Tag Archives: change

Force is the Key to Granular State-Shifting

By Guest PostFebruary 21, 2013Scienceadding energy, behavior, change, change in force, dirt, granular materials, granular system, heat, james puckett, karen daniels, north Carolina, plastic granules, plastic material, property of equilibration, sand, state, state of material, state university, thermodynamic system, thermodynamics, thermometer, transition, types of particles, underlying ideas

Ever wonder why sand can both run through an hourglass like a liquid and be solid enough to support buildings? It’s because granular materials – like sand or dirt – can change their behavior, or state. Researchers from North Carolina State University have found that the forces individual grains exert on one another are what most affect that transition.

Physicists have explored the changing behavior of granular materials by comparing it to what happens in thermodynamic systems. In a thermodynamic system, you can change the state of a material – like water – from a liquid to a gas by adding energy (heat) to the system. One of the most fundamental and important observations about temperature, however, is that it has the ability to equilibrate: a hot cup of tea eventually cools to match the temperature of the room. (more…)

Analysis of Greenland Ice Cores Adds to Historical Record and May Provide Glimpse into Climate’s Future

By Guest PostJanuary 30, 2013Environmentalpine research, Antarctica, Arctic, arctic sciences section, atmosphere, belgium, boulder, canada, change, China, climate, climate conditions, denmark, dorthe dahl-jensen, earth climate, eemian interglacial, eemian like, eemian period, france, future, future climate, Germany, global temperatures rise, greenland ice cores, greenland ice sheet, historical record, ice ages, ice sheet, Iceland, Japan, jim white, last interglacial period, national science foundation, neem, northern greenland, northern hemisphere, paleo climate models, sea-level rise, south korea, subsurface ice layers, Sweden, switzerland, the netherlands, united kingdom, united states, university of colorado, university of copenhagen, west antarctic

The International North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling (NEEM) project results indicate that melting of Antarctic ice sheet may have contributed more to sea level rise than melting of the Greeland ice sheet some 100,000 years ago

A new study that provides surprising details on changes in Earth’s climate from more than 100,000 years ago indicates that the last interglacial–the period between “ice ages”–was warmer than previously thought and may be a good analog for future climate, as greenhouse gases increase in the atmosphere and global temperatures rise.

The research findings also indicate that melting of the massive West Antarctic ice sheet may have contributed more to sea-level rise at that time than melting of the Greenland ice sheet. (more…)

Cassini Suggests Icing on a Lake

By Guest PostJanuary 9, 2013Scienceair on titan, atmosphere, cassini mission, change, cornell university, cycle of precipitation, ethane, evaporation, floating ice, hydrocarbon ice, icing, ithaca, jason hofgartner, jonathan lunine, lake, linda spilker, liquid hydrocarbon, liquid methane, methane, model, moon, NASA, nitrogen gas, northern hemisphere, organic molecule, origin, pasadena, radio energy, saturn, sea, sea ice, southern hemisphere, surfaces of lakes, temperature, terrestrial life, titan, water

It’s not exactly icing on a cake, but it could be icing on a lake. A new paper by scientists on NASA’s Cassini mission finds that blocks of hydrocarbon ice might decorate the surface of existing lakes and seas of liquid hydrocarbon on Saturn’s moon Titan. The presence of ice floes might explain some of the mixed readings Cassini has seen in the reflectivity of the surfaces of lakes on Titan.

“One of the most intriguing questions about these lakes and seas is whether they might host an exotic form of life,” said Jonathan Lunine, a paper co-author and Cassini interdisciplinary Titan scientist at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. “And the formation of floating hydrocarbon ice will provide an opportunity for interesting chemistry along the boundary between liquid and solid, a boundary that may have been important in the origin of terrestrial life.” (more…)

Making Health Fun

By Guest PostJanuary 4, 2013Health, Technologyabout handling stress, better angels, change, delaware, do something, east coast, eating well, Facebook, fun, get up, health behavior, healthy lifestyle, medium, mike peterson, motivational, optimal health, paige woolley, playing, positive, promote health, social marketing, website, work life balance

Get Up and Do Something is source for optimal health

Mike Peterson believes that the best way to bring about changes in health behavior is to take an approach that’s fun, positive, and motivational.

