%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedaily.com%2Freleases%2F2016%2F07%2F160727150745.htm&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Morphology suggests an endangered goby in southern California is a new species An endangered fish along the coast of California -- the tidewater goby -- may actually be two species rather than one, according a new study. gaia
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F165123501%2Fpaddy-bw-by-maaike-schauer&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Paddy bw by Maaike Schauer
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F165091725%2Faerial-view-by-adrian-furner&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Aerial view by Adrian Furner
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F165076583%2F%25E5%2592%2596%25E5%2595%25A1%25E6%259D%25AF-by-%25E8%25BD%25A9%25E8%25AF%25AD&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 咖啡杯 by 轩语
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F165057339%2Fdunescape-0-3-by-shawn-van-eeden&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Dunescape 0.3 by Shawn van Eeden
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F164993809%2Ffly-by-pavel-kr%25C3%25A1sensk%25C3%25BD&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Fly... by Pavel Krásenský
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F164989497%2Fmadeleine-by-jack-h%25C3%25B8ier&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Madeleine by Jack Høier
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F164988259%2Foil-and-water-by-laurens-kaldeway&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Oil and Water by Laurens Kaldeway
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2F2016%2F07%2F27%2F487665628%2Fteam-of-researchers-dig-up-new-compound-in-an-unlikely-spot-our-noses%3Futm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3Dresearchnews&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Team Of Researchers Dig Up New Compound In An Unlikely Spot: Our Noses
Scientists in Germany have found a potentially powerful antibiotic that can kill dangerous bacteria. Maybe the most impressive thing about the new compound is where scientists found it: the human nose.
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science
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Flinda-bergthold%2Fthe-limits-of-google-how_b_11200232.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dscience%26ir%3DScience&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The Limits of Google: How Patients Can Find Out What Works In Medical Care When you feel sick, even before you go to the doctor, where do you look for information? Many go to Google or other search engines, but that information isn't always reliable. Besides, it is often downright scary. And how can anyone trust TV advertisements that promise fields of flowers and happiness to anyone who takes the medication, all while a dispassionate voice-over lists terrible side effects.
We are all supposed to be "engaged patients". We are supposed to research our symptoms and diagnoses. But "patient engagement" is one of the most overused and least understood terms in health care discussions today. Everyone talks about the need for it, but few know how to really use patient input. Some doctors welcome an informed patient; others not so much. Some organizations will put one patient on their board or advisory committee and consider patient engagement done.
As someone who has served as a consumer representative on boards that evaluate new treatments, I can tell you that patient engagement is critically important to assessing what really works in terms of treatment and care, and what research is needed to inform decision making.
Yet few opportunities for this exist.
In fact, special interests and those frightened of change, are challenging evidence-based efforts to evaluate health care system innovations and high-cost drug treatments. Instead of fighting these efforts, they should be demanding more of them and insist that patient voices are part of the discussion.
You may have heard that less than 20% of what physicians do has solid medical research to support it. That's kind of astounding when you think about it. Doctors do something because that's the way they were trained to do it, and until new information comes to light, they will continue to do it the same way. Take the treatment for ear infections in kids. Doctors prescribe or parents demand tubes, antibiotics, anything to stop the pain. But good research shows that too many antibiotics have negative outcomes. As a result, treatment for ear infections has changed appropriately over the past several years. Same for tonsillectomies, the third most frequent surgery for children.
Fortunately for patients, there are two places where their voices will be heard and where they can find good, evidence-based information. One is a non-governmental nonprofit program called PCORI (Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute); the other is a nonprofit called ICER (Institute for Clinical and Economic Review). PCORI was funded in 2010 by the federal government as part of the Affordable Care Act (one of the many aspects of "Obamacare" most don't know about). The Institute's money comes from the government and fees assessed to private insurance and self-insured employer-based plans, but PCORI is completely independent and conducts its business in public. PCORI's mission is "to help people make informed healthcare decisions, and improve healthcare delivery and outcomes, by producing and promoting high-integrity, evidence-based information that comes from research guided by patients, caregivers, and the broader healthcare community." PCORI meetings are public and patients are heavily involved in deciding what research should be done and by whom. PCORI's research has included how to best manage side effects of cancer treatment, how to help people recover from strokes more rapidly, and how to pull specialists together to more effectively treat lung cancer. These research projects were all selected and guided by patient input.
Patient voices are also being sought in the evaluation of drugs for conditions like diabetes, multiple sclerosis, high cholesterol, or psoriasis. Many of these drugs are advertised constantly on TV with little helpful information for patients about which of the side effects is most prevalent or serious, how effective the drug is or how much it costs. ICER provides this information. Seventy percent of ICER's funding comes from nonprofit foundations (70%) with the remaining coming from life science companies and health insurance companies. ICER is "dedicated to improving patient care by providing independent, completely transparent evaluations of how new drugs compare to existing treatments". ICER differs from the FDA by looking at the cost of treatments as well as their effectiveness in two ways - in comparison to no treatment (as the FDA does) and in comparison to existing treatments (as the FDA does not do). This is helpful for patients making their decisions when their insurance does not cover the drug or when deductibles or coinsurance may be very high.
ICER works through three independent review bodies of practicing physicians, methodology experts and patient advocates that meet three times a year in New England, the Midwest and California to look at the evidence for the effectiveness of new treatments or drugs. I was a consumer member of the California panel, CTAF (California Technology Assessment Forum) for many years, so I know how challenging it is to integrate a non-clinical voice in the decision-making. The issues are complex and the information is often incomplete or highly technical. However, patients or consumers can bring a practical focus to the discussion, especially when we try to define terms such as "quality of life" or question the value of a drug that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and extends life by only a few weeks.
PCORI and ICER are great resources for patients and their providers. The reports they issue are more reliable than what any internet search can provide. ICER is the only independent national resource that offers credible information about the real elephant in the room--the cost of a new drug, particularly as it compares to existing drugs for the same condition. And ICER involves patients in making those determinations.
ICER's process first assesses how well a drug works, the side effects it produces, and how it compares to similar drugs and treatments. Only after this analysis does ICER look at cost. Will a medication reduce future costs by keeping you healthier? Does it offer benefits that no other medication on the market can? Or will it lead to escalating and unsustainable costs for you and for the entire health care system to the point where no one will be available to afford the innovative treatment? For example, ICER recently issued a report that concluded that Entresto™ does offer excellent long term value to treat patients with Congestive Heart Failure. Some payers were concerned that the drug was too expensive and so were hesitant to approve it. The ICER report found that its price, when normal discounts were factored in, represented a good value. This report increased the likelihood that patients who might benefit from the drug will have it covered by their insurance.
ICER calculates a fair benchmark price to the manufacturer, the payer, the patient and the overall health system, so that these decisions can be made collaboratively in full view of you, the patient. These decisions have always been made behind closed doors, so the fact that cost is being addressed and discussed openly provides patients with a significant advantage.
Still, when it comes to considering costs, some patient advocacy groups get nervous when the subject comes up. I would not be fair if I did not address some of the key questions many patient advocates worry about, perhaps the biggest one being "will the consideration of cost mean I lose access to a drug or treatment I need?"
Why should cost be considered if a drug can significantly improve my health? The most important question you should ask is whether or not a treatment or drug actually works for your individual condition. But the cost of that treatment is also important. You may have a very high deductible to pay, and if the treatment is of questionable effectiveness, that cost factor may be very important in your decision making process. Looked at more broadly, it would be irresponsible for a physician to recommend treatments without any assessment of value or the budget impact over the long-term. Is the cost so high that it will strain state health budgets, force cutbacks in other community services or generate unaffordable increases in insurance premiums?
How much influence do the drug manufacturers or insurance companies have over decisions made by PCORI and ICER? PCORI's Board of Directors is selected by the Comptroller General of the United States and is mandated to include at least three patient representatives, along with physicians, researchers, and insurance companies and other payers. ICER's Governance Board has fiduciary responsibility for the overall operations of ICER, and provides important strategic counsel to ICER's leadership team. The Governance Board represent a broad range of stakeholder perspectives, including patient and consumer groups, health plans, manufacturers, and other national leaders in health policy. In fact, two new members were recently elected to ICER's Governance Board - Ellen Andrews, PhD and Frances Visco, JD. Both have extensive experience in patient and consumer advocacy.
Don't insurance companies dominate these organizations? Actually, insurers are not in the majority of decision making of either organization. They are at the table because they have a huge stake in deciding what to pay for, since they must distribute resources fairly to all patients who are members. Researchers and medical personnel are much more heavily represented on these boards and panels, because the complexity of research design is something that even insurance companies don't always understand. And ICER seeks direct input from patients and clinicians on what they feel is important to their care, what outcomes they seek, and what evidence should be assessed. For example, multiple myeloma patient groups told ICER that it was very important to them to have options for oral medication given how often they have to go to clinics for IV administration.
If drug prices are questioned, will that stall innovation? Innovation is essential to improving patient health. We are fortunate to have a drug manufacturing industry that is producing a burgeoning pipeline of new promising drugs for a range of medical conditions. But many of these drugs are landing on the market with hefty price tags that are out of range for many people. There is no point to innovation if no one can afford the new drugs or benefits that they offer.
Why do we need a PCORI or ICER anyway? Most patients would not want to take a drug if they didn't know it worked, yet we do it all the time. The FDA assesses drugs for safety but does not compare one drug to another or look at the cost of a drug. We need organizations that are objective, not dominated by one type of stakeholder or another, and that operate in an open environment where patients can voice their preferences and ask questions.
Bottom line? An internet search can get you started when you need information. But as a patient, you need to know that there are places you can trust to give you the whole story. The more organizations like PCORI and ICER that we have, the faster we will get to a place in medicine that gives us information we can depend on.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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%feed http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/28/science/jupiter-great-red-spot.html?partner=rss&emc=rss Jupiter's Great Red Spot Is Also Very Hot Astronomers say the giant swirling storm on the solar system's largest planet is generating quite a bit of heat for its upper atmosphere. astronomy
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvoices.nationalgeographic.com%2F2016%2F07%2F27%2Furgent-global-action-needed-to-stop-extinction-of-earths-last-megafauna%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Urgent Global Action Needed to Stop Extinction of Earth's Last Megafauna
A swift and global conservation response is needed to prevent the world's gorillas, lions, tigers, rhinos, and other iconic terrestrial megafauna from being lost forever, an influential group of international scientists reported today in the journal BioScience.
Their analysis, entitled Saving the World's Terrestrial Megafauna, covers the precipitous loss of large mammal populations around the globe, from the poorly known, such as the scimitar-horned oryx, to more familiar species including tigers, lions, gorillas and rhinoceroses, Panthera, one of the organizations associated with the research, said in a news statement.
The report was written by 43 wildlife experts from six continents. [At least 16 of them are scientists who have previously received research grants from the National Geographic Society.]
Business as Usual = Massive Species Extinction
The report included a 13-point declaration calling for acknowledgement that a “business as usual” mentality will result in massive species extinction; while a global commitment to conservation with support for developing nations is a moral obligation.
Declaration to Save the World's Terrestrial Megafauna
We conservation scientists
Acknowledge that most of the terrestrial megafauna species are threatened with extinction and have declining populations. Some megafauna species that are not globally threatened nonetheless face local extinctions or have Critically Endangered subspecies.
Appreciate that “business as usual” will result in the loss of many of the Earth's most iconic species.
Understand that megafauna have ecological roles that directly and indirectly affect ecosystem processes and other species through- out the food web; failure to reverse megafaunal declines will disrupt species interactions, with negative consequences for ecosystem function; biological diversity; and the ecological, economic, and social services that these species provide.
Realize that megafauna are epitomized as a symbol of the wilderness, exemplifying the public's engagement in nature, and that this is a driving force behind efforts to maintain the ecosystem services they can provide.
Recognize the importance of integrating and better aligning human development and biodiversity conservation needs through the engagement and support of local communities in developing countries.
Propose that funding agencies and scientists increase conservation research efforts in developing countries, where most threatened megafauna occur. Specifically, there is a need to increase the amount of research directed at finding solutions for the conservation of megafauna, especially for lesser-known species.
Request the help of individuals, governments, corporations, and nongovernmental organizations to stop practices that are harmful to these species and to actively engage in helping to reverse declines in megafauna.
Strive for increased awareness among the global public of the current megafauna crisis using traditional media as well as social media and other networking approaches.
Seek a new and comprehensive global commitment and framework for conserving megafauna. The international community should take necessary action to prevent mass extinction of the world's megafauna and other species.
Urge the development of new funding mechanisms to transfer the current benefits accrued through the existence values of mega- fauna into tangible payments to support research, conservation actions, and local people who bear the cost of living with wildlife in the places where highly valued megafauna must be preserved.
Advocate for interdisciplinary scientific interchange between nations to improve the social and ecological understanding of the drivers of the decline of megafauna and to increase the capacity for megafauna science and conservation.
Recommend the reintroduction and rehabilitation, following accepted IUCN guidelines, of degraded megafauna populations whenever possible, the ecological and economic importance of which is evidenced by a growing number of success stories, from Yellowstone's wolves (Canis lupus) and the Père David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus) in China to the various megafauna species of Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique.
Affirm an abiding moral obligation to protect the Earth's megafauna.
“The more I look at the trends facing the world's largest terrestrial mammals, the more concerned I am we could lose these animals just as science is discovering how important they are to ecosystems and to the services they provide to people,” said William Ripple, lead author and distinguished professor of ecology in the College of Forestry at Oregon State University. “It's time to really think about conserving them because declines in their numbers and habitats are happening quickly.”
“To underline how serious this is, the rapid loss of biodiversity and megafauna in particular is an issue that is right up there with, and perhaps even more pressing than, climate change,” said senior co-author and Panthera Lion Program Policy Initiative Coordinator Dr. Peter Lindsey.
“Human communities stand to lose key elements of their natural heritage if these large wildlife species are allowed to go extinct,” Lindsey continued. “The disappearance of such species could also significantly undermine the future potential for communities to benefit from eco-tourism operations. Urgent measures are needed to address poaching, and to allow for the co-existence of people and wildlife if megafauna is to persist in the long term.”
Action Needed on Two Fronts
The scientists call for action on two fronts, Panthera explained: conservation interventions expanded to scales that address animals' extensive habitat needs, and policy shifts and increased financial commitment to alter the ways in which people interact with wildlife.
“Among the most serious threats to endangered animals are the expansion of livestock and agricultural developments, illegal hunting, deforestation and human population growth. Large wildlife species are extremely vulnerable to these threats because of their need for extensive spaces to live and low population densities, particularly for carnivores.”
Panthera President and Chief Conservation Officer and co-author Dr. Luke Hunter, said: “Among the world's largest animals, apex predators like the tiger, lion and leopard are increasingly under assault. The protection of these big cats the great white sharks of our terrestrial Earth and other large mammals is paramount to the health and survival of thousands of animals and their ecosystems.
“Today, 59 percent of the world's largest carnivores and 60 percent of the world's largest herbivores are categorized as threatened with extinction on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. This situation is particularly dire in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, home to the greatest diversity of remaining large mammals.
“Yet the resources for effective implementation of conservation strategies are seldom available in regions with the greatest needs. The onus is on developed countries, which have long ago lost most of their large animals, to support conservation initiatives where the world's most celebrated wildlife still remain.”
Graphic courtesy of BioScience
Saving the World's Terrestrial Megafauna Authors
WILLIAM J. RIPPLE, GUILLAUME CHAPRON, JOSÉ VICENTE LÓPEZ-BAO, SARAH M. DURANT, DAVID W. MACDONALD, PETER A. LINDSEY, ELIZABETH L. BENNETT, ROBERT L. BESCHTA, JEREMY T. BRUSKOTTER, AHIMSA CAMPOS-ARCEIZ, RICHARD T. CORLETT, CHRIS T. DARIMONT, AMY J. DICKMAN, RODOLFO DIRZO, HOLLY T. DUBLIN, JAMES A. ESTES, KRISTOFFER T. EVERATT, MAURO GALETTI, VARUN R. GOSWAMI, MATT W. HAYWARD, SIMON HEDGES, MICHAEL HOFFMANN, LUKE T. B. HUNTER, GRAHAM I. H. KERLEY, MIKE LETNIC, TAAL LEVI, FIONA MAISELS, JOHN C. MORRISON, MICHAEL PAUL NELSON, THOMAS M. NEWSOME, LUKE PAINTER, ROBERT M. PRINGLE, CHRISTOPHER J. SANDOM, JOHN TERBORGH, ADRIAN TREVES, BLAIRE VAN VALKENBURGH, JOHN A. VUCETICH, AARON J. WIRSING, ARIAN D. WALLACH, CHRISTOPHER WOLF, ROSIE WOODROFFE, HILLARY YOUNG, AND LI ZHANG
This post was compiled from materials sent by Panthera and published in BioScience
gaia
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newscientist.com%2Farticle%2F2099138-spiky-new-ant-species-is-named-after-game-of-thrones-dragons%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Spiky new ant species is named after Game of Thrones dragons Two newly named species of ant from New Guinea have big spines behind their necks that are full of muscle, which could help supporting their giant heads gaia
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newscientist.com%2Farticle%2F2099192-red-wolf-may-lose-endangered-status-because-its-just-a-hybrid%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Red wolf may lose endangered status because it's just a hybrid Not being a recognisable species could lose the red wolf its conservation status, despite being the only carrier of genes from extinct southern grey wolves gaia
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twitter
%feed http://twitter.com/JackiesBuzz/status/758389973254942720 .@FedEx continues to ship #shark fin & violate law @CITES INTL level & US Endangered Species Act #OCEANS https://t.co/MtFThSDm0Q https://t.co/MtFThSDm0Q
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general
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theatlantic.com%2Fvideo%2Findex%2F493139%2Fwhat-growing-up-in-compton-teaches-you%2F%3Futm_source%3Dfeed&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 What Growing Up in Compton Teaches You
Growing up in Compton, California, the comedian and actor Travon Free had a close look at institutionalized poverty and racism in the United States. "The land of the free and the American Dream [are] only for certain people,” he says in this interview, filmed at this year's Aspen Ideas Festival.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2F31512752%40N00%2F28307543290%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Sunset over the rooftops of London.
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Ftheatlantic%2Finfocus%2F%7E3%2F4EaUVIebND8%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Remembering the Korean War (41 photos)
Sixty-three years ago today, on July 27, 1953, the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, ceasing hostilities between North Korean Communist forces, backed by China, and South Korean forces, backed by the United Nations. The war had raged across the Korean Peninsula for three years, leaving hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians dead. The Armistice formed the famous Demilitarized Zone that still separates North Korea and South Korea, technically still at war with each other. On this anniversary of the armistice agreement, a look back at the people and places involved in the conflict sometimes called "the forgotten war.”
