Author Archives: Guest Post

India Turns to the Web for the Latest Updates During 2011 Cricket World Cup

*India vs. South Africa Match Drives More than 1.4 Million Visitors to ESPNCricInfo.com in India*  

Mumbai, India, March 28, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released results from a study of Internet traffic to cricket websites during the 2011 Cricket World Cup. The report found that the tournament caused a surge in visitation to cricket sites in India as fans went online for the latest results and match updates. Sites reached their highest volume of traffic for the month during the week ending March 13, with 16.4 percent of India’s online population visiting ESPNCricInfo.com and 13.4 percent of web users visiting Yahoo! Cricket.  (more…)

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New Kindle Exclusive: 91 Books from Bestselling British Author Dame Catherine Cookson Now Available in the Kindle Store

*The majority of full-length novels from one of the most prolific and successful British authors of all time are available for Kindle and Kindle app customers*

SEATTLE, Mar 28, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon.com today announced that 91 titles from Dame Catherine Cookson are now available as e-books for the first time, exclusively in the Kindle Store (www.amazon.com/kindlestore). The collection of titles, including some which are out of print, represents the majority of the full-length novels from one of the UK’s most-read novelists. These books, which are published by The Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust in conjunction with Peach Publishing, are available from $1.50-$5.99 and can be downloaded exclusively by Kindle and Kindle app customers. All 91 titles are available exclusively to U.S. and international customers on Amazon.com, and to U.K. customers on Amazon.co.uk. (more…)

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Uncertain Future for Joshua Trees Projected with Climate Change

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Temperature increases resulting from climate change in the Southwest will likely eliminate Joshua trees from 90 percent of their current range in 60 to 90 years, according to a new study led by U.S. Geological Survey ecologist Ken Cole.

The research team used models of future climate, an analysis of the climatic tolerances of the species in its current range, and the fossil record to project the future distribution of Joshua trees. The study concludes that the species could be restricted to the northernmost portion of its current range as early as the end of this century. Additionally, the ability of Joshua trees to migrate via seed dispersal to more suitable climates may be severely limited. (more…)

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Measurements of Winter Arctic Sea Ice Show continuing Ice Loss, says CU-Boulder Study

The 2011 Arctic sea ice extent maximum that marks the beginning of the melt season appears to be tied for the lowest ever measured by satellites, say scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder’s National Snow and Ice Data Center.

The CU-Boulder research team believes the lowest annual maximum ice extent of 5,650,000 square miles occurred on March 7. The maximum ice extent was 463,000 square miles below the 1979-2000 average, an area slightly larger than the states of Texas and California combined. The 2011 measurements were tied with those from 2006 as the lowest maximum sea ice extents measured since satellite record keeping began in 1979. (more…)

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Enhancing the Magnetism: Berkeley Researchers Find Enhanced and Controllable Magnetization in Unique Bismuth Ferrite Films

“The nation that controls magnetism will control the universe,” famed fictional detective Dick Tracy predicted back in 1935. Probably an overstatement, but there’s little doubt the nation that leads the development of advanced magnetoelectronic or “spintronic” devices is going to have a serious leg-up on its Information Age competition. A smaller, faster and cheaper way to store and transfer information is the spintronic grand prize and a key to winning this prize is understanding and controlling a  multiferroic property known as “spontaneous magnetization.” (more…)

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Radiation Level in Seawater off Nuclear Plant “Fukushima-1” Exceeded 1250 Times

Levels of radioactive iodine in seawater just offshore of the embattled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant spiked to more than 1,250 times higher than normal, Japan’s nuclear and industrial safety agency said Saturday.

Samples taken Friday morning from a monitoring station 330 meters off the coast were significantly higher than results from the previous morning, when the level was 104 times above normal, according to CNN International. (more…)

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MU Researcher Works to Save One of the World’s Most Endangered Birds

COLUMBIA, Mo. ­— The Tuamotu Kingfisher is a multicolored, tropical bird with bright blue feathers, a dusty orange head, and a bright green back. The entire population of these birds – less than 125 – lives on one tiny island in the south Pacific, and without serious intervention, they will no longer exist. One University of Missouri researcher is trying to stop the birds’ extinction by working with farmers and residents on the island inhabited by the kingfishers.

“If we lose these birds, we lose 50,000 years of uniqueness and evolution,” said Dylan Kesler, assistant professor in fisheries and wildlife at the University of Missouri’s School of Natural Resources in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. “Because it has lived in isolation for a very long time, it’s unlike any other bird. There is no other bird like this on the planet.” (more…)

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