Technology – Page 880 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Number of Dead California Sea Otters Recovered in 2011 a Record High

*Evidence Builds for White Shark Factor in Otter Mortality*

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — The California or southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) appears to be experiencing an unprecedented increase in mortality from attacks by sharks, according to federal and state scientists.

Since 1968, biologists and veterinarians at the U.S. Geological Survey and California Department of Fish and Game have documented and examined all reported sea otter “strandings” — counting the number of dead, sick or injured sea otters recovered along California’s coast each year. (more…)

Project Aims To Improve HIV/AIDS Prevention Materials For African-American Women

African-American women make up a disproportionate number of HIV/AIDS cases in the United States. Researchers from North Carolina State University are trying to change that, leading a National Science Foundation project aimed at developing HIV/AIDS prevention materials that resonate with African-American female college students.

African-Americans represent approximately 14 percent of the U.S. population, but accounted for an estimated 44 percent of new HIV infections in 2009. The estimated rate of new HIV infections among African-American women was 15 times that of white women and over three times that of Latina women. (more…)

Fastest Wind From Stellar Mass Black Hole Discovered

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— The fastest wind ever discovered blowing off a disk around a stellar-mass black hole has been observed by a team of astronomers that includes a University of Michigan doctoral student.

Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, an orbiting telescope, they clocked the record-breaking super wind at about 20 million mph, or about 3 percent of the speed of light. This is nearly 10 times faster than astronomers had previously observed from a stellar-mass black hole. (more…)

Phobia’s Effect on Perception of Feared Object Allows Fear To Persist

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The more afraid a person is of a spider, the bigger that individual perceives the spider to be, new research suggests. (more…)

Book Sheds New Light on U.S. Presidents and Race

EAST LANSING, Mich. — A new book co-authored by Michigan State University associate journalism professor Eric Freedman uses rarely seen documents, letters and other written material to shed new light on how American presidents have dealt with issues related to blacks.

Titled “Presidents and Black America: A Documentary History,” the book is designed for everyone from advanced scholars to casual readers of history. (more…)

City of Zhenjiang, China and IBM Collaborate to Build a Smarter City

IBM Smarter Cities Solution Helps Zhenjiang Boost Economic Development and Tourism Plans

Armonk, NY & Zhenjiang, China – 24 Feb 2012: IBM and the City of Zhenjiang, China today announced that IBM is helping to transform the city’s public transportation system. Zhenjiang will use hardware, software, services and technologies from IBM’s Research labs, all brought together through the IBM Intelligent Operations Center (IOC) for Smarter Cities – a solution that will serve as the central point of command for the city. (more…)

Evolution of Earliest Horses Driven by Climate Change

*The hotter it gets, the smaller the animal?*

When Sifrhippus sandae, the earliest known horse, first appeared in the forests of North America more than 50 million years ago, it would not have been mistaken for a Clydesdale.

It weighed in at around 12 pounds–and it was destined to get much smaller over the ensuing millennia.

Sifrhippus lived during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a 175,000-year interval of time some 56 million years ago in which average global temperatures rose by about 10 degrees Fahrenheit. (more…)

To Be A Scientist

*How Bob Vince changed the world*

Where does it begin, the act of becoming a scientist? Perhaps with a bowling ball, its finger holes packed with explosives, which when detonated, launch the ball into the air, cracking the otherwise pristine concrete walkway of your childhood home in four places, much to the consternation of your father. Or maybe with an explosion of homemade rocket fuel in your basement chemistry lab that scares your mother half to death. And all this before the troublesome teen years.

Bob Vince can’t be sure where his becoming a scientist began. But where it led changed the world. (more…)