With her brother on her back, a war-weary Korean girl trudges by a stalled M-26 tank, at Haengju, Korea. on June 9, 1951. (U.S. Navy / Maj. R.V. Spencer, UAF) images
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science
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2Fsections%2Fhealth-shots%2F2016%2F07%2F27%2F487529338%2Fnose-y-bacteria-could-yield-a-new-way-to-fight-infection%3Futm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3Dresearchnews&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 'Nose-y' Bacteria Could Yield A New Way To Fight Infection
The search for lifesaving antibiotics is on. Scientists have turned up one promising candidate in an unlikely place — the human nose.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2Fsections%2Falltechconsidered%2F2016%2F07%2F27%2F487605182%2Fpolice-use-fingertip-replicas-to-unlock-a-murder-victims-phone%3Futm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3Dresearchnews&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Police Use Fingertip Replicas To Unlock A Murder Victim's Phone
Michigan State University engineers tried 3-D-printed fingertips and special conductive replicas of the victim's fingerprints to crack the biometric lock on his Samsung Galaxy phone.
science
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science
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fscience%2F2016%2Fjul%2F27%2Fhuman-relationships-with-rocks-trees-and-other-sentient-beings&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Human relationships with rocks, trees and other sentient beings | Letter from Dr Penelope Dransart
Paul Kingsnorth urges us to follow the poet Robinson Jeffers in “unhumanising” our views, to open our (human) minds “from ourselves” (The call of the wild, Review, 23 July). He presents an inspiring list of novels to help us to acknowledge the sentience of other beings. Many ethnographers also help us to gain precious insight into other ways of thinking. From the 1930s Alfred Irving Hallowell adopted the phrase “other-than-human persons” in his exploration of relationships between entities such as rocks and humans among the Northern Ojibwe (Canada) and how these sentient others reveal themselves to people. More recently, Eduardo Viveiros de Castro has been urging us to exchange perspectives not only with other human beings whose intellectual traditions differ from the “artifact[s] of western individualism” discussed by Kingsnorth but also with other sentient beings of the cosmos. In what he calls perspectival multinaturalism, Viveiros de Castro argues there is no one undifferentiated state of “nature” as western orthodoxy would have it. Eduardo Kohn's How Forests Think is an example of an ethnography that dissolves human and non-human categories. He set himself the task of understanding the existence of forests as an emergent process in which human and non-human beings engage in making and communicating signs to each other. Dr Penelope Dransart Reader in anthropology and archaeology, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Frss.sciam.com%2F%7Er%2Fsciam%2Fglobal-videos%2F%7E3%2FTbV4woLUFMg%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 This Cube Shape-Shifts When Squished Metamaterials don't react the way you would expect. Push down on this cube from the top and a face appears on the side. The secret? A carefully designed substructure. This video was reproduced...
-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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robots
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fredirect.viglink.com%2F%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.huffingtonpost.co.uk%252Fsimon-franks%252Ftechnology-future_b_11218156.html%26key%3Dddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 r0B0t: Technology Could Lead Humanity to the Promised Land - Or Back to a Desperate Period of Neo-serfdom If you happened to be on the streets of Pittsburgh on 19 May 2016, you may well have witnessed a black car that looked akin to that driven by superheroes, driving itself. If you are a taxi driver this will be a cause for concern. It was an Uber.
Taxi drivers and their families are not the only ones who should be concerned. Late last year in Baden-Württemberg, a Mercedes lorry was driving itself at 50 miles per hour, along a busy section of motorway. There are 600,000 HGV registered licensed drivers in the UK, 242,200 licensed taxi and private hire vehicles and around 1.8 million people in the expanded logistics workforce. Such ground breaking technologies are just the tip of the iceberg.
The World Economic Forum predicts more than seven million jobs in the world's largest economies will be threatened in the next few years by advances such as robotics and 3D printing.
In the 1970s and 80s, mainframe computers and robots had a huge impact. Since then our manufacturing workforce has fallen by 60 per cent. For those made redundant, this technology was a curse. For the wider economy, it was a blessing. Increased productivity has led to total manufacturing output today being 6 per cent higher over the same period.
Today automation and artificial intelligence are progressing at a speed, scale and force unlike anything we have experienced before. Sooner or later the challenge of human redundancy will have to be reckoned with.
Machines, like Google's DeepMind, are now capable of cognitive functions. Machine learning is likely to be the primary catalyst behind a surge of applications in automation and robotics and a nearly limitless number of specialised applications. When a robot can read a set of accounts, analyse a million emails or phone records, write annual reports, why employ a lawyer, researcher or accountant?
In contrast, the sharing economy may seem quaint by comparison but it is also another significant threat to jobs. Airbnb, for example, now dwarfs even the largest hotel chains but still has under a thousand employees compared with Hilton's 164,000.
Policy needs to meet this challenge head on. Not just the challenge of the loss of jobs but also the fact that the benefits from this tech-driven productivity surge keep accruing to an ever smaller group.
With its perennial trade and budget deficits the UK already has structural issues to contend with in addition to the technological challenge. Fortunately, it also has some big advantages. We have a great science base, a great technological base, a great creative base and a great entrepreneurial base. But just as businesses need to adapt, our government must too.
Firstly, as new jobs replace old jobs, we must equip people with the skills to adapt. Education should be collaborative, research-based, and self-directed; it should relate to real world challenges and have input from employers and trade bodies.
Secondly, entrepreneurialism must be culturally engrained across our whole society and not just at private schools. Unless we encourage more start-ups and new businesses able to work with new technologies, the UK will face certain comparative decline.
Thirdly, governments are going to need new tools, new laws and new ideas to adequately tax the owners of technology. It is not just, or sustainable, for corporate profits to have an ever increasing share of GDP whilst real wages flatline, despite huge gains in economic output. Without adequate tax on the owners of technology and proper investment in education and skills, we are heading back to the world of barons and serfs.
Fourthly, we should develop policies to encourage businesses to stay British. Despite our vibrant start up scene many of the UK's most exciting companies never make it to global status, often because they get acquired by US firms before they get there. British companies that receive state support should guarantee that their company headquarters will remain in the UK, they will pay corporate tax in the UK, their company founders will stay tax domiciled in the UK and their investors will pay tax on gains in the UK.
Finally, embarking on a new industrial policy without a full partnership with trade unions would be folly. For any renaissance in the British economy we are going to need healthy and vibrant trade unions, respected by business with a sense of shared mission, and partnership. To meet this challenge, unions must modernize. Workers today need strong, representative, forward-thinking, pragmatic, unions. Trade unions that see the dangers and opportunities of this digital revolution. In return government should roll back much of the egregious anti-union legislation that has accumulated over the past decades.
The technological changes that we are witnessing are potentially heading for a collision with society as we know it. Not preparing our country adequately will lead society to a very harsh destination.
But it doesn't have to be this way. Technology can lead humanity to the promised land. Less working hours, less disease, improved human efficiency, smarter learning and greater understanding and communication. But unmanaged it could also lead us back to a desperate period of neo-serfdom.
This blog is based on a chapter Simon Franks wrote for the book Changing Work: Progressive ideas for the modern world of work, published this week. Changing Work is the first publication from The Changing Work Centre, an initiative from the Fabian Society and Community which is chaired by Yvette Cooper MP robots
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robots
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fredirect.viglink.com%2F%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.slate.com%252Fblogs%252Fbrowbeat%252F2016%252F07%252F27%252Fstephen_colbert_interviews_cartoon_hillary_clinton_video.html%26key%3Dddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 r0B0t: The GOP Has Turned Hillary Clinton Into a Cartoon, So That's How Stephen Colbert Interviewed Her
In Bill Clinton's DNC speech Tuesday night, the former president talked about his wife Hillary, both as a person and as a public servant, challenging how that description squares away with the caricature that Republicans present her as: “The real one has done more change-making before she was 30 than most do in a lifetime in office. The other is a cartoon.”
The Late Show's Stephen Colbert took a rather literal interpretation of Bill's words, and the result was Cartoon Hillary Clinton, who made an appearance on the show shortly after the real Hillary achieved her historic nomination. The animated Hillary, with a strained grin, robotic mannerisms, and a desperate need to pander to the audience, embodies the qualities that haters see in her real-life counterpart.
Cartoon Hillary Clinton answered a few Republicans' questions and talked about her rival, Donald Trump (who Colbert also interviewed as a cartoon back in March). “That's what I love about America,” she said. “It's the only place where a Secretary of State, senator, and lifelong public servant can be put on equal footing with a screaming cantaloupe.”
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fredirect.viglink.com%2F%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Frssfeeds.usatoday.com%252F%7E%252F169812626%252F0%252Fusatoday-techtopstories%7EDysons-first-robot-vacuum-offers-costly-cleaning%26key%3Dddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 r0B0t: Dyson's first robot vacuum offers costly cleaning
The new Dyson 360 Eye does a great job picking up dirt—but has trouble reaching it.
Rapid growth of online orders welcomes robotics technology, says Axium Robotics and Automation News (press release) (registration) Automated guided vehicles (AGVs), looking like driverless forklifts, carry pallets to and from transport trailers; there are articulated robot arms that de-palletize and palletize goods; autonomous shuttles bring goods to and from their shelves, while ...
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fredirect.viglink.com%2F%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Ffeeds.gawker.com%252F%7Er%252Flifehacker%252Fvip%252F%7E3%252F2mAd-afhawE%252Fdyson-s-first-robovac-sucks-up-all-your-dirt-and-cash-1784141541%26key%3Dddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 r0B0t: Dyson's First Robovac Sucks Up All Your Dirt and Cash All images: Andrew Liszewski/Gizmodo
You'd think that the first robot vacuum from a company like Dyson, who reinvented the vacuum, fan, and hair dryer, would rival R2-D2 when it came to functionality. But with the 360 Eye, Dyson instead focused on creating a robovac that did one thing very well: cleaning. It delivers as promised, but is that worth $1,000?
The no-frills approach to its robot vacuum is surprising when you consider that Dyson has actually been developing its robovac for close to 18 years now. Before the Eye 360, Dyson created the DC06 which, until recently, has only existed in a handful of leaked photos outside the company.
The notoriously camera shy Dyson DC06 is the great-great-grandfather of robotic vacuums.
It cleaned well, but the DC06's size, weight, less-than-amazing battery life, and price tag didn't quite meet the company's expectations. As a result, the DC06 was scrapped, the five working models the company created went into exile, and Dyson's robotics division then spent the next 12 years developing the 360 Eye instead.
As far as form factor goes, small and tall is the best way to describe the 360 Eye. Compared to the Samsung POWERbot VR9000, which could easily play a droid in Star Wars, the 360 Eye looks like a tiny can of cookies. Of all the consumer-level robot vacuums currently on the market, the 360Eye has the smallest footprint, by a longshot, but it also comes at the cost of it being a little on the tall side.
The 360 Eye didn't even come close to fitting under my Ikea sofa.
Life is all about trade-offs, and Dyson's engineers decided that being able to squeeze into the small gaps in-between your furniture was more important than being able to squeeze under your couch. As a result, the 360 Eye didn't even come close to fitting under my Ikea couch, but neither could Samsung's POWERbot VR9000, nor a Roomba. I even have trouble squeezing a mop under there, so I feel Dyson's engineers made the right decision by focusing on keeping the 360 Eye's footprint as small as possible.
Yep vs. nope.
Instead it allowed the robovac to squeeze into tight areas that I assumed would always have to be cleaned by hand. Will the 360 Eye be able to clean every hard to reach area in your home? No. You'll still need to have a manual vacuum on hand to ensure every last inch of your floors get cleaned. But it should at least be able to autonomously clean the most visible areas, so your friends don't think you're a complete slob.
The 360 Eye's design continues Dyson's unintentional approach of creating appliances that look like science fiction props, with its silvery faux-metal plastic housing and bulging 0.33-liter dust bin on the front. But other than a large button on top that lights up with various patterns to signal what the 360 Eye is currently doing or what it needs (charging, connecting to your Wi-fi network, cleaning, etc.), the only real distinguishing feature atop the robovac is an ominous-looking dome that gives the bot its name.
“Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do.”
That dome is a 360-degree camera (looking eerily like HAL 9000's unblinking eye) that feeds a wraparound image of a room to the 360 Eye's processor. You might assume the panoramic camera on top photographs a room's ceiling so the robot can plot its course. But that's not how it works.
The 360 Eye takes a simpler approach to cleaning. Once the robot starts vacuuming it sticks to a five-meter square section of a room that it cleans by spiraling out from the center. Then it moves onto a neighboring square, and so forth, until a room is clean. This makes for more efficient use of its 45-minute run-time.
The Dyson 360 Eye's camera tracks all the corners in a room to keep track of its location.
The 360 Eye's camera can really only see as high as a room's walls, which it photographs up to 30 times per second. Those images are processed by a special algorithm to detect and track distinct corners, like you'd find on tables, windows, or even paintings on a wall, which the robot uses to keep tabs on where it is, where it's been, and what's left to clean.
A simple map of a room is built up as the robovac navigates a space, but is wiped from the bot's memory after a cleaning cycle is complete. This makes it better suited for a home where things are constantly getting moved, creating new obstacles for the robovac to navigate every time it starts cleaning.
The 360 Eye adds extra collision security in the form of infra-red sensors. For the most part, the combination of these two technologies worked seamlessly, and on many occasions I was surprised at how deftly the tiny robovac was able to tightly navigate around table legs and other hard-to-spot obstacles. Collisions did occur from time to time, but thanks to the bot's small form factor, there was barely an impact.
The 360 Eye met its match when cleaning underneath an Ikea chair. It ended up beaching itself on a wooden crossbeam that it didn't see coming. Before I got up to rescue it, the robot just sat there, happily sucking away without moving for about five minutes.
Ikea makes some of the world's finest Dyson 360 Eye traps.
It also had hang ups in dark spaces. On several occasions, while cleaning underneath a piece of furniture it was barely able to squeeze under, the Dyson 360 Eye needed rescuing. Presumably because its 360-degree camera was essentially blinded. The camera is a key part of its ability to navigate a room, and as a result, the robovac won't even turn on if there's not enough light for its camera to work. If you want to schedule it to clean the living room at three in the morning while you're asleep, you'll need to leave some lights on.
Yet these problems could potentially be resolved in future software updates, which the Dyson 360 Eye receives via Wi-Fi. The inclusion of Wi-Fi also allows the 360 Eye to be activated, monitored, and scheduled from the Dyson Link app on iOS or Android devices.
Pairing the app to the 360 Eye was a little tricky, but only because the app looked like it had failed when in reality it had successfully connected to the robovac, and functionality is limited. The most complex thing you can do through the app is schedule the robot to clean throughout the week. It does show you the map of a room it created after a cleaning is complete, so you can see what areas it might have missed. But it feels like a half-feature because you can't then click on the map and direct the robot back to a certain area.
On the underside of the 360 Eye you'll find a pair of metal contacts the robot vacuum uses for charging, its spinning brush bar, and a pair of bright blue rubber tank treads.
If treads are good enough for the army's tanks, they're good enough for a robot vacuum.
They might be more complicated than a simple pair of wheels (more parts means more parts that can break), but the treads also provide better grip since there's more surface area making contact with your floors, and the large teeth improve the 360 Eye's ability to clamber over obstacles, and transition from hard floors to carpeting. They also help the robovac maintain a straighter course—taking the tiny bot smoothly to its tiny charging base, which easily unfolds and sidles up against a wall.
The robovac can always find its way back home to thanks to checkerboard markings on the base.
Because it's first and foremost a Dyson vacuum, running off the company's tiny but mighty V2 digital motor, the 360 Eye sucks up dirt and debris as efficiently as any of the company's manual vacuums.
A full-width brush bar lets the 360 Eye clean close to your walls.
The spinning disks of whiskers used by robots like the Roomba to sweep debris from the edges of the bot inwards don't exist on the 360 Eye. Instead it features the same edge-to-edge brushbar that the company's manual vacs use so that it cleans as close to the edge of a wall as possible. It still leaves about a half-inch gap, but its ability to suck in dirt and debris along walls easily outperformed other robovacs I've tested.
The Eye 360 sucks, but in a good way, which means you'll be frequently emptying its 0.33-liter bin.
After using the Dyson 360 Eye for some time, I can understand why the company decided to focus on its ability to clean. That's where its competitors have made compromises, which makes no sense for a product that's supposed to save you work and make your life easier. But there are a few features I would like to see added to help justify the 360 Eye's $1,000 price tag.
The ability to manually steer the robot from the app to hit missed spots, or move it to another room, would be helpful. For comparison, Samsung's $1000 PowerBOT VR9000 can follow a red crosshair projected on floors to help it navigate to a specific area. That's a genuinely useful feature—not a gimmick. There's also no way to limit where the Eye 360 is cleaning except for setting up physical obstacles in doorways to keep it contained, and notifications, or an alarm, for when the robot got stuck, would be useful too.
Of all the robot vacuums I've tested, Dyson's 360 Eye is the first that will genuinely clean your floors as well as a manual vacuum cleaner can. That being said, it won't completely eliminate vacuuming from your weekly chore list. It will save you a lot of time, though, which is what Dyson is really selling here for $1,000. The company's first robot vacuum feels a little light on features given the steep price tag, but through software updates and improvements to its app, eventually you could, one day, never need to touch a vacuum ever again.
README
The first robot vacuum that's a vacuum first. Does a very good job at cleaning your floors thanks to solid battery life and a full-width brushbar.
The 360 Eye is a little on the tall side, but it also means it has a small footprint for squeezing into hard to clean areas.
The use of treads instead of wheels lets the 360 Eye easily climb over obstacles or transition between floor surfaces.
Automatic software updates over Wi-fi add functionality and improve performance so you don't have to reach for a USB cable.
At $1,000 you'll have to really hate pushing a vacuum around to buy one.
If you want to schedule a cleaning in the middle of the night, you'll need to leave some lights on.
Lacking a few useful features like the ability to remotely steer it from the app, or set up cleaning zones.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fredirect.viglink.com%2F%3Fu%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.theguardian.com%252Flifeandstyle%252Fng-interactive%252F2016%252Fjul%252F27%252Fdr-robot-will-see-you-soon-cartoon%26key%3Dddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 r0B0t: Dr Robot will see you soon cartoon
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fmattcattell%2F28512040171%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Fallow Deer at Dawn
Two fallow deer bucks at dawn as a red sun rose over the surrounding tree-tops.
images
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdailyoverview.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F148055018899&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Naarden is a star fort in the Netherlands. The city was...
Naarden is a star fort in the Netherlands. The city was constructed in the manner seen here so that an attack on any individual wall could be defended from the two adjacent star points by shooting at the enemy from behind. Today Naarden is home to roughly 17,000 residents. /// Source imagery: @digitalglobe (at Naarden)
images
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2Fsections%2Fthetwo-way%2F2016%2F07%2F27%2F487597264%2Fhow-jupiters-red-spot-makes-things-high-above-it-hot-hot-hot%3Futm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3Dresearchnews&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 How Jupiter's Red Spot Makes Things High Above It Hot, Hot, Hot
Think summer's hot on Earth? Space physicists tracking weather on Jupiter say the roar of the raging storm we call the Great Red Spot heats the outer atmosphere above it by more than 1,000 degrees F.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fgo.theregister.com%2Ffeed%2Fwww.theregister.co.uk%2F2016%2F07%2F27%2Fjupiters_giant_red_spot_cranks_up_the_heat_in_the_planets_atmosphere%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 NASA peers through its SpeX: Aha! Jupiter's globe-warming hotspot
You can't get internet there, but Giant Red Spot is clue to 'energy crisis'
Jupiter's Great Red Spot may be responsible for stirring an atmospheric hotspot into a frenzy, causing it to be hundreds of degrees warmer than anywhere else on the planet.…
science
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cogdis
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.co.uk%2Fsimon-franks%2Ftechnology-future_b_11218156.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Technology Could Lead Humanity to the Promised Land - Or Back to a Desperate Period of Neo-serfdom If you happened to be on the streets of Pittsburgh on 19 May 2016, you may well have witnessed a black car that looked akin to that driven by superheroes, driving itself. If you are a taxi driver this will be a cause for concern. It was an Uber.
Taxi drivers and their families are not the only ones who should be concerned. Late last year in Baden-Württemberg, a Mercedes lorry was driving itself at 50 miles per hour, along a busy section of motorway. There are 600,000 HGV registered licensed drivers in the UK, 242,200 licensed taxi and private hire vehicles and around 1.8 million people in the expanded logistics workforce. Such ground breaking technologies are just the tip of the iceberg.
The World Economic Forum predicts more than seven million jobs in the world's largest economies will be threatened in the next few years by advances such as robotics and 3D printing.
In the 1970s and 80s, mainframe computers and robots had a huge impact. Since then our manufacturing workforce has fallen by 60 per cent. For those made redundant, this technology was a curse. For the wider economy, it was a blessing. Increased productivity has led to total manufacturing output today being 6 per cent higher over the same period.
