Plasma Jets are Suspect in Solar Mystery
Scientists take new look at solar corona
One of the most enduring mysteries in solar physics is why the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, is millions of degrees hotter than its surface. (more…)
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Microsoft Survey Highlights Cloud Movement Across the US
*Microsoft today named some of the country’s top “cloud-friendly” U.S. cities. The rankings are based on the results of an extensive survey in which 2,000 IT decision makers nationwide discussed how they are adopting and using cloud computing.*
REDMOND, Wash. – Jan. 12, 2011 – The forecast for cloud computing across key U.S. cities calls for new lines of business, more need for IT services, and potential job growth, according to a new survey released today by Microsoft.
Microsoft released the results of the study this week after interviewing more than 2,000 IT decision-makers in 10 U.S. cities. (more…)
Video Explores What Happens in Africa ‘When the Water Ends’
For thousands of years, nomadic herdsmen have roamed the harsh, semi-arid lowlands that stretch across 80% of Kenya and 60% of Ethiopia. Descendants of the oldest tribal societies in the world, they survive thanks to the animals they raise and the crops they grow, their travels determined by the search for water and grazing lands. (more…)
Online Access to the Plants of the World Is Available
*The Global Plants Initiative Meets at the Smithsonian in Panama Jan. 11-13*
For centuries, jungle explorers from Europe and North America have created art of the plants they discover—pressing bright flowers and green tendrils onto herbarium sheets for prestigious museums and plant collections. But scientists in the most biodiverse countries lack easy access to this basic information needed to identify plants. The Global Plants Initiative, meeting Jan. 11-13 at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, catapults biodiversity research to a new level, sharing plant collections in a massive online database of high-resolution scans. (more…)
Google Android Shows Fastest Growth Among Smartphone Platforms in Germany
*Jeremy Copp to Speak at M-Days Conference in Frankfurt*
Hamburg, Germany, January 12, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released 
data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the German smartphone market during the three month average period ending November 2010. The report ranked the leading smartphone operating system (OS) platforms in Germany according to their share of current mobile subscribers ages 13 and older. The November report found that Symbian led among smartphone platforms with 47.7 percent market share, followed by Apple (19.5 percent), Microsoft (13.7 percent), Google (10.6 percent) and RIM (4.8 percent). Google Android gained the largest market share and went up 9.2 percentage points compared to November 2009. (more…)
Chemical Analysis Confirms Discovery of Oldest Wine-making Equipment Ever Found
UCLA scientists use new scientific method to verify vintage 4100 B.C. wine
Analysis by a UCLA-led team of scientists has confirmed the discovery of the oldest complete wine production facility ever found, including grape seeds, withered grape vines, remains of pressed grapes, a rudimentary wine press, a clay vat apparently used for fermentation, wine-soaked potsherds, and even a cup and drinking bowl. (more…)
Wildlife Die-Offs are Relatively Common, Recent Bird Deaths Caused by Impact Trauma
Large wildlife die-off events are fairly common, though they should never be ignored, according to the U.S. Geological Survey scientists whose preliminary tests showed that the bird deaths in Arkansas on New Year’s Eve and those in Louisiana were caused by impact trauma. (more…)
Stress, Substance Abuse Associated With Some Fathers Spanking Their Children
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Biological fathers are more likely to spank their children when they are unable to cope with stress from parenting or they use abuse alcohol and drugs, a new study indicates.
The study also finds that fathers used corporal punishment—which involves physical force to a child to correct a behavior—more often on boys than girls. (more…)