Blog – Page 1051 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

New View of Family Life in the North American Nebula

Pasadena, Calif. — Stars at all stages of development, from dusty little tots to young adults, are on display in a new image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope.

This cosmic community is called the North American nebula. In visible light, the region resembles the North American continent, with the most striking resemblance being the Gulf of Mexico. But in Spitzer’s infrared view, the continent disappears. Instead, a swirling landscape of dust and young stars comes into view.

“One of the things that makes me so excited about this image is how different it is from the visible image, and how much more we can see in the infrared than in the visible,” said Luisa Rebull of NASA’s Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. Rebull is lead author of a paper about the observations, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. “The Spitzer image reveals a wealth of detail about the dust and the young stars here.” (more…)

Language May Play Important Role in Learning the Meanings of Numbers

Science

Research shows “homesigners” unable to comprehend the value of large numbers

New research conducted with deaf people in Nicaragua shows that language may play an important role in learning the meanings of numbers. (more…)

Teach-in: “Unrest in the Middle East and North Africa”

Culture, Politics

Even if you did not have the opportunity to attend the panel on “Unrest in the Middle East and North Africa,” you can slearn what four experts on the history and political affairs of the Middle East had to say about the causes of the unrest in the region in this video of the panel, […]

Weather Extremes Are Growing Trend in Northern Australia, Corals Show

Environment

WASHINGTON —The extreme rain events that have caused flooding across northern Australia may become an increasingly familiar occurrence, new research suggests. The study uses the growth patterns in near-shore corals to determine which summers brought more rain than others, creating a centuries-long rainfall record for northern Australia. (more…)

Spring Break: Study Suggests How to Reduce Risky Behavior

Culture

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— College students who arrange with friends to “get their backs” are less likely to engage in risky spring break behavior, according to a new study.

The University of Michigan study, published this month in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, says about 60 percent of more than 650 college freshmen surveyed reported having an understanding with their friends about using alcohol during spring break. (more…)

Microsoft Appoints Satya Nadella as President of Server and Tools Business

Technology

*Nadella brings deep engineering and online services knowledge to $15 billion business*

REDMOND, Wash. — Feb. 9, 2011 — Microsoft Corp. today promoted Senior Vice President Satya Nadella to president of Microsoft’s Server and Tools Business.

“We’re already making strong traction across our Server and Tools Business by embracing cloud services,” said Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer. “Satya has deep experience in both our server business and online services, which will help accelerate our momentum while setting the course to deliver the cloud computing scenarios of the future.” (more…)

Study: Consumers Value Safer Food More Than Current Analyses Suggest

Economy, Health

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Government regulators could more realistically assess the value of improving food safety if they considered the fact that consumers typically want to avoid getting sick – even if it means they have to pay a little extra for safer food, researchers say.

In the world of food regulation, cost-benefit analyses are a primary tool for assessing the societal benefits of mandating more stringent – and more expensive – processing practices. In most cases, regulators determine a dollar value associated with pursuing new rules by estimating how many illnesses and deaths the safer processing would prevent. (more…)

Unexpected Exoskeleton Remnants Found in Paleozoic Fossils

Science

Washington, D.C.— Surprising new research shows that, contrary to conventional belief, remains of chitin-protein complex—structural materials containing protein and polysaccharide—are present in abundance in fossils of arthropods from the Paleozoic era. Previously the oldest molecular signature of chitin-protein complex was discovered in 25 million year old Cenozoic fossils and remnants of structural protein have also been discovered in 80 million-year-old Mesozoic fossils. Carnegie’s George Cody and an international team of scientists discovered relicts of protein-chitin complex in fossils of arthropods from the Paleozoic era. Their findings, published online by Geology, could have major implications for our understanding of the organic fossil record. (more…)