Today automation and artificial intelligence are progressing at a speed, scale and force unlike anything we have experienced before. Sooner or later the challenge of human redundancy will have to be reckoned with.
Machines, like Google's DeepMind, are now capable of cognitive functions. Machine learning is likely to be the primary catalyst behind a surge of applications in automation and robotics and a nearly limitless number of specialised applications. When a robot can read a set of accounts, analyse a million emails or phone records, write annual reports, why employ a lawyer, researcher or accountant?
In contrast, the sharing economy may seem quaint by comparison but it is also another significant threat to jobs. Airbnb, for example, now dwarfs even the largest hotel chains but still has under a thousand employees compared with Hilton's 164,000.
Policy needs to meet this challenge head on. Not just the challenge of the loss of jobs but also the fact that the benefits from this tech-driven productivity surge keep accruing to an ever smaller group.
With its perennial trade and budget deficits the UK already has structural issues to contend with in addition to the technological challenge. Fortunately, it also has some big advantages. We have a great science base, a great technological base, a great creative base and a great entrepreneurial base. But just as businesses need to adapt, our government must too.
Firstly, as new jobs replace old jobs, we must equip people with the skills to adapt. Education should be collaborative, research-based, and self-directed; it should relate to real world challenges and have input from employers and trade bodies.
Secondly, entrepreneurialism must be culturally engrained across our whole society and not just at private schools. Unless we encourage more start-ups and new businesses able to work with new technologies, the UK will face certain comparative decline.
Thirdly, governments are going to need new tools, new laws and new ideas to adequately tax the owners of technology. It is not just, or sustainable, for corporate profits to have an ever increasing share of GDP whilst real wages flatline, despite huge gains in economic output. Without adequate tax on the owners of technology and proper investment in education and skills, we are heading back to the world of barons and serfs.
Fourthly, we should develop policies to encourage businesses to stay British. Despite our vibrant start up scene many of the UK's most exciting companies never make it to global status, often because they get acquired by US firms before they get there. British companies that receive state support should guarantee that their company headquarters will remain in the UK, they will pay corporate tax in the UK, their company founders will stay tax domiciled in the UK and their investors will pay tax on gains in the UK.
Finally, embarking on a new industrial policy without a full partnership with trade unions would be folly. For any renaissance in the British economy we are going to need healthy and vibrant trade unions, respected by business with a sense of shared mission, and partnership. To meet this challenge, unions must modernize. Workers today need strong, representative, forward-thinking, pragmatic, unions. Trade unions that see the dangers and opportunities of this digital revolution. In return government should roll back much of the egregious anti-union legislation that has accumulated over the past decades.
The technological changes that we are witnessing are potentially heading for a collision with society as we know it. Not preparing our country adequately will lead society to a very harsh destination.
But it doesn't have to be this way. Technology can lead humanity to the promised land. Less working hours, less disease, improved human efficiency, smarter learning and greater understanding and communication. But unmanaged it could also lead us back to a desperate period of neo-serfdom.
This blog is based on a chapter Simon Franks wrote for the book Changing Work: Progressive ideas for the modern world of work, published this week. Changing Work is the first publication from The Changing Work Centre, an initiative from the Fabian Society and Community which is chaired by Yvette Cooper MP cogdis
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astronomy
%feed http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia20700/the-loneliest-young-star The Loneliest Young Star An unusual celestial object called CX330 was first detected as a source of X-ray light in 2009. It has been launching “jets” of material into the gas and dust around it. astronomy
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robots
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fredirect.viglink.com%2F%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fnews.google.com%252Fnews%252Furl%253Fsa%253Dt%2526fd%253DR%2526ct2%253Dus%2526usg%253DAFQjCNHLiAFxQpsZzRaSc_jz3fAQ76oSSw%2526clid%253Dc3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331%2526ei%253DNeCYV6CPL6GXzAaji7DICg%2526url%253Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%252Flife%252Fpersonal-technology%252Ftechnology-facial-recognition-to-eye-scans-and-thought-control%252Fnews-story%252F427d8980994955e916341887dfd5e65e%26key%3Dddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 r0B0t: Technology: facial recognition to eye scans and thought control - The Australian
Technology: facial recognition to eye scans and thought control The Australian And your home robot slinks around the corner, out of sight, having discerned you are in a filthy mood. This isn't telepathy. It isn't the distant future. It's part of how we are about to communicate with electronic devices. It's potentially our most ...
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fredirect.viglink.com%2F%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fnews.google.com%252Fnews%252Furl%253Fsa%253Dt%2526fd%253DR%2526ct2%253Duk%2526usg%253DAFQjCNEpvhpA1bCrGqTpFO1RLW486vwaYQ%2526clid%253Dc3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331%2526cid%253D52779168070009%2526ei%253DNeCYV9CCLuL4zAaovY3wDA%2526url%253Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fhome.bt.com%252Fnews%252Fworld-news%252Fscientists-say-last-goodbye-to-philae-lander-11364075884162%26key%3Dddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 r0B0t: Scientists say last goodbye to Philae lander - BT.com
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.seattletimes.com%2Fnation-world%2Fphotos-of-the-day-july-27-2016%2F%3Futm_source%3DRSS%26utm_medium%3DReferral%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_photos-of-the-day&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Photos of the Day: July 27, 2016 Explore the news of the day with these images from around the world. images
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fphoto%2F165050615%2Ftransamerican-by-ian-brown&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 TransAmerican by Ian Brown
The Andean condor is considered endangered but is in far better shape than its California cousin. Perhaps a few thousand South American birds survive, and reintroduction programs are working to supplement that number. These long-lived birds have survived over 75 years in captivity, but they reproduce slowly. A mating pair produces only a single offspring every other year, and both parents must care for their young for a full year.
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fjennifer-l-morgan%2Ffive-reasons-why-ceos-of_b_11218176.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Five reasons why CEOs of fossil fuel giants must answer to the Filipino people
For the first time ever, a national human rights body has ordered the world's largest fossil fuel companies to respond to allegations that they have contributed to human rights abuses in the Philippines. Last year, disaster survivors, community-based organizations, and individual Filipino citizens, side-by-side with Greenpeace Southeast Asia (Philippines), filed a petition with the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (Commission) asking for an investigation into 47 industrial carbon producers (big polluters) for putting their fundamental human rights at risk from climate change.
The Commission heeded the petitioners' call to investigate these wrongs, and the probe is now at a critical juncture. This week, the Commission enjoined the companies to submit responses to the allegations. While some companies might stick to business as usual and ignore the order, or even worse, attempt to silence those who are seeking justice, others may change tack, and come to the table. Then we can start rapidly changing behaviors, investments, politics and policies, prevent further harm to people vulnerable to climate change, and move towards the inevitable renewable energy future.
Here are five good reasons why CEOs of fossil fuel companies should respect the lives and livelihoods of those living on the front lines of climate change and answer the Filipinos' petition.
1. Deadlines focus the mind
The Commission has ordered the big polluters to respond to the petition within 45 days. The issues raised should come as no surprise. Shareholders have repeatedly requested that fossil fuel companies submit business plans in light of the urgency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This year, a whopping 38% of Exxon shareholders supported a resolution requiring Exxon to publish an annual report explaining how it will adjust to a 2 degree world. Like Exxon's shareholders, the petitioners in the Philippines want the big polluters to submit plans on how the business model will change in light of urgent need to limit temperature rise and prevent human rights impacts.
Fossil fuel CEOs should be under no illusions. It is now in their job description to consider how their company's business strategies must change to keep fossil fuels in the ground.
2. The writing is on the wall
The Paris Agreement signals the end of the fossil fuel era. Business-as-usual is no longer a viable option. The divest-invest movement is unstoppable. A recent report explains that with 'over 500 hundred institutional investors and tens of thousands of individuals, the assets under management of divesting institutions exceeded $3.4 trillion'.
Last year, Greenpeace Norway and many others successfully campaigned to get the country's $900 billion sovereign wealth fund to divest from coal, impacting 122 companies across the world. Money is now flowing away from fossil fuels, and the world's energy system is rapidly transitioning to be powered by the sun and the wind. All of the CEOs can use the opportunity to report to the Commission on the company's position on the transition into this new era of renewable energy.
3. Honesty is the best policy
Some companies may have tried to hide the truth about climate change, in order to protect profits. Recent investigations revealed that despite understanding the risks of climate change years ago, Exxon has been involved in a disinformation campaign aimed at confusing the public and investors about these risks. Meanwhile, it was using this information to make its business plans.
The Union of Concerned Scientists has called on fossil fuel companies to stop disseminating misinformation on climate change. CEOs should report to the Commission on efforts to completely cut ties with front groups, contrarian scientists, elected officials, and any others who undermine climate science in order to derail action.
4. Talk now or get sued later
Climate change litigation is a material risk. Delaying action to address the human rights impacts of fossil fuels will only heighten the risk of lawsuits for CEOs and corporations. In a recent letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Greenpeace USA and other NGOs commented that some companies and directors face the real possibility of tort and fiduciary liability if they fail to consider the legal risk of continuing to contribute to climate change or misleading the public and investors about the threats of climate change. Fossil fuel corporations could face lawsuits similar to tobacco companies for misrepresenting harms from cigarettes, and they were held accountable for lying to the public.
Smart CEOs can head off high-profile investigations and lawsuits by ending climate denial and embracing the renewable energy transformation. One company has already acknowledged that some fossil fuel reserves will have to stay in the ground.
5. Have a good answer for your grandchildren
What will a fossil fuel CEO say when her or his grandchild asks, what did you do about climate change? It will be embarrassing for a CEO to say that they were adding kindling while Rome burned. Instead, he or she could explain to their admiring grandchild that they did everything possible to help humanity avert the climate crisis.
Anna Kalinsky, the granddaughter of James Black, a former Exxon scientific advisor, explained that in 1977 her grandfather "warned Exxon executives that the world was just a few years away from needing to rethink our energy strategy to prevent destructive climate change;" but "instead, Exxon chose to mislead people about the risks of climate change - and continues to mislead people today." The grandchildren of CEOs will remember what they said and did. They can start to make their grandchildren proud right here and right now.
The investigation in the Philippines is a catalyst for companies and CEOs to do the right thing. It is time for them to change their corporate behaviour and take steps to eliminate the devastating impacts of climate change. To learn more and stay involved in this ground-breaking effort, please sign up on Greenpeace Southeast Asia's website to receive updates on the investigation.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fdanna-smith%2Fyou-are-the-bolala-and-ia_b_11218892.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 You are the Bolala (And #IAmTheBolala too) Forests are a place of beauty, power and wonder. They can transport you back to a primordial time when magical creatures walked the planet, stimulating the imagination and opening up a place of childlike awe.This is the space from which the Bolala was spawned, an ancient mythic spirit that acts as the guardian of all things wild - the forests, rivers, and wildlife of the Southern United States.
Over time our society has become overly mechanized and industrial and we have lost that wild spirit, slowly but surely the Bolala faded into the background and disappeared from our legend and lore. We came to view forests as a resource, a place from which we could make paper, lumber, and now even burn on a large-scale to produce electricity.
Now more than ever we yearn for the reemergence of that mythical creature, but sadly, the Bolala only exists in fairy tales. What are we to do? How can we preserve and protect the wild places that provide our communities with clean air, drinking water, and house the rapidly dwindling plants and animals that hold together the web of life?
This is where you come in, YOU are the Bolala!
We all can work together to protect the forests of the Southern US. We can champion red wolves, flying squirrels, black bears and the myriad of forest creatures whose homes are threatened. We can stand up for the wild places that used to fill our ancient landscape but now are mere remnants that our vital to our sanity in this overly industrialized world. And we can work together to find economic solutions for our communities that celebrate rather than destroy our forests.
Though the Bolala may no longer stand as guardian of our forests, you do, and that makes all of the difference!
Check out Dogwood Alliance's new Forest Fable animation here !
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedaily.com%2Freleases%2F2016%2F07%2F160727100842.htm&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 New Zealand wren DNA analysis reshapes geological theory A DNA analysis of living and extinct species of mysterious New Zealand wrens may change theories around the country's geological and evolutionary past. gaia
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedaily.com%2Freleases%2F2016%2F07%2F160727090733.htm&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Two neonicotinoid insecticides may have inadvertent contraceptive effects on male honey bees Male honey bees, called drones, can be affected by two neonicotinoid insecticides by reducing male honey bee lifespan and number of living sperm. Both insecticides are currently partially banned in Europe. Now researchers are calling for more thorough environmental risk assessments of these neonicotinoids. gaia
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fdanna-smith%2Fyou-are-the-bolala-and-ia_b_11218892.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Danna Smith: You are the Bolala (And #IAmTheBolala too) Forests are a place of beauty, power and wonder. They can transport you back to a primordial time when magical creatures walked the planet, stimulatin...
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2F2016%2F07%2F27%2Fendangered-species-open-letter_n_11219570.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Conservationists Warn Endangered Species Will Vanish Forever Unless We Act Now Scientists from around the world are calling for increased efforts to protect many of the Earth's largest and most enchanting species before humanit...
%feed http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond/~3/4wIIZUDWdgQ/ceres-missing-craters-a-big-red-flag-that-something-had-happened.html Ceres' Missing Craters --"A Big Red Flag that Something had Happened"
When NASA's Dawn spacecraft arrived to orbit the dwarf planet Ceres in March 2015, mission scientists expected to find a heavily cratered body generally resembling the protoplanet Vesta, Dawn's previous port of call. Instead, as the spacecraft drew near to Ceres, a somewhat different picture began to emerge: Something has happened to Ceres to remove its biggest impact basins.
Now, writing in the online journal Nature Communications, a team of Dawn scientists led by Simone Marchi of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, reports on their computer simulations of Ceres' history. These suggest that Ceres has experienced significant geological evolution, possibly erasing the large basins.
The Dawn team includes Arizona State University's David Williams, who is the director of the Ronald Greeley Center for Planetary Studies in ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration. Wiliams oversees a team of researchers using Dawn data to map the geology of Ceres.
He says, "When we first starting looking at Ceres images, we noticed that there weren't any really large impact basins on the surface." None are larger than 177 miles (285 kilometers) across. This presents a mystery, he says, because Ceres must have been struck by large asteroids many times over its 4.5-billion-year history.
"Even Vesta, only about half of Ceres' size, has two big basins at its south pole. But at Ceres, all we saw was the Kerwan Basin, just 177 miles in diameter," Williams says. "That was a big red flag that something had happened to Ceres."
The Kerwan Basin's name was proposed by Williams, and it commemorates the Hopi Indian spirit of the sprouting corn.
Dawn lead investigator Marchi notes, "We concluded that a significant population of large craters on Ceres has been obliterated beyond recognition over geological time scales, which is likely the result of Ceres' peculiar composition and internal evolution."
The team's simulations of collisions with Ceres predicted that it should have 10 to 15 craters larger than 250 miles (400 kilometers) in diameter, and at least 40 craters larger than 60 miles (100 kilometers) wide. In reality, however, Dawn found that Ceres has only 16 craters larger than 60 miles, and none larger than the 177-mile Kerwan Basin.
Further study of Dawn's images revealed that Ceres does have three large-scale depressions called "planitiae" that are up to 500 miles (800 kilometers) wide. These have craters within them that formed in more recent times, but the depressions could be left over from bigger impacts.
One of the depressions, called Vendimia Planitia, is a sprawling area just north of the Kerwan Basin. Vendimia Planitia must have formed much earlier than Kerwan.
So what removed Ceres' large craters and basins? "If Ceres were highly rocky, we'd expect impact craters of all sizes to be preserved. Remote sensing from Earth, however, told us even before Dawn arrived that the crust of Ceres holds a significant fraction of ice in some form," Williams explains.
If Ceres' crust contained a large proportion of ice -- especially if mixed with salts -- that would weaken the crust and let the topography of a large basin relax and become smoother, perhaps even disappear.
In addition, says Williams, Ceres must have generated some internal heat from the decay of radioactive elements after it formed. This too could also have helped soften or erase large-scale topographic features.
He adds, "Plus we do see evidence of cryovolcanism -- icy volcanism -- in the bright spots found scattered over Ceres, especially in Occator Crater." Cryovolcanism behaves like the rocky kind, only at much lower temperatures, where "molten ice" -- water or brine -- substitutes for molten rock.
"It's possible that there are layers or pockets of briny water in the crust of Ceres," says Williams. "Under the right conditions, these could migrate to the surface and be sources for the bright spots."
For example, in Occator Crater, he points out, "the central bright spot is a domed feature which looks as if it has erupted or been pushed up from below."
NASA plans for Dawn to continue orbiting Ceres as the dwarf planet makes its closest approach to the Sun in April 2018. Scientists want to see if the increasing solar warmth triggers any activity or produces detectable changes in Ceres' surface.
"Ceres is revealing only slowly the answers to her many mysteries," Williams says. "Completing the geological maps over the next year, and further analysis of the compositional and gravity data, will help us understand better Ceres' geologic evolution."
The Daily Galaxy via University of Arizona
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%feed http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond/~3/GGSEYR6XODI/chinas-brain-project-ignores-stephen-hawking-warning-that-evolution-of-artificial-intelligence-could.html China's 'Brain Project' --Ignores Stephen Hawking's Warning That "Evolution of Artificial intelligence Could Spell the End of the Human Race"
This past March, Robin Li Yanhong, the founder and chief executive of China's Google, the online search giant Baidu, announced that he is looking to the nation's military to support the China Brain Project to make the mainland the world leader in developing artificial intelligence (AI) systems. It will be a massive, "state-level" initiative that could be comparable to how the Apollo space program to land the first humans on the moon in 1969.
Earlier in January of 2016 heoretical physicist Stephen Hawking warned this past January, 2016 that blindly embracing pioneering technology could trigger humanity's annihilation."The primitive forms of artificial intelligence we already have, have proved very useful. But I think the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race," Hawking told the BBC in 2014. "Once humans develop artificial intelligence it would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete and would be superseded."
Artificial intelligence will surpass human intelligence after 2020, predicts Vernor Vinge, a world-renowned pioneer in AI, who has warned about the risks and opportunities that an electronic super-intelligence would offer to mankind. "It seems plausible that with technology we can, in the fairly near future," says scifi legend Vernor Vinge, "create (or become) creatures who surpass humans in every intellectual and creative dimension. Events beyond such an event -- such a singularity -- are as unimaginable to us as opera is to a flatworm."
There was the psychotic HAL 9000 in "2001: A Space Odyssey," the humanoids which attacked their human masters in "I, Robot" and, of course, "The Terminator", where a robot is sent into the past to kill a woman whose son will end the tyranny of the machines.
Experts interviewed by AFP were divided. Some agreed with Hawking, saying that the threat, even if it were distant, should be taken seriously. Others said his warning seemed overblown. "I'm pleased that a scientist from the 'hard sciences' has spoken out. I've been saying the same thing for years," said Daniela Cerqui, an anthropologist at Switzerland's Lausanne University.
Gains in AI are creating machines that outstrip human performance, Cerqui argued. The trend eventually will delegate responsibility for human life to the machine, she predicted. "It may seem like science fiction, but it's only a matter of degrees when you see what is happening right now," said Cerqui. "We are heading down the road he talked about, one step at a time."
Nick Bostrom, director of a program on the impacts of future technology at the University of Oxford, said the threat of AI superiority was not immediate. Bostrom pointed to current and near-future applications of AI that were still clearly in human hands -- things such as military drones, driverless cars, robot factory workers and automated surveillance of the Internet. But, he said, "I think machine intelligence will eventually surpass biological intelligence -- and, yes, there will be significant existential risks associated with that transition."
Other experts said "true" AI -- loosely defined as a machine that can pass itself off as a human being or think creatively -- was at best decades away, and cautioned against alarmism.
Since the field was launched at a conference in 1956, "predictions that AI will be achieved in the next 15 to 25 years have littered the field," according to Oxford researcher Stuart Armstrong. "Unless we missed something really spectacular in the news recently, none of them have come to pass," Armstrong says in a book, "Smarter than Us: The Rise of Machine Intelligence."
