Welcome to Science Saturday, where the Overnight News Digest crew, consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors ScottyUrb, Bentliberal, wader, Oke, rfall, and JML9999, alumni editors palantir and jlms qkw, guest editors maggiejean and annetteboardman, and current editor-in-chief Neon Vincent, along with anyone else who reads and comments, informs and entertains you with this week's news about science, space, and the environment.
Between now and the end of the primary/caucus season, Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday will highlight the research stories from the public universities in each of the states having elections and caucuses during the week (or in the upcoming weeks if there is no primary or caucus that week). Tonight's edition features the science, space, environment, and energy stories from universities in Florida, Nevada, Maine, Minnesota, and Colorado. Next week's edition will continue with Maine, Minnesota, and Colorado, and add coverage of Missouri. The remainder of the month will feature stories from Arizona and Michigan. After that, it's Super Tuesday!
This week's featured stories come from Discovery News. In keeping with the theme, the second highlights research from the University of Central Florida.
Super Bowl Tackles Climate Change
Analysis by Tim Wall
Fri Feb 3, 2012
The field won't be the only thing green about Super Bowl XLVI. The NFL has a plan in their playbook to tackle the carbon dioxide emissions caused by energy use at the six major Super Bowl facilities. Renewable energy certificates will pass 15,000 megawatt hours of clean energy to the NFL's environmental receivers.
At the slick new Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis even the lights shining on the New York Giants and New England Patriots will be accounted for by renewable energy certificates provided by Green Mountain Energy Company.
The stadium's namesake, Lucas Oil sells gasoline additives and other automotive products.
But the NFL doesn't want grease stains on their uniforms. They bought carbon credits to intercept the emissions resulting from transporting the Super Bowl teams to the stadium, according to NFL.com.
Football Shaped by Military
The military played a major role in turning football from an elite college sport into an American pastime.
By Emily Sohn
Fri Feb 3, 2012
You might want to pause during this year’s Super Bowl half-time show to give a nod to the military, which is closer to your Sunday night viewing experience than you probably realize.
The armed forces, according to recent research, played a major role in turning football from an elitist college sport into an American pastime.
In the early 20th century, military institutions also helped popularize and develop regulations for the sport. And today, military influences linger in the language used to describe football strategy. As you watch, listen for phrases like "trench warfare" and "field generals." Even terms like "sacking" and "blitzing" have roots in war-speak.
"The study of the history of college football has frequently been focused on particular players and coaches and not on the country's interest in the game as a whole," said Paul Vasquez, a social scientist at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. "A lot of people don’t realize how it has become the phenomenon it has, and how the military’s role played a part in that story."
More stories after the jump.
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Slideshows/Videos
Sun News Network (Canada): Where you vote matters
January 31, 2012
Researcher Jordan LaBouff talks about his study which claims voters who cast their ballot in a church is more likely to vote for a conservative party.
LaBouff teaches at the University of Maine, who posted about the interview
here.
WCSH-TV6: Gas prices in Maine creep up once again
January 31, 2012
ORONO, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- You may have noticed gas prices are beginning to creep up again, and we're all feeling the pain at the pump.
Jim McConnon is an Economics Professor at the University of Maine. Citing the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report Tuesday, he said the average price for regular gasoline in Maine is $3.58 per gallon, up almost forty cents per gallon compared to a year ago.
He said there are a number of different reasons for prices being so steep, including high oil prices and instability in the Middle East.
Discovery News: Factory Farming Videos Prompt 'Ag-Gag' Bills
Analysis by Jennifer Viegas
Tue Jan 31, 2012
Undercover photographs and videos taken at factory farms belonging to some of the nation's largest meat producers often show horrific footage of animals in crowded, substandard living conditions suffering beyond almost anything that we can otherwise imagine. So called "ag-gag" bills, now being considered in multiple states, could shield the public from seeing such evidence.
Supporters, such as Florida Republican Senator Jim Norman, have argued that such bills protect the rights of farmers. Many farmers have indeed supported the bills. The Florida Tribune, for example, interviewed Wilton Simpson, a farmer who lives in Norman's district.
Simpson, later quoted in blogs like the Daily Loaf, mentioned that farmers like him need to have their property rights protected, not to mention the "intellectual property" involving farm operations.
Simpson, president of Simpson Farms near Dade City, pointed out that people should not be allowed to pose as farmworkers so that they can secretly film agricultural operations.
