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Smartphones and Tablets Drive Nearly 7 Percent of Total U.S. Digital Traffic

Technology

*iOS Accounts for Largest Share of U.S. Smartphone and Tablet Devices while Driving the Majority of Non-Computer Traffic*

*comScore Releases Report, “Digital Omnivores: How Tablets, Smartphones and Connected Devices are Changing U.S. Digital Media Consumption Habits”*

RESTON, VA, October 10, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the report Digital Omnivores: How Tablets, Smartphones and Connected Devices are Changing U.S. Digital Media Consumption Habits. The report analyzes how cross-platform consumption has created a vastly different landscape as consumers utilize a growing number of devices to consume digital content. The report also analyzes the impact these shifting consumption habits have on online visitation and engagement across the Internet. To download a complimentary copy of the report, Digital Omnivores, please visit: https://www.comScore.com/DigitalOmnivores. (more…)

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Charles P. Sonett: the Legacy of a Pioneering Space Scientist

Science

Charles P. Sonett, the first head of the UA’s department of planetary sciences, died at the age of 87. Sonett was involved in spacecraft missions that dramatically advanced our understanding of the solar system and beyond, including the Pioneer Program, the Explorer Program and the Apollo Program

Charles “Chuck” P. Sonett, a founding faculty member and the first department head of the University of Arizona’s department of planetary sciences, died on Sept. 30. He was 87. (more…)

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Rising Carbon Dioxide Levels at End of Last Ice Age Not Tied to Pacific Ocean, As Had Been Suspected

Environment

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— After the last ice age peaked about 18,000 years ago, levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide rose about 30 percent. Scientists believe that the additional carbon dioxide—a heat-trapping greenhouse gas—played a key role in warming the planet and melting the continental ice sheets. They have long hypothesized that the source of the gas was the deep ocean.

But a new study by a University of Michigan paleoclimatologist and two colleagues suggests that the deep ocean was not an important source of carbon during glacial times. The finding will force researchers to reassess their ideas about the fundamental mechanisms that regulate atmospheric carbon dioxide over long time scales. (more…)

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How the Brain Makes Memories: Rhythmically!

Health, Science

The brain learns through changes in the strength of its synapses — the connections between neurons — in response to stimuli.

Now, in a discovery that challenges conventional wisdom on the brain mechanisms of learning, UCLA neuro-physicists have found there is an optimal brain “rhythm,” or frequency, for changing synaptic strength. And further, like stations on a radio dial, each synapse is tuned to a different optimal frequency for learning.

The findings, which provide a grand-unified theory of the mechanisms that underlie learning in the brain, may lead to possible new therapies for treating learning disabilities. (more…)

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Choosing Microsoft Over the NFL

Sports, Technology

*Albert Rocker found himself at a crossroads of two big dreams: The Georgia Tech athlete had to choose between playing a final year of college football for a shot at the National Football League, or accepting a job offer from “the biggest software company ever created.”*

REDMOND, Wash. – It was the toughest decision of Albert Rocker’s life: should he pursue a career in the National Football League (NFL), or one at Microsoft?

At the Georgia Institute of Technology, Rocker was an outside linebacker for the Yellow Jackets football team with one year of eligibility remaining – one last football season to woo the NFL. Rocker played in a total of 38 games over his college career, including all 13 games of his junior season in 2010 – he was set to be a starter if he returned for his last year of eligibility. (more…)

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