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People often Talk About Politics on Blogs Geared Toward Other Topics

By Guest PostJuly 16, 2011Culture, Media, Politicsamericans, barcelona, blog posts, blogger, international conference on weblogs and social media, internet, national science foundation, paul resnick, personal diaries, political communication, political content, political discourse, political polarization, political websites, sean munson, university of michigan, Yahoo

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— A full 25 percent of blog posts about politics occur on sites that are primarily about something else, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan School of Information. And when authors post about politics, their readers reply and engage with the political content of the posts.

The researchers say they have uncovered a significant repository of political discourse that is largely being ignored. They will present their findings July 19 at the International Conference on Weblogs and Social Media in Barcelona. (more…)

Scientists on a Mission: Detailed Study of U.S. Southeast Tornadoes

By Guest PostJuly 12, 2011Environmentalabama, april storm, atlanta, brad smull, cullman storm, dual polarimetric doppler radar, fingerprint of tornado, kevin knupp, memphis, national science foundation, national weather service, nexrad doppler radar system, nsf, nws, psychology and sociology of storm warnings, radar data, rapid, rapid response research, tallahassee, tim coleman, topography, tornado outbreaks, tornadoes, uah, university of alabama in huntsville

*Focus on deadly April 27, 2011, outbreak in Alabama and surrounding states*

It was one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history.

Now scientists are organizing a research program to better understand the tornadoes that blew through Alabama and other southeastern states on April 27, 2011.

Scientists at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) are analyzing radar data from that day, then merging the information with detailed storm surveys and other data. They hope to learn more about how the storms formed, what made the storms so powerful and what might be done to make tornado warnings more effective. (more…)

When Viruses Infect Bacteria

By Guest PostJuly 9, 2011Sciencebacterial dna, bacteriophages, coevolution of a virus and its host, flu virus, human hosts, in vitro, microfluidic technology, national science foundation, phages, plant hosts, prophage, rob phillips, termite, termite hindgut, tobacco mosaic virus, viral dna, virus bacterium interactions, viruses, viruses infecting bacteria

*Looking in vivo at virus-bacterium associations sets stage for better understanding of such interactions in human health*

Viruses are the most abundant parasites on Earth. Well known viruses, such as the flu virus, attack human hosts, while viruses such as the tobacco mosaic virus infect plant hosts.

More common, but less understood, are cases of viruses infecting bacteria known as bacteriophages, or phages. In part, this is due to the difficulty of culturing bacteria and viruses that have been cut off from their usual biological surroundings in a process called in vitro. (more…)

Scientists Study Earthquake Triggers in Pacific Ocean

By Guest PostJuly 2, 2011Environmentaccretionary margins, alaska to patagonia, basalt rock, costa rica, costa rica seismogenesis project, crisp, earthquake generating region, earthquakes, eastern pacific ocean, expedition, fault, global earthquakes, integrated ocean drilling program, iodp, italy, Japan, joides resolution, kohtaro ujiie, kristin hillis, large earthquakes, marianas, masaoki uno, mass transfer, michael stipp, nankai trough seismogenic zone experiment, nantroseize, national science foundation, nsf, pacific northwest, paola vannucchi, plate boundary, rodey batiza, samples of rock and sediment, scientific drilling vessel, seafloor, seismic plate boundary, seismogenic region, subduction processes, subduction zones, subseafloor, sumatra quakes, tectonic activity, the aleutians, tohoku earthquake, understanding of the earth, university of florence, university of tsukuba

*Samples of rock, sediment from beneath the sea-floor help explain quakes like Japan’s*

New samples of rock and sediment from the depths of the eastern Pacific Ocean may help explain the cause of large, destructive earthquakes similar to the Tohoku Earthquake that struck Japan in mid-March.

Nearly 1,500 meters (almost one mile) of sediment cores collected from the ocean floor off the coast of Costa Rica reveal detailed records of some two million years of tectonic activity along a seismic plate boundary. (more…)

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

By Guest PostJune 18, 2011Nature, Scienceabraham miller rushing, animal pollinated plants, bees, bumblebees, climate change, colorado mountain meadows, david inouye, davis, elk mountains of colorado, flower species, george aldridge, high mountain wildflower season, hummingbirds, jessica forrest, national science foundation, nectar, petals, pollen, pollinators, rocky mountain biological laboratory, rocky mountains, sub alpine meadows, summer wildflower, tucson, university of california, university of maryland, usa national phenology network, wildflowers, william barr

*High-mountain wildflower season reduced, affecting pollinators like bees, hummingbirds*

It’s summer wildflower season in the Rocky Mountains, a time when high-peaks meadows are dotted with riotous color.

But for how long?

Once, wildflower season in montane meadow ecosystems extended throughout the summer months. But now scientists have found a fall-off in wildflowers at mid-season. (more…)

Study Reveals Important Aspects of Signalling Across Cell Membranes in Plants

By Guest PostJune 17, 2011Scienceanimal cell, cellular membranes, communication process, joanne chory laboratory, membrane, membrane bound receptor, michael hothorn, national science foundation, plant cell, receptor molecules, salk institute, signal, transmembrane signalling, yellow steroid

*Plant receptors use different signalling method than do animal receptors*

Every living plant cell and animal cell is surrounded by a membrane. These cellular membranes contain receptor molecules that serve as the cell’s eyes and ears, and help it communicate with other cells and with the outside world.

The receptor molecules accomplish three basic things in the communication process: 1) recognize an outside signal, 2) transport that signal across the cell’s membrane and 3) initiate the reading of the signal inside the cell and then initiate the cell’s response to that signal. These steps are collectively known as transmembrane signaling. (more…)

Air Quality Worsened by Paved Surfaces

By Guest PostJune 11, 2011Environmentair pollution, atmospheric measurements, brad smull, china meteorological administration, coastal cities, computer simulations, emissions, fei chen, ground-level ozone, Houston, houston area, Japan, land and sea temperatures, los angeles, national center for atmospheric research, national science foundation, ncar, nsf, pavement, petrochemical facilities, pollutants, sea, shanghai, smog, traffic jams, unhealthy air, united states, university of tsukuba, urban areas on air pollution, urban development, urbanization, warm summer weather, weather patterns, wind patterns

*Widespread urban development alters weather patterns*

New research focusing on the Houston area suggests that widespread urban development alters weather patterns in a way that can make it easier for pollutants to accumulate during warm summer weather instead of being blown out to sea.

The international study, led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), could have implications for the air quality of fast-growing coastal cities in the United States and other mid-latitude regions overseas. (more…)

River Mystery Solved

By Guest PostJune 5, 2011Environmentbacteria, biofilms, biogeochemical processes, blooms of didymo, Chile, didymo, didymo growth, didymosphenia geminata, freshwater algae, mats, microbes, microenvironment, national science foundation, new zealand, nutrients, oligotrophic, oliogotrophic streams, p v sundareshwar, phosphorus, rapid creek, rivers, rock, south dakota school of mines and technology, species, streams, tim kratz, uncommon environmental phenomena, unpolluted waterways, water bodies in the southern hemisphere

*Scientists discover how “Didymo” algae bloom in pristine waters with few nutrients*

The pristine state of unpolluted waterways may be their downfall, according to research results published in a paper this week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

A species of freshwater algae that lives in streams and rivers, called Didymo for Didymosphenia geminata, is able to colonize and dominate the bottoms of some of the world’s cleanest waterways–precisely because they are so clear. (more…)

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