Botany

Arctic Lupine (Lupinus arcticus) in a meadow in Chugach State Park, Alaska. Credit: John J. Mosesso/NBII.gov

The Earth is host to more than 400,000 documented species of plant life. In turn, our planet depends upon these plants to nurture and sustain all living things. Plants play a critical role in the complex food web. Powered by light from the sun, carbon dioxide from the air, and nutrients from the soil, plants pass on this energy to the life forms that consume them. And for the human species, plants bring aesthetic pleasure, delighting the senses with their beauty and variety.
Botany is one of the oldest branches of biology. It is concerned with the scientific study of plants and other similar organisms. Within the discipline there are many areas of study including Paleobotany (the study of plant history through fossils), Physiology (the study of plant cells and tissues), Pteridology (the study of ferns), and Plant Pathology (the study of diseases in plants).

 http://www.nbii.gov/portal/server.pt/community/botany/205

Baby Stars Born to 'Napping' Parents

Cardiff University astronomers believe that a young star's long "napping" could trigger the formation of a second generation of smaller stars and planets orbiting around it.

It has long been suspected that the build up of material onto young stars is not continuous but happens in episodic events, resulting in short outbursts of energy from these stars.
However, this has been largely ignored in models of star formation.
Now, by developing advanced computer models to simulate the behaviour of young stars, Cardiff University Astrophysicists Dr Dimitris Stamatellos and Professor Anthony Whitworth, along with Dr David Hubber from the University of Sheffield, have offered a new insight in star formation.
While stars are young they are surrounded by discs of gas and dust, and grow by accreting material from these discs. The discs may break-up to give birth to smaller stars, planets and brown dwarfs -- objects larger than planets but not large enough to burn hydrogen like our Sun.
"We know that young stars spend most of their early lives sleeping," said Dr Dimitris Stamatellos. "After they have their lunch, a large chunk of dust and gas from their discs, they take a nap that lasts for a few thousand years. During this nap their brightness is very low.
"As they sleep, their discs grow in mass, but they remain relatively cool, despite the presence of stars right at their centres. Eventually, these discs become unstable and fragment to form low-mass stars and substellar objects, like brown dwarfs and planets."
To date, research has suggested that the radiation from the parent star could heat and stabilize the disc, suppressing its breaking up. However, the researchers discovered that there is ample time in between outbursts to allow the disc to break up and give birth to a new generation of low-mass stars, brown dwarfs, and planets.
The new theory provides an explanation for the formation and the properties of stars with masses below a fifth of that of our Sun, which are estimated to constitute more than 60% of all stars in our galaxy.
"Our findings suggest that disc fragmentation is possible in nature," says Dr Stamatellos.
"It is important now to investigate whether this is the dominant mechanism for the formation of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs," he adds.
The research was funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the Leverhume Trust, and published in the Astrophysical Journal.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110309112906.htm

Dark And Distant Heavenly Bodies Revealing The Secrets Of Star And Galaxy Formation

British astronomers are releasing the first data from the largest and most sensitive survey of the heavens in infrared light to scientists across Europe. The UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) has completed the first of seven years of data collection, studying objects that are too faint to see at visible wavelengths, such as very distant or very cool objects. New data on young galaxies is already challenging current thinking on galaxy formation, revealing galaxies that are massive at a much earlier stage of development than expected. These first science results already show how powerful the full survey will be at finding rare objects that hold vital clues to how stars and galaxies in our Universe formed.
UKIDSS will make an atlas of large areas of the sky in the deep infrared. This survey will reveal more cool and faint objects than we have ever been able to see before. It will also detect objects at the very edge of our known universe. UKIDSS is being conducted by UK astronomers working with Japanese and ESO astronomers. The data is being shared with astronomers across Europe through ESO.
"Astronomers across Europe will jump on these exciting new data. We are moving into new territory - our survey is both wide and deep, so we are mapping huge volumes of space. That's how we will locate rare objects - the very nearest and smallest stars, and young galaxies at the edge of the universe." said Andy Lawrence from the University of Edinburgh, UKIDSS Principal Investigator.
The UKIDSS data was collected by the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope situated near the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii using the Wide Field Camera (WFCAM) built by the United Kingdom Astronomy Technology Centre (UKATC) in Edinburgh. WFCAM is the most powerful infrared imager in the world. It generates enormous amounts of data - 150 gigabytes per night (equivalent to more than 200 CDs) – and approximately 10.5 Terrabytes in total so far (or 15,000 CDs!!).
A small amount of data was released in January 2006 and already teams led by Omar Almaini at the University of Nottingham and Nigel Hambly of the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh are beginning to reveal some of the secrets of star and galaxy formation.
Omar Almaini, Ross McLure and the Ultra Deep Survey team have been looking at distant galaxies by surveying the same region of sky night after night to see deeper and to find these very faint objects. This survey will be one hundred times larger than any similar survey attempted to date and will cover an area four times the size of the full Moon. So far several hundred thousand galaxies have been detected and among the early discoveries, nine remarkable galaxies have been found that appear to be 12 billion light years away. As it has taken 12 billion years for the light to travel from these galaxies to Earth, we are seeing them as they were when they were very young – only a billion years after the Big Bang. The newly discovered galaxies are unusual as they appear to be very massive for their age. This challenges thinking on how galaxies form, since it was thought that large galaxies form gradually over billions of years as smaller components merge together.
"We're surveying an enormous volume of the distant Universe, which allows us to discover rare massive galaxies that were previously almost impossible to find. Understanding how these galaxies form is one of the Holy Grails of modern astronomy, and now we can trace them back to the edge of the known Universe" said Omar Almaini.
Nigel Hambly and Nicolas Lodieu have been using the UKIDSS data to discover more about very cold objects in our Galaxy called brown dwarfs. Brown dwarfs are formed in the same way as stars but typically they have less than 8% of the mass of the Sun (or approximately 80 times the mass of Jupiter). This is not large enough for core nuclear reactions to occur, and so brown dwarfs do not shine like normal stars. Brown dwarfs give off less than one ten thousandth of the radiation of a star like our Sun. This relatively tiny amount of heat can be detected by WFCAM and the UKIDSS survey hopes to find out how many of these "failed stars" there are in our Galaxy.
Only a few hundred of these enigmatic objects have been found previously but the UKIDSS survey should establish if they are rare or a relatively common phenomenon. This large study of brown dwarfs will reveal the true scale of the link between the smallest normal stars and large gas planets, such as Jupiter.
Nigel Hambly, of the UKIDSS Galactic Clusters Survey said "There is every reason to suppose that the physical process leading to the formation of stars is continuous across the mass boundary that separates normal hydrogen-fusing stars like the Sun and the so-called failed stars, or brown dwarfs. With UKIDSS, we will find many thousands of brown dwarfs in many different star formation environments within our own Galaxy; furthermore we expect to find even cooler and much dimmer objects than are currently known. This will tell us how significant a role the brown dwarfs have in the overall scheme of Galactic structure and evolution."
Mike Irwin and his team at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge have automated the processing of the huge amount of data produced by the surveys. More than 2 million images have been analysed so far, with the team tasked with removing instrumental artefacts, cataloguing the thousands of objects visible on each frame and providing quality measures for the 10,000 images produced per night.

