EAST LANSING, Mich. — Support for gay marriage is growing in Michigan, mirroring changing attitudes in many parts of the United States, according to Michigan State University’s State of the State Survey.
A recent survey found that 56 percent of the state’s residents support gay marriage while 39 percent oppose it. Two years ago, 48 percent supported gay marriage and 51 percent were opposed. (more…)
Confucius Institute director addresses global impact of China’s economy
China’s economy has undergone astounding growth during the past 60 years, with its gross domestic product (GDP) climbing from just under $18 billion in 1949 to almost $6 trillion in 2011. Most of that growth has occurred since 1980, when the country’s economic reform began.
The result? China has emerged from being known as “the world’s most populous country” to the “growth engine for the world’s economy.”
But the double-digit growth that China witnessed every year from 2003 to 2011 has slowed, leading to much debate about the seriousness of the downturn and how it will reverberate across the globe. (more…)
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Health professionals may soon have a new method of diagnosing Parkinson’s disease, one that is noninvasive and inexpensive, and, in early testing, has proved to be effective more than 90 percent of the time.
In addition, this new method has the potential to track the progression of Parkinson’s, as well as measure the effectiveness of treatments for the disorder, said Rahul Shrivastav, professor and chairperson of Michigan State University’s Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders and a member of the team developing the new method.
It involves monitoring a patient’s speech patterns – specifically, movement patterns of the tongue and jaw. (more…)
Extends Financing to Help Businesses Drive Growth with Advanced Technologies: Cloud, Business Analytics and PureSystems
ARMONK, N.Y. – 15 Nov 2012: IBM announced today it is providing IBM Business Partners worldwide with $4 billion in financing for credit-qualified clients over a period of 12 months. This financing, through IBM Global Financing, can make obtaining credit easier and more accessible to enable IBM’s global partner ecosystem and their clients to acquire advanced technologies such as cloud, analytics and PureSystems. As part of today’s news, IBM is also launching a new mobile app as another step to simplify the way IBM’s Business Partners can apply for and secure financing for their clients within minutes via any mobile device — anytime, anywhere.
With 10 billion mobile devices forecasted by 2020, the proliferation of mobile technology is fundamentally changing the way people think, work, act, and interact.1 Already, 90 percent of mobile users keep their device within arm’s reach at all times, and complete many kinds of transactions across these smart devices. 2 The new mobile app from IBM Global Financing is designed to address this changing business environment by making it easier for IBM Business Partners to provide their clients with price proposals and generate credit approvals within minutes using an iPad, iPhone or Android mobile device. The mobile app will be available in the United States this month and will be rolled out globally beginning in China in January 2013. The app has an easy-to-use interface and is designed for contracts worth up to $500K, all while the IBM Business Partner seller is on the go. This mobile app is based on IBM Global Financing’s simple Rapid Online Financing tool, designed for non-financing experts, where available, to generate fast approvals for credit applications with a simple click of the mouse. (more…)
Virginia Earthquake Triggered Landslides at Great Distances
Earthquake shaking in the eastern United States can travel much farther and cause damage over larger areas than previously thought. (more…)
High-resolution satellite imagery aids in study
The breeding population of chinstrap penguins has declined significantly as temperatures have rapidly warmed on the Antarctic Peninsula, according to researchers funded in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The study indicates that changing climatic conditions, rather than the impact of tourism, have had the greatest effect on the chinstrap population.
Ron Naveen, founder of a nonprofit science and conservation organization, Oceanites, Inc., of Chevy Chase, Md., documented the decline in a paper published in the journal Polar Biology. Naveen and coauthor Heather Lynch, of Stony Brook University, are researchers with the Antarctic Site Inventory (ASI). (more…)
Doctoral student studies energy poverty in Ghana, Africa
In the United States, electricity is a creature comfort many citizens take for granted. Yet for more than a billion people across the globe, particularly in developing regions, electrification is the exception, not the norm.
Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, is the least electrified region in the world. It has the lowest generation capacity behind eastern South Asia and few programs that provide access to modern forms of energy. (more…)
The gut bacteria of honey bees have acquired several genes that confer resistance to tetracycline, a direct result of more than five decades of use of antibiotics by American beekeepers and a potential health hazard for bee colonies, a new study by Yale University researchers show.
The genetic analysis of the gut bacteria, which are believed to help in bees’ digestion and ability to ward off parasites, suggests changing antibiotic use by beekeepers might be one factor in the mysterious colony collapse disorder afflicting bee populations. (more…)
