Plants moderate climate warming

Apr. 28, 2013 ? As temperatures warm, plants release gases that help form clouds and cool the atmosphere, according to research from IIASA and the University of Helsinki.

The new study, published in Nature Geoscience, identified a negative feedback loop in which higher temperatures lead to an increase in concentrations of natural aerosols that have a cooling effect on the atmosphere.

"Plants, by reacting to changes in temperature, also moderate these changes," says IIASA and University of Helsinki researcher Pauli Paasonen, who led the study.

Scientists had known that some aerosols -- particles that float in the atmosphere -- cool the climate as they reflect sunlight and form cloud droplets, which reflect sunlight efficiently. Aerosol particles come from many sources, including human emissions. But the effect of so-called biogenic aerosol -- particulate matter that originates from plants -- had been less well understood. Plants release gases that, after atmospheric oxidation, tend to stick to aerosol particles, growing them into the larger-sized particles that reflect sunlight and also serve as the basis for cloud droplets. The new study showed that as temperatures warm and plants consequently release more of these gases, the concentrations of particles active in cloud formation increase.

"Everyone knows the scent of the forest," says Ari Asmi, University of Helsinki researcher who also worked on the study. "That scent is made up of these gases." While previous research had predicted the feedback effect, until now nobody had been able to prove its existence except for case studies limited to single sites and short time periods. The new study showed that the effect occurs over the long-term in continental size scales.

The effect of enhanced plant gas emissions on climate is small on a global scale -- only countering approximately 1 percent of climate warming, the study suggested. "This does not save us from climate warming," says Paasonen. However, he says, "Aerosol effects on climate are one of the main uncertainties in climate models. Understanding this mechanism could help us reduce those uncertainties and make the models better."

The study also showed that the effect was much larger on a regional scale, counteracting possibly up to 30% of warming in more rural, forested areas where anthropogenic emissions of aerosols were much lower in comparison to the natural aerosols. That means that especially in places like Finland, Siberia, and Canada this feedback loop may reduce warming substantially.

The researchers collected data at 11 different sites around the world, measuring the concentrations of aerosol particles in the atmosphere, along with the concentrations of plant gases, the temperature, and reanalysis estimates for the height of the boundary layer, which turned out to be a key variable. The boundary layer refers to the layer of air closest to the Earth, in which gases and particles mix effectively. The height of that layer changes with weather. Paasonen says, "One of the reasons that this phenomenon was not discovered earlier was because these estimates for boundary layer height are very difficult to do. Only recently have the reanalysis estimates been improved to where they can be taken as representative of reality."

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Journal Reference:

1. Pauli Paasonen, Ari Asmi, Tuukka Pet?j?, Maija K. Kajos, Mikko ?ij?l?, Heikki Junninen, Thomas Holst, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, Almut Arneth, Wolfram Birmili, Hugo Denier van der Gon, Amar Hamed, Andr?s Hoffer, Lauri Laakso, Ari Laaksonen, W. Richard Leaitch, Christian Plass-D?lmer, Sara C. Pryor, Petri R?is?nen, Erik Swietlicki, Alfred Wiedensohler, Douglas R. Worsnop, Veli-Matti Kerminen, Markku Kulmala. Warming-induced increase in aerosol number concentration likely to moderate climate change. Nature Geoscience, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/NGEO1800

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/dddfaVbmvBk/130428144921.htm

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Fashola, Jonathan should set up joint military task force ? Engr ...

By Ephraim Oseji
The security situation is becoming something else, although it is a national problem. The federal government needs to do something drastic to curb it. Until the government provide jobs and makes it easy for people to feed, then crime in Lagos and Nigeria will reduce.

I want to say that when Governor Buba Maruwa was the military administrator of Lagos State, he had to set up a joint military task force made up of the military, army, police etc.

*Suspected Kidnappers on Parade: From right: Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State; Mr. Tukur Bakori, Director of DSS, Edo State, and journalists during the parade of suspected kidnappers in Benin City, Edo State. Photo: Barnabas Uzosike.

He bought them patrol vans and made them patrol all parts of Lagos State day and night and also he asked for help from corporate organizations who also contributed their own quota by also providing funds for the purchase of patrol vans. Some may see that as being impossible now because it?s a democratic dispensation.

And I keep asking one question that what is? the military and others doing in the barracks? The Lagos State governor and the government of? the Federal Republic of Nigeria should set up a joint military task force to patrol the streets, discuss with the service chiefs and let them know why their men should be deployed to the streets of the country instead of sending troops to Mali which does not benefit us at all.

