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Kleidung unter der Detox-Lupe: Neuer Einkaufsratgeber für giftfreie Mode

By Guest PostNovember 24, 2013Environmentadidas, axel kirchhof, chemie experte, China, detox kampagne, detox lupe, deutsche, gesundheit, gots, Greenpeace, greenpeace tests, ivn best, john javellana, kleidung, manfred santen, mexiko, nike, Pakistan, schadstofffreie kleidung, textiles vertrauen, textilindustrie, textilproduktion, trinkwasser, umwelt, umweltproblem

Kennen Sie das schmutzige Geheimnis Ihrer Kleidung? Egal ob billig oder teuer – Kleidung wird mit viel Chemie traktiert, bevor sie auf dem Bügel hängt. Der neue Textilratgeber von Greenpeace zeigt, welche Label dem Verbraucher wirklich schadstofffreie Kleidung bieten – und welche nur Feigenblättchen sind.

In unserer Kleidung sind etliche Substanzen, die selbst in kleinsten Mengen Umwelt und Gesundheit schädigen. Vor allem die kostbare und rare Ressource Wasser wird mit den giftigen Stoffen aus den Kleiderfabriken verschmutzt. Die Textilindustrie – so zeigen Greenpeace-Tests – ist eine Industrie, die dringend entgiften muss. (more…)

Snow melts faster under trees than in open areas in mild climates

By Guest PostNovember 24, 2013Environmentbrian henn, california, cascade mountains, cedar river, city of seattle, diverse animal habitat, ibutton, james lutz, jessica lundquist, maritime forests, mediterranean climates, mild climates, municipal watershed, nicoleta cristea, open areas, phenomenon, researcher, rolf gersonde, sierra nevada range, sites to monitor, snow melting, snowmelt behavior, susan dickerson lange, tree canopy, under trees, university of washington, utah state university

It’s a foggy fall morning, and University of Washington researcher Susan Dickerson-Lange pokes her index finger into the damp soil beneath a canopy of second-growth conifers. The tree cover is dense here, and little light seeps in among the understory of the Cedar River Municipal Watershed about 30 miles east of Seattle.

She digs a small hole in the leaf-litter soil, then pushes a thumb-sized device, called an iButton, about an inch beneath the surface. If all goes well, this tiny, battery-powered instrument will collect a temperature reading every hour for 11 months. Researchers hope this tool and a handful of other instruments will help them map winter temperatures throughout the watershed as they track snow accumulation and melt. (more…)

Playing with future of British armed forces

By Guest PostNovember 23, 2013Politics, Weaponsafghanistan, armed forces, barbie, best selling, body armour, british homes, british troops, conflict, cultures, geopolitical climates, help for heroes, her majesty, hmaf dolls, licensed by, london, military action figure, ministry of defence, professor klaus dodds, royal holloway university, sean carter, social scientists, tara woodyer, toy range, university of exeter, university of portsmouth, war, withdrawal

Social scientists are to examine whether action figure dolls help form children’s opinions on war and have a role to play in shaping the future of our armed forces.

It is the first time research has examined the role of toys in the making of young citizens. The £492,508 project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

The researchers, Dr Sean Carter, from Geography at the University of Exeter, Dr Tara Woodyer, of the University of Portsmouth and Professor Klaus Dodds, of Royal Holloway University of London, have expertise in human geography, children’s play, childhood studies, geopolitics and the culture of war. (more…)

Bacteria may allow animals to send quick, voluminous messages

By Guest PostNovember 23, 2013Naturebacteria in pastes, hyenas, sour smelling signals, striped hyenas, symbiotic bacteria

Twitter clips human thoughts to a mere 140 characters. Animals’ scent posts may be equally as short, relatively speaking, yet they convey an encyclopedia of information about the animals that left them. (more…)

Drei Lügen gegen Ökostrom und was man tun kann

By Guest PostNovember 23, 2013Environment, Politicsakw in betrieb, ard journalist, armut, atom, atomkraft, China, deutschland, drei luegen, eeg, energiepolitik, erfolgsmodell, erneuerbare energien gesetz, europas, finnland, frankreich, fukushima, grossbritannien, kohle, oekostrom, oekostrom umlage, oelpreise, russland, solar, sozialpolitik, strompreis, suedkorea, windstrom

