We all hold the secret to getting fit, according to researchers from the University of Exeter. The research team has shown that we each have a built-in ability to judge how hard our bodies are working, often with remarkable precision. A series of studies over the last two years, culminating in three academic papers in the past two months, has shown a consistently close correlation between actual and perceived exertion in people of all levels of fitness. The team has found that an individual's own sense of how hard he or she is working corresponds exactly with actual level of exertion, measured by heart-rate and oxygen uptake.
The experiments involved people being asked to exercise at various levels of intensity on a scale of six to 20, with six being completely inactive and 20 being on the verge of exhaustion. The amount of exertion was determined purely by the individual, who made a judgement on how hard to work based on his or her interpretation of the scale. The researchers simultaneously monitored the person's heart-rate and oxygen uptake, which are the most widely-used measures of physical exertion. In almost all cases the results matched exactly the levels that would be predicted for each specific number on the six to 20 scale. This demonstrates our ability to judge precisely how hard our bodies are working.
Professor Roger Eston, Head of the University of Exeter's School of Sport and Health Sciences says: "We have worked with over 300 individuals in the last two years and now have a body of evidence to show that we each have a highly accurate built-in exercise monitor. We have found that people's sense of how hard they are working matches what fitness testing equipment tells us, in some cases to the heartbeat."
The research could lead to a more personalised approach to exercise, with personal trainers and gym instructors putting the onus on their clients to judge their own appropriate level of exercise intensity. Professor Eston continued: "I would recommend exercising between 12 and 15 on the scale to achieve fitness benefits without over-straining. As an individual becomes fitter, he or she will be able to run, swim or cycle faster without increasing his or her perception of exertion, so what feels like a 15 will change."
This approach could help keen gym-users to hone their fitness and make their exercise regimes more effective, but the research team believes the main benefit could be on those who are new to exercise. Professor Eston explains: "People are often nervous of going to gyms for the first time because they think they will be unable to perform the exercises that their instructor asks them to do. Taking this new approach, a gym instructor would ask a customer to exercise at a particular level of perceived exertion rather than, for example, requesting ten minutes running at 10km an hour."
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Why Exertion Leads To Exhaustion
Scientists have found an explanation for runners who struggle to increase their pace, cyclists who can't pedal any faster and swimmers who can't speed up their strokes. Researchers from the University of Exeter and Kansas State University have discovered the dramatic changes that occur in our muscles when we push ourselves during exercise.We all have a sustainable level of exercise intensity, known as the 'critical power'. This level can increase as we get fitter, but will always involve us working at around 75-80% of our maximal capacity. Published in the American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, this research shows why, when we go beyond this level, we have to slow down or stop altogether. This is the first time that scientists have looked at processes taking place inside the muscles when we exceed the critical power.
The study showed that when we exceed our critical power, the normally-stable pH level in our muscles, is quickly pushed to levels typical of exhaustion. Moreover, the level of phosphocreatine in the muscles, a high-energy compound which serves as an energy reserve, is quickly depleted when exercise intensity exceeds the critical power.
Professor Andy Jones of the University of Exeter, lead author on the paper, said: "The concept of 'critical power' is well known by sportspeople, but until now we have not known why our bodies react so dramatically when we exceed it. We were astonished by the speed and scale of change in the muscles."
The research team used a magnetic resonance scanner to assess changes in metabolites in the leg muscles of six male volunteers who exercised just below and just above the critical power.
The research offers a physical explanation for the experiences of exercisers of all levels of ability. Professor Jones concludes: "The results indicate that the critical power represents the highest exercise intensity that is sustainable aerobically. This means that it is likely to be an important intensity for maximising training gains. Exercising above the critical power cannot be sustained for long because it is associated with changes in the muscle which lead to fatigue
The study showed that when we exceed our critical power, the normally-stable pH level in our muscles, is quickly pushed to levels typical of exhaustion. Moreover, the level of phosphocreatine in the muscles, a high-energy compound which serves as an energy reserve, is quickly depleted when exercise intensity exceeds the critical power.
Professor Andy Jones of the University of Exeter, lead author on the paper, said: "The concept of 'critical power' is well known by sportspeople, but until now we have not known why our bodies react so dramatically when we exceed it. We were astonished by the speed and scale of change in the muscles."
The research team used a magnetic resonance scanner to assess changes in metabolites in the leg muscles of six male volunteers who exercised just below and just above the critical power.
The research offers a physical explanation for the experiences of exercisers of all levels of ability. Professor Jones concludes: "The results indicate that the critical power represents the highest exercise intensity that is sustainable aerobically. This means that it is likely to be an important intensity for maximising training gains. Exercising above the critical power cannot be sustained for long because it is associated with changes in the muscle which lead to fatigue
Sunday, December 23, 2007
How Cagey Electrons Keep Hydrated
Water, despite its essential role in nature, remains a deeply mysterious substance. A long list of water's unusual properties tantalizes researchers even today, and scientists at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL) and around the world are using x-rays to help address these questions. Working with SSRL scientist Anders Nilsson, researcher Dennis Nordlund and colleagues are turning up new clues, and their latest results are published in a recent issue of Physical Review Letters.Hydrated electrons" have been well-studied since the 1960s, and occur when free electrons become dissolved in water. Each water molecule is made up of two hydrogen atoms bound to an oxygen atom, and hydrated electrons form when a handful of water molecules congregate around a free electron, essentially trapping it in a cage of molecules.
Most agree that these cages consist of about six molecules. But the dynamics behind the process�how neighboring water molecules swing around, pointing one hydrogen atom inward to trap the electron�is not well understood.
Nordlund and colleagues, gathering data at Berkeley's Advanced Light Source and at MAX-Lab in Sweden, have for the first time measured how long an electron, having encountered a hydrogen atom of one water molecule, can stay in one place without hopping away, allowing other water molecules to swing into place and trap it.
Using x-rays to kick an electron free from an oxygen atom, in such a way that it remains close to its original water molecule, Nordlund�s group found that the electron is satisfied to wait about 20 femtoseconds before it hops away to interact with other molecules.
Although that�s inconceivably fast on a human timescale�a mere 20 quadrillionths of a second�that�s plenty long enough for the surrounding water molecules, all frenetically vibrating, to take notice of the free electron and move in to trap it.
"This is just one part of the puzzle," said Nordlund. "The final state of solvated electron and the overall timescale to get there is well-studied, but we don't know about what happens in between, like how the cages are formed, and on what timescale the initial part of the process occurs. This study adds to the information on the earliest stage, the actual trapping of the electron."
Knowing the timescales associated with how electrons become dissolved in water represents a further step toward creating a unified, precise model for describing the molecular behavior of water. At present, researchers must rely on a number of different molecular models to account for all of the strange properties of water. Unifying or replacing those models could impact society in ways at which today we may only guess�revolutionizing a range of fields from medicine to the search for alternative energy sources.
Hydrated electrons" have been well-studied since the 1960s, and occur when free electrons become dissolved in water. Each water molecule is made up of two hydrogen atoms bound to an oxygen atom, and hydrated electrons form when a handful of water molecules congregate around a free electron, essentially trapping it in a cage of molecules.
Most agree that these cages consist of about six molecules. But the dynamics behind the process�how neighboring water molecules swing around, pointing one hydrogen atom inward to trap the electron�is not well understood.
Nordlund and colleagues, gathering data at Berkeley's Advanced Light Source and at MAX-Lab in Sweden, have for the first time measured how long an electron, having encountered a hydrogen atom of one water molecule, can stay in one place without hopping away, allowing other water molecules to swing into place and trap it.
Using x-rays to kick an electron free from an oxygen atom, in such a way that it remains close to its original water molecule, Nordlund�s group found that the electron is satisfied to wait about 20 femtoseconds before it hops away to interact with other molecules.
Although that�s inconceivably fast on a human timescale�a mere 20 quadrillionths of a second�that�s plenty long enough for the surrounding water molecules, all frenetically vibrating, to take notice of the free electron and move in to trap it.
"This is just one part of the puzzle," said Nordlund. "The final state of solvated electron and the overall timescale to get there is well-studied, but we don't know about what happens in between, like how the cages are formed, and on what timescale the initial part of the process occurs. This study adds to the information on the earliest stage, the actual trapping of the electron."
Knowing the timescales associated with how electrons become dissolved in water represents a further step toward creating a unified, precise model for describing the molecular behavior of water. At present, researchers must rely on a number of different molecular models to account for all of the strange properties of water. Unifying or replacing those models could impact society in ways at which today we may only guess�revolutionizing a range of fields from medicine to the search for alternative energy sources.
Most agree that these cages consist of about six molecules. But the dynamics behind the process�how neighboring water molecules swing around, pointing one hydrogen atom inward to trap the electron�is not well understood.
Nordlund and colleagues, gathering data at Berkeley's Advanced Light Source and at MAX-Lab in Sweden, have for the first time measured how long an electron, having encountered a hydrogen atom of one water molecule, can stay in one place without hopping away, allowing other water molecules to swing into place and trap it.
Using x-rays to kick an electron free from an oxygen atom, in such a way that it remains close to its original water molecule, Nordlund�s group found that the electron is satisfied to wait about 20 femtoseconds before it hops away to interact with other molecules.
Although that�s inconceivably fast on a human timescale�a mere 20 quadrillionths of a second�that�s plenty long enough for the surrounding water molecules, all frenetically vibrating, to take notice of the free electron and move in to trap it.
"This is just one part of the puzzle," said Nordlund. "The final state of solvated electron and the overall timescale to get there is well-studied, but we don't know about what happens in between, like how the cages are formed, and on what timescale the initial part of the process occurs. This study adds to the information on the earliest stage, the actual trapping of the electron."
Knowing the timescales associated with how electrons become dissolved in water represents a further step toward creating a unified, precise model for describing the molecular behavior of water. At present, researchers must rely on a number of different molecular models to account for all of the strange properties of water. Unifying or replacing those models could impact society in ways at which today we may only guess�revolutionizing a range of fields from medicine to the search for alternative energy sources.