Government should create jobs ? Chika Godo

It is quite unfortunate that a thing like this is happening in Lagos because it remains the most peaceful state in the country. The root of this problem is unemployment. When I say unemployment I mean there are a lot of graduates and even those with masters degree who cannot get jobs.

So what do you want them to do because kidnapping have become very lucrative even more than the oil business. If you look at for example the kidnapping of the Ejigbo council boss, those who did that may be unemployed graduates and because they cannot feed.

They are looking for short cuts. I want to advise the Lagos state governor and the federal government to create jobs, if not crime rate will continue to be on the increase.

And again we don?t have a good president. If President Jonathan wants to be the best president ever, all he needs to do is to revive the dead sector like the NITEL, Steel companies, textile companies and create so many? other bodies, all these will help curb crime and kidnapping because it is if only if a man cannot feed himself or his family then he thinks evil.

If you suspect your neigbour, call the police ?Obinna Kalu

Kidnapping of the Ejigbo council boss of Lagos state was a sad event in the history of Lagos State because the state is a peaceful one made up of people from different tribes. This sad canker-worm must be checked closely or it will escalate.

The Fashola led administration has done a lot in terms of roads, hospitals but must improve in the area of security. This issue of kidnapping and crime is a responsibility of both the government and the individuals in a , community.

Everyone should be vigilant, once you suspect your neighbors and anybody on your street, you report the person to the police but people are afraid of the police because of their approach to issues and the Lagos state government should employ private security outfits to help it curb crime in Lagos.

Another issue is that we do not have intelligence in this country, if you pay some young men to go around day and night gathering information and pass back to the relevant authorities it will go a long way to help.

Employ private security outfits ?kenneth Okoh

The security situation in Lagos is becoming alarming compared to the past. To worsen it, they? now kidnap people in Lagos. Ha! It?s a sad development. The kidnap of the Ejigbo council boss, just imagine that a local government chairman is kidnapped, that means Lagos is not safe anymore. I want Governor Fashola to act fast. Let him seek the service of our local vigilante groups, the OPC and others.

Let each local government authority employ as many of them as possible and deploy them to their various localities but must also be checked to curb their excesses. Another fact is that for crime rate to reduce the government at both the local and federal levels should be able to create employment.

Just imagine a graduate who has been looking for job for more than 5 years now and the young man is tired. What do you want him to do? If he does not have the fear of God, then crime will be the next thing. So employment is a vital tool if the government wants to curb crime.

?

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Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/04/fashola-jonathan-should-set-up-joint-military-task-force-engr-abiodun-burimoh/

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Qualcomm?s Snapdragon 800 to enter mass production next month

* Lewandowski scored four goals against Real Madrid * Poland international refuses contract extension (adds details, background) BERLIN, April 26 (Reuters) - Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski have not signed a deal, the newly-crowned champions said on Friday, shooting down widespread speculation of another imminent surprise transfer. "Bayern, as opposed to some reports, has no contract with Robert Lewandowski," the Bavarian Champions League semi-finalists said in a brief statement. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/qualcomm-snapdragon-800-enter-mass-production-next-month-220056651.html

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Boeing ready to build seven Dreamliners a month by mid-year

WARSAW, April 25 (Reuters) - Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski played down his stunning one-man demolition of Real Madrid, saying he had played better than Wednesday's four-goal masterclass. The Poland international scored all his team's goals in a 4-1 win over the nine-times champions in their Champions League semi-final first leg. "In the second half Real Madrid did not know how they should play, at some moments they were helpless," Lewandowski told the Polish pay-TV platform nc+. "We took the first step (towards the final). "I felt confident, but there were even better matches. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boeing-ready-build-seven-dreamliners-month-mid-034043974.html

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Racing car with electric drive

Apr. 26, 2013 ? Drive technology has an electric future -- of this Fraunhofer research scientists are in no doubt. At the Sensor + Test measurement fair in Nuremberg from May 14 -16, they will use an electric racing car to present novel solutions for battery management and electronic sensor systems together with an industry partner. The scientists are following a new trend, as even FIA, the governing body for world motor sport, federation of the world's leading motoring organizations and organizer of Formula 1, is planning a racing series for electric vehicles.

