Scientists seeking to understand the origin of the human mind may want to look to honeybees — not ancestral apes — for at least some of the answers, according to a University of Colorado Boulder archaeologist.
CU-Boulder Research Associate John Hoffecker said there is abundant fossil and archaeological evidence for the evolution of the human mind, including its unique power to create a potentially infinite variety of thoughts expressed in the form of sentences, art and technologies. He attributes the evolving power of the mind to the formation of what he calls the “super-brain,” or collective mind, an event that took place in Africa no later than 75,000 years ago. (more…)
*comScore Releases First European Data on Media Tablet Users from MobiLens Service*
London, UK, 21 April, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the results of an EU5 (UK, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy) study of media tablet owners, based on data from the comScore MobiLens service. The report includes comScore’s first publicly available data showing demographics and other characteristics of users of connected media devices, such as the iPad, iPod Touch and devices running on Google’s Android software. Initial research indicates that Apple’s iOS platform, which resides on iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches, has a combined platform reach of 28.9 million users in the five European markets, outreaching the Android platform by 116 percent.
“comScore is excited to offer insights about the comprehensive mobile ecosystem, including connected media devices, such as the iPad,” said Jeremy Copp, comScore vice president of mobile in Europe. “This new data set is part of our MobiLens service and enables our clients to understand the detailed demographic and behavioural attributes of connected media device users. This of course has significant implications for the media and developer communities as they consider how best to reach their audience on all types of connected devices.” (more…)
*Key contributions to new global mobile ecosystem agreed and significant progress made on engineering of new products.*
ESPOO, Finland and REDMOND, Wash. – April 21, 2011 – Nokia and Microsoft today announced the signing of a definitive agreement on a partnership that will result in a new global mobile ecosystem, utilizing the very complementary assets of both companies. Completed ahead of schedule, the definitive agreement is consistent with the joint announcement made on February 11.
In addition to agreeing to the terms of their partnership, including joint contributions to the development of the new ecosystem, Nokia and Microsoft also announced significant progress on the development of the first Nokia products incorporating Windows Phone. With hundreds of personnel already engaged on joint engineering efforts, the companies are collaborating on a portfolio of new Nokia devices. Nokia has also started porting key applications and services to operate on Windows Phone and joint outreach has begun to third party application developers. (more…)
*Amazon’s Free “Buy Once, Read Everywhere” Kindle Apps Now Available in German*
*Thousands of Free German Classics Available on Kindle*
LUXEMBOURG, Apr 21, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon.de today launched the Kindle Store (www.amazon.de/kindlebuecher), the biggest e-bookstore in Germany, with the largest selection of ebooks including more than 650,000 titles, 71 of 100 Spiegel bestsellers, and over 25,000 German-language titles with thousands of German classics downloadable for free only on Kindle. Amazon also announced that its series of free “Buy Once, Read Everywhere” apps for the most popular devices, including iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, PC, Mac and Android-based devices, are now available in German-language versions. In addition, in response to customer demand, Amazon is now offering the latest-generation Kindle and Kindle 3G with an English user interface directly from Amazon.de. (more…)
*Discovery of self-corrective healing process for polymer detailed this week in the journal Nature*
Imagine you’re driving your own new car–or a rental car–and you need to park in a commercial garage. Maybe you’re going to work, visiting a mall or attending an event at a sports stadium, and you’re in a rush. Limited and small available spots and concrete pillars make parking a challenge. And it happens that day: you slightly misjudge a corner and you can hear the squeal as you scratch the side of your car–small scratches, but large anticipated repair costs.
Now imagine that that you can repair these unsightly scratches yourself–quickly, easily and inexpensively–or that you can go through a car wash that can detect these and other more minor scratches and fix them as the car goes through the washing garage. Fantasy. Not exactly. Not anymore. Not according to a new discovery detailed in the April 21 issue of the journal Nature, and depicted in a short video interview and simulation. (more…)
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Despite the growing scientific consensus that global warming is real, Americans have become increasingly polarized on the environmental issue, according to a first-of-its-kind study led by a Michigan State University researcher.(more…)
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Chronic inhalation of polluted air appears to activate a protein that triggers the release of white blood cells, setting off events that lead to widespread inflammation, according to new research in an animal model.
This finding narrows the gap in researchers’ understanding of how prolonged exposure to pollution can increase the risk for cardiovascular problems and other diseases. (more…)
It is well known that the human body has a highly developed immune system to detect and destroy invading pathogens and tumor cells. Now, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shown that the body has a second line of defense against cancer – healthy cells. A new study shows that normal mammary epithelial cells, as they are developing, secrete interleukin 25, a protein known for its role in the immune system’s response to inflammation, for the express purpose of killing nearby breast cancer cells.
“We found that normal breast cells provide an innate defense mechanism against cancer by producing interleukin 25 (IL25) to actively and specifically kill breast cancer cells,” says breast cancer authority Mina Bissell, of Berkeley Lab’s Life Sciences Division, who led this research. “This suggests that IL25 receptor signaling may provide a new therapeutic target for the treatment of breast cancer.” (more…)
