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Countering Brain Chemical Could Prevent Suicides

Researchers have found the first proof that a chemical in the brain called glutamate is linked to suicidal behavior, offering new hope for efforts to prevent people from taking their own lives.

Writing in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, Michigan State University’s Lena Brundin and an international team of co-investigators present the first evidence that glutamate is more active in the brains of people who attempt suicide. Glutamate is an amino acid that sends signals between nerve cells and has long been a suspect in the search for chemical causes of depression. (more…)

Monitoring Hurricanes: Georgia Tech Engineers Assist NASA with Instrument for Remotely Measuring Storm Intensity

A device designed by engineers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is part of the Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD), an experimental airborne system developed by the Earth Science Office at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.

Known as an analog beam-former, the GTRI device is part of the radiometer, which is being tested by NASA on a Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle. The radiometer measures microwave radiation emitted by the sea foam that is produced when high winds blow across ocean waves. By measuring the electromagnetic radiation, scientists can remotely assess surface wind speeds at multiple locations within the hurricanes. (more…)

Dark Ages Scourge Enlightens Modern Struggle between Man and Microbes

The plague-causing bacteria Yersinia pestis evades detection and establishes a stronghold without setting off the body’s early alarms. New discoveries reported today help explain how the stealthy agent of Black Death avoids tripping a self-destruct mechanism inside germ-destroying cells. (more…)

Space-Age Ceramics Get Their Toughest Test

Berkeley Lab Researchers Develop Real-Time CT-Scan Test Rig For Ceramic Composites at Ultrahigh Temperatures

Advanced ceramic composites can withstand the ultrahigh operational temperatures projected for hypersonic jet and next generation gas turbine engines, but real-time analysis of the mechanical properties of these space-age materials at ultrahigh temperatures has been a challenge – until now. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed the first testing facility that enables CT-scanning of ceramic composites under controlled loads at ultrahigh temperatures and in real-time. (more…)

Mercy Cards

Alum’s idea could revolutionize how the world helps the homeless

On a single night in January this year 633,782 people were homeless in the United States, according to a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Dec. 10. (more…)

Curiosity Rover Nearing Yellowknife Bay

Mars Science Laboratory Mission Status Report

PASADENA, Calif. –– The NASA Mars rover Curiosity drove 63 feet (19 meters) northeastward early Monday, Dec. 10, approaching a step down into a slightly lower area called “Yellowknife Bay,” where researchers intend to choose a rock to drill.

The drive was Curiosity’s fourth consecutive driving day since leaving a site near an outcrop called “Point Lake,” where it arrived last month. These drives totaled 260 feet (79 meters) and brought the mission’s total odometry to 0.37 mile (598 meters). (more…)

Hedge Funds Manipulate Stock Prices, New Research Shows

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Some hedge funds manipulate stock prices at the end of the month to improve the returns that they report to their investors, a new study suggests. (more…)

comScore Releases November 2012 U.S. Search Engine Rankings

RESTON, VA, December 12, 2012 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its monthly comScore qSearch analysis of the U.S. search marketplace. Google Sites led the explicit core search market in November with 67 percent of search queries conducted.

U.S. Explicit Core Search

Google Sites led the U.S. explicit core search market in November with 67 percent market share (up 0.1 percentage points), followed by Microsoft Sites with 16.2 percent (up 0.2 percentage points) and Yahoo! Sites with 12.1 percent. Ask Network accounted for 3 percent of explicit core searches, followed by AOL, Inc. with 1.7 percent. (more…)