Astronomers watch a delayed broadcast of a powerful stellar eruption
Astronomers are watching the astronomical equivalent of streaming live video of a spectacular outburst from the unstable, behemoth double-star system Eta Carinae, which initially was seen on Earth nearly 170 years ago. (more…)
In the absence of the protein biglycan, synapses at neuromuscular junctions in mice began to break up about five weeks after birth, according to a new study led by Brown University researchers. Reintroducing byglycan helped fix the loss of synaptic stability in cell culture. The research may be relevant to efforts to treat motor neuron diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and spinal muscular atrophy. (more…)
A Yale-led study of the evolutionary history of Antarctic fish and their “anti-freeze” proteins illustrates how tens of millions of years ago a lineage of fish adapted to newly formed polar conditions – and how today they are endangered by a rapid rise in ocean temperatures. (more…)
*Mechanism holds potential for improving recall in dementia patients*
Have you ever gone to the movies and forgotten where you parked the car? New UCLA research may one day help you improve your memory.
UCLA neuroscientists have demonstrated that they can strengthen memory in human patients by stimulating a critical junction in the brain. Published in the Feb. 9 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, the finding could lead to a new method for boosting memory in patients with early Alzheimer’s disease. (more…)
*comScore Releases Overview of European Internet Usage for December 2011*
LONDON, UK, 16 February 2012 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released an overview of internet 
usage in Europe, showing 381.5 million unique visitors went online in December 2011 for an average of 27.5 hours per person. This release highlights internet usage in 49 European markets aggregated into the European region and provides individual reporting on 18 markets. Amongst its findings, the study also shows that online banking reached 66.3 percent of the internet audience in the Netherlands, making it the top market in Europe for sites such as ING Group. (more…)
You could say that the economic field of benefit-cost analysis has been stuck in a loop on a specific matter for 70 years — a kind of logical figure-eight that leads not forward, but back upon itself. (more…)
*Actor Steve Schirripa discusses experience in entertainment industry*
Steve Schirripa, best known for his television roles on The Sopranos and The Secret Life of the American Teenager, spoke Monday, Feb. 13, in Mitchell Hall about his experience in the entertainment industry.
Peter X. Feng, an associate professor of English with an expertise in film and literature, conducted the on-stage interview in an Inside the Actors Studio-type format. (more…)
Will lasers and GPS technology finally enable accurate measurement of snowfall?
Equipped with specialized lasers and GPS technology, scientists are working to address a critical wintertime weather challenge: how to accurately measure the amount of snow on the ground. (more…)
