Astronomers have discovered a “weird and freakish object” resembling a rotating lawn sprinkler in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The find, reported online in the Nov. 7 issue of the Astrophysical Journal Letters, has left them scratching their heads and searching for an explanation for the strange asteroid’s out-of-this-world appearance.
Normal asteroids appear simply as tiny points of light. This bizarre asteroid has six comet-like tails of dust radiating from it like spokes on a wheel. (more…)
A class of molecules called microRNAs may offer cancer patients two ways to combat their disease.
Researchers at Princeton University have found that microRNAs — small bits of genetic material capable of repressing the expression of certain genes — may serve as both therapeutic targets and predictors of metastasis, or a cancer’s spread from its initial site to other parts of the body. The research was published in the journal Cancer Cell. (more…)
There are hundreds of ‘Zeitarbeitsfirma’ or ‘temporary employment agency’ dominating the current German labour market. These agencies lease workers mostly on short-term basis to different industries, supermarkets and other business enterprises. Leased workers (In German: Lieharbeiter or Zeitarbeiter) are normally low-paid and forced to do the heaviest works at their work places. Often they have to accept or bow down to inhuman demands of the ‘Zeitarbeitsfirma’.
Summarized here are few cases from different sources who experienced the hardship under the so-called ‘Zeitarbeitsfirma’: (more…)
Integration of vCE Provides Be On With Holistic View of Digital Campaign Performance
London, UK, September 17, 2013 – comScore, Inc., a global leader in digital measurement and analytics, today announced that branded entertainment platform Be On, a division of AOL Networks, has selected comScore validated Campaign Essentials (vCE) as its global campaign performance measurement platform. comScore vCE is a holistic ad and audience delivery validation solution that provides valuable campaign insights, such as audience verification, brand safety and ad viewability, whilst also offering in-flight campaign reporting and daily alerting for effective campaign management.
“We are delighted that Be On has selected comScore vCE as its digital campaign analytics platform, and look forward to working together to validate and optimise campaign performance on a global scale,” said Scott Joslin, VP International Advertising Effectiveness at comScore. “Our experience is based on analysing thousands of campaigns globally, and we are committed to providing our clients with the most advanced advertising solutions to deliver the campaign insights needed to maximise the value of their digital investments.” (more…)
A study led by a Michigan State University scholar questions whether higher education ranking systems are creating competition simply for the sake of competition at a time when universities are struggling financially.
Global rankings that emphasize science and technology research – such as the Academic Rankings of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University – have become increasingly popular and influential during the past decade, said Brendan Cantwell, lead author and assistant professor of educational administration. (more…)
165 million-year-old omnivore may have had armadillo-like gait
“We finally have a glimpse of what may be the ancestral condition of all mammals, by looking at what is preserved in Megaconus. It allows us to piece together poorly understood details of the critical transition of modern mammals from pre-mammalian ancestors,” said Zhe-Xi Luo, professor of organismal biology and anatomy. (more…)
COLUMBIA, Mo. — CEOs need to demonstrate strong leadership and good decision-making skills, but CEOs with over-confidence can involve their companies in riskier ventures and put investors’ funds at risk, according to a new study from the University of Missouri, Georgia Tech University and the University of Texas-Arlington.
“Over-confident CEOs feel they have superior decision-making abilities and are more capable than their peers,” said Stephen Ferris, professor of finance in the MU Trulaske College of Business. “Unfortunately, they tend to make decisions about mergers or acquisitions that can be viewed as risky. For example, CEOs who are over-confident tend to target companies that do not focus on their core line of business. Generally speaking, mergers that diversify companies don’t work.” (more…)
TORONTO, ON – Many plants are self-fertilizing, meaning they act as both mother and father to their own seeds. This strategy – known as selfing – guarantees reproduction but, over time, leads to reduced diversity and the accumulation of harmful mutations. A new study published in the scientific journal Nature Genetics shows that these negative consequences are apparent across a selfing plant’s genome, and can arise more rapidly than previously thought.
In the study, an international consortium led by Stephen Wright in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto and Detlef Weigel at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology sequenced the genome of the plant species Capsella rubella, commonly known as Red Shepherd’s Purse. They found clear evidence that harmful mutations were accumulating over the species’ relatively short existence. (more…)
