Monday 8 June 2015

New survey on academic diversity shows little progress

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Despite efforts over decades to diversify the ranks of university faculty, only 4 percent of chemistry professorships at

The post New survey on academic diversity shows little progress has been published on Technology Org.

 
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Most detailed view ever of star formation in distant universe

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ALMA's Long Baseline Campaign has produced a spectacularly detailed image of a distant galaxy being gravitationally lensed. The image shows a magnified view of the galaxy's star-forming regions, the likes of which have never been seen before at this level of detail in a galaxy so remote. The new observations are far more detailed than those made using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, and reveal star-forming clumps in the galaxy equivalent to giant versions of the Orion Nebula.
via Science Daily
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Black Hole Hunters

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Aiming to make the first portrait of the hungry monster at the center of our galaxy, astronomers built ‘a telescope as big as the world.’








via New York Times

Nanomaterial self-assembly imaged in real time

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A team of researchers from UC San Diego, Florida State University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratories has for the first time visualized the growth of 'nanoscale' chemical complexes in real time, demonstrating that processes in liquids at the scale of one-billionth of a meter can be documented as they happen.

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Welcome to the Space Poster

Here's a great poster featuring a beautiful image from deep space


tagged with: astronomy, stars, science, astonomy, space, universe, nebula, planets, cosmological, space travel, planet, star, discovery, explore, exploring, fantasy, fiction, orbit, orbital, travel, research, cosmonaut, astronaut, spaceship, starship, sci-fi

Waiting for clearance in geostationary orbit to leave the home planet and explore new worlds in outer space. Digital artwork by Liz Molnar. Planets, stars, space clouds, lights were made with basic Photoshop effects and brushes, planets' surfaces created from photos.

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Futuristic components on silicon chips, fabricated successfully

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Scientists have developed a relatively simple, robust and versatile process for growing crystals made from compound semiconductor materials that will allow them be integrated onto silicon wafers -- an important step toward making future computer chips that will allow integrated circuits to continue shrinking in size and cost even as they increase in performance.
via Science Daily

8 animal plagues wreaking havoc right now

Science Focus

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When we talk about studying, controlling, or just plain worrying about pandemics, we usually think of our own, human diseases. But many other species face existential threats as well. In the wild and on the farm, through climate change, human agency, and other causes, deadly diseases and conditions are ravaging specific animal communities. Here are eight of the scariest diseases plaguing the animal kingdom today.

Plague: White-nose syndrome
Target: Bats

This disease is named for the characteristic fuzzy white bloom found on the muzzles (as well as the wings and ears) of hibernating bats infected with the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans. The fungus seems to have originated in Europe, where it does not harm the native bats. Since it was first documented in New York in 2006, white-nose syndrome has killed an estimated 6.7 million bats in 25 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces. Scientists believe bats primarily contract the disease from one another, though it's also possible bats can pick up spores from contaminated cave surfaces. Some human cave explorers may also transport fungal spores in their clothing and equipment. There's no known cure, and the disease is incredibly deadly, usually killing between 70 and 90 percent of bats in a hibernating group; scientists are still trying to figure out exactly how the fungus kills bats, and why European bats seem to be immune.

(More from World Science Festival: 12 animals we've driven to extinction in the last 50 years)

Plague: Canine distemper virus
Target: Tigers (and dogs, and other canines)

The virus that causes canine distemper is related to measles. It spreads through respiration, but quickly attacks the nervous system and gastrointestinal tract. The virus can also jump to big cats, and is cropping up in tiger populations across the world. In just five years, one population of tigers in Russia dropped from 38 individuals to nine; traces of CDV found in two dead tigers led scientists to finger the virus as the chief suspect in the population crash.

A recent study highlights how smaller populations of tigers are extremely vulnerable to CDV. Tigers are not abundant enough to act as reservoirs for the virus, so researchers think the key to preventing CDV from spreading amongst them is to target the canine species that are the sources of outbreaks. India is contemplating a massive dog vaccination campaign against the virus; the drive is already underway in villages near tiger reserves.

Plague: Starfish wasting disease
Target: Starfish

Over the past 40 years, starfish populations have been stricken by recurring outbreaks of a devastating condition. At first, a starfish's limbs start to curl, then twist and fall off. Eventually, the wasting disease ravages the entire starfish, turning it into a mushy goo.

Researchers previously blamed this "starfish wasting disease" on environmental changes, like pollution or fluctuations in ocean temperatures. But a new study pins the blame primarily on a type of waterborne virus called a densovirus. One of the chief lines of evidence to support this theory was the fact that captive starfish in aquariums suddenly contracted the disease — except for those starfish in aquariums filled with UV-treated water, which kills viruses. The researchers also found higher genetic traces of the virus in diseased starfish tissue, and found that healthy starfish infected with densovirus would develop the disease within a week or so.