From 0 to 100 in 3.6 seconds -- we're not talking about the rapid acceleration of a Porsche Carrera or Ferrari Scaglietti, but of EVE, a racing car with a very quiet engine. EVE is powered by two electric motors, one for each rear wheel. With a maximum output of 60 kilowatts, they get the e-racer going at 4500 rotations per minute. The sprinter can reach a top speed of 140 km/h, and has a range of 22 km thanks to two lithium polymer batteries, with a combined capacity of 8 kWh. Electrical engineering students from the e-racing team at the Hochschule Esslingen University of Applied Sciences designed the 300 kg car as a voluntary project alongside their studies, and they have already competed in it at the international Formula Student Electric (FSE) race in Italy. From May 14-16, the racing car will be on show at the Sensor + Test measurement fair in Nuremberg at the joint Fraunhofer trade show booth (Hall 12, Booth 537). Scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Erlangen developed the entire electronic sensor system in close collaboration with Seuffer GmbH & Co.KG, an industry partner with whom the institute has been working for over 11 years. Seuffer GmbH & Co.KG is based in Calw in Baden-W?rttemberg, southern Germany, and sponsors the students of the E.Stall racing team.

"Electromobility as a topic is becoming ever more important. The racing car serves as a showcase for us to demonstrate novel sensor solutions as well as battery and energy management concepts," says Klaus-Dieter Taschka, an engineer at Fraunhofer IIS. Besides wheels, brakes, damper unit, batteries and electric motors, EVE is equipped with numerous sensors. These include braking pressure, crash, temperature and acce- leration sensors as well as sensors that monitor the accelerator and brake pedals, speed, steering angle, wheel speed and power. These last six functions could all be performed by HallinOne? sensors developed by Fraunhofer IIS, 3D magnetic-field sensors that are already a standard feature in washing machines, where they are used to determine the position and orientation of the drum.

Electronic sensors determine charge state of the battery

The two electronic sensors attached at the sides of the batteries use 3D magnetic-field sensor technology developed by Fraunhofer IIS to measure the magnetic field generated by the flow of electrical current and thus to determine the battery's level of charge. What's special about this is that the contactless sensors measure both the current that flows from the battery to the engine and the current that flows back again when the vehicle brakes. The integrated sensor system is able to eliminate disturbances and foreign magnetic fields, thus guaranteeing very precise measurements. A further advantage is that the system is also able to measure other aspects of the battery such as its voltage and temperature. The data is collected and sent to the power control unit (PCU) and the battery management system (BMS), which controls the charging and discharging processes.

Intelligent battery management system extends battery life

Battery running times and battery life are limiting factors for all electric vehicles. The BMS developed by Fraunhofer IIS in Nuremberg tackles this problem by determining the impedance spectrum of all battery cells and constantly testing whether the cells are functioning properly. This allows cells' condition, current capacity and potential service life to be ascertained and running times to be predicted more accurately.

As individual battery cells age, they are able to store less and less energy. The challenge lies in optimizing cell utilization. "Until now, a battery system was able to provide only as much energy as was available in its weakest cell. The energy stored in other cells remained unused. Our BMS has an active cell balancing system that moves energy between stronger and weaker cells. This means that all cells share the load equally, allowing the maximum capacity of the battery as a whole to be utilized," explains Dr.-Ing. Peter Spies, group manager at Fraunhofer IIS in Nuremberg. Actively balancing out the cells during the charging and discharging process extends the battery's service life and range. "EVE's current BMS is a system developed in house by E.Stall, but our solution could take its place," says Spies.

Polarization camera detects cracks in bodywork

EVE's compact design is built on a tubular steel space frame housed within a carbon fiber body. Racing around the track puts a great deal of stress on the plastic fibers, and this can lead to tiny cracks developing in the material. Fraunhofer IIS in Erlangen has developed POLKA, a polarization camera that can detect such damage at an early stage by measuring stresses within unpainted surfaces of the carbon structure. This compact camera makes any scratches visible by registering properties of light that are imperceptible to the human eye: polarization. Material stresses in the plastic cause changes in polarization. POLKA is able to collect all the polarization information for each pixel in a single shot at speeds of up to 250 frames per second. Using real-time color coding, the dedicated software translates the information collected about the intensity, angle and degree of polarization into a visual display that is accessible to the human eye. The system will also be presented at the joint Fraunhofer booth.