Hydrated electrons" have been well-studied since the 1960s, and occur when free electrons become dissolved in water. Each water molecule is made up of two hydrogen atoms bound to an oxygen atom, and hydrated electrons form when a handful of water molecules congregate around a free electron, essentially trapping it in a cage of molecules.
Most agree that these cages consist of about six molecules. But the dynamics behind the process�how neighboring water molecules swing around, pointing one hydrogen atom inward to trap the electron�is not well understood.
Nordlund and colleagues, gathering data at Berkeley's Advanced Light Source and at MAX-Lab in Sweden, have for the first time measured how long an electron, having encountered a hydrogen atom of one water molecule, can stay in one place without hopping away, allowing other water molecules to swing into place and trap it.
Using x-rays to kick an electron free from an oxygen atom, in such a way that it remains close to its original water molecule, Nordlund�s group found that the electron is satisfied to wait about 20 femtoseconds before it hops away to interact with other molecules.
Although that�s inconceivably fast on a human timescale�a mere 20 quadrillionths of a second�that�s plenty long enough for the surrounding water molecules, all frenetically vibrating, to take notice of the free electron and move in to trap it.
"This is just one part of the puzzle," said Nordlund. "The final state of solvated electron and the overall timescale to get there is well-studied, but we don't know about what happens in between, like how the cages are formed, and on what timescale the initial part of the process occurs. This study adds to the information on the earliest stage, the actual trapping of the electron."
Knowing the timescales associated with how electrons become dissolved in water represents a further step toward creating a unified, precise model for describing the molecular behavior of water. At present, researchers must rely on a number of different molecular models to account for all of the strange properties of water. Unifying or replacing those models could impact society in ways at which today we may only guess�revolutionizing a range of fields from medicine to the search for alternative energy sources.
The Quest for a New Class of Superconductors
Fifty years after the Nobel-prize winning explanation of how superconductors work, a research team from Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of Edinburgh and Cambridge University are suggesting another mechanism for the still-mysterious phenomenon.
Fifty years after the Nobel-prize winning explanation of how superconductors work, a research team from Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of Edinburgh and Cambridge University are suggesting another mechanism for the still-mysterious phenomenon.In a review published today in Nature, researchers David Pines, Philippe Monthoux and Gilbert Lonzarich posit that superconductivity in certain materials can be achieved absent the interaction of electrons with vibrational motion of a material�s structure.
The review, �Superconductivity without phonons,� explores how materials, under certain conditions, can become superconductors in a non-traditional way. Superconductivity is a phenomenon by which materials conduct electricity without resistance, usually at extremely cold temperatures around minus 424 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 253 degrees Celsius)�the fantastically frigid point at which hydrogen becomes a liquid. Superconductivity was first discovered in 1911.
A newer class of materials that become superconductors at temperatures closer to the temperature of liquid nitrogen�minus 321 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 196 degrees Celsius)�are known as �high-temperature superconductors.�
A theory for conventional low-temperature superconductors that was based on an effective attractive interaction between electrons was developed in 1957 by John Bardeen, Leon Cooper and John Schrieffer. The explanation, often called the BCS Theory, earned the trio the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1972.
The net attraction between electrons, which formed the basis for the BCS theory, comes from their coupling to phonons, the quantized vibrations of the crystal lattice of a superconducting material; this coupling leads to the formation of a macroscopically occupied quantum state containing pairs of electrons�a state that can flow without encountering any resistance, that is, a superconducting state.
�Much like the vibrations in a water bed that eventually compel the occupants to move together in the center, phonons can compel electrons of opposite spin to attract one another, says Pines, who with Bardeen in 1954, showed that this attraction could win out over the apparently much stronger repulsion between electrons, paving the way for the BCS theory developed a few years later.
However, according to Pines, Monthoux and Lonzarich, electron attraction leading to superconductivity can occur without phonons in materials that are on the verge of exhibiting magnetic order�in which electrons align themselves in a regular pattern of alternating spins.
In their Review, Pines, Monthoux and Lonzarich examine the material characteristics that make possible a large effective attraction that originates in the coupling of a given electron to the internal magnetic fields produced by the other electrons in the material. The resulting magnetic electron pairing can give rise to superconductivity, sometimes at substantially higher temperatures than are found in the materials for which phonons provide the pairing glue.
Fifty years after the Nobel-prize winning explanation of how superconductors work, a research team from Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of Edinburgh and Cambridge University are suggesting another mechanism for the still-mysterious phenomenon.In a review published today in Nature, researchers David Pines, Philippe Monthoux and Gilbert Lonzarich posit that superconductivity in certain materials can be achieved absent the interaction of electrons with vibrational motion of a material�s structure.
The review, �Superconductivity without phonons,� explores how materials, under certain conditions, can become superconductors in a non-traditional way. Superconductivity is a phenomenon by which materials conduct electricity without resistance, usually at extremely cold temperatures around minus 424 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 253 degrees Celsius)�the fantastically frigid point at which hydrogen becomes a liquid. Superconductivity was first discovered in 1911.
A newer class of materials that become superconductors at temperatures closer to the temperature of liquid nitrogen�minus 321 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 196 degrees Celsius)�are known as �high-temperature superconductors.�
A theory for conventional low-temperature superconductors that was based on an effective attractive interaction between electrons was developed in 1957 by John Bardeen, Leon Cooper and John Schrieffer. The explanation, often called the BCS Theory, earned the trio the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1972.
The net attraction between electrons, which formed the basis for the BCS theory, comes from their coupling to phonons, the quantized vibrations of the crystal lattice of a superconducting material; this coupling leads to the formation of a macroscopically occupied quantum state containing pairs of electrons�a state that can flow without encountering any resistance, that is, a superconducting state.
�Much like the vibrations in a water bed that eventually compel the occupants to move together in the center, phonons can compel electrons of opposite spin to attract one another, says Pines, who with Bardeen in 1954, showed that this attraction could win out over the apparently much stronger repulsion between electrons, paving the way for the BCS theory developed a few years later.
However, according to Pines, Monthoux and Lonzarich, electron attraction leading to superconductivity can occur without phonons in materials that are on the verge of exhibiting magnetic order�in which electrons align themselves in a regular pattern of alternating spins.
In their Review, Pines, Monthoux and Lonzarich examine the material characteristics that make possible a large effective attraction that originates in the coupling of a given electron to the internal magnetic fields produced by the other electrons in the material. The resulting magnetic electron pairing can give rise to superconductivity, sometimes at substantially higher temperatures than are found in the materials for which phonons provide the pairing glue.
The Quest for a New Class of Superconductors
Fifty years after the Nobel-prize winning explanation of how superconductors work, a research team from Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of Edinburgh and Cambridge University are suggesting another mechanism for the still-mysterious phenomenon.
Fifty years after the Nobel-prize winning explanation of how superconductors work, a research team from Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of Edinburgh and Cambridge University are suggesting another mechanism for the still-mysterious phenomenon.In a review published today in Nature, researchers David Pines, Philippe Monthoux and Gilbert Lonzarich posit that superconductivity in certain materials can be achieved absent the interaction of electrons with vibrational motion of a material�s structure.
The review, �Superconductivity without phonons,� explores how materials, under certain conditions, can become superconductors in a non-traditional way. Superconductivity is a phenomenon by which materials conduct electricity without resistance, usually at extremely cold temperatures around minus 424 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 253 degrees Celsius)�the fantastically frigid point at which hydrogen becomes a liquid. Superconductivity was first discovered in 1911.
A newer class of materials that become superconductors at temperatures closer to the temperature of liquid nitrogen�minus 321 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 196 degrees Celsius)�are known as �high-temperature superconductors.�
A theory for conventional low-temperature superconductors that was based on an effective attractive interaction between electrons was developed in 1957 by John Bardeen, Leon Cooper and John Schrieffer. The explanation, often called the BCS Theory, earned the trio the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1972.
The net attraction between electrons, which formed the basis for the BCS theory, comes from their coupling to phonons, the quantized vibrations of the crystal lattice of a superconducting material; this coupling leads to the formation of a macroscopically occupied quantum state containing pairs of electrons�a state that can flow without encountering any resistance, that is, a superconducting state.
�Much like the vibrations in a water bed that eventually compel the occupants to move together in the center, phonons can compel electrons of opposite spin to attract one another, says Pines, who with Bardeen in 1954, showed that this attraction could win out over the apparently much stronger repulsion between electrons, paving the way for the BCS theory developed a few years later.
However, according to Pines, Monthoux and Lonzarich, electron attraction leading to superconductivity can occur without phonons in materials that are on the verge of exhibiting magnetic order�in which electrons align themselves in a regular pattern of alternating spins.
In their Review, Pines, Monthoux and Lonzarich examine the material characteristics that make possible a large effective attraction that originates in the coupling of a given electron to the internal magnetic fields produced by the other electrons in the material. The resulting magnetic electron pairing can give rise to superconductivity, sometimes at substantially higher temperatures than are found in the materials for which phonons provide the pairing glue.
Fifty years after the Nobel-prize winning explanation of how superconductors work, a research team from Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of Edinburgh and Cambridge University are suggesting another mechanism for the still-mysterious phenomenon.In a review published today in Nature, researchers David Pines, Philippe Monthoux and Gilbert Lonzarich posit that superconductivity in certain materials can be achieved absent the interaction of electrons with vibrational motion of a material�s structure.
The review, �Superconductivity without phonons,� explores how materials, under certain conditions, can become superconductors in a non-traditional way. Superconductivity is a phenomenon by which materials conduct electricity without resistance, usually at extremely cold temperatures around minus 424 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 253 degrees Celsius)�the fantastically frigid point at which hydrogen becomes a liquid. Superconductivity was first discovered in 1911.
A newer class of materials that become superconductors at temperatures closer to the temperature of liquid nitrogen�minus 321 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 196 degrees Celsius)�are known as �high-temperature superconductors.�
A theory for conventional low-temperature superconductors that was based on an effective attractive interaction between electrons was developed in 1957 by John Bardeen, Leon Cooper and John Schrieffer. The explanation, often called the BCS Theory, earned the trio the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1972.
