Some images of stark Martian landscapes provide visual appeal beyond their science value, including a recent scene of wind-sculpted features from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
The scene shows dunes and sand ripples of various shapes and sizes inside an impact crater in the Noachis Terra region of southern Mars. Patterns of dune erosion and deposition provide insight into the sedimentary history of the area. (more…)
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new method for creating elastic conductors made of carbon nanotubes, which will contribute to large-scale production of the material for use in a new generation of elastic electronic devices.
“We’re optimistic that this new approach could lead to large-scale production of stretchable conductors, which would then expedite research and development of elastic electronic devices,” says Dr. Yong Zhu, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State, and lead author of a paper describing the new technique. (more…)
The high resolution of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Gang Ren
When Gang Ren whirls the controls of his cryo-electron microscope, he compares it to fine-tuning the gearshift and brakes of a racing bicycle. But this machine at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is a bit more complex. It costs nearly $1.5 million, operates at the frigid temperature of liquid nitrogen, and it is allowing scientists to see what no one has seen before.(more…)
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – A weak housing market, tight credit for small businesses, no significant growth in the banking sector, anemic consumer spending, and modest sales for retailers – that’s the outlook for 2012 according to experts at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.
“Several important dynamics frame the 2012 economic outlook,” says Cliff Rossi, Tyser Teacher Fellow and executive-in-residence. These factors include:
Massive financial leveraging across the board by sovereign countries, state and local governments, banks, businesses, and individuals;
Fear and uncertainty among consumers and investors, despite faint signs of optimism at times;
Political self-interest and brinksmanship increasingly interfering with effective policy making. (more…)
*The iconic, winged dinosaur Archaeopteryx was dressed for flight, an international team of researchers led by Brown University has concluded. The group identified the color of the raven-sized creature’s fossilized wing feather, determining it was black. The color and the structures that supplied the pigment suggest that Archaeopteryx’s feathers were rigid and durable, which would have helped it to fly. Results appear in Nature Communications.*
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Since its discovery 150 years ago, scientists have puzzled over whether the winged dinosaur Archaeopteryx represents the missing link in birds’ evolution to powered flight. Much of the debate has focused on the iconic creature’s wings and the mystery of whether — and how well — it could fly.(more…)
*Microsoft encourages individuals to examine their online reputation and offers tips to start the new year with the best digital foot forward.*
REDMOND, Wash. — Jan. 24, 2012 — In observance of Data Privacy Day 2012, Microsoft Corp. is releasing new data about consumer behaviors online and is offering guidance and tips to help people better manage their online profiles and maintain a positive reputation. In an increasingly connected world, everything people do online, from responding to emails and texts to clicking the “like” and “retweet” buttons on favorite Web pages, uploading photos and making purchases online, contributes to their online reputation.
Although 2012 is still new, Microsoft recommends people resolve to actively monitor and safeguard their online reputations. (more…)
*Study Looks at Unique Characteristics of America’s Younger Consumers and Their Responses to Advertising across Platforms*
RESTON, VA, January 24, 2012 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the report Next-Generation Strategies for Advertising to Millennials, highlighting the results from a recent comScore study that identifies the unique characteristics of the Millennial generation, commonly defined as persons born between 1981 and 2000. The study examined Millennials’ responses to different types of advertising, including TV and digital, compared to older generations, and how marketers can most effectively target this large and important segment. To download a complimentary copy of the report, please visit: https://www.comscore.com/Millennials. The study results will also be presented via a live webinar through the Advertising Research Foundation on January 31st. (more…)
Researchers at UCLA’s Jules Stein Eye Institute and colleagues who successfully transplanted specialized retinal cells derived from human embryonic stem cells into the eyes of two legally blind patients report that the transplants appear safe and that both patients have experienced modest improvement in their vision.
The preliminary findings, published online Jan. 23 in the journal The Lancet, represent a milestone in the therapeutic use of stem cells and may pave the way for a new therapy to treat eye diseases, the researchers said. Because this is the first time physicians have applied the power of regenerative medicine to eye disease, the clinical trials are being watched closely by scientists, stem-cell therapy advocates and the public. (more…)
