Technology – Page 782 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Speeding the Search for Better Carbon Capture

Berkeley Lab Researchers Help Develop a Computer Model That Identifies the Best Molecular Candidates

A computer model that can identify the best molecular candidates for removing carbon dioxide, molecular nitrogen and other greenhouse gases from power plant flues has been developed by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), the University of California (UC) Berkeley and the University of Minnesota. (more…)

How to Outfox the Bat Menace?

Bats can be found all around the world. There are nearly 40 species in United States alone. There are many horror stories about different bats. Most people believe and fantasize about bats as the blood sucking monsters described in fiction and films. (more…)

Scientists Explore Changing Arctic Ocean

Scientists are setting sail on August 25 to study ocean acidification in the Arctic and what this means for the future survival of marine and terrestrial organisms. (more…)

Richard Arenberg: Defending the filibuster

In Defending the Filibuster: The Soul of the Senate, political scientists and former Senate staffers Richard Arenberg and Robert Dove argue that the solution to recent criticism of the filibuster is not to do away with it. Arenberg speaks with Courtney Coelho about the history of Senate debate, how its use has been distorted in recent years and why reforms, not abolishment, are key to preserving Senate minority rights.

A new book co-authored by Brown University political scientist Richard Arenberg argues that the filibuster, used to extend debate on pending legislation in the Senate, is a necessary entity, giving a voice to the minority and preserving the Constitution’s principles of checks and balances. The filibuster has come under fire in recent years, with critics saying it serves no purpose other than to perpetuate partisan polarization and stall the decision-making process. (more…)

Getting the Most out of Soybeans

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Soybeans are one of the largest commodity crops in the world.

They also are starting to play a major role in reducing our carbon footprint, providing improved environmental performance and replacing finite, non-renewable resources such as oil.

And this is where Ramani Narayan comes in. (more…)

Cramming for a Test? Don’t do it, say UCLA Researchers

Every high school kid has done it: putting off studying for that exam until the last minute, then pulling a caffeine-fueled all-nighter in an attempt to cram as much information into their heads as they can. (more…)

Native Plants in Urban Yards Offer Birds “Mini-Refuges”

Landscaping with native vegetation helps local bird species

Yards with plants that mimic native vegetation offer birds “mini-refuges” and help to offset losses of biodiversity in cities, according to results of a study published on August 22, 2012 in the journal PLOS ONE.

“Native” yards support birds better than those with traditional grass lawns and non-native plantings.

Researchers conducted the study through the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site, one of 26 such sites around the globe in ecosystems from coral reefs to deserts, from forests to grasslands. (more…)

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

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…)