Tag Archives: Germany

Salt Seeds Clouds in the Amazon Rainforest

By Guest PostSeptember 13, 2012Environmentabsorption, aerosol particle, airborne particle, als beamline, Amazon, amazon jungle, amazonian, asci, ballistospores, berkeley lab, biomass, brazil, chemistry, christopher pohlker, david kilcoyne, deep, emission, fine particle, fog, forest canopy, fungi fire, gas phase, Germany, graphitic, institute, isoprene, leaves, liquid droplet, manaus, mary gilles, max planck, meinrat andreae, microscopy, moisture, morning, mpic, natural forest, nexafs, organic carbon, organism, osmosis, photon, potassium level, potassium salt, rainforest, sacs, seed, soluble particle, stxm, sugar alcohol, terpenes, tree resin, trees, ulrich pöschl, water vapor, xray

It’s morning, deep in the Amazon jungle. In the still air innumerable leaves glisten with moisture, and fog drifts through the trees. As the sun rises, clouds appear and float across the forest canopy … but where do they come from? Water vapor needs soluble particles to condense on. Airborne particles are the seeds of liquid droplets in fog, mist, and clouds.

To learn how aerosol particles form in the Amazon, Mary Gilles of the Chemical Sciences Division at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and David Kilcoyne of the Lab’s Advanced Light Source (ALS) worked with Christopher Pöhlker of Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (MPIC) as part of an international team of scientists led by MPIC’s Meinrat Andreae and Ulrich Pöschl. They analyzed samples of naturally formed aerosols collected above the forest floor, deep in the rainforest. (more…)

Amazon Appstore Launches in Europe; Now Available in the U.K., Germany, France, Italy and Spain

By Guest PostAugust 30, 2012Technology1click payments, Amazon, angry birds, appstore, ceo, cut the rope, ecommerce, Europe, france, fruit ninja, Germany, glu mobile, industry, italy, jamie oliver, jim adkins, misha lyalin, peter vesterbacka, rovio mighty eagle, skyscanner, spain, uk, web service, zeptolab

Amazon Appstore rollout across the EU is the latest in a series of additions that make Amazon the most complete end-to-end platform for developers looking to build, market and monetize their apps and games

SEATTLE & LUXEMBOURG–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aug. 30, 2012– Amazon.com, Inc. today announced the launch of its Amazon Appstore in the U.K., Germany, France, Italy and Spain, giving European customers access to Amazon’s broad selection of quality Android apps with the convenience of shopping on Amazon from their Android phones and tablets. Customers can get the Amazon Appstore for their Android phones and tablets by visiting www.amazon.com/getappstore.

Amazon’s Appstore offers a great selection of games and apps, including local favorites like “Jamie Oliver’s 20 Minute Meals” and “Skyscanner,”established bestsellers like “Fruit Ninja” and “Cut the Rope,” and new apps from top-tier brands like Rovio and Glu Mobile. In addition to localized content and a localized mobile store for each specific country, European customers will have access to popular Amazon Appstore features like the “Free App of the Day,” which offers a paid app for free every day. Today’s Free App of the Day is the ad-free version of “Angry Birds.” All Free Apps of the Day are specially-selected for the Free App of the Day program. Apps and games purchased from Amazon can be used across a customer’s Android devices, enabling them to buy an app or game once and enjoy it everywhere. (more…)

Male Sandpipers That Sleep Less Have More Sex

By Guest PostAugust 14, 2012Nature, Scienceamanda watson, arctic circle, electroencephalogram, electromyogram datalogger, female, Germany, hypothesis, male sandpipers, mating, mating season, max planck institute, more sex, offspring, seewiesen, sleep deprivation, sleep less, stress

A study conducted by scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen, Germany has shown that the male members of a sandpiper population who spend less time sleeping are more successful at mating with females and have more offspring.

The sandpiper mating season takes place during the summer in the Arctic Circle, when the sun practically never goes down. Males of the species compete to impress females by fighting with each other, defending territory, and flying over the females while making a hooting sound. (more…)

Social Networking Pays Off More in the U.S. than Germany

By Guest PostAugust 4, 2012Technologydavid warner, economic inequality, finding jobs, Germany, richard benton, social connection, social network, Social networking, steve mcdonald, united states, university of nebraska

New research from North Carolina State University shows that informal social networks play an important role when it comes to finding jobs in both the United States and Germany, but those networks are significantly more important for high-paying jobs in the United States – which may contribute to economic inequality.