The net attraction between electrons, which formed the basis for the BCS theory, comes from their coupling to phonons, the quantized vibrations of the crystal lattice of a superconducting material; this coupling leads to the formation of a macroscopically occupied quantum state containing pairs of electrons�a state that can flow without encountering any resistance, that is, a superconducting state.
�Much like the vibrations in a water bed that eventually compel the occupants to move together in the center, phonons can compel electrons of opposite spin to attract one another, says Pines, who with Bardeen in 1954, showed that this attraction could win out over the apparently much stronger repulsion between electrons, paving the way for the BCS theory developed a few years later.
However, according to Pines, Monthoux and Lonzarich, electron attraction leading to superconductivity can occur without phonons in materials that are on the verge of exhibiting magnetic order�in which electrons align themselves in a regular pattern of alternating spins.
In their Review, Pines, Monthoux and Lonzarich examine the material characteristics that make possible a large effective attraction that originates in the coupling of a given electron to the internal magnetic fields produced by the other electrons in the material. The resulting magnetic electron pairing can give rise to superconductivity, sometimes at substantially higher temperatures than are found in the materials for which phonons provide the pairing glue.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Discovery of Fruit Fly Model Could Help Stroke and Transplant Patients
Biologists have discovered that the common fruit fly is an ideal laboratory model for reperfusion injury?a physiological condition that occurs when an organ is starved of oxygen, then exposed to oxygen again, and which can lead to death among stroke victims and during organ transplants.
Researchers at UC San Diego and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, who report their discovery in the December 5 issue of the journal Public Library of Science One, said that because reperfusion injury can be induced in fruit flies, scientists will now have a convenient, inexpensive and well-characterized animal model for this physiological condition. ?This is the first physiological demonstration of reperfusion damage in an invertebrate,? said Pablo Schilman, a lecturer in UCSD?s Division of Biological Sciences who made the discovery with John Lighton, an adjunct professor of biological sciences at UNLV. ?With this new model, researchers can explore the mechanisms of reperfusion injury with a classic animal model that?s much cheaper and easier to use than vertebrates such as mammals,? said Lighton, president of Sable Systems International, a Nevada based company that manufactures precision respirometry systems, who headed the study. ?Use of this method creates a window into the cells' mitochondria. Using Drosophila as a model may mean faster progress in mitigating the human toll of reperfusion injury, which we still don?t fully understand. And what we don?t fully understand, we can?t treat effectively.? The study, which was funded by Sable Systems International?s Basic Research Initiative and took place in Sable Systems? respirometry laboratory in Las Vegas, started out with the first detailed metabolic examination of the fruit-fly?s ability to survive a complete lack of oxygen for an hour or more. ?By accident,? said Lighton, ?we discovered that exposing fruit-flies to one or more brief bursts of oxygen while they were otherwise oxygen-starved, injured their respiratory systems irreversibly?classic reperfusion injury.? Lighton and Schilman tracked damage to the flies? respiratory systems by measuring the water vapor and carbon dioxide lost by individual flies weighing less than a thousandth of a gram. The carbon dioxide output provided an index of mitochondrial activity, while respiratory water loss tracked the functional state of the fly's neuromuscular system. ?We now have ways of measuring reperfusion injury in Drosophila,? said Lighton. ?So, it's possible both to improve our understanding of the process and to test strategies for mitigating it using an animal most people don't have an emotional reaction to, other than a desire to swat it. We hope that biomedical researchers will pick up on this opportunity
Researchers at UC San Diego and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, who report their discovery in the December 5 issue of the journal Public Library of Science One, said that because reperfusion injury can be induced in fruit flies, scientists will now have a convenient, inexpensive and well-characterized animal model for this physiological condition. ?This is the first physiological demonstration of reperfusion damage in an invertebrate,? said Pablo Schilman, a lecturer in UCSD?s Division of Biological Sciences who made the discovery with John Lighton, an adjunct professor of biological sciences at UNLV. ?With this new model, researchers can explore the mechanisms of reperfusion injury with a classic animal model that?s much cheaper and easier to use than vertebrates such as mammals,? said Lighton, president of Sable Systems International, a Nevada based company that manufactures precision respirometry systems, who headed the study. ?Use of this method creates a window into the cells' mitochondria. Using Drosophila as a model may mean faster progress in mitigating the human toll of reperfusion injury, which we still don?t fully understand. And what we don?t fully understand, we can?t treat effectively.? The study, which was funded by Sable Systems International?s Basic Research Initiative and took place in Sable Systems? respirometry laboratory in Las Vegas, started out with the first detailed metabolic examination of the fruit-fly?s ability to survive a complete lack of oxygen for an hour or more. ?By accident,? said Lighton, ?we discovered that exposing fruit-flies to one or more brief bursts of oxygen while they were otherwise oxygen-starved, injured their respiratory systems irreversibly?classic reperfusion injury.? Lighton and Schilman tracked damage to the flies? respiratory systems by measuring the water vapor and carbon dioxide lost by individual flies weighing less than a thousandth of a gram. The carbon dioxide output provided an index of mitochondrial activity, while respiratory water loss tracked the functional state of the fly's neuromuscular system. ?We now have ways of measuring reperfusion injury in Drosophila,? said Lighton. ?So, it's possible both to improve our understanding of the process and to test strategies for mitigating it using an animal most people don't have an emotional reaction to, other than a desire to swat it. We hope that biomedical researchers will pick up on this opportunity
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Helium isotopes point to new sources of geothermal energy
most developed geothermal energy comes from regions of volcanic activity, such as The Geysers in Northern California. The potential resources identified by Kennedy and van Soest arise not from volcanism but from the flow of surface fluids through deep fractures that penetrate the earth's lower crust, in regions far from current or recent volcanic activity. The researchers report their findings in the November 30, 2007 issue of Science. "A good geothermal energy source has three basic requirements: a high thermal gradient -- which means accessible hot rock -- plus a rechargeable reservoir fluid, usually water, and finally, deep permeable pathways for the fluid to circulate through the hot rock," says Kennedy, a staff scientist in Berkeley Lab's Earth Sciences Division. "We believe we have found a way to map and quantify zones of permeability deep in the lower crust that result not from volcanic activity but from tectonic activity, the movement of pieces of the Earth's crust." Kennedy and van Soest made their discovery by comparing the ratios of helium isotopes in samples gathered from wells, surface springs, and vents across the northern Basin and Range. Helium-three, whose nucleus has just one neutron, is made only in stars, and Earth's mantle retains a high proportion of primordial helium-three (compared to the minuscule amount found in air) left over from the formation of the solar system. Earth's crust, on the other hand, is rich in radioactive elements like uranium and thorium that decay by emitting alpha particles, which are helium-four nuclei. Thus a high ratio of helium-three to helium-four in a fluid sample indicates that much of the fluid came from the mantle. High helium ratios are common in active volcanic regions, where mantle fluids intrude through the ductile boundary of the lower crust. But when Kennedy and van Soest found high ratios in places far from volcanism, they knew that mantle fluids must be penetrating the ductile boundary by other means. The geology of the region was the clue. The Basin and Range is characterized by mountain ranges that mostly run north and south, separated by broad, relatively flat-floored valleys (basins), which are blocks of crust that have sunk and become filled with sediment eroded from the uplifted mountains. The alternating basin and range topography is the result of crustal spreading by east to west extension, which has occurred over the past approximately 30 million years. The Earth's crust in the Basin and Range is some of the thinnest in the world, resulting in unusually high thermal gradients. The faces of mountain blocks in the Basin and Range clearly exhibit the normal faults that result as the blocks are pulled apart by the extension of the crust. Normal faults form high-angle pathways deep down into the brittle upper crust. But as the fault plane approaches the ductile lower crust, changes in the density and viscosity of the rock refract the principle stress acting on the fault, deflecting the fault plane, which becomes more horizontal. It is from these deep, horizontally-trending faults that Kennedy thinks permeable passageways may emanate, penetrating the ductile boundary into the mantle. One of the most seismically active areas in the Basin and Range occurs in what is called the central Nevada seismic belt. The researchers' detailed studies in this area, notably at the Dixie Valley thermal system next to the Stillwater range, established that the highest helium ratios were restricted to fluids emerging from the Stillwater range-front fault system. The northern Basin and Range, which Kennedy and van Soest surveyed on behalf of DOE's Office of Basic Energy Sciences and Office of Geothermal Technologies, includes parts of California, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah. In their survey the researchers mapped the steady progression from low helium ratios in the east to high ratios in the west. The distribution of the increasing ratios corresponds remarkably with an increase in the rate and a change in the direction of crustal extension, which shifts from an east to west trend across the Basin and Range to a northwest trend. This change in rate and direction reflects the added shear strain induced by the northward movement of the Pacific Plate past the North American Plate. Kennedy and van Soest believe that the added component of shear strain and increasing extension rate tear open fluid pathways through the ductile lower crust, into the mantle. The high helium isotope ratios they found, indicating potential new sources of geothermal energy, were superimposed upon the general background trend: anomalously high ratios map zones of higher than average permeability.