"We are convinced that EVE's innovative technology will allow the vehicle to perform very well while demonstrating excellent environmental awareness," says Rolf Kleiner, group manager of the battery technology department at Seuffer. And the students of team E.Stall will soon have a chance to prove it: This year EVE will be in the lineup for the Formula Student race in Italy, Spain and Czechia.

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Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/electronics/~3/nY_vyXLiSSM/130426073718.htm

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Even After Hacks And Bombings, Privacy Advocates Have Big Week In Congress

In light of the AP’s?high-profile Twitter hacking and a vicious domestic bombing, Americans have not let fear derail privacy legislation. Just this week, the Senate advanced an anti-email snooping law and the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) is reportedly on its way to the grave. It appears that the burden of proof has shifted to proponents of government surveillance, and they’ve been conspicuously silent about how spying will keep Americans safe. Two Bills CISPA, which gives immunity to Internet companies for sharing sensitive data with law enforcement, will reportedly not be taken up for a vote in the Senate. “We’re not taking [CISPA] up,” a representative from the Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation told US News, “Staff and senators are divvying up the issues and the key provisions everyone agrees would need to be handled if we’re going to strengthen cybersecurity. They’ll be drafting separate bills.” After wavering support from Facebook and other high-profile Internet companies, the White House threatened to veto the bill over privacy concerns, most likely related to ambiguous definitions of what constitutes a cyber “threat” and how agencies would be kept honest. ECPA Reform – The 1970′s law that permits security agencies to access emails opened or older than 180 days, is on its way to a privacy upgrade. Designed before users kept their email indefinitely in the cloud (i.e. Gmail), a few high-level privacy breaches, including the unearthing of General David Petraeus’s romantic affair, have created overwhelming demand to overhaul the antiquated law. Today, an amendment to require a warrant before reading emails was voted on by voice, which means there wasn’t even enough opposition among the Judiciary committee members for a debate. Staff members inside the House of Representatives, where the bill will go if it passes the senate, tell me that there also isn’t much opposition to the reforms on their side of Congress, and that a bill by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CrunchGov Grade: A) could very well be combined with the Senate’s version for a streamlined change (yes, occasionally things are efficient in Congress). Why Not? Even after the AP’s Twitter account was hacked to spread a rumor about an explosion at the White House and two American men successfully detonated bombs at the Boston Marathon, there’s no reason to believe that either CISPA or ECPA ?would have kept Americans safer. Even Barack Obama’s freak-everyone-out op-ed last

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/QShNPYzLqok/

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Google?s Schmidt teases Motorola?s upcoming phones as daily Android activations reach 1.5 million

By Jethro Nededog LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Andy Cohen has definitely made the best of his programming executive level job at Bravo Media. Aside from becoming the face of the network and hosting its popular late night show, "Watch What Happens Live," he was instrumental in developing and producing the network's flagship "Real Housewives" franchise. The same franchise, by the way, that he famously put a fork in when he announced in 2011 that the network wouldn't be extending the series. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/google-schmidt-teases-motorola-upcoming-phones-daily-android-145036518.html

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Obama Vows 'We Will Find Out Who Did This' (ABC News)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

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Source: Case being built against ex-Texas official

This photo provided by the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office shows Eric Williams. Williams was admitted to the Kaufman County Jail, in Kaufman, Texas, early Saturday, April 13, 2013, and charged with making a "terroristic threat." Federal and local authorities searched Williams' home Friday as part of an investigation into the deaths of District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia. (AP Photo/Kaufman County Sheriff's Office)

This photo provided by the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office shows Eric Williams. Williams was admitted to the Kaufman County Jail, in Kaufman, Texas, early Saturday, April 13, 2013, and charged with making a "terroristic threat." Federal and local authorities searched Williams' home Friday as part of an investigation into the deaths of District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia. (AP Photo/Kaufman County Sheriff's Office)

KAUFMAN, Texas (AP) ? Texas authorities investigating the killings of a district attorney and his wife are working to build a case against a former justice of the peace prosecuted last year by the slain official's office, a law enforcement official said Monday.

Eric Lyle Williams, 46, was arrested during the weekend and remains jailed on a charge of making a terroristic threat. He is being held on $3 million bond, but authorities have not publicly discussed details of the charge against him.

Williams' arrest came after federal and local agents investigating the March 28 deaths of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, searched Williams' home and a storage facility, and investigators are now focused on trying to build a case against him, said the law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the ongoing investigation.

The official said at least 20 weapons found in Williams' storage locker are being tested by ballistics experts. A Ford Crown Victoria similar to one seen and video recorded in the McLellands' neighborhood on the day they died also was found at the locker, the official said.

