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Eddies Found to be Deep, Powerful Modes of Ocean Transport

*Study Finds Connection between Atmospheric Events and the Deep Ocean*

Researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and their colleagues have discovered that massive, swirling ocean eddies–known to be up to 500 kilometers across at the surface–can reach all the way to the ocean bottom at mid-ocean ridges, some 2,500 meters deep, transporting tiny sea creatures, chemicals, and heat from hydrothermal vents over large distances.

The previously unknown deep-sea phenomenon, reported in the April 28 issue of the journal Science, helps explain how some larvae travel huge distances from one vent area to another, said Diane K. Adams, lead author at WHOI and now at the National Institutes of Health. (more…)

Scorpion Venom – Bad for Bugs, Good for Pesticides

Science

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Fables have long cast scorpions as bad-natured killers of hapless turtles that naively agree to ferry them across rivers. Michigan State University scientists, however, see them in a different light. (more…)

Taking Safety Personally

Environment, General

A year after the BP explosion and oil spill, those trying to find someone to blame are misguided, says psychological scientist E. Scott Geller, Alumni Distinguished professor at Virginia Tech, and author of a new paper published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Geller has spent much of his 42-year career developing interventions to keep people safe, particularly helping companies develop a culture that promotes occupational safety. (more…)

Asteroids Collide at 11,000 Miles Per Hour; Scientists Study Debris

Science

Scientists have captured and studied the collision of two asteroids for only the second time in the history of astronomy. In the May 20 edition of the Astrophysical Journal Letters (currently online), UCLA’s David Jewitt and colleagues report on observations from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope of a large asteroid that was hit by a much smaller one. (more…)

Mutations in Single Gene May Have Shaped Human Cerebral Cortex

Health

The size and shape of the human cerebral cortex, an evolutionary marvel responsible for everything from Shakespeare’s poetry to the atomic bomb, are largely influenced by mutations in a single gene, according to a team of researchers led by the Yale School of Medicine and three other universities. (more…)

Firms Use Media Coverage to Influence Merger Negotiations

Economy, Media

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Companies involved in merger talks manipulate their stock prices during negotiations by releasing more news than usual, according to a University of Michigan study.

“Media coverage has a significant effect on stock trading and returns,” said Kenneth Ahern, assistant professor of finance at U-M’s Ross School of Business. “Even stale news, if widely publicized, can dramatically raise short-term returns and influence prices of large and widely followed stocks in the S&P 500.”

In their study, “Who Writes the News? Corporate Press Releases during Merger Negotiations,” Ahern and Ross School colleague Denis Sosyura examined more than 500 completed stock mergers of large U.S. publicly traded firms from 2000 to 2008. They studied the frequency and content of news releases issued by acquiring firms, and analyzed more than 617,000 articles in 421 newspapers and newswires worldwide. (more…)

Microsoft Reports Record Third-Quarter Results

Economy, Technology

*Strong enterprise and Xbox momentum drive revenue growth of 13% and earnings per share of $0.61.*

REDMOND, Wash. — Apr. 28, 2011 — Microsoft Corp. today announced third-quarter revenue of $16.43 billion for the quarter ended Mar. 31, 2011, a 13% increase from the same period of the prior year. Operating income, net income, and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $5.71 billion, $5.23 billion, and $0.61 per share, which represented increases of 10%, 31%, and 36%, respectively, when compared with the prior year period. Diluted earnings per share included a $0.05 tax benefit primarily related to an agreement with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service to settle a portion of their audit of tax years 2004 to 2006.

“We delivered strong financial results despite a mixed PC environment, which demonstrates the strength and breadth of our businesses,” said Peter Klein, chief financial officer at Microsoft. “Consumers are purchasing Office 2010, Xbox and Kinect at tremendous rates, and businesses of all sizes are purchasing Microsoft platforms and applications.” (more…)

From the Beginning, the Mind Knows the Difference Between Night and Day

Science

The brain is apparently programmed from birth to develop the ability to determine sunrise and sunset, new research on circadian rhythms at the University of Chicago shows.

The research sheds new light on brain plasticity and may explain some basic human behaviors, according to Brian Prendergast, associate professor in psychology, and co-author of a paper published April 27 in the journal PLoS One. The lead author is August Kampf-Lassin, an advanced graduate student at the University. (more…)