Discovery News: News: Equine Center Raises Bar in Horse Medicine
The University of Minnesota calls their new equine center the "Mayo Clinic" for horses. Kasey-Dee Gardner brings us up to speed on all their new treatments and technology.
Astronomy/Space
Discovery News: New Alien Planet Ripe for Life?
A potentially habitable alien planet that orbits a triple-star system is perfectly positioned for liquid water on its surface to exist.
By Irene Klotz
Thu Feb 2, 2012
Scientists have discovered a planet about five times bigger than Earth flying the right distance from its parent star for liquid water to exist on its surface, a condition believed to be necessary for life.
The newly found planet circles a star dimmer than the sun that is located 22 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius (also known as Scorpio.) It passes around its parent star in 28.15 days.
While far closer to its star than Earth is to the sun, the planet’s parent star, known as GJ 667C, is a small dwarf star that emits most of its light in infrared radiation. That means GJ 667C's so-called "habitable zone" -- the region where surface water can exist in liquid form -- is closer than our sun's region.
Discovery News: We're Living in a Space Cloud
Our solar system is traveling slowly through an interstellar cloud of gases that streamed in from our galactic neighborhood.
By Irene Klotz
Wed Feb 1, 2012
A NASA robotic probe sampling particles flowing into our solar system from the galactic neighborhood shows we're living in a cloud -- and likely to stay that way for hundreds or even thousands of years.
The measurements from NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spacecraft include the first direct samplings of hydrogen, oxygen and neon that didn't come from the sun or anywhere else in the solar system.
Instead, the gases, along with helium, which was previously detected by NASA's Ulysses spacecraft, streamed into our solar system from the galactic neighborhood, which right now includes a tenuous wispy cloud.
Discovery News: Shuttle Columbia Crew Remembered
Analysis by Irene Klotz
Wed Feb 1, 2012
Thinking about these folks today ...
It's nine years since Columbia fell from the sky, ending the lives of Kalpana Chawla, Rick Husband, Laurel Clark, Ilan Ramon, David Brown, William McCool and Michael Anderson.
Discovery News: Cosmic Rays Probably Killed Russian Mars Probe
Analysis by Ian O'Neill
Tue Jan 31, 2012
So it turns out that U.S. radars didn't zap the botched Russian Mars sample return mission. It was actually the universe that conspired against Phobos-Grunt, knocking out its onboard electronics with some high-energy particles, known as cosmic rays.
"The most likely reason in the commission's opinion is the local influence of heavy charged particles from outer space on the onboard computer system," said Roscosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin in an interview with the RIA Novosti news agency on Tuesday. "Two components of the onboard computer system were spontaneously rebooted and it switched into a standby mode."
Agence France Presse via Discovery News: Iran Launches Another Satellite
The Navid observation satellite is expected to stay in orbit for 18-months, heightening tensions with western countries.
Fri Feb 3, 2012
On Friday, Iran launched an observation satellite into Earth orbit -- its third since 2009 -- the official IRNA news agency reported.
"The Navid satellite was launched successfully.... It will be placed into an orbit (at an altitude) between 250 and 370 kilometres," IRNA quoted the head of Iran's Space Organisation, Hamid Fazeli, as saying.
The launch comes as Iran is marking the anniversary of its 1979 Islamic revolution -- and as tensions are heating up over Iran's nuclear program.
Discovery News: SpaceX Test Fires Awesome New Rocket
Analysis by Ian O'Neill
Thu Feb 2, 2012
With all the political wrangling over space exploration these days, it can be easy to forget that one burgeoning sector of U.S. industry is making great strides toward getting American astronauts back into space.
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) rolled out a brand new rocket system and successfully tested it in Texas recently. The rocket, called SuperDraco, may not have the mammoth thrust of one of the SpaceX Merlin 1C engines that blasted the Falcon 9 into orbit, but its purpose is possibly more crucial than to "simply" launch stuff into space.
In fact, the SuperDraco won't launch anything into space.
Evolution/Paleontology
LiveScience via Discovery News: First 'Vampire' Bat Fly Fossil Discovered
A rare fossil shows that bat flies have been parasitizing the winged mammals for at least 20 million years.
