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Remembering Neil Armstrong, 1930–2012

By Guest PostAugust 27, 2012Scienceamerican astronaut, apollo 1, buzz aldrin, cincinnati, coronary arteries, david scott, first person, gemini 8 mission, jimmy carter, korean war, michael collins, moon, NASA, navy officer, neil armstrong, ohio, richard nixon, united states, walk

Neil A. Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, on August 5, 1930. He began his NASA career in Ohio.

After serving as a naval aviator from 1949 to 1952, Armstrong joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1955. His first assignment was with the NACA Lewis Research Center (now NASA Glenn) in Cleveland. Over the next 17 years, he was an engineer, test pilot, astronaut and administrator for NACA and its successor agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

As a research pilot at NASA’s Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., he was a project pilot on many pioneering high speed aircraft, including the well known, 4000-mph X-15. He has flown over 200 different models of aircraft, including jets, rockets, helicopters and gliders. (more…)

Super-Strong, High-Tech Material Found to be Toxic to Aquatic Animals by Researchers at MU and USGS

By Guest PostAugust 27, 2012Scienceaquatic animal, baolin deng, carbon nanotube, chironomus dilutes, chromium, cnts, crustaceans, earth, Environment, epa, flies larvae, hao li, hyalella azteca, joseph mwangi, lumbriculus variegatus, mass production, metal, mussels, nickel, pure carbon, strongest material, tennis racket, toxic, united states, university of missouri, villosa iris, waste management, worms

Carbon nanotubes hold promise for industry but need monitoring, say researchers

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are some of the strongest materials on Earth and are used to strengthen composite materials, such as those used in high-performance tennis rackets. CNTs have potential uses in everything from medicine to electronics to construction. However, CNTs are not without risks. A joint study by the University of Missouri and United States Geological Survey found that they can be toxic to aquatic animals. The researchers urge that care be taken to prevent the release of CNTs into the environment as the materials enter mass production.

“The great promise of carbon nanotubes must be balanced with caution and preparation,” said Baolin Deng, professor and chair of chemical engineering at the University of Missouri. “We don’t know enough about their effects on the environment and human health. The EPA and other regulatory groups need more studies like ours to provide information on the safety of CNTs.” (more…)

From Town Hall Forums to Xbox LIVE, Microsoft Focuses on Involving Young People in the Political Process for 2012 U.S. Presidential Election

By Guest PostAugust 23, 2012Politics, Technology1972 election, 2012, atlantic live, brad smith, charles hauser, charlotte, chelsea clinton, chuck todd, election day, election process, elections hub, elizabeth baker keffer, lisa stickan, Microsoft, microsoft election, next generation, presidential campaign, republican convention, stem, tampa, the atlantic, united states, US, xbox entertainment, xbox live, young people

Company’s latest efforts are part of an ongoing initiative to close the “opportunity divide” facing the next generation.

REDMOND, Wash. — August 23, 2012 — In the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, young people emerged as a force to be reckoned with. They canvassed neighborhoods, worked phone banks and, on Election Day itself, streamed to the polls in numbers eclipsed only by the 1972 election. But in 2012 it appears young people may be less engaged in the political process, even though the issues at the forefront — jobs, education, student loan debt — are ones that affect them directly.

Charles Hauser has heard all this firsthand. A student at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C., he admits he doesn’t think his peers are as involved politically as they could be. “I have heard some young people say they don’t feel their votes count,” he says. “I also feel it is harder to be actively involved when there is so much turmoil economically.” (more…)

USGS Releases U.S. Oil & Gas Reserve Growth Estimates

By Guest PostAugust 18, 2012Environment, Politicsbillion barrels, domestic oil, energy economy, fossil fuel, gas liquids, gas reserve, geologic information, ken salazar, marcia mcnutt, natural gas, obama administration, operating condition, projection, public domain, tcf, trillion cubic feet, united states, usgs, usgs assessment

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has released a new estimate for potential additions to domestic oil and gas reserves from reserve growth in discovered, conventional accumulations in the United States. The USGS estimates that the mean potential undiscovered, conventional reserve additions for the United States total 32 billion barrels (bb) of oil, 291 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas, and 10 bb of natural gas liquids, constituting about 10 percent of the overall U.S. oil and gas endowment.

