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Watching Earth’s Winds, On a Shoestring

Built with spare parts and without a moment to spare, the International Space Station (ISS)-RapidScat isn’t your average NASA Earth science mission.

Short for Rapid Scatterometer, ISS-RapidScat will monitor ocean winds from the vantage point of the space station . It will join a handful of other satellite scatterometer missions that make essential measurements used to support weather and marine forecasting, including the tracking of storms and hurricanes. It will also help improve our understanding of how interactions between Earth’s ocean and atmosphere influence our climate. (more…)

Gold Mining Ravages Perú

Environment

Washington, DC—For the first time, researchers have been able to map the true extent of gold mining in the biologically diverse region of Madre De Dios in the Peruvian Amazon. The team combined field surveys with airborne mapping and high-resolution satellite monitoring to show that the geographic extent of mining has increased 400% from 1999 to 2012 and that the average annual rate of forest loss has tripled since the Great Recession of 2008. Until this study, thousands of small, clandestine mines that have boomed since the economic crisis have gone unmonitored. The research is published in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of October 28, 2013.

The team, led by Carnegie’s Greg Asner in close collaboration with officials from the Peruvian Ministry of Environment, used the Carnegie Landsat Analysis System-lite (CLASlite) to detect and map both large and small mining operations. CLASlite differs from other satellite mapping methods. It uses algorithms to detect changes to the forest in areas as small as 10 square meters, about 100 square feet, allowing scientists to find small-scale disturbances that cannot be detected by traditional satellite methods. (more…)

New cybersecurity report from Microsoft details risks of running unsupported software

Technology

Findings highlight importance of using modern software to help protect against cybercriminals.

REDMOND, Wash. — On Tuesday, Microsoft Corp. released its Security Intelligence Report volume 15, which analyzes threat intelligence from more than 1 billion systems worldwide to provide in-depth perspectives on exploits, vulnerabilities and malware to help customers manage risk. Among other intelligence, the report examines the security risk that consumers and businesses face when using unsupported operating systems and software and looks at the implications of using Windows XP once support, including security updates, ends April 8, 2014. In addition, new telemetry compares the security of modern operating systems such as Windows 8 with older operating systems such as Windows XP that, according to StatCounter, make up approximately 21 percent of operating systems used today.

The report found these top three worldwide threats for those running Windows XP: (more…)

Chemie in Badehosen: Gefährliche Chemikalien in Bademoden

Environment

Badehosen und -anzüge können schädliche Stoffe enthalten – das fand ein unabhängiges Labor im Auftrag von Greenpeace heraus. Da keine Kennzeichnungspflicht besteht, kommt der Verbraucherschutz zu kurz.

Ein unabhängiges Labor hat für Greenpeace erstmals Bademoden auf per- und polyfluorierte Chemikalien (PFC) untersucht. PFC können die Fortpflanzung schädigen und das Immun- und Hormonsystem stören. Ein weiteres Labor hat die Proben auf hormonell wirksame Alkylphenolethoxylate und auch andere Schadstoffe getestet. Die Ergebnisse beweisen klar: Über die Hälfte der Proben war mit PFC belastet, und vier von fünf Proben enthielten Alkylphenolethoxylate. (more…)

Mosquitofish Genital Shape Linked to Presence of Predators

Science

When predators lurk nearby, male Bahamas mosquitofish (Gambusia hubbsi) change mating strategies, rejecting elaborate courting rituals for more frequent and sometimes forceful encounters with females.

But as a recent North Carolina State University study shows, mating strategies aren’t the only things changing for G. hubbsi when predators abound. The shape and size of the male fish’s genitalia are also linked to the presence or absence of predators. (more…)

Creating fuel from sunlight

Environment, Science

Turning fossil fuel into energy is easy: You just burn it. And live with the carbon dioxide byproduct. What if we could reverse the process and turn water and carbon dioxide back into fuel?

A dream solution, but it may seem like trying to put the genie back in the bottle. (more…)

Grandson of first chemotherapy doctor now teaches at Yale School of Medicine

Health

When Dr. Dieter Lindskog first began walking the halls of Yale School of Medicine a decade ago, people would stop him often to ask, “Are you by any chance related to …?” Now they stop him rarely, either because they know the answer or are too young to recognize the famous name — that of the grandfather who upended accepted tenets of medical practice and, in doing so, gave birth to the science and art of modern oncology. (more…)

Quelle der Artenvielfalt

Nature

Jetzt spenden für den Tanasee in Äthiopien

Am Horn von Afrika liegt ein Land, ohne das unser Leben anders aussähe. Es wäre weniger genussreich und vielleicht sogar voller Entbehrungen. In Äthiopien wuchsen die ersten Kaffeepflanzen der Erde. Auch wichtige Getreidesorten entstammen wohl diesen Breiten. Biologen sprechen von einem Hotspot der Biodiversität.

Auch für unsere Vogelwelt ist diese Region unersetzlich. Am größten See Äthiopiens, dem Tanasee, überwintern viele unserer Kraniche, Rauchschwalben, Schafstelzen und weitere Wasser- und Singvögel. 15 Fischarten kommen nur in diesem See und nirgendwo sonst auf der Welt vor. Und 160 Baumarten wachsen nur hier! (more…)