Helium isotopes point to new sources of geothermal energy
most developed geothermal energy comes from regions of volcanic activity, such as The Geysers in Northern California. The potential resources identified by Kennedy and van Soest arise not from volcanism but from the flow of surface fluids through deep fractures that penetrate the earth's lower crust, in regions far from current or recent volcanic activity. The researchers report their findings in the November 30, 2007 issue of Science. "A good geothermal energy source has three basic requirements: a high thermal gradient -- which means accessible hot rock -- plus a rechargeable reservoir fluid, usually water, and finally, deep permeable pathways for the fluid to circulate through the hot rock," says Kennedy, a staff scientist in Berkeley Lab's Earth Sciences Division. "We believe we have found a way to map and quantify zones of permeability deep in the lower crust that result not from volcanic activity but from tectonic activity, the movement of pieces of the Earth's crust." Kennedy and van Soest made their discovery by comparing the ratios of helium isotopes in samples gathered from wells, surface springs, and vents across the northern Basin and Range. Helium-three, whose nucleus has just one neutron, is made only in stars, and Earth's mantle retains a high proportion of primordial helium-three (compared to the minuscule amount found in air) left over from the formation of the solar system. Earth's crust, on the other hand, is rich in radioactive elements like uranium and thorium that decay by emitting alpha particles, which are helium-four nuclei. Thus a high ratio of helium-three to helium-four in a fluid sample indicates that much of the fluid came from the mantle. High helium ratios are common in active volcanic regions, where mantle fluids intrude through the ductile boundary of the lower crust. But when Kennedy and van Soest found high ratios in places far from volcanism, they knew that mantle fluids must be penetrating the ductile boundary by other means. The geology of the region was the clue. The Basin and Range is characterized by mountain ranges that mostly run north and south, separated by broad, relatively flat-floored valleys (basins), which are blocks of crust that have sunk and become filled with sediment eroded from the uplifted mountains. The alternating basin and range topography is the result of crustal spreading by east to west extension, which has occurred over the past approximately 30 million years. The Earth's crust in the Basin and Range is some of the thinnest in the world, resulting in unusually high thermal gradients. The faces of mountain blocks in the Basin and Range clearly exhibit the normal faults that result as the blocks are pulled apart by the extension of the crust. Normal faults form high-angle pathways deep down into the brittle upper crust. But as the fault plane approaches the ductile lower crust, changes in the density and viscosity of the rock refract the principle stress acting on the fault, deflecting the fault plane, which becomes more horizontal. It is from these deep, horizontally-trending faults that Kennedy thinks permeable passageways may emanate, penetrating the ductile boundary into the mantle. One of the most seismically active areas in the Basin and Range occurs in what is called the central Nevada seismic belt. The researchers' detailed studies in this area, notably at the Dixie Valley thermal system next to the Stillwater range, established that the highest helium ratios were restricted to fluids emerging from the Stillwater range-front fault system. The northern Basin and Range, which Kennedy and van Soest surveyed on behalf of DOE's Office of Basic Energy Sciences and Office of Geothermal Technologies, includes parts of California, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah. In their survey the researchers mapped the steady progression from low helium ratios in the east to high ratios in the west. The distribution of the increasing ratios corresponds remarkably with an increase in the rate and a change in the direction of crustal extension, which shifts from an east to west trend across the Basin and Range to a northwest trend. This change in rate and direction reflects the added shear strain induced by the northward movement of the Pacific Plate past the North American Plate. Kennedy and van Soest believe that the added component of shear strain and increasing extension rate tear open fluid pathways through the ductile lower crust, into the mantle. The high helium isotope ratios they found, indicating potential new sources of geothermal energy, were superimposed upon the general background trend: anomalously high ratios map zones of higher than average permeability.
Helium isotopes point to new sources of geothermal energy,
In a survey of the northern Basin and Range province of the western United States, geochemists Mack Kennedy of the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Matthijs van Soest of Arizona State University have discovered a new tool for identifying potential geothermal energy resources.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
High blood pressure
The first thing to note is that changes in blood pressure constantlyoccur as a response to changes in our environment and/or in ouractivity. This is a normal compensating response of the body, to keepthings functioning properly. The problems start when a continuallyhigh blood pressure is maintained, since this will eventually resultin damage to the blood vessels and heart.A number of different mechanisms can be responsible for raising bloodpressure and these will be affected to various degrees by thedifferent causative agents.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
SKorea to join Asian space race: science ministry
SEOUL (AFP) — South Korea on Tuesday announced an ambitious plan to join Asia's space race by launching a lunar orbiter by 2020 and sending a probe to the moon five years after that.
The science ministry unveiled the project one month after China launched its first lunar orbiter and two months after Japan did.
Its "road map" requires the nation to complete developing its own 300-tonne rocket at a cost of 3.6 trillion won (3.9 billion dollars) within 10 years.
"South Korea will send a probe into lunar orbit by 2020 and another to the surface of the moon by 2025 under the road map," a ministry spokesman said.
A rocket called the KSLV-II (Korea Space Launch Vehicle) and weighing some 300 tonnes will be ready by 2017 to fulfil the mission, he said, adding that a smaller 170-tonne KSLV-I will be launched late next year.
South Korea also plans to launch a large satellite weighing about 100 kilograms (220 pounds) every three or four years, and at least two smaller satellites every year.
South Korea is scheduled to open the Naro Space Centre, the country's first, on the southern tip of the peninsula next year.
The first South Korean astronaut is scheduled to board Russia's Soyuz craft next April and stay in space for up to eight days aboard the International Space Station.
In the past decade Seoul has spent about 1.7 trillion won on its space programme.
Japan sent its Kaguya probe into lunar orbit in September in a key step towards putting a man on the moon by 2020.
Japan's space agency says the 55-billion-yen (478-million-dollar) lunar probe is on the most extensive mission to investigate the moon since the US Apollo programme in the 1960s and 1970s.
China launched its first lunar orbiter, Chang'e 1, in October. It put astronaut Yang Liwei into orbit in 2003 -- becoming the world's third country after the Soviet Union and the United States to do so.
Its third manned space flight is scheduled for late 2008, on a mission that will include three astronauts and China's first ever spacewalk.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Bursts of gas make earthquakes fizz
When a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the Kobe region of Japan in 1995, killing 6400 people, nearby springs filled with carbon dioxide immediately afterwards. This often happens after large quakes but no one knew why.
Now a team of geophysicists think they have solved the puzzle. High temperatures generated by friction along a fault line are known to melt rock during a quake, and the team's chemical analysis of melts from the Kobe region now shows that this process forced rock to release large amounts of CO2.
Vincent Famin of the University of Réunion in Saint Denis, France, and colleagues calculated that rock melted during the Kobe earthquake could have released as much as 3400 tonnes of CO2 in just a few seconds. That could be hugely significant for understanding what drives earthquakes, the team says, because the sudden discharge of the gas would lubricate the rock, increasing the violence of
Now a team of geophysicists think they have solved the puzzle. High temperatures generated by friction along a fault line are known to melt rock during a quake, and the team's chemical analysis of melts from the Kobe region now shows that this process forced rock to release large amounts of CO2.
Vincent Famin of the University of Réunion in Saint Denis, France, and colleagues calculated that rock melted during the Kobe earthquake could have released as much as 3400 tonnes of CO2 in just a few seconds. That could be hugely significant for understanding what drives earthquakes, the team says, because the sudden discharge of the gas would lubricate the rock, increasing the violence of
A new window on the universe
Using new tools to look at the universe, says Patrick Brady, often has led to discoveries that change the course of science. History is full of examples. Just such an opportunity exists today with a unique observatory that is scanning the skies, searching for one of Einstein?s greatest predictions ? gravitational waves. Gravitational waves are produced when massive objects in space move violently. The waves carry the imprint of the events that cause them. Scientists already have indirect evidence that gravitational waves exist, but have not directly detected them. UWM researchers, backed by considerable funding from the National Science Foundation, are taking a leadership role in the quest. It is an epic undertaking involving about 500 scientists worldwide, including Brady and other members of UWM?s Center for Cosmology and Gravitation: associate professors Alan Wiseman and Jolien Creighton, and assistant professor Xavier Siemens. Two UWM adjunct physicists, who work at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, also are involved ? former UWM professor Bruce Allen and scientist Maria Alessandra Papa. ?It?s an unimaginable opportunity to be on the forefront of scientific discovery,? says Creighton. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, or LIGO, consists of detectors at two U.S. sites managed by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). UWM?s physicists are analyzing the data generated by the LIGO facilities. The project is supported with a sizable investment of grant money from both federal and UWM sources. Last year, UWM?s LIGO group brought in $3 million in grant funding. Since 1999, UWM has received more than $9 million for the project, with much of it going toward a supercomputer called Nemo that operates unobtrusively on the second floor of the Physics Building. Stretching and squeezing The LIGO observatories use lasers to accurately monitor the distance between a central station and mirrors suspended three miles away along perpendicular arms. When a gravitational wave, a traveling ripple in space-time, passes by, the mirror in one arm will move closer to the central station, while the other mirror will move away. The change in distance caused by stretching and squeezing is what LIGO is designed to measure, says Wiseman. Those changes will be inconceivably tiny. LIGO can record distortions at a scale so small, it is comparable in distance to a thousandth of the size of an atomic nucleus. LIGO records a series of numbers ? lots of them ? and feeds them to several supercomputer clusters around the country, including UWM?s Nemo cluster. Think of a modern hard disk on a desktop computer, which stores about 100 gigabytes. LIGO fills up about 10 of those at Nemo in a single day, says Brady. The computer?s job is to sort out the numerical patterns representing gravitational waves buried in ambient noise produced by lots of other vibrations ? from internal vibrations of the equipment itself, to magnetic fluctuations from lightning storms, to seismic vibrations from trains rolling along the tracks a few miles from the observatory, or from earthquakes on the other side of the world. ?There are thousands or even millions of different signals that could be emitted from space,? says Wiseman. ?So you have to take each segment of data individually. That turns out to be a formidable computational problem.? Nemo performs many billions of calculations per second in its search for these signals.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Tropical depression in Caribbean
MIAMI - A tropical depression moved northwest across the Caribbean on Sunday, prompting storm warnings in Haiti and watches in Cuba and Jamaica, where it could bring more than 10 inches of rain, forecasters said.
The depression, the 16th of the Atlantic hurricane system, could strengthen into a tropical storm late Sunday, when it would be named 'Noel,' according to the National Hurricane Center.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for the southwestern peninsula of Haiti from the Haiti-Dominican Republic border westward to Port-au-Prince, meaning tropical storm conditions are expected within the next 24 hours.
The governments of Jamaica and Cuba issued tropical storm watches in their countries.
At 8 a.m. EDT, the storm was located about 215 miles southwest of Santo Domingo and about 160 miles south of Port au Prince, according to the hurricane center. It was moving west-northwest near 7 mph. Maximum sustained winds were near 35 mph.
The depression was expected to move to the northwest over the next 24 hours
The depression, the 16th of the Atlantic hurricane system, could strengthen into a tropical storm late Sunday, when it would be named 'Noel,' according to the National Hurricane Center.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for the southwestern peninsula of Haiti from the Haiti-Dominican Republic border westward to Port-au-Prince, meaning tropical storm conditions are expected within the next 24 hours.