Plague: Brucellosis
Target: Bison, cow, elk

The bacterial disease brucellosis causes a wide range of symptoms in animals, from arthritis to inflamed joints to reproductive trouble. It can also spread to people via unpasteurized dairy products, causing fever and flu-like symptoms as well as arthritis. While brucellosis has largely been eradicated from cattle in the U.S., the disease persists in the bison and elk of Yellowstone National Park. Fears that the wild animals could reintroduce brucellosis to nearby cattle have been bolstered by 17 documented transmissions of the disease from wildlife to livestock in the greater Yellowstone area from 2002 to 2012. Despite protests from conservation groups, park officials are planning to cull up to 900 bison from the herd this winter to stem the spread of brucellosis and stabilize the population.

Plague: Colony collapse disorder
Target: Honeybees

Starting in 2006, beekeepers in the U.S. began to notice what looked like a honeybee version of the Rapture: At once, most or all of the adult worker bees in the colony vanished without a trace, leaving behind empty hives and queen bees bereft of subjects. Colony collapse disorder, as the phenomenon came to be known, is not entirely new to beekeeping, but the magnitude of losses is unprecedented. The root cause of CCD is still unknown: Pesticides, viruses, mites, fungi, antibiotics, and other factors have all been proposed.

(More from World Science Festival: How fear happens)

Most scientists think CCD is prompted by a combination of factors, and that it may not directly kill the bees outright. University of Maryland bee expert Dennis van Engelsdorp explained, in National Geographic: "You don't die of AIDS; you die of pneumonia or some other condition that hits when your immunity is down." Once the bees' immune defenses have been weakened, "we're pretty sure in all these cases, diseases are the tipping point." Hive losses are still being felt across the country, but the rate of collapse seems to be slowing. According to the USDA, the loss rate in honeybee colonies nationwide over the 2013-2014 winter from all causes was 23.2 percent — still above what beekeepers consider sustainable, but less dire than the 30.5 percent losses of the 2012-13 winter, or the 8-year average annual loss of 29.6 percent.

Plague: Rabies
Target: Bats, monkeys, dogs, raccoons, foxes….and a lot more

Rabies is present on all the continents of the world except Antarctica. The virus, transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal or person, travels through the nerves up to the brain, where it undoes an animal's ability to regulate its own heartbeat, breathing, and salivation. Most victims die from respiratory failure or irregular heart rhythms.

In the U.S., vaccination drives for pets have caused the disease has to move from one primarily of domestic animals to one primarily found in wildlife, which represent 90 percent of all animal rabies cases reported to the CDC. Most mammals can contract rabies, but the primary source of human rabies transmission in the U.S. these days is bats, with raccoons and skunksthe most frequently reported rabid animals.

To prevent the spread of rabies, health and wildlife departments in many Eastern U.S. states entice animals to consume oral rabies vaccine by concealing doses in a coating of dog food or fishmeal. The bait is deposited by hand in urban and suburban areas and dropped from planes in rural areas.

Plague: Chytridiomycosis
Target: Frogs

Around 200 amphibian species have declined or gone extinct thanks to this rapidly-spreading fungal disease. The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis infects the cells of a frog's outer layer of skin, which they rely heavily on for respiration. The infected skin becomes thicker, impeding the frog's ability to absorb water and electrolytes through its skin, and eventually leading to cardiac arrest.

Various treatments are being investigated for chytridiomycosis, including incubating tadpoles in warmer water that kills the fungus and bathing adult frogs in antifungal treatments. While these methods show promise, it is still possible for the frogs to get re-infected out in the wild.

Plague: Cattle fever
Target: Cows, deer

The U.S. government employs a cadre of cowboys to ride the banks of the Rio Grande in order to stop the spread of ticks that cause cattle fever. Parasites transmitted by the ticks can kill a cow within days of the first symptoms, or can cause a wasting disease that can last for weeks and cut a steer's weight by 20 percent in just a year. A nationwide tick eradication program has largely pushed cattle fever out of U.S. borders, but the "tick rider" cowboys still patrol the borders to catch any stray Mexican cattle — often abandoned by ranchers fleeing drug war violence — that might spark an outbreak.

(More from World Science Festival: 9 short scientific answers to little mysteries of life)

Wildlife are another possible source of cattle fever, as both white-tailed deer and the imported nilgai antelope can also carry the ticks. Climate change may make the southern U.S. an even more hospitable environment for the ticks, as well as the spread of invasive reeds that shelter the bugs. Scientists are working on ways to combat the reeds, the ticks, and the cattle fever parasite — including a wildlife vaccine distributed in biscuit form.

