University of Washington

UW researchers helped draft international assessment of climate change

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change late last week released its summary for policy-makers, the Cliffs Notes version of the massive international assessment released about every six years.

The full text of the fifth IPCC report was released today, and University of Washington atmospheric science professors Dennis Hartmann and Chris Bretherton were among 209 researchers from 39 countries who were lead authors on the 900-page report.

“Warming is unequivocal,” Hartmann said Friday at a news conference in Sweden. He was a coordinating lead author for Chapter 2, Observations of Atmosphere and Surface, which reviews the evidence for global warming in temperature records. Hartmann also helped draft the technical summary and the summary for policymakers, and was in Stockholm last week for the final line-by-line reviews of the 36-page summary document.

See more at http://www.washington.edu/news/2013/09/30/uw-researchers-helped-draft-international-assessment-of-climate-change/

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Université du Québec à Montréal

Sur les berges du Rhône

Camille Larivée-Gauvreau, étudiante en histoire de l'art, raconte son séjour d'étude à Lyon.

« Un mois s’est écoulé depuis mon arrivée à Lyon, le 2 septembre dernier, et ce fut un mois intense ! Les deux premières semaines ont été particulièrement éprouvantes, car je devais dénicher rapidement un appartement, une tâche toujours ardue. Après avoir effectué plusieurs recherches, j'ai finalement trouvé un charmant petit studio en périphérie de Lyon.  Situé dans un jardin luxuriant, il appartient à un couple de Lyonnais extrêmement accueillant et sympathique. Une fois installée, il fallait que j'organise ma vie quotidienne et j'ai dû régler mille et un détails, comme obtenir un certificat de scolarité auprès du Service des relations internationales de l'Université Lyon 2 Lumière, ouvrir un compte bancaire français, me procurer un cellulaire, etc.

Quelques jours après mon arrivée, je suis allée à une réunion d’accueil des étudiants étrangers. L'Université Lyon 2 Lumière compte environ 500 étudiants étrangers, inscrits pour un trimestre ou deux. Plusieurs d'entre eux viennent perfectionner leur français, car Lyon 2 Lumière a développé un important Département de langues. Afin de faciliter notre intégration, le Service des relations internationales de l'université a organisé plusieurs activités culturelles au cours des premières semaines, notamment une visite guidée de Lyon conçue par des étudiantes en histoire de l’art. »

See more at  http://www.actualites.uqam.ca/2013/2975-une-uqamienne-lyon-les-berges-rhone

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University of Sydney Australia

Photons on demand now possible on hair's width optical chip

A breakthrough in photonics that will help create extremely compact optical chips, a hair's width in size and delivering a photon at a time, has been achieved by researchers from the University of Sydney.

"This result has applications in the development of complex quantum technologies, including completely secure communications, quantum measurement, the simulation of biological and chemical systems and of course quantum computing," said Dr Alex Clark, leader of the research team from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Ultrahigh Bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems (CUDOS).

Carried out at the University of Sydney's School of Physics, the research is published in Nature Communications.

See more at http://sydney.edu.au/news/84.html?newscategoryid=2&newsstoryid=12464

University of Alabama

Stimulate my brain

For every day one has entered a classroom or office and aced a test or presentation, there are other days when grogginess and a lack of focus lead to poor performance.

In the absence of a reliable, safe way to ensure optimal focus each day, a wall of sugar and caffeine-packed energy drinks in every convenience store have become, for some, the go-to “pick-me-up” potion.

Two education professors at The University of Alabama hope transcranial direct current stimulation, or tDCS, can be an answer for students who struggle to learn, recall or retain information.

Drs. Rick Houser and Steve Thoma are searching for a link between low-current brain stimulation, the correct brain cortexes and academic performance. Students enrolled in a junior-level statistics class at UA serve as willing test subjects.

See more at

http://research.ua.edu/2013/10/stimulate-my-brain/

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University of Cambridge

Testing the water

A new online tool enables users to assess not only how much water we use and for what, but also how we can mitigate future scarcity.

Water, like many other natural resources,is in both high demand and limited supply. In any one region, this precious substance is needed to sustain the domestic requirements of the population, irrigate crops, maintain ecosystems and assist in manufacturing and energy production.