The governments of Jamaica and Cuba issued tropical storm watches in their countries.
At 8 a.m. EDT, the storm was located about 215 miles southwest of Santo Domingo and about 160 miles south of Port au Prince, according to the hurricane center. It was moving west-northwest near 7 mph. Maximum sustained winds were near 35 mph.
The depression was expected to move to the northwest over the next 24 hours
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Games and mobiles
"Breeding Evil?", a leader and special report published this month examining the virtues of video games, was my second Economist cover of the year. My first, back in March, was "The real digital divide", about mobile phones in the developing world. (I have since written more on the topic -- see here and here.) Anyway, it seems particularly fitting to me that these should be the topics of my two covers, because whenever I'm asked what I regard as the hottest topics in technology, I always reply "mobile phones and gaming". (Voice-over-broadband comes third, I suppose, and energy technology is coming up the field fast. UPDATE September 2005: Lo and behold, my third cover of the year is about VOIP.)
Mobile phones are the most numerous digital devices on the planet, and truly deserve to be called "personal computers". And games consoles are the most powerful mass-produced computers in the world. So they are, if you like, at the cutting edge of computing quantity and quality respectively. Both also have interesting social consequences. We in the developed world have spent the past few years adjusting to mobile phones, texting and so on, but their impact in the developing world will be far greater, since they are the first communications devices to become really prevalent. (By the time mobiles started spreading in the rich world, we already had fixed-line phones and the internet, so mobiles made less of a difference.) Gaming is also interesting, because it is emerging as a new medium, up there with music and movies. That was the main point of my cover article: that new art forms are often criticised by people who aren't familiar with them and consider them to be evil. Rock'n'roll in the 1950s is another example.
The gaming piece generated more letters and e-mails than anything I have ever written for The Economist. Many were from gamers, who approved of the article, though a few of them thought I should have made more of the social nature of online role-playing games, which confound the stereotype of gamers as loners. (True, but such games are still a minority sport, even among gamers.) Several readers who disagreed with the article thought I had overlooked the many studies that show a link between gaming and violence. I am aware of these studies; but there are also lots of other studies that failed to find a link. Similarly, there are meta-analyses that look across all the studies -- but they too are contradictory. Some evaluations of the literature find clear evidence that gaming causes violence, while others do not.
Sound familiar? It does to me. This is exactly what is going on in the debate over mobile phones and cancer. There is lots of anecdotal evidence, and plenty of dodgy studies which come to no clear conclusion. (See "Mobile phones are probably safe, by analogy", below.) Of course, if mobile phones really were dangerous we ought to have noticed by now; the same is true of gaming. My article included this chart, which shows violent crime in America declining over the past decade as gaming became more popular. Many anti-gaming readers wrote in to complain that this chart posits a causal link: it doesn't. I am not suggesting (though some people are) that gaming makes people less violent. I am merely noting that gaming is now so widespread that if it did make people more violent, that ought to show up in the violent-crime figures, yet they are declining. The point of the chart is to demonstrate not causation, but lack of causation. Anyway, as with rock'n'roll, this argument will only be resolved by a generational shift, as the gamers (mostly under 40) grow up, and the non-gamers (mostly over 40) die out.
Mobile phones are the most numerous digital devices on the planet, and truly deserve to be called "personal computers". And games consoles are the most powerful mass-produced computers in the world. So they are, if you like, at the cutting edge of computing quantity and quality respectively. Both also have interesting social consequences. We in the developed world have spent the past few years adjusting to mobile phones, texting and so on, but their impact in the developing world will be far greater, since they are the first communications devices to become really prevalent. (By the time mobiles started spreading in the rich world, we already had fixed-line phones and the internet, so mobiles made less of a difference.) Gaming is also interesting, because it is emerging as a new medium, up there with music and movies. That was the main point of my cover article: that new art forms are often criticised by people who aren't familiar with them and consider them to be evil. Rock'n'roll in the 1950s is another example.
The gaming piece generated more letters and e-mails than anything I have ever written for The Economist. Many were from gamers, who approved of the article, though a few of them thought I should have made more of the social nature of online role-playing games, which confound the stereotype of gamers as loners. (True, but such games are still a minority sport, even among gamers.) Several readers who disagreed with the article thought I had overlooked the many studies that show a link between gaming and violence. I am aware of these studies; but there are also lots of other studies that failed to find a link. Similarly, there are meta-analyses that look across all the studies -- but they too are contradictory. Some evaluations of the literature find clear evidence that gaming causes violence, while others do not.
Sound familiar? It does to me. This is exactly what is going on in the debate over mobile phones and cancer. There is lots of anecdotal evidence, and plenty of dodgy studies which come to no clear conclusion. (See "Mobile phones are probably safe, by analogy", below.) Of course, if mobile phones really were dangerous we ought to have noticed by now; the same is true of gaming. My article included this chart, which shows violent crime in America declining over the past decade as gaming became more popular. Many anti-gaming readers wrote in to complain that this chart posits a causal link: it doesn't. I am not suggesting (though some people are) that gaming makes people less violent. I am merely noting that gaming is now so widespread that if it did make people more violent, that ought to show up in the violent-crime figures, yet they are declining. The point of the chart is to demonstrate not causation, but lack of causation. Anyway, as with rock'n'roll, this argument will only be resolved by a generational shift, as the gamers (mostly under 40) grow up, and the non-gamers (mostly over 40) die out.
SCN FIRST TO USE NEW SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY
This fall SCN will be upgrading its one-way Digital Satellite Network to a two-way satellite system, expanding the high-speed infrastructure of Saskatchewan's CommunityNet and making connectivity to rural, remote and First Nations schools more robust and cost-effective.
Minister responsible for SCN Joan Beatty said this marks the first commercial deployment in Canada of a worldwide-emerging technology standard, further advancing Saskatchewan's leadership in broadband connectivity across Canada.
"We are proud of SCN's role, building on Saskatchewan's provincial connectivity plan," Beatty said. "CommunityNet is already recognized as one of the most advanced systems in Canada."
The upgrade results from an innovative partnership between SCN, Saskatchewan Learning, Keewatin Career Development Corporation (KCDC) and Industry Canada. Cost of the expansion and operations is $5.38 million over three years and is shared by Saskatchewan Learning and KCDC.
It provides an opportunity to see rural, remote and First Nation communities become full participants in mainstream systems - utilizing technologies and systems available and in widespread use in the rest of the province. The 160 schools to be upgraded will move from one-way high speed internet with a dial-up return path, to always-on, two-way satellite service with full CommunityNet connectivity.
"The CommunityNet upgrade being completed during the 2004 fall school term will enable full access and participation in the province-wide network for all Saskatchewan schools," Learning Minister Andrew Thomson said.
"This system provides the capability to offer the latest distance and technology enhanced learning opportunities and enables us to better serve the diverse educational needs of all people."
"As the regional management organization for Industry Canada, our job is to serve the needs of First Nations schools in Saskatchewan," KCDC General Manager Randy Johns said. "Recognizing the benefits of this Saskatchewan-based network, KCDC is proud to be part of this innovative partnership because it is helping to provide improved access for 73 First Nations schools in Saskatchewan."
EMS Satellite Networks developed the new technology.
"The utilization of this two-way satellite system minimizes overall costs and allows for immediate integration into the existing network. This commercial deployment is a first for Canada, and we are proud to be part of the launch of this important service," EMS Satellite Networks Senior VP and General Manager of EMS Satellite Networks Don Osborne said.
As part of CommunityNet, SCN delivers high-speed internet access to 160 Saskatchewan schools through its Digital Satellite Network (DSN), building upon existing technology that provides video channels to deliver high school and post secondary courses and learning opportunities to over 230 classrooms in more than 200 communities throughout Saskatchewan. The combination of these networks provides increased connectivity and educational opportunities that otherwise might not exist to residents in remote communities.
Saskatchewan's provincial connectivity plan is among the most advanced within Canada. CommunityNet is available in 366 communities. This current enhancement further advances Saskatchewan's leadership in broadband connectivity across Canada, providing additional services and access to all Saskatchewan citizens.
Minister responsible for SCN Joan Beatty said this marks the first commercial deployment in Canada of a worldwide-emerging technology standard, further advancing Saskatchewan's leadership in broadband connectivity across Canada.
"We are proud of SCN's role, building on Saskatchewan's provincial connectivity plan," Beatty said. "CommunityNet is already recognized as one of the most advanced systems in Canada."
The upgrade results from an innovative partnership between SCN, Saskatchewan Learning, Keewatin Career Development Corporation (KCDC) and Industry Canada. Cost of the expansion and operations is $5.38 million over three years and is shared by Saskatchewan Learning and KCDC.
It provides an opportunity to see rural, remote and First Nation communities become full participants in mainstream systems - utilizing technologies and systems available and in widespread use in the rest of the province. The 160 schools to be upgraded will move from one-way high speed internet with a dial-up return path, to always-on, two-way satellite service with full CommunityNet connectivity.
"The CommunityNet upgrade being completed during the 2004 fall school term will enable full access and participation in the province-wide network for all Saskatchewan schools," Learning Minister Andrew Thomson said.
"This system provides the capability to offer the latest distance and technology enhanced learning opportunities and enables us to better serve the diverse educational needs of all people."
"As the regional management organization for Industry Canada, our job is to serve the needs of First Nations schools in Saskatchewan," KCDC General Manager Randy Johns said. "Recognizing the benefits of this Saskatchewan-based network, KCDC is proud to be part of this innovative partnership because it is helping to provide improved access for 73 First Nations schools in Saskatchewan."
EMS Satellite Networks developed the new technology.
"The utilization of this two-way satellite system minimizes overall costs and allows for immediate integration into the existing network. This commercial deployment is a first for Canada, and we are proud to be part of the launch of this important service," EMS Satellite Networks Senior VP and General Manager of EMS Satellite Networks Don Osborne said.
As part of CommunityNet, SCN delivers high-speed internet access to 160 Saskatchewan schools through its Digital Satellite Network (DSN), building upon existing technology that provides video channels to deliver high school and post secondary courses and learning opportunities to over 230 classrooms in more than 200 communities throughout Saskatchewan. The combination of these networks provides increased connectivity and educational opportunities that otherwise might not exist to residents in remote communities.
