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UW research: World population could be nearly 11 billion by 2100

A new statistical analysis shows the world population could reach nearly 11 billion by the end of the century, according to a United Nations report issued June 13. That’s about 800 million, or about 8 percent, more than the previous projection of 10.1 billion, issued in 2011.

The projected rise is mostly due to fertility in Africa, where the U.N. had expected birth rates to decline more quickly than they have.

“The fertility decline in Africa has slowed down or stalled to a larger extent than we previously predicted, and as a result the African population will go up,” said Adrian Raftery, a University of Washington professor of statistics and of sociology. (more…)

Microsoft updates enterprise social road map, highlights momentum on Yammer acquisition anniversary

Technology

Microsoft delivers on its enterprise social vision with accelerating user, customer and engagement growth.

REDMOND, Wash. — June 25, 2013 — Today marks one year since Microsoft Corp. announced its acquisition of Yammer, the leading provider of enterprise social networks. Since the acquisition, Microsoft’s enterprise social momentum has accelerated in all areas, including new users, paid customers, user engagement, innovation, and the ecosystem of partners selling and connecting to the Yammer platform.

Twelve-month growth highlights include the following:

Registered users have grown by more than 55 percent to nearly 8 million.
Paid networks increased more than 200 percent year over year.
Yammer user activity (i.e., messages, groups and files) has approximately doubled year over year. (more…)

Going wild could improve winged workforce

Environment, Nature

Every spring in the United States, bees pollinate crops valued at about $14 billion.

A Michigan State University professor and a team of scientists are using a five-year, $8.6 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture to keep this winged workforce operating efficiently.

Almonds, strawberries, apples, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, watermelon, cucumbers and more depend on bees to help maximize yields. But with wild honey bee populations decimated by varroa mites and other threats, farmers are dependent on beekeepers to deliver managed colonies of honey bees during peak pollination to ensure their flowers are pollinated. (more…)

Vicious cycle: Changes in brain chemistry sustain obesity

Health

In a new discovery reported in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Brown University and Lifespan researchers show that in the brain cells of rats, obesity impedes the production of a hormone that curbs appetite and inspires calorie burning. The root cause appears to be a breakdown in the protein-processing mechanism of the cells. In the lab, the researchers showed they could fix the breakdown with drugs. (more…)

Acidifying oceans could spell trouble for squid

Environment

New study reveals more acid seas could alter early development of Atlantic longfin squid

Acidifying oceans could dramatically impact the world’s squid species, according to a new study led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) researchers and just published online in the journal PLOS ONE. Because squid are both ecologically and commercially important, that impact may have far-reaching effects on the ocean environment and coastal economies, the researchers report. (more…)

Using IBM’s Crowdsourced Supercomputer, Harvard Rates Solar Energy Potential of 2.3 Million New Compounds

Technology

White House Applauds Citizen Science, Big Data Initiative

CAMBRIDGE, MA – 24 Jun 2013: The search for more versatile and less expensive materials for solar energy received a boost today as Harvard launched a free database that catalogues the suitability of 2.3 million organic, carbon compounds for converting sunlight into electricity.

Harvard’s Clean Energy project — which screened the molecules using World Community Grid, an IBM-managed virtual supercomputer that harnesses the surplus computer power donated by volunteers — is believed to be the most extensive investigation of quantum chemicals ever performed. (more…)

Interview with Sascha Gätzschmann: ‚My Baha’i Faith’

Culture, Interview, Media

Q: You were Catholic, then you became a Baha’i. Will you please tell us what encouraged you to do it?

Sascha: There is one religion of God, which is renewed in every age according to the needs of the time. God´s plan unfolds by unique and holy Persons – the Manifestations of God or Prophets of God. They work hand in hand. Among these Manifestions of God are Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster, Abraham, Moses, Christ, Muhammad, the Báb and of course Bahá´u´lláh, whose teaching of the unity of mankind attracted me from the start. I became a Baha’i, as I understood that Bahá´u´lláh´s message is divine and that the same spirit that animated Jesus Christ also animated Bahá´u´lláh. Through the teachings of Bahá´u´lláh I understood that the Prophets are all one and that the teachings of Christ applied to a certain time. The teachings of Bahá´u´lláh are directed to the needs of humanity today. I am happy to work with many people – may they be Bahais or not – for the old dream of a unified and happy mankind. (more…)

Roman Seawater Concrete Holds the Secret to Cutting Carbon Emissions

Science

Berkeley Lab scientists and their colleagues have discovered the properties that made ancient Roman concrete sustainable and durable

The chemical secrets of a concrete Roman breakwater that has spent the last 2,000 years submerged in the Mediterranean Sea have been uncovered by an international team of researchers led by Paulo Monteiro of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. (more…)