Jean-Gabriel Ganascia, an AI expert and moral philosopher at the Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris, said Hawking's warning was "over the top. Many things in AI unleash emotion and worry because it changes our way of life," he said. "Hawking said there would be autonomous technology which would develop separately from humans. He has no evidence to support that. There is no data to back this opinion."
"It's a little apocalyptic," said Mathieu Lafourcade, an AI language specialist at the University of Montpellier, southern France. "Machines already do things better than us," he said, pointing to chess-playing software. "That doesn't mean they are more intelligent than us."
Allan Tucker, a senior lecturer in computer science at Britain's Brunel University, took a look at the hurdles facing AI. Recent years have seen dramatic gains in data-processing speed, spurring flexible software to enable a machine to learn from its mistakes, he said. Balance and reflexes, too, have made big advances. Tucker pointed to the US firm Boston Dynamics as being in the research vanguard. "These things are incredible tools that are really adaptative to an environment, but there is still a human there, directing them," said Tucker. "To me, none of these are close to what true AI is."
Tony Cohn, a professor of automated reasoning at Leeds University in northern England, said full AI is "still a long way off... not in my lifetime certainly, and I would say still many decades, given (the) current rate of progress." Despite big strides in recognition programmes and language cognition, robots perform poorly in open, messy environments where there are lots of noise, movement, objects and faces, said Cohn.
Such situations require machines to have what humans possess naturally and in abundance -- "commonsense knowledge" to make sense of things. Tucker said that, ultimately, the biggest barrier facing the age of AI is that machines are... well, machines. "We've evolved over however many millennia to be what we are, and the motivation is survival. That motivation is hard-wired into us. It's key to AI, but it's very difficult to implement."
"The Singularity" is seen by some as the end point of our current culture, when the ever-accelerating evolution of technology finally overtakes us and changes everything. It's been represented as everything from the end of all life to the beginning of a utopian age, which you might recognize as the endgames of most other religious beliefs.
While the definitions of the Singularity are as varied as people's fantasies of the future, with a very obvious reason, most agree that artificial intelligence will be the turning point. Once an AI is even the tiniest bit smarter than us, it'll be able to learn faster and we'll simply never be able to keep up. This will render us utterly obsolete in evolutionary terms, or at least in evolutionary terms.
Susan Schneider of the University of Pennsylvania is one of the few thinkers—outside the realm of science fiction— that have considered the notion that artificial intelligence is already out there, and has been for eons.
Her recent study, Alien Minds, Schneider asks: "how might aliens think? And, would they be conscious? I do not believe that most advanced alien civilizations will be biological, Schneider says. The most sophisticated civilizations will be postbiological, forms of artificial intelligence or Alien superintelligence."
Search for Extraterrstrial Intelligence (SETI) programs have been searching for biological life. Our culture has long depicted aliens as humanoid creatures with small, pointy chins, massive eyes, and large heads, apparently to house brains that are larger than ours. Paradigmatically, they are “little green men.” While we are aware that our culture is anthropomorphizing, Schneider imagines that her suggestion that aliens are supercomputers may strike us as far-fetched. So what is her rationale for the view that most intelligent alien civilizations will have members that are superintelligent AI?
Schneider presents offer three observations that together, support her conclusion for the existence of alien superintelligence.
The first is "the short window observation": Once a society creates the technology that could put them in touch with the cosmos, they are only a few hundred years away from changing their own paradigm from biology to AI. This “short window” makes it more likely that the aliens we encounter would be postbiological.
The short window observation is supported by human cultural evolution, at least thus far. Our first radio signals date back only about a hundred and twenty years, and space exploration is only about fifty years old, but we are already immersed in digital technology, such as cell-phones and laptop computers.
Devices such as the Google Glass promise to bring the Internet into more direct contact with our bodies, and it is probably a matter of less than fifty years before sophisticated internet connections are wired directly into our brains.
The docking ring used by ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle cargo spacecraft for five missions to the International Space Station is displayed in the laboratory corridor of ESA's technical heart in the Netherlands.
Supplied by Russia's space agency, and carried by Russia's own ferry craft, it is designed to work with docking ports on the Russian part of the Space Station.
The extended probe made contact with the Station's receptor and then retracted to join the vehicles together.
Sensors on the ring detected that the interface was safely tightened, after which a set of four hooks engaged to strengthen hold of the 20-tonne ATV on the orbital complex. Four further hooks extended from the Station side for a firm grip.
Embedded within the ring are electrical and data connections so that ATV could receive power from the Station and their computers could communicate. Fluid links transferred propellants and air into the Station's tanks.
The ring also includes the hatch for the crew to enter and unload the ferry. At the end of ATV's mission, springs gently pushed it away from the Station without the need for firing any thrusters.
Tours of ESA's site offered by the Space Expo visitor centre include the laboratory corridor. Space Expo also has an example of the Station side of the docking system on display.
The docking ring will also be on show to visitors during this year's Open Day on Sunday 2 October to register to visit, click here.
Credit: ESAG. Porter
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%feed http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond/~3/GIQGJZdspQs/ancient-eye-in-the-sky-2.html Ancient Eye in the Sky
Light from a distant galaxy can be strongly bent by the gravitational influence of a foreground galaxy, an effect called strong gravitational lensing. Normally a single galaxy is lensed at a time. The same foreground galaxy can - in theory - simultaneously lens multiple background galaxies. Although extremely rare, such a lens system offers a unique opportunity to probe the fundamental physics of galaxies and add to our understanding of cosmology. One such lens system has recently been discovered and the discovery was made not in an astronomer's office, but in a classroom. It has been dubbed the Eye of Horus, and this ancient eye in the sky will help us understand the history of the universe.
The image below is a schematic diagram showing the location of galaxies creating the gravitational lens effect of Eye of Horus. A galaxy 7 billion light years from the Earth bends the light from the two galaxies behind it at a distance of 9 billion light years and 10.5 billion light years, respectively. (NAOJ)
Subaru Telescope organizes a school for undergraduate students each year. One such session was held in September 2015 at the NAOJ headquarters in Mitaka, Tokyo (Fig. 2). Subaru is currently undertaking a massive survey to image a large area of the sky at an unprecedented depth with Hyper Suprime-Cam as part of the Subaru Strategic Program. A group of astronomers and young students were analyzing some of that Hyper Suprime-Cam data at the school when they found a unique lens system. It was a classic case of a serendipitous discovery.
"When I was looking at HSC images with the students, we came across a ring-like galaxy and we immediately recognized it as a strong-lensing signature," said Masayuki Tanaka, the lead author of a science paper on the system's discovery. "The discovery would not have been possible without the large survey data to find such a rare object, as well as the deep, high quality images to detect light from distant objects."
Arsha Dezuka, a student who was working on the data, was astonished at the find. "It was my first time to look at the astronomical images taken with Hyper Suprime-Cam and I had no idea what the ring-like galaxy is," she said. "It was a great surprise for me to learn that it is such a rare, unique system!"
A close inspection of the images revealed two distinct arcs/rings of light with different colors. This strongly suggested that two distinct background galaxies were being lensed by the foreground galaxy. The lensing galaxy has a spectroscopic redshift of z = 0.79 (which means it's 7.0 billion light-years away, Note 1) based on data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Follow-up spectroscopic observations of the lensed objects using the infrared-sensitive FIRE spectrometer on the Magellan Telescope confirmed that there are actually two galaxies behind the lens. One lies at z = 1.30 and the other is at z = 1.99 (9.0 and 10.5 billion light-years away, respectively).
"The spectroscopic data reveal some very interesting things about the background sources," said Kenneth Wong from NAOJ, the second author of the scientific paper describing the system. "Not only do they confirm that there are two sources at different distances from us, but the more distant source seems to consist of two distinct clumps, which could indicate an interacting pair of galaxies. Also, one of the multiple images of that source is itself being split into two images, which could be due to a satellite galaxy that is too faint for us to see."
The distinct features for the system (several bright knots, an arc, a complete Einstein ring) arise from the nice alignment of the central lens galaxy and both sources, creating an eye-like structure (Fig.3). The astronomers dubbed it Eye of Horus, for the sacred eye of an ancient Egyptian god, since the system has an uncanny resemblance to it.
The survey with Hyper Suprime-Cam is only 30% complete and it will collect data for several more years. Astronomers expect to find roughly 10 more such systems in the survey, which will provide important insights into the fundamental physics of galaxies as well as how the universe expanded over the last several billion years.
The "Canarias Einstein ring" shown at the top of the page is one of the most symmetrical discovered until now and is almost circular, showing that the two galaxies are almost perfectly aligned, with a separation on the sky of only 0.2 arcseconds. The source galaxy is 10,000 million light years away from us. Due to the expansion of the Universe, this distance was smaller when its light started on its journey to us, and has taken 8,500 million years to reach us. We observe it as it was then: a blue galaxy which is beginning to evolve, populated by young stars which are forming at a high rate. The lens galaxy is nearer to us, 6,000 million light years away, and is more evolved. Its stars have almost stopped forming, and its population is old.
The Daily Galaxy via National Institutes of Natural Sciences
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%feed http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/28533180206/ NASA Team Begins Testing of a New-Fangled Optic
It's an age-old astronomical truth: To resolve smaller and smaller physical details of distant celestial objects, scientists need larger and larger light-collecting mirrors. This challenge is not easily overcome given the high cost and impracticality of building and — in the case of space observatories — launching large-aperture telescopes.
However, a team of scientists and engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, has begun testing a potentially more affordable alternative called the photon sieve. This new-fangled telescope optic could give scientists the resolution they need to see finer details still invisible with current observing tools a jump in resolution that could help answer a 50-year-old question about the physical processes heating the sun's million-degree corona.
%feed https://www.pinterest.com/pin/354095589435617171/ Water scavenger beet
Water scavenger beetle (Helophorus nitiduloides) collected in Fundy National Park, New Brunswick, Canada, and photographed at the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics (sample ID: BIOUG13536-C09; specimen record: http://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Public_RecordView?processid=SSFDA2013-14; BIN: http://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Public_BarcodeCluster?clusteruri=BOLD:ACO4780)
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.mashable.com%2F%7Er%2FMashable%2F%7E3%2FduoMOvpEHZY%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Newspapers plaster Bill Clinton on front pages after Hillary's nomination
The day after Hillary Clinton became the first woman to receive the presidential nomination of a major U.S. political party, most newspapers led with the historic news.
Most of them also led with a photo of Bill Clinton.
The dissonance between the news and the images was quickly met with critiques that even on a night in which a woman figuratively — and somewhat literally — broke through a glass ceiling, the coverage still had tinges of sexism.
The newspapers were in a tricky position since Hillary Clinton did not make a personal appearance on Tuesday night, opting to address the audience through a live video. Read more...
%feed https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160727103554.htm Astronomers uncover hidden stellar birthplace Astronomers have uncovered a hidden stellar birthplace in a nearby spiral galaxy, using a telescope in Chile. The results show that the speed of star formation in the center of the galaxy - and other galaxies like it - may be much higher than previously thought. astronomy
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%feed https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160727103436.htm Did the LIGO gravitational waves originate from primordial black holes? Binary black holes recently discovered by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration could be primordial entities that formed just after the Big Bang, report Japanese astrophysicists. If further data support this observation, it could mark the first confirmed finding of a primordial black hole, guiding theories about the beginnings of the universe. astronomy
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%feed https://www.theguardian.com/science/gallery/2016/jul/27/astronomy-photographer-of-the-year-2016-shortlist-in-pictures Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 shortlist - in pictures
Gorgeous galaxies and stunning stars make up this selection of pictures from the shortlisted entries for this year's Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year award. The winners will be announced on 15 September, and an exhibition of the winning images will be will be displayed in a free exhibition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich's Astronomy Centre from 17 September
%feed https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160726123759.htm Better defining the signals left by as-yet-undefined dark matter at the LHC Physicists still don't exactly know what dark matter is. Indeed, they can only see its effect in the form of gravity. Now, the high energy physics community has developed a set of simplified models which retain the elegance of the traditional Effective Field Theories-style models yet provide a better description of the signals of dark matter. astronomy
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%feed https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160726123520.htm A famous supermassive black hole 'spied on' with the Gran Telescopio CANARIAS Novel observations by an international group of researchers with the CanariCam instrument on the Gran Telescopio CANARIAS provide new information about magnetic fields around the active nucleus of the galaxy Cygnus A. This is the first time that polarimetric observations in the middle infrared region of the spectrum have been made of the nucleus of an active galaxy. astronomy
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%feed https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160726122841.htm Americans worried about using gene editing, brain chip implants and synthetic blood Many in the general public think scientific and technological innovations bring helpful change to society, but they are more concerned than excited when it comes to the potential use of emerging technologies to make people's minds sharper, their bodies stronger and healthier than ever before, according to a new survey. A majority of Americans would be 'very' or 'somewhat' worried about gene editing (68%); brain chips (69%); and synthetic blood (63%), while no more than half say they would be enthusiastic about each of these developments. While some people say they would be both enthusiastic and worried, overall, concern outpaces excitement. technology
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%feed https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160726094824.htm Postcards provide link to Edwardian social media A new public searchable database provides access to a unique and inspirational treasure trove of amazing stories and pictures through what researchers term the 'social media' of the Edwardian era. technology
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%feed https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2016/jul/27/bikes-buses-bridges-boris-johnsons-biggest-design-blunders Bikes, buses and bridges: Boris Johnson's biggest design blunders
As plans for the Garden Bridge teeter, behold Boris's most public design disasters, from Thomas Heatherwick's mobile sweatbox to an Olympic white elephant
It was the Kevlar-coated vanity project that could survive missiles of common sense fired from every direction. But the Garden Bridge's aura of invincibility looks as if it might finally be wearing off.
%feed http://99u.com/articles/54228/the-danger-of-making-a-backup-plan/ The Danger of Making a Backup Plan
Whatever your creative ambition is, you know it could fail. Tough, but true. Your book proposal might get rejected, your start-up might tank. Your client pitch might fall flat. That's an uncomfortable prospect for anyone, and a sensible antidote is often to make a backup plan. You tell yourself that if the book proposal flops, then you'll start applying for staff writer positions. Or if your start-up fails, then you'll take that job at your friend's company.
A backup plan is like an emotional safety net it's comforting and helps combat the fear of failure. And yet, ironically, the very act of devising this secondary plan could make it more likely that your primary goal will fail.
The very act of devising this secondary plan could make it more likely that your primary goal will fail.
Business scholars at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Pennsylvania advised recently that this adverse effect is most likely if your primary goal takes effort (which of course is true of most creative ambitions). The reason, as shown in their new paper in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, is that backup plans can sap our motivation. Fear of failure is actually a powerful driver toward success, and by ameliorating that anxiety, a backup plan makes it more likely you'll enter cruise mode, rather than forge ahead with single-minded ambition.
To test their theory that backup plans sap motivation, the researchers conducted four experiments involving hundreds of people who were asked to decipher scrambled sentences in a given timeframe. The rewards for success varied across the experiments and included a free snack or extra payment.
In each case, some of the participants were asked to devise a backup plan. For example, if the reward for success at the task was a free snack, the participants in the backup condition were asked to think about other ways they could obtain free food on campus.
The consistent finding was that participants who devised backup plans unscrambled fewer sentences. The purely mental act of coming up with other ways of obtaining the task reward meant that their performance suffered. Questionnaires administered to participants afterwards showed this wasn't because participants with a backup plan had been distracted, but because they felt less motivated.
One clarification this new research is about backup plans that involve identifying a new goal if your primary goal fails (like applying for a staff position if your book proposal gets rejected). It isn't about identifying multiple means to achieve the same primary goal for example, doing research to find as many agents as possible to whom to submit your proposal. Lots of research suggests that finding multiple strategies towards the same goal increases commitment and motivation.
Based on their findings, the researchers Jihae Shin and Katherine Milkman advised that “although making a backup plan has well-known benefits [such as reducing anxiety about the future…], it also has costs that should be weighed carefully”.
These new results lack a certain amount of realism performance on an online word game is not equivalent to launching a new company or penning a novel. Nonetheless, the experiments support a compelling intuition that by dousing your fear, a backup plan can also extinguish your burning passion. Logic suggests this is most likely to be a problem when your goal depends on dogged determination, much less so for “punts” the success of which depends much more on luck in this latter case, backup plans are a shrewd idea with no apparent downside.
To make a plan B, or not to make a plan B?
The findings suggest that one way to decide is to weigh up whether your bigger concern for a particular goal is excessive anxiety or flagging motivation. Say you're terrified that your client pitch is going to bomb and the reason is not through lack of preparation then it makes sense to have a backup plan in place (for example, you could make parallel plans to approach different clients). On the other hand, if your problem is one of motivation you're struggling to switch off the football game and getting to work on your pitch it might well be better not to give yourself the comfort of a backup plan. In this case, thinking through a backup risks undermining your energy still further, giving you the perfect excuse to keep watching the game.
There is also a third way make a habit of devising backup plans but do so mindful of the potential harm to your drive and focus. If you can offset the motivational drag of the backup plan, then you have the best of both worlds.
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%feed http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nybooks/~3/5uDykNKVTFI/ The Trump-Putin Fallacy Trump is not a foreign agent, controlled by Putin. He is a thoroughly American creation that poses an existential threat to American democracy. Now that Trump has become the Republican nominee—and has pulled even or even slightly ahead of Clinton in the most recent polls—it is time to force ourselves to imagine the unimaginable: Trump as elected president of the United States. culture
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%feed http://99u.com/articles/54208/martina-flor-an-introverts-approach-to-kicking-ass/ Martina Flor: An Introvert's Approach to Kicking Ass
When you speak to Martina Flor you'll immediately notice just how aw-shucks friendly she is. She'll never boast about her industry-leading lettering ability and is reluctant to go to into the sort of bold proclamations that “iconoclastic” creative minds tend to spout. But the soft-spoken Argentinian-native is the furthest thing from passive. Call it an introvert's approach to kicking ass.
Her well-established freelance lettering business is thriving and is the result of some super-aggressive career path (and world map) navigation as she bounced from in-house designer to agencies across two continents the same way she bounces around in conversation — quietly but unmistakably confident.
Whether it's going freelance or launching a fun side project, Flor dives in and hopes for the net to appear. And lately, it always does. In an era of over-the-top self-promotion and social media sniping, is there still space for the friendly woman that believes in the altruism of creative education? We spoke with the Berlin-based letterer on how she built an enviable career, one which mixes fun side projects, notable clients like Vanity Fair and HBO, and gaggle of 12,000 devoted students.
It seems like Instagram and Pinterest are just packed with letterers. Are we at peak lettering?
There's definitely a lettering boom and I can imagine why letterers might find it hard. Overall I find this opportunity and possibility of sharing things online amazing. I use these networks all the time in my creative work and they've influenced my work. I'm not against this “oversharing” era as I think it encourages a lot of people who tend to stay behind the scenes.
I don't have a judgement on whether any work should be out there or not, everything has the right to be out there. But we as designers, we need to be aware of why we think work is good or bad. We should know how to choose the right lettering, the ones that are good. That's one of the reasons I talk and lecture. I want to convey tools art directors can use to filter the sea of stuff that's out there.
A project for 11 Freunde, a German soccer magazine for their “Das Spiel meines Lebens” (“The Game of My Life”) issue. Here, a quote from former Manchester United forward Teddy Sheringham. Translated: “It was heaven, it was hell.”
It sounds like you believe it's a meritocracy, that the people with talent will get the work they deserve.
Sort of. There will be an audience that is not educated on design and typography. But there's another layer of a creative community that should be able to tell good from bad. If you know a little bit and you're educated, you can filter.
Have you ever seen work that wasn't up to snuff get a lot of social media attention? How did that affect you and is it discouraging?
