Technology – Page 1076 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Crocodiles 168 Times More Dangerous Than Sharks

The fears connected with shark attacks are stronger in the world today than those related to much more dangerous predators – crocodiles. However, crocodiles pose a greater threat to humans than sharks do.

A crocodile snatched Hendrik Coetzee, a South African guide, 35, from his kayak while he led an American expedition into the heart of Congo last week. Two American tourists could only watch the scene in horror as the guide was killed and eaten by the predator. They paddled to safety unharmed. Coetzee’s body has not been recovered.

Stories about croc attacks are just as terrible as they are hopeless. Experts say that it is possible to stay to fight off a shark, but it is much more difficult or even impossible to rescue themselves from an attacking croc. (more…)

19.2 Million Spanish Internet Users watched 2.9 Billion Online Videos in October 2010

YouTube Leads Ranking with Nearly 3.3 Hours per Viewer During the Month

Madrid, Spain, December 14, 2010 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from its recently launched Spanish comScore Video Metrix service, indicating that 2.9 billion videos were viewed online in Spain in October 2010. (more…)

Atomic Weights of Ten Chemical Elements About to Change

For the first time in history, a change will be made to the atomic weights of some elements listed on the Table of Standard Atomic Weights of the chemical elements found in the inside covers of chemistry textbooks worldwide.

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry’s (IUPAC) Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights is publishing a new table that will express atomic weights of ten elements as intervals, rather than as single standard values. The new table is the result of cooperative research supported by the U.S. Geological Survey, IUPAC, and other contributing Commission members and institutions. (more…)

IBM Helps Corpus Christi Build a Smarter City

Data analytics provides the city with actionable intelligence

ARMONK, N.Y. – 13 Dec 2010: IBM today announced that it is working with the city of Corpus Christi, Texas to continuously improve efficiency and sustainability for the city’s more than 280,000 residents. (more…)

Ice-Age Reptile Extinctions Provide a Glimpse of Likely Responses to Human-Caused Climate Change

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A wave of reptile extinctions on the Greek islands over the past 15,000 years may offer a preview of the way plants and animals will respond as the world rapidly warms due to human-caused climate change, according to a University of Michigan ecologist and his colleagues.

The Greek island extinctions also highlight the critical importance of preserving habitat corridors that will enable plants and animals to migrate in response to climate change, thereby maximizing their chances of survival. (more…)

Saturn’s rings. Image credit: NASA/JPL

A new study conducted by scientists at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, has this week posited that Saturn’s rings are the remnants of a massive moon that once orbited Earth’s distant neighbour.

According to study author and astronomer Robin Canup, the moon plunged into Saturn around 4.5 billion years ago due to a giant ring of hydrogen gas responsible for creating rocky satellites but also for dragging larger moons out of orbit.

The scientific theory centres on the predominantly icy composition of Saturn’s rings, The Tech Herald reports. (more…)

New Kindle Exclusive: Bestselling Author Warren Adler Releases Five New E-Books Exclusively in the Kindle Store

*New books by the author of “The War of the Roses” and “Random Hearts” available for Kindle and Kindle app customers in less than 60 seconds*

SEATTLE, Dec 13, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon.com today announced that bestselling author Warren Adler has made five e-books, none of which have been previously published in any format, available in the Kindle Store (www.amazon.com/kindlestore). These books, all of which draw from Adler’s skill as a novelist and his keen insight into the nature of intimate human relationships, will also be available in print editions through CreateSpace. All five books in the series – “The David Embrace,” “Flanagan’s Dolls,” “The Womanizer,” “Residue” and “Empty Treasures”–are available for sale today for $7.95 with the e-books exclusive to the Kindle Store for two years. (more…)

Thermal Imagery Sheds Light on Wolf Disease

Psychedelically colored wolves depicted by thermal imaging will shed light on how mange affects the survival, reproduction and social behavior of wolves in Yellowstone National Park.

About a quarter of the wolf packs in the park are afflicted with sarcoptic mange, a highly contagious canine skin disease caused by mites that burrow into the skin causing infections, hair loss, severe irritation and an insatiable desire to scratch.

The resulting hair loss and depressed vigor of the wolves leaves them vulnerable to hypothermia, malnutrition and dehydration, which can eventually lead to death, said Paul Cross, a U.S. Geological Survey disease ecologist, who leads the project along with Doug Smith of Yellowstone National Park. (more…)