For Devin Naar, the Sephardic Studies Initiative is not just a valuable historical archive; it has also been a personal journey revealing an untold family story from the years of the Third Reich.
Naar’s part of the story began about 10 years ago, when as an undergraduate at Washington University he grew interested in the history of Turkey and Greece, which for centuries until World War I was part of the Ottoman Empire. His family comes from Salonica, a port city in Northern Greece. (more…)
ANN ARBOR— An international team of scientists, including a University of Michigan graduate student, has demonstrated that a clear difference exists between the marine microbial communities in the Southern and Arctic oceans, contributing to a better understanding of the biodiversity of marine life at the poles.
The most comprehensive comparison of microbial diversity at both of Earth’s polar oceans showed that about 75 percent of the organisms at each pole are different. This insight sheds light on newly recognized biodiversity patterns and reinforces the importance of studying Earth’s polar regions in the face of a changing climate. And it highlights the need for further research on the impacts of sea ice, seasonal shifts and freshwater input in both regions. (more…)
Eight billion years ago, rays of light from distant galaxies began their long journey to Earth. That ancient starlight has now found its way to a mountaintop in Chile, where the newly constructed Dark Energy Camera, the most powerful sky-mapping machine ever created, has captured and recorded it for the first time.
That light may hold within it the answer to one of the biggest mysteries in physics: Why the expansion of the universe is speeding up. (more…)
Germans are Most Avid Users of QR Codes, while Spain Ranks as Fastest Growing Market
London, UK, 19 September 2012 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released an overview of mobile commerce and QR code usage across the five leading European markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) using data from the comScore MobiLens service. The study showed that European smartphone users scanning QR codes via their devices grew by 96 percent in the past year to 17.4 million users for the three month average period ending July 2012. Nearly 3 in every 4 QR code scans resulted in users receiving product information, making this the most popular type of result across Europe. Germany ranked first for usage of QR codes with 18.6 percent of smartphone users making use of the service, several percentage points higher than its European counterparts. (more…)
AUSTIN, Texas — A team of astronomers led by researchers from The University of Texas at Austin has confirmed the emission of gravitational waves from the second-strongest known source in our galaxy by studying the shrinking orbital period of a unique pair of burnt-out stars. Their observations tested Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity in a new regime. The results will be published soon in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Last year, the same team discovered that the two white dwarf stars are so close together that they make a complete orbit in less than 13 minutes, and they should be gradually slipping closer. The system, called SDSS J065133.338+284423.37 (J0651 for short), contains two white dwarf stars, which are the remnant cores of stars like our sun. (more…)
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…)
UK Has Highest Penetration of Smartphone Map Users in EU5
LONDON, UK, 31 May 2012 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released an overview of mobile and computer usage of Maps across the five leading European markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) using the comScore MobiLens and comScore MMX services. The study showed that 35.0 percent of smartphone users in EU5 reported accessing maps via their device in March 2012, compared to 49.6 percent of the internet audience accessing Maps sites on their computers. Across EU5 markets, the smartphone Map audience increased 55 percent over the past year while map access via computer grew just 8 percent.
“Smartphones are quickly becoming the primary platform for on-the-go services such as maps and navigation. With apps such as Google Maps coming pre-installed on many phones it’s becoming second nature for many of us to rely on the smart device in our pocket to show us the way. The days of checking routes in advance and printing maps to take with us will soon be in our rear view mirror,” said Hesham Al-Jehani, European mobile product manager at comScore. (more…)
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—It’s a message no one wants to hear: To slow down global warming, we’ll either have to put the brakes on economic growth or transform the way the world’s economies work.
That’s the implication of an innovative University of Michigan study examining the evolution of atmospheric CO₂, the most likely cause of global warming.
The study, conducted by José Tapia Granados and Edward Ionides of U-M and Óscar Carpintero of the University of Valladolid in Spain, was published online in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science and Policy. It is the first analysis to use measurable levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide to assess fluctuations in the gas, rather than estimates of CO₂ emissions, which are less accurate. (more…)
