Tag Archives: data

Large Bacterial Population Colonized Land 2.75 Billion Years Ago

By Guest PostSeptember 26, 2012Scienceatmosphere, atmospheric oxygenation, cambrian period, continental rock, data, database, david catling, earth, Environment, eva stueken, event, geologist, great, methane, microbial life, molybdenum, ocean, oxidation, oxygen, ozone layer, research record, roger buick, sulfur, ultraviolet radiation, university, Washington, weathering pyrite

There is evidence that some microbial life had migrated from the Earth’s oceans to land by 2.75 billion years ago, though many scientists believe such land-based life was limited because the ozone layer that shields against ultraviolet radiation did not form until hundreds of millions years later.

But new research from the University of Washington suggests that early microbes might have been widespread on land, producing oxygen and weathering pyrite, an iron sulfide mineral, which released sulfur and molybdenum into the oceans. (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…)

NASA Observations Point to ‘Dry Ice’ Snowfall on Mars

By Guest PostSeptember 13, 2012Sciencecarbon dioxide, data, david kass, dry ice, frozen, ice, jpl, mars, mars climate sounder, martian air, martian atmosphere, NASA, particle, paul hayne, phoenix lander, polar caps, reconnaissance orbiter, red planet, residual cap, snow, snow cloud, snowfall, solar system, water

PASADENA, Calif. — NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter data have given scientists the clearest evidence yet of carbon-dioxide snowfalls on Mars. This reveals the only known example of carbon-dioxide snow falling anywhere in our solar system.

Frozen carbon dioxide, better known as “dry ice,” requires temperatures of about minus 193 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 125 Celsius), which is much colder than needed for freezing water. Carbon-dioxide snow reminds scientists that although some parts of Mars may look quite Earth-like, the Red Planet is very different. The report is being published in the Journal of Geophysical Research. (more…)

comScore MMX Ranks Top 50 U.S. Web Properties for August 2012

By Guest PostSeptember 12, 2012Technologyad exchanges, ad focus, advertising networks, aol advertising, august 2012, buy side networks, census, Comscore, comscore mmx, cookie rejection, data, demographic universe, digital world, dsps, Facebook, Google, google ad network, inorganic increase, instagram, linkedIn, methodology, Microsoft, mmx data, monthly analysis, MySpace, online media, pulsepoint, revv platform, rubicon project, safari browser, sharethis, specific media, ssps, tumblr, Twitter, udm, unified digital measurement, US, us market, usage, vibrant media, web activity, Yahoo

RESTON, VA, September 12, 2012 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its monthly analysis of U.S. web activity at the top online properties for August 2012 based on data from the comScore MMX service.

With the release of August 2012 U.S. MMX data, comScore introduced three important methodological enhancements to our estimates that will affect data on a go-forward basis. The first enhancement is the incorporation of updated demographic universe estimates based on data from the 2010 U.S. census, which provides an improved accounting of the percentage of the population falling into each demographic segment. The second enhancement was an improvement in comScore’s enumeration survey methodology to better represent persons in cell-phone only households. The third and final enhancement is a new technique to account for cookie rejection in Safari browsers, for sites measured via comScore’s Unified Digital Measurement (UDM) methodology.. (more…)

First Stars, Galaxies Formed more Rapidly than Expected

By Guest PostSeptember 9, 2012Scienceanalysis, anisotropy probe, Antarctica, astronomer, background, Berkeley, california, christian reichardt, cmb, cosmic microwave, cosmological evolution, data, earth axis, electron, Epoch, Galaxy, geographic, herschel satellite, high resolution, hydrogen atom, image, john carlstrom, kavli foundation, microwave, millimeter wavelength, national, neutral, neutral gas, oliver zahn, period, plasma, polar plateau, proton, radiation, reionization, s chandrasekhar, science foundation, south pole, star, telescope, ultraviolet light, universe, university, wilkinson

Analysis of data from the National Science Foundation’s South Pole Telescope, for the first time, more precisely defines the period of cosmological evolution when the first stars and galaxies formed and gradually illuminated the universe. The data indicate that this period, called the epoch of reionization, was shorter than theorists speculated — and that it ended early.