The large blue image shows an optical picture of the Pleiades star cluster, which lies around 400 light-years from the Sun and is thought to be typical of the regions where Stars form in our Galaxy. The three close-up images show three objects that may be brown dwarfs that have been found in UKIDSS data. In each case, the colour scheme indicates that the stars are much cooler (i.e. redder) than other stars that happen to lie in the line of sight. If further study confirms that these objects are indeed members of the Pleiades star cluster, then they will likely have masses around 4% of the Sun, or around 40 times the mass of the planet Jupiter. (Image courtesy of Particle Physics & Astronomy Research Council)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060721120535.htm

Unsaturated Fats

Unsaturated fats are usually liquid at room temperature. They are found in most vegetable products and oils. An exception is a group of tropical oils like coconut or palm kernel oil which are highly saturated. Using foods containing "polyunsaturated" and "monounsaturated" fats does not increase our risk of heart disease. However, like all fats, unsaturated fats give us 9 calories for every gram. So eating too much of these types of fat may also make us gain weight.
We can reduce the fat and unsaturated fats in our diets by using less fat, oil, and margarine. We can also eat more low-fat foods like vegetables, fruits, breads, rice, pasta and cereals. Read and compare food labels to find foods that have less total fat.
http://www.umass.edu/nibble/infofile/unsatfat.html 

Incomplete Proteins

Plant foods are considered incomplete proteins because they are low or lacking in one or more of the amino acids we need to build cells.
Incomplete proteins found in plant foods can be mixed together to make a complete protein. As a general rule, grains, cereals, nuts, or seeds can be eaten together with dried beans, dried peas, lentils, peanuts or peanut butter. Examples of these combinations include peanut butter on wheat bread, rice and beans, and split pea soup with corn bread. Incomplete proteins found in plant foods can also be combined with small amounts of animal foods to make a complete protein. Examples include macaroni and cheese, and tuna noodle casserole.
http://www.umass.edu/nibble/infofile/incprot.html 

B Vitamins

There are many different B vitamins, including thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine (B6), and cobalamin (B12). The B vitamins work together to help your body use the energy you get from food. Some B vitamins are also important in helping the body use protein from the diet to build new cells and tissues.
You can get enough of the B vitamins by eating a variety of foods from different food groups. Animal products like pork, liver, kidney, poultry, eggs and fish are the best sources of vitamin B6. Many plant foods like whole grain foods (brown rice, whole wheat bread and oatmeal) are good sources of pyridoxine. Some legumes and nuts like soy beans, peanuts and walnuts are other plant sources of this B vitamin.
Vitamin B12 is needed for healthy blood. It is found only in animal products. If you are a vegetarian and do not eat any animal foods like eggs, milk or cheese, you may need to take a supplement for this vitamin.

