Tag Archives: Pennsylvania

What Makes Ticks Tick?

Durland Fish has researched ticks and their associated diseases for decades. A professor in the Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases at the Yale School of Public Health, he has, among other things, contributed to the discovery that the bacterium that causes Lyme disease has European ancestry and that the disease, once nearly eradicated in North America, roared back with reforestation. More recently he helped develop a Lyme disease “app” for the iPhone and other Apple devices that provides users with detailed information about tick populations in any given area in the United States and even comes with a video on how to safely remove a tick. He has also worked on mosquito-borne West Nile virus and dengue fever. Students selected Fish as the school’s mentor of the year in 2010. (more…)

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New Study Shows No Evidence of Groundwater Contamination From Hydraulic Fracturing

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Hydraulic fracturing of shale formations to extract natural gas has no direct connection to reports of groundwater contamination, based on evidence reviewed in a study released Thursday by the Energy Institute at The University of Texas at Austin.

The study, released at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Vancouver, British Columbia, found that many problems ascribed to hydraulic fracturing are related to processes common to all oil and gas drilling operations, such as casing failures or poor cement jobs. (more…)

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USGS Releases New Assessment of Gas Resources in the Marcellus Shale, Appalachian Basin

The Marcellus Shale contains about 84 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas and 3.4 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas liquids according to a new assessment by the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS).

These gas estimates are significantly more than the last USGS assessment of the Marcellus Shale in the Appalachian Basin in 2002, which estimated a mean of about 2 trillion cubic feet of gas (TCF) and 0.01 billion barrels of natural gas liquids. (more…)

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Microsoft Selects the Nation’s Top Educators at the U.S. Innovative Education Forum

*Outstanding educators using technology are recognized for their contribution and impact in teaching.*

REDMOND, Wash. — Aug. 1, 2011 — Microsoft Corp. today announced 11 educators from Alabama, Alaska, California, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Washington who have been selected as winners of the 2011 U.S. Innovative Education Forum (IEF). The IEF is an event recognizing innovative teachers and school leaders who creatively and effectively use technology in their curriculum to help improve the way kids learn while increasing student success. Out of the thousands that applied, 100 educators from 25 states were selected for a spot to compete on Microsoft’s corporate campus in Redmond. IEF participants also voted on their peers in the Educator’s Choice category and selected a winning project. The winning educators will represent the U.S. and advance to compete against educators from around the world at the Partners in Learning Global Forum, Nov. 6–11, 2011 in Washington, D.C. (more…)

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Wireless vs. wireless

3G and Wi-Fi are the two main mobile communications technologies today, but until recently they have been complementary services, the former offering users network access through cell phone masts forming a wide-area network (WAN), the latter based on hot-spot connections through a local-area network (LAN). Both then provide connectivity to the web, email and other services.

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