Focusing on the state of California, a multidisciplinary group of Cambridge researchers has developed a model to calculate monthly and annual water demand. Moreover, because the model calculates future scenarios, it provides a means of assessing what can be done to mitigate water scarcity.

See more at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/features/testing-the-water

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Utah State University

« My Years at USU were Very Important to my Development as a Scholar »

Utah State University alum Lars Peter Hansen is one of three Americans named a recipient of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Economics.

Hansen is internationally known for his specialization in economic dynamics, using statistical methods applied to study linkages between financial markets and the macroeconomy. Since joining the University of Chicago in 1981, Hansen is now the David Rockefeller Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and Statistics and is the inaugural research director for the Becker-Friedman Institute. He was named a Nobel Economics Laureate alongside Eugene Fama, also of the University of Chicago, and Robert Shiller of Yale University.

See more at http://www.usu.edu/ust/index.cfm?article=52739

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Harvard University

Mindfulness over matters

Using meditation techniques in classrooms can boost clarity and learning, Kabat-Zinn saysProfessor Jon Kabat-Zinn, a renowned proponent of applying the practice of mindfulness in schools, addressed the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) Wednesday evening in Longfellow Hall about the effectiveness of such training in countering the pressures and effects of anxiety, stress, chronic pain, and illness on the body, mind, and brain.

The practice of mindfulness, a systematic way of paying attention and cultivating well-being, is becoming an increasingly important tool in education, from top-level leaders to elementary schoolchildren.

See more at: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2013/10/mindfulness-over-matters/

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 Le Point du I, précis d'érudition pointilleuse,

Le premier livre au monde jamais réalisé sur le sujet — le point sur la lettre i — nous entraîne ainsi dans des domaines aussi divers que l'histoire, la symbolique, la graphologie, la typographie, la linguistique, la publicité, les beaux-arts, la littérature, l'humour…vient d'être publié aux éditions Imago

Pierre-Michel Bertrand, l'auteur de ce livre, est le spécialiste français de la question gauchère sous ses aspects historique et sociétal. Il a déjà publié, aux Éditions Imago, Histoire des gauchers (2001, 2008) (traduit en sept langues) et Dictionnaire des gauchers (épuisé, 2004).

Présentation du livre :

http://www.editions-imago.fr/listeauteur.php?recordID=379&categorie=Litt%E9rature,%20essais%20critiques%20sur%20un%20th%E8me

A propos de ce livre, sur France Culture  et la possibilité d'écouter une chronique :

http://www.franceculture.fr/emission-l-essai-et-la-revue-du-jour-l-essai-du-jour-par-jacques-munier-2013-10-25

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University of Washington, Seattle

A first step in learning by imitation, baby brains respond to another’s actions

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery for adults, but for babies it’s their foremost tool for learning. As renowned people-watchers, babies often observe others demonstrate how to do things and then copy those body movements. It’s how little ones know, usually without explicit instructions, to hold a toy phone to the ear or guide a spoon to the mouth.

Now researchers from the University of Washington and Temple University have found the first evidence revealing a key aspect of the brain processing that occurs in babies to allow this learning by observation

See more at: http://www.washington.edu/news/2013/10/30/a-first-step-in-learning-by-imitation-baby-brains-respond-to-anothers-actions/

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University of Cambridge

Anti-fraud lasers and inks for transparent electronics

Two prototypes – a detection device which users lasers to fight fraud, and a piano which demonstrates the potential of printed electronics – have been unveiled by Cambridge researchers.

 A detection device which uses printed lasers to identify counterfeit goods has been developed by researchers, who say that it could help to make products more resistant to fraud.

The detector is one of a number of innovations covered in a new report by the Cambridge Innovation and Knowledge Centre (CIKC), which has been developing advanced manufacturing technologies for photonics and electronics.

The same document also outlines a new method for printing graphene, showing how the one atom-thick material could be used to make cheap, printed electronics. Using a graphene-based ink, researchers have demonstrated this by creating a transparent, flexible piano.