So the website he developed and runs with the health promotion master’s students at the University of Delaware is “not about ‘guilting’ people into doing things — it’s about playing to their better angels.” (more…)

When she says, ‘It’s not you, it’s me,’ it really might be you, UCLA study suggests

By Guest PostOctober 25, 2012Healthbehavior, change, christina larson, cycle, deep voice, dominant behavior, dual mating, evolutionary benefit, fertile period, fertility, genetic makeup, genetic mutation, good gene, hormones, hypothesis, martie haselton, masculine face, masculine feature, masculine tend, monthly cycle, mr sexy, mr stable, offspring, ovulation, ovulation cycle, potential partner, progeny, relationship satisfaction, romantic relationship, sex partner, sexually attractive men, sexually desirable men, sexy, sexy look, ucla, women

Women with stable but not-so-sexy mates become more distant, critical during periods of high fertility

Long after women have chosen Mr. Stable over Mr. Sexy, they struggle unconsciously with the decision, according to a new study by UCLA researchers who look at subtle changes in behavior during ovulation.

At their most fertile period, these women are less likely to feel close to their mates and more likely to find fault with them than women mated to more sexually desirable men, the research shows. (more…)

For Some Women, Genes May Influence Pressure to Be Thin

By Guest PostOctober 5, 2012Healthalexandra burt, beauty, behavior, change, cheryl sisk, eating disorder, Environment, environmental, environmental influence, environmental trigger, genetics, ideal, internalization, jessica suisman, kelly klump, michigan, msu, psychological impact, risk factor, self perception, shannon oconnor, state university, symptom, thin, western culture, western society, women, young women

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Genetics may make some women more vulnerable to the pressure of being thin, a study led by Michigan State University researchers has found.

From size-zero models to airbrushed film stars, thinness is portrayed as equaling beauty across Western culture, and it’s an ideal often cited as a cause of eating disorder symptoms in young women. The researchers focused on the potential psychological impact of women buying into this perceived ideal of thinness, which they call thin-ideal internalization. Changes in self-perception and behavior, caused by this idealization, can lead to body dissatisfaction, a preoccupation with weight and other symptoms of eating disorders. (more…)

Keep Yourself Motivated to Bring Yourself in Shape

By Guest PostSeptember 28, 2012Healthbest way, brisk walking, change, daily routine, eating, gym, habit, healthy food, life, lose weight, magic wand, mirror image, motivate, overweight, patience, reduce, self image, swimming, visuals, weight

Are you looking for the best way to reduce your weight? But the very first question which arises in the mind of people who are overweight is how to get motivated to lose weight? There is no magic wand which can reduce you in a couple of seconds. It is all mind game which keeps you motivated and forces you to reduce your size.

Some of the methods which can help you in reducing your weight are as follows:

Mirror Image: It may sound funny but it is the biggest truth of your life. More you look into the mirror, more you will be motivated to reduce your weight. Self-talks is one of the most motivating factors of reducing weight. Talk to yourself daily and promise yourself that you will bring your body in shape one day. This is one of the most motivating things you can do to yourself. (more…)

CU-led Mountain Forest Study Shows Vulnerability to Climate Change

By Guest PostSeptember 16, 2012Environmentalpine, anne kelly, Arctic, atmosphere, boulder, carbon dioxide, change, climate change, colorado, data, dry, energy, ernesto trujillo, flux towers, forest greenness, ground measurement, high resolution, michael golden, mid elevation, moisture change, mountain ecosystem, mountain range, noah molotch, precipitation, radiometer, rising temperature, roger bales, satellite image, sensitivity, sierra nevada, snowmelt, tipping point, united states, university, water vapor, western, wet, year

A new University of Colorado Boulder-led study that ties forest “greenness” in the western United States to fluctuating year-to-year snowpack indicates mid-elevation mountain ecosystems are most sensitive to rising temperatures and changes in precipitation and snowmelt.

Led by CU-Boulder researcher Ernesto Trujillo and Assistant Professor Noah Molotch, the study team used the data — including satellite images and ground measurements — to identify the threshold where mid-level forests sustained primarily by moisture change to higher-elevation forests sustained primarily by sunlight and temperature. Being able to identify this “tipping point” is important because it is in the mid-level forests — at altitudes from roughly 6,500 to 8,000 feet — where many people live and play in the West and which are associated with increasing wildfires, beetle outbreaks and increased tree mortality, said Molotch. (more…)