Saskatchewan's provincial connectivity plan is among the most advanced within Canada. CommunityNet is available in 366 communities. This current enhancement further advances Saskatchewan's leadership in broadband connectivity across Canada, providing additional services and access to all Saskatchewan citizens.
Cosmic Vision 2015-2025: and the candidate missions are...
The first steps of the next great phase of European space science have been taken! At its meeting held on 17-18 October 2007 in Paris, ESA’s Space Science Advisory Committee (SSAC) selected the new candidates for possible future scientific missions.
"It has been an arduous process both inside ESA and in the community to get these winning groups into what I suppose can be said to be the quarterfinals of one of the ultimate competitions in world space science,” said ESA’s Director of Science, David Southwood. “We can now get glimpses of the future and it is going to be exciting!"
From a list of 50 proposals submitted by the scientific community last summer, the candidates which have made it to the next phase of selection are:
Solar System
Laplace, studying the Jovian system
The Jovian System, with Jupiter and its moons, is a small planetary system in its own right. Unique among the moons, Europa is believed to shelter an ocean between its geodynamically active icy crust and its silicate mantle. The proposed mission would answer questions on habitability of Europa and of the Jovian system in relation to the formation of the Jovian satellites and to the workings of the Jovian system itself. The mission will deploy three orbiting platforms to perform coordinated observations of Europa, the Jovian satellites, Jupiter’s magnetosphere and its atmosphere and interior.
If approved, the mission would be implemented in collaboration with JAXA, the Japanese aerospace exploration agency, and NASA.
Tandem, a new mission to Saturn, Titan and Enceladus
Tandem has been proposed to explore two of Saturn's satellites (Titan and Enceladus) in-situ and from orbit. Building on questions raised by Cassini, the mission would investigate the Titan Enceladus systems, their origins, interiors and evolution as well as their astrobiological potential. The mission would carry two spacecraft - an orbiter and a carrier to deliver a balloon and three probes onto Titan.
If approved, the mission would be implemented in collaboration with NASA.
It is expected that a first selection between Laplace or Tandem, i.e. Jupiter or Saturn targets will be made in consultation with foreign partners in the coming years.
Tandem, a new mission to Saturn, Titan and Enceladus
Tandem has been proposed to explore two of Saturn's satellites (Titan and Enceladus) in-situ and from orbit. Building on questions raised by Cassini, the mission would investigate the Titan Enceladus systems, their origins, interiors and evolution as well as their astrobiological potential. The mission would carry two spacecraft - an orbiter and a carrier to deliver a balloon and three probes onto Titan.
If approved, the mission would be implemented in collaboration with NASA.
It is expected that a first selection between Laplace or Tandem, i.e. Jupiter or Saturn targets will be made in consultation with foreign partners in the coming years.
"It has been an arduous process both inside ESA and in the community to get these winning groups into what I suppose can be said to be the quarterfinals of one of the ultimate competitions in world space science,” said ESA’s Director of Science, David Southwood. “We can now get glimpses of the future and it is going to be exciting!"
From a list of 50 proposals submitted by the scientific community last summer, the candidates which have made it to the next phase of selection are:
Solar System
Laplace, studying the Jovian system
The Jovian System, with Jupiter and its moons, is a small planetary system in its own right. Unique among the moons, Europa is believed to shelter an ocean between its geodynamically active icy crust and its silicate mantle. The proposed mission would answer questions on habitability of Europa and of the Jovian system in relation to the formation of the Jovian satellites and to the workings of the Jovian system itself. The mission will deploy three orbiting platforms to perform coordinated observations of Europa, the Jovian satellites, Jupiter’s magnetosphere and its atmosphere and interior.
If approved, the mission would be implemented in collaboration with JAXA, the Japanese aerospace exploration agency, and NASA.
Tandem, a new mission to Saturn, Titan and Enceladus
Tandem has been proposed to explore two of Saturn's satellites (Titan and Enceladus) in-situ and from orbit. Building on questions raised by Cassini, the mission would investigate the Titan Enceladus systems, their origins, interiors and evolution as well as their astrobiological potential. The mission would carry two spacecraft - an orbiter and a carrier to deliver a balloon and three probes onto Titan.
If approved, the mission would be implemented in collaboration with NASA.
It is expected that a first selection between Laplace or Tandem, i.e. Jupiter or Saturn targets will be made in consultation with foreign partners in the coming years.
Tandem, a new mission to Saturn, Titan and Enceladus
Tandem has been proposed to explore two of Saturn's satellites (Titan and Enceladus) in-situ and from orbit. Building on questions raised by Cassini, the mission would investigate the Titan Enceladus systems, their origins, interiors and evolution as well as their astrobiological potential. The mission would carry two spacecraft - an orbiter and a carrier to deliver a balloon and three probes onto Titan.
If approved, the mission would be implemented in collaboration with NASA.
It is expected that a first selection between Laplace or Tandem, i.e. Jupiter or Saturn targets will be made in consultation with foreign partners in the coming years.
Space Station Addition Should Boost Science
Before the 2003 Columbia accident, NASA used the launch date of the cargo currently loaded into shuttle Discovery as a computer screen-saver. So relentless was the march to install what will be the final U.S. component to the International Space Station, that managers overlooked blatant safety issues, investigators determined after the shuttle's demise.
NASA insists it has absorbed the bitter lessons of Columbia and despite a presidential directive to be finished with space station construction in three years, feels no compunction to be driven by the calendar.
"We feel very confident we have a vehicle that's safe to go fly. We would not launch if we didn't think that was true," said LeRoy Cain, NASA's top shuttle manager at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
On Tuesday at 11:38 a.m. NASA hopes Discovery will launch and deliver the space station's final linchpin: the school bus-sized Harmony module, which will attach to new laboratories owned by Europe and Japan.
If the 14-day flight unfolds with few delays and no major problems, NASA plans to launch the first of its partners' laboratories on Dec. 6.
The flight can't happen soon enough for the European Space Agency, which has weathered launch delays with compassion and patience even while its bank accounts dwindled. ESA's Columbus laboratory was supposed to fly in 2002. Delays with the station's Russian-owned living quarters cost ESA two years' time, which managers handled by slowing development and payments to its contractors.
The second delay stemmed from the Columbia disaster. NASA halted station assembly for three and a half years while engineers overhauled the shuttles, designed new safety procedures and equipment, and conducted test flights. Throughout the hiatus, a cash infusion from ESA member countries kept the Columbus program afloat and its science and engineering teams employed.
ESA has spent 5 billion Euros on the program so far, with another 4 billion earmarked for operations once the lab arrives in orbit.
Despite the difficulties, ESA has no regrets about joining the station program.
"Would we want to join a program where we run the risk of having delays, or having disappointments, or having downs before we have ups? That's the normal business of space," ESA space station program manager Alan Thirkettle told Discovery News.
NASA insists it has absorbed the bitter lessons of Columbia and despite a presidential directive to be finished with space station construction in three years, feels no compunction to be driven by the calendar.
"We feel very confident we have a vehicle that's safe to go fly. We would not launch if we didn't think that was true," said LeRoy Cain, NASA's top shuttle manager at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
On Tuesday at 11:38 a.m. NASA hopes Discovery will launch and deliver the space station's final linchpin: the school bus-sized Harmony module, which will attach to new laboratories owned by Europe and Japan.
If the 14-day flight unfolds with few delays and no major problems, NASA plans to launch the first of its partners' laboratories on Dec. 6.
The flight can't happen soon enough for the European Space Agency, which has weathered launch delays with compassion and patience even while its bank accounts dwindled. ESA's Columbus laboratory was supposed to fly in 2002. Delays with the station's Russian-owned living quarters cost ESA two years' time, which managers handled by slowing development and payments to its contractors.
The second delay stemmed from the Columbia disaster. NASA halted station assembly for three and a half years while engineers overhauled the shuttles, designed new safety procedures and equipment, and conducted test flights. Throughout the hiatus, a cash infusion from ESA member countries kept the Columbus program afloat and its science and engineering teams employed.
ESA has spent 5 billion Euros on the program so far, with another 4 billion earmarked for operations once the lab arrives in orbit.
Despite the difficulties, ESA has no regrets about joining the station program.
"Would we want to join a program where we run the risk of having delays, or having disappointments, or having downs before we have ups? That's the normal business of space," ESA space station program manager Alan Thirkettle told Discovery News.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Researchers Knock Out HIV
With the latest advances in treatment, doctors have discovered that they can successfully neutralise the HIV virus. The so-called ‘combination therapy’ prevents the HIV virus from mutating and spreading, allowing patients to rebuild their immune system to the same levels as the rest of the population.
To date, it represents the most significant treatment for patients suffering from HIV.
Professor Jens Lundgren from the University of Copenhagen, together with other members of the research group EuroSIDA, have conducted a study, which demonstrates that the immune system of all HIV-infected patients can be restored and normalised. The only stipulation is that patients begin and continue to follow their course of treatment.
HIV attacks the body’s ability to counteract viruses
Viruses are small organisms that have no independent metabolism. Consequently, when they enter the body they attack living cells and adopt their metabolism. The influenza virus occupies cells in the nose, throat and lungs; the mumps attaches itself to the salivary glands of the ear; while the Polio virus plays on the intestinal tract, blood and salivary glands. In all these instances, our immune system attacks and eliminates the invading virus.
HIV is so deadly because the virus attaches itself to a crucial part of the immune system itself: to the so-called CD4+T lymphocytes, which are white blood corpuscles that help the immune system to fight infections. The Hi-virus forms and invades new CD4+T-lymphocytes. Slowly but surely, the number of healthy CD4+T lymphocytes in the blood fall, while HIV relentlessly weakens the body’s ability to defend itself from infection. Finally, the immune system erodes to such an extent that the infected patient is diagnosed with AIDS. The Hi-virus mutates constantly as it forms and this is why, scientists face a constant battle to find a cure or a vaccine.