See more at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/anti-fraud-lasers-and-inks-for-transparent-electronics

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University of Cambridge

Fruit bat population covering central Africa is carrier of two deadly viruses

A population of fruit bats which is found across much of continental Africa is widely infected with two deadly viruses that could spread to humans, new research reveals.

The study, conducted jointly by the University of Cambridge and the Zoological Society of London’s Institute of Zoology and published today in the journal Nature Communications, found that the “gregarious” bats span over 4 500 km of central Africa (around the distance from California to New York). The researchers also discovered that thirty-four per cent of the bats had been infected with Lagos bat virus, a disease similar to rabies, and 42 per cent had been infected with henipaviruses.

See more at : http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/fruit-bat-population-covering-central-africa-is-carrier-of-two-deadly-viruses

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Indiana University

A digital archaeologist to unveil ancient Roman emperor's villa, virtually

 Indiana University’s first archaeo-informaticist, Bernie Frischer, will bring to life one of the Roman Empire’s best-known and best-preserved imperial villas -- Hadrian’s Villa -- during a public launch of the Digital Hadrian’s Villa Project on Friday, Nov. 22, in Washington, D.C.

Frischer, a digital archaeologist and one of the first academics to use 3-D computer modeling to reconstruct cultural heritage sites, spent five years leading the development of a 3-D virtual world modeling the Roman emperor Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli, Italy. The virtual simulation interprets the entire 250 acres and the more than 30 buildings of the second-century site.

Using a live 3-D multi-user online learning environment, visitors can interactively explore the entire villa complex. Arelated website documents the state of the site today and gives the scholarly background needed to understand the virtual simulation.

See more at http://news.iu.edu/releases/iu/2013/11/hadrians-villa.shtml

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Standford University, California

High-energy gamma ray burst could re-shape astrophysics theories, Stanford scientists say

Stanford physicists played a key role in monitoring and analyzing the brightest gamma ray burst ever measured, and suggest that its never-before-seen features could call for a rewrite of current theories.

This past April, an incredibly bright flash of light burst from near the constellation Leo. Originating billions of light years away, this explosion of light, called a gamma ray burst, has now been confirmed as the brightest gamma ray burst ever observed.

Astronomers around the world were able to view the blast in unprecedented detail and observe several aspects of the event for the first time ever. The data could lead to a rewrite of standard theories of how gamma ray bursts work.

See more at: 

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/november/gamma-ray-burst-112113.html

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University of Washington, Seattle

Study: Greenhouse gas might have warmed early Mars enough to allow liquid water

The mystery of how the surface of Mars, long dead and dry, could have flowed with water billions of years ago may have been solved by research that included a University of Washington astronomer.

There is evidence that Mars had water at its surface 3.8 billion years ago or before, but scientists are divided on how that might have happened, especially since the sun was about 30 percent fainter back then, thus less able to melt water ice on Mars.

Earlier efforts with computer models to simulate a warm, wet Mars using only carbon dioxide and water have not been successful. Now, researchers at Pennsylvania State University and the UW have published a paper arguing that the presence of a third ingredient alters that outcome, strengthening the greenhouse effect — where heat energy from sunlight is trapped in the atmosphere — enough to warm the surface and allow liquid water.

See more at: 

http://www.washington.edu/news/2013/11/25/study-greenhouse-gas-might-have-warmed-early-mars-enough-to-allow-liquid-water/

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Utah State university, Logan

Space Dynamics Lab Sensor Launched

Two Miniature Orbital Temperature References instruments — MOTRs — built by Utah State University Research Foundation’s Space Dynamics Laboratory were successfully launched Nov. 25 and are heading to the International Space Station.

The instruments will test a technology critical for maintaining accurate calibration of the space-based temperature sensors used for many satellite programs.

The MOTR instruments were carried in the Progress 53 cargo vehicle which lifted off on a Soyuz rocket at 1:53 (MST) Nov. 25 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station Nov. 29 when the MOTR instruments will undergo further testing.

“This launch is a key milestone in a several-year effort for the MOTR team and for SDL,” said Gail Bingham, SDL’s project scientist for the MOTR mission. “This is a first step in space qualifying a critical technology for improving our understanding of the Earth’s environment and on long term space missions.”