I don't look at my competition that much and in those terms. It's not a good mindset to work while constantly thinking of other people stealing your clients. I'm grateful that I keep having work coming in and that I'm too busy on my own stuff. But it's true that this lettering boom has made it a bit over-worn. Again, that's why those of us who do lettering seriously have a responsibility to educate clients and art directors as to what is good lettering and what is not.
How do you judge your success?
It changes all of the time. I have weeks where I feel like nothing is moving, that I should be doing more side projects or a client project I did wasn't successful. I have other times when I leave the office where I think “that's the best thing I've ever done!” At the end of the day, what makes me happy is when I look at my body of work and see that I'm moving forward, when I see things I did in the past and think “I can do that much better.” I also try to revel in the little successes. I can change the curve of an “N” and that will make my day.
“I try to revel in the little successes. I can change the curve of an “N” and that will make my day.”
How did you make the leap to freelance?
It started when I worked for Levi's in Argentina and Uruguay, and I had to learn to speak to different audiences, people that will by the basic line versus the premier line. People who spoke different languages. The communication and strategies are things I apply all the time to my own brand. I was a designer or art director for a long time, and only focused on lettering six years ago.
What spurred the final decision?
After Levi's, I went to work for an agency as an art director and, on the side, I was doing illustration work for children's magazines. I was coming home at night and just doing illustrations until midnight, sleeping, and then going to work, every day. I was scared that I wouldn't have any clients if I went freelance. But in retrospect, most people who go freelance make a mistake hesitating. Just leap. After all, what client wants to work with someone at 12 at night as part of some side work? It's a pity I didn't take the chance to go freelance earlier.
Most people who go freelance make a mistake hesitating. Just leap.
How did you get your first clients?
An important part of that was telling the world I was only a lettering artist and only showing work related to that. It really made an impact, people said “Oh she's a letterer? I should only call her when I need lettering.” The message you give to the world comes back to you in terms of clients and work.
How long did it take for your income to reach full-time levels?
Between one and a half to two years. At the same time, I moved to Berlin which is a city where there is a big typographic community here. You live and breathe typography here. I think this community contributed a lot to motivate and inspire my work. I don't know if this would have worked anywhere else.
If you were to make a pie chart of your income what would it look like?
I'd say 80 percent comes from commercial client work and 20 percent from teaching. The side projects don't bring any money, in fact it's the opposite — I invest money in them. But they do contribute to me getting commercial work and they feed my portfolio. A lot of things I create for my side projects, I include in my portfolio and clients respond to that. If you don't feed your portfolio somehow then your clients will come after the old work and you'll start replicating yourself a lot.
The message you give to the world comes back to you in terms of clients and work. I told the world I was a lettering artist and I only show work related to that.
There's a lot of people that love to debate whether it's okay to work for free, but it looks like you advocate doing that as long as it's for yourself.
I don't have this “never work for free” attitude. Sometimes I do commissions that don't pay well, but if you're interested in the job you can always find a way to make it a win-win for both sides. Maybe it's licensing or promotion. Money isn't the only way you can be paid. I don't like the mindset where people think “I will only take a job if I'm paid very well.” That puts you in the position to only get a certain type of job and you'll miss a lot of potential good pieces you could do.
I read you work 9 to 6 in the studio? Is that still true?
I always say I'm a freelancer that has a fixed full-time job in a studio. I like to have that space where I know that I can get certain things done. Though, I don't have such a clear line between my personal and work life. Sometimes I'm playing with my son and I think of a commission, or sometimes I am working and think of my son and go see him. I have a schedule, but I don't leave my studio and just forget about work. I live with what I do and it doesn't stress me.
How has becoming a parent in the past few months affected the way you approach your freelance routine? If at all?
With parenting or with career there's a lot of insecurities that come together. I enjoy being a parent, but I am sometimes afraid of what I'm missing for my job. I had to admit at times I was a little insecure and wondered if I could enjoy my work as I did before now that I had this wonderful child in my life. But things are starting to organize now, I think a lot of that had to do with my mindset. I really wanted to keep my career going. From my colleagues I got these questions like “Oh, so you're stopping your work for a while, right?” Which is not a question it's more of a “You know you should stop for a while, right?” I didn't feel like I should do that. Although I enjoy my baby so much, I had to struggle a bit to do it my way instead of following what I “should have” done. I have to say that ten months in, there's a structure I had before that has changed into one where I can parent and continue my career. But I had months when I thought, “How am I going to do this?”
Sounds like you love to jump into tough choices.
In my workshops there is often someone who comes with a bunch of plans before tackling something. “Oh I'm going to move this ‘A' to the right. Or this swish on the ‘S'” And I always just look at them and say “Just draw it!” I think this parallels my life: Draw it first and then see if it works.
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%feed https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jul/27/silicon-nightmare-yuri-pattinson-ghostly-office-user-space-chisenhale-gallery Silicon nightmare: it's lonely work in Yuri Pattison's ghost office
Lights flicker, shelves gather dust and cables twist like snakes all that's missing from this tech workspace are workers, leaving you feeling like a lab rat in a maze
Chisenhale Gallery in east London recently closed its doors and sent its staff on a five-week break. It has now reopened. But as what? Is Yuri Pattison's User, Space an office, a warehouse, temporary quarters or an art installation? Come to that, am I spectator or viewer; critic or user? Don't answer that.
A swanky new arrival desk stands in what's now called the “power lobby”. It looks like the same old power-free lobby to me, just made-over. Beyond, half-installed (or half-abandoned) warehouse and office paraphernalia fills the big gallery. Has some kind of tech company started up, then powered down? Where is everyone? Abducted by aliens, made redundant by a do-not-reply automated message? Maybe they've just moved on. Everything gets rebooted.
%feed http://www.designboom.com/art/cantor-fine-art-emojis-07-27-2016/ fine art emojis turn famous creatives into virtual visionaries
cantor fine art has gallery has created more than a dozen digital portraits that blend emoticons with artists' portraits, their quirky personalities, and their most famous works.
%feed https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2016/jul/27/the-keeper-new-york-museum-collecting-hoarding Hoarders or collectors? Our frightened society has forgotten the difference
New York art show The Keeper celebrates our poetic obsession with objects, but how many of us simply surround ourselves with familiar, reassuring rubbish?
The US is a nation of compulsive collectors at least if responses to an exhibition at New York City's New Museum are anything to go by. The Keeper is a collection of collections, a survey of the collecting passion in art and beyond that finds room for everything from a menagerie of tiny whittled animals made by Levi Fisher Ames of Wisconsin to Vladimir Nabokov's collection of butterflies in three floors of stuff. All of which begs the question: what is the difference between artful collecting and mad hoarding? Or are they the same thing?
Just as intriguing are the collecting confessions of New York Times readers who replied to the paper's invitation to respond to the show. It turns out they collect everything from “vintage photos of men in rows” (pictures of lines of men, that is not images of men quarrelling), to a woman who keeps the contents of her vacuum cleaner, to people who lovingly curate novelty pens or coloured paperclips.
%feed https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jul/27/sophia-al-maria-video-artist-interview-islam-qatar-us-whitney-museum-black-friday Artist Sophia Al-Maria: 'People hate Islam, but they're titillated by it too'
As her first solo show opens in New York, the Qatari-American artist talks about Gulf pop culture, gross veil fetishes and why she's not playing the ‘native informant'
Towards the end of Black Friday, the film that forms the centrepiece of her show at the Whitney in New York, Sophia Al-Maria tells the story of the time she and her sister were riding the escalators in a mall in Doha. She notices a guy she took algebra with in high school a few steps ahead of her, hanging out with a group of his own friends. She doesn't call out, because she knows he won't recognise her. She is wearing her abaya, her hair covered, and the guy from algebra is a US serviceman on his day off. The classroom they sat in together is more than 7,000 miles away in the Pacific Northwest. Rather than shatter the glass wall that keeps her two lives separate, she simply carries on shopping.
In the Gulf I'd have access to Indian, Chinese, European stuff. In the US, it was the same TLC song on repeat
Evil is born … not in the dark satanic mills of the 19th century but the bright fluorescent malls of the 21st
Much of the work was filmed with a drone in a yet-to-be-opened mall in Doha. 'It's a nightmare sermon. A bad trip'
%feed http://www.designboom.com/art/micro-atelier-arquitectura-spinning-installation-07-27-2016/ micro atelier de arquitectura e arte install gira spinning installation in porto
the moving installation uses a swivel mechanism that allows users to rotate the structure manually once inside.
HEY EVERYBODY! I just designed an issue of an awesome publication called La Petite Mort. Please check out the link and hit the “Thumbs Up” button at the bottom if you like it!!!
They're available for FREE at Calliope in NYC
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%feed http://www.designboom.com/art/mathieu-tremblin-tag-clouds-graffiti-art-internet-font-07-26-2016/ mathieu tremblin deciphers graffiti tags as legible letterforms
on storefronts and walls across rennes, the french creative 'rewrites' local artists' tags as legible letters that would ordinarily appear on computer screens.
%feed http://heptagram.co/post/148007457937 La Petite Mort #6 La Petite Mort #6:
HEY EVERYBODY! I just designed an issue of an awesome publication called La Petite Mort. Please check out the link and hit the “Thumbs Up” button at the bottom if you like it!!!
They're available for FREE at Calliope in NYC
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%feed http://www.designboom.com/art/carmelo-battaglia-viaggio-nelle-citta-invisibili-di-roma-07-26-2016/ carmelo battaglia's journey to the invisible cities of rome
battaglia's immersive journey transports the viewer into the heart forgotten roman realities like the half-built skeleton of santiago calatrava's sport city.
%feed http://www.designboom.com/art/daigo-ishii-future-scape-architects-worldwide-tokyo-lization-project-venice-architecture-biennale-07-26-2016/ daigo ishii + future-scape architects ‘tokyo-ize' six of the world's major cities
the project' explores the idea of 'locality' and asks 'what is the image of a city?' if elements from its environment are replaced with those from an entirely different context.
A dramatic winter sunset over Lavender Hill and rush hour traffic on the way home from work. With the distinctive spire of the former Arding and Hobbs department store in silhouette.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fthegrimfandango%2F28303151300%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Tower Bridge Sunset, London
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2F92501813%40N06%2F28300771070%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 China Eastern Airlines Airbus A330-200 B-5962
%feed http://insider.si.edu/2016/07/rare-zebra-specie-graze-smithsonian-conservation-biology-institute/ Rare Zebras graze at Smithsonian
Hartmann's mountain zebras at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va. (Photo by Dolores Reed, SCBI)
For the first time in more than 15 years zebras will graze the fields at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va. Three Hartmann's mountain zebras—two females (Yvonne and Xolani) and one male (Raylan)—came out of quarantine this week at SCBI. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan for the species has recommended the females for breeding with the male, and SCBI researchers will be studying the animals to develop assisted reproduction techniques vital to the zebras' conservation.
“Very little research has focused on the fundamental reproductive biology of zebras,” said Budhan Pukazhenthi, an SCBI reproductive physiologist. “With this information, we can develop assisted reproductive techniques such as artificial insemination and sperm cryopreservation, or freezing, to ensure this species persists and that there is enough genetic diversity for the population's health going forward. We expect these animals to serve as a helpful model for other endangered zebras, too.”
Hartmann's mountain zebras are a subspecies of the mountain zebra, which is one of three zebra species. Considered vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Hartmann's mountain zebras live in dry mountain habitats of Namibia. Unlike other zebra species, Hartmann's mountain zebras live in small herds, have vertical stripes on their neck and torso and horizontal stripes on their backside, and have a small fold of skin under their chin (called a dewlap). With less than 25,000 individuals left in the wild, the biggest threat to this species' survival is habitat loss and fragmentation as the result of livestock production and agriculture.
Hartmann's mountain zebras at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va. (Photo by Dolores Reed, SCBI)
In addition to learning about their reproductive physiology, SCBI will also be experimenting with different substrates to alleviate potential hoof issues, a prevalent problem for these animals, which have hooves suited for rocky terrain. Two-year-old Raylan, 3-year-old Xolani and 14-year-old Yvonne came to SCBI from Disney's Animal Kingdom. The mares will live separately from Raylan until he is of reproductive age.
“SCBI is uniquely positioned to manage this species and make a significant contribution to zebra conservation,” said Dolores Reed, SCBI animal keeper. “We have decades of experience working with other ungulates, including Persian onagers and Przewalski's horses. We're looking forward to learning everything we can about the Hartmann's mountain zebra and then putting that information into action for the species.”
%feed http://insider.si.edu/2016/07/inspiration-bright-spark-cast-american-craft-renwick-gallery/ Inspiration is bright spark cast by American craft at Renwick Gallery
A dynamic new presentation of 80+ objects celebrating craft as a discipline and approach to living differently in the modern world has just opened at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Selected from the museum's permanent collection the exhibition features iconic favorites alongside new acquisitions.
Titled “Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery,” the exhibition's objects are arranged to focus on their interconnectivity and overlapping stories. Following this theme, below are five pioneering pieces from the permanent collection followed by short videos of contemporary artists explaining how these pioneering works inspired the creation of new works, works that have recently found their way into the Renwick.
Slashed Millstone
“Slashed Millstone,” by Robyn Horn, 1996, ebonized redwood burl and ebony.
Millstones remain a distinctive sign of early civilization, though they have all but disappeared from the modern world. In this object Robyn Horn skillfully transforms redwood burl to “stone” to produce a timeless form, primitive yet unmistakably man-made, which seemingly reflects the unconscious effects of use and time.
Gold Lustre Teapot
“Gold Lustre Teapot,” by Beatrice Wood, 1988 (earthenware with lustres)
Beatrice Wood's interest in ceramics and luster glazes began in 1933 when she could not find a teapot to match a set of antique luster plates she had bought, and so she decided to make her own. In the 1950s the emergence of abstract expressionism led Wood to coat the entire body of her ceramic works with shimmering lusters. This style became her trademark and was used throughout her long career. The large round body and oversized handle of this teapot balance precariously on the small foot.
Impressions
“Impressions,” by Sebastian Martorana, 2008 (marble; 8″ x 24″ x 18″)
Graphite Pendulum Pendant
“Graphite Pendulum Pendant,” by Joan Parcher, 1994 (graphite, sterling silver and stainless steel). From the Renwick Gallery.
Joan Parcher's neckpiece invites us to reconsider the relationship between jewelry and the body, we often take for granted. The minimilist pendant features a single piece of lathe-turned graphite, rather than gems. Its understated elegance masks the artist's subversive intent. When it is worn, the wearer's movements cause the graphite to swing gently, leaving its mark.
Apocalypse '42
“Apocalypse '42,” Viktor Schreckengost, 1942 (terracotta and glaze with engobe)
Viktor Schreckengost created Apocalypse '42 a few months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This image of a frightened horse bearing Hitler, Mussolini, Hirohito, and a figure of Death across the globe was made to protest the rise of fascism. The drips of bloodred glaze around the horse's head and hooves were an unintentional effect of the firing process.
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedaily.com%2Freleases%2F2016%2F07%2F160727090558.htm&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 New approach for environmental test on livestock drugs Drugs for livestock can harm beneficial organisms that break down dung. Therefore newly developed medical substances need to be tested on single species in the lab. An international research group has been scrutinizing the reliability of such laboratory tests, evaluating the implementation of a field test based on the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin at four climatically different locations. The scientists have now presented a novel approach for more advanced environmental compatibility tests. gaia
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fredirect.viglink.com%2F%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Ffeeds.mashable.com%252F%7Er%252FMashable%252F%7E3%252F863ZS4Y26Lo%252F%26key%3Dddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 r0B0t: Dyson's 360 Eye robot vacuum is an able Roomba competitor, despite its blunders
Fifteen years is a long time to work on any product and it's like a century when it comes to technology. Which is why I find it a little surprising that Dyson seems comfortable characterizing the Dyson 360 Eye autonomous robotic vacuum as well-over a decade in the making.
This occurred to me as one of the marketing managers recently explained to how Dyson made the bold decision to include a camera in the vacuum way back in 2001. Would they have made the same decision if they started development in, say, 2014?
I became further concerned about Dyson being a little out of step when I realized that the robotic vacuum could not connect to 5 GHz Wi-Fi networks. If this were 2007 or even 2009, I could understand that, but 2016? Read more...
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fredirect.viglink.com%2F%3Fu%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.engadget.com%252F2016%252F07%252F27%252Ficymi-robosurgeon-wigglebot-and-a-very-cute-penguin%252F%26key%3Dddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 r0B0t: ICYMI: Robosurgeon, wigglebot and a very cute penguin Today on In Case You Missed It: A robot from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev produces a wave-like motion that can propel itself across a floor or through water, only with one motor. Also a robotic surgeon called Flex can snake its way down... robots
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fredirect.viglink.com%2F%3Fu%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.engadget.com%252F2016%252F07%252F27%252Frobotic-exoskeleton-for-babies-cerebral-palsy%252F%26key%3Dddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 r0B0t: Robotic exoskeleton for babies can help prevent cerebral palsy University of Oklahoma's robotic exoskeleton for babies does two things: (1) make the kiddos look like tiny Dr. Octopuses and (2) help prevent cerebral palsy. The motorized device has power steering that gives babies at risk of the illness a little p... robots
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.google.com%2Fnews%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26fd%3DR%26ct2%3Dus%26usg%3DAFQjCNEKAxNFLocsiClZpmO6ZxjOogeDhQ%26clid%3Dc3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331%26cid%3D52779167203450%26ei%3DtsyYV5jEOoObzAbeuKG4Cw%26url%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fthefederalist.com%2F2016%2F07%2F27%2Fthe-dnc-is-a-chaotic-exercise-in-cognitive-dissonance%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The DNC Is A Chaotic Exercise In Cognitive Dissonance - The Federalist
%feed http://twitter.com/shepiek/status/758314355930914816 @dudumo @OpenParlyZw @ambatrud @KalabashMedia @matigary dudu CITES =Convention for international trade on endangered species. http://ifttt.com/missing_link?1469631284
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%feed http://twitter.com/RacingXtinction/status/758308783005184000 .@FedEx continues to ship #shark fin & violate law on @CITES international level & US Endangered Species Act https://t.co/i8mbtZrEv3 https://t.co/i8mbtZrEv3
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%feed http://twitter.com/ambatrud/status/758307984313319426 #CITES Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species - the next big meeting, #cop17 , in Joburg late Sept https://t.co/q5nUmVJJ3y https://t.co/q5nUmVJJ3y
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fdr-dave-randle%2Fthinking-differently-abou_b_11208246.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Thinking Differently About the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals
Last week I was invited by Amb. Sarbuland Khan, along with my colleague Ed Chiles, and one of my student interns Bianca Cassouto as guests of the UNTWO to the High Level Political Forum. L-R Richard Jordan, David Randle, Bianca Cassouto, Sarbuland Khan, & Ed Chiles
The High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) is the United Nations mechanism for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's), adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015.
The Forum, which adopts a Ministerial Declaration, provides political leadership, guidance and recommendations on the 2030 Agenda's implementation and follow-up; keeps track of progress of the SDGs; spurs coherent policies informed by evidence, science and country experiences; as well as address new and emerging issues.
The HLPF released the first report on how governments are doing in working toward the SDG's. The report notes that one in eight people still lives in extreme poverty, nearly 800 million people suffer from hunger, over one billion people live without electricity and over two billion experience water scarcity.
Secretary General Ban Ki Moon's provided remarks to the HLPF and the forums report. In his remarks he noted that the report underscores the importance of targeted action to address those who are the furthest behind, according to Ban. For the 2030 Agenda to be considered fully implemented, U.N. Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, stressed the need to reach "those who are the furthest behind...first." He underscored the importance of data and indicators on all groups, particularly those that are often unaccounted for.
The theme of this years meeting was "Leaving No One Behind".
The closing Ministerial Declaration included but was not limited to the following key points:
A pledge that no one will be left in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
An emphasis that the HLPF is called to provide political leadership, guidance and recommendations along with a central role to review the progress toward the 2030 Agenda.
