Tag Archives: university of california

Rich Country, Poor Country: Economists say Financial Sector Key Driver of Economic Growth

By Guest PostOctober 3, 2011Economyamerican economic review, computer-based economic model, economic growth, economic landscapes, emerge from poverty, federal reserve bank, finance and development, financial sector key driver of economic growth, francisco j. buera, jennifer roche, joseph kaboski, minneapolis, poor country, relationship between development and finance, rich country, ucla, university of california, uUniversity of notre dame, washington university, yongseok shin

Economists have long suspected that one reason developing countries struggle to emerge from poverty is that they lack robust financial sectors, especially when compared to wealthier nations.

Although it may seem obvious that a weak financial sector would stifle growth within a developing country, few economists until now have tried to determine just how this phenomenon occurs. This has made it difficult for policymakers and investors to understand how financial markets may be failing and to create effective solutions to correct them.

Economists Francisco J. Buera of UCLA and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Joseph Kaboski of the University of Notre Dame, and Yongseok Shin of Washington University in St. Louis present important insights into this phenomenon in a paper recently published in the journal American Economic Review. (more…)

Anderson Forecast: U.S. Economy stalled, Employment ‘Horrible,’ but No New Recession

By Guest PostSeptember 25, 2011Economycoastal california, david shulman, domestic product growth, edward leamer, far worse, forecast economists remain, intellectual capital, no recession alarm, stall speed, the california forecast, the national forecast, ucla anderson forecast, university of california

In its third quarterly report of 2011, the UCLA Anderson Forecast says the outlook for the nation’s economy is “far worse” than it was just three months ago.

Considering the weak, revised data for the first half of the year, the forecast calls for average gross domestic product growth of just 0.9 percent on average for the five quarters — this year’s four and the first quarter of 2012.

However, Forecast economists remain steadfast in their assertion that the U.S. is not currently in a recession, nor is there a recession in the forecast through 2013. (more…)

The Brittleness of Aging Bones – More than a Loss of Bone Mass

By Guest PostSeptember 3, 2011Scienceadvanced light source, age related structural changes in human cortical bone, als, berkeley lab, biological aging, björn busse, bone strength and fracture toughness, bones, brittle, calcium, collagen molecules, concentric rings of lamellae plates, department of energy, doe, elizabeth zimmermann, eric schaible, fracturing, ha, holly barth, hrishikesh bale, human cortical or compact bone, hydroxyapatite, joel ager, lawrence berkeley national laboratory, loss of mass, macroscopic fracture testing, molecular level, nanocrystals, nanoscale, older bones fracturing, peter reichert, robert ritchie, simon tang, tamara alliston, uc, university of california, young human bone

*Berkeley Lab Researchers Show How Loss of Bone Quality Also a Major Factor*

It is a well-established fact that as we grow older our bones become more brittle and prone to fracturing. It is also well established that loss of mass is a major reason for older bones fracturing more readily than younger bones, hence medical treatments have focused on slowing down this loss. However, new research from scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) shows that at microscopic dimensions, the age-related loss of bone quality can be every bit as important as the loss of quantity in the susceptibility of bone to fracturing. (more…)

Ethane Levels Yield Information About Changes in Greenhouse Gas Emissions

By Guest PostAugust 14, 2011EnvironmentAntarctica, atmosphere, atmospheric methane, carbon dioxide, change in energy use, change in human activities, decline in methane emission, donald blake, eric saltzman, ethane, fossil fuel emissions, global temperatures, greenhouse gas, greenland, hydrocarbons, julie palais, kristal verhulst, methane, michael prather, murat aydin, polar ice sheets in greenland and antarctica, potent greenhouse gas, qi tang, twentieth century, university of california

*Research at Greenland and Antarctic shows decline in methane and ethane levels*

Recent data from NSF-funded research in both Greenland and Antarctica demonstrate that fossil-fuel related emissions of both methane and ethane, two of the most abundant hydrocarbons in the atmosphere, declined at the end of the twentieth century, according to a paper published Thursday in the journal Nature.

