Author Archives: Guest Post

NASA Airborne Radar Set to Image Hawaiian Volcano

PASADENA, Calif. – The Kilauea volcano that recently erupted on the Big Island of Hawaii will be the target for a NASA study to help scientists better understand processes occurring under Earth’s surface.

A NASA Gulfstream-III aircraft equipped with a synthetic aperture radar developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., is scheduled to depart Sunday, April 3, from the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., to the Big Island for a nine-day mission. (more…)

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Novel Nanowires Boost Fuel Cell Efficiency

Fuel cells have been touted as a cleaner solution to tomorrow’s energy needs, with potential applications in everything from cars to computers.

But one reason fuel cells aren’t already more widespread is their lack of endurance. Over time, the catalysts used even in today’s state-of-the-art fuels cells break down, inhibiting the chemical reaction that converts fuel into electricity. In addition, current technology relies on small particles coated with the catalyst; however, the particles’ limited surface area means only a fraction of the catalyst is available at any given time. (more…)

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2,000 Year-old Deep-sea Black Corals call Gulf of Mexico Home

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — For the first time, scientists have been able to validate the age of deep-sea black corals in the Gulf of Mexico.  They found the Gulf is home to 2,000 year-old deep-sea black corals, many of which are only a few feet tall. 

These slow-growing, long-living animals thrive in very deep waters—300 meters (984 feet) and deeper—yet scientists say they are sensitive to what is happening in the surface ocean as well as on the sea floor.  (more…)

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Microsoft Ready to Turn Advertising Upside Down

*Microsoft is “just scratching the surface” of what’s coming in digital advertising, said CEO Steve Ballmer. He spoke at Imagine 2011, the company’s advertising and marketing thought leadership conference.*

REDMOND, Wash. – March 31, 2011 – While Microsoft Advertising was busy on Wednesday helping T-Mobile stream a live Ellie Goulding concert across three screens, a first for both companies, CEO Steve Ballmer was thinking of the next big opportunity in advertising.

Microsoft has “a deep drive, commitment, and a lot of great work going on in all of our great brands to let our clients and consumers take advantage of the next generation of technology,” said Ballmer, speaking Wednesday at Microsoft’s Imagine 2011 marketing leadership summit. (more…)

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Bats Worth Billions to Agriculture: Pest-control Services at Risk

Pest-control services provided by insect-eating bats in the United States likely save the U.S. agricultural industry at least $3 billion a year, and yet insectivorous bats are among the most overlooked economically important, non-domesticated animals in North America, according to an analysis published in this week’s Science magazine Policy Forum.  (more…)

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Study Finds Gender Differences Related to Sexual Harassment

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Sexual harassment may have become so commonplace for women that they have built up resistance to harassing behavior they consider merely “bothersome,” suggests a provocative new study by Michigan State University researchers.

This effect, said lead investigator Isis Settles, may be similar to the way people build up immunity to infection following exposure to a virus. (more…)

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