Solar Storm Protection
Warning system to protect astronauts from solar storms
Massive explosions on the sun unleash radiation that could kill astronauts in space. (more…)
Author Archives: Guest Post
Not Your Typical Summer Job for High School Students
The iCLEM Program Gives Students Hands-On Science Experience and a Salary
When we think of high school summer jobs what typically comes to mind are images of lawn-mowing, camp-counseling, life-guarding at a swimming pool, and baby-sitting. But for eight high school students from the East Bay Area, a job this summer means a lab coat and safety glasses, working in a state-of-the art microbiology research facility on the next-step in bioenergy. (more…)
Mobile Retail Commerce Rises While Social Shopping Drops in Second Quarter, Reports IBM
Consumers Buy More Per Online Transaction
Armonk, N.Y. – 16 Jul 2012: Mobile shopping rose while social media sales fell, providing an indication of where US retailers may invest in order to capture the attention and loyalty of the digital consumer, according to a new report from IBM. The IBM Retail Online Index, a cloud-based analysis of the online retail sector reported that retailers experienced 15 percent growth in sales from mobile devices but saw a 20 percent decline in sales traced to social media based on a much smaller base over this three-month period.
This report follows today’s news from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Census Bureau which announced its estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales. According to the findings, retail sales fell 0.5 percent in June from May, the third straight month sales have been down from the month before. On a positive note, June 2012 sales were 3.8 percent above the pace of June 2011. (more…)
Largest Analysis of Public Opinions at Outbreak of World War I Challenges Popular Myth
A groundbreaking book presents new evidence that challenges the way we understand British and Irish responses to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.
Almost 100 years since its outbreak, A Kingdom United presents the first ever fully-documented study of British and Irish popular reactions to the outbreak of the First World War. University of Exeter historian Dr Catriona Pennell has explored UK public opinion of the time and successfully challenges the myth of British ‘war enthusiasm’ and Irish disengagement.
Treating the UK as the state that it was in 1914 – the United Kingdom of Britain and Ireland – the research is based on a vast array of contemporary diaries, letters, journals and newspaper accounts from across the country. The book explores what people felt and how they acted in response to an unanticipated and unprecedented crisis. (more…)
UCLA Bioengineers Discover Single Cancer Cell Can Produce Up To Five Daughter Cells
Findings could aid researchers in understanding progression of disease
It’s well known in conventional biology that during the process of mammalian cell division, or mitosis, a mother cell divides equally into two daughter cells. But when it comes to cancer, say UCLA researchers, mother cells may be far more prolific.
Bioengineers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science developed a platform to mechanically confine cells, simulating the in vivo three-dimensional environments in which they divide, and found that, upon confinement, cancer cells often split into three or more daughter cells.
“We hope that this platform will allow us to better understand how the 3-D mechanical environment may play a role in the progression of a benign tumor into a malignant tumor that kills,” said Dino Di Carlo, an associate professor of bioengineering at UCLA and principal investigator on the research. (more…)
Groundbreaking Research Paves Way for HIV Prevention Drug Approval
For the first time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering approving a drug that helps prevent someone from acquiring HIV. It’s called Truvada, and has been approved for use since 2004 to treat infected people.
Now it has been shown to protect healthy people who are exposed to HIV. The UW’s International Clinical Research Center, within the Department of Global Health, played a key role in examining the drug’s effectiveness for HIV prevention.
Researchers Connie Celum and Jared Baeten led a study, published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, of pre-exposure prophylaxis among heterosexual couples in Kenya and Uganda. One partner had HIV (and was not yet eligible for HIV treatment) and the other partner did not have HIV. Uninfected partners were given either Truvada or Tenofovir (both antiretroviral drugs) or a placebo. (more…)
The Internet is Increasing the Speed we all Learn
As we all know the Internet is full of information, advice, media and commentary. It is often hard to sift through all the information that can be found on a subject to find what is important and factual. However, there are many good sources of information that can be trusted, with people putting their reputation on the line and regularly delivering high quality educational material.
You may have heard of TED.com, which is a collection of videos from excellent speakers across the world, all giving talks at the TED Foundation conferences. These talks are recorded, uploaded and freely available for anyone to stream or download to their PC. Many of the speakers are famous people and some are leaders in their field, however even with some of the most obscure topics there are often points raised that will benefit nearly everyone. The top three videos ordered by the amount of views are:
1 – Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity – 11,213,898 views
2 – Jill Bolte Taylor’s stroke of insight – 8,856,587 views
3 – Pranav Mistry: The thrilling potential of SixthSense technology – 8,451,852 views (more…)
Copper Kills Harmful Bacteria, UA Researchers Find
Copper alloys may make more hygienic cooking surfaces than stainless steel, according to a recent study by Sadhana Ravishankar of the UA department of veterinary science and microbiology. Her lab group discovered that copper alloys have antimicrobial effects against the foodborne pathogen Salmonella enterica.
Each year a tiny, rod-shaped species of bacteria with a fondness for proliferating on human food causes numerous cases of food poisoning around the world, sometimes leading to severe illness and even death. (more…)