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Scientist names new fly species after the Professor who has supported his work

By Guest PostAugust 14, 2013Nature, Scienceamber rocks, aspect of biodiversity, bishop museum, caribbean island, dave penney, dominican republic, fly, hawaii, hispaniola, journal zootaxa, keroplatidae family, neal evenhuis, new species, proceroplatus preziosii, richard preziosi, university of manchester

A Professor from The University of Manchester has had his name immortalised as a new species of fly.

Professor Richard Preziosi, from the Faculty of Life Sciences, said he was delighted with the unusual tribute from researcher Dr Dave Penney.

It follows his continued support of Dr Penney’s unfunded research into amber rocks which he has been investigating for around 20 years.

Dr Penney discovered the new species of fly, which he has named Proceroplatus preziosii, on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, after finding a fossil in 16 million-year-old amber from the Dominican Republic. His findings were confirmed by Dr Neal Evenhuis, of the Bishop Museum in Hawaii, who is the leading world expert on this group. The species is a tiny gnat just a few millimetres long belonging to the Keroplatidae family. (more…)

UCLA researcher invents new tools to manage ‘information overload’ threatening neuroscience

By Guest PostAugust 14, 2013Sciencecrowd sourcing strategy, information overload, map creation process, nano publications, pre map era

Before the digital age, neuroscientists got their information in the library like the rest of us. But the explosion of neuroscience research has resulted in the publication of nearly 2 million papers — more data than any researcher can read and absorb in a lifetime.
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Smart enough to know better: Intelligence is not a remedy for racism

By Guest PostAugust 14, 2013Culture, Generalgeoffrey wodtke, high ability whites, intelligence, intelligent whites, low ability whites, modern america, practice, racial equality, racial inequality, racism, smart enough, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR — Smart people are just as racist as their less intelligent peers—they’re just better at concealing their prejudice, according to a University of Michigan study.

“High-ability whites are less likely to report prejudiced attitudes and more likely to say they support racial integration in principle,” said Geoffrey Wodtke, a doctoral candidate in sociology. “But they are no more likely than lower-ability whites to support open housing laws and are less likely to support school busing and affirmative action programs.” (more…)

‘Small World Initiative’: Engaging young students in critical research

By Guest PostAugust 13, 2013Education, Scienceeric warrick, jean schmidt, kline biology tower, manoa, neil enis, pilot program, research projects, sachie etherington, small world initiative, stem, tiffany tsang, tulsa community college, university of hawaii, university of pittsburgh, yale campus

Twenty-four faculty members from colleges and universities from around the country left the Yale campus on Aug. 1 with a new mission: to inspire their freshman and sophomore students to pursue scientific research, specifically by discovering new antibiotics from soil bacteria.

In a week-long workshop called “The Small World Initiative” and held at Kline Biology Tower, the teachers developed the tools to engage their students in real-life research projects with such life-saving potential. (more…)

The Tastemakers

By Guest PostAugust 13, 2013Scienceamericans, anne laure rouger, aroma, devin peterson, flavor, flavor research, flavoromics, food and flavor, frec, gary reineccius, general mills, human experience, nestle, pepsico, statistical correlations, tastemakers, university of minnesota

From a sweet deal to the bitter end, there’s no accounting for taste. Descriptions of flavor are littered throughout our common sayings, and there’s a good reason for that. Food and flavor sensations are a key part of the human experience, and everyone knows what “bitter” feels and tastes like.

But what happens when a scientist tries to quantify taste? What, exactly, is flavor? What makes a food taste sweet, or salty, or even cooked? (more…)

China has potential to be leader in global sustainability

By Guest PostAugust 13, 2013Environmentair pollutants, carbon dioxide emissions, carbon emissions, carbon intensive industries, cement, China, dabo guan, domestic energy market, douglas crawford brown, electrical grids, energy, global sustainability, great britain, jianguo jack liu, kebin he, leader, michigan state university, steel, tsinghua university, united states, zhu liu

China, with its enormous cities and vast countryside, is a potential star in the ongoing global drama of slashing carbon emissions.

In this week’s Nature, a Michigan State University researcher and an international team of sustainability experts propose a script.

China already is a star in unleashing carbon dioxide emissions. In 2011, it accounted for a quarter of the world’s total. The problems – air pollution, squandered energy resources and economic stresses that squelch growth – also come with tremendous opportunity for China to be leader in slashing emissions. Along the way, China’s vast variety of economic and geographic circumstances offers a chance to set examples for its global neighbors. (more…)

Microsoft introduces the 4Afrika Scholarship program

By Guest PostAugust 12, 2013Education, Technology4afrika scholarship program, africa, african students, botswana, clinton global initiative, english, international youth day, Microsoft, microsoft 4afrika, microsoft innovation centers, new york university, patrick onwumere, people, Tanzania, tunisia, uganda, united nations, university, young african minds

Part of the 4Afrika Initiative, the program will offer mentorship, training, university-level education and employment opportunities to aspiring African youth.

LAGOS, Nigeria — Aug. 12, 2013 — In recognition of International Youth Day, Microsoft Corp. Monday introduced the 4Afrika Scholarship program, as part of its 4Afrika Initiative, through which it will provide mentorship, leadership and technical training, certification, university-level education, and employment opportunities for promising African students. Mentorship will be provided by Microsoft employees from around the world, and employment opportunities will include internships and both part-time and full-time jobs within Microsoft, as well as with the company’s more than 10,000 partners across Africa.

Through the company’s 4Afrika Initiative and YouthSpark program, Microsoft has committed to helping millions of Africans get critical skills for entrepreneurship and employability. The 4Afrika Scholarship program is one way the company intends to meet that goal, by helping ensure that promising youth have access to the education, resources and skills they need to succeed, regardless of their financial situations. To help redress gender disparity in higher education in Africa, the company is actively encouraging young women to apply. (more…)

Ese’eja Nation

By Guest PostAugust 12, 2013Culture, Scienceamazon basin, Amazon rainforest, anthropological work, cultural mapping project, darlington, Environment, eseeja nation, hadza hunter, hunter gatherer, indigenous peruvian community, infierno, jonathan cox, life can work, palma real, peru, sarah driver, simple lifestyle, sonene, south america, summer scholar, tale, Tanzania, university of delaware, westernized society

UD professor, scholar document culture of Peruvian community

As the elders of a small hunter-gatherer community told the story of how their people came to be, University of Delaware assistant professor of art Jonathan Cox and Summer Scholar Sarah Driver sat and listened, intrigued by the tale.

Over the course of seven days, they learned firsthand about the Ese’eja (ess-a-eha) Nation, a community of three distinct villages living in the remote areas of Infierno, Palma Real and Sonene, Peru. (more…)

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