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Grosses Interesse an einem Europa ohne Grenzen

By Guest PostDecember 25, 2013PoliticsAngela Merkel, eu, europa ohne grenzen, europas motor, european union parliament, gruenen politiker, helmut schmidt, historiker karl schloegel, joschka fischer, juerg mueller muralt, krisensymptome, osteuropa, ukraine

Die Europäische Union durchlebt die wohl schwerste Krise. Doch es gibt auch eine positive Botschaft: Europa wächst zusammen.

In der Ukraine demonstrieren Bürgerinnen und Bürger für eine Annäherung ihres Landes an die Europäische Union, Anfang Jahr beginnen die Beitrittsverhandlungen der EU mit Serbien – und am 1. Januar 2014 fällt wieder einmal eine Grenze: Die Übergangsregeln für die EU-Staaten Rumänien und Bulgarien laufen aus, die Bürgerinnen und Bürger dieser beiden Länder kommen ab Jahresanfang in den Genuss der vollen Personenfreizügigkeit der EU (für die Schweiz gelten noch bis Mai 2016 Beschränkungen). Trotz weiterhin bestehender Strahlkraft der EU, trotz fallender Grenzen: Zum Feiern ist niemandem zumute. (more…)

Researchers Develop System for Assessing How Effective Species Are at Pollinating Crops

By Guest PostDecember 25, 2013Scienceblueberry growers, david tarpy, efficiency rates, entomology, hannah burrack, north Carolina, pollination by bees, pollination efficiency, pollinator species, pumpkins, specific metrics, state university, tomatoes

From tomatoes to pumpkins, most fruit and vegetable crops rely on pollination by bees and other insect species – and the future of many of those species is uncertain. Now researchers from North Carolina State University are proposing a set of guidelines for assessing the performance of pollinator species in order to determine which species are most important and should be prioritized for protection.

“Widespread concerns over the fate of honey bees and other pollinators have led to increased efforts to understand which species are the most effective pollinators, since this has huge ramifications for the agriculture industry,” says Dr. Hannah Burrack, an associate professor of entomology at NC State and co-author of a paper on the new guidelines and related research. “However, various research efforts have taken a wide variety of approaches, making it difficult to compare results in a meaningful way. (more…)

Walking the Walk: What Sharks, Honeybees and Humans Have in Common

By Guest PostDecember 25, 2013Nature, Scienceadam gordon, brian wood, common, david raichlen, east africa, evolutionary history, fundamental pattern, gps data, hadza people, hadza tribe, herman pontzer, honeybees, human movement patterns, humans, hunter college, hunters in africa, levy walk, levy walk pattern, mathematical pattern, new york, sharks, state university, Tanzania, ua anthropologist, university at albany, urban areas, walking the walk

A research team led by UA anthropologist David Raichlen has found that the Hadza tribe’s movements while foraging can be described by a mathematical pattern called a Lévy walk – a pattern that also is found in the movements of many other animals.

A mathematical pattern of movement called a Lévy walk describes the foraging behavior of animals from sharks to honey bees, and now for the first time has been shown to describe human hunter-gatherer movement as well. The study, led by University of Arizona anthropologist David Raichlen, was published on December 23, 2013 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The Lévy walk pattern appears to be ubiquitous in animals, similar to the golden ratio, phi, a mathematical ratio that has been found to describe proportions in plants and animals throughout nature. (more…)

Hack the planet? Geoengineering research, ethics, governance explored

By Guest PostDecember 24, 2013Environmentclimate emergency, counteract global warming, creating clouds, geoengineering research, iron fertilization

Hacking the Earth’s climate to counteract global warming – a subject that elicits strong reactions from both sides – is the topic of a December special issue of the journal Climatic Change. A dozen research papers include the most detailed description yet of the proposed Oxford Principles to govern geoengineering research, as well as surveys on the technical hurdles, ethics and regulatory issues related to deliberately manipulating the planet’s climate. (more…)

The future of research universities

By Guest PostDecember 24, 2013Education, Science21st century, maryland, merit based system, moocs, patrick harker, problem based learning, research universities, time to innovation, united states, university of delaware, university system, usm, william kirwan

Maryland chancellor shares ideas to enhance effectiveness of America’s research universities

For research universities to produce the ideas and talent the United States needs in order to lead in the 21st century, they “must make a steady and persistent movement to adapt to the times,” according to William (Brit) Kirwan, chancellor of the University System of Maryland (USM).

Kirwan spoke on the future of research universities on Wednesday, Dec. 11, at the University of Delaware. The talk, presented to a group of UD faculty and administrators, was designed to help set the scene and percolate new ideas as UD considers the next phase of its Path to Prominencestrategic plan, a process that will begin in the new year. (more…)

Im Raucherparadies China beginnt ein Umdenken

By Guest PostDecember 24, 2013Generalgipfel, kuba, oesterreich, panda zigarette, peter g achten, rauchernation, raucherparadies china, reformer deng xiaoping, shanghai, tobak, volksrepublik china, WHO, zigarette

Was für Europäer oder Amerikaner selbstverständlich ist, können Chinesinnen und Chinesen kaum verstehen: Rauchfreie Zonen.

Das grösste Raucherparadies östlich von Österreich ist ohne Zweifel die Volksrepublik China, neben Brasilien die süchtigste Rauchernation der Welt. Die Tabakindustrie sieht die wachsenden Umsatzzahlen im Reich der Mitte – klammheimlich, versteht sich – mit Wohlgefallen. Nach amtlichen Angaben wurden im letzten Jahrzehnt in China fast fünfzig Prozent mehr Zigaretten produziert. Weniger erfreut, ja entsetzt, sind die Gesundheitsbehörden, denn Chinesinnen und Chinesen bezahlen einen hohen Preis. (more…)

New Study Reveals the Biomechanics of How Marine Snail Larvae Swim

By Guest PostDecember 24, 2013Environment, Natureatlantic slipper limpet, biomechanics, cilia, crepidula fornicate, dianna padilla, epifluorescent microscopy image, Europe, evolution collected, houshuo jiang, karen chan, larvae, marine ecosystem, marine snail larvae, microorganisms freely swimming, microscopic video, nuisance, oceanographic institution, stony brook university, swim, vessel of seawater, video, whoi, woods hole

Equipped with high-speed, high-resolution video, scientists have discovered important new information on how marine snail larvae swim, a key behavior that determines individual dispersal and ultimately, survival.

Researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and Stony Brook University grew Atlantic slipper limpet larvae, which are slightly larger than a grain of sand, and recorded microscopic video of them swimming. In previous studies, it has been commonly thought that larvae swim faster when they beat their hair-like cilia faster. However, this new microscopic video and research shows that this is not the case. (more…)

Yale anthropologist’s research inspires modern art

By Guest PostDecember 24, 2013Culturecity, erik harms, fragments of civilization, galapagos project, galerie quynh, ho chi minh, laws, modern art, new urban area, of the jungle, project of nostalgia, research, thu thiem, tiffany chung, yale anthropologist

The transformation of the Thu Thiem New Urban Area in Ho Chi Minh City is the focus of a new exhibition in Vietnam by renowned artist Tiffany Chung that is based on research conducted in collaboration with Yale anthropologist Erik Harms.

Titled “an archaeology project for future remembrance,” the exhibition is on view at Galerie Quynh in Ho Chi Minh City. (more…)

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