How do we understand what’s happening today by looking back millions of years?
Scientists are looking at what climate conditions were like 3.3 to 3 million years ago, during a geologic period known as the Pliocene, and they are confident in the accuracy of their data.
The Pliocene is the most recent period of sustained global warmth similar to what is projected for the 21st century. Climate during this time period offers one of the closest analogs to estimate future climate conditions. (more…)
*Report Offers Insights on the Mobile and Connected Device Landscape in 2011 and What They Mean for 2012*
RESTON, VA, February 23, 2012 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the 2012 Mobile Future in Focus report. This annual report examines the mobile and connected device landscape, covering several mobile markets measured by comScore, through an exploration of key trends driving smartphone adoption growth, mobile media usage in categories such as social networking and retail, mobile ecosystem dynamics, and shifts in multi-device digital media consumption in 2011. The report highlights insights primarily from mobile markets in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Japan, and Canada. (more…)
EAST LANSING, Mich. — A team of researchers led by Michigan State University has discovered an overachieving plant enzyme that works both the day and night shifts.
The discovery, featured in the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, shows that plants evolved a new function for this enzyme by changing merely one of its protein building blocks. (more…)
*comScore Releases Overview of European Internet Usage for October 2011*
LONDON, UK, 9 December 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released an overview of internet usage in Europe, showing 376.6 million unique visitors went online in October 2011 for an average of 27.8 hours per person. This study highlights internet usage in 49 European markets aggregated into the European region and provides individual reporting on 18 markets. The study also analysed the online behaviour of mothers, defined as females age 25 and older with children in the household, showing their heavy propensity to visit retail sites. (more…)
*Twitter and LinkedIn Mobile Audiences Doubled in Past Year*
LONDON, UK, 21 November 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released an overview of mobile social media usage across the five leading European markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) from the comScore MobiLens service. The study showed that the audience for mobile social networking in the EU5 region grew 44 percent in the last year with 55.1 million mobile users in the EU5 accessing social networking sites or blogs via their mobile devices during September 2011. (more…)
30 Percent of European Internet Users Seek Career Information Online Russia Overtakes Germany as Market with Largest Online Audience
LONDON, UK, 14 November 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released an overview of internet usage in Europe, showing 373.4 million unique visitors went online in September 2011 for an average of 26.4 hours per person. This release highlights internet usage in 49 European markets aggregated into the European region and provides individual reporting on 18 markets. Amongst its findings, the study showed strong growth in September 2011 for the Career Services and Development category with a 14 percent increase in unique visitors from the previous month. (more…)
A key mechanism by which a bacterial pathogen causes the deadly tropical disease melioidosis has been discovered by an international team, including a University of Exeter scientist.
The findings are published in the journal Science and show how a toxin produced by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei kills cells by preventing protein synthesis.
The study, led by the University of Sheffield, paves the way for the development of novel therapies to combat the bacterium which infects millions of people across South East Asia and Northern Australia.
Using intense X-rays at Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron facility, and at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France, the research team solved the structure of a protein from Burkholderia, the function of which was initially unknown. (more…)
*Apple iOS Accounts for 31 Percent of EU5 Mobile and Connected Devices in Use and 61 Percent of Non-Computer Digital Traffic*
LONDON, UK, 26 October 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released an overview of the mobile and connected device landscape across five leading European markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom). The data shows cross-platform digital media consumption on the rise in the region, buoyed by the growth in adoption of smartphones, tablets and other non-computer web-enabled devices, collectively termed “connected devices”. In August 2011, these devices drove 4.6 percent of total digital traffic in the EU5, fuelled primarily by the use of smartphones.
“While we have seen the increasing adoption of smartphones in the EU5 contribute to the rapid growth of mobile media consumption, we are also beginning to see tablets and other connected devices play an increasing role,” said Jeremy Copp, comScore vice president for Mobile in Europe. “With more options available for consuming digital media on the go than ever before, many users now access online content from multiple platforms throughout the day. This media fragmentation has made it more important than ever for advertisers and publishers to take a holistic view of audience measurement to effectively reach their audiences.” (more…)