http://www.umass.edu/nibble/infofile/vitaminb.html 

Open source is not just for Linux: 14 apps that are great for Windows users

Open source is not just for Linux. Did you know there are plenty of useful software titles for Windows that also happen to be open source? Jack Wallen introduces you to some of the must-have open source Windows solutions.
Recently I had a client that had a need that simply couldn’t be fulfilled with proprietary software. Well, that’s not exactly true. There were plenty of proprietary titles that could do what she needed done, but none that were at her budget. So I did what any advocate of open source software would do - I introduced her to the world of FOSS. She was amazed that so much software existed that was not only quality, but very cost effective.
That little interaction reminded me that the biggest hurdle open source software faced was not an incompatibility, or lack of solid code - but the lack of recognition. The majority of Windows users out there believe if you want good software you have to pay for it. So I decided to highlight the open source projects out there that run on Windows so you could, in turn, help spread the word by using and promoting these tools to your fellow Windows users.
Now…on to the software.
#1 LibreOffice: This one is, with the exception of the “new name”, obvious. If you are looking for the single best replacement for MS Office, look no further than LibreOffice. Yes, it is a fork of OpenOffice, but it forked at version 3.x so it benefited from an already solid code base. This piece of software is a must-have for open source advocates. And don’t worry, although it may claim to be in “beta”, many users (including myself) are using it in production environments.

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#2 Scribus: If you are looking for desktop publishing for creating marketing materials, manuals, books, fliers, etc. - look no further than Scribus. Scribus can do nearly everything its proprietary counterparts can do (such as PageMaker and QuarkXPress) only it does it with a more user-friendly interface and doesn’t require nearly the resources the competition begs for.
#3 The GIMP: Need a raster editor? The GIMP is as powerful as Photoshop and costs roughly $700.00 dollars less. And if you’re unhappy with The GIMP’s current interface, hold off until around March when the new single-windowed interface will arrive. Take a look at how the new UI is evolving at the Gimp Brainstorm.
#4 Inkscape: Inkscape is to vector graphics what The GIMP is to raster graphics. Of course anyone that has worked with vector graphics knows they are not nearly as easy to work with as raster graphics, but Inkscape goes a long way to making that process as easy as it can be.
#5 GnuCash: This is the de facto standard accounting software for Linux. GnuCash is amazing in features, usability, and reliability. I have been using GnuCash for years and have yet to encounter a single problem. It does reporting, double-entry accounting, small business accounting, vendors/customers/jobs, stock/bond/mutual fund accounts, and much more.
#6 VLC: Video Lan is the multimedia player that can play nearly everything. In fact, VLC claims, “It plays everything”. I can vouch for that claim. I have yet to find a multimedia format VLC couldn’t handle. Ditch Windows Media Player, what with it’s crash-prone, resource hog behavior, and migrate to a light-weight, reliable, all-in-one multimedia player.
#7 Firefox: Another open source project that goes without saying. Firefox is quickly helping the “alternative browsers” to usurp the insecure, unreliable IE as the king of browsers. Firefox 4 should be out very soon and it promises more speed and security.
#8 Claws Mail: This is my mail client of choice. Not only is Claws Mail cross-platform, it’s also the single fastest graphical mail client available. If you want a mail client that starts up in mere seconds, has plenty of plugins, and can be configured more than any other mail client Claws Mail is your tool. Unfortunately Claws Mail can not connect to an Exchange server, but for all of your POP/IMAP accounts, this is what you need.
#9 VirtualBox: No, not everyone is working with virtual machines, but for those of you who are, make sure you give VirtualBox a go before you dive in and purchase VMWare. VirtualBox has many of the features that VMWare offers but can bring you into the world of virtual machines without the overhead cost of VMWare.
#10 TrueCrypt: This is one of those applications for the paranoid in all of us. If you need encrypted filesystems to safely hide away all of your company secrets, or just your personal information, then you need to try TrueCrypt. TrueCrypt creates a virtual encrypted disk that can be mounted and unmounted only with the configured passphrase. Without that passphrase the data within the filesystem can not be reached. Just make sure you do not forget or lose that passphrase.
#11 Calibre: With the amazing growth of ebooks (Amazon reported 2010 saw 60% of all books sold were ebooks), people need an easier way to manage their collections or convert their files/books to a readable ebook format. Calibre is one of the best tools for this job. I have four ebooks on sale at various ebook resellers (check Smashwords for me) and have used Calibre to help manage the conversion from .rtf format to a usable file.  The only format Calibre has trouble formatting to is PDF.
#12 Audacity: Anyone that needs audio editing software should take a look at this power, open source selection. Audacity will enable you to create podcasts, music, convert audio to various formats, splice files together, change pitch of files, and much more.
#13 PeaZip: Who doesn’t have to work with archives? Nearly every PC user has had to unzip a file or create an archive for emailing. Why not do this with an open source tool that can handle nearly every archiving format on the planet?
#14 ClamWin: Why wouldn’t you trust an anti-virus solution created by open source developers? You should. ClamWin is a solid antivirus solution and should soon have the real-time antivirus solution completed. If you need an antivirus solution that doesn’t drag your machine to a screeching halt during scans or insists of installing add-ons you do not want or need, give ClamWin a try.

Do you use open source software on Windows?