Combination therapy knocks out HIV
Combination therapy prevents the virus from forming and mutating in human beings. When the virus is halted in its progress, the number of healthy CD4+T cells begins to rise and patients, who would otherwise die from HIV, can now survive. The immune system is rejuvenated and is apparently able to normalise itself, providing that the combination therapy is maintained. The moment the immune system begins to improve, the HIV-infected patient can no longer be said to be suffering from an HIV infection or disease, already declining in strength.
For more visit: www.spicycloud.blogspot.com
To date, it represents the most significant treatment for patients suffering from HIV.
Professor Jens Lundgren from the University of Copenhagen, together with other members of the research group EuroSIDA, have conducted a study, which demonstrates that the immune system of all HIV-infected patients can be restored and normalised. The only stipulation is that patients begin and continue to follow their course of treatment.
HIV attacks the body’s ability to counteract viruses
Viruses are small organisms that have no independent metabolism. Consequently, when they enter the body they attack living cells and adopt their metabolism. The influenza virus occupies cells in the nose, throat and lungs; the mumps attaches itself to the salivary glands of the ear; while the Polio virus plays on the intestinal tract, blood and salivary glands. In all these instances, our immune system attacks and eliminates the invading virus.
HIV is so deadly because the virus attaches itself to a crucial part of the immune system itself: to the so-called CD4+T lymphocytes, which are white blood corpuscles that help the immune system to fight infections. The Hi-virus forms and invades new CD4+T-lymphocytes. Slowly but surely, the number of healthy CD4+T lymphocytes in the blood fall, while HIV relentlessly weakens the body’s ability to defend itself from infection. Finally, the immune system erodes to such an extent that the infected patient is diagnosed with AIDS. The Hi-virus mutates constantly as it forms and this is why, scientists face a constant battle to find a cure or a vaccine.
Combination therapy knocks out HIV
Combination therapy prevents the virus from forming and mutating in human beings. When the virus is halted in its progress, the number of healthy CD4+T cells begins to rise and patients, who would otherwise die from HIV, can now survive. The immune system is rejuvenated and is apparently able to normalise itself, providing that the combination therapy is maintained. The moment the immune system begins to improve, the HIV-infected patient can no longer be said to be suffering from an HIV infection or disease, already declining in strength.
For more visit: www.spicycloud.blogspot.com
Friday, October 19, 2007
11 Parenting Tips to Help Your Child Succeed at School
For most parents, sending children to school is a necessity of childrearing. The goal when parents turn their precious children over to the school, be they toddlers or teenagers, is for kids to be safe, comfortable and ready to learn. Too often, parents feel like separate entities from their child’s teacher/s and school. As soon as parents hug their children goodbye in the morning, parenting is put on hold until they collect their kids at the end of the school day; and virtual strangers take over the important parenting/teaching role.
Becoming an active member of the child’s teaching team is an important role for parents that not only encourages the child’s learning, but alleviates some of the anxiety that parents feel as they place their children in the hands of the school. Thinking as a team allows parents to become more involved in their child’s educational experience and opens up good communication between parents and teachers.
Assuming that the school is of quality and the teachers competent, what is the role of the parent in the learning process? It is important for parents to understand their role as members of the team and to respect the boundaries of the school. Parents must also feel confident to step in, on behalf of the child, when situations call for action.
Below are helpful steps for developing a good relationship with the child’s school and parenting with the goal of academic success.
Establish a Set Bedtime Routine
Get kids bathed, and into bed early. It is in the hands of the parents to deliver well rested, fed, happy and bright eyed children to school every morning.
Drop Off is Not for Conferences
Drop off children promptly each morning. Leave the house on time so children are not stressed when they arrive to class. Give a big hug and kiss, give one goodbye, and leave the building. Prolonging goodbyes is upsetting to most children. Good teachers are equipped to handle upset children, and children rarely continue to cry after the parent leaves. By being strong at drop off, the parent models and supports independence.
Drop off time is not the right time for a teacher conference. Drop off is a hectic time for teachers, and parents deserve a teacher’s undivided attention when discussing their children. Teachers are usually very happy to schedule time for parent/teacher conferences at times when they can devote enough time to parent’s concerns. Short e-mails to teachers addressing questions and concerns are usually responded to promptly and with insight and care.
Observe a Class
Make an appointment with your child’s teacher to come into the classroom and observe a part or all of your child’s day. Observing the child’s day allows parents to see the classroom through the child’s eyes and from the perspective of the teacher. Classroom observation also tells the child that his/her parent is interested and concerned.
Get Involved
Make time to volunteer in the classroom or school. Tutoring and chaperoning are great ways to keep a finger on the pulse of the classroom. Volunteering time to the school helps out the school and more importantly demonstrates to children that education is of value.
Create and Follow a Dress Code to Keep the Focus on Learning
Follow the dress code of the school. If the school does not have a dress code, parents can create and enforce an appropriate dress code for the family. Many parents mandate that clothes exposing the upper thighs or buttocks are not appropriate for school. Tight shirts and low cut pants that expose the midriff in any way are also not appropriate for school. The goal is to place the focus on learning and studying not on personal attire. Choose clothes and shoes that children can play, do arts and crafts, run and sit on the floor.
Monitor What Children Bring To School
Toys, video games, electronics, trading cards etc. are not conducive to learning. By monitoring what children bring to school and not allowing children to bring distractions, parents help focus children on learning. It is okay for parents to check backpacks.
Intervene When Appropriate and Be a Child’s Advocate
The parents’ first assumption should be that having chosen a quality school with quality teachers, that their children will be handled appropriately. Situations that arise with behavior, difficulty with subject matter and social issues will in most cases be dealt with professionally and skillfully by the teacher(s).
There will be situations that come up when a parent must step in as the child’s advocate. Parents should listen to both the teacher’s take on the situation as well as the child’s. Parents should be wary of looking for a short term gain at the expense of the long term lesson i.e.: by negotiating grades.
Create an Atmosphere that Supports Homework Completion
Find out what homework assignments have been given and when they are due. Create a comfortable, well lit, quiet location for children to sit and do homework. Be available for questions and assistance, and make sure children complete homework.
Reading to children or with children should be a part of the nightly homework assignment and bedtime ritual. Young children can be held close and read to, or parents can take turns reading to and being read to by older children. Nightly reading should be for pleasure to teach a love of reading. Reading before bedtime will encourage children to use their imaginations and give them the necessary motivation to read for themselves.
Sick Kids Need to Stay in Bed
Keep children at home if they are exhibiting any symptoms that are contagious to others. Check with school policy, but usually fevers, runny noses, vomiting, and diarrhea are all symptoms that should keep children tucked in bed for the day. If parents are vigilant the school stays healthier throughout the year.
Make sure that the school has updated telephone numbers for parents. Children feel more secure too if they memorize mom’s or dad’s cell phone number even if they never need it.
Pack a Healthy Lunch that Delivers High Energy Foods
Pack lunches with healthy foods. Proteins and complex carbohydrates like carrots, cheese, crackers, 100% fruit juice, turkey, sliced fruit are all tasty items for a lunch and will give children sustainable energy for the day.
Dinnertime is the Perfect Time for Discussing the Day
Sitting down to dinner as a family is a great way for parents to connect with children and discover how the day went. Parents can ask questions about school subjects, social interactions, successes and concerns. The family meal should remain upbeat, warm and loving, a haven for the family at the end of the day.
For instance, one mother discovered during dinner that her son was having difficulty understanding the oral instructions for completing reading exercises in a workbook. Knowing that her child was a visual learner, she shot off a quick email to the teacher requesting a visual demonstration of the material in addition to the oral. This simple intervention, based on a mealtime conversation, solved the problem quickly and alleviated what could have been prolonged anxiety.
Parents should not feel intimidated by teachers and administration and should be comfortable discussing their concerns with the appropriate administrative staff. It is beneficial to everyone to be compliant with school policy. By following the above steps, parents can become an important part of their child’s educational experience, their child’s advocate, and feel included in the learning process. In addition, parents will help make their child’s educational experience a positive and non-stressful one. Parents should remember that although their child will be taught by many different teachers over the course of their educational years, parents are ultimately the child’s most important teachers and role models.
Elena Neitlich is the co-owner and CEO of Moms On Edge
Her company designs, manufactures and sells children's behavioral toys, games and parenting aids. Elena and her business partner created Moms on Edge with the mission to promote peace, quiet and good behavior in the home, and to alleviate the stress that parents can feel as they guide their children through the tough stages of childhood.
Elena is the proud mother of Noah (5) and Seth (2). She is committed to raising really great people. For more information about Moms on Edge or to contact Elena please visit http://www.momsonedge.com
Permission granted to publish with no links inserted into article text and with live links in the author bio.
Becoming an active member of the child’s teaching team is an important role for parents that not only encourages the child’s learning, but alleviates some of the anxiety that parents feel as they place their children in the hands of the school. Thinking as a team allows parents to become more involved in their child’s educational experience and opens up good communication between parents and teachers.
Assuming that the school is of quality and the teachers competent, what is the role of the parent in the learning process? It is important for parents to understand their role as members of the team and to respect the boundaries of the school. Parents must also feel confident to step in, on behalf of the child, when situations call for action.
Below are helpful steps for developing a good relationship with the child’s school and parenting with the goal of academic success.
Establish a Set Bedtime Routine
Get kids bathed, and into bed early. It is in the hands of the parents to deliver well rested, fed, happy and bright eyed children to school every morning.
Drop Off is Not for Conferences
Drop off children promptly each morning. Leave the house on time so children are not stressed when they arrive to class. Give a big hug and kiss, give one goodbye, and leave the building. Prolonging goodbyes is upsetting to most children. Good teachers are equipped to handle upset children, and children rarely continue to cry after the parent leaves. By being strong at drop off, the parent models and supports independence.
Drop off time is not the right time for a teacher conference. Drop off is a hectic time for teachers, and parents deserve a teacher’s undivided attention when discussing their children. Teachers are usually very happy to schedule time for parent/teacher conferences at times when they can devote enough time to parent’s concerns. Short e-mails to teachers addressing questions and concerns are usually responded to promptly and with insight and care.
