Tag Archives: los angeles

Los Angeles is a metropolitan den for mountain lions

UCLA – NPS study is first to investigate where the cats hunt in highly urbanized areas

Los Angeles is one of only two megacities — Mumbai, India, is the other — where large predatory cats live among us, and they’re closer to human development than you might think. (more…)

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Die Spur des Menschen: Siedlungsmuster aus dem All

Radarsatelliten erfassen weltweit die Siedlungsflächen in bisher unerreichter Genauigkeit

Wie eine Tuschezeichnung mit mal filigranen, mal kräftigen Linien und Flecken sehen die Bilder aus, die Wissenschaftler des Deutschen Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) aus den Daten der deutschen Radarsatelliten TerraSAR-X und TanDEM-X berechnet haben. In Wirklichkeit zeigen die schwarz-weißen Karten aus über 500 Kilometern Höhe weltweit Städte, Dörfer und Häusergruppen, die sich an Flussläufen entlangwinden, Straßen und Eisenbahnlinien folgen oder sich in fruchtbaren Gebieten ausbreiten – mit einer Genauigkeit, wie sie bisher für globale Auswertungen nicht erreicht wurde. “Wir gehen davon aus, dass die besiedelte Fläche weltweit größer ist als bisher geschätzt”, sagt DLR-Wissenschaftler Dr. Thomas Esch. Bei einer Auflösung der zu Grunde liegenden Radaraufnahmen von drei Metern erkennen die Satelliten selbst einzelne Gebäude aus dem All. (more…)

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UCLA psychologists report new insights on human brain, consciousness

UCLA psychologists have used brain-imaging techniques to study what happens to the human brain when it slips into unconsciousness. Their research, published Oct. 17 in the online journal PLOS Computational Biology, is an initial step toward developing a scientific definition of consciousness.

“In terms of brain function, the difference between being conscious and unconscious is a bit like the difference between driving from Los Angeles to New York in a straight line versus having to cover the same route hopping on and off several buses that force you to take a ‘zig-zag’ route and stop in several places,” said lead study author Martin Monti, an assistant professor of psychology and neurosurgery at UCLA. (more…)

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UCLA’s undergraduate researchers: ‘We’re going to have an impact on the future’

Serena Lee aspires to increase our understanding of people living with “invisible disabilities.” Amy Stuyvesant wants to figure out how changes in hurricane activity are helping or hindering the forests of Puerto Rico.

Although their subjects of their research are unrelated, these two graduating seniors share a key distinction. Thanks to the Wasserman Undergraduate Scholars Program, they are pursuing high-level research that they expect to have an impact far beyond UCLA. (more…)

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Highly logical: Microsoft and Paramount Pictures team up to promote new ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ film

A new Star Trek app for Windows 8 and Windows Phone kicked off an unprecedented cross-company partnership to promote “Star Trek Into Darkness,” the new film from Paramount Pictures. Star Trek movie-themed content will materialize across Microsoft’s consumer products and services leading up the May 16 release of the highly anticipated new movie.

REDMOND, Wash. – May 15, 2013 – Star Trek and Microsoft — a logical pairing, Spock might say.

Paramount Pictures thought so. (more…)

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Satellites See Double Jeopardy for SoCal Fire Season

PASADENA, Calif. – New insights into two factors that are creating a potentially volatile Southern California wildfire season come from an ongoing project using NASA and Indian satellite data by scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.; and Chapman University, Orange, Calif.

The scientists tracked the relationship between rainfall and the growth and drying-out of vegetation in recent months, during an abnormally dry year. They found the timing of rains triggered regional vegetation growth in January and early February, which then dried out faster than normal during a period of low rainfall, strong winds and high temperatures in March and April. The combination likely elevates wildfire risks by increasing available fuel. (more…)

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