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Japan Worst-case Scenario Unlikely to Cause Catastrophic Radiation Release

By Guest PostMarch 17, 2011Environmentboiling water reactor, Chernobyl, chest x-rays, explosion, fuel rods, fukushima plant, Japan, john lee, meltdown, nuclear reactor, nuclear reactors, power blackouts, radioactivity, release of harmful radiation, thomas downer, three mile island accident, united states, worst case scenario

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— While exposed spent fuel rods at the failing nuclear reactors in Japan pose new threats, the worst-case scenario would still be unlikely to expose the public to catastrophic amounts of radiation, says a University of Michigan nuclear engineering professor who is an expert on this particular kind of reactor.

“For the public, I don’t believe it would be much higher than two additional chest x-rays,” said John Lee, a professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, citing the results of the Three Mile Island accident. (more…)

NASA Picks a Festive Clover of Ireland Images

By Guest PostMarch 17, 2011Scienceairs, aqua, aqua satellite, atmospheric infrared sounder, cloud free country, clover, earth surface, emerald isle, environments, festive occasion, infrared, ireland, march 17, microwave light, NASA, near infrared, st patrick day, temperatures

March 17 marks St. Patrick’s Day — a day when shamrocks, Ireland and “wearing of the green” are especially en vogue. To celebrate this festive occasion, NASA’s Aqua satellite has picked a clover of different views of the Emerald Isle, Ireland.

The collection of images acquired by Aqua’s Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on March 3, 2011, includes near-infrared/visible, infrared and microwave light views of the land where St. Patrick’s Day originated. (more…)

comScore Releases February 2011 U.S. Online Video Rankings

By Guest PostMarch 17, 2011Technologyamericans, Comscore, comscore video metrix, Facebook, google sites, hulu, internet users, microsoft sites, online video content, spotxchange video ad network, vevo, yahoo! Sites, YouTube

*Microsoft Sites Jumps to Second Place in Video Content Ranking*

RESTON, VA, March 17, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from the comScore Video Metrix service showing that 170 million U.S. Internet users watched online video content in February for an average of 13.6 hours per viewer. The total U.S. Internet audience engaged in more than 5.0 billion viewing sessions during the course of the month.

Top 10 Video Content Properties by Unique Viewers

Google Sites, driven primarily by video viewing at YouTube.com, ranked as the top online video content property in February with 141.1 million unique viewers. Microsoft Sites captured the #2 ranking (up from #7) with 48.8 million viewers, followed by Yahoo! Sites with 46.7 million viewers. Facebook.com came in fourth with nearly 46.7 million viewers, while VEVO ranked fifth with 45.9 million viewers. Google Sites had the highest number of viewing sessions with 1.8 billion, and average time spent per viewer at 262 minutes, or 4.4 hours. (more…)

Yahoo! Shine Reveals Findings of “Alcohol and America” Survey in Time for St. Patrick’s Day

By Guest PostMarch 16, 2011Culture, Technologyalcohol and america, alcoholic beverages, americans, christmas, digital media company, drinking habits, most popular drink, new year eve, spectrum, st patricks day, tequila, thanksgiving, women lifestyle websites, Yahoo, yahoo shine

SUNNYVALE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, Yahoo! Shine (https://shine.yahoo.com), one of the world’s leading women’s lifestyle websites, has released the results of its “Alcohol and America” survey. The survey asked 2,000 Americans in-depth questions about drinking habits, favorite kinds of drinks/alcohol, and overall views of drinking, as well as differences between men and women’s drinking habits. The results found that on average adults consume seven alcoholic beverages per week, and while most adults are responsible about their drinking, one in three has experienced negative effects of drinking. (more…)

Neanderthals Were Nifty At Controlling Fire, According To CU-Boulder Researcher

By Guest PostMarch 16, 2011Scienceanatomically modern humans, archaeological research, neanderthals, paleomagnetism, paola villa, portrayed, prolonged, thermoluminescence

A new study involving the University of Colorado Boulder shows clear evidence of the continuous control of fire by Neanderthals in Europe dating back roughly 400,000 years, yet another indication that they weren’t dimwitted brutes as often portrayed.

The conclusion comes from the study of scores of ancient archaeological research sites in Europe that show convincing evidence of long-term fire control by Neanderthals, said Paola Villa, a curator at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History. Villa co-authored a paper on the new study with Professor Wil Roebroeks of Leiden University in the Netherlands. (more…)

Reframing Climate Change: It’s as Much Cultural as Scientific

By Guest PostMarch 16, 2011Culture, EnvironmentAl Gore, andy hoffman, climate change, climate change exists, debate, democrats, diagnostic, Environment, evidence of global warming, logic schism, man made phenomena, newspaper editorials, political ideology, prognostic, republicans, united states, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— While debate on climate change often strikes a caustic tone, the real impediment to meaningful dialogue is that the two sides often talk past each other in what amounts to a “logic schism,” says a University of Michigan researcher.

“In a logic schism, a contest emerges in which opposing sides are debating different issues, seeking only information that supports their position and disconfirms their opponents’ arguments,” said Andy Hoffman, the Holcim (U.S.) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at U-M’s Ross School of Business and School of Natural Resources and Environment. “Each side views the other with suspicion, even demonizing the other, leading to a strong resistance to any form of engagement, much less negotiation and concession.” (more…)

Gulf Coast Monitor: Sensor Designed to Detect Oil Contaminants in Saltwater

By Guest PostMarch 15, 2011Environmentcoastal waters, oil contaminants, presence of oil, saltwater, sensor, water sample

With more than 20,000 abandoned and active gas and oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico, oil leaks and spills pose a continuous threat to the region’s ecosystem. Monitoring the health of the ecosystems helps ensure the sustainability of natural resources, and helps protect human health and the environment. (more…)

Japan Quake May Have Shortened Earth Days, Moved Axis

By Guest PostMarch 15, 2011Environment, Scienceaxis, Chile, complex model, earth mass, earth rotation, earthquake, figure axis, gravitational attraction, Japan, japan earthquake, japan quake, length of earth day, march 11, microseconds, richard gross, sumatran earthquake, theoretical calculation, united states geological survey

The March 11, magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Japan may have shortened the length of each Earth day and shifted its axis. But don’t worry-you won’t notice the difference.

Using a United States Geological Survey estimate for how the fault responsible for the earthquake slipped, research scientist Richard Gross of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., applied a complex model to perform a preliminary theoretical calculation of how the Japan earthquake-the fifth largest since 1900-affected Earth’s rotation. His calculations indicate that by changing the distribution of Earth’s mass, the Japanese earthquake should have caused Earth to rotate a bit faster, shortening the length of the day by about 1.8 microseconds (a microsecond is one millionth of a second). (more…)

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