“As part of the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy, we are taking aggressive steps to safely and responsibly expand domestic energy production,” said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. “USGS’s ongoing work to identify and estimate U.S. energy supplies – and to make that information available to everyone – is fundamental to our efforts to continue to grow America’s energy economy.” (more…)

Common Parasite May Trigger Suicide Attempts

By Guest PostAugust 18, 2012Health, Scienceamerica, biological change, biological mechanism, brain, brain cell, damage, depression, harmless, infection, inflammation, lena brundin, parasite, parkinsons disease, suicide attempt, symptom, t gondii, teodor postolache, toxoplasma gondii, united states

EAST LANSING, Mich. — A parasite thought to be harmless and found in many people may actually be causing subtle changes in the brain, leading to suicide attempts.

New research appearing in the August issue of The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry adds to the growing work linking an infection caused by the Toxoplasma gondii parasite to suicide attempts. Michigan State University’s Lena Brundin was one of the lead researchers on the team.

About 10-20 percent of people in the United States have Toxoplasma gondii, or T. gondii, in their bodies, but in most it was thought to lie dormant, said Brundin, an associate professor of experimental psychiatry in MSU’s College of Human Medicine. In fact, it appears the parasite can cause inflammation over time, which produces harmful metabolites that can damage brain cells. (more…)

Urban Poor Plagued By ‘Burdens of Place’

By Guest PostAugust 11, 2012Culture, Economy, Generalamerica, bmi, body mass index, burdens of place, digital mapping, igor vojnovic, journal, lansing, michigan state university, obesity tax, resident behavior, socioeconomic data, supermarket chains, united states, urban design, urban neighborhood, urban poor

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Most of America’s urban cores were designed for walking but offer little in the way of supermarkets, healthy restaurants and other amenities for residents to walk to, according to a study led by a Michigan State University scholar.

The study is one of the first to show that poor residents living in declining urban neighborhoods want healthy food choices – evidenced by their willingness to travel long distances to find them. Past research has generally assumed that poor people will shop at whatever store is closest. (more…)

New Book Explores Fears About Muslims in The West

By Guest PostAugust 4, 2012Culture, General, Media911 era, anti catholicism, anti semitism, burqas, crusades, Europe, ground zero, irrational suspicion, jehovah witnesses, jews, liquor store, martha nussbaum, mormons, mosque, muslim headscarves, muslim terrorism, muslims, native americans, nazism, new york city, religious prejudice, religious tolerance, roman catholics, strip clubs, switzerland, terrorism, united states, wars of religion, western societies

Fears of terrorism in Europe and the United States have deteriorated into an irrational suspicion of Muslims, which will continue until the West turns its critical eye inward, argues University of Chicago professor Martha Nussbaum in her new book, The New Religious Intolerance: Overcoming the Politics of Fear in an Anxious Age.

While fear is an important natural emotion, its self-centered nature makes it susceptible to irrational distortions that are harmful to others, writes Nussbaum, the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics in the Law School and Philosophy. (more…)

Social Networking Pays Off More in the U.S. than Germany

By Guest PostAugust 4, 2012Technologydavid warner, economic inequality, finding jobs, Germany, richard benton, social connection, social network, Social networking, steve mcdonald, united states, university of nebraska

New research from North Carolina State University shows that informal social networks play an important role when it comes to finding jobs in both the United States and Germany, but those networks are significantly more important for high-paying jobs in the United States – which may contribute to economic inequality.

“It is interesting to note that the open market system in the United States, with minimal labor regulations, actually sees people benefiting more from patronage – despite the expectation that open markets would value merit over social connections,” says Richard Benton, a Ph.D. student at NC State who co-authored the research. (more…)

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