Fri Feb 3, 2012 02:48 PM ET
Content provided by Joseph Castro, LiveScience Staff Writer
A one-of-a-kind fossil shows that so-called bat flies — tiny vampire insects that survive on the blood of bats — have been parasitizing the winged mammals and spreading bat malaria for at least 20 million years, scientists report in a pair of studies today (Feb. 3).
"Bat flies are a remarkable case of specific evolution, animals that have co-evolved with bats and are found nowhere else," George Poinar, a zoologist at Oregon State University who led the studies, said in statement.
The highly specialized parasites, some of which only dine on specific bat species, spend most of their lives crawling through the animal's fur or on its wing membranes. They often have flattened, flea-like bodies with long legs, and can be winged or wingless, depending on the species.
Discovery News: Why Dinosaurs Were So Huge
What allowed dinosaurs to get so big? A few factors were at play, including bird-like lungs, egg-laying and less need to chew.
By Jennifer Viegas
Tue Jan 31, 2012
How did some dinosaurs reach such soaring heights -- up to 100 feet high in some cases? Efficient lungs and respiration, along with egg laying, might have given dinos a growth edge when compared to other animals, suggests new research.
The study also negates a popular theory that animals tended to become bigger over the course of their evolution.
While some dinosaurs grew ever larger over subsequent generations, not all did.
Discovery News: Humans Tamed Horses All Over the World
The wide origins of domesticated horses offers insight on how our love affair with the animal has transformed humankind.
By Emily Sohn
Mon Jan 30, 2012
The domestication of wild horses had a profound effect on human history -- offering nutrition, transportation and a leg up in warfare, among other advantages. But there are still many unanswered questions about when and where our species began its long love affair with horses.
A new genetic study offers some clues. Through the first complete analysis of equestrian mitochondrial DNA -- a kind of genetic material that is passed directly from mother to offspring -- an international group of scientists was able to trace all modern horses to an ancestor that lived about 140,000 years ago.
After horse domestication began about 10,000 years ago, the study also discovered, horses diverged into at least 18 distinct genetic lines. Those findings suggest that, unlike cows and other animals, horses may have been tamed independently in many different places around Europe and Asia.
The new research could help scientists decode the genetic secrets of modern horse breeds and top racehorses.
Biodiversity
University of Florida: UF studies show promise for biological control methods against insects
January 31, 2012
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — For years, scientists have tried to use environmentally friendly fungi to control fire ant infestations.
But the ants’ social behaviors — such as hauling their dead off to what entomologists call “bone yards” in isolated spots away from the nests — have prevented commercial development of this method. The fungus can’t spread if infected ants are continually separated from healthy ones.
A new University of Florida study shows, however, that there may be a way to make insect-killing fungi a more potent weapon against fire ants and other pests. Scientists with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences modified the fungus so that it produces a peptide that helps regulate the fire ants’ nervous system.
The modified fungus was five to eight times as effective in killing fire ants, but had no increased effect on an unrelated insect, the greater wax moth. The researchers were surprised to learn that the modified fungus had another benefit — it disrupted the ants’ undertaker-like behavior.
Biotechnology/Health
University of Florida: Targeting tumors may help stop spread of breast, other cancers
February 2, 2012
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Cancer that has spread from the site of an original tumor to other places in the body is often viewed as a death sentence. But if there are just a few of those secondary tumors, called metastases, some patients have a good chance of survival if treated with a type of radiation that precisely targets small tumors, researchers at the University of Florida and the University of Rochester report online and in an upcoming print edition of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics.
“The dogma is that this type of disease is incurable and that if there’s a metastatic tumor in one organ, then others must be present throughout the body,” said investigator Dr. Paul Okunieff, director of the UF Shands Cancer Center and chairman of the UF College of Medicine’s department of radiation oncology. “It’s considered an all-or-none phenomenon, but the fact is this view is probably not correct. We need to think about metastasis like we think about the primary tumor: determine how much it has spread, then decide whether it’s treatable based on existing technology.”
Nearly 1.6 million Americans were diagnosed with cancer last year, and nearly 600,000 died from the disease, according to the National Cancer Institute. Experts estimate that up to 90 percent of those deaths were from metastases.
University of Florida: UF research: Blueberry wine has more antioxidants than many grape-based wines
February 1, 2012
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Blueberry wine can provide more potentially healthy compounds than white wines and many red wines, according to a new University of Florida study.
