBM today announced that the Cincinnati Zoo is using IBM business analytics software to drive new revenue, improve member visits and integrate all ticketing, retail, and food sales operations. The zoo projects a $350,000 increase in revenue in the first year, and an additional 50,000 in new visits per year using the IBM analytics solution.
More than 1.2 million people a year visit Cincinnati Zoo’s exhibits, which feature over 500 animal and 3,000 plant species. The Zoo was also rated the No. 1 attraction locally and one of the top zoos in the nation by Zagat Survey. (more…)
The so-called “superstreet” traffic design results in significantly faster travel times, and leads to a drastic reduction in automobile collisions and injuries, according to North Carolina State University researchers who have conducted the largest-ever study of superstreets and their impacts. (more…)