Yes - any time there is an option

Yes - only when there is no other option

Not yet

No

I could go on and on with the list of open source software for Windows, but you get the idea. Open source is not just for Linux users. Users of all platforms can benefit from adopting open source titles. Not only will these software solutions save you money immediately, they will save you more and more money over time as you don’t have to pay for software support when something goes wrong - just email a developer or hit the forums to find quick and available solutions.
Open source is not ideal for every situation, but you will be surprised how many times you will find an open source solution superior to its proprietary cousins.


http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/opensource/open-source-is-not-just-for-linux-14-apps-that-are-great-for-windows-users/2153?tag=mantle_skin;content

P Power Advisor White Paper

Source: Hewlett-Packard (HP)

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With power requirements of computing equipment increasing and the cost of energy rising, IT organizations need accurate estimates of power and cooling requirements for designing and expanding data centers. HP has created the HP Power Advisor utility to provide more accurate and meaningful estimates of power needs for HP ProLiant BL, DL, and SL systems so that IT infrastructure designers can determine the most efficient hardware configuration. This technology brief identifies factors affecting power requirements, explains how the Power Advisor works, and provides an example of how it can be used.

Sponsored by HP and Intel Xeon processors

 

http://www.techrepublic.com/whitepapers/hp-power-advisor-white-paper/1845659.

Snails' Complex Muscle Movements, Rather Than Mucus, Key to Locomotion

The main aim of this study, carried out in collaboration with the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) and Stanford University (both in the US) is to characterize some aspects of gastropod (snails and slugs) locomotion to basically respond to one question: To what extent do they depend on the physical properties of their mucus to propel themselves forward? This question is fundamental when applying the studied mechanism to the construction of biomimetic robots. "The aim is for the robot to be able to propel itself in any fluid mucus without having to carry its own reserve of mucus along," explained one of the authors of the research study, Javier Rodríguez, Professor at the UC3M Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering. "Bear in mind," he stated, "that snail mucus has a very particular behaviour because it is a specific type of fluid with complex physical characteristics called non-Newtonian fluid."
Until now, it was known that snails and slugs move by propagating their body in a series of muscular wave motions to advance from their tail to their head, but the importance of their mucus in this process was not known. The conclusion obtained by these scientists is that this fluid's properties are not essential for propulsion. "Without a doubt, it could have other uses, such as climbing walls, moving upside down, or preserving moisture in the body when on a dry surface, but if we want to construct a robot that emulates a snail, the latter could move over fluid mucus with ordinary properties" pointed out Professor Rodríguez, who has recently published an article on this matter, together with his colleagues from the North American universities, in the scientific review, Journal of Experimental Biology.
To carry out this study, the researchers have characterized the propagation of these muscular waves which occur along the body of gastropods. For this purpose, they place the snails and slugs so that they move on transparent surfaces, illuminating their undersides in different ways so as to record images through digital cameras, subsequently analyzing this data by computer. "The ways to illuminate the body vary depending on what is being measured," stated María Vázquez, research fellow from the UC3M Fluid Mechanics Group where she has collaborated in experiments carried out in Spain and in the US. "For example," she explained further, "to measure the speed of the wave, we placed a light on the underneath part of the snail, while to measure the vertical deformation of the body we used a low power flat laser (so as not to harm the animal) projected at a given angle." Together, all of these measures have allowed the 3D reconstruction of the snail's underside during propulsion.
Very diverse applications
The most surprising thing about snail movement is summed up very well in a phrase from a biology professor from Stanford University, Mark W. Denny, written in the 1980's: "How can an animal with just one leg walk on glue?" And the mucus is highly adhesive, which offers some advantages such as walking on walls and moving on the ceiling. Furthermore, as anyone who has ever held a snail in their hand can testify, when snails move, they do not use force over specific points, as animals with legs do, but rather they distribute a relatively low force over a relatively large area. "What also happens," Professor Rodríguez pointed out, "is that it is difficult to move over glue without exerting quite a bit of force while dragging fluid along." Snails, after millions of years of evolution, have succeeded in being able to move on a highly adhesive surface, avoiding these inconveniences "which is without a doubt of interest and worthy of study," he added
This type of research can help in the design of biomimetic robots that carry out functions which conventional devices cannot do. Some Japanese researchers, for example, propose using the snail propulsion mechanism to move an endoscope though a human body (the trachea, intestines, etc), taking advantage of the mucus film that usually covers these ducts. "This mechanism," Javier Rodríguez remarked, "generates a smooth distribution of force instead of supporting itself in concrete points, which would reduce the irritation caused by the movement of an endoscope, in this case."
At the moment, the results published by the UC3M, UCSD and Stanford scientists only deal with the experimental part of study carried out, although they are working on a second article that includes a simple theoretical model which explains these animals' movement. The preliminary results were presented last November at the Annual Conference of The American Physical Society. In addition, these researchers are interested in extending their analysis to situations in which the animal moves up slopes of varying angles.

iPad Application Development - iPad App Development for Sports

IPad Application Development is famous for Sport related activity and enjoyment for people. Here iPad Application Development produce new platform for the enhancement of iPad Application with Sport activity.

Sport is the favorite activity of every human being. iPad provides new platform for the enhancement of this activity. You can enjoy your favorite sports with sports related iPad application development. Here I have discussed some good, hot and some new applications for your iPad.

