Tag Archives: uk

Acidifying oceans could spell trouble for squid

New study reveals more acid seas could alter early development of Atlantic longfin squid

Acidifying oceans could dramatically impact the world’s squid species, according to a new study led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) researchers and just published online in the journal PLOS ONE. Because squid are both ecologically and commercially important, that impact may have far-reaching effects on the ocean environment and coastal economies, the researchers report.

“Squid are at the center of the ocean ecosystem—nearly all animals are eating or eaten by squid,” says WHOI biologist T. Aran Mooney, a co-author of the study. “So if anything happens to these guys, it has repercussions down the food chain and up the food chain.” (more…)

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Female company directors are better judges of longer-term company performance

Groundbreaking research by the University of Exeter Business School reveals that female company directors defy negative gender stereotyping by astutely valuing future company performance.

The stock market responds more positively to trades made by male directors in their own company stock than their female counterparts, new research reveals. 

However, over the longer term (3 – 12 months), returns made by female directors’ on trades in their own company stock are at least equal to, or exceed, those of their male counterparts.

The study by the University of Exeter Business School analysed over 80,000 legal trades made by directors of companies listed on the London and AIM stock exchanges. It is commonly assumed that when a director buys shares in their own company, they believe it to be undervalued by the stock market and this frequently leads to investors buying more stocks in that company and pushing up the share price. (more…)

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Study finds more than 52 percent of organizations turning to the cloud for business growth

Microsoft-commissioned study highlights opportunity for hosting providers as companies look to achieve growth with hybrid cloud solutions.

REDMOND, Wash. — May 29, 2013 — Companies and organizations are increasingly turning to the cloud as a strategy for business growth, according to The New Era of Hosted Services, a Microsoft-commissioned study conducted by 451 Research LLC. As they look ahead to the next two years, more than 52 percent of organizations identify the cloud as beneficial for either growing their business or realigning their organization to a new company strategy. Along with this drive for growth comes significant opportunity for Microsoft hosting partners as customers look to grow their business with a hybrid cloud consumption model.

“The next two years will be the era of hybrid cloud, with 68 percent of customers planning to adopt hybrid cloud models — up from 49 percent today,” said Marco Limena, vice president, Hosting Service Providers Business, Microsoft. “In addition, the survey found that as customers begin to move their IT environments into the cloud, software is sticky and brand is even more important.” (more…)

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Study of the machinery of cells reveals clues to neurological disorder

Investigation by researchers from the University of Exeter and ETH Zurich has shed new light on a protein which is linked to a common neurological disorder called Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

The team has discovered that a protein previously identified on mitochondria – the energy factories of the cell – is also found on the fat-metabolising organelles peroxisomes, suggesting a closer link between the two organelles.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is currently incurable and affects around one in every 2,500 people in the UK, meaning that it is one of the most common inherited neurological disorders, thus understanding the molecular basis of the disease is of great importance. Symptoms can range from tremors and loss of touch sensation in the feet and legs to difficulties with breathing, swallowing, speaking, hearing and vision. (more…)

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City Layout Key to Predicting Riots

In the future police will be able to predict the spread of riots, and how they impact on cities, thanks to a new computer model. 

Developed by researchers at UCL, the model highlights the importance of considering the layout of cities in order for police to suppress disorder as quickly as possible once a riot is in progress. 

“As riots are rare events it is difficult to anticipate if and how they will evolve. Consequently, one of the main strategic issues that arose for the police during the 2011 London riots concerned when and where to deploy resources and how many officers would be required to control the disorder,” said co-author Toby Davies (UCL Security & Crime Science).  (more…)

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European Satellite Confirms UW Numbers: Arctic Ocean is on Thin Ice

The September 2012 record low in Arctic sea-ice extent was big news, but a missing piece of the puzzle was lurking below the ocean’s surface. What volume of ice floats on Arctic waters? And how does that compare to previous summers? These are difficult but important questions, because how much ice actually remains suggests how vulnerable the ice pack will be to more warming.

New satellite observations confirm a University of Washington analysis that for the past three years has produced widely quoted estimates of Arctic sea-ice volume. Findings based on observations from a European Space Agency satellite, published online in Geophysical Research Letters, show that the Arctic has lost more than a third of summer sea-ice volume since a decade ago, when a U.S. satellite collected similar data. (more…)

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CryoSat-2 Mission Reveals Major Arctic Sea-Ice Loss

Arctic sea ice volume has declined by 36 per cent in the autumn and 9 per cent in the winter between 2003 and 2012, a UK-led team of scientists has discovered.

Researchers from the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling at UCL used new data from the European Space Agency’s CryoSat-2 satellite spanning 2010 to 2012, and data from NASA’s ICESat satellite from 2003 to 2008 to estimate the volume of sea ice in the Arctic. (more…)

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Stress at Work Very Unlikely to Cause Cancer

Work-related stress is not directly linked to the development of colorectal, lung, breast or prostate cancers, but can cause other contributing factors, according to a new study published on bmj.com

Around 90 per cent of cancers are linked to environmental exposures and whilst some exposures are well recognised (such as UV radiation and tobacco smoke), others are not (psychological factors such as stress). (more…)

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