A welcome of the early efforts in implementing the 2030 Agenda and the goals and the building on the previous Millennium Development Goals.
A special highlight that in considering that in leaving no one behind that the dignity of the human person is fundamental and that the HLPF endeavors to reach the furthest behind and the most vulnerable first.
A Commitment by the HLFP that in it's endeavour to ensure that no one is left behind, to focus its efforts where the challenges are greatest, including by ensuring the inclusion and participation of those who are furthest behind. This includes: include all children, adolescents, youth, persons with disabilities, people living with HIV/AIDS, older persons, Indigenous peoples, refugees and internally displaced persons, migrants and peoples living in areas affected by complex humanitarian emergencies, and peoples in areas affected by terrorism and conflict.
An emphasis on the commitment to make real a world free of poverty, hunger, disease, want and environmental degradation, where all life can thrive. A world with universal literacy, with equitable and universal access to quality education at all levels, to health care and social protection, where physical, mental and social well-being are assured; where we reaffirm our commitments regarding the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation and where there is improved hygiene; and where food is sufficient, safe, affordable and nutritious.
A recognition that sustainable development cannot be realized without peace and security; and peace and security will be at risk without sustainable development.
A recognition and emphasis that universal respect for human rights and human dignity, peace, justice, equality and non-discrimination, is central to our commitment to leave no one behind.
A further emphasis and commitment for a world to make real a world in which every country enjoys sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and decent work for all; in which consumption and production patterns and use of all natural resources are sustainable. A world in which development is climate-sensitive and respects biodiversity, where we restore and conserve and sustainably use all ecosystems and strengthen our cooperation to prevent environmental degradation, and promote resilience and disaster risk reduction. A world where human settlements and the application of technology are inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable and where there is universal access to safe, affordable, reliable and sustainable transport and energy systems. A world in which humanity lives in harmony with nature and in which wildlife and other living species are protected.
An acknowledgement that gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls will make a crucial contribution to progress across all the goals and targets.
An appreciation for partnerships and facilitating multi-stakeholder participation and promoting system-wide coherence and coordination. We highlight the important contributions made by its Fora on Youth, on Partnerships, and on Development Cooperation; its Segments on Operational Activities, on Integration, and on Humanitarian Affairs; its Special Meetings on Inequality.
A commitment to the 2030 Agenda to building resilient infrastructure and its particular connection with the promotion of inclusive and sustainable industrialization and the fostering of innovation. The HLPF is committed to address infrastructure gaps, by inter alia, improving investments and further building capacities within a coherent policy framework, and consider this key for reducing inequalities within and amongst countries.
A recognition that that the scale and ambition of the 2030 Agenda requires a revitalized and enhanced Global Partnership for Sustainable Development to ensure its implementation, working in a spirit of global solidarity, in particular with the poorest and with people who are vulnerable.
It was also encouraging to see the strong calls for policy and assessments of progress to be based on sound science. http://sd.iisd.org/news/un-calls-for-scientific-input-to-gsdr-on-leaving-no-one-behind/Some of the questions in the HLPF suggested participants consider included:
What do future scenarios and projections tell us about the world in 2030? What will it take to achieve the SDGs?
What new and emerging issues require policy action at the national and global levels? In particular, what emerging issues should be on the agenda of the high-level political forum?
What are the most crucial emerging technologies for the SDGs until 2030? What are the opportunities and potential threats?
To answer the above questions, Secretary General Ban Ki Moon noted that the world is off to a good start and also observed "We must all learn, in national governments, in local authorities, in business and civil society, and also at the UN, to think differently,"
It occurred to me that perhaps the tourism industry might be the perfect vehicle to assist people in thinking differently.
Over the years for me getting out of my routine and connecting with nature has always been a catalyst to see the world in a new and different way.
For example, few weeks ago I had the opportunity to be part of a Sea Turtle expedition sponsored by the Sea Turtle Conservancy, in the far most western tip of Cuba where we tagged two Green Turtles to participate in the research of the Tour de Turtles event that begins August 1st.
The remote location of Western Cuba was incredible. The coral reefs were some of the most pristine I have ever visited. The remote beaches of the Guanahacabibes Peninsula National Park lacked much development outside Maria La Gorda providing some of the brightest stars I have ever seen.
Though I have been fortunate to travel to many remote places in the world, this is the first time I can recall ever being able to see Saturn with the naked eye. In fact I didn't even know this was possible.
Interestingly, if you were to look at Earth from Saturn, not only would you not see Earth, you would not see any stars at all as the lights from Saturn's rings precludes any visibility of Earth that we take for granted as the stary nights sky.
Taking the time to experience nature in a new way, to see things from a new perspective is perhaps a good metaphor for how we might approach the implementation of the SDG's.
It is all to easy to look at implementation of the SDG's from our past world view. If instead we would allow ourselves to not have our view distorted by the so called enlightenment of our present thinking, we might be able to clearly see much more that has always been there but hidden from our present way we view the world.
Specifically, we might look to the world of tourism that has numerous successful models that many have never known existed to examine, just as many have never known that it is possible that they see Saturn.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newscientist.com%2Farticle%2F2099092-hammerhead-sharks-roll-over-and-swim-sideways-to-save-energy%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Hammerhead sharks roll over and swim sideways to save energy Uniquely among sharks, the great hammerhead has an unusually long dorsal fin that appears to make it more efficient for it to swim rolled over gaia
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Flindahall.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F148046853566&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 John Dalton – Scientist of the Day John Dalton, the modern...
John Dalton – Scientist of the Day
John Dalton, the modern founder of the atomic theory, died July 27, 1844, at age 77.
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fgo.theregister.com%2Ffeed%2Fwww.theregister.co.uk%2F2016%2F07%2F27%2Fessex_police_introduce_lie_detectors_under_constable_ned_kelly%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Gullible Essex Police are now using junk science lie detectors
And sent Constable Ned Kelly on an 11-week training course to use the things
Essex Police has announced it is using polygraph tests on convicted criminals in its own words, “to help manage the risk posed by convicted sex offenders.”…
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fthe-conversation-us%2Fthe-science-behind-hillar_b_11213790.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dscience%26ir%3DScience&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The Science Behind Hillary Clinton's Problems With Trust By Jillian Jordan, Yale University and David Rand, Yale University
Large swaths of the American public want Donald J. Trump to be their president - maybe even a majority, according to an analysis from Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight in late July.
Many people - Democrats and Republicans alike - find this shocking.
Trump made his name as the "You're fired" guy. He has never held political office, has arguably failed to generate concrete or realistic policy proposals, regularly changes his positions on issues and consistently gets the facts wrong.
This stands in sharp contrast to Hillary Clinton, who has served as secretary of state, senator from New York and first lady of the United States. In his endorsement of her, Barack Obama described Clinton as the most qualified presidential nominee in U.S. history. Presumably experience with, and knowledge of, the system and issues are qualities that make for a good president - so why is this race even close?
How to build trust
Research, including new work from our Human Cooperation Laboratory at Yale, suggests Trump may be successful precisely because of his hotheadedness and lack of carefully thought-out proposals. Being seen as uncalculating can make people trust you.
Hillary Clinton is the opposite of hotheaded. She is careful and calculating - which, despite being a strong asset in actually carrying out the duties of public office, has become a liability in her presidential campaign by undermining the public's trust in her.
In a recent paper, we found that if you take an action that people like, you come off as much more trustworthy if you decide to act without doing a careful cost-benefit analysis first: Individuals who calculate seem liable to sell out when the price is right.
What's more, the desire to appear trustworthy motivated participants to act without too much forethought.
Our research didn't focus on perceptions of politicians, but rather looked at behavior in a more abstract context. We conducted a series of experiments involving economic decisions between anonymous strangers on the internet. Our goal was to create a scenario that would capture the classic trade-off between self-interest and helping others. This is something that comes up in a lot in politics, but also in all sorts of social interactions, such as in our relationships with friends, coworkers and lovers.
Our experiments occur in two stages, with participants assigned to specific roles.
Helping Game.
In the Helping Game stage, "Helpers" are given some money and have the opportunity to give some of it away to benefit another participant.
The second participant is a total stranger who is assigned to the "Recipient" role, and not given any money.
Helpers know that helping the Recipient out will come at a cost - sacrificing a predetermined, but undisclosed, amount of money.
We then give Helpers a choice. They can decide whether to help the Recipient without "looking" at the cost (i.e., without knowing how much money they'll be giving away). Or, they can choose to find out how much money they'll be giving away and only then decide whether to help.
Trust Game.
Next, in the Trust Game stage, Helpers engage in a new interaction with a third participant. This person is called the "Truster." The Truster learns about how the Helper behaved in the first interaction, and then uses it to decide how much the Helper can be trusted.
To measure trust, we give the Truster 30 cents. He then chooses how much to keep and how much to "invest" in the Helper.
Any money he invests gets tripled and given to the Helper. The Helper then chooses how to divide the proceeds of the investment.
Under these rules, investing is productive, because it makes the pot grow larger. But investing pays off for the Truster only if the Helper is trustworthy, and returns enough money to make the Truster a profit.
For example, if the Truster invests all 30 cents, that amount is tripled and the Helper gets 90 cents. If the Helper is trustworthy and returns half, they both end up with 45 cents: more than the Truster started with.
However, the Helper may decide to keep all 90 cents and return nothing. In this case, the Truster ends up with zero and is worse off than when he started.
So the Truster bases his decision of how much to invest in the Helper on how trustworthy he thinks the she will be in the face of a temptation to be selfish - that is, how much he trusts her.
We found that Helpers who agree to help the Recipient without "looking" at the cost are trusted more by Trusters. Moreover, they really are more trustworthy. These "uncalculating Helpers" actually return more money to Trusters in the face of the temptation to keep it all for themselves.
Somebody is watching you
We also found that Helpers are motivated by concerns about their reputation.
For half of participants, there were reputational consequences of calculating: The Truster was told whether the Helper looked at the cost before deciding whether to help - and thus Helpers could lose "trust points" by calculating. For the other half of participants, Trusters found out only whether Helpers helped, but not whether they looked at the cost. Our results showed that Helpers were less likely to look at the cost when they knew it would have reputational consequences.
This result suggests that people do not make uncalculating decisions only because they cannot be bothered to put in the effort to calculate. Whether this strategy is conscious or not, uncalculating decisions can also be a way to signal to others that you can be trusted.
Uncalculating cooperation in daily life
Our studies demonstrate that there are reputation benefits to seeming principled and uncalculating.
This conclusion likely applies broadly to social relationships with friends, colleagues, neighbors and lovers. For example, it may shed light on why a good friend is someone who helps you out, no questions asked - and not someone who carefully tracks favors and remembers exactly how much you owe.
It may also reveal an unexpected reason for the popularity of rigid ethical guidelines in philosophical and religious traditions. Committing to standards like the golden rule can make you more popular.
To trust Trump or Clinton?
Our studies may also help to shed light on Trump's appeal. One of his greatest advantages appears to be the authenticity that he conveys with his emotionally charged behavior.
But it's important to understand uncalculated decisions will benefit your reputation only if the actions you end up taking are perceived positively. In our experiments, Helpers who decided not to help without calculating the costs seemed especially untrustworthy - presumably because they seemed committed to be selfish no matter what. Similarly, Trump's impulsiveness may be a plus for those people who support his values, but a huge turnoff to those who do not.
In contrast, Clinton's persona is often unattractive even to those who support her values - because it suggests that she may not stand by those values when the cost is too high. This may shed light on why she does not inspire more enthusiasm among some liberals, despite her experience and progressive record.
However, there's an important nuance to what it means to be "calculating." One sense of "calculating" is self-interested: Before you agree to adhere to your ethical principles, or to sacrifice for others, you consider the costs and benefits to yourself - and you follow through with doing the "right" thing only if you conclude that it will be best for you.
Another way to be "calculating" is to carefully consider what's right for others. Instead of acting on her gut, a policymaker could conduct a complex analysis to figure out the best way to implement a policy to maximize its benefit to the population.
Our theory and experiments apply only to the first sense of "calculating": They suggest that engaging in self-interested calculations is what undermines trust.
But in what sense is Trump uncalculating - and in what sense is Clinton calculating?
Of course, there's room for debate, but a common argument in support of Clinton is that her calculations reflect her ability to effectively play the game to deliver the most progressive policies possible, given the constraints of our two-party system.
To win, Clinton needs to convince voters that her calculations have their best interests at heart - a major goal of this week's Democratic National Convention.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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%feed http://twitter.com/OpenParlyZw/status/758292543075446788 Min Muchinguri: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)banned us 4 9yrs from trading our ivory #Wedlive @matigary http://ifttt.com/missing_link?1469626790
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fredirect.viglink.com%2F%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.washingtonpost.com%252Fnews%252Fspeaking-of-science%252Fwp%252F2016%252F07%252F27%252Fthe-rosetta-probe-has-officially-stopped-listening-for-philae-its-little-lost-comet-lander%252F%26key%3Dddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 r0B0t: The Rosetta probe has officially stopped listening for Philae, its little lost comet lander
On Nov. 12, 2014, the European Space Agency's Rosetta orbiter dropped a little lander named Philae down onto the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The robot made history as the first manmade object to have a controlled landing on a comet, and was meant to help us uncover some of the secrets of our early solar system from 67P's […] robots
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2F136257077%40N03%2F28551938856%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 BA Jumbo At Sunset.
This year's crazed election got you stressed out? Or just life in general? “It's never too late,” Allen Ginsberg reminds us, “to meditate.” On Monday, we brought you several versions of Ginsberg's meditation instructions, which he set to song and recorded with Bob Dylan and disco maven/experimental cellist Arthur Russell, among others. Ginsberg's “sugar-coated dharma,” as he called it, does a great job of drawing attention to meditation and its benefits, personal and global, but it's hardly the soothing soundtrack one needs to get in the right posture and frame of mind.
For that, you might try Moby's 4 hours of ambient music, which he released free to the public through his website last month. Traditionally speaking, no music is necessary, but there's also no need go the way of Zen monks, or to embrace any form of Buddhism or other religion. Wholly secular forms of mindfulness meditation have been shown to reduce stress, depression, and anxiety, help manage physical pain, improve concentration, and promote a host of other benefits.
These include more religiously-oriented kinds of meditations like “Guided Chakra Balancing” and the mystical philosophies of Deepak Chopra, but don't run off yet if all that's too woo for you. There are also several hours of very practical, non-religious instruction from teachers like Professor Mark Williams of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, who offers meditations for cognitive therapy. See Williams discuss mindfulness research and meditation as an effective means of managing depression in the video above. (Catch a full mindfulness lecture from Professor Williams and hear another guided meditation from him on Youtube).
You'll also find a 30-minute guided meditation for sleep, sitar music from Ravi Shankar, and many other guided meditations at various points on the spectrum from the mystical to the wholly practical. Something for everyone here, in other words. Go ahead and give it a try. No matter if you can manage ten minutes or an hour a day, it's never too late.
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdotearth.blogs.nytimes.com%2F2016%2F07%2F27%2Fchina-must-join-mexico-and-the-u-s-in-saving-the-vanishing-vaquita-porpoise%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 China Must Join Mexico and the U.S. in Saving the Vanishing Vaquita Porpoise Now that Mexico and the United States have bolstered protections for the vanishing vaquita porpoise, it's time for China to do its part. gaia
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvoices.nationalgeographic.com%2F2016%2F07%2F27%2Fwhy-research-matters-to-mountain-lions-in-wyoming%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Why Research Matters to Mountain Lions in Wyoming F61, an adult female mountain lion followed as part of Panthera's Teton Cougar Project. Photograph by Mark Elbroch / Panthera.
Mountain lions live like shadows around us, and most people have never seen one. Most never will. Yet on July 8, the Wyoming Game Commission granted these wraiths of forests and mountains a reprieve in several parts of the state, including Unit 2 in the northwest where Panthera's Teton Cougar Project (TCP) operates. Unit 2 extends north of Jackson through the Bridger-Teton National Forest to Yellowstone National Park. Thanks to the diligent efforts of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's Large Carnivore Section (WGFD LCS) and researchers on the ground, research-driven mountain lion management is taking hold in Wyoming.
Since 2007, Wyoming has been aggressively trying to reduce its mountain lions in many areas to support mule deer populations and reduce real and perceived risks to people. Statewide, the number of mountain lions killed by hunters increased from 180 in 2006 to 306 in 2013, before dropping to 243 in 2015. Hunter success followed similar trends, with a steep drop of several percentage points after 2013. The proportion of older male mountain lions (the larger trophy animals hunters prefer) killed each year has also decreased. As a result, over the last 10 years, statewide harvest numbers have included 20% more young mountain lions. More adult females are being killed in many hunting units as well, and at younger ages. We know this thanks to improved tracking initiated by LCS biologists.
All of these changes indicate a population in decline—there are fewer mature male mountain lions on the landscape and fewer mountain lions in general, so many hunters are killing younger animals and females instead. This is significant because females are the reproductive capital of animal populations.
F61 sits adjacent her freshly-covered kill, the beautiful Teton Mountain Range in the background. Photograph by Mark Elbroch / Panthera.
This year, a record number of people took part in the public comment process and provided feedback on proposed changes to mountain lion hunting regulations. Overwhelmingly, those who participated were mountain lion hunters requesting that the WGFD increase hunting opportunities and increase mountain lion populations around the state. Tex Adams, representing the WY Federation of Houndsmen, explicitly requested more “science-based management.” Until this Game Commission meeting, most Wyoming hunting units other than Unit 2 have steadily increased mountain lion hunting limits since 2000. This year, the Game Commission approved reductions not only in Unit 2, but under recommendation by the LCS, reductions in Units 3, 6, 12 and 20 as well. In stark contrast to the rest of Wyoming, this is the fourth reduction in the hunting limit for Unit 2 since 2000.
So, what makes Unit 2 so special? One reason is research. Mountain lions are notoriously difficult to track and count, and thus the LCS has had the incomprehensible task of managing mountain lion populations in the absence of accurate population numbers. Unit 2 is an exception. The Teton Cougar Project launched in 2000 under Craighead Beringia South and is now led by Panthera. With support from local people and the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, we've monitored local mountain lions ever since. Subsequently, Unit 2 has seen a 75% reduction in the hunting limits for mountain lions, while statewide mountain lion hunting quotas have increased by 44% in the same time frame. This is both a testament to the value of research and the voices of Jackson's conservation organizations.
Adult female mountain lion followed by Panthera's Teton Cougar Project. Photograph by Khalil Karimov / Panthera.
Research-driven management can help managers with tough decisions. In our study area, we've found that the local mountain lion population has declined by 47% over the last 8-10 years. Our calculations show that by reducing mountain lion hunting in the study area to just one animal, the population decline could potentially be halted. If the quota were reduced to zero, mountain lion populations might slowly recover. Given that TCP's study area is one-third the area of Unit 2, WGFD “scaled up” and reduced the hunting limit in Unit 2 from five to three animals.
Jackson is unique in Wyoming in that the majority of residents enjoy the presence of large carnivores; many feel that a hunting limit of three mountain lions is still too many. It's important to realize that mountain lion management is highly influenced by deer and elk management, as well as safety issues for people and livestock (both perceived and real). While it's true that this new limit is unlikely sufficient to support the population's rebound, this science-supported decision to limit the number of lions killed in several Units is a step in the right direction. Work is also underway testing new methods of counting mountain lions across Wyoming, some developed in collaboration between the LCS and TCP researchers, and others pioneered by the LCS alone. When we better know how many mountain lions reside across the state, imagine what we could do for them.
