A leading academic at the University of Exeter has played a central role in compiling a report which could be vital for global efforts to tackle climate change.
Professor Catherine Mitchell, part of the University’s Energy Policy Group based in Cornwall, was one of only two experts from the UK to contribute to the ‘Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation’ (SRREN). (more…)
*At E3 Microsoft announces a big lineup of new Xbox 360 and Kinect game titles and introduces voice search with Bing on Xbox and Kinect that will change how people enjoy Xbox entertainment in the living room.*
LOS ANGELES – June 6, 2011 – Today at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) Microsoft announced new game titles from blockbuster franchises like Halo and Gears of War, and unveiled a flood of new Kinect games and entertainment experiences.
The company also introduced voice search with Bing on Xbox and Kinect that will enable people to use their voice to tell their Xbox what entertainment content they are looking for, which will give them faster access to the ever-expanding universe of entertainment available right in their living room. (more…)
Energy use intensity is down; sustainability plan would reduce it even further
There’s an old saying that the cobbler’s children have no shoes. But at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, whose scientists have pioneered many of the energy efficiency technologies being deployed around the world today, energy conservation is not neglected at home. In fact, a number of homegrown energy-savings technologies are in use at the Lab itself, allowing Berkeley Lab to substantially reduce its energy use intensity and make headway towards achieving significant cuts in its greenhouse gas emissions. (more…)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Most people associate steroid use with oiled-up bodybuilders or professional athletes, but for some college-age men, steroids seem like the only way to measure up to the muscle-bound men in fitness magazines.
A survey of 270 male college students by Mike Parent, a University of Florida doctoral candidate in counseling psychology, showed that the same cultural influences that drive some women to feel dissatisfied with their bodies can also lead college-age men who highly value looking muscular to contemplate steroid use. Studies show that up to 5 percent of college-age men have used steroids, Parent said. (more…)
The dyes which are injected into the skin to create tattoos move with time – permanently altering the look of a given design. In this month’s Mathematics Today Dr Ian Eames, a Reader in Fluid Mechanics at UCL, publishes a mathematical model enabling us to estimate the movement of these ink particles and predict how specific tattoo designs will look several years in the future.
“Tattoos are incredibly popular worldwide with more than a third of 18-25 year olds in the USA sporting at least one design,” says Dr Eames. “A great deal of work has already been done on the short term fate of ink particles in the skin, tracking them over periods of just a few months – but much less is known about how these particles move over longer periods of time. (more…)
A new study from North Carolina State University shows that talking about safer sex is a complicated process for individuals in the transgender community. The finding may help efforts to promote safer sex practices in a community facing high HIV rates – and also sheds light on broader questions related to safer sex for everyone.
“The main reason for this study is the fact that we’re seeing evidence of devastatingly high HIV prevalence rates in the transgender community,” says Dr. Kami Kosenko, an assistant professor of communication at NC State and lead author of the study. “The HIV prevalence rate is less than 1 percent for the general U.S. population. But for the transgender population, the HIV prevalence rate is estimated to be as high as 60 percent in major metropolitan areas. Although these are only estimates, they are troubling.” (more…)
*Scientists discover how “Didymo” algae bloom in pristine waters with few nutrients*
The pristine state of unpolluted waterways may be their downfall, according to research results published in a paper this week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
A species of freshwater algae that lives in streams and rivers, called Didymo for Didymosphenia geminata, is able to colonize and dominate the bottoms of some of the world’s cleanest waterways–precisely because they are so clear. (more…)
A small male bird called a golden-collared manakin performs a difficult, elaborate, physically demanding courtship dance. In new research, life scientists report that female golden-collared manakins select mates based on subtle differences in motor performance during these dances. (more…)
