Technology

How Tattoos ‘Move’ With Age

The dyes which are injected into the skin to create tattoos move with time – permanently altering the look of a given design. In this month’s Mathematics Today Dr Ian Eames, a Reader in Fluid Mechanics at UCL, publishes a mathematical model enabling us to estimate the movement of these ink particles and predict how specific tattoo designs will look several years in the future.

“Tattoos are incredibly popular worldwide with more than a third of 18-25 year olds in the USA sporting at least one design,” says Dr Eames. “A great deal of work has already been done on the short term fate of ink particles in the skin, tracking them over periods of just a few months – but much less is known about how these particles move over longer periods of time. (more…)

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Safer Sex: Study Examines Sexual Communication in Transgender Community

A new study from North Carolina State University shows that talking about safer sex is a complicated process for individuals in the transgender community. The finding may help efforts to promote safer sex practices in a community facing high HIV rates – and also sheds light on broader questions related to safer sex for everyone.

“The main reason for this study is the fact that we’re seeing evidence of devastatingly high HIV prevalence rates in the transgender community,” says Dr. Kami Kosenko, an assistant professor of communication at NC State and lead author of the study. “The HIV prevalence rate is less than 1 percent for the general U.S. population. But for the transgender population, the HIV prevalence rate is estimated to be as high as 60 percent in major metropolitan areas. Although these are only estimates, they are troubling.” (more…)

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River Mystery Solved

*Scientists discover how “Didymo” algae bloom in pristine waters with few nutrients*

The pristine state of unpolluted waterways may be their downfall, according to research results published in a paper this week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

A species of freshwater algae that lives in streams and rivers, called Didymo for Didymosphenia geminata, is able to colonize and dominate the bottoms of some of the world’s cleanest waterways–precisely because they are so clear. (more…)

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To Boost Customer Satisfaction, Business Owners Should Pay Attention to Employee Job Satisfaction, MU Business Researcher Finds

COLUMBIA, Mo. ­— Previous studies have shown that customer satisfaction plays a key role in the health and future success of any company. When customers are satisfied, they keep coming back to the same store and invite their friends to do the same. Now, a new study from the University of Missouri has found that CEOs who pay attention to employees’ job satisfaction are able to boost both customer satisfaction and “repurchase intentions,” or the number of customers that intend to purchase products from the store. (more…)

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New Map Reveals Giant Fjords Beneath East Antarctic Ice Sheet

AUSTIN, Texas — Scientists from the U.S., U.K. and Australia have used ice-penetrating radar to create the first high-resolution topographic map of one of the last uncharted regions of Earth, the Aurora Subglacial Basin, an immense ice-buried lowland in East Antarctica larger than Texas.

The map reveals some of the largest fjords or ice cut channels on Earth, providing important insights into the history of ice in Antarctica. The data will also help computer modelers improve their simulations of the past and future Antarctic ice sheet and its potential impact on global sea level. (more…)

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Going to War: The Relationship Among the Media, the Public and the President

*In a new study, journalism associate professor Shahira Fahmy found the media and presidential agenda had only a limited influence on public concern for the war with Iraq. Public concern influenced how much space former President Bush devoted to issues on his Iraq war agenda, and the press also had some limited influence on the issues stressed by the president.*

Only four months after Sept. 11, 2001, former President Bush identified Iraq as a member of the “axis of evil,” a problem, which if gone unchecked, would endanger the nation’s freedom and security.

As part of the public relations buildup before going to war with Iraq, the former president explained that the Iraqi regime has plotted to develop anthrax, and nerve gas and nuclear weapons for more than a decade. He said this is a regime that has something to hide from the civilized world. (more…)

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New Disney Tron:Legacy Digital Book Site Comes Alive With HTML5 in Internet Explorer 9

*Site offers immersive Web experience for comic book enthusiasts.*

BURBANK, Calif. — June 3, 2011 — When the team behind the latest Tron:Legacy Project project website started their work, they had in mind one goal: raise the bar for what a graphic novel could be like online. “Most online comics are stagnant,” says Dario Di Zanni, development manager for Disney publishing digital media. “We wanted an engaging, fluid site that is more like the actual experience of reading a comic book.”

Originally released by Disney in 1982, the classic science-fiction film “Tron” has spawned comics, games, books and a television series based on the story of protagonist Sam, who is investigating his father’s disappearance 20 years earlier. Sam’s quest takes him on a solo journey through his father’s digital legacy. (more…)

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