Researchers with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences measured antioxidant content in a Florida-produced blueberry wine and compared it to published reports of antioxidant content in white and red wines made from grapes. Antioxidants are compounds that may offer cells protection from damaging molecules called free radicals.
The researchers found the Florida wine, produced from southern highbush blueberries, had more antioxidants than all of the reported white wine values and all but 20 percent of the reported values for red wines, which are considered high in antioxidants.
Climate/Environment
University of Nevada, Las Vegas: Blame It on the Rain
Scientists link fate of Mesoamerican civilizations to climate change
January 25, 2012
LAS VEGAS...Deep in the caves of Southern Mexico, UNLV geoscientist Matthew Lachniet hopes to reveal why some of North America’s most prosperous early civilizations died out.
The evidence he’s looking for isn’t hidden among ancient cave paintings, and it’s not the type of thing you’d see treasured in an Indiana Jones movie. Nope, he’s looking for a stalagmite, a pile of mineral deposits rising from a cave floor.
These common cave formations act as ancient rain gauges to recording historic climate change. Lachniet and an international team of researchers used them to establish 2,400 years of new climate history from southwestern Mexico, which, coupled with archaeological evidence, links the rise and fall of ancient Mesoamerican civilizations to changing rainfall. The findings were published online January in the journal Geology.
Florida International University: FIU Earth Week, April 4-9, to bring environmental and sustainability issues to forefront
Creating eco-art installations, cleaning up the environment, kicking back with yoga and a movie, and exploring Biscayne Bay by kayak are just a few of the opportunities that await the FIU community when the university celebrates Earth Week.
January 31, 2012
Students at FIU have organized dozens of events for FIU Earth Week, a six-day festival dedicated to bringing awareness to environmental and sustainability initiatives. The university’s inaugural celebration was held more than 15 years ago as a single-day event known as FIU Earth Fest. Through the years it evolved into one week of eco-parties and celebrations.
“SEA — Students for Environmental Action — are the founders of FIU Earth Fest and Earth Week,” says Carrie Kashar, assistant director of FIU’s new Office of University Sustainability. “With the opening of our office, the club reached out to us and other clubs this year to make it a cooperative event. That’s reflected in the calendar of events, which include everything from celebrations to learning opportunities to eco-action projects.”
I.D.E.A.S., Farmer’s Market, SGA, the Yoga Club and the Garden Club, among other organizations, helped plan this year’s Earth Week. Leaders at FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus were so inspired they planned FIU Earth Month — four weeks of events. All events are open to everyone unless otherwise indicated (some events have minimum age requirements), and organizers hope to see lots of new faces turn out.
Geology
University of Nevada, Reno: University of Nevada, Reno Seismological Lab reports 3.5 quake in Wells, Nev.
February 1, 2012
RENO, Nev. – The Nevada Seismological Laboratory is reporting that a magnitude (M) 3.5 earthquake occurred at 6:40 a.m., 15 miles southwest of Wells, Nev. at the base of the Ruby Mountains. There have been no reports of damage, although the tremor was felt in nearby Wells. Residents in Elko, 25 miles from the epicenter, also reported feeling the earthquake, which was initially reported as M 4.2 and refined to M 3.5.
“Due to an absence of monitoring stations in the eastern/central portion of the state, we are not able to constrain the location, depth and to some degree the magnitude as we would like,” Graham Kent, director of the seismological lab, said. “The nearest instruments we have are over 200 km away in Utah; we would obviously like to increase the instrumentation and capabilities in this region, and throughout the state.
“Because of this uncertainty, we have a difficult time distinguishing between an aftershock of the 2008 M 6.0 earthquake, an independent event or a static stress transfer event on a nearby fault that ‘feels’ stress loading from previous earthquake,” said Kent.
University of Colorado: New CU-led study may answer long-standing questions about enigmatic Little Ice Age
January 30, 2011
A new University of Colorado Boulder-led study appears to answer contentious questions about the onset and cause of Earth’s Little Ice Age, a period of cooling temperatures that began after the Middle Ages and lasted into the late 19th century.
According to the new study, the Little Ice Age began abruptly between A.D. 1275 and 1300, triggered by repeated, explosive volcanism and sustained by a self- perpetuating sea ice-ocean feedback system in the North Atlantic Ocean, according to CU-Boulder Professor Gifford Miller, who led the study. The primary evidence comes from radiocarbon dates from dead vegetation emerging from rapidly melting icecaps on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic, combined with ice and sediment core data from the poles and Iceland and from sea ice climate model simulations, said Miller.