The causes of the decline in methane emission rates to the atmosphere have been puzzling scientists for some time. This new study shows that a change in human activities may have played a key role in the recent leveling off of methane, which, being a potent greenhouse gas contributes to global temperatures. (more…)

Where the Earth’s Heat Comes From

By Guest PostJuly 18, 2011Scienceanti electron, berkeley lab, borexino experiment, brian fujikawa, bse, bulk silicate earth, department of physics, earth crust and mantle, earth interior, earth magnetic field, geo antineutrinos, geologists, geoneutrinos, gran sasso, heat, heat energy, italy, itaru shimizu, Japan, kamioka liquid-scintillator antineutrino detector, kamland, kamland collaboration, ke han, lawrence berkeley national laboratory, lithophiles, muon neutrinos, neutrinos, partial radiogenic heat model for earth, photomultiplier, potassium, radioactive decay of uranium, radioactive isotopes decay, rock loving elements, sea floors, siderophiles, stuart freedman, study antineutrinos, sunken layer, tau neutrinos, thomas banks, thorium, tohoku university, university of california

*Berkeley Lab scientists join their KamLAND colleagues to measure the radioactive sources of Earth’s heat flow*

What spreads the sea floors and moves the continents? What melts iron in the outer core and enables the Earth’s magnetic field? Heat. Geologists have used temperature measurements from more than 20,000 boreholes around the world to estimate that some 44 terawatts (44 trillion watts) of heat continually flow from Earth’s interior into space. Where does it come from?

Radioactive decay of uranium, thorium, and potassium in Earth’s crust and mantle is a principal source, and in 2005 scientists in the KamLAND collaboration, based in Japan, first showed that there was a way to measure the contribution directly. The trick was to catch what KamLAND dubbed geoneutrinos – more precisely, geo-antineutrinos – emitted when radioactive isotopes decay. (KamLAND stands for Kamioka Liquid-scintillator Antineutrino Detector.) (more…)

NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft Enters Orbit Around Asteroid Vesta

By Guest PostJuly 17, 2011Scienceasteroid, asteroid vesta, ceres, charles bolden, dawn, dawn spacecraft, dwarf planet, german aerospace center, gravitational pull, gravity, italian space agency, jet propulsion laboratory, los angeles, main asteroid belt between mars and jupiter, marshall space flight center in huntsville, max planck institute for solar system research, NASA, President Obama, spacecraft, university of california, vesta

PASADENA, Calif. — NASA’s Dawn spacecraft on Saturday became the first probe ever to enter orbit around an object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Dawn will study the asteroid, named Vesta, for a year before departing for a second destination, a dwarf planet named Ceres, in July 2012. Observations will provide unprecedented data to help scientists understand the earliest chapter of our solar system. The data also will help pave the way for future human space missions. (more…)

Brain Rhythm Associated With Learning Also linked to Running Speed, UCLA Study Shows

By Guest PostJune 27, 2011Health, Sciencealzheimer's disease, brain as a large orchestra, brain oscillations, brain rhythm, concentration and learning, critical for learning and memory, from outer to inner space, gamma rhythm, hippocampus, keck center, language of the brain, mayank mehta, microelectrodes, microwires 20 times thinner than a human hair, neurophysics, physics and astronomy, plos one, post-traumatic stress, rhythms, running speed, syllables, ucla neurophysicists, university of california, zhiping chen

Rhythms in the brain that are associated with learning become stronger as the body moves faster, UCLA neurophysicists report in a new study.

The research team, led by professor Mayank Mehta, used specialized microelectrodes to monitor an electrical signal known as the gamma rhythm in the brains of mice. This signal is typically produced in a brain region called the hippocampus, which is critical for learning and memory, during periods of concentration and learning. (more…)

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

By Guest PostJune 18, 2011Nature, Scienceabraham miller rushing, animal pollinated plants, bees, bumblebees, climate change, colorado mountain meadows, david inouye, davis, elk mountains of colorado, flower species, george aldridge, high mountain wildflower season, hummingbirds, jessica forrest, national science foundation, nectar, petals, pollen, pollinators, rocky mountain biological laboratory, rocky mountains, sub alpine meadows, summer wildflower, tucson, university of california, university of maryland, usa national phenology network, wildflowers, william barr

*High-mountain wildflower season reduced, affecting pollinators like bees, hummingbirds*

It’s summer wildflower season in the Rocky Mountains, a time when high-peaks meadows are dotted with riotous color.

But for how long?

Once, wildflower season in montane meadow ecosystems extended throughout the summer months. But now scientists have found a fall-off in wildflowers at mid-season. (more…)