World Football Calendar 2010

This iPad application development is for Calendar. This calendar provides you all the information needed for the events and matches of this year. It is an ultimate application for the coming tournaments. Its prominent features are:

• Calendar of all matches adjusted to your local time
• Instant access to all latest football news in six languages
• Information on 32 countries comprises of matches calendar, flags, teams, national anthems, previous participation, etc.
• A new surprise everyday
• Vuvuzela included! Shake your iPad for real south African experience!
• Faster access to results
• New sound effect shake and see
• Auto refresh every five minutes on the match
• Countdown to final, etc.

Eurosports for iPad App Development

This iPad application development is for the sports lover. It keeps them in touch of the latest development on the horizon of recent sports. You can stay abreast of all latest development in the sporting world.

Checkout results, fixtures and tables for every sport and follow live action for:

Football: Premier league, Champions league, Championship, FA cup, Carling cup, Scottish premier league, home nations, Ireland internationals, Europa league, Serie A, La Liga, and Bundesliga.

Cricket: international and county

Tennis: Wimbledon, US Open, Australian Open, French Open, ATP tour, WTA tour, master series events.

Rugby: Guinness Premiership, Celtic league, Six nations, Heineken cup, European challenge cup.

Formula one: Every world championship race.

Cycling: All major events including the tour de France, the Vuelta and Giro.

Plus: MotoGP, WTCC, IRC, Snooker and athletics.

You can personalize your application. You will have control of menus which allows you to select your favorite game, modify the size of text, etc.

A Tennis Video News for iPad App Development

With this iPad application development you will get real time Tennis news for your iPad. Here algorithm gather tennis related news from over hundred sites and only produce most popular news. Do you want to know what tennis stars just Twitted? Get the latest tennis tweets. Watch video highlights from the biggest sport network only in one single app!

F1 2010 Timing App - Championship Pass

This iPad application development is for car race. This application gives access to live timing and track positioning for all sessions - Practice 1, 2 and 3. Qualifying and Race for 2010 championship.

This is only official application for unique data and features.

Live positions: Displayed on dynamic 3D map. You can see gaps as never before.
Drivers: you can pick your favorite drivers and see their positions and their battle for positions.
Unique replay feature: Replay any session at anytime you choose. Perfect for tap delayed broadcast.
Zoom: you can zoom in on the action or pull back to see the whole field.
Full timing screens: including gaps and sectors.
Live commentary: Lap by lap live commentary.
Standings: Results and news for 2010 season
Detailed information: Information and history of all drivers, teams and race tracks.
Complete season access.
If you want to more information regarding ipad application development, please contact us.

iPad Developer
iPad Applications Developer, a well known ipad app developer firm provides new ipad technology and ipad development solution.

U.S. Air Force robotic space plane set for second long-duration flight

In 2010, a new U.S. Air Force test vehicle, the X-37B, took flight from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The unmanned plane, which looks a bit like a compact version of the space shuttle, later landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, completing its autonomous flight. "There is no one on the ground with a joystick flying it," Lieutenant Colonel Troy Giese, the vehicle's systems program director, said in a statement before launch.

An autonomous cross-country flight would be impressive enough, but the X-37B covered far more ground than that on its maiden flight. The plane, which launched in April on an Atlas 5 rocket and entered Earth orbit, circled the planet probably thousands of times (details on the flight are sketchy) before landing in December—more than seven months later.

Now the Air Force is preparing to launch a second X-37B space plane, which the military says can stay aloft for as many as 270 days—about 15 times the duration of the longest shuttle mission. The launch window opens at 3:39 P.M. Eastern Standard Time on March 4. (United Launch Alliance, which operates the Atlas 5 rocket, is streaming video from the launch.)

The Air Force has been intentionally vague about the purpose of the robotic spacecraft, saying that the program is testing "reusable technologies for America's future in space and operating experiments which can be returned to and examined on Earth." But the specs of the vehicle itself are public. The X-37B weighs five metric tons and is nearly nine meters long with a 4.5-meter wingspan. (The space shuttle, in comparison, is 37 meters long with a 24-meter wingspan.) The space plane has a modest experiment bay that can open to space, which has led to speculation that it may be used to deploy satellites. The X-37 project began as a NASA endeavor before the military took it over in 2004.

Energy at the movies. Huh?

Different branches of science have played famous roles in lots of movies. But one category is often overlooked: sources of energy, even though the plots and turning points of major movies have hinged on just that. How likely is the potential nuclear reactor meltdown in  China Syndrome (Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon)? How quickly could the animated robot  WALL-E (Ben Burtt, voice) really recharge himself with his solar panels, and what seems to give his eventually robotic love, the diminutive Eva (Elissa Knight), intense and seemingly limitless power? Other flicks to consider: Giant, Monsters Inc., Coal Miner’s Daughter and, of course, Back to the Future and its plutonium-powered time machine.

The cinematic portrayal of energy has varied from spot-on to loose to downright ridiculous. Intrigued? On Wednesday, March 9, the University of Texas will present an entertaining lecture about energy in the movies, complete with video clips, and you can watch the whole event, live, right here at ScientificAmerican.com

You can learn more here about the lecture, and panel discussion that follows. Or just come back to Scientific American’s home page on Wednesday. One of our newest guest bloggers will also be tweeting live from the event, and his observations will stream on our home page right next to the streaming lecture video. Check back for more details.

Next Generation 'iPhone 5' Teased In WSJ Report: What Will It Look Like?