While scientific estimates regarding the onset of the Little Ice Age range from the 13th century to the 16th century, there is little consensus, said Miller. There is evidence the Little Ice Age affected places as far away as South America and China, although it was particularly evident in northern Europe. Advancing glaciers in mountain valleys destroyed towns, and famous paintings from the period depict people ice skating on the Thames River in London and canals in the Netherlands, waterways that were ice-free in winter before and after the Little Ice Age.
Psychology/Behavior
Agence France Presse via New York Daily News: Glass of milk a day boosts brain power: study; Dairy journal boasts adults who consumed more dairy products scored higher on memory tests
In the US, consumption of cow's milk has been falling steadily since 1994
February 1, 2012
Milk: it does a brain good. At least that's the finding of a new study that suggests drinking a glass of milk a day could boost your brain power.
In the study published in the January issue of the International Dairy Journal, researchers at the University of Maine found that adults who consumed more dairy products scored "significantly" higher on memory and other cognitive tests than those who drank little to no milk. Those with high milk intake were five times less likely to fail the test compared to non milk drinkers.
University of South Florida: Alzheimer's Mice Respond to Cell Phone Exposure
A new study suggests potential for electromagnetic treatment against Alzheimer’s disease.
By Vickie Chachere
USF News
TAMPA, Fla. (Jan. 30, 2012) - Exposure to the electromagnetic forces found in common cell phones activates neurons in the brains of mice predisposed to Alzheimer’s disease, helping improve their brain functions and holding the disease at bay, shows new research from the scientists who first discovered the potential memory benefits of electromagnetic treatment last year.
Retired University of South Florida Alzheimer’s researcher Gary Arendash and Takashi Mori of Saitama Medical Center in Japan led a team of scientists in 2010 that discovered long-term electromagnetic treatment at cell phone levels can protect Alzheimer’s mice from memory impairment and can reverse memory impairment in mice that already had the disease.
Now, the scientists have discovered an important mechanism to explain how electromagnetic exposure improves cognitive function, even for normal mice.
Archeology/Anthropology
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University: Alumni Participate in Historic Archeology Project in Egypt
January 25, 2012
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. —Renita Canady and Douglas Carrington’s love story is like many Florida A&M University (FAMU) alumni that came before them. They attended FAMU, met, fell in love and got married. However, when it came time for them to celebrate their first anniversary, they did something decidedly different from most couples — they volunteered for an archeology mission in central Egypt.
“We have both always dreamed of traveling to the land of antiquities and literally walking in the footsteps of our ancient ancestors,” said Canady. “So when the opportunity arose for us to go to Egypt with this mission, we jumped at the chance.”
Her husband agreed.
“I wanted this trip to allow me to live out a trip like an Indiana Jones adventure,” he said.
University of Northern Colorado: UNC Students to Design Archaeology Experience, Research Site to be Established
January 26, 2012
University of Northern Colorado students will now have another opportunity to gain hands-on experience and build their skills in the field of archaeology thanks to two grants recently awarded.
A $4,185 grant from The Community Foundation Littler Youth Fund awarded to the Poudre Learning Center, in conjunction with Assistant Archaeology Professor Andy Creekmore, will provide support to create mock excavation trenches at the center. The simulated field experience will feature planted replicas of artifacts from different time periods and will be re-excavated repeatedly by students as an educational activity. UNC students will work with the center's staff to develop, construct and test the activity this spring. It will be ready for participants this summer.
...
The second grant, a $2,497 award from UNC's Faculty Research and Publication board, provides support to establish a local UNC research site at the Poudre Learning Center. Students and faculty will learn and demonstrate various geophysics methods, such as ground penetrating radar, that make it possible to identify and analyze archaeological remains without large-scale excavation.
annetteboardman is taking a well-deserved week off.
Physics
University of Minnesota: U of M Physics Circus brings large-scale stunts and physics lessons to the public Feb. 9
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (01/31/2012) —If you’ve never seen a physicist drop 20 feet through thin air while a friend shoots a ball at him from a cannon, or grown men and women shooting streams of toilet paper over an audience with a leaf blower, the University of Minnesota Physics Force has a show for you.
