Tag Archives: canada

Exhaustive Family Tree for Birds Shows Recent, Rapid Diversification

By Guest PostNovember 9, 2012Natureanalysis, arne mooers, avian diversity, basic hypotheses, behavioral innovation, biodiversity expert, bird species, birds, bumblebees, canada, diversification rate, dna data, earth, eurasia, evolution, evolutionary history, extinction, family tree, fossil, g h thomas, geographic context, geographic space, geographical information, global phylogenies, global picture, habitats, islands, j b joy, k hartmann, life, mainlands, north american, simon fraser university, south america, Space, tasmania, time, tropical species, tunafish, walter jetz, western hemisphere, yale, zeitgeist

A Yale-led scientific team has produced the most comprehensive family tree for birds to date, connecting all living bird species — nearly 10,000 in total — and revealing surprising new details about their evolutionary history and its geographic context.

Analysis of the family tree shows when and where birds diversified — and that birds’ diversification rate has increased over the last 50 million years, challenging the conventional wisdom of biodiversity experts.

“It’s the first time that we have — for such a large group of species and with such a high degree of confidence — the full global picture of diversification in time and space,” said biologist Walter Jetz of Yale, lead author of the team’s research paper, published Oct. 31 online in the journal Nature. (more…)

IBM Establishes the Smarter Energy Research Institute to Advance the Utility of the Future

By Guest PostOctober 25, 2012Science, Technologyadvanced computation, algorithms, alliander, asset management optimization, business value, canada, dario gil, der, detroit edison, distributed energy, dte energy, dutch, energy distributor, Environment, future, giunc, global network, gridwise alliance, hydro quebec, ibm, ibm research, industrial research, innovation, integration, ireq, jean lessard, know how, market, mathematical sciences, michcon, Netherlands, operational, outage planning optimization, participatory network, patents, predictive analytics, renewables, research institute, resources, rob maathuis, situational awareness, smart grid, smarter energy, software, system optimization, transformation, usa, utility, vince dow, wide area

Hydro-Québec (Canada), Alliander (Netherlands) and DTE Energy (USA) Join as the First Members

YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, N.Y. – 25 Oct 2012: IBM today announced the launch of the Smarter Energy Research Institute, a new industrial research collaboration model aimed at accelerating innovation across the global energy and utilities market. Hydro-Québec (Canada), Alliander (Netherlands) and DTE Energy (USA) join as the first members.

The Smarter Energy Research Institute is a new collaboration between corporate research and the energy and utilities industry to transform leading energy companies through the use of predictive analytics, system optimization and advanced computation to deliver better services to their customers. Combining IBM Research’s expertise in the areas of mathematical sciences, computer science and high-performance computing with the deep-power engineering and operational know-how of the participating members, the Institute will focus on five core innovation tracks to pursue joint research and where shared investments, knowledge and capabilities will benefit every member. Each company will identify and be active in up to two tracks that match their business and operational priorities. The areas include: (more…)

Scientists Uncover Vast Differences in Earth’s Polar Ocean Microbial Communities

By Guest PostOctober 10, 2012Environmentalison murray, Antarctica, arctic ocean, biodiversity, biodiversity pattern, biogeographically, canada, changing climate, coast, community, continental, drainage basin, earth, environmental selection, flow, france, freshwater, glacial melt, global ocean, jean françois ghiglione, kevin bakker, marine, marine life, marine microbe, michigan, microbial community, microbial diversity, new zealand, ocean, oceanic circulation, oden, polar ocean, polar region, polar year, pole, sea ice, sloan foundation, southern, spain, structure, Sweden, swedish icebreaker, united states, university

ANN ARBOR— An international team of scientists, including a University of Michigan graduate student, has demonstrated that a clear difference exists between the marine microbial communities in the Southern and Arctic oceans, contributing to a better understanding of the biodiversity of marine life at the poles.

The most comprehensive comparison of microbial diversity at both of Earth’s polar oceans showed that about 75 percent of the organisms at each pole are different. This insight sheds light on newly recognized biodiversity patterns and reinforces the importance of studying Earth’s polar regions in the face of a changing climate. And it highlights the need for further research on the impacts of sea ice, seasonal shifts and freshwater input in both regions. (more…)

Second-generation Immigrants Outperform Mainstream Populations in the US, Canada, and Australia

By Guest PostOctober 6, 2012Culture, Economy, Education, Politicsafro caribbean, australia, canada, canadian integration, canadian perspective, census data, chinese, cross national, difference, employment success, heather zhang, higher education, higher generation, immigrant, immigrant success, jeffrey reitz, labour market, mainstream population, mcgill university, multiculturalism, naoko hawkins, offspring, professional occupation, reflective, research journal, second generation, social science, south asian, survey, toronto, united states, university, US, white

TORONTO, ON – A new study published by the Social Science Research journal reveals that second-generation Chinese and South Asian immigrants in the US, Canada, and Australia are more successful than the respective mainstream populations (third- and higher-generation whites).

