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UCLA study shows warming in central China greater than most climate models indicated

By Guest PostJune 1, 2013Environmentaradhna tripati, atmospheric fronts, atmospheric phenomena, Beijing, calcium carbonate, carbon dioxide, central, central china, climate models, clumped isotope thermometry, Environment, greenhouse gases, ipsl model, jet stream, last ice age, loess, loess plateau, Mississippi, model, nebraska, numerous factors, past climate change, precipitation patterns, robert eagle, soil carbonates, space sciences, sustainability, temperature, ucla researchers, water cycling, wind blown dust

Temperatures in central China are 10 to 14 degrees Fahrenheit hotter today than they were 20,000 years ago, during the last ice age, UCLA researchers report — an increase two to four times greater than many scientists previously thought.

The findings, published on May 14, 2013, in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help researchers develop more accurate models of past climate change and better predict such changes in the future. (more…)

Building the intelligent car of the future

By Guest PostMay 7, 2013Technologyauto pc, automotive industry, babe ruth, california, carmakers, clarion, data, david kelley, david walker, death valley, duke ellington, Environment, environmental conditions, future, intelligent car, jay loney, john hendricks, melissa quintanilha, Microsoft, microsoft tbox, model, northern sweden, pranish kumar, promised land, Technology, windows embedded automotive, windows update

Microsoft: Working with automotive industry to design an updateable car that’s easier to use and responds to the driver’s needs.

Microsoft’s Pranish Kumar and his team work to develop reliable in-car experiences, not by sitting at a desk but by working behind the wheel of a fleet of test vehicles. (more…)

Monitoring concrete

By Guest PostMay 4, 2013Sciencealkali silica reaction, asr, asr affected concrete, asr damage, chemical, concrete, construction material, cracking, deldot, DNA, dry environments, Environment, environmental engineering, environmental stressors, harsh environment, internal chemical reactions, julie maresca, kinds of microbes, microbiology, monitoring concrete, non destructive methodology, nutrient requirements, ph, physical stresses, potassium, project, salt concentrations, silica minerals, sodium, temperature fluctuations, thomas schumacher, university of delaware

UD professors study microbes as potential biomarkers for damaged concrete

Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world. However, many concrete roadways and bridges crack due to internal chemical reactions, temperature fluctuations or external chemical and physical stresses.

One internal chemical reaction is the Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR) that destroys the concrete from within. (more…)

Yale Researchers Identify Salt as a Trigger of Autoimmune Diseases

By Guest PostMarch 14, 2013Healthautoimmune diseases, autoimmune encephalomyelitis, aviv regev, david hafler, destructive immune system, dietary salt, disease, dominik mueller, Environment, function, gene, Germany, hallmark of autoimmunity, high salt content, hypertension, immune cell, low fat diet, low salt, molecular circuitry, ms, multiple sclerosis, mystery, Nature, pathogenic th17 cells, prime suspect, sub-saharan africa, t helper 17, th17 cell, vijay kuchroo

For the past few decades, health officials have been reporting increases in the incidence of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Now researchers at Yale Medical School, Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute have identified a prime suspect in the mystery — dietary salt.

In the March 6 issue of the journal Nature, Yale researchers showed that salt can induce and worsen pathogenic immune system responses in mice and that the response is regulated by genes already implicated in a variety of autoimmune diseases. (more…)

Human Cognition Depends Upon Slow-Firing Neurons

By Guest PostFebruary 26, 2013Sciencealzheimer's disease, amy arnsten, any sensory stimulation, brain circuits, clear thinking, cognitive deficits, dementia, disease, Environment, firing of neurons, glutamate signaling regulate, good mental health, hallmark, human cognition, john krystal, mathematical models, medicine, mental sketch pad, min wang, molecular basis, nao j gamo, neuronal firing, new york university, nmda nr2b receptors, prefrontal cortex, receptors, schizophrenia, street drug, types of nmda, xiao jing wang, yale neurobiologist, yale school, yang yang

Good mental health and clear thinking depend upon our ability to store and manipulate thoughts on a sort of “mental sketch pad.” In a new study, Yale School of Medicine researchers describe the molecular basis of this ability — the hallmark of human cognition — and describe how a breakdown of the system contributes to diseases such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease.

“Insults to these highly evolved cortical circuits impair the ability to create and maintain our mental representations of the world, which is the basis of higher cognition,” said Amy Arnsten, professor of neurobiology and senior author of the paper published in the Feb. 20 issue of the journal Neuron. (more…)

Seeing Through Smoke

By Guest PostFebruary 18, 2013Sciencedark, Environment, firefighters, glove prototypes, intuitive, lucy dunne, obstacles, seeing through smoke, sensor gloves, sensor signal, sensory awareness, smoky buildings, smoky rooms, Technology, university of minnesota, vibrations, vibrotactile gloves

Sensor gloves detect obstacles for firefighters in smoky rooms

University of Minnesota researchers have taken a step toward providing first responders with a new means of finding their way through dark or smoky buildings.

Lucy Dunne, an assistant professor in the College of Design’s Department of Design, Housing & Apparel, and graduate student Tony Carton, working with funding from the U’s Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station to augment the sensory awareness of first responders like firefighters, designed gloves that use ultrasonic sensors to detect walls and other objects. (more…)

Fungi, Fungi Everywhere

By Guest PostFebruary 16, 2013Environmentantibiotics, archaea, bacteria, carbon, coasts of oregon, contamination, deep sea fungi, e coli bacteria, elements, Environment, fungi, fungi population, genetic material, inactive spores, industrial applicable enzymes, jennifer biddle, microbes bacteria, namibia, ocean environments, oceanographic institution, organism, peru, ribosomal ribonucleic acid, rrna, seafloor, sequence, single celled, strong indication, sunlight, university of delaware, virginia edgcomb, william orsi, woods hole

New research shows fungi living beneath the seafloor are widespread

Fungi living beneath the seafloor are widespread in ocean environments around the world, according to a new paper by scientists at the University of Delaware and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

“They’re ubiquitous,” said co-author Jennifer Biddle, assistant professor of marine biosciences at UD’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. “They are everywhere.” (more…)

Tendency to Fear is Strong Political Influence

By Guest PostFebruary 10, 2013Politicsanti immigration, baseline fear, brown political scientist, common focus area, congress, emotional factors, Environment, factors, forces, genetic liability, immigration, immigration and war, kenneth s kendler, level, lindon j eaves, michael c neale, out group opinions, penn state university, peter k hatemi, political attitudes, political campaigns, political influence, political preferences, pro segregation policies, provocation, rational arguments, rose mcdermott, segregation, social phobia, tendency to fear, threat, trait based fear, virginia commonwealth university

Fear can play a role in influencing political attitudes on hot-button issues like immigration, according to new research co-authored by Brown political scientist Rose McDermott. The study, published in the American Journal of Political Science, shows that individuals who are genetically predisposed to fear tend to have more negative out-group opinions, which play out politically as support for policies like anti-immigration and segregation.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — It’s no secret that fear is a mechanism often used in political campaigns to steer public opinion on hot-button issues like immigration and war. But not everyone is equally predisposed to be influenced by such a strategy, according to new research by Rose McDermott, professor of political science, and colleagues published in the American Journal of Political Science. (more…)

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