The Physics Force will present its largest show of the year, the “Physics Circus,” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
The show is unique mix of physics demonstrations and slapstick humor suitable for adults and children of all ages. The show is free, but registration is requested at http://umnphysicsforce2012.eventbrite.com/.
Colorado State University: Engineering professors on DOE fact-finding committee for particle accelerator science and technology
February 2, 2012
CSU has contributed two of the 15 scientists and engineers handpicked to collect facts for a U.S. Department of Energy report to Congress about the future of accelerator science and technology for everything from security and medical equipment to cleaner water and air.
Sandra Biedron and Stephen Milton, professors in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department, are charged with talking to other scientists in their fields, the users of particle accelerators, program managers in other services and federal agencies, and industry about accelerator technology and advancements that could be made in the next 10 years.
Chemistry
Colorado State University: Groundhog Day always special at CSU thanks to biology professor
Professor Greg Florant gets lots of media attention around the same day every year: Groundhog Day.
February 2, 2012
Florant, a professor in the Department of Biology at CSU, has spent a large part of his career studying how marmots and ground squirrels use fats and other nutrients to hibernate and what causes those animals to stop eating in the winter. Florant has identified a molecule that, when activated, makes marmots hungry during their hibernation phase.
This molecule, named AMPK, is common to all living things. Knowing how to manipulate this molecule could open the door to understanding human obesity and eating disorders.
Energy
Florida State University: Research in Motion: Alternative fuel vehicle joins the Florida State University fleet
February 3, 2012
At first blush, it looks like an ordinary, no-frills Honda Civic sedan with some colorful graphics on it.
What’s cool is that the car is powered by compressed natural gas (CNG), a safe, clean, alternative fuel option. And its addition to the university vehicle fleet is the brainchild of Kirby Kemper, the Robert O. Lawton Professor of Physics and vice president for Research at Florida State.
“We wanted to diversify our source of fuel for transportation (at FSU),” explained Kemper, who noticed several years ago while traveling in India that taxicabs in New Delhi were typically powered by CNG.
The CNG car will serve as a research tool and will be used by Florida State Office of Research staff on university business. In keeping with its research theme, the car’s Jan. 30 public unveiling at the university’s Materials Research Building included an educational experience for students and faculty, who got to hear about the technology directly from Honda CNG experts.
Florida International University: FIU No. 1 in SUS in energy conservation
Key initiatives have resulted in millions of dollars in savings in just three years.
February 3, 2012
A recently released report ranked FIU No. 1 among the 11 State University System (SUS) institutions in energy conservation during the three-year fiscal period 2007-2009. This concentrated effort to reduce FIU’s energy usage has resulted in millions of dollars in savings in annual utility expenses, even as the university continues an aggressive construction program.
The 2010 State University System Energy Conservation Report, published in December 2010, reported that FIU topped all state universities in energy conservation for three consecutive years with a score of 61.9590 kBTU per square foot. (The Environmental Protection Agency established kBTU per square foot as the key performance indicator for energy efficiency in its Energy Star rating program.)
“We knew that we would do well, that we’d be in the top three,” said John Cal, associate vice president of Facilities Management, “but we are elated with the results ranking us first in the state. The greenest, cleanest and most renewable energy is the energy we never have to use. These results highlight FIU’s achievements in sustainability and operational excellence.”
University of Central Florida: Students: Unplug Your Way to Energy Savings
February 2, 2012
A competition for UCF students who live on campus will teach them not to underestimate the energy-saving impact of simple steps such as turning off lights and unplugging electronic devices when leaving the room.
The Kill-A-Watt competition is an energy conservation contest for students who live in UCF’s residence halls. The competition provides students with guidance on how to use energy more efficiently and awards scholarships to students who take big steps in reducing their personal energy consumptions.
Kill-A-Watt, now in its sixth year, is led by the Department of Sustainability & Energy Management and UCF Housing and Residence Life. Though the competition’s name, rules and incentives have been revised over the years, the exponential growth in energy savings has been consistent.
In fact, the competition has led to an estimated $146,765 in energy savings since 2007.
Science, Space, Environment, Energy, and Health Care Policy
University of South Florida: Darwin's Birthday Event Feb. 9
Renowned science educator Eugenie Scott to discuss Florida’s ‘critical thinking’ bills during lecture.
TAMPA, Fla. (Feb. 3, 2012) – In celebration of the birthday of Charles Darwin, the University of South Florida welcomes the nation’s most renowned science educator, Eugenie Scott, who argues that students cannot understand science without grasping the centrality of evolution.
