united states – Page 15 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Research Finds Invasive Kudzu Bugs May Pose Greater Threat Than Previously Thought

By Guest PostApril 29, 2013Natureagricultural pest, alejandro, asia, crop damage, del pozo valdivia, dominic reisig, entomology, generation a, georgia, invasive kudzu bug, megacopta cribraria, nc state, north Carolina, soybean crops, state university, united states, virginia

The invasive kudzu bug has the potential to be a major agricultural pest, causing significant damage to economically important soybean crops. Conventional wisdom has held that the insect pests will be limited to areas in the southern United States, but new research from North Carolina State University shows that they may be able to expand into other parts of the country.

Kudzu bugs (Megacopta cribraria) are native to Asia, and were first detected in the U.S. in Georgia in 2009. They have since expanded their territory as far north as Virginia. The bugs have an interesting life cycle, which has been thought to be a limiting factor on far they can spread. (more…)

UA Researchers Solve Mystery of Lincoln’s Funeral Train

By Guest PostApril 25, 2013General, Politicsabraham lincoln, american history, benedictine university, brook beam, car project, Chicago, chicago group, color, death, funeral train, karen zimmermann, keck imaging center, lincoln, lincoln funeral, lincoln train project, model, mystery, nancy odegaard, new york, northern population, northern states, presidential funeral procession, presidential use, private railroad car, rich chocolate brown, robert kennedy, sesquicentennial, southern sympathizers, traditional funeral, train, united states, united states military, university of arizona, Washington, wayne wesolowski

With the 2015 sesquicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s death approaching, interest is rising, and with new tools, UA researchers have turned their attention to one of the last remaining mysteries about what reportedly was the largest traditional funeral in American history – the train’s color.

A trove of information exists about Abraham Lincoln’s funeral, which drew millions of mourners during a two-week railway procession across the Northern states.

But until now, the precise color of the president’s railcar had been lost to history. (more…)

A techie with a dream sparks a new generation of computer scientists

By Guest PostApril 25, 2013Technologyadvanced placement, ap, bay area, citizenship, computer scientists, dream, education, education in america, Google, harvard university, high schools, kevin wang, microsoft employee, microsoft innovators, microsoft youthspark, new generation, porsche 911, public affairs, teals, techie, united states, washington state

Read the improbable story of a Microsoft employee who twice turned down a traditional tech sector job so he could teach high school students, and then landed his dream job.

REDMOND, Wash. — Kevin Wang could have followed his career.

Instead, he chose to follow his calling.

It was the early 2000s, and Wang had just graduated from Berkeley with a degree in computer science and electrical engineering. He was trying to decide which tech company he should offer his services to, when a high school came calling. (more…)

Perfectly mixed up

By Guest PostMarch 21, 2013Cultureamerica, american philanthropists, andrea davis, aspirational environment, austin, cowboy boots, devon county council, drama, emma payne, exeter, fiona macbeth, ian stewart watson, ma drama students, perfectly mixed up, shannon price, stetsons, texas, transition service, united states, university of exeter, young people

Drama has become a regular activity for Exeter’s young people in care who have joined forces with students from the University of Exeter to stage a play in Austin, Texas. Stetsons and cowboy boots are at the ready as Exeter’s creative gang of performers head to the United States.

This life changing experience will be the first time that the theatre company ‘Perfectly Mixed Up’ travel and perform outside of Devon. Throughout the week long stay the company will perform their show, More than the Sum, and run two workshops with young people in care in Austin, Texas. ‘Perfectly Mixed Up’ are guests of the University of Texas at Austin who have an exchange programme with the Drama department at University of Exeter. (more…)

Exile or Immigrant?

By Guest PostMarch 19, 2013Culture, Politicsamerican authors, anna karenina, born in china, boston university, brandeis university, chinese american author, chinese army, creative writing program, emotion, european works, exile, fathers and sons, first novel, ha jin, immigrant, john steinbeck, liberation army, madame bovary, people, soldier, united states, waiting, willa cather, write in english

Chinese-American author speaks as part of visiting writers series

Acclaimed Chinese-American author Ha Jin came to the United States almost 30 years ago as neither immigrant nor exile, but he experienced elements of both as he struggled to establish a personal identity and carve out a place for himself in the literary world.

On Thursday, March 7, close to 300 people turned out to hear the award-winning writer share his perspective on the contemporary immigrant experience. The lecture was part of a visiting writers series, Transnational Encounters: World-Renowned Authors at the University of Delaware. (more…)

Study Offers New Insights on Invasive Fly Threatening U.S. Fruit Crops

By Guest PostMarch 19, 2013Natureblackberry, d suzukii, drosophila suzukii, dylan kraus, east asia, eastern us, eggs, female flies, gina fernandez, hannah burrack, invasive, maturity, north Carolina, raspberry crops, research, spotted wing, state university, taylor spivey, united states, vinegar fly

Humans aren’t the only species with a sweet tooth. Research from North Carolina State University shows that the invasive spotted-wing vinegar fly (Drosophila suzukii) also prefers sweet, soft fruit – giving us new insight into a species that has spread across the United States over the past four years and threatens to cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to U.S. fruit crops.

“Because we know that D. suzukii prefers softer, sweeter fruit, we can focus our research efforts into which wild fruits may serve as reservoirs for this species and help identify new crops that might be at risk,” says Dr. Hannah Burrack, an assistant professor of entomology at NC State and lead author of a paper on the research. “These findings may also be a starting point for plant breeders interested in developing new fruit varieties that are more resistant to D. suzukii.” (more…)

‘I sold my kidney … to repay the loans’

By Guest PostMarch 18, 2013Economy, Healthblack market, human organ traffickers, microcredit loan, organ trafficking, sell an organ, selling a kidney, united states, village near joypurhat

Selling a kidney or part of one’s liver to pay off loans is becoming increasingly common in Bangladesh, where desperate villagers are being exploited by human organ traffickers, a Michigan State University researcher has found. (more…)

Panorama from NASA Mars Rover Shows Mount Sharp

By Guest PostMarch 17, 2013Scienceenvironmental history, evidence, gale crater, mars, mars rover curiosity, martian day, mast camera, mastcam, microbial life, mount sharp, NASA, past environment, san diego, united states, yellowknife bay

PASADENA, Calif. — Rising above the present location of NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity, higher than any mountain in the 48 contiguous states of the United States, Mount Sharp is featured in new imagery from the rover.

A pair of mosaics assembled from dozens of telephoto images shows Mount Sharp in dramatic detail. The component images were taken by the 100-millimeter-focal-length telephoto lens camera mounted on the right side of Curiosity’s remote sensing mast, during the 45th Martian day of the rover’s mission on Mars (Sept. 20, 2012). (more…)

Tag Archives: united states