Eine Kampagne strickt ein raffiniertes Lügengeflecht und behauptet, der subventionierte Solar- und Windstrom sei der Preistreiber

upg. In Deutschland blasen Lobbys zum Angriff auf das Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz EEG. Solar- und Windstrom seien schuld daran, dass der Strompreis ab 2014 bereits wieder um einen Cent pro Kilowattstunde teurer wird. Doch die erneuerbare Energie sei nicht die Hauptschuldige an den steigenden Strompreisen, erklärt Franz Alt, der frühere ARD-Journalist und Verfechter alternativer Energien. Er wehrt sich gegen ein «raffiniertes Lügengeflecht». Die deutsche Zeitung «Welt» gibt ihm recht: «Der erneute Anstieg der Ökostrom-Umlage ist nur zu einem geringen Teil auf den Bau neuer Solar- und Windparks zurück zu führen. Die wahren Kosten der Energiewende verstecken sich woanders.»

Die drei Lügen

Erste Lüge: Die erneuerbaren Energien sind die Preistreiber. (more…)

Diamond Imperfections Pave the Way to Technology Gold

By Guest PostNovember 23, 2013Scienceadvanced technology, berkeley lab, combination of theory, creation of qubits, data, dephasing, detection, diamond defects, Diamond Imperfections, diamond impurities, dmitry budker, electronic dynamic, electronic spectroscopy, electronic state phenomena, graham fleming, magnetic field, magnetometry, nanophotonics, nanoscale, nitrogen vacancy, non radiative relaxation, NV center, quantum information, quantum information processing, quantum mechanical effects, quantum spin, relaxation, spectroscopic signals, spin addressing, Technology Gold, Thomas Oliver, timescale, vanessa huxter, Vibrational, vibrational coherences

Berkeley Study Provides Unprecedented Details on Ultrafast Processes in Diamond Nitrogen Vacancy Centers

From supersensitive detections of magnetic fields to quantum information processing, the key to a number of highly promising advanced technologies may lie in one of the most common defects in diamonds. Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley have taken an important step towards unlocking this key with the first ever detailed look at critical ultrafast processes in these diamond defects. (more…)

Carbon hotspots: Rivers and streams leak more CO2 than thought

By Guest PostNovember 22, 2013EnvironmentAmazon, annual rainfall, atmosphere, carbon budget, carbon dioxide, carbon hotspots, central america, CO2, co2 evasion rate, concentration of co2, david butman, ecosystem, field data, flux of co2, global carbon cycle, global dataset, global resource, human activity, hydrochemical database, jens hartmann, percentage of emission, peter a raymond, southeast asia, university of hamburg

The amount of carbon dioxide escaping from rivers and streams into the atmosphere is much larger than previously thought, according to a new study that maps for the first time the flux of CO₂ from inland waters worldwide. Published in the journal Nature, the research reveals the major role these waterways play in the global carbon cycle, the authors said.

“This study solidifies the significance of inland waters as conduits of exchange and provides a framework for inclusion of this exchange in regional and global studies,” said lead author Peter A. Raymond, a professor of ecosystem ecology at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES). “Understanding how ecosystems exchange carbon is important, as they currently offset a significant percentage of emissions caused by human activity.” (more…)

Society for Neuroscience 2013: How sleep aids visual task learning

By Guest PostNovember 22, 2013Health, Sciencebrainwaves, brown university, david orenstein, decline of function, due to aging, electronic encephalography, ji won bang, magnetic resonance imaging, measure the brainwaves, neural mechanism, neural oscillations, playing the piano, polysomnography, psychological sciences, san diego, sigma brainwave, sigma frequency, sleep, sleeping brain, society for neuroscience, supplementary motor area, Takeo Watanabe, visual cortical area, visual task learning, yuka sasaki

At the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego Nov. 10, 2013, Brown University scientists presented research showing what happens in the brain during sleep to lock in learning of a visually oriented “Where’s Waldo”-like task.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — As any indignant teacher would scold, students must be awake to learn. But what science is showing with increasing sophistication is how the brain uses sleep for learning as well. At the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego Nov. 10, 2013, Brown University researchers discussed new research describing the neural mechanism by which the sleeping brain locks in learning of a visual task. (more…)

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