Scott will present a public lecture – “Florida’s ‘Critical Thinking’ Bills: Creationism du jour?” – Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Fine Arts Hall (FAH – College of The Arts), Room 101.
Florida legislators have often contemplated bills addressing the teaching of evolution, most recently in 2011. In such bills, teachers are directed to “critically analyze” evolution, or present the “full range of scientific views of origins.” Scott notes that these bills have a history – they are the current manifestations of the creationism and evolution controversy that has dogged science education for over 100 years.
University of Maine: Senior Companion Report Says Home Visits Saved $4.6 Million
January 27, 2012
An economic impact survey of elder Maine residents receiving regular visits by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s Senior Companion Program has concluded that the program saved at least $4.6 million in 2011 by supporting elders choosing to remain in their own homes.
Senior Companions helps aging Maine residents remain independent and in their homes, particularly when they live in rural areas and don’t have relatives living nearby. The program has some 124 senior companion volunteers who serve more than 500 clients. In 2010, companions made 27,510 visits for a total of 83,712 hours in 14 of Maine’s 16 counties, according to Cooperative Extension.
University of West Florida: StormReady UWF prepared for severe weather
Kelly Russ
January 31, 2012
It’s Florida Severe Weather Awareness Week, and the University of West Florida (UWF) is ready should severe weather impact the Gulf Coast states.
UWF was designated a StormReady university in 2009, only the third university in Florida to earn the designation from the National Weather Service (NWS). Started in 1999, the program helps communities, including universities, military and community agencies develop sound plans for use before and during severe weather. Today, eight campuses in Florida are designated as NWS StormReady, including UWF.
“UWF has more than 12,000 students and thousands of faculty and staff, and it’s our goal to ensure they are prepared for the variety of severe weather we often face in Florida and particularly on the Gulf Coast,” said Peter Robinson, director of environmental health and safety at UWF, which houses the University’s emergency management operations.
Science Education
University of Nevada, Las Vegas: UNLV Among 20 University Teams Worldwide to Compete in 2013 Solar Decathlon
Students to build a solar-powered home that combines consumer appeal with maximum efficiency for U.S. Department of Energy contest
January 26, 2012
LAS VEGAS...UNLV is one of 20 university teams chosen to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013, a highly competitive contest that attracts colleges from around the world. Teams will design, build and operate solar-powered houses that are energy-efficient, affordable and attractive.
The competition will take place in fall 2013 at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, Calif.
“I am very pleased UNLV has been selected to compete in the 2013 Solar Decathlon. This competition pushes the boundaries of clean energy, engineering, and design ingenuity and creativity,” said U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. "Just today, President Obama visited Las Vegas to discuss his bold plans to develop America’s clean energy resources and Nevada is poised to be at the forefront of that important national endeavor. I look forward to seeing UNLV’s Solar Decathlon team help lead the country on the path to a clean energy future.”
University of Maine: UMaine Hosting ‘Nor’Easter Bowl 2012' Ocean Sciences Competition
February 3, 2012
The University of Maine is hosting the ’Nor’Easter Bowl 2012 Regional Ocean Sciences Competition , a regional ocean sciences competition on Saturday, Feb. 4 with more than 100 top-achieving math and science high school students from Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
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The annual event is hosted every third year by the UMaine School of Marine Sciences, and is intended to kindle students interest in marine sciences and in marine science careers. The event also fosters team-based camaraderie and fun with science, and it brings local and national recognition to the competing schools, according to the School of Marine Sciences. In addition, students who compete successfully in regional and national Ocean Sciences Bowl competitions receive thousands of dollars in scholarship funds each year.
University of Maine: UMaine Partnership Beefs up 9th-Grade Earth Science in Area Schools
February 2, 2012
There is Planet Earth, which, for the sake of the discussion taking place in Ed Lindsey’s 9th-grade science class at Old Town High School, is a spherical object made of rock, watery on its surface and wrapped in a layer of air. And there is the mysterious Planet Z, identical to Earth in every way, but without air or water. The two planets revolve around an identical star at the same distance and speed.
Here’s the question Lindsey’s Earth Science students are exploring: How will the energy of the sun differently warm these two planets?