“It is interesting to note that the open market system in the United States, with minimal labor regulations, actually sees people benefiting more from patronage – despite the expectation that open markets would value merit over social connections,” says Richard Benton, a Ph.D. student at NC State who co-authored the research. (more…)

Deadly E. coli Strain Decoded

By Guest PostJuly 30, 2012Health, Science2011 outbreak, achilles heel, bacterium, biofilm, chris waters, e coli o157, e coli outbreak, e coli strain, german outbreak, Germany, michigan state university, o157 infection, shannon manning, shiga toxin, toxic gene

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The secret to the deadly 2011 E. coli outbreak in Germany has been decoded, thanks to research conducted at Michigan State University.

The deadliest E. coli outbreak ever, which caused 54 deaths and sickened more than 3,800 people, was traced to a particularly virulent strain that researchers had never seen in an outbreak before. In the current issue of the academic journal PLoS ONE, a team of researchers led by Shannon Manning, MSU molecular biologist and epidemiologist, suggests a way to potentially tame the killer bacteria. (more…)

comScore and Facebook Release European Insights About Earned and Paid Media Reach and Effectiveness

By Guest PostJuly 18, 2012Technologyasos, Comscore, Facebook, facebook marketing, fiona marshall, france, friends of fans, Germany, la redoute, like series, mike shaw, nicolas perignon, power, purchase behavior, social media, topshop, uk, white paper, zara

Facebook Paid Advertising Generated 130 Percent Uplift in Purchase Behaviour on Asos.com in 4-Week Period Following Campaign Exposure

London, UK, 18 July 2012 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, and Facebook today released the third white paper in The Power of Like series, The Power of Like Europe: How Social Marketing Works for Retail Brands, focusing on European retail brands such as ASOS, H&M, La Redoute, Topshop and Zara. This research illustrates how these popular consumer brands are utilising Facebook to deliver media impressions at scale, achieve brand amplification and resonance, and ultimately drive desired behaviours among key customer segments. The analysis leverages data and insights from the comScore Social Essentials™ and comScore AdEffx™ products. To download a complimentary copy of the report, please visit: www.comscore.com/likeEU.

“The findings from this study offer several valuable insights to brand marketers and advertisers who want to better understand the marketing effectiveness of their paid and earned media campaigns on Facebook,” said Mike Shaw, Director of Marketing Solutions at comScore. “With a framework for measuring the value and impact of paid and earned media campaigns, brands will gain the insights needed to optimize their social marketing efforts. While every campaign is unique and may vary in its ultimate effectiveness, this research demonstrates how Facebook marketing can be effective in reaching consumers and influencing their actual purchase behaviour.” (more…)

Largest Analysis of Public Opinions at Outbreak of World War I Challenges Popular Myth

By Guest PostJuly 16, 2012Politics1914, a kingdom united, august 1914, british, catriona pennell, dublin, first world war, france, Germany, irish, keith jeffery, outbreak, popular myth, public opinion, scotland, the, times higher education, trinity college, united kingdom, university of exeter, wales, war, war enthusiasm, world war

A groundbreaking book presents new evidence that challenges the way we understand British and Irish responses to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

Almost 100 years since its outbreak, A Kingdom United presents the first ever fully-documented study of British and Irish popular reactions to the outbreak of the First World War. University of Exeter historian Dr Catriona Pennell has explored UK public opinion of the time and successfully challenges the myth of British ‘war enthusiasm’ and Irish disengagement.

Treating the UK as the state that it was in 1914 – the United Kingdom of Britain and Ireland – the research is based on a vast array of contemporary diaries, letters, journals and newspaper accounts from across the country. The book explores what people felt and how they acted in response to an unanticipated and unprecedented crisis. (more…)

American Teens Are Less Likely Than European Teens to Use Cigarettes and Alcohol, but More Likely to Use Illicit Drugs

By Guest PostJune 5, 2012Culture, Generaladolescent behaviour, alcohol, american adolescents, american students, american surveys, american teens, anabolic steroids, cigarettes, cocaine, crack, eastern, Europe, european teens, france, future surveys, Germany, hashish, heroin, illicit drugs, inhalants, italy, jared wadley, lloyd johnston, marijuana, monaco, smoking cigarettes, university of michigan, western europe

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— The U.S. had the second-lowest proportion of students who used tobacco and alcohol compared to their counterparts in 36 European countries, a new report indicates.

The results originate from coordinated school surveys about substance use from more than 100,000 students in some of the largest countries in Europe like Germany, France and Italy, as well as many smaller ones from both Eastern and Western Europe.

Because the methods and measures are largely modeled after the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future surveys in this country, comparisons are possible between the U.S. and European results. The 15- and 16-year-old students, who were drawn in nationally representative samples in almost all of the 36 countries, were surveyed last spring. American 10th graders in the 2011 Monitoring the Future studies are of the same age, so comparisons are possible. (more…)