Follow us on Facebook to see updates on mountain lions…
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newscientist.com%2Farticle%2F2099090-orangutan-learns-to-mimic-human-conversation-for-the-first-time%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Orangutan learns to mimic human conversation for the first time ‘Rocky' the ginger ape has astonished experts by producing sounds similar to words, a feat that might help us study the evolutionary origins of human speech gaia
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newscientist.com%2Farticle%2Fmg23130840-400-the-junk-that-makes-you-human%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 You are junk: Why it's not your genes that make you human Genes make proteins make us that was the received wisdom. But from big brains to opposable thumbs, some of our signature traits could come from elsewhere gaia
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fredirect.viglink.com%2F%3Fu%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fsports.vice.com%252Fen_us%252Farticle%252Fcould-robot-wars-become-the-acceptable-face-of-exceedingly-violent-bloodsports%252F%26key%3Dddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 r0B0t: Could Robot Wars Become The Acceptable Face Of Bloodsports? We might consider ourselves a bit more civilised than the toga-wearing sociopaths of antiquity, but we still want to watch terrible savagery in a purpose-built arena, and we still want to cheer at the sight of indiscriminate carnage. robots
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsociety%2F2016%2Fjul%2F27%2Feye-and-smell-tests-may-reveal-early-dementia-signs-alzheimers&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Eye and smell tests may reveal early dementia signs
Simple sight and smell tests could help predict cognitive decline and identify people at risk of Alzheimer's, says research
Simple eye and smell tests could be used to spot dementia years before people experience memory symptoms, research suggests.
Researchers at Moorfields eye hospital and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology found a link between poor cognitive ability a “clear warning sign” of the early stages of Alzheimer's and the thickness of people's retinal nerves.
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2F2016%2F07%2F27%2F487577930%2Fwhy-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins%3Futm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3Dresearchnews&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Why The First Name On The Ballot Often Wins
Presidential elections draw lots of attention, but voters also have to make lots of less familiar choices. The order in which their names are listed on the ballot can help candidates, a study shows.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fredirect.viglink.com%2F%3Fu%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.engadget.com%252F2016%252F07%252F27%252Flockheed-martin-spider-blimp-robot%252F%26key%3Dddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 r0B0t: Check out Lockheed Martin's robotic blimp inspector Lockheed Martin's hybrid airships are as big as a football field, and it's a huge challenge making sure their surfaces are don't have tiny pinholes in them. That's why the company developed a robot called Self-Propelled Instrument for Damage Evaluati... robots
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Flaura-storm%2Fwhy-spiritual-leadership_b_11198680.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Laura Storm: Why Spiritual Leadership is Key to Solve Climate Change I have never really considered myself a spiritual being or given it much thought. To be honest I've always thought spirituality had a weird vibe to it...
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fgo.theregister.com%2Ffeed%2Fwww.theregister.co.uk%2F2016%2F07%2F27%2Fnasa_puts_lenses_through_a_different_drill_to_stare_at_the_sun%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 NASA puts lenses through a different drill to stare at the Sun
19th century optics gets the 21st century treatment
NASA Goddard boffins and engineers have taken inspiration from the Fresnel lens to craft a “photon sieve” they hope will help them observe the processes that heat the sun's corona.…
A volume phase holographic grism, a combination of a diffraction grating and a prism. This grism combines a grating from Kaiser Optical Systems Inc. with prism wedges from Janos Technology Inc. and was assembled at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) by Al Camacho and Heidi Yarborough. It is used in the new Multi-Aperture Red Spectrometer (MARS, which is CryoCam resurrected).
Image credit: NOAO/AURA/NSF
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FScience360NewsServiceBreakingStory%2F%7E3%2FeLQavTS8Uno%2Fcount-seals-antarctica-comfort-couch&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Count seals in Antarctica from the comfort of your couch
Full Text:
Scientists are asking the public to look through thousands of satellite images of Antarctica to assist in the first-ever, comprehensive count of Weddell seals. Counting seals will help scientists better protect and conserve the pristine Ross Sea and wildlife in the area. Weddell seals are important to the Southern Ocean ecosystem and have been studied since the early 1900s. However, no one has been able to do a comprehensive count of the seals due to the harsh Antarctic weather and remote locations in which the seals live. Now, high-resolution satellite images provide a solution—counting seals on satellite images—but there are too many images for scientists to handle alone. The citizen science project, called Satellites Over Seals (SOS), focuses on about 300 miles of Antarctic coastline along the Ross Sea. Anyone can view the satellite images online from anywhere in the world and help with the count. Crowdsourcing research in this way allows researchers to efficiently and effectively comb through large amounts of data using the public's help.
Image credit: Michelle LaRue, University of Minnesota
science
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%feed http://twitter.com/BasandaX/status/758179378631245825 CITES stands for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora https://t.co/kJg6RXdSKU https://t.co/kJg6RXdSKU
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general
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ozy.com%2F2016%2Fthe-fledgling-citizen-becomes-a-delegate%2F70953&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The Fledgling Citizen Becomes a Delegate "I gained my U.S. citizenship in March - right in time to participate fully in this democratic process." general
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ozy.com%2Frising-stars%2Four-middleman-in-havana%2F70354&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Our Middleman in Havana As American capitalism touches Cuba's long-isolated shores, a 34-year-old is cashing in. general
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fredirect.viglink.com%2F%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Ffeeds.mashable.com%252F%7Er%252FMashable%252F%7E3%252F6yEZT6l3Zpw%252F%26key%3Dddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 r0B0t: Most Americans aren't ready to evolve into 'transhumans,' study says
Despite the mainstreaming of science and technology-powered fitness and health initiatives in recent years, a new survey indicates there's a limit to what we'll accept in the race to become "superhuman."
Specifically, the survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center, refers to the emerging area of methods (often referred to as transhumanism) designed to enhance our minds and bodies using everything from chip implants, to synthetic blood and even to genetic engineering.
According to the survey, almost 70 percent of Americans have concerns about the unforeseen issues around brain chip implants as a means to improve cognitive ability. And such concerns aren't the stuff of science fiction. Recent developments in chip implants have led to some patients regaining the use of a paralyzed limb. Read more...
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.mashable.com%2F%7Er%2FMashable%2F%7E3%2F6yEZT6l3Zpw%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Most Americans aren't ready to evolve into 'transhumans,' study says
Despite the mainstreaming of science and technology-powered fitness and health initiatives in recent years, a new survey indicates there's a limit to what we'll accept in the race to become "superhuman."
Specifically, the survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center, refers to the emerging area of methods (often referred to as transhumanism) designed to enhance our minds and bodies using everything from chip implants, to synthetic blood and even to genetic engineering.
According to the survey, almost 70 percent of Americans have concerns about the unforeseen issues around brain chip implants as a means to improve cognitive ability. And such concerns aren't the stuff of science fiction. Recent developments in chip implants have led to some patients regaining the use of a paralyzed limb. Read more...
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fnicole-de-paula%2Fwe-may-not-always-have-pa_b_11177710.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 "We (May Not) Always Have Paris" - Three Steps To A Low Carbon Future Signed in December 2015, the Paris Agreement on climate change is a milestone for both the environment and global development. Breaking with high cost carbon pollution, the post-Paris world has a clear mandate: accomplish the transition to new energy sources and invest in climate-positive infrastructure and climate-friendly products.
Accelerating the transition to low-carbon, carbon-free and renewable energy sources has many advantages in the near-term, including reducing air pollution and the use of hazardous chemicals. However, despite positive signs from Paris, there is anxiety about financing options. Some climate experts fear that the Paris Agreement could have little impact, if the initial $100 billion per year (by 2020) doesn't attract a significant amount of follow-on capital.
This article highlights three avenues that have the potential to raise funds for climate mitigation and adaptation--and also to catalyze global financial actors to invest in low-carbon development beyond the initial 2020.
Getting prices right: the need for fossil fuels subsidy reform
The Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI) of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) estimates that global fossil fuel subsidies could currently reach up to US$600 billion per year. These subsidies distort market signals and come with large economic, social and environmental costs. The New Climate Economy report finds that fossil fuel subsidy reforms could deliver GHG emissions reductions up to 13% by 2040. Countries are making efforts to advance this reform, notably through their Intended National Determined Contributions (INDCs) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. INDCs, when coupled with other economic instruments, such as transport fuel duties and carbon taxes, could provide around USD$3 trillion in additional savings for governments. These governments use taxpayer money to subsidize carbon polluters and distort true costs.
Even if intuitive, these reforms are not politically frictionless. National fiscal policies often lack transparency and international monitoring. Implementing the "polluter pays" principle (as in the case of a carbon tax) invites social and political resistance. Reform is technically complex, politically difficult and slow. Larger political pressure can help fight the inertia.
Leveraging private finance for climate mitigation and adaptation
The second suggestion relates to a popular idea that is under-exploited: private finance for climate mitigation and adaptation. Considering the urgency to balance the carbon budget, the private sector is a large part of the answer. Its role won't be without controversy. Leaders from Venezuela and Bolivia, for instance, repeatedly raise concerns about the use of private finance. But the recent established Green Climate Fund (GCF) is widely expected to promote and extend private capital to fund the low carbon transition in developing countries.
Public finance lags far behind targets and cannot provide adequate funds solely by itself. According to the World Economic Forum, by 2020, the world will have to invest about US$5.7 trillion annually in green infrastructure to achieve the minimum 2° C pathway and avoid the most harmful impacts of climate change. Using private finance does not undermine the vital role of public finance. It's probably best for private investors and national leaders to look at the climate emergency as an unprecedented opportunity for 'complex interdependence' in decision-making, a unique opportunity for complementary purpose. The value of carbon stability is both existential and plainly financial.
Carbon reduction: the new "gold" of the 21st Century?
The third way to buoy resources for climate adaptation and mitigation relates to a promising new idea: positive carbon pricing. Across the world, many people recognize that fossil fuel use has provided rapid development benefits but also massive and unsustainable carbon emissions. Currently, these externalities are not factored into the price of fossil fuels, and proponents of positive carbon pricing would like to see a "true cost" established. One way to factor in the negative impacts of fossil fuel use would be a carbon tax. Implementing this aforementioned 'polluter-pays' principle is difficult and controversial but necessary.
Positive pricing, according to its supporters, is different than carbon taxing as popularly understood. Proponents believe that the social and economic cost of carbon must be recognized upfront. When fossil carbon is properly accounted for, businesses will have incentives to leave fossil fuels in the ground and look for alternative energy sources. Positive carbon pricing is the 'flip side of the coin' of subsidy reform, working to disincentive fossil fuels exploitation. This approach is gaining ground with the endorsement of a key decision at the UN Climate Conference in 2015 (COP21). Paragraph 108 of the Decision of the Adoption of the Paris Agreement "recognizes the social, economic and environmental value of voluntary mitigation actions and their co-benefits for adaptation, health and sustainable development."
This proposal should not be read as a replacement of carbon taxation. Positive carbon pricing is a chance to reward faster-acting, early adoption countries. As Alfredo Sirkis, executive director of a Brazilian climate think tank, said in an interview, it is the "Green Bretton Woods," a reference to the Bretton Woods agreement and its foundational system for monetary and exchange rate management created in 1944. He adds, "it's about carrots rather than sticks." In practice, this idea would require some deep-seated changes in the way we do business. The intention so far is to have a group of willing governments, central and development banks, and multilateral institutions, form a "climate club" responsible for giving guarantees for carbon-reducing assets. These carbon-reducing assets could ultimately be a convertible reserve currency. Following the "Green Bretton Woods" analogy, carbon reductions could themselves become the "new gold" of the 21st Century. As argued in "Moving the trillions a debate on positive pricing of mitigation actions", the ultimate goal is to achieve a more effective capital mobilization towards a low carbon economy while reducing the risks for investors.
There are still open questions. Which institutions are responsible for these transactions and certificates? Would the price be floating or a fixed? Would all sectors be entitled to a single price? Could it become a future currency? Positive carbon pricing has just started to gain agenda space in international discussions; it was officially discussed in the first UN meeting following the agreement in Paris in Bonn, Germany, for example. Given the unifying climate emergency, only a calculated and radical transformation will achieve carbon-neutrality by 2050.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
gaia
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science
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fgo.theregister.com%2Ffeed%2Fwww.theregister.co.uk%2F2016%2F07%2F27%2Fcaptain_piccard_solarpowered_aircraft_roundtheworld%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Captain Piccard's planet-orbiting solar aircraft in warped drive drama
505-day trip won't engage much commercial interest
An airplane powered by nothing more than the Sun's rays has completed its 42,000-km (26,098-mile) journey around the world after landing in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.…
science
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science
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPhysicsWorld%2F%7E3%2FQLYwuLQgMq8%2Fpalestinian-advanced-physics-school-is-a-first&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Palestinian Advanced Physics School is a first Master's students gather for lectures on advanced topics in particle and synchrotron physics science
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gaia
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fwayne-pacelle%2Fdonald-trump-jr-may-be-ou_b_11206874.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Donald Trump Jr. May Be Out Of Luck In Killing More Leopards The son of the Republican nominee for President - the son who favors killing elephants and leopards over golfing and says he wants to become secretary of the Interior Department (which oversees trophy imports) if his father is elected president - might have to set his gunsights elsewhere if HSUS and HSI get our way. On the heels of a series of successful efforts to restrict the import of elephant and lion trophies by upgrading protections for the species and highlighting corrupt management practices in African nations, we filed a legal petition this week to protect yet another of the Africa Big 5 coveted by American trophy hunters: the African leopard. We have petitioned the federal management authority to list African leopards as endangered - a designation that, if adopted, would make it very difficult for American hunters to import trophies of these big cats in the future.
Leopard populations in sub-Saharan Africa have plummeted by more than 30 percent in the last 25 years and experts agree that leopard trophy hunting is unsustainable. But for trophy hunters, who spend thousands of dollars on luxury safaris in a pay-to-slay scheme with a limited number of African nations, leopards are a sought-after prize. An HSUS and HSI analysis shows that between 2005 and 2014 alone, Americans imported parts equating to at least 5,575 individual leopards, nearly half of the global trade in leopard trophies during that period.
And given the cascading population impacts from removing males in their prime, an untold number of leopard cubs have lost their lives to infanticide by incoming males filling the territorial void. The situation is so dire that South Africa - one of the major exporters of leopard trophies - prohibited their export in 2016. Leopards are also losing habitat and prey (who are also targeted by bushmeat hunters) by the minute.
In our legal petition, we provide evidence to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to warrant listing all leopards in Africa as endangered and immediately prohibit the import of leopard trophies unless stringent permitting requirements are met under the Endangered Species Act. The import of live leopards and other leopard parts (such as pelts for the fur trade) are already required to meet these standards, and it is incomprehensible that American trophy hunters have enjoyed a regulatory loophole waiving such requirements since the early 1980s. We are grateful to Dr. Jane Goodall and Dereck Joubert for their support in protecting this majestic animal.
In December 2015 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service changed its regulations in response to our petition to list African lions under the Endangered Species Act, and in 2016 to date no lion trophies have been imported into the United States (following many years when an average of 560 lions were imported as hunting trophies per year). Following another petition we filed, FWS recently cracked down on African elephant trophy imports as part of its effort to address the ivory poaching crisis.
It is time to provide the same level of protection to the African leopard. Donald Trump Jr., Honeywell CEO David Cote, and other over-privileged animal exploiters can use their wealth to entertain themselves in other ways and let these animals be.
This article first appeared on Wayne Pacelle's blog, A Humane Nation.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newscientist.com%2Farticle%2F2098858-controversial-pesticides-may-be-lowering-the-sperm-count-of-bees%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Controversial pesticides may be lowering the sperm count of bees Widely used neonicotinoid pesticides may harm the fertility and viability of male honeybees, contributing to the collapse of bee populations gaia
The Solar Impulse 2 landed in Abu Dhabi, where its journey began 17 flights ago in March 2015. Alternating with another pilot, Bertrand Piccard flew around the world with no fuel.
technology
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technology
%feed http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/07/26/487446708/teslas-ambitions-run-into-the-realities-of-making-cars?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=technology Tesla's Ambitions Run Into The Realities Of Making Cars
Tesla, which has roots in the tech world, is facing the challenge of becoming a successful car company amid scrutiny over its Autopilot technology.
technology
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images
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fphil_p%2F27955831224%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Sunset, London
St George tower and Vauxhall bridge silhouetted against a colourful sky, Vauxhall, London, England
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdailyoverview.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F148014583374&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 The Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, is the oldest...
The Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, is the oldest surviving Baha'i House of Worship in the world and the only one in the United States. The building contains an auditorium that seats 1,191 people beneath a 138 foot-high (42 m) domed structure. You'll also notice that many components of the complex come in sets of nine as the number symbolizes perfection and completion in the Baha'i faith. This incredible shot was captured by Razvan Sera.
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fken-white%2Fif-bugs-cant-do-it-birds-_b_11181848.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 If Bugs Can't Do It, Birds Won't Do It What's happened to all the songbirds? As a generalist surrounded by subject matter experts, I recently went to one of my science guys to pose that question I'm hearing with increasing frequency from backyard birders to avid outdoorspeople. Whether an accurate assessment or just perception, it certainly seems like we see fewer types and reduced quantities of many of the small birds once thought plentiful, and that the skies and branches are now largely hosting crows, pigeons, mourning doves and non-native finches.
My friend, a science guy used to getting questions from this generalist, at first just sighed. People like me know there's not often a simple 1 + 1 = 2 answer to such questions, as much as we might wish it were so, and he once again said something to that effect before pointing me to a series of papers and articles. To my surprise, what I then read was not about the disappearance of birds but, rather, about the alarming loss of bugs.
As appealing as a few less flying insects might sound as we approach long summer nights, that's obviously not a great thing. Even if your last biology class was back in high school it's obvious that our world fully depends upon on what Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson refers to as the littlest building blocks of life. While it may be a tragedy of operatic proportions if the American Condor finally does die off, it's death of planet Earth if we lose bees and other pollinating insects.
The articles point to insect population declines of 40% and more in both Europe and the U.S., including well studied areas where official government efforts to control exactly such problems have been underway and largely proven unsuccessful. Reasons cited include pesticide use, climate change, increase in CO2 levels, the spread of agribusiness monoculture crops (such as corn and soybeans), urban- and suburbanization and other causes of habitat destruction. (Check out "Vanishing Act: Why Insects Are Declining and Why It Matters" (http://e360.yale.edu/feature/insect_numbers_declining_why_it_matters/3012/, a fine summary which in turn links to other articles.)
Back to the question about birds: At least one recent study (http://www.ace-eco.org/vol5/iss2/art1/) speaks to the possibility that birds which feed on insects have less insects available, thereby not only impacting their population but also making room for those birds which feed on seed or are omnivores.
Is that why I see fewer robins and towhees in my backyard than in recent years but more and more House finches and crows? Again, a simple 1 + 1 does not always lead to 2 and so I can't reasonably draw such a conclusion. One simple statement that I do know to be true, however, is this: Things are horribly out of balance, and our species is to blame.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fmary-ellen-harte%2Fclimate-change-this-week_b_11204366.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Climate Change This Week: A Hot New High, Kids Show the Way, and More! Today, the Earth got a little hotter, and a little more crowded.
Saving BUB, Beautiful Unique Biodiversity, as in these Amazonian red eyed tree frogs, is another reason to save our carbon storing forests. Source michaelturco.com
Forests: the cheapest way to store carbon
Red Reads Dry - increasingly so for the Amazon, just over the past decade. Source NASA
OO Climate Change Scourge: Dry Amazon Likely To Burn Bigtime This Year - NASA images now show. Takeaways:
NASA says wildfire risk (July-Oct) greater than 2005 and 2010, when wildfires burned large swaths;
Amazon has burned more thru June 2016 than previously;
Satellite data show most of Amazon soil is dryer than normal.
Worlds Of Life Goes Up In Flames - as the Amazon and forests worldwide burn. Source The Atlantic
Through fossil fuel burning we have created giant outdoor ovens; because we know why, we are no longer innocent.
In drought, trees evaporate less water, and burn easier.
"This puts millions of trees under stress and lowers humidity across the region, allowing fires to grow bigger than they normally would."