 See more at:  http://www.usu.edu/ust/index.cfm?article=53433

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University of Alberta Canada

Exercise, diet and lifestyle changes can prevent diabetes in people at high risk

Study shows that preventive benefits of healthy behaviour begin early and last for years.

 People at high risk of developing diabetes can prevent its onset if they exercise, improve their diet and make one other lifestyle change such as seeking counselling or quitting smoking, according to recently published findings from medical researchers at the University of Alberta.

Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry researcher Christina Korownyk and her team, which included the Alberta Research Centre for Health Evidence, published their findings in the peer-reviewed Annals of Internal Medicine. Their results confirm similar findings by other groups.

“This is reassurance for those who are at risk of developing diabetes that there is good evidence to support comprehensive lifestyle interventions in preventing diabetes,” she said. “The benefits begin early on, within the first year, and lasted for years after the interventions ended.”

 See more at: http://news.ualberta.ca/newsarticles/2013/november/exercise-diet-lifestyle-changes-can-prevent-diabetes-in-people-at-high-risk

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Northeastern university, Boston, Massachusetts

The potential pandemic

What would happen if haz­ardous bio­log­ical research acci­den­tally escaped the lab? Alessandro Vespig­nani, a North­eastern pro­fessor and world-​​renowned sta­tis­tical physi­cist, con­ducted a com­pu­ta­tional exper­i­ment to find out.

 In 2011, scientists suc­cess­fully engi­neered a lethal avian flu virus to be trans­mis­sible between birds as well as mam­mals and pos­sibly humans. The novel virus, a genet­i­cally engi­neered vari­a­tion of H5N1 avian influenza, sparked an enor­mous debate among both the research com­mu­nity and the public about how to manage such research and whether it should even be car­ried out at all.

That’s where North­eastern stepped in. “We thought it was impor­tant to pro­vide some hard num­bers to the debate,” said Alessandro Vespig­nani, a world-​​renowned sta­tis­tical physi­cist and the Stern­berg Family Dis­tin­guished Uni­ver­sity Professor.

 See more at http://www.northeastern.edu/news/2013/11/potential-pandemic/

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University of Princeton

Researchers demonstrate new way to sustain high-performance fusion plasmas

A multinational team led by Chinese researchers in collaboration with U.S. and European partners has successfully demonstrated a novel technique for suppressing instabilities that can cut short the life of controlled fusion reactions. The team, headed by researchers at the Institute of Plasma Physics in the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP), combined the new technique with a method that the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) has developed for protecting the walls that surround the hot, charged plasma gas that fuels fusion reactions.

 The record-setting results of the tests, conducted on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in Hefei, China, could mark a key step in the worldwide effort to develop fusion as a clean and abundant source of energy for generating electricity. "This is a very good example of multinational collaboration on EAST," said ASIPP Director Jiangang Li. "I very much appreciate the effort of our collaborators."

See more at: 

http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S38/60/84K06/index.xml?section=topstories

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Florida international university, Miami

Researchers predict environmental factors will imperil banana production by 2060

In the next 50 years, approximately 50 percent of conventional plantations in Central and South America are predicted to become unsuitable for the production and export of bananas.

This is a claim made by FIU biological sciences researchers Brian Machovina ’91, MS ’94 and Kenneth Feeley in their study titled, “Climate change driven shifts in the extent and location of areas suitable for export banana production.”

The researchers used global climate projections for the year 2060 and species distribution modeling (SDM) to predict the geographical shifts and map areas predicted to be suitable for commercial banana production. They found climate change, deforestation and lack of water availability will cause banana plantations currently found in areas suitable for production to shift to other countries. Countries such as Mexico, Ecuador and Peru will gain suitable cultivation areas while other countries will lose suitable areas, including Honduras and Colombia. In fact, it is estimated that Colombia will lose an estimated 62 percent of its cultivation areas.

See more at: http://news.fiu.edu/2013/12/researchers-predict-environmental-factors-will-imperil-banana-production-by-2060/72044

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University Concordia, Montréal

Tips on dining etiquette

Dining etiquette workshops, part of the Backpack to Briefcase series, can help students make a good impression.