There was yet another Apple rumor in the Journal's piece: According to "people briefed on the phone," Apple is currently working on its next-generation iPhone, unofficially called the "iPhone 5" or "iPhone 5G."
The Wall Street Journal wrote, "One person familiar said the fifth-generation iPhone would be a different form factor than those that are currently available, said one person familiar with the new iPhone plan [sic]. It was unclear how soon that version would be available to Verizon or other carriers."
Although the tight-lipped Apple has made no mention of an "iPhone 5," there has been speculation aplenty. Here's what people are saying about Apple's (rumored) next generation iPhone:
CNET's David Carnoy lists the most important features that an iPhone 5 should have. His top five include 4G network compatibility, a brand new operating system (iOS 5), fewer failed and dropped calls, more carriers in addition to AT&T (Verizon, for example), better battery life, and improved 3D graphics.
Fast Company says that the iPhone 5 could be RFID-enabled, meaning it will function like a credit card. "[Y]ou'll be able to pay wirelessly by waving [the phone] over a panel at the point of sale," Fast Company explains, citing a design patent submitted by Apple.
TechRadar predicts that Apple will announce the fifth-generation iPhone next summer: "Apple's established a rhythm with iPhone releases, with new models appearing in late June or early July each year. It's a safe bet that the iPhone 5 release date will also be late June or early July."

Story continues below

iLounge speculates there is also a slim chance the device could get a January 2011 release date, which would be the most effective way to finally kill the iPhone 4's "antennagate" reception issues.
Presumably, the iPhone 5 would also address the "death grip" reception issues reported by many iPhone 4 users, as well as the durability of the phone's glass screen. Gdgt speculates that "glassgate" could be next for the iPhone 4: "Apple has apparently found that non-bumper style cases -- specifically those that slide onto the iPhone 4, which are occasionally prone to particulate matter getting caught between the rear of the phone and the case -- can cause unexpected scratching that could quickly develop into full-on cracking or even much larger fracturing of the entire rear pane of glass."
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Child Safety: Rodent Control

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Victor Pest. All opinions are 100% mine. Of course, based on personal experiences.

It’s no wonder Victor is recognized as a world leader in the rodent control category. They have been controlling rodents since 1890. Victor® revolutionized the rodent control market 100 years ago with the invention of the spring-based Victor® Mouse Trap.

Victor continuously manufactures innovative, quality products that keep families safe from the dangers rodents pose. Shortly after relocating, we experienced a mouse invasion. At first site we assumed only one mouse had invaded the house. Having a two year old made the situation even more dangerous.

The landlord supplied us with no name glue traps, which were a new mouse trapping system at the time. These traps presented nothing more than a huge mess through the hallway. The mice walked right through them. After spending half of the morning cleaning the glue I made a trip to the local hardware store. Explaining my situation and concern for my son’s safety, they recommended Victor spring based traps. The clerk, after checking the information supplied by Victor, advised us to place the traps in shoe boxes each evening. By doing so, this would limit my son’s exposure to the trap as well as the mouse and diseases it may carry. This method worked perfectly. The mouse problem was solved in just three days.

Today Victor presents a whole host of innovative rodent control products that  that are even safer for the family. Visit Victorpest.com to learn more.

After 17 months

Has it really been that long?

I have disappeared from the blogging world for almost 18 months! During that time, I ‘sort of’ forgot about my blogs. I also didn’t visit any other sites in my blog list. I also stopped digital scrapbooking. And not just gradually, mind you. I made a full stop!

I think I have been overwhelmed and pressured before to keep my blogs (emphasis on the ‘s’) up-to-date constantly. I had around 5 blogs to keep track of. Very time consuming. That time, Liam was 8 months old and was crawling and learning to walk. So my attention had to be on him all the time.

And so I lived my life…off-line. Except for daily visits to my Facebook account, I stayed away the computer most of the time.

But a few weeks ago, I received a notice of renewal for my domain names. I had to decide if I wanted to renew it or stop it altogether. I thought of not renewing them and deleting all the blogs I made. So I visited the sites one last time. After visiting my sites, I also browsed my online friends’ sites. Then, I started to miss it -- blogging about my day and my experiences. I missed reading other mom’s blogs and learning new things.

So, instead of deleting all 5 blogs, I have decided to retain two. This one – about my experiences and life as a mom. And my digital scrapbooking blog. I also made a resolution to try to update these two blogs often.

But I have to take baby steps, though…Please bear with me if I won’t be able to post regularly. I am not going to pressure myself unnecessarily so I won’t promise updates regularly.

So, I will be seeing you around, then? :)

Google Hopes to Make Results More Relevant

Google changed the algorithm again. The algorithm change was rolled out in the U.S. only and Google is asking for feedback. This will reduce rankings for low-quality sites. I have already noticed the SERPs for shopping terms are much more relevant. Some of the major stores had an ad that would display their store no matter what search term used. I will never forget "shop Amazon for Travel Trailers!"

What is really nice about this change to the Google algorithm is that the page rank of most blogs were not affected. It was predicted that content farms, like Demand Media, would take a hit. However, while Larry Fitzgibbon from Demand Media acknowledged the algorithm change, he indicated the company was not impacted. However, I have noticed that eHow has been movedown the page for "how to ..." queries. This is good. The eHow answers are not alway ds correct and the content is often scraped from other sites (like mine).