“Planet Z will heat up slower but eventually will be hotter than the Earth at the equator,” posits student Jaime Lemery, “but Earth will be warmer at the poles.”
That’s the hypothesis she and her lab partner Rowan Shelly are setting out to test, based on their mental image of water molecules being “freer” than molecules of rock and therefore transferring heat more readily.
Florida International University: Research with monkeys may yield solutions to conservation issues
February 2, 2012
She’s still an undergraduate, but Elizabeth Tapanes, a biological sciences major in the School of Environment, Arts and Society, already has five years of research experience under her belt with the DuMond Conservancy for Primates and Tropical Forests.
Her research with owl monkeys, a species common in Central and South America, is made possible through a partnership between FIU and the DuMond Conservancy. The collaboration enables students to take primate biology, an upper division course that includes training in behavioral research techniques at Monkey Jungle.
Tapanes hopes to earn her graduate and doctoral degrees to pursue primatology research with a focus on animal behavior and endocrinology to find solutions to conservation issues.
University of South Florida: Marine Science Consortium Adds Members
The Florida Institute of Oceanography, focused on research and learning and hosted by USF, grows by six new members.
By Vickie Chachere
USF News
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Jan. 31, 2012) – The Florida Institute of Oceanography is adding six public and private marine science education and research institutes to its membership, extending its reach and capabilities to provide world-class marine science research and education to the state of Florida.
The FIO Council voted at their Jan. 26 council meeting at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University to admit five associate members and one affiliate member. The new members join the 20 current members of the FIO consortium, which connects public and private academic and marine research institutes in sharing resources and coordinating learning opportunities for Florida students and educators. The FIO, founded more than 40 years ago as an asset to the State University System, is an Academic Infrastructure Support Organization hosted by the University of South Florida and reporting to the Florida Board of Governors.
The five new associate members are: St. Petersburg College; USF-St. Petersburg; Hubbs-Seaworld Research Institute; Jacksonville University; and SRI-St. Petersburg. The new affiliate member is Roffer’s Ocean Fishing Forecasting Service. ROFFS is the first for-profit business to join the FIO and St. Petersburg College is the first Florida public college to become a FIO member.
University of Central Florida: UCF Creating Model STEM Program for Professional Who Want to Teach
February 3, 2012
The UCF College of Education is creating a program that will teach scientists, engineers and math professionals how to apply their skills as educators in America’s classrooms.
Working with local school districts, the college is using a federal $10 million Race to the Top grant to develop a program that will put STEM professionals in classrooms to help students understand and get excited about these challenging topics.
The program was created in response to the demand for a skilled workforce in the science, engineering and math industries. Technology has led to growth in those areas, but difficulties lay in teaching kids the value of STEM and preparing them to work in those fields.
Science Writing and Reporting
University of West Florida: Article by Professor Wade Jeffrey recognized by Faculty of 1000
Kelly Russ
February 3, 2012
An article authored by Professor Wade Jeffrey , Latitudinal gradients in degradation of marine dissolved organic carbon. (PLoS One 2011), has been selected and evaluated by Robie Macdonald, a Member of the Faculty of 1000 (F1000), placing his work in the F1000 library of the top 2 percent of published articles in biology and medicine.
The service is widely used to find significant new research articles, and the inclusion of your article should significantly increase its visibility.
Science is Cool
University of Nevada, Reno: “Time Warp” host to speak Feb. 9 at University of Nevada, Reno on nature of curiosity
January 23, 2012
RENO, Nev. – Popular television science-show host, musician, artist, researcher, scientist, mathematician and roboticist Jeff Lieberman will be featured in the University of Nevada, Reno’s Discover Science Lecture Series on Feb. 9, which is free and open to the public. The co-host of the Discovery Channel’s “Time Warp” will present “Asking Why? The Nature of Curiosity.”
“We see less than 1 percent of the universe around us, yet we take for granted that we understand our world,” Lieberman said.
At the event, he will tell how scientific tools, such as high-speed photography, help people understand the true nature of phenomena as he explores the connections between the arts, sciences, education, passion, creativity and the potential for human consciousness.
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Lieberman is one of many renowned scientists from around the country who have brought their knowledge to the Reno community in the series of lectures at the University of Nevada, Reno’s Davidson Mathematics and Science Center. The lecture will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the College of Science’s Redfield Auditorium, Davidson Mathematics and Science Center at the University of Nevada, Reno. Admission is free.