Jeffrey G. Reitz and Naoko Hawkins from the University of Toronto and Heather Zhang from McGill University examined survey and census data from these countries to compare the achievements of immigrants and their offspring. (more…)

Yahoo! and Media.net Launch Contextual Ads for Web Publishers

By Guest PostSeptember 27, 2012Technologyadvertising revenue, al echamendi, android, bing network, blackberry phone, canada, contextual ads, divyank turakhia, ios, ipad, iPhone, itouch, Media, online advertising, traffic, united kingdom, united states, web publisher, Yahoo

New Offering Allows Quality Web Publishers to Generate Incremental Advertising Revenue

SUNNYVALE, Calif. & AUSTIN, Texas — Yahoo! and Media.net today announced a long-term agreement to launch Yahoo! Bing Network Contextual Ads, powered by Media.net. The program aims to provide web publishers with a powerful and effective new solution for earning advertising revenue. Publishers can now use the Media.net platform to create and customize ad units that display relevant text ads from across the Yahoo! Bing Network.

“Since its inception, Media.net has invested tremendous resources — people, capital and time — to build what Yahoo! identifies to be a terrific monetization solution for web publishers,” said Al Echamendi, Vice President, Business Development, Yahoo!. “During our evaluation process, we recognized Media.net as a technology and innovation leader, with a strong management team that has a significant business track record and industry experience.” (more…)

Long Menopause Allows Killer Whales to Care for Adult Sons

By Guest PostSeptember 17, 2012Natureadult son, canada, center, coast, dan franks, darren croft, david ellifrit, emma foster, exeter, female, grandmother hypothesis, great mystery, killer whale, longest menopause, mother, Nature, non human, north pacific, ocean, orcinus orca, post reproductive, son, species, survival rate, university, usa, whale research

Scientists have found the answer to why female killer whales have the longest menopause of any non-human species – to care for their adult sons.

Led by the Universities of Exeter and York and published in the journal Science the research shows that, for a male over 30, the death of his mother means an almost 14-fold-increase in the likelihood of his death within the following year.

The reason for the menopause remains one of nature’s great mysteries and very few species have a prolonged period of their lifespan when they no longer reproduce, as in humans. However, female killer whales stop reproducing in their 30s-40s, but can survive into their 90s. While different theories have been put forward for the evolution of menopause in humans, including the well-established ‘grandmother’ hypothesis, there has been no definitive answer to why females of a small number of other species, including killer whales, also stop reproducing part-way through their lives. (more…)

Face to Face

By Guest PostSeptember 10, 2012Scienceadult, african, ann manser, anna grant, asian faces, asian infants, brian larue, canada, caucasian faces, caucasian infants, China, concept formation, cristin, daily live, dayna damico, delaware, elise coopersmith, Europe, face, face to face, facial recognition, female face, fundamental challenge, gender, infant, laurie yarzab, mckenna larue, paige valeski, parent, pathway, paul quinn, process, race, south asian, university

Research finds infants classify faces by gender, race

Long before babies can talk — even before they can sit up on their own — they are mentally forming categories for objects and animals in a way that, for example, sets apart squares from triangles and cats from dogs, psychologists say.

Now, research conducted by the University of Delaware’s Paul Quinn, professor of psychology, and others indicates that babies as young as 3 months are also classifying faces by race and gender, showing a visual preference for the category they see most often in their daily lives, and that by 9 months they have difficulty recognizing the faces of people from less-familiar races. (more…)

Blanket Bogs Need Protection from Climate Change

By Guest PostSeptember 7, 2012Environmentalaska, amphibians, angela gallego sala, archaeological material, birds, blanket bogs, Britain, british countryside, canada, climate change, coastal area, devon, ecosystem, emission, exeter, flooding, future temperature, greenhouse gas, habitat, high latitude, norway, outer hebrides, plants, rainfall, reptiles, risk, russia, shetland, small mammals, sssi, uk, university, vegetation, wildlife

Blanket bogs, which provide vital habitats for a unique range of plants, birds, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians, are at risk of declining as a result of climate change.

Research by the Universities of Exeter and Bristol in the UK and Macquarie University in Australia, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, shows for the first time how rising temperatures will threaten these sensitive ecosystems.

The study highlights the urgency of developing a plan to protect these important habitats.

Found in wet, coastal areas of high latitude regions, blanket bogs cover around 700,000 hectares of land in the UK, much of it designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Blanket bogs are found in the north and west of the UK, extending from Devon in the south to Shetland in the north, and it has been estimated that 10 to15 per cent of the world’s blanket bog occurs in Britain. As well as being crucial in supporting wildlife, blanket bogs also capture and store large amounts of carbon, helping to mitigate against climate change, and reduce the risk of flooding, by slowing down water flow. With some blanket peat being over 9,000 years old, they also hold historically-significant archaeological material. (more…)