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Exile or Immigrant?

By Guest PostMarch 19, 2013Culture, Politicsamerican authors, anna karenina, born in china, boston university, brandeis university, chinese american author, chinese army, creative writing program, emotion, european works, exile, fathers and sons, first novel, ha jin, immigrant, john steinbeck, liberation army, madame bovary, people, soldier, united states, waiting, willa cather, write in english

Chinese-American author speaks as part of visiting writers series

Acclaimed Chinese-American author Ha Jin came to the United States almost 30 years ago as neither immigrant nor exile, but he experienced elements of both as he struggled to establish a personal identity and carve out a place for himself in the literary world.

On Thursday, March 7, close to 300 people turned out to hear the award-winning writer share his perspective on the contemporary immigrant experience. The lecture was part of a visiting writers series, Transnational Encounters: World-Renowned Authors at the University of Delaware. (more…)

Beetroot juice – the winning formula for team sports

By Guest PostMarch 19, 2013Healthactivity, andy jones, beetroot juice, chemical processes, david weir, dietary nitrate supplementation, energy, high nitrate content, joe rees, nitrate rich juice, ospreys, paralympics, richie pugh, stamina, university of exeter, wales sevens captain, welsh rugby players

New research shows that drinking beetroot juice can significantly improve performance in team sports involving bouts of high intensity exercise.

Trials by the University of Exeter Sport and Health Sciences department have found a direct link between the high nitrate content of beetroot and the chemical processes needed to get muscles working at their most efficient during intermittent bursts of activity.

During the tests, sportsmen were either given beetroot juice with a full complement of nitrates, or juice which had had the nitrate removed. Those who had taken the nitrate-rich juice were found to have a distinct advantage when exercising over those who had been given the control juice to drink. (more…)

Study Offers New Insights on Invasive Fly Threatening U.S. Fruit Crops

By Guest PostMarch 19, 2013Natureblackberry, d suzukii, drosophila suzukii, dylan kraus, east asia, eastern us, eggs, female flies, gina fernandez, hannah burrack, invasive, maturity, north Carolina, raspberry crops, research, spotted wing, state university, taylor spivey, united states, vinegar fly

Humans aren’t the only species with a sweet tooth. Research from North Carolina State University shows that the invasive spotted-wing vinegar fly (Drosophila suzukii) also prefers sweet, soft fruit – giving us new insight into a species that has spread across the United States over the past four years and threatens to cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to U.S. fruit crops.

“Because we know that D. suzukii prefers softer, sweeter fruit, we can focus our research efforts into which wild fruits may serve as reservoirs for this species and help identify new crops that might be at risk,” says Dr. Hannah Burrack, an assistant professor of entomology at NC State and lead author of a paper on the research. “These findings may also be a starting point for plant breeders interested in developing new fruit varieties that are more resistant to D. suzukii.” (more…)

Selfish Gene may Undermine Genome Police

By Guest PostMarch 18, 2013Scienceaubergine, brown university, chromosomes, father of genetics, fruit fly, genome police, gregor mendel, humans, mammals, police gene, robert reeenan, sd, segregation distorter, selena gell, selfish gene, selfish genetic entity, sex cells, sperm, strings of biochemicals

Biologists have been observing the “selfish” genetic entity segregation distorter (SD) in fruit flies for decades. Its story is a thriller among molecules, in which the SD gene destroys maturing sperm that have a rival chromosome. A new study reveals a tactic that gives SD’s villainy an extra edge.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — For a bunch of inanimate chemical compounds, the nucleic and amino acids caught up in the infamous “selfish” segregation distorter (SD) saga have put on quite a soap opera for biologists since the phenomenon was discovered in fruit flies 50 years ago. A new study, a highlight in the March issue of the journal Genetics, provides the latest plot twist. (more…)

App Offers Flurry of Exciting Features for Skiers

By Guest PostMarch 18, 2013Technologycanada, China, colorado, heavenly mountain resort, kevin ashley, lake tahoe, Microsoft, nokia collection, randy guthrie, ride app, silicon valley startup, snowboard instructors, windows phone, windows phone 8, winter ski, youtube videos, zoomable

Winter Ski & Ride app for Windows Phone helps you plan ultimate outings, keep track of your friends on the slopes, and beat your personal best.

REDMOND, Wash. – Winter Ski & Ride, a new Windows Phone app in the Nokia Collection, is taking skiing and snowboarding to a new altitude.

Say you’re riding a ski lift to the top of a snow-covered mountain, be it in Colorado, Canada or China. You touch the screen of your Nokia device, with frosty, gloved hands, and pass the lift time by looking at your stats. How many runs have you done? What was your top speed? You look at your contacts, and note what friends are still on the mountain. You decide to ski a mogul-heavy double black diamond run next, and watch a short video by a professional instructor to brush up on your bump skills. (more…)

‘I sold my kidney … to repay the loans’

By Guest PostMarch 18, 2013Economy, Healthblack market, human organ traffickers, microcredit loan, organ trafficking, sell an organ, selling a kidney, united states, village near joypurhat

Selling a kidney or part of one’s liver to pay off loans is becoming increasingly common in Bangladesh, where desperate villagers are being exploited by human organ traffickers, a Michigan State University researcher has found. (more…)

From Neanderthals to alien life: Q&A with Carl Zimmer

By Guest PostMarch 18, 2013Educationalien life, carl zimmer, environmental studies program, neanderthals, yale, yale university, yale university tumblr

Science writer and blogger Carl Zimmer ’87, a lecturer in Yale’s Environmental Studies Program, answers questions submitted by the public via the Yale University Tumblr. *Source: Yale University

Distant Planetary System is a Super-Sized Solar System

By Guest PostMarch 18, 2013Sciencechemical fingerprints, core accretion, core accretion model, gravitational instability, jupiter like planet, planetary properties, planetary system

TORONTO, ON – A team of astronomers, including Quinn Konopacky of the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, has made the most detailed examination yet of the atmosphere of a Jupiter-like planet beyond our Solar System. (more…)

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