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J. Timmons Roberts: What did Durban do for climate?

J. Timmons Roberts, professor of sociology and director of the Center for Environmental Studies, led a group of Brown researchers and students to the United Nations climate change negotiations in Durban, South Africa. On his return, Roberts spoke with Richard Lewis, reflecting on the Durban meetings, the status of research, and the challenges of activism on issues of climate change.

Timmons Roberts, professor and director of the Center for Environmental Studies, has just returned from attending climate talks in Durban, South Africa. Roberts and a delegation from Brown — faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate and undergraduate students — witnessed the negotiations up close as observers to ministerial speeches and negotiations. The talks ended with an agreement to extend the greenhouse gas emissions targets set under the Kyoto Protocol and a pledge to work on a replacement treaty incorporating the United States, China, and India. (more…)

Archaeologists Find New Evidence of Animals Being Introduced to Prehistoric Caribbean

Science

An archaeological research team from North Carolina State University, the University of Washington and University of Florida has found one of the most diverse collections of prehistoric non-native animal remains in the Caribbean, on the tiny island of Carriacou. The find contributes to our understanding of culture in the region before the arrival of Columbus, and suggests Carriacou may have been more important than previously thought.

The researchers found evidence of five species that were introduced to Carriacou from South America between 1,000 and 1,400 years ago. Only one of these species, the opossum, can still be found on the island. The other species were pig-like peccaries, armadillos, guinea pigs and small rodents called agoutis. (more…)

U-M Divers Retrieve Prehistoric Wood from Lake Huron

Science

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Under the cold clear waters of Lake Huron, University of Michigan researchers have found a five-and-a-half foot-long, pole-shaped piece of wood that is 8,900 years old. The wood, which is tapered and beveled on one side in a way that looks deliberate, may provide important clues to a mysterious period in North American prehistory. (more…)

Running Britain’s Largest Companies is Almost Unrecognisable From The 1980s, 24 Year-Long Study Reveals

Economy

Corporate directing in the UK has radically changed over the last 24 years yet some board conduct, such as the persistent under-representation of women on boards, has only changed marginally, a unique series of ESRC-funded studies reveals.

The research by Annie Pye, Professor of Leadership Studies at the University of Exeter Business School, is based on a series of interviews, which first took place in 1988, with directors who lead some of the UK’s largest listed companies, including Lloyds Banking Group, Marks & Spencer, and Prudential. Described by Sir Adrian Cadbury as “ground-breaking”, the research spans a period of significant change for British business, predating the first code of governance practice for UK companies, through to the present global economic crisis. (more…)

Travelers and Shoppers Get A Picture Perfect Holiday

Technology

*Windows and Southwest Airlines team up to offer free holiday photos at select airports and shopping malls across the country.*

REDMOND, Wash. — Dec. 12, 2011 — The holiday rush can be overwhelming. With shopping, traveling and holiday parties galore, people run around like crazy and still don’t have enough time to do everything they’d like with friends and family.

But with a little help from Santa, Windows and Southwest Airlines are hoping to relieve that stress and bring families some holiday cheer this season. With A Picture Perfect Holiday, Microsoft and Southwest Airlines are partnering to offer free holiday photos in convenient locations for the second year in a row. (more…)

Nanocrystals Go Bare: Berkeley Lab Researchers Strip Material’s Tiny Tethers

Science

Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have discovered a universal technique for stripping nanocrystals of tether-like molecules that until now have posed as obstacles for their integration into devices. These findings could provide scientists with a clean slate for developing new nanocrystal-based technologies for energy storage, photovoltaics, smart windows, solar fuels and light-emitting diodes.

Nanocrystals are typically prepared in a chemical solution using stringy molecules called ligands chemically tethered to their surface. These hydrocarbon-based or organometallic molecules help stabilize the nanocrystal, but also form an undesirable insulating shell around the structure. Efficient and clean removal of these surface ligands is challenging and has eluded researchers for decades. (more…)

What Do Animals ‘Know’? More Than You May Think

Nature

Rats use their knowledge to make decisions when faced with ambiguous situations, UCLA psychologists report.

“Rats often make judgments and behave as if they’re rational creatures,” said UCLA associate professor of psychology Aaron Blaisdell, a member of UCLA’s Brain Research Institute and senior author of a new study published in the December issue of the journal Psychonomic Bulletin and Review. (more…)

Star Explosion Leaves Behind a Rose

Science

About 3,700 years ago, people on Earth would have seen a brand-new bright star in the sky. It slowly dimmed out of sight and was eventually forgotten, until modern astronomers later found its remains, called Puppis A. In this new image from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), Puppis A looks less like the remains of a supernova explosion and more like a red rose.

Puppis A (pronounced PUP-pis) was formed when a massive star ended its life in a supernova, the most brilliant and powerful form of an explosion in the known universe. The expanding shock waves from that explosion are heating up the dust and gas clouds surrounding the supernova, causing them to glow and appear red in this infrared view. While much of the material from that original star was violently thrown out into space, some of it remained in an incredibly dense object called a neutron star. This particular neutron star (too faint to be seen in this image) is moving inexplicably fast: over 3 million miles per hour! Astronomers are perplexed over its absurd speed, and have nicknamed the object the “Cosmic Cannonball.” (more…)