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Extent and Speed of Lionfish Spread Unprecedented

By Guest PostMarch 15, 2011Environment, Natureatlantic coast, bermuda, caribbean, cayman islands, coast of florida, coastal systems, gulf of mexico, indo west pacific ocean, invasive lionfishes, lionfish, lionfish diets, native species, non native marine fish, pam schofield, species, u s eastern seaboard

*Invasive Marine Fish May Stress Reefs*

Gainesville, Fla. — The rapid spread of lionfishes along the U.S. eastern seaboard, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean is the first documented case of a non-native marine fish establishing a self-sustaining population in the region, according to recent U.S. Geological Survey studies.

“Nothing like this has been seen before in these waters,” said Dr. Pam Schofield, a biologist with the USGS Southeast Ecological Science Center here. “We’ve observed sightings of numerous non-native species, but the extent and speed with which lionfish have spread has been unprecedented; lionfishes pretty much blanketed the Caribbean in three short years.” (more…)

West Antarctic Ice Sheet ‘Could Be More Stable than Thought’

By Guest PostMarch 14, 2011Environmentantarctic ice sheet, cataclysmic event, cosmogenic dating, global temperatures, global warming, interglacial period

Whether global warming may cause the giant West Antarctic Ice Sheet to melt and raise sea-levels by several metres is one of the most contested debates in climate science. (more…)

New Kindle Exclusive: Seven Books by World-Famous Physicist Albert Einstein

By Guest PostMarch 14, 2011Technologyalbert einstein, Amazon, american citizen, atomic age, Germany, hebrew university einstein archives, iconic physicist, jane friedman, kindle store, nobel prize for physics, open road integrated media, princeton university, russ grandinetti, theoretical physicist, theory of relativity

*Just in time for the 132^nd anniversary of his birth, seven books by Albert Einstein published by Open Road Integrated Media LLC, only available on Kindle*

NEW YORK & SEATTLE, Mar 14, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Open Road Integrated Media LLC and Amazon.com today announced that Open Road has published seven digital books by iconic physicist Albert Einstein exclusively in the Kindle Store. Open Road has added new photographs and biographical information from experts at the Hebrew University Einstein Archives, introductions written by Neil Berger and new covers to previously published print editions (a portion of which have been available digitally in the public domain) to create new Albert Einstein Archives Authorized Editions of the works. These books are available starting today for download exclusively in the Kindle Store (www.amazon.com/kindlestore). (more…)

How the Slime Mold Gets Organized

By Guest PostMarch 13, 2011Sciencealpha catenin, animals cells, asymmetric epithelial cells, beta catenin, cells, cellular slime mold, daniel dickinson, embryo forms, epithelial cells, epithelium, fruiting body, high powered microscope, hollow structure, james nelson, man behind the curtain, multicellular organism, proteins, slime mold, stress, unicellular organism, william weis

*Cells at the tip of the slime mold’s fruiting body organize into an epithelial layer and secrete proteins as do some animals cells*

The so-called cellular slime mold, a unicellular organism that may transition into a multicellular organism under stress, has just been found to have a tissue structure that was previously thought to exist only in more sophisticated animals. What’s more, two proteins that are needed by the slime mold to form this structure are similar to those that perform the same function in more sophistical animals.

Shortly after an animal embryo forms, it develops a single layer of cells that, shaped like a hollow ball, is empty at its center. Acting as a kind of “man behind the curtain” that directs these cells to organize into this hollow formation are several proteins that help each cell touch its neighbors but keep its top surface exposed to the formation’s empty interior. (more…)

NASA Shows Topography of Tsunami-Damaged Japan City

By Guest PostMarch 13, 2011Environmentcoastal plain, earthquake, Japan, miyagi prefecture, NASA, national geospatial intelligence agency, nga, ohu mountains, pacific ocean, radar image, sendai, shuttle radar topography mission, srtm, subduction plate boundary, topography, tsunami, u s geological survey

The topography surrounding Sendai, Japan is clearly visible in this combined radar image and topographic view generated with data from NASA’s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) acquired in 2000. On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck offshore about 130 kilometers (80 miles) east of Sendai, the capital city of Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture, generating a tsunami that devastated the low-lying coastal city of about 1 million residents.

The city is centered in the image and lies along the coastal plain between the Ohu Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. The eastern part of the city is a low-lying plains area, while the city center is hilly (the city’s official elevation is about 43 meters, or 141 feet). Sendai’s western areas are mountainous, with its highest point being Mt. Funagata at an elevation of about 1,500 meters (4,921 feet) above sea level. (more…)

WHOI Experts Stress Lessons From Japan Earthquake

By Guest PostMarch 13, 2011Environmentearthquake zone, japan quake, percent of earthquakes, smaller quake, tsunami scenario

While Japan’s 8.9-magnitude earthquake and accompanying tsunami represent a devastating natural disaster for the country’s residents, scientists should also seize upon the massive temblor as an important learning tool for future quakes around the world, including the Pacific Northwest coast of the United States, according to experts from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). (more…)

PASSIVE NEWS REPORTS MAY LEAD READERS TO FEEL THEY CAN’T FIND THE TRUTH

By Guest PostMarch 12, 2011Culture, Technologyfactual disputes in politics, house of representatives, obama’s health care, political disputes, resolving factual, truth in politics

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Passive news reporting that doesn’t attempt to resolve factual disputes in politics may have detrimental effects on readers, new research suggests.

The study found that people are more likely to doubt their own ability to determine the truth in politics after reading an article that simply lists competing claims without offering any idea of which side is right. (more…)

Gulf Oil Spill Study Sheds Light On Urban Air Pollution

By Guest PostMarch 12, 20111 commentEnvironmentbp deepwater horizon, gouw, gulf oil spill, microscopic particles, noaa, organic aerosols, university of california, university of colorado boulder, university of miami, urban air pollution, urban environments, volatile components

When a team of researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Colorado Boulder’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences raced to the scene of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill to assess the disaster’s impact on air quality last year, they found more than they expected. (more…)

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