australia – Page 3 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Evidence of 3.5 billion-year-old bacterial ecosystems found in Australia

By Guest PostNovember 25, 2013Environmentancient photosynthetic bacteria, australia, bacterial films, biofilms, carnegie, daniel christian, david wacey, dresser formation, dresser miss fossils, earth, environments, famous geological regions, history, hydrothermal, mars rovers, microfossils, miss, nora noffke, old bacterial ecosystems, old dominion university, oldest sedimentary rocks, pilbara district, playa like setting, polygonal oscillation cracks, robert hazen, stromatolites, tectonic activity, western australia

Washington, D.C.— Reconstructing the rise of life during the period of Earth’s history when it first evolved is challenging. Earth’s oldest sedimentary rocks are not only rare, but also almost always altered by hydrothermal and tectonic activity. A new study from a team including Carnegie’s Nora Noffke, a visiting investigator, and Robert Hazen revealed the well-preserved remnants of a complex ecosystem in a nearly 3.5 billion-year-old sedimentary rock sequence in Australia. Their work is published in Astrobiology.

The Pilbara district of Western Australia constitutes one of the famous geological regions that allow insight into the early evolution of life. Mound-like deposits created by ancient photosynthetic bacteria, called stromatolites, and microfossils of bacteria have been described by scientists in detail. However, a phenomenon called microbially induced sedimentary structures, or MISS, had not previously been seen in this region. These structures are formed from mats of microbial material, much like mats seen today on stagnant waters or in coastal flats. (more…)

A Living Desert Underground

By Guest PostNovember 20, 2013Natureantje legatzki, archaea, atacama desert, australia, bacteria, biomass, brisbane, carbon dioxide, cave formation, Chile, desert ecosystem, dna analysis, ecosystem of microbes, environmental cleanup solutions, erythromycin, exploring mars, groundwater, hypersaline water, julie neilson, kartchner caverns, kentucky, limestone cave, limestone cave system, living desert underground, organic carbon, raina maier, rod wing, sewage treatment plant, shark bay, southeastern arizona, stromatolite, sunlight, throne room, type of habitat, typical ecosystem, university of arizona, west virginia, whetstone mountains

In the perpetual darkness of a limestone cave, UA researchers have discovered a surprisingly diverse ecosystem of microbes eking out a living from not much more than drip water, rock and air. The discovery not only expands our understanding of how microbes manage to colonize every niche on the planet but also could lead to applications ranging from environmental cleanup solutions to drug development.

Hidden underneath the hilly grasslands studded with ocotillos and mesquite trees in southeastern Arizona lies a world shrouded in perpetual darkness: Kartchner Caverns, a limestone cave system renowned for its untouched cave formations, sculpted over millennia by groundwater dissolving the bedrock and carving out underground rooms, and passages that attract tourists from all over the world. (more…)

Experimental drug shows encouraging results in treating most common form of lung cancer

By Guest PostNovember 15, 2013Healthamerican cancer society, australia, common form, drug related, edward garon, experimental drug, immunotherapy drug, kill cancer cell, lung cancer, merck, mk 3475, new drug, phase 1b study, protein pd1, side effects, sydney, treating, ucla, world conference

An experimental cancer drug that has shown promise in the treatment of melanoma has also shown early potential as an effective treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death among men and women worldwide.

Dr. Edward Garon, director of thoracic oncology at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, presented the preliminary results of a Phase 1B study of the new drug, called MK-3475, on Oct. 29 at the World Conference on Lung Cancer in Sydney, Australia. (more…)

Green Revolution 2: Apps for Farmers

By Guest PostSeptember 24, 2013Technology8 nations, african nations, america, apps for farmers, australia, australia based tradiepad, australian freelance writer, canada, g8, global north, green revolution 2, group, icow, Kenya, m pesa, paradigm, real time data, sharon freeman, sms, tradiepad, trial and error, vodafone, world bank

Doing paperwork has proven to be unsustainable but also entirely cumbersome in recent years given the multiplication of smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. From Australia to America, Canada to Kenya, a paradigm shift towards cloud computing is being felt in the world and this could only expedite the clamor for less paper consumption.

