1. On Wednesday, May 15th, the House Committee on Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife will hold a Legislative Hearing on H.R. 2532: To protect grizzly bear populations, and for other purposes, in the Longworth House Office Building 1324. We'd like to solicit an article examining how serious the issue is. Fee: $100
Thailand is doing the final preparations for the launch of its first earth observation satellite called THEOS into orbit in October, Thai Science and Technology Minister Yongyuth Yuthavong said Friday.
The THEOS project is expected to be completed in August or September and be launched into orbit in October as scheduled, the minister was quoted by Thai News Agency as saying.
The French company EADS Astrium, a leading European satellite producer, was contracted by the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) under Thai Ministry of Science and Technology in 2004 to build and deliver THEOS. Thai engineers working for the project have been trained in France.
National Hockey League players will stay cool on the ice thanks to research at Central Michigan University.
Central Michigan University researchers captured this image of a hockey uniform using a thermal camera and body scanner during last year's testing of materials for new National Hockey League uniforms. (Image courtesy of Central Michigan University)
India will set up an aerospace defence command to shield itself against possible attacks from outer space, officials said Sunday.
When a small pebble drops into a serene pool of water, it causes a ripple in the water in every direction, even disturbing distant still waters. NASA researchers have found a similar process at work in the atmosphere: tiny particles in the air called aerosols can cause a rippling effect on the climate thousands of miles away from their source region.
Dust from Africa's Saharan Desert lingers in high altitudes as it crosses the Atlantic Ocean. This picture was taken from an aircraft northeast of Barbados in 2006. Cumulus clouds can be seen poking through the tops of the dust layer, which is seen as a milky white haze. (Credit: NOAA)
The number of individuals with Parkinson's disease in 15 of the world's largest nations will double over the next generation, according to a study published in the January 30 issue of the journal Neurology. The study highlights the significant challenge facing countries with rapidly growing economies, particularly in Asia, many of which are ill prepared to meet this impending public health threat.
The growth in chronic diseases such as Parkinson's is one of the unfortunate byproducts of development. Economic growth and the corresponding improvements in health care and education are increasing the life expectancy of individuals in the developing world.
IBM has announced it has developed a long-sought improvement to the transistor -- the tiny on/off switch that serves as the basic building block of virtually all microchips made today.
Working with AMD and its other development partners Sony and Toshiba, the company has found a way to construct a critical part of the transistor with a new material, clearing a path toward chip circuitry that is smaller, faster and more power-efficient than previously thought possible.
A new cosmological model demonstrates the universe can endlessly expand and contract, providing a rival to Big Bang theories and solving a thorny modern physics problem, according to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill physicists.
The cyclic model proposed by Dr. Paul Frampton, Louis J. Rubin Jr. distinguished professor of physics in UNC’s College of Arts & Sciences, and co-author Lauris Baum, a UNC graduate student in physics, has four key parts: expansion, turnaround, contraction and bounce.
Researchers at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada, have announced the completion of the first draft of the human metabolome, the chemical equivalent of the human genome.
The metabolome is the complete complement of all small molecule chemicals (metabolites) found in or produced by an organism. By analogy, if the genome represents the blueprint of life, the metabolome represents the ingredients of life.
The scientists have catalogued and characterized 2,500 metabolites, 1,200 drugs and 3,500 food components that can be found in the human body.
"Green" laundry detergents have taken the leading role in a new effort by retailers and industry to market mainstream, environmentally friendly consumer products, according to an article scheduled for the Jan. 29 issue of ACS' weekly newsmagazine, Chemical & Engineering News.
In the article, assistant managing editor Michael McCoy describes how the cleaning products industry has embraced sustainability, with a variety of innovations. One, for instance, is an energy-efficient laundry detergent that cleans without hot water. Others are laundry detergents that cause less water pollution after they go down the drain.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has been a major catalyst in the green detergent revolution, the article states.
This year, millions of Americans made the resolution to lose weight. However, many will get frustrated and give up before their goals are reached. Contributing to this problem is the host of bad information regarding diet and exercise circulating through gyms, workplaces, and the Internet. Julie Bender, a dietitian with Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, and Phil Tyne, director of the Baylor Tom Landry Health and Wellness Center "weigh in" on the most popular diet and exercise myths:
1. Crunches will get rid of your belly fat. False. "You can't pick and choose areas where you'd like to burn fat", says Tyne. "In order to burn fat, you should create a workout that includes both cardiovascular and strength training elements.
A team of archaeologists and Earthwatch volunteers led by Dr. Mary Glowacki and Louis Tesar uncovered an elite Wari cemetery at Cotocotuyoc this past summer in Peru's Huaro Valley, near Cuzco. Among their finds was a "trophy skull," which offers insight into warfare in the Wari Empire based here from 1,500 to 1,000 years ago.
Cotocotuyoc trophy skull showing cut nasal area and gold alloy pins used to fasten the scalp back on for public desplay. This Wari warrior, excavated by Earthwatch volunteers working with Dr. Mary Glowacki, was approximately 30 years old and had survived several head injuries. (Courtesy of Mary Glowacki)
Three new studies by a University at Buffalo psychologist offer the first known evidence that some people anxiously expect that they will be rejected by others because of their physical appearance, and that this sensitivity, if not mitigated, has serious implications for their mental and physical health.
"Appearance-based Rejection Sensitivity: Implications for Mental and Physical Health, Affect, and Motivation" by Lora Park, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, UB College of Arts and Sciences, reports on three of Park's studies and is currently in press for publication in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