A state law enforcement official spent two-and-half hours visiting with the storage facility's manager Monday. The official went into the manager's office with a small black duffel bag and left with the bag as well as what appeared to be several documents. The manager, Larry Mathis, declined to comment after the meeting.

The storage locker is located in Seagoville, about 15 miles west of Williams' home, where two signs on the front doors Monday instructed media seeking comment to contact David Sergi, Williams' attorney in the theft case. However, a woman who answered the phone at Sergi's office said he would not have any comment on the case Monday.

Authorities have said little about their investigation into the McClellands' deaths and have not named any suspects. Previous possible culprits mentioned included a white supremacist prison gang known as the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, which had been targeted by a task force that included McLelland's office.

Two others have been arrested for making terroristic threats during the investigation into the slayings, but authorities said they had no connection to the deaths.

The McLellands were killed about two months after one of McLelland's prosecutors, Mark Hasse, was slain outside the local courthouse. McLelland and Hasse both participated in last year's prosecution of Williams on charges he stole three computer monitors from an office building.

Williams has said he submitted to gunshot residue tests and turned over his cellphone after both McLelland and Hasse were found dead.

Both prosecutors gave closing arguments before a jury convicted Williams in April. They questioned his character and suggested he was prone to threatening others. Williams received two years' probation, but lost his position as justice of the peace ? an elected judicial officer who typically handles smaller civil and administrative matters ? as well as his law license.

Williams has appealed the verdict, and on March 29 ? one day before the McLellands were found dead ? a state appeals court in Dallas had agreed to hear oral arguments in the case.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-04-15-District%20Attorney%20Dead-Texas/id-a5719a0f884d485f8eec92abd5c45c76

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Stupid Writer Tricks - NYTimes.com

Draft is a series about the art and craft of writing.

One day a couple of years ago, when I found my desk drawer so full of microphone headsets that it would no longer close, I realized it was time for an intervention. I could no longer deny it: I needed to stop reading interviews with authors.

The Believer, Salon, The Guardian ? these were like the bars in which I could never resist just one more drink. My most dangerous source of interviews, though ? my home liquor cabinet ? was The Paris Review. These interviews, which Dwight Garner has rightly called ?about as canonical, in our literary universe, as spoken words can be,? are treacherous things for an aspiring writer. The Paris Review has been conducting them since the ?50s, and the entire collection is online, so whole days, weeks, months can disappear as you read about why Ray Bradbury has no use for college writing programs or consider the fact that Janet Malcolm no longer smokes while she writes.

The most serious danger in reading these sorts of interviews, for me, was not that they?d waste my time ? I have a whole cosmos of ways to do that ? but that they?d inspire me. Literary interviews are inevitably packed with the nuts and bolts of how writers do their work, and there?s very little that aspiring writers do more readily than fling other people?s nuts and bolts into their toolboxes. I might learn, say, that Alice Munro writes her first drafts with a scribbler (must find out what a scribbler is, then purchase). Or that Philip Roth writes at a standing-desk (this is apparently for lumbar, rather than literary, reasons, but no matter: begone, chair!). Or that Haruki Murakami feels it necessary to exercise like a marathoner in order to sustain his novel-writing momentum. Or that Don DeLillo once typed each paragraph on its own piece of paper.

I had, for a long time, a profound vulnerability to hearing about these sorts of routines. Of course I knew that writing was terrifically hard work, and that there was no secret code, as in a video game, that would unlock Tolstoy-mode, enabling me to crank out canon-worthy novellas before lunch. But I persisted in believing that I might one day come upon some technique, some set of tricks, that would vault me irreversibly onto the professional plane. I didn?t have a working printer, but I agreed wholeheartedly with Joan Didion that I needed to be sleeping in the same room as my manuscript, so as never to lose touch with it. It would be years before I?d written so much as a single chapter of a novel, but I knew that when I finished a book, I would, like Anthony Trollope, begin my next one on the very same day.

Not all of the techniques I took up were worthless.

There was the era, inspired by Hemingway, of carrying around bound notebooks in my front-right pocket, with the intention of capturing inspirations as soon as they arrived, whether in the dentist?s waiting room or on the stalled Q train. (This worked reasonably well until the rain and the molding properties of my leg transformed the notebooks into sodden lumps of ink-smeared pulp.)

