Charles P. Sonett, the first head of the UA’s department of planetary sciences, died at the age of 87. Sonett was involved in spacecraft missions that dramatically advanced our understanding of the solar system and beyond, including the Pioneer Program, the Explorer Program and the Apollo Program
Charles “Chuck” P. Sonett, a founding faculty member and the first department head of the University of Arizona’s department of planetary sciences, died on Sept. 30. He was 87.(more…)
ANN ARBOR, Mich.— After the last ice age peaked about 18,000 years ago, levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide rose about 30 percent. Scientists believe that the additional carbon dioxide—a heat-trapping greenhouse gas—played a key role in warming the planet and melting the continental ice sheets. They have long hypothesized that the source of the gas was the deep ocean.
But a new study by a University of Michigan paleoclimatologist and two colleagues suggests that the deep ocean was not an important source of carbon during glacial times. The finding will force researchers to reassess their ideas about the fundamental mechanisms that regulate atmospheric carbon dioxide over long time scales. (more…)
The brain learns through changes in the strength of its synapses — the connections between neurons — in response to stimuli.
Now, in a discovery that challenges conventional wisdom on the brain mechanisms of learning, UCLA neuro-physicists have found there is an optimal brain “rhythm,” or frequency, for changing synaptic strength. And further, like stations on a radio dial, each synapse is tuned to a different optimal frequency for learning.
The findings, which provide a grand-unified theory of the mechanisms that underlie learning in the brain, may lead to possible new therapies for treating learning disabilities. (more…)
*Albert Rocker found himself at a crossroads of two big dreams: The Georgia Tech athlete had to choose between playing a final year of college football for a shot at the National Football League, or accepting a job offer from “the biggest software company ever created.”*
REDMOND, Wash. – It was the toughest decision of Albert Rocker’s life: should he pursue a career in the National Football League (NFL), or one at Microsoft?
At the Georgia Institute of Technology, Rocker was an outside linebacker for the Yellow Jackets football team with one year of eligibility remaining – one last football season to woo the NFL. Rocker played in a total of 38 games over his college career, including all 13 games of his junior season in 2010 – he was set to be a starter if he returned for his last year of eligibility. (more…)
The latest results from an expedition to Mount Everest that looked at the body’s response to low oxygen levels suggest that drugs or procedures that promote the body’s production of a chemical compound called nitric oxide (NO) could improve the recovery of critically ill patients in intensive care.(more…)
*U of T professors show collectivism and bribery linked*
Why are some places more prone to bribery and corruption than others?
Part of the answer seems to be the level of collective feeling in a society, according to research by Pankaj Aggarwal, University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) professor of marketing in the Department of Management, and Nina Mazar, University of Toronto professor of marketing. (more…)
PASADENA, Calif. — Astronomers have found a new cosmic source for the same kind of water that appeared on Earth billions of years ago and created the oceans. The findings may help explain how Earth’s surface ended up covered in water. (more…)
EAST LANSING, Mich. — What makes people great? Popular theorists such as the New Yorker’s Malcolm Gladwell and the New York Times’ David Brooks argue that intelligence plays a role – but only up to a point. Beyond that, they say, it’s practice, practice, practice.(more…)
