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Under Pressure: Germanium

By Guest PostApril 11, 2011Scienceatomic number, China, condensed matter, condensed matter theory, crystal structures, element, fiber optic systems, flowers, germanium, ho kwang mao, next generation computer architecture, phonons, pressure, series of phase transitions, superconductivity, vibrations, viktor struzhkin, xiao-jia chen

Washington, D.C. — Although its name may make many people think of flowers, the element germanium is part of a frequently studied group of elements, called IVa, which could have applications for next-generation computer architecture as well as implications for fundamental condensed matter physics.

New research conducted by Xiao-Jia Chen, Viktor Struzhkin, and Ho-kwang (Dave) Mao from Geophysical Laboratory at Carnegie Institution for Science, along with collaborators from China, reveals details of the element’s transitions under pressure. Their results show extraordinary agreement with the predictions of modern condensed matter theory. (more…)

Researchers Report Potential for a Moderate New England ‘Red Tide’ in 2011

By Guest PostApril 10, 2011Environmentalexandrium fundyense, alexandrium germination, cyst, darcie couture, dennis mcgillicuddy, don anderson, ecomon, ecosystem monitoring program, gomtox, gulf of maine, gulf of maine toxicity, jane lubchenco, new england shellfish industry, new hampshire coasts, noaa, paralytic shellfish poisoning, psp, psp toxicity, red tides, ruoying he, shellfish beds, stacy knapp, toxic alga, toxicity

*Bloom could be suppressed by changes in ocean conditions in the Gulf of Maine*

Scientists from the NOAA-funded Gulf of Maine Toxicity (GOMTOX) project issued an outlook for a moderate regional bloom of a toxic alga that can cause ‘red tides’ in the spring and summer of this year, potentially threatening the New England shellfish industry. However, there are signs this year’s bloom could be suppressed by recent changes in ocean conditions in the Gulf of Maine.

An abundant seed population in bottom sediments has set the stage for a moderate bloom of the toxic alga Alexandrium fundyense. This organism swims in the water, and divides again and again to form a “bloom” or red tide, but it also produces dormant cells or cysts that fall to the ocean bottom at the end of these blooms where they remain until they germinate the next year to restart the process. (more…)

How Child Molesters Justify Their Actions

By Guest PostApril 10, 2011Healthchild molesters, children, cognitive distortion, mental age, sexual contact, sexual relations

Men who sexually abuse children generally blame external factors to explain their actions and diminish their guilt. “Every reason they give is a cognitive distortion,” says Sarah Paquette, a student who investigated the issue as part of her master’s thesis at the Université de Montréal School of Criminology. (more…)

Taking Off the White Coat: Struggling With Dual Roles in China’s Hospitals

By Guest PostApril 10, 2011Healthcollaborative effort, community healthcare, goldman sachs, gynecology and obstetrics, journal of human resources, management training, organizational dynamics

In the past few years, Dr. Baowen Feng, with 22 years of clinical experience in gynecology and obstetrics, has rarely had the chance to practice medicine.

Occasionally, when Beijing’s Tongzhou District Women’s and Children’s Hospital is particularly swamped, she will don her white coat for half a day or so. But even without it on, she is a highly respected figure in the hospital. As vice president of community healthcare, she oversees community healthcare management for the entire Tongzhou District. (more…)

Glaciers Contributing To Faster Sea-Level Rise

By Guest PostApril 9, 2011Environmentglaciers, industrial revolution, little ice age, mountain glaciers, neil glasser, outlet glaciers, patagonian icefields, sea-level rise, south america, stephan harrison

Melting mountain glaciers are contributing to sea-level rise faster than at any time in the last 350 years, according to new research published in Nature Geoscience.

A research team from the University of Exeter, Aberystwyth University, and Stockholm University undertook a survey of the 270 largest outlet glaciers of the South and North Patagonian Icefields of South America. (more…)

Anthropologist: Japan Will Rise Above This Disaster

By Guest PostApril 9, 2011Economyjapanese employment model, japanese people, military model, model of urbanism, radioactive contamination

“Japan will recover from the catastrophe that has hit its shores,” says Bernard Bernier, director of the Université de Montréal Department of Anthropology. “This will not be a turning point in the country’s history.” (more…)

Face Time With a Female Aids Males Bent on Monkey Business

By Guest PostApril 9, 2011Science

Male monkeys looking for a good time might benefit from spending a bit longer getting to know a potential mate, according to a new study published online in the scientific journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The time males spend around a prospective mate might be the key to detecting subtle sexual signals that show which females are fertile and which are not, according to the study, co-authored by an international team of biologists and psychologists. (more…)

Some People’s Climate Beliefs Shift with Weather

By Guest PostApril 8, 2011Culture, Environmentatmospheric mechanisms, australia, clean air, climate, conservatives, cool planet, day, democrats, earth science, global warming, human influenced climate change, manmade global warming, political belief, political liberals, public opinion, republicans, social scientists, temperature, united states, weather, ye li

*Study shows daily malleability on a long-term question*

Social scientists are struggling with a perplexing earth-science question: as the power of evidence showing manmade global warming is rising, why do opinion polls suggest public belief in the findings is wavering? Part of the answer may be that some people are too easily swayed by the easiest, most irrational piece of evidence at hand: their own estimation of the day’s temperature.

In three separate studies, researchers affiliated with Columbia University’s Center for Research on Environmental Decisions (CRED) surveyed about 1,200 people in the United States and Australia, and found that those who thought the current day was warmer than usual were more likely to believe in and feel concern about global warming than those who thought the day was unusually cold. A new paper describing the studies appears in the current issue of the journal Psychological Science. (more…)

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