“We find that the epoch of reionization lasted less than 500 million years and began when the universe was at least 250 million years old,” said Oliver Zahn, a postdoctoral fellow at the Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics at the University of California, Berkeley, who led the study. “Before this measurement, scientists believed that reionization lasted 750 million years or longer, and had no evidence as to when reionization began.” (more…)

Forcing the Molecular Bond Issue

By Guest PostSeptember 6, 2012Scienceadsorb, aerosol droplets, aleksandr noy, antibody, berkeley lab, binding free energy, biosensing assay, data, dfs, dynamic force spectroscopy, energy barrier, force spectra, formation, interaction, intermolecular bond, jim deyoreo, material, molecular bond, molecular foundry, molecular system, molecule, nanoscience center, nonlinear force, property, raymond friddle, rupture, single bond model, standard model, synthetic analogue, synthetic polymer, torsional force

New and Improved Model of Molecular Bonding from Researchers at Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry

Material properties and interactions are largely determined by the binding and unbinding of their constituent molecules, but the standard model used to interpret data on the formation and rupturing of molecular bonds suffers from inconsistencies. A collaboration of researchers led by a scientist at the U.S Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has developed a first-of-its-kind model for providing a comprehensive description of the way in which molecular bonds form and rupture. This model enables researchers to predict the “binding free energy” of a given molecular system, which is key to predicting how that molecule will interact with other molecules.

“Molecular binding and unbinding events are much simpler than we have been led to believe from the standard model over the past decade,” says Jim DeYoreo, a scientist with the Molecular Foundry, a DOE nanoscience center at Berkeley Lab who was one of the leaders of this research. “With our new model, we now have a clear means for measuring one of the most important parameters governing how materials and molecules bind together.” (more…)

Rose McDermott: The Political Genome

By Guest PostAugust 31, 2012Politics, Sciencealcoholic, american sense, austrailia, biological measure, biology, capital punishment, courtney coelho, data, democrats, denmark, election result, evolutionary perspective, explosion, fraternal twins, gene, genetic contribution, genetic factor, genetic foundation, genetics, hereditary component, obesity, political genome, political preference, political problem, political science, prediction, public policy, reproductive issue, republicans, rose mcdermott, sex, spectrum, statistical test, trends, united states

A recent review of research co-authored by Rose McDermott highlights the role that genes play in political preferences, an area of study that began to draw significant attention in the last decade. McDermott speaks with Courtney Coelho about this growing field of research, its evolutionary roots, and whether it means anything for the prediction of future election results.

The connection between biology and political science is relatively new, but it’s one that has grown rapidly, with a boom in research linking genetics and political preferences in the last decade. Rose McDermott, professor of political science, has done research on this topic and recently co-authored a review, published in Trends in Genetics, of studies in recent years. (more…)

5 Easy Steps to Make Your Computer Run Faster

By Guest PostAugust 26, 2012Technologycomputer, data, defrag, easy steps, faster, hard drive, memory, mitch taylor, msconfig, ram, run, spyware, startup, update software, virus

Most computers are not slow out of the box, with use and new programs installed a computer can slow down significantly. A slow running computer can be a nightmare, and really cut productivity. Not only that, but it can be extremely aggravating and time consuming to fix. It is actually very simple to speed up a slow running computer with just a simple few steps. Here are 5 easy steps to make a computer run faster.

Disable Startup Items

Many programs automatically startup even though it may not be necessary. By clicking start, run, and typing msconfig, then going to the startup tab. You can see which programs are automatically starting up when the computer is turned on. It would be prudent to disable anything that is not necessary to startup with the computer. Any programs that do not startup automatically can be opened manually later if needed. This frees up memory for more essential activities. (more…)