Tradespersons have progressively depended on cloud-based applications to manage invoicing, bookkeeping and other jobs instead of filling their dashboards with unnecessary clutter. In particular, most farmers have looked and used the Cloud for a chance to turn a profit and save the earth all at the same time. (more…)

Nice genes! What makes you genetically compatible with your partner?

By Guest PostSeptember 8, 2013Scienceankylosing spondylitis, anthony nolan trust, australia, auto immune disease, bbc breakfast, compatibility gene, DNA, eastern europe, Europe, genetic make up, hiv, human genes, India, penguin, problems in pregnancy, professor daniel davis, second world war, swiss zoologist, uk charity, wife katie

Professor Daniel Davis and his wife Katie’s experience is documented in The Compatibility Gene, published by Penguin, which discusses how our crucial compatibility genes may influence finding a life partner as well as our health and individuality.

Professor Davis said: “We each possess a similar set of around 25,000 human genes. Some of our genes vary from person to person, like those that give us a particular eye or hair colour. But my book is about the few genes – our compatibility genes – that vary the most between each of us. First and foremost these are immune system genes; they control how we combat disease. But recent research shows that they may be even more important than we once thought – there is evidence that they can influence how our brains are wired, how attractive we are, even how likely we are to reproduce.’’ (more…)

Littlest Continent Had Biggest Role in Sea Level Drop

By Guest PostAugust 22, 2013Environmentargo global array, atmospheric patterns, australia, climate experiment, earth, german aerospace center, grace, gravity recovery, john fasullo, la niña, littlest continent, NASA, ncar, poseidon, satellite altimeters, sea level drop, smallest continent, spacecraft, topex

A unique and complex set of circumstances came together over Australia from 2010 to 2011 to cause Earth’s smallest continent to be the biggest contributor to the observed drop in global sea level rise during that time, finds a new study co-authored and co-funded by NASA.

In 2011, scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and the University of Colorado at Boulder reported that between early 2010 and summer 2011, global sea level fell sharply, by about a quarter of an inch, or half a centimeter. Using data from the NASA/German Aerospace Center’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) spacecraft, they showed that the drop was caused by the very strong La Nina that began in late 2010. That La Nina changed rainfall patterns all over our planet, moving huge amounts of Earth’s water from the ocean to the continents. The phenomenon was short-lived, however. (more…)

Cool heads likely won’t prevail in a hotter, wetter world

By Guest PostAugust 21, 2013Environmentarchaeology, australia, Berkeley, brazil, China, climate, cool heads, crime, criminology, critical factors, domestic violence, Economics, ethnic minority, ethnic violence, Europe, hotter, human conflict, human history, India, land invasions, marshall burke, middle ages europe, Netherlands, personal violence, point of violence, precipitation, princeton university, psychology, solomon hsiang, somalia, south asia, Tanzania, temperature, united states, university of california, wetter world

Should climate change trigger the upsurge in heat and rainfall that scientists predict, people may face a threat just as perilous and volatile as extreme weather — each other.

Researchers from Princeton University and the University of California-Berkeley report in the journal Science that even slight spikes in temperature and precipitation have greatly increased the risk of personal violence and social upheaval throughout human history. Projected onto an Earth that is expected to warm by 2 degrees Celsius by 2050, the authors suggest that more human conflict is a likely outcome of climate change. (more…)

Two decades of work at Yale prove emotions matter in the classroom

By Guest PostAugust 11, 2013Educationadmissions assessments, australia, center, classroom, connecticut, curriculum, emotional intelligence, emotions matter, England, fran rabinowitz, hamden, italy, john d mayer, marc brackett, peter salovey, program called ruler, spain, work at yale

In August, leaders from more than 50 schools from around the country will gather at Yale to hear a simple but profound message — emotions matter in the classroom.

The training session will be the largest ever held by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, which has built a sophisticated, science-based program that is anchored in the seminal work of now Yale University President Peter Salovey and fellow psychologist John D. Mayer. Less than a quarter century after publication of their paper, “Emotional Intelligence,” 75,000 educators in more than 500 schools in 30-plus states and countries including England, Spain, Italy, and Australia have learned about the key role of emotions in learning and behavior through a program called RULER. (more…)

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