Many of the changes we make are so subtle that very few people notice them. But in the last day or so we launched a pretty big algorithmic improvement to our ranking—a change that noticeably impacts 11.8% of our queries . . .

Why Wood Toys are Great

Sweetheart Diapers & More now has a great selection of wooden toys, just in time for your Christmas shopping!

Are you looking for a perfect gift for that special 0-3 year-old in your life?

Wooden toys will last longer than plastic toys, they are more environmentally safe, and they are great for your child’s development!

Why wooden toys are so great:

Good for environment:

•wood is very durable and lasts longer than plastic

•when you do decide to dispose of your wooden toys, they are biodegradable unlike plastic toys which will fill up landfills and take millions of years to break down

•wood is a natural and renewable resource, and no chemicals are used to grow wood unlike the chemicals used to make plastic

• wooden toys do not require batteries

Great for mental development:

•wooden toys will not over-stimulate a child the way a plastic toy with lights and music would

•wooden toys focus on creative play and using your mind rather than cause and effect

Good for physical health:

• the wooden toys we sell are carefully crafted using non-toxic coatings and meet or exceed all U.S. toy testing standards.

• plastic toys can contain dangerous chemicals and lead

Pillette Village

We’re getting new neighbours! I’m thrilled that a business moved in to the vacant shop next door, and they’re opening on Monday. There’s another empty store across the street that has recently been purchased and it’s being renovated and hopefully open for business soon too. It’s great to see stuff happening in the neighbourhood.

Next week is our first joint event since I opened my store in June. Everyone is going to be open until 10:00pm next Friday, it will be  Pillette Village midnight madness (what do you call it if you’re only open until 10?)

Two businesses will be celebrating their grand openings on Friday night, the art gallery across the street will be hosting a humane society fundraiser, and at Sweetheart Diapers & More we’ll be having lots of great pre-Christmas sales (I’ve been organizing it all week!) Let’s hope that lots of people come out to make it a fun event! Shop Til You Drop!

Warning over counterfeit weight-loss capsules

Consumers are being advised about the dangers of buying medicines from unregulated websites.

27th January 2010 — The discovery of supplies of counterfeit alli, a weight-loss medication, has prompted a consumer warning from The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The fake capsules were found in the United States, but MHRA says people in the UK could be able to buy them on the internet.

alli is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and is available over the counter in the UK with the genuine product containing the active ingredient orlistat or commanly known as Xenical.

The Food and Drug Administration in the US has been working with GSK. Laboratory testing of the suspected counterfeit product, 60mg alli capsules (120 capsule refill kit), have revealed it contained sibutramine instead of orlistat.
Europe-wide medication alert

Last week the European Medicines Agency recommended that the licence for sibutramine should be suspended across Europe because evidence suggested it caused a higher risk of non-fatal heart attacks and strokes.

Mick Deats, Head of Enforcement at MHRA, has issued a warning about the dangers of buying medicines from unregulated internet pharmacies. “The trend of self-diagnosing and self-prescribing is potentially dangerous,” Mr Deats says in a statement on the Agency’s website.

He adds that “Buying weight loss medication from unregulated websites is a dangerous way to slim down. You don’t know what you’re taking and your condition is not being monitored by a healthcare professional. It’s just not worth taking that type of risk.”
Checking it’s the genuine article

The MHRA advises consumers to check that the website has a physical address that’s clearly displayed and the green cross logo of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.

The Agency says counterfeit alli has some obvious differences from the genuine product:

* The fake product has no Lot code on the end flap of the outer packaging.
* The fake medication has a plain foil inner safety seal under the plastic cap, without any printed words – the authentic product seal is marked “sealed for your protection”.
* The counterfeit capsules contain white powder instead of small white pellets.

Furthermore, in the UK the genuine capsules are not available in packs of 120; they’re only available in smaller packs of 42 or 84.
Buy from registered pharmacies: Manufacturer

Emma Boran, a spokeswoman for GSK, sent us a statement saying: “GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare in the US has identified a small quantity of fake weight loss product, falsely packaged and labelled as alli sold on US online auction websites, such as eBay.com.

“GlaxoSmithKline fully supports the MHRA warning concerning purchasing medicines from unregistered websites. All retail pharmacies in Great Britain, including those providing internet services, must be registered with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.

“Consumer should only buy alli online from safe and trusted registered pharmacy websites such as those of high street retailers. GSK does not condone illegal sales of alli from websites not authorised to make such sales and recommends that users check the authenticity of the online pharmacy they are looking to purchase alli from.”
The MHRA says anyone with concerns should ask their pharmacist or their GP for advice. Consumers can report any suspected counterfeit alli to the 24-hour MHRA Counterfeit Hotline on 020 7084 2701 or email counterfeit@mhra.gsi.gov.uk.

Reducing salt intake can save lives and money

How many times have you heard that we consume too much sodium? It is indeed a familiar warning. On average, we consume more than double what's recommended: 3,400 milligrams a day, when we should only be consuming 1,500 milligrams. And it's costing us dearly - both in terms of health and health care dollars.