Observe a Class
Make an appointment with your child’s teacher to come into the classroom and observe a part or all of your child’s day. Observing the child’s day allows parents to see the classroom through the child’s eyes and from the perspective of the teacher. Classroom observation also tells the child that his/her parent is interested and concerned.
Get Involved
Make time to volunteer in the classroom or school. Tutoring and chaperoning are great ways to keep a finger on the pulse of the classroom. Volunteering time to the school helps out the school and more importantly demonstrates to children that education is of value.
Create and Follow a Dress Code to Keep the Focus on Learning
Follow the dress code of the school. If the school does not have a dress code, parents can create and enforce an appropriate dress code for the family. Many parents mandate that clothes exposing the upper thighs or buttocks are not appropriate for school. Tight shirts and low cut pants that expose the midriff in any way are also not appropriate for school. The goal is to place the focus on learning and studying not on personal attire. Choose clothes and shoes that children can play, do arts and crafts, run and sit on the floor.
Monitor What Children Bring To School
Toys, video games, electronics, trading cards etc. are not conducive to learning. By monitoring what children bring to school and not allowing children to bring distractions, parents help focus children on learning. It is okay for parents to check backpacks.
Intervene When Appropriate and Be a Child’s Advocate
The parents’ first assumption should be that having chosen a quality school with quality teachers, that their children will be handled appropriately. Situations that arise with behavior, difficulty with subject matter and social issues will in most cases be dealt with professionally and skillfully by the teacher(s).
There will be situations that come up when a parent must step in as the child’s advocate. Parents should listen to both the teacher’s take on the situation as well as the child’s. Parents should be wary of looking for a short term gain at the expense of the long term lesson i.e.: by negotiating grades.
Create an Atmosphere that Supports Homework Completion
Find out what homework assignments have been given and when they are due. Create a comfortable, well lit, quiet location for children to sit and do homework. Be available for questions and assistance, and make sure children complete homework.
Reading to children or with children should be a part of the nightly homework assignment and bedtime ritual. Young children can be held close and read to, or parents can take turns reading to and being read to by older children. Nightly reading should be for pleasure to teach a love of reading. Reading before bedtime will encourage children to use their imaginations and give them the necessary motivation to read for themselves.
Sick Kids Need to Stay in Bed
Keep children at home if they are exhibiting any symptoms that are contagious to others. Check with school policy, but usually fevers, runny noses, vomiting, and diarrhea are all symptoms that should keep children tucked in bed for the day. If parents are vigilant the school stays healthier throughout the year.
Make sure that the school has updated telephone numbers for parents. Children feel more secure too if they memorize mom’s or dad’s cell phone number even if they never need it.
Pack a Healthy Lunch that Delivers High Energy Foods
Pack lunches with healthy foods. Proteins and complex carbohydrates like carrots, cheese, crackers, 100% fruit juice, turkey, sliced fruit are all tasty items for a lunch and will give children sustainable energy for the day.
Dinnertime is the Perfect Time for Discussing the Day
Sitting down to dinner as a family is a great way for parents to connect with children and discover how the day went. Parents can ask questions about school subjects, social interactions, successes and concerns. The family meal should remain upbeat, warm and loving, a haven for the family at the end of the day.
For instance, one mother discovered during dinner that her son was having difficulty understanding the oral instructions for completing reading exercises in a workbook. Knowing that her child was a visual learner, she shot off a quick email to the teacher requesting a visual demonstration of the material in addition to the oral. This simple intervention, based on a mealtime conversation, solved the problem quickly and alleviated what could have been prolonged anxiety.
Parents should not feel intimidated by teachers and administration and should be comfortable discussing their concerns with the appropriate administrative staff. It is beneficial to everyone to be compliant with school policy. By following the above steps, parents can become an important part of their child’s educational experience, their child’s advocate, and feel included in the learning process. In addition, parents will help make their child’s educational experience a positive and non-stressful one. Parents should remember that although their child will be taught by many different teachers over the course of their educational years, parents are ultimately the child’s most important teachers and role models.
Elena Neitlich is the co-owner and CEO of Moms On Edge
Her company designs, manufactures and sells children's behavioral toys, games and parenting aids. Elena and her business partner created Moms on Edge with the mission to promote peace, quiet and good behavior in the home, and to alleviate the stress that parents can feel as they guide their children through the tough stages of childhood.
Elena is the proud mother of Noah (5) and Seth (2). She is committed to raising really great people. For more information about Moms on Edge or to contact Elena please visit http://www.momsonedge.com
Permission granted to publish with no links inserted into article text and with live links in the author bio.
Googleplex Generates Solar Electricity-Green Google
Did you know that Google has the largest solar panel installation ever on a corporate campus in the United States. Panels cover the rooftops of eight buildings and two newly constructed solar carports at the Googleplex and it produced 5,327 kilowatt-hours of electricity from the sun in the last 24 hours!
The Google Solar Panel Project installation is projected to produce enough electricity for approximately 1,000 California homes or 30% of Google’s peak electricity demand in solar powered buildings at the Mountain View, CA headquarters. They present a daily report of the production of clean, renewable energy from the Google rooftops.
Google has partnered with EI Solutions to set up the 1.6 Megawatt system at Googleplex.
“By building the largest solar power system ever installed at a single corporate campus, Google will save more than $393,000 annually in energy costs — or close to $15 million over the 30-year lifespan of its solar system. At this rate, the system will pay for itself in approximately 7.5 years.”
Corporates are going green and promoting activities to support climate preservation by switching to pollution free renewable sources of energy. Google is commited to a clean energy future and by investing in renewable energy, Google displaces some of the electricity demand during the times of day when it is most expensive, while helping green industries grow and reducing the cost of emerging technologies. Google plans to reduce this footprint to zero and by committing to carbon neutrality in 2007.
Google is working towards a greener earth,and of course SpicyCloud .How are you contributing?
The Google Solar Panel Project installation is projected to produce enough electricity for approximately 1,000 California homes or 30% of Google’s peak electricity demand in solar powered buildings at the Mountain View, CA headquarters. They present a daily report of the production of clean, renewable energy from the Google rooftops.
Google has partnered with EI Solutions to set up the 1.6 Megawatt system at Googleplex.
“By building the largest solar power system ever installed at a single corporate campus, Google will save more than $393,000 annually in energy costs — or close to $15 million over the 30-year lifespan of its solar system. At this rate, the system will pay for itself in approximately 7.5 years.”
Corporates are going green and promoting activities to support climate preservation by switching to pollution free renewable sources of energy. Google is commited to a clean energy future and by investing in renewable energy, Google displaces some of the electricity demand during the times of day when it is most expensive, while helping green industries grow and reducing the cost of emerging technologies. Google plans to reduce this footprint to zero and by committing to carbon neutrality in 2007.
Google is working towards a greener earth,and of course SpicyCloud .How are you contributing?
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Albert Einstein- SpicyCloud's Spicy things...
Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist. He is best known for his theory of relativity and specifically mass-energy equivalence, E = mc2. Einstein received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect."
Einstein's many contributions to physics include his special theory of relativity, which reconciled mechanics with electromagnetism, and his general theory of relativity which extended the principle of relativity to non-uniform motion, creating a new theory of gravitation. His other contributions include relativistic cosmology, capillary action, critical opalescence, classical problems of statistical mechanics and their application to quantum theory, an explanation of the Brownian movement of molecules, atomic transition probabilities, the quantum theory of a monatomic gas, thermal properties of light with low radiation density (which laid the foundation for the photon theory), a theory of radiation including stimulated emission, the conception of a unified field theory, and the geometrization of physics.
Works by Albert Einstein include more than fifty scientific papers and also non-scientific books. In 1999 Einstein was named Time magazine's "Person of the Century", and a poll of prominent physicists named him the greatest physicist of all time.In popular culture the name "Einstein" has become synonymous with genius.
In 1921 Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, "for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect". This refers to his 1905 paper on the photoelectric effect: "On a Heuristic Viewpoint Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light", which was well supported by the experimental evidence by that time. The presentation speech began by mentioning "his theory of relativity [which had] been the subject of lively debate in philosophical circles [and] also has astrophysical implications which are being rigorously examined at the present time." (Einstein 1923) As per their divorce settlement, Einstein gave the Nobel prize money to his first wife, Mileva Marić.
Einstein travelled to New York City in the United States for the first time on April 2, 1921. When asked where he got his scientific ideas, Einstein explained that he believed scientific work best proceeds from an examination of physical reality and a search for underlying axioms, with consistent explanations that apply in all instances and avoid contradicting each other. He also recommended theories with visualizable results (Einstein 1954).
Einstein's many contributions to physics include his special theory of relativity, which reconciled mechanics with electromagnetism, and his general theory of relativity which extended the principle of relativity to non-uniform motion, creating a new theory of gravitation. His other contributions include relativistic cosmology, capillary action, critical opalescence, classical problems of statistical mechanics and their application to quantum theory, an explanation of the Brownian movement of molecules, atomic transition probabilities, the quantum theory of a monatomic gas, thermal properties of light with low radiation density (which laid the foundation for the photon theory), a theory of radiation including stimulated emission, the conception of a unified field theory, and the geometrization of physics.
Works by Albert Einstein include more than fifty scientific papers and also non-scientific books. In 1999 Einstein was named Time magazine's "Person of the Century", and a poll of prominent physicists named him the greatest physicist of all time.In popular culture the name "Einstein" has become synonymous with genius.
In 1921 Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, "for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect". This refers to his 1905 paper on the photoelectric effect: "On a Heuristic Viewpoint Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light", which was well supported by the experimental evidence by that time. The presentation speech began by mentioning "his theory of relativity [which had] been the subject of lively debate in philosophical circles [and] also has astrophysical implications which are being rigorously examined at the present time." (Einstein 1923) As per their divorce settlement, Einstein gave the Nobel prize money to his first wife, Mileva Marić.
Einstein travelled to New York City in the United States for the first time on April 2, 1921. When asked where he got his scientific ideas, Einstein explained that he believed scientific work best proceeds from an examination of physical reality and a search for underlying axioms, with consistent explanations that apply in all instances and avoid contradicting each other. He also recommended theories with visualizable results (Einstein 1954).
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