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EPA Grants Continue to Protect Beachgoers

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing almost $10 million in grants to 37 states, territories and tribes to help protect swimmers and beachgoers at America’s beaches. The grants will help local authorities monitor beach water quality and notify the public of conditions that may be unsafe for swimming. The grants have enabled states and territories to more than double the number of beaches they monitor since 2003. This continues EPA’s efforts to help beach managers provide consistent public health protection and up-to-date information about local beach conditions. (more…)

Study Highlights Flaw In Common Approach of Public Opinion Surveys About Science

Politics

A new study from North Carolina State University highlights a major flaw in attempting to use a single survey question to assess public opinion on science issues. Researchers found that people who say that risks posed by new science fields outweigh benefits often actually perceive more benefits than risks when asked more detailed questions. (more…)

comScore Releases December 2010 U.S. Search Engine Rankings

Technology

RESTON, VA, January 14, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its monthly comScore qSearch analysis of the U.S. search marketplace. Google Sites led the explicit core search market in December with 66.6 percent of searches conducted. (more…)

Spacecraft Catches Thunderstorms Hurling Antimatter into Space

Science

WASHINGTON — Scientists using NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have detected beams of antimatter produced above thunderstorms on Earth, a phenomenon never seen before.

Scientists think the antimatter particles were formed in a terrestrial gamma-ray flash (TGF), a brief burst produced inside thunderstorms and shown to be associated with lightning. It is estimated that about 500 such flashes occur daily worldwide, but most go undetected. (more…)

Extent of Corruption in Countries Around The World Tied to Earthquake Fatalities

Environment

A new assessment of global earthquake fatalities over the past three decades indicates that 83 percent of all deaths caused by the collapse of buildings during earthquakes occurred in countries considered to be unusually corrupt. (more…)

Carnegie Airborne Observatory: Mapping Video

Environment

Some 55% of tropical forests are negatively affected by land use practices and deforestation worldwide. But the ability to penetrate the canopy to see what’s going on has been lacking until now.

Global Ecology’s Greg Asner’s group has developed new airborne methods to peer through the canopy to measure and map, in beautiful 3-D, the underlying vegetation, degradation and deforestation, and the amount of carbon stored and emitted in these forests. (more…)

Why Coffee Protects Against Diabetes

Health, Science

*Researchers discover molecular mechanism behind drink’s prophylactic effect*

Coffee, that morning elixir, may give us an early jump-start to the day, but numerous studies have shown that it also may be protective against type 2 diabetes. Yet no one has really understood why.

Now, researchers at UCLA have discovered a possible molecular mechanism behind coffee’s protective effect. A protein called sex hormone–binding globulin (SHBG) regulates the biological activity of the body’s sex hormones, testosterone and estrogen, which have long been thought to play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes. And coffee consumption, it turns out, increases plasma levels of SHBG. (more…)

comScore Launches Video Metrix 2.0 in the UK to Measure Evolving Online Video Landscape

Technology

*New Metrics Offer Detailed Market Intelligence for UK Industry*

London, UK, 13 January, 2010: comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today announced the UK launch of Video Metrix 2.0, the next generation of comScore’s industry leading online video measurement service. The new service offers several enhancements – including reporting of online video ad impressions – designed to better align with the realities of today’s online video landscape. For more information on Video Metrix 2.0, please visit www.videometrix2.com. (more…)