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Astronomers Using the Hubble Space Telescope Report the Earliest Spiral Galaxy Ever Seen

Astronomers have witnessed for the first time a spiral galaxy in the early universe, billions of years before many other spiral galaxies formed. In findings reported July 19 in the journal Nature, the astronomers said they discovered it while using the Hubble Space Telescope to take pictures of about 300 very distant galaxies in the early universe and to study their properties. This distant spiral galaxy is being observed as it existed roughly three billion years after the Big Bang, and light from this part of the universe has been traveling to Earth for about 10.7 billion years.

“As you go back in time to the early universe, galaxies look really strange, clumpy and irregular, not symmetric,” said Alice Shapley, a UCLA associate professor of physics and astronomy, and co-author of the study. “The vast majority of old galaxies look like train wrecks. Our first thought was, why is this one so different, and so beautiful?” (more…)

Asians Reluctant to Seek Help for Domestic Violence

Culture, General

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Asian-American victims of domestic violence rarely seek help from police or health care providers – “an alarming trend” among the fastest-growing racial group in the United States, says a Michigan State University researcher.

While cultural barriers can discourage victims from seeking help, there also is a lack of culturally sensitive services available to them, said Hyunkag Cho, assistant professor of social work.

That can be as simple as a local domestic violence hotline that cannot facilitate calls from Chinese- or Korean-speaking victims due to language barriers. And failing to get help the first time, Cho said, may prevent a victim from trying again. (more…)

El Zotz Masks Yield Insights into Maya beliefs

Culture, Science

A team of archaeologists led by Stephen Houston has made a new discovery at the Maya archaeological site in El Zotz, Guatemala, uncovering a pyramid believed to celebrate the Maya sun god. The structure’s outer walls depict the god in an unprecedented set of images done in painted stucco. In 2010, the team uncovered a royal tomb filled with artifacts and human remains at the same site. Researchers believe the pyramid was built to link the deceased lord to the eternal sun.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A team of archaeologists led by Brown University’s Stephen Houston has uncovered a pyramid, part of the Maya archaeological site at El Zotz, Guatemala. The ornately decorated structure is topped by a temple covered in a series of masks depicting different phases of the sun, as well as deeply modeled and vibrantly painted stucco throughout.

The team began uncovering the temple, called the Temple of the Night Sun, in 2009. Dating to about 350 to 400 A.D., the temple sits just behind the previously discovered royal tomb, atop the Diablo Pyramid. The structure was likely built after the tomb to venerate the leader buried there. (more…)

comScore and Facebook Release European Insights About Earned and Paid Media Reach and Effectiveness

Technology

Facebook Paid Advertising Generated 130 Percent Uplift in Purchase Behaviour on Asos.com in 4-Week Period Following Campaign Exposure

London, UK, 18 July 2012 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, and Facebook today released the third white paper in The Power of Like series, The Power of Like Europe: How Social Marketing Works for Retail Brands, focusing on European retail brands such as ASOS, H&M, La Redoute, Topshop and Zara. This research illustrates how these popular consumer brands are utilising Facebook to deliver media impressions at scale, achieve brand amplification and resonance, and ultimately drive desired behaviours among key customer segments. The analysis leverages data and insights from the comScore Social Essentials™ and comScore AdEffx™ products. To download a complimentary copy of the report, please visit: www.comscore.com/likeEU.

“The findings from this study offer several valuable insights to brand marketers and advertisers who want to better understand the marketing effectiveness of their paid and earned media campaigns on Facebook,” said Mike Shaw, Director of Marketing Solutions at comScore. “With a framework for measuring the value and impact of paid and earned media campaigns, brands will gain the insights needed to optimize their social marketing efforts. While every campaign is unique and may vary in its ultimate effectiveness, this research demonstrates how Facebook marketing can be effective in reaching consumers and influencing their actual purchase behaviour.” (more…)

More than Matters of the Heart

Health

A team of researchers, including Mary-Frances O’Connor at the UA, has found a genetic variability linked to stress and inflammation that may impact the health of some widows and widowers

The death of a spouse can be one of life’s most distressing events, and for many years bereavement researchers have noted increased mortality risk in some widows and widowers. This has been called the “widowhood effect.” (more…)

Thieving Rodents: Did They Save Tropical Trees?

Nature

Rodents may have taken over seed-dispersal role of now-extinct mammals

Big seeds produced by tropical trees such as black palms were probably once ingested and then left whole by huge mammals called gomphotheres.

Gomphotheres weighed more than a ton and dispersed the seeds over large distances.

But these Neotropical creatures disappeared more than 10,000 years ago. So why aren’t large-seeded plants also extinct? (more…)

Solar Storm Protection

Science

Warning system to protect astronauts from solar storms

Massive explosions on the sun unleash radiation that could kill astronauts in space. (more…)

Not Your Typical Summer Job for High School Students

Education, Science

The iCLEM Program Gives Students Hands-On Science Experience and a Salary

When we think of high school summer jobs what typically comes to mind are images of lawn-mowing, camp-counseling, life-guarding at a swimming pool, and baby-sitting. But for eight high school students from the East Bay Area, a job this summer means a lab coat and safety glasses, working in a state-of-the art microbiology research facility on the next-step in bioenergy. (more…)