There was the era, inspired by Saul Bellow, when I would, at great peril to myself, attempt headstands in the corner of my office. (This may have done something for my balance, if nothing for my writing.)

Then there was the era of dictation software, inspired by Richard Powers, whom I envisioned lying in bed, eyes gently shut, streams of literature flowing from his lips into his headset. (Be careful with this closing-your-eyes business. It happened more than once that I?d crack open my eyes for a peek at my river of prose only to discover that I?d forgotten to hit the little red ?dictate? button.)

I know how a confession like this is supposed to end. I?m meant, like Dumbo flinging aside his feather, to realize that all the tricks and tools are unnecessary, and that what writing requires is grit, and patience, and the willingness to produce and then discard such a number of pages that you would seem, to a curious alien, to be in the garbage-generating business. And all that is manifestly true. I?ve sold all but one of my microphones, put away my mini-notebooks, stopped scouring the Internet for scraps of wisdom.

But I?m not quite ready to retire to a bare room armed only with a stack of blank paper and a sharpened No. 2 pencil (though that might, come to think of it, be something I read about in an interview). Writing is a sufficiently lonely and mysterious pastime that I don?t begrudge myself a talisman or two, so long as they don?t become ways of distracting myself from the glum inescapability of actual work.

Among my magic feathers at the moment: a writing program called Scrivener, which I have been known to tout until my wife has to kick me underneath the table.

Also: albums of binaural sounds, which help to create an inner padded room on days when my attention is particularly restless.

In the imaginary author interviews I occasionally conduct with myself while brushing my teeth, I very happily expound on these techniques and a dozen others. But I also take care to note that the important thing is not the techniques, but the spirit in which you take them up. If you reach out, as I spent all those years doing, like a drowning man for a scrap of wood, then you?ll most likely flail until you and your technique sink together in an unhappy mass. If, though, you can reach out from a position of calm, as a swimmer reaches out for a kickboard before turning to begin his next lap, then you might find yourself feeling what all the tricks and tips are finally pointing toward: freedom. You might surprise yourself ? roll onto your back, do a flutter kick, or just float for a while. The water, after all, is the point, and not how you scratch away at it.

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Ben Dolnick is the author of the forthcoming novel, ?At the Bottom of Everything.?

Source: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/15/stupid-writer-tricks/

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Bilbo Baggins Beats Snow White For Best Hero At MTV Movie Awards

Martin Freeman's hobbit got more than 1.6 million votes on social media to take home the coveted Golden Popcorn at Sunday's show.
By Katie Calautti

Martin Freeman as Bilbo in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
Photo: Warner Bros. Entertainment

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1705658/bilbo-baggins-best-hero-movie-awards-2013.jhtml

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Bendable screens still need a breakthrough

Jeremy Wagstaff and Sinead Carew , Reuters ? ? ? 7 hrs.

The touted arrival this year of wearable gadgets such as computer displays strapped to wrists and in wrap-around glasses is just a step towards a bigger revolution in screens ? those that can be bent, folded and rolled up.

Once freed from today's relatively heavy, breakable and fixed glass displays, tomorrow's devices may look very different, with screens that can be rolled out, attached to uneven surfaces, or even stretched. But there's still some way to go.

"It becomes a product designer's paradise ? once the technology is sorted out," says Jonathan Melnick, who analyzes display technology for Lux Research.

There is no shortage of prototypes. South Korea's Samsung Electronics this year showed off a display screen that extends from the side of a device ? but obstacles remain: overcoming technical issues, figuring out how to mass produce parts cheaply, and coming up with devices compelling enough for gadget buyers.

Screen technology ? with the global small display market expected to more than double to around $72 billion by 2016, according to DisplaySearch ? is still dominated by liquid crystal displays (LCDs), which require a backlight and sit between two sheets of glass, making the screen a major contributor to the weight of a device, from laptops to tablets.

"Most of the weight in a tablet is the glass structure in the display and the support structure around it to prevent it from cracking," said Kevin Morishige, a former engineer at Cisco, Hewlett-Packard and Palm.

LCD's dominance is already under threat from lighter Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) that don't need backlighting, are brighter, offer a wider viewing angle and better color contrast ? and can be printed onto a few layers.

From Gorilla to Willow
Glass, however, is getting lighter and more flexible.

Corning, whose toughened Gorilla glass became the screen of choice for many smartphones, will provide phones with curved glass edges as soon as this year. It is also now promoting Willow Glass, which can be as