 
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 » see original post http://theweek.com/articles/441695/8-animal-plagues-wreaking-havoc-right-now
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Europe to press ahead on new rocket

Science Focus

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Research ministers approve the development of a new Ariane rocket for Europe, with pledges of 5.924bn euros for space programmes. 
#science 
 » see original post http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30251863#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
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Monogram - Stellar Nursery R136, Tarantula Nebula Classic Round Sticker

Here's a great sheet of stickers featuring a beautiful image from deep space


tagged with: stars, galaxies, astronomy, galaxy, envelope sealers, dorneblmc, stellar nursery, r136, massive stars, large magellanic cloud, star cluster, amazing hubble images, tarantula nebula, monogram initials, 30 doradus nebula

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series Hundreds of brilliant blue stars wreathed by warm, glowing clouds in appear in this the most detailed view of the largest stellar nursery in our local galactic neighborhood. The massive, young stellar grouping, called R136, is only a few million years old and resides in the 30 Doradus (or Tarantula) Nebula, a turbulent star-birth region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way.
There is no known star-forming region in our galaxy as large or as prolific as 30 Doradus. Many of the diamond-like icy blue stars are among the most massive stars known. Several of them are over 100 times more massive than our Sun. These hefty stars are destined to pop off, like a string of firecrackers, as supernovas in a few million years. The image, taken in ultraviolet, visible, and red light by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, spans about 100 light-years.
The movement of the LMC around the Milky Way may have triggered the massive cluster's formation in several ways. The gravitational tug of the Milky Way and the companion Small Magellanic Cloud may have compressed gas in the LMC. Also, the pressure resulting from the LMC plowing through the Milky Way's halo may have compressed gas in the satellite. The cluster is a rare, nearby example of the many super star clusters that formed in the distant, early universe, when star birth and galaxy interactions were more frequent.
The LMC is located 170,000 light-years away and is a member of the Local Group of Galaxies, which also includes the Milky Way. The Hubble observations were taken Oct. 20-27, 2009. The blue color is light from the hottest, most massive stars; the green from the glow of oxygen; and the red from fluorescing hydrogen.

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image code: dorneblmc

Image credit: Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3

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The Milky Way over the Temple of Poseidon

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Zazzle Space Gifts for young and old

Pandora's Cluster Detail iPad Air Cover

Here's a great iPad case from Zazzle featuring a Hubble-related design. Maybe you'd like to see your name on it? Click to personalize and see what it's like!


tagged with: abell 2744, pandora's cluster, blue, pink, purple, magenta, galaxy, galaxies, pretty, colorful, beautiful, awesome, abell2744

A colorful space image galaxy cluster Abell 2744, otherwise known as Pandora's Cluster. Source of image is NASA/Hubble programs.

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Pale Blue Dot Clean Posters

Here's a great poster featuring a beautiful image from deep space


tagged with: pale, blue, dot, space, astronomy, earth

The pixelation from the hubble scope are cleaned up in this one to look a little more wall art friendly.

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Star Cluster Pismis 24, core of NGC 6357 Square Sticker

Here's a great sheet of stickers featuring a beautiful image from deep space


tagged with: stars, galaxies, astronomy, envelope sealers, star cluster, pismis 24, sculpting ultaviolet ionisation, super massive stars, sclustpsms, nebula ngc 6357

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series The star cluster Pismis 24 lies in the core of the large emission nebula NGC 6357 that extends one degree on the sky in the direction of the Scorpius constellation. Part of the nebula is ionised by the youngest (bluest) heavy stars in Pismis 24. The intense ultraviolet radiation from the blazing stars heats the gas surrounding the cluster and creates a bubble in NGC 6357. The presence of these surrounding gas clouds makes probing into the region even harder. One of the top candidates for the title of "Milky Way stellar heavyweight champion" was, until now, Pismis 24-1, a bright young star that lies in the core of the small open star cluster Pismis 24 (the bright stars in the Hubble image) about 8,000 light-years away from Earth. Pismis 24-1 was thought to have an incredibly large mass of 200 to 300 solar masses. New NASA/ESA Hubble measurements of the star, have, however, resolved Pismis 24-1 into two separate stars, and, in doing so, have "halved" its mass to around 100 solar masses.

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image code: sclustpsms

Image credit: NASA/ESA Hubble

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After Silences and Setbacks a Spacecraft Is Revived, Deploying Its Solar Sail

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Twice since the LightSail spacecraft was launched last month, it fell into an unexpected silence. On Sunday, it finally did what it was designed to do.








via New York Times

Pink Blue Stars Cross White iPad Air Cases

Here's a great iPad case from Zazzle featuring a Hubble-related design. Maybe you'd like to see your name on it? Click to personalize and see what it's like!


tagged with: pink, blue, galaxy cluster, space, image, pretty, colorful, cross, shape

Simple cross shape colored with a NASA Hubble space image of the colorful blue and pink galaxy cluster Abell 2744. You can change the background color.

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