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‘Undersea Methane Could be Contributor to Increased Ocean Acidity’

A North Carolina State University researcher is part of a team which has found that methane from “cold seeps” – undersea areas where fluids bubble up through sediments at the bottom of the ocean – could be contributing to the oceans’ increasing acidity and stressing already delicate undersea ecosystems.

Oceanic microorganisms and bacteria survive by consuming dissolved organic carbon, or DOC. A byproduct of this consumption is CO2 – carbon dioxide – which, in large enough concentrations, makes seawater more acidic. (more…)

Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Teens Singled Out for Punishment

Culture, General

Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adolescents are about 40 percent more likely than other teens to be punished by school authorities, police and the courts, according to a study by Yale University researchers. Published in the January 2011 issue of the journal Pediatrics, the study is the first to document excessive punishment of LGB youth nationwide.

“We found that virtually all types of punishment—including school expulsions, arrests, juvenile convictions, adult convictions and especially police stops—were more frequently meted out to LGB youth,” said lead author Kathryn Himmelstein, who initiated the study while she was a Yale undergraduate. The research was supervised by Hannah Brueckner, professor of sociology and co-director of the Center for Research on Inequalities and the Life Course at Yale. (more…)

Oprah’s New Book Club Selections “A Tale of Two Cities” and “Great Expectations” Are Free on Kindle

Culture, Technology

*The works of Charles Dickens and millions of other out-of-copyright works are available on Kindle for free*

SEATTLE, Dec 06, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — The 65^th Oprah Book Club pick is a Charles Dickens double-header. The selections are “A Tale of Two Cities” and “Great Expectations,” and Amazon.com today announced that both are available on Kindle for free, along with millions of other out-of-copyright works. These free Kindle books can be read on the bestselling $139 Kindle (www.amazon.com/kindle) with new, high-contrast Pearl e-ink or on iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, BlackBerry, Android-based devices, PC, and Mac using free Kindle reading apps (www.amazon.com/kindleapps). (more…)

WHOI Website Will Take Viewers Deep into the Gulf

Environment, Science

It may take years before scientists determine the full impact of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But, utilizing the human-occupied submersible Alvin and the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Sentry, researchers are about to investigate—and view first-hand—the possible effects of the spill at the bottom of the Gulf.

And, from Dec. 6-14, the mission will be relayed to the public as it happens on the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s (WHOI) Dive and Discover website (https://divediscover.whoi.edu). (more…)

Microsoft Dynamics Introduces “Cloud CRM for Less” Offer

Technology

*Microsoft executive invites Salesforce.com and Oracle customers to consider Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.*

REDMOND, Wash. — Dec. 6, 2010 — Microsoft Corp. today released an Open Letter from Michael Park, corporate vice president, sales, marketing and operations, Microsoft Business Solutions, inviting customers to learn about and evaluate Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. As part of the letter, Microsoft announced the “Cloud CRM for Less” offer for Salesforce.com and Oracle customers. Through this offer, Microsoft will rebate eligible customers up to $200 for each user that makes the switch to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online between now and June 30, 2011. The offer can be applied for services such as migrating data or customizing the solution to meet unique business needs. More details on the offer can be found at https://www.cloudcrmforless.com. (more…)

U of T Researcher Discovers Way to Zip Away Chronic Pain

Health

Peptide inhibitor called ZIP may be instrumental

Research from the University of Toronto suggests that a peptide inhibitor called ZIP could be crucial in zipping away some kinds of chronic pain. (more…)

In Australia, Men Watch Twice the Amount of Online Video as Women

Technology

*Australians Watched Nearly 3 Hours of Online Video per Viewer at YouTube.com in October*

Sydney, Australia, December 6 , 2010 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its October 2010 rankings of the top video properties in Australia based on data from its comScore Video Metrix service. The report found that nearly 80 percent of Australia’s Internet population viewed video online in October, with an average viewer watching nearly 8 hours of video during the month. The report also revealed that male online video viewers in Australia spend nearly double the amount of time viewing video compared to women. (more…)

Amazon Web Services Launches Amazon Route 53, a New DNS Service in the Cloud Enabling Businesses to Direct Internet Traffic to Web Applications

Technology

AWS customers can now access a highly available DNS system with pay-as-you-go pricing and no minimum usage commitments

SEATTLE, Dec 06, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon Web Services LLC (AWS), an Amazon.com company, today announced Amazon Route 53, a Domain Name System (DNS) web service giving developers and businesses a highly available and reliable way to route Internet traffic to web applications by translating human readable names into numeric IP addresses. Amazon Route 53 can be used to route end users to multiple AWS services including Amazon EC2, an Amazon Elastic Load Balancer or an Amazon S3 bucket, and to infrastructure outside of AWS. The Amazon Route 53 global network of DNS servers is designed to automatically respond from the optimal network location, resulting in low DNS query latency for end users. (more…)