According to a just released report, Sodium Reduction Strategy for Canada - Recommendations of the Sodium Working Group, it's estimated that slashing our intake by 1,800 milligrams a day would prevent a staggering 23,500 cardiovascular disease events like heart attacks and stroke per year - a 13 percent decrease. Our salt-laden food - with most of the sodium coming from processed food rather than by our own hands in the form of a salt shaker - also contributes to kidney disease and may up our risk for stomach cancer, osteoporosis and asthma. Reducing our intake would also lead to a savings of $1.38 billion per year in direct health care.

But there is both potentially good and bad news to report in the battle being waged to reduce our collective sodium intakes. The Sodium Working Group, mandated by the Ministry of Health almost three years ago and made up of members from all sectors with stakes in the issue - food industry, government, health professional organizations and consumer advocacy groups - has brought forth some strong recommendations.

The potentially bad news is that it's up to Health Canada to respond in a timely fashion and given its history in cleaning up the food supply, we're likely in for a very long wait before we see any changes.

The recommendations were divided up into four categories including those which deal with the food supply, awareness and education, research and monitoring of the results. Here are a few highlights:

changes to Nutrition Facts box

When you look at various nutrients in a food by checking the Nutrition Facts box, you will see a column for %DV. This means the percentage of the Daily Value of that nutrient that you should either strive to obtain - as in desirable nutrients) or those you might be looking to reduce (as in the undesirable ones). The report recommends that the percentage should be based on the acceptable level or Adequate Intake (AI) of sodium - 1500 milligrams per day - rather than the current one (2400 milligrams) which is near the upper limit. By using the AI on labels, consumers will have more of an idea how much sodium a food is really contributing.

 
More standardized serving sizes

The group also wants to see standardized serving sizes on nutrition labels. This will make the task of comparing sodium counts in similar products much easier. Currently, unless you're a math whiz, you need a calculator with you at the grocery store.

On-site disclosure of nutrition information

Here we go again. One of the report's recommendations is to have sodium and calorie counts available at chain restaurants to help Canadians make lower-sodium choices. Parliament previously defeated a bill calling for these measures but hopefully now they'll vote with the health of Canadians in mind.

Establishing voluntary sodium reduction targets by food category

The Working Group recommends that Health Canada continue to work with the food industry to establish voluntary sodium reduction targets by food category with the first group targets published in early 2011 and the naming of the second at the same time. Ideally by 2016, using this step-by-step process, the sodium content of Canada's food supply would be reduced by 25 percent.
There are many groups that feel that mandatory, rather than voluntary, action is called for because of the cost to Canadians. While some food companies like Campbell Soup have been actively working to lower the sodium in their products, others like some fast food companies are bringing out new sodium-laden offerings.

So what does Health Canada say about all this? "Over the coming months, Health Canada will be working with its federal, provincial and territorial partners to assess all of the recommendations made by the working group and determine how they can best be addressed," says Gary Scott Holub, spokesperson for Health Canada. He added "Individual Canadians also have a role to play -- making healthy choices to reduce sodium intake can go a long way towards reducing the risk of chronic disease."

The words "over the coming months" and "individual Canadians" may be a sign of inaction on Health Canada's part. It sounds, yet again, like they are stalling. And their track record on helping Canadians reduce their risk of disease by improving the health quotient of our food is not a good one. Their dealings with trans fats is a case in point.

Back in early 2005, the Trans Fat Task Force was formed to come up with a plan "to effectively eliminate or reduce processed trans fats in Canadian foods to the lowest level possible." The final report, TRANSforming the Food Supply, released in June 2006, recommended regulations, instead of voluntary action, to rid our food of these deadly man-made fats. Instead, the government opted for voluntary action and monitoring trans fats levels to see the progress.

Well, back in the spring of this year, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq admitted that the voluntary route has failed and that regulations may be needed - a full four years after the report was delivered. So what's happening on that front? Not much. As of last week, "Health Canada is continuing to engage stakeholders in consultations in 2010 to further clarify potential technical challenges that still remain in order to meet the trans fat targets," stated Health Canada's Gary Scott Holub. So, what have they been doing for the past five years?

The signs of the same lack of action on the sodium issue seem to be appearing. Let's hope not - for health's sake.

Rain hits Sri Lanka v Australia showdown

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Australia's World Cup Group A showdown with co-hosts Sri Lanka was halted by a huge downpour on Saturday with the match intriguingly poised between the 2007 finalists.

ICC officials at the ground said it was difficult to know how long the players would be off after the cloud-burst left the outfield sodden despite the attention of the ground staff who laid covers over the majority of the field.

"The match referee has said it is difficult to do an assessment of the situation or do any calculation at the moment as it still is raining," ICC media manager Brain Murgatroyd told reporters at the media box in the R.Premadasa ground in Colombo.

Rain halted the match when Sri Lanka were 146 for three after 32.5 overs having won the toss.

Captain Kumar Sangakkara (73 not out) and Thilan Samaraweera (34 not out) were still there in an unbroken fourth wicket partnership of 71 runs.

Several huge puddles could be seen swiftly forming after the skies opened.

Australia have not lost a match in the World Cup since 1999, a run of 31 games.

(Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Jon Bramley)