*Chemicals known as oxygenated volatile organic compounds (oVOCs) affect environment, human health*
About the image: Poplars, aspens, other trees provide extensive “ecosystem services.” Image credit: USDA
Vegetation plays an unexpectedly large role in cleansing the atmosphere, a new study finds. (more…)
*Researchers measure survival, reproduction of thousands of arctic and alpine plants over six years*
As Earth’s climate warms, species are expected to shift their geographical ranges away from the equator or to higher elevations.
While scientists have documented such shifts for many plants and animals, the ranges of others seem stable. (more…)
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Subprime mortgages were not the main reason behind the housing crisis that started in 2009 and continues to bedevil the faltering U.S. economy, according to a University of Michigan study.
“Our analysis shows that the major underlying driver of the continuing foreclosure crisis was aggressive refinancing using adjustable rate mortgage loans that looked safe at the time because of increasing housing prices,” said Frank Stafford, an economist at the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR). (more…)
For certain kinds of cancer, the most effective therapy does not use x-rays or gamma rays but beams of ions, the electrically charged cores of atoms, including hydrogen ions (protons) and heavier ions such as carbon and neon. (more…)
Image credit: University of Maryland
COLLEGE PARK, Md — Scientists at the University of Maryland and Tulane University have developed a computational model of a swimming fish that is the first to address the interaction of both internal and external forces on locomotion. The interdisciplinary research team simulated how the fish’s flexible body bends, depending on both the forces from the fluid moving around it as well as the muscles inside. Understanding these interactions, even in fish, will help design medical prosthetics for humans that work with the body’s natural mechanics, rather than against them. This research is published in the October 18, 2010 online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (more…)
ARMONK, N.Y. – 22 Oct 2010: IBM (NYSE: IBM) inventors have developed a patented natural disaster warning system, which uses analytics to improve the effectiveness and timeliness of post-event rescue efforts in cities and other locations where efficient emergency response is essential following a natural disaster. It also offers a means to accurately predict the location and timing of subsequent catastrophic events, which will further aid evacuation efforts. (more…)
Image credit: Microsoft
REDMOND, Wash. — Oct. 22, 2010 —
Microsoft Corp. today announced that Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a Windows 7 Enterprise customer and the flagship company of the Samsung Group, has completed deployment of Windows 7 throughout its offices in South Korea, the global headquarters of the consumer electronics manufacturing company. Samsung Electronics’ offices in South Korea house a majority of the company’s 150,000 employees worldwide.
To reduce the amount of time spent managing its client computing environment, Samsung Electronics upgraded to the Windows 7 Enterprise operating system and the Windows Internet Explorer 8 browser across its offices in South Korea. As a result of the deployment, Samsung Electronics has enhanced IT security; simplified IT maintenance, which resulted in a 20 percent cost savings; reduced power consumption by 34 percent; and significantly improved employee productivity. (more…)
ANN ARBOR, Mich.— As Halloween approaches, tales of monsters and creepy crawlies abound. Among the most fearsome is the legendary beast known as the chupacabras.
But the real fiend is not the hairless, fanged animal purported to attack and drink the blood of livestock; it’s a tiny, eight-legged creature that turns a healthy, wild animal into a chupacabras, says University of Michigan biologist Barry OConnor. (more…)
