As smartphones get smarter and computers compute faster, researchers actively search for ways to speed up the processing of information. Now, scientists at Princeton University have made a step forward in developing a new class of materials that could be used in future technologies.
They have discovered a new quantum effect that enables electrons — the negative-charge-carrying particles that make today’s electronic devices possible — to dash through the interior of these materials with very little resistance. (more…)
Kambodschas Textilarbeiterinnen schuften weiter für Hungerlöhne. Mit scharfer Munition haben Soldaten Demonstrationen aufgelöst.
Die Bilder machten betroffen: In Kambodscha streikten Zehntausende Arbeiterinnen und Arbeiter von Textilfabriken. Sie gingen auf die Strasse für bessere Arbeitsbedingungen und verlangten eine Verdoppelung des monatlichen Mindestlohns von 80 auf 160 Dollar. Mit aller Härte und scharfer Munition ging die Militärpolizei in der kambodschanischen Hauptstadt Phnom Penh gegen die Demonstranten vor. Es gab Tote, Verletzte und Verhaftete. (more…)
Researchers at the UH Manoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) made a discovery that challenges a major theory in the field of coral reef ecology.
The general assumption has been that the more flexible corals are, regarding which species of single-celled algae (Symbiodinium) they host in coral tissues, the greater ability corals will have to survive environmental stress. In their paper published August 29, 2012, however, scientists at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) at SOEST and colleagues documented that the more flexible corals are, the more sensitive to environment disturbances they are. (more…)
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Countries that best prepare math teachers meet several key conditions generally lacking in the United States, according to the first international study of what teacher preparation programs are able to accomplish.
The study, led by Michigan State University, suggests that in countries such as Taiwan and Singapore, future math teachers are better prepared because the students get rigorous math instruction in high school; university teacher-preparation programs are highly selective and demanding; and the teaching profession is attractive, with excellent pay, benefits and job security. (more…)
*Berkeley Lab researchers are leaders in an international effort to close in on neutrino mass*
Some of the most intriguing questions in basic physics focus on neutrinos. How much do the different kinds weigh and which is the heaviest? The answers lie in how the three “flavors” of neutrinos – electron, muon, and tau neutrinos – oscillate or mix, changing from one to another as they race virtually without interruption through unbounded reaches of matter and space.
Three mathematical terms known as “mixing angles” described the process, and the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment has just begun taking data to establish the last, least-known mixing angle to unprecedented precision. China and the United States lead the international Daya Bay Collaboration, including participants from Russia, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. U.S. participation is led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). (more…)
*Teams from Ireland, Taiwan, France, Poland, Brazil, Greece, Korea, Denmark and Romania today took home the nine top awards at Microsoft’s 9th annual Imagine Cup. Microsoft also announced a $3 million grant program to help Imagine Cup participants solve the world’s toughest challenges.*
NEW YORK CITY – July 13, 2011 – Student projects that tackle global problems such as improving road and fire safety, eradicating poverty, and creating a more sustainable environment took top honors at the Imagine Cup 2011 Worldwide Finals in New York on Wednesday.
Ireland’s Team Hermes won the competition’s premier Software Design category and $25,000 (U.S.) with their project that combined embedded technology, mobile devices and cloud computing technology to change driving habits and reduce road deaths. (more…)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Red imported fire ant invasions around the globe in recent years can now be traced to the southern U.S., where the nuisance insect gained a foothold in the 1930s, new University of Floridaresearch has found.
Native to South America, the ant had been contained there and in the southeastern U.S. before turning up in faraway places in the last 20 years — including California, China, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. (more…)
*comScore’s Unified Digital Measurement Approach Continues to Gain Industry Support*
*Yahoo! Sites Ranks as Top Internet Property in Hong Kong*
Hong Kong, October 21, 2010 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today announced that it will offer free participation in Media Metrix 360 to online publishers in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Under this new initiative any publisher can now participate in Media Metrix 360 measurement with no implementation fee for tagging their website server data, providing publishers of all sizes the ability to participate in this enhanced, unified approach to digital measurement. comScore also announced growing industry support of the comScore Media Metrix 360 measurement solution, with Discuss.com.hk and Uwants.com recently becoming the first Hong Kong-based publishers to participate in this approach. (more…)
