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On The Front Lines

By Guest PostSeptember 4, 2012Environmentandreas muenchow, Arctic, blog, canada, canadian icebreaker, delaware, extent, front lines, greenland, henry larsen, ice, ice cover, ice island, ice loss, icy seas, manhattan, marine scientist, melt cycle, multi year, nares strait, nsidc, petermann fjord, petermann glacier, sea ice, ud scientist, university

UD scientist sees Arctic ice loss firsthand

The extent of sea ice in the Arctic has reached a record low, according to data released Aug. 26 by the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).

A University of Delaware marine scientist can confirm some of that ice loss firsthand. In a short video he produced, Andreas Muenchow, aboard the Canadian icebreaker Henry Larsen, shows the ice-free sea off Petermann Fjord that he and his colleagues were sailing in — an area that for ages had been covered by floating ice shelves. (more…)

Ecosystem Effects of Biodiversity Loss Could Rival Impacts of Climate Change, Pollution

By Guest PostMay 10, 2012Environment, Natureacid deposition, air pollution, algae, bacteria, biodiversity loss, biological diversity, bradley cardinale, california, canada, climate change, david hooper, ecosystem, environmental change, environmental stress, environmental stressors, extinction, forests, fungi, global warming, henry gholz, impact, leslie gonzalez, nutrient pollution, oxygen, ozone pollution, pollution, san josé, serpentine grasslands, Sweden, united states, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Loss of biodiversity appears to impact ecosystems as much as climate change, pollution and other major forms of environmental stress, according to a new study from an international research team.

The study is the first comprehensive effort to directly compare the impacts of biological diversity loss to the anticipated effects of a host of other human-caused environmental changes.

The results highlight the need for stronger local, national and international efforts to protect biodiversity and the benefits it provides, according to the researchers, who are based at nine institutions in the United States, Canada and Sweden. (more…)

Scanning the Brain for Impending Error

By Guest PostApril 22, 2012Scienceactivity, adaptation, algebra, animal watch, brain wave, canada, carole beal, cognitive, computer science, data, dissertation, earner, eeg, electroencephalography, english language, fatigue, federico cirett, july, Mexico, mistake, montreal, new technology, personalization, san diego, sat exam, sista, stress, ua, university of arizona, user modeling

UA computer science doctoral student Federico Cirett is using new technology to predict, in advance, when people will make a mistake. He’s been testing subjects taking the SAT exam in math.

Our bodies and brains tend to give us good cues about when we are becoming stressed, fatigued or overwhelmed.

But what if, with near exact precision, you could predict when heightened levels of fatigue were about to cause you to make a mistake?

University of Arizona doctoral student Federico Cirett believes he’s found a way – and with about 80 percent accuracy. (more…)

Cosmic Ray Mystery

By Guest PostApril 19, 2012Scienceactive galaxies, Antarctica, array of detector, australia, bakhtiyar ruzybayev, barbados, belgium, black hole, canada, charged particle, chris elliott, cosmic ray, cosmic ray protons, data, density of radiation, detector, earth, energy, fermi satellites, fireballs, francis halzen, gamma ray bursts, Germany, ghostly nature, glacial ice, grbs, greg sullivan, icecube, icetop, james roth, Japan, katie shirey, NASA, national science foundation, neutrinos, new zealand, nsf, production, proton, pyramid of giza, south pole, Sweden, swift, switzerland, telescope, thomas gaisser, universe, university of delaware, university of wisconsin, US

Massive detector homes in on cosmic ray production

IceCube, an international collaboration involving University of Delaware scientists, is shedding new light on cosmic ray production.

Although cosmic rays were discovered 100 years ago, their origin remains one of the most enduring mysteries in physics. Now, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, a massive detector in Antarctica, is homing in on how the highest energy cosmic rays are produced. (more…)

Homeland Security Chief Speaks About Challenges Facing U.S., Global Cooperation

By Guest PostApril 18, 2012Politicsagency, canada, central american border, costa rica, criminal law, cyber criminal, deportation, dream act, drug, education, globalized world, guatemala, homeland security, honduras, human smuggling, immigration reform, intellectual property, janet napolitano, korn hall, Mexico, panama, secretary, ucla, united states

The United States is stronger and more secure than it was prior to 9/11, but threats from overseas remain and must be proactively managed, said Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, who visited campus April 16 for a public talk sponsored by the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations.

In a globalized world, international cooperation is the key to identifying those who intend to do harm, she said, adding that threats to the global supply chain, the activities of drug and human smuggling organizations, and the prevalence of cyber-criminals who attempt to steal information and intellectual property and disrupt critical networks are among the major challenges facing the Department of Homeland Security. (more…)

Many Young People Would Rather Surf the Web than Drive a Car

By Guest PostApril 5, 2012General, Technologyage, bernie degroat, brandon schoettle, canada, driver, environmental consequences, finland, function, Germany, great britain, information highway, internet users, Israel, Japan, latvia, license, michael sivak, norway, people, poland, societal wealth, south korea, spain, Sweden, switzerland, teenager, the netherlands, traffic injury, travel, united states, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— More young adults today would rather hit the information highway than the open highway, say University of Michigan researchers.

In a new study in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention, Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle of the U-M Transportation Research Institute found that having a higher proportion of Internet users was associated with lower licensure rates among young persons.

And this is just not in the United States; it’s happening in other countries, too. (more…)

Another World, Magnified

By Guest PostMarch 14, 2012Scienceaesthetics, animals, arts and sciences, beauty and art, canada, ersilia anghel, fulgurite, human anatomy, humans, magnified, minerals, Netherlands, photograph, pituitary gland, plants, romania, sarah moore, sci pho, triple citizenship, united kingdom, university of arizona

UA undergraduate researcher Ersilia Anghel has been collecting artistic photographs of minerals, plants, animals and humans, illustrating the intersections between the arts and sciences.

Scientists and artists have long collaborated to produce illustrative images and paintings of medical procedures, human anatomy and botanical displays.

But with the emergence of new, advanced technologies, scientists have begun to more readily produce their own photographic works, often times revealing the aesthetics of another world around us. (more…)

Human’s Oldest Ancestor Found in Burgess Shale

By Guest PostMarch 6, 2012Scienceamerican palaeontologist, burgess shale, cambrian explosion, canada, charles doolittle walcott, chordate family, earthworms, fossil, jean bernard caron, leeches, marine organisms, myomeres, nerve cord, pikaia, pikaia gracilens, predator, primitive, primitive chordate, rom, royal ontario museum, scanning electron microscopy, simon conway morris, siphusauctum, tegopelte, university of cambridge, university of toronto, vascular system, vertebrate, worm, yoho national park

*Pikaia is most primitive vertebrate known*

Researchers from the University of Toronto, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and the University of Cambridge have confirmed that a 505 million-year-old creature, found only in the Burgess Shale fossil beds in Canada’s Yoho National Park, is the most primitive known vertebrate and therefore the ancestor of all descendant vertebrates, including humans.

The research team’s analysis proves the extinct Pikaia gracilens is the most primitive member of the chordate family, the group of animals that today includes fish, amphibians, birds, reptiles and mammals. Their study is based on the analysis of 114 specimens and is published in the British scientific journal Biological Reviews. (more…)

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