Tag Archives: united states

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

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…)

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Panorama from NASA Mars Rover Shows Mount Sharp

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…)

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Business Leaders Share Insights on U.S.-China Relations

Developing globalization strategies for American and Chinese companies was the topic of a panel discussion at Yale on March 2. Titled “China and the U.S. — Dual Engines of Global Growth,” the event was hosted by China Economic Forum (CEF), a Yale student organization.

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean for executive programs and the Lester Crown Professor in the Practice of Management at the Yale School of Management (Yale SOM), delivered opening remarks at the panel discussion, which was moderated by Peter Schott, professor of economics at Yale SOM. (more…)

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Software Piracy Costs Billions in Time, Money for Consumers and Businesses

New Microsoft-commissioned study also highlights dangers for those that use counterfeit software.

REDMOND, Wash. — Although some computer users may actively seek pirated software in hopes of saving money, the chances of infection by unexpected malware are one in three for consumers and three in 10 for businesses, according to a new study commissioned by Microsoft Corp. and conducted by IDC. As a result of these infections, the research shows that consumers will spend 1.5 billion hours and US$22 billion identifying, repairing and recovering from the impact of malware, while global enterprises will spend US$114 billion to deal with the impact of a malware-induced cyberattack.

The global study analyzed 270 websites and peer-to-peer networks, 108 software downloads, and 155 CDs or DVDs, and it interviewed 2,077 consumers and 258 IT managers or chief information officers in Brazil, China, Germany, India, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States. Researchers found that of counterfeit software that does not come with the computer, 45 percent comes from the Internet, and 78 percent of this software downloaded from websites or peer-to-peer networks included some type of spyware, while 36 percent contained Trojans and adware. (more…)

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Texans Not Eager to Change Gun Laws, UT/Texas Tribune Poll Shows

AUSTIN, Texas — Although a large majority of Texans support background checks for all gun purchases, they are not eager to change existing gun laws in Texas, according to a University of Texas at Austin/Texas Tribune poll.

Seventy-eight percent of Texans support requiring criminal and mental health background checks on all gun purchases in the United States, including at gun shows and for private sales. However, 52 percent think that gun control laws should either be left as they are now (36 percent) or made less strict (16 percent). Forty-four percent said gun control laws should be stricter. (more…)

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New Opportunities for Crystal Growth

Berkeley Lab Facility Provides Unique Capabilities for the Synthesis of New Crystals and Materials

Talk with material scientist Edith Bourret-Courchesne about what it takes to grow and develop useful crystals and a word you will hear repeated often is “patience.” As the leader of a unique crystal growth facility at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) dedicated to the synthesis of crystals and new materials, patience is more than a virtue, it’s a necessity.

“The growth of every crystal is unique, like the formation of a snowflake, and since we work with compounds that have never before been crystallized the processes by which we grow our crystals are also unique,” she says. “As a result, a lot of our research is aimed at understanding why something didn’t work.” (more…)

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Boys’ Lack of Effort in School Tied to College Gender Gap

New Book Examines Why Women Succeed More in College

COLUMBUS, Ohio – When it comes to college education, men are falling behind by standing still.

The proportion of men receiving college degrees has stagnated, while women have thrived under the new economic and social realities in the United States and elsewhere, according to two sociologists who have written a new book on the subject. (more…)

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