Emily Campbell and Jonah Aspler, from Concordia's Department of Journalism, report how dining etiquette workshops can help students make a good impression. A video at http://www.concordia.ca/alumni-friends/cunews/offices/vpdersg/aar/2013/12/tips-on-dining-etiquette.html?

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UCLA University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles. neighborhoods show striking differences in transit-related air pollution

Noxious particulate concentrations highest near Santa Monica Airport

 UCLA researchers pitted four Los Angeles neighborhoods head-to-head to compare their air pollution levels and found that while more affluent neighborhoods generally fared better, the Mar Vista community near the Santa Monica Airport scored worse for ultrafine particle pollutants than freeway-laced downtown and Boyle Heights and far worse than neighboring portions of West Los Angeles.

Researchers used an emissions-free electric vehicle filled with instruments to measure real-time air pollutant concentrations in residential areas of Boyle Heights, downtown, West Los Angeles and the Mar Vista neighborhood known as North Westdale. During typical daytime weather patterns, the North Westdale community is immediately downwind of the Santa Monica Airport.

See more at http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-researchers-discover-striking-249623.aspx

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University of Oxford

An apple a day keeps the heart doctor away

The 150-year-old proverb « an apple a day keeps the doctor away » stands the test of time, say Oxford University researchers.

Lead researcher Dr Adam Briggs of the British Health Foundation Health Promotion Research Group at Oxford University says: 'The Victorians had it about right when they came up with their brilliantly clear and simple public health advice.

The researchers calculated that an apple a day for all adults, aged 50 and over, in the United Kingdom, would prevent around 8 500 deaths from heart attacks and strokes every year.

See more at:  http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/news_stories/2013/131218.html

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University of Delaware

 World's mangroves, salt marshes hold potential for reducing carbon emissions

 Mangroves, the dense forests found along tropical and subtropical coastlines, have some specialized trees that can take in air through their roots at low tide and excrete salt right out of their leaves. The unusual ecosystems can also absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide, making them a natural solution for controlling greenhouse gases.

Disrupt them, however, and they’ll put that carbon right back into the atmosphere.

Sunny Jardine, an assistant professor of marine policy who joined the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment earlier this year, studies the environmental benefits of mangroves and the economics behind their deforestation.

 See more at:  http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2014/dec/blue-carbon-ecosystems-121613.html

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University of Colorado

Vets continue study of stem-cell therapy for feline kidney disease in fifth clinical trial

Chronic kidney disease in older cats is the focus of a fifth clinical trial under way at Colorado State University's James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital, where veterinarians are exploring novel stem-cell therapy that could, for the first time, hold promise for treating one of the most perplexing feline diseases.

See more at:  http://www.today.colostate.edu/story.aspx?id=9530

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Université Laval, Québec

Lutter contre des dérèglements neurologiques

L’Université Laval et la compagnie pharmaceutique Roche collaboreront pour tester l’efficacité de composés prometteurs dans la lutte contre les dérèglements neurologiques.

Cette collaboration portera plus précisément sur l’évaluation du potentiel de différentes molécules affectant l’activité d’une protéine, appelée KCC2, normalement présente dans les neurones du cerveau et de la moelle épinière. De récents travaux établissent un lien très net entre diverses anomalies des circuits neuronaux et une concentration trop faible de cette protéine au sein des cellules nerveuses.

Pour en savoir plus : http://www.relationsmedias.ulaval.ca/comm/2014/janvier/universite-laval-roche-associent-pour-tester-3378.html

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Universté de l'Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

Helping hawks weather the storm

Researchers look at how climate change affects endangered hawks and what can be done to improve their odds of survival.

A team of researchers at a University of Alberta institute is helping endangered prairie hawks weather the storm of climate change.  

Alberta’s changing climate poses challenges for humans, but for a species like the ferruginous hawk, which already faces a variety of threats, climate change could have disastrous consequences for its survival in the province.

To help improve the odds for these iconic birds, U of A researchers collaborating with the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI) on the Biodiversity Management and Climate Change Adaptation project are tackling two challenges—understanding how climate change is affecting hawk populations, and finding ways to reduce the impact.

See more at: http://news.ualberta.ca/newsarticles/2014/january/helping-hawks-weather-the-storm

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