When we harm forests, we harm ourselves.
OO Tanzania: Growing Mushrooms Helps Save Forests - Takeaways:
Crops are failing from climate change;
For income, some turned forests into charcoal/wood fuel;
Tanzania has one of sub-Saharan's highest deforestation rates.
A Mushroom House surrounded by moist forest. Source mapprinter.wordpress.com
Growing mushrooms is an alternative income, not reliant on crops/livestock.
Forests supply the local moist conditions to grow them.
NGO Farm Africa is showing farmers how.
"When the forest is logged or burned, not only does carbon absorption stop but the carbon stored in trees and other vegetation is released into the atmosphere, increasing the amount of climate-changing gases," said a field officer.
OO US, Others: Global Climate Spending Focusing On Forest Protection
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HOTTER CLOUDY FUTURE
Clouds High N Low - wispy high cirrus clouds, "mare's tails", differ greatly from low "puffy" cumulus clouds. Source earthdata.nasa.gov
OO Climate Change Models Predicted Change In Clouds; Altered Patterns Will Worsen Warming says a new study that analyzed satellite data over 2 decades, starting in the1980s. Takeaways:
Clouds are shifting towards the poles;
Clouds are shifting higher in the atmosphere;
Findings confirm fast pace of warming predicted by climate models.
Northward, Ho! 2011 Atlantic hurricanes show how they typically track northward. Source geo-mexico.com
These changes are consistent with 3 main atmospheric changes:
Expansion of the subtropical dry zones, the desert belt, on either side of the equator;
Shift of mid-latitude storm tracks towards the poles:
Clouds are rising higher as a warmer atmosphere makes them more buoyant.
Related Headline:
OO 'The Most Singular Of All The Things That We Have Found': Clouds Study Alarms Top Scientist
OO Climate Change May Already Be Shifting Clouds Toward The Poles
* *
WE'RE HARMING NATURE -- AND OUR FUTURE
Source Wikimedia Commons
OO Expanding Farms Plunge Biodiversity, Nature Below Safe Limits Over Nearly 60% Of World's Land reveals a new study, as well as expanding roads and cities, leading to a dangerous decline of natural services, including:
The ability of forests to absorb carbon dioxide;
The biodiversity that humanity needs for food, medicine, and more;
The moderation of climate;
The filtration needed for clean air and water.
"If we keep degrading biodiversity there will be a point where it's very difficult to support agriculture," said the lead study author.
Related Headline:
OO Biodiversity Is Below Safe Levels Across More Than Half Of World's Land
* *
HOT NEWS
And So The Egg Fries...
OO Eastern Hemisphere's All-Time Temperature Record: Kuwait Fries in 54°C (129.2°F) Heat under continued global warming, it will get hotter...
Hot Stuff! The heat alerts issued on July 23, 2016. Source National Weather Service
OO Dangerously Hot Temperatures Cover Much of the U.S. Now Takeaways:
High temperature and humidity is widespread;
Creating 100+ F Heat indices*, sometimes up to 115 F;
Scorching central and eastern US, pushing into the Southwest.
Several heat stroke deaths already, both young and old;
CNN warns that overnight heat can be more deadly than daytime;
National Weather Service issued heat alerts for 25 states.
A massive upper atmospheric dome of high pressure is keeping it hot - and may persist through the week!
*Heat Index combines temperature and humidity levels to estimate "feels like" temperatures on the human skin.
As Alaska Bakes, It Sinks into melting permafrost, perma no more. Source walkersplanet.com, ccr 339
OO Alaska Bakes In Heat Wave While Arctic Sea Ice Continues To Melt - with highs in the 80s across much of the region.This year Alaska has witnessed a freakishly warm first six months with the state's temperature averaging 30.4°F, 9°F higher than normal. As a result, the state's fire season had an early start this year.
OO D.C.'S Summer Heat Is Rapidly Becoming More Oppressive analysis finds, but so many clueless frogs in that pot refuse to notice what's driving it.
OO US Faces Dramatic Rise in Extreme Heat, Humidity shows a new analysis. Takeaways:
Florida, Texas, and the Southwest have already seen dramatic rises in heat, humidity;
Further dramatic rises will be widespread by 2050, if climate changing emissions are unchanged;
By 2100, yearly US heat related deaths will range in 1,000s to 10,000s.
OO California Drought, Marine Heat More Likely With Global Warming and is already starting to affect the weather and water, even though the coastal warm waters, which blocked drought-quenching storms from reaching California last year, were caused by the coincidental interplay of natural ocean cycles, a recent study shows.
OO In Warming Oceans, Stronger Currents Releasing Heat In Bigger Storms a new study says. The currents are releasing 20% more heat than 50 years ago. Japan, China and Korea will warm faster and can expect more storminess.
* *
@@ Climate Change 101: Why Care? What You Need to Know - Bill Nye tells it all in five minutes amid graphic, dynamic, engaging, compelling imagery. Check it Out!
* *
NATURAL REPERCUSSIONS
Now, Imagine Them All In Category 5... 4 hurricanes forming off the US in 2011. Source NASA
OO Tropical Cyclones On Track To Grow More Intense As Temperatures Rise
OO UK: Unpredictable Weather Disrupts The Lives Of Wildlife - prolonged wet and cold summer spells force insects to hold off feeding, courting, or laying eggs, for example.
@@ From Floods To Forest Fires: A Warming Planet - In Pictures
* *
SOCIAL REPERCUSSIONS
OO California: Drought Hits Low-Income Bay Area Communities Hard
OO Wildfires Rage Across Southwest, Forcing Home Evacuations
Fishy Future in Play - studies show that the environment for inland fish is heating up.
Inland fish play critical roles in US ecosystems and economics;
Fish keep nature in balance, feeding,
and in turn, feed iconic species like eagles, bears.
Source mel-nik at iStockphoto.com
Warming waters are changing ranges,
Life cycles, fish abundance,
and is especially affecting trout.
OO Montana's Rivers Are Warmer Than They Should Be, Which Is Bad News For Trout What worries many experts is that, for the past 15 years, some of America's finest fishing rivers keep breaking records for early snowmelts, too-warm water and low flows.
Too Hot to Handle? The health effects of climate change on workers are diverse.
OO Climate Change Is Making Farm Work More Dangerous Than It Already Is resulting in heat-related deaths, and disease, such as kidney disease.
OO Earth's 5th Costliest Non-U.S. Weather Disaster On Record: China's $22 Billion Flood - continues, where torrential monsoon rains along the Yangtze River Valley in central and eastern China since early summer have killed 237 people.
OO Britain Must Urgently Prepare For Flooding, Heatwaves And Food Shortages, due to continuing climate change, says a government report.
* *
MELTDOWN
Pole to Pole, Glaciers Are Crumbling like this one in Antarctica. Source www.komar.org
OO Warmer Oceans Driving Antarctic Peninsula Glacier Melt - and not warmer air, as was previously suspected, a new analysis of data shows. Of the 670+ glaciers on the Peninsula's western side, almost 90% are retreating.
OO Retreating Glaciers A Sign Of Alaska's Major Meltdown - this summer's record-breaking temperatures hasten glacier, permafrost melt.
Greenland Mosaic of melt ponds and streams net the melting icescape. Source earthobservatory.nasa.gov
OO Deep-Blue Ponds And Streams Highlight Melting on Greenland Ice Sheet which is melting at a near-record pace.
* *
GOOD CLEAN NEWS
OO Developing Nations' Energy Intensity Down 40% Since 1990: Energy Use Is Decoupling From Economic Productivity Worldwide
Related Headline:
OO Efficiency, Clean Energy Put Dent In CO2 Emissions Takeaways:
More zero-carbon energy is being produced from wind and solar;
low natural gas prices and mercury pollution regulations prompt coal plant closings,
and opening natural gas plants, which emit less carbon dioxide.
As Waters Rise Nations Move to Act on a treaty to stop climate changing emissions. Credit Dave Fleetham
OO Pacific Islands Nations Consider World's First Treaty To Ban Fossil Fuels - The 14 countries would ban new coalmines and embraces 1.5C target set at Paris climate talks.
OO Distributed Wind Has Floundered for Years - Now Oil Companies Are Investing in It
OO South Australia Reaps 83% Of Electricity In One Day From 'Wild' Wind
OO Money Flows Into Batteries for Buildings, Power Grid
OO California: Renewable Energy Creates Good Jobs In Distressed Areas of California
OO Canada to Introduce National Carbon Price This Year
* *
SPEAKING OUT
They Have The Right To KnowCredit Jared Flesher
OO Nation's Largest Teachers Union Endorses Teaching "Climate Justice" - teaching the truth about the severity of the climate change crisis facing our children.
OO Number Of Americans 'Alarmed' By Climate Change Rises In Latest Poll
OO UN Human Rights Council Declares Climate A Priority
OO UN Criticises UK And Germany For Betraying Paris Climate Deal by financing the fossil fuel industry through subsidies..
* *
FOSSIL FUEL FOLLIES
OO Europe's Oil Imports 'Dependent On Unstable Countries'
OO Power From "The New Coal", Natural Gas, Expected To Reach A Record High, Despite Climate Concerns - bad news, because besides the bad methane emissions from its production and distribution, burning it adds further emissions.
OO US Coal Ash Crisis Builds - Coal production and use has plummeted, but the wastes left behind after burning it keep on coming, and they have been stored in lightly regulated, water-filled basins since at least the 1950s.
OO China Pledged To Curb Coal Plants. Greenpeace Says It's Still Adding Them. The construction boom would result in about 400 gigawatts of excess capacity and waste more than $150 billion on building unneeded plants, said the new a report.
But ...
OO Record Growth In Chinese Renewable Energy Markets
OO Coal India Accused Of Bulldozing Human Rights Amid Production Boom says Amnesty International report.
OO Fossil Fuel Industry Risks Losing $33 Trillion in revenue in the next 25 years due to global efforts to curb greenhouse gases, says a new economic analysis.
OO BP Fined Further $2.5 Billion Over Deeepwater Horizon Spill
OO China Energy Giant's Big Bet On Canadian Oil Sands Backfires
Source news.yahoo.com
OO Nigeria Oil Addiction Destroying Its Future - Takeaways:
70% of Nigerian revenues come from oil sales;
Big Oil has been allowed to environmentally wreck much of its south;
Low oil prices have dramatically cut revenues;
Southern militants are blowing up pipelines, to free the oppressed south.
Civil war is brewing.
* *
GOOD IDEAS
OO Engage TV Weathermen to Talk Climate - the climate journalism organization, Climate Central, among others, is helping them do so.
OO Stop US Food Waste: Half Of All US Food Produce Is Thrown Away new research suggests.
OO Carbon-Free Banking: Where To Save, Invest And Borrow
OO Expansion Of California's Electric Grid Would Save Consumers $1.5 Billion a new study says.
OO French Carbon Pricing Committee Proposes Tax On Coal-Fired Power
OO Your Kids' Energy-Saving Habits Are Having An Impact On You shows a new study.
OO California: Going Net-Zero With Help from Geothermal Power
@@ Not Too Windy, Not Too Calm: Capturing Iceland's Winds - the startup Icewind is building a new type of funky wind turbine designed to perform well in low-wind conditions but also to slow itself down in high-winds, preventing it from catching on fire or ripping apart.
Soccer Energy Lights the Field with the help of underground tiles that converts all the energy of those pounding feet into electricity. Courtesy of Pavegen and Shell
OO From Favelas To The White House, Tiles Turn Footsteps Into Electricity
OO A Possible Model For Australia Going 100% Renewable: Kangaroo Island
OO International Space Station Crew Is Testing 3-D Solar Cells
Acid Reducers - kelp, eelgrass, and other vegetation can effectively absorb CO2 and reduce acidity in the ocean, so growing them could help mitigate the damaging impacts of acidification on marine life.
OO How Growing Sea Plants Can Help Slow Ocean Acidification
OO Why Drones Are 'Game-Changing' for Renewable Energy but they've had their wings clipped by regulations.
* *
FIXING CLIMATE CHANGE
@@ A Simple And Smart Way To Fix Climate Change given by Dan Miller in 2014 at a Ted talk suggests a way to profit as we tackle climate change, by finally charging those who sell and use fossil fuels - and distributing the revenues back to all of us.
The strategy is sure to speed transition to clean renewable energy. What's not to like? Check it out!
* *
A SWEET SPOT IN CREATING SUSTAINABLE POPULATIONS
Triple Win: Using Profits to Provide Needed US Family Planning - Medicines360.org is key to creating a sustainable US population and bright futures for women - AND saving taxpayers many billions yearly in community costs by preventing unintended pregnancies. Source medicines360.org
* *
CLIMATE LEADERSHIP
OO Bernie Sanders Endorsed Hillary Clinton, Citing Climate Change As A Top Issue
"Hillary Clinton is listening to the scientists who tell us that if we do not act boldly in the very near future there will be more drought, more floods, more acidification of the oceans, more rising sea levels," Sanders said.
OO DEM Senators Target The 'Many-Headed Dragon' Of Climate Change Denial
OO Democrats Embrace Price On Carbon While Clinton Steers Clear Of Carbon Tax
One of Many Ad-Hoc Methane Factories - as long as we let landfills belch it.
modified, Credit Nate Beeler at the Columbus Dispatch
OO Donald Trump Would Be the World's Only National Leader to Reject Climate Science
OO Trump Ends VP SusPence, Picks Koch Darling Pence a GOP insider with ties to Big Industry.
Credit Donar at politicalgraffiti.wordpress.com
OO The Republican Party's Platform Says Coal Is 'Clean' Energy - Yeah, right - and Donald Trump is a Mormon.
OO House Republicans Target Subsidies for Utility-Scale CSP preferring dirty to clean energy.
OO TTIP Proposal Casts Doubt On G20 Climate Pledge a leaked EU draft shows.
OO UK: Government Axes Climate Department -Ed Miliband, the former energy and climate secretary under Labour, called the move "plain stupid." It comes at a time when the government is being urged to ratify the Paris climate change deal.
* *
ELECTION YEAR:
If You Don't Vote For Climate Action, You Can Forget The Rest - in a climate-changing world of famine, drought, rising seas, giant storms and heat waves, there will be no security in jobs, health, wealth, or national safety. There will be chaos ensuing from increasing crises and disasters. Vote.
OO Global Warming Policies We Set Today Will Determine The Next 10,000 Years - of global warming, a new study shows -- and whether our civilization survives or not: history shows that harmful climate change has destroyed civilizations before.
This time, it could be worldwide. Let's keep "The Hunger Games" in the realm of fiction.
* *
If we do not grow sustainably, Our children will die inhumanely.
Teen childbearing cost US taxpayers $9+ Billion in 2010 And the costs of raising a child usually ensures decades, if not a life, of poverty for its mother. - US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Help prevent unintended pregnancies in your community: publicize where women can access affordable contraception.
They can go here to find locations:
And there are many more actions you can do, right here.
* * *
SOLAR KEEPS flying
OO Historic Round-The-World Solar Flight Showcases Clean Energy As It Concludes
OO California's Biggest Utilities Break Own Record for Solar Power - the California Independent System Operator, or ISO, on Tuesday managed enough solar energy to power 2 million homes.
OO Germany Sets A New Solar Storage Record - 40+ % of its solar installations have backup batteries, a world record.
Daily Climate Change: Global Map of Unusual Temperatures, July 26, 2016
How unusual has the weather been? No one event is "caused" by climate change, but global warming, which is predicted to increase unusual, extreme weather, is having a daily effect on weather, worldwide.
Looking above at recent temperature anomalies, much of the US and the waters surrounding it are experiencing warmer than normal temperatures: the eastern Pacific warm spot continues and so does the drought in California.
Much of the areas surrounding the North Pole are experiencing much warmer than normal temperatures - not good news for our Arctic thermal shield of ice. Hotter than usual temperatures continue to dominate human habitats.
* * *
There is, of course, much more news on the consequences and solutions to climate change. To get it, check out this annotated resource list I've compiled, "Climate Change News Resources," at Wordpress.com here. For more information on the science of climate change, its consequences and solutions you can view my annotated list of online information resources here.
To help you understand just what science does and does NOT do, check this out!
Every day is Earth Day, folks, as I was reminded by this wild flower I photographed one spring. Making the U.S. a global clean energy leader will ensure a heck of a lot more jobs, and a clean, safe future. If you'd like to join the increasing numbers of people who want to TELL Congress that they will vote for clean energy candidates you can do so here. It's our way of letting Congress know there's a strong clean energy voting bloc out there. For more detailed summaries of the above and other climate change items, audio podcasts and texts are freely available.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fken-white%2Fif-bugs-cant-do-it-birds-_b_11181848.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Ken White: If Bugs Can't Do It, Birds Won't Do It Is that why I see fewer robins and towhees in my backyard than in recent years but more and more House finches and crows? Again, a simple 1 + 1 does not always lead to 2 and so I can't reasonably draw such a conclusion.
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fknowmore-tv%2Fwhy-i-choose-to-be-vegan_b_11204696.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 KnowMore TV: Why I Choose To Be Vegan All I can say is don't worry. Take baby steps and never get down on yourself for not being perfect. Quitting cold turkey can be rough so the experience is made a little easier by slowly incorporating more and more vegan meals to your weekly schedule. If you're still not convinced, here are a few more reasons to make the change.
%feed http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fmary-ellen-harte%2Fclimate-change-this-week_b_11204366.html&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8 Mary Ellen Harte: Climate Change This Week: A Hot New High, Kids Show the Way, and More! Today, the Earth got a little hotter, and a little more crowded.
Saving BUB, Beautiful Unique Biodiversity, as in these Amazonian red eyed tree fr...
%feed http://twitter.com/WildAidHK/status/758059856540504066 Each day that @FedEx continues to ship #shark fin it breaks the law. @FedEx breaks @CITES (international law) and US Endangered Species Act. http://ifttt.com/missing_link?1469570780
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Their analysis, entitled Saving the World's Terrestrial Megafauna, covers the precipitous loss of large mammal populations around the globe, from the poorly known, such as the scimitar-horned oryx, to more familiar species including tigers, lions, gorillas and rhinoceroses, Panthera, one of the organizations associated with the research, said in a news statement.!["Graphic]("http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/files/2016/07/Megafauna-extinction-tables.jpg")
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Trump is not a foreign agent, controlled by Putin. He is a thoroughly American creation that poses an existential threat to American democracy. Now that Trump has become the Republican nominee—and has pulled even or even slightly ahead of Clinton in the most recent polls—it is time to force ourselves to imagine the unimaginable: Trump as elected president of the United States.![]("http://chimpfeedr.com/img/?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fnybooks%2F%7E4%2F5uDykNKVTFI&width=540&mix=42dfe-culture")
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Today on In Case You Missed It: A robot from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev produces a wave-like motion that can propel itself across a floor or through water, only with one motor. Also a robotic surgeon called Flex can snake its way down... ![]("http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/1a219ec18d6cd741efc4465dcc2c0454/204128355/baby-octopus.gif")
University of Oklahoma's robotic exoskeleton for babies does two things: (1) make the kiddos look like tiny Dr. Octopuses and (2) help prevent cerebral palsy. The motorized device has power steering that gives babies at risk of the illness a little p... !["2016-07-27-1469621168-7326944-UN.png"]("http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2016-07-27-1469621168-7326944-UN.png")
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This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.!["The]("http://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_908w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2014/11/12/Health-Environment-Science/Images/Germany_Rosetta_Comet_Landing-0996e-2360.jpg" "\"Germany_Rosetta_Comet_Landing-0996e-2360\"")
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Lockheed Martin's hybrid airships are as big as a football field, and it's a huge challenge making sure their surfaces are don't have tiny pinholes in them. That's why the company developed a robot called Self-Propelled Instrument for Damage Evaluati... ![]("https://media.science360.gov/files/pic-day/3c3fc4c3-becb-4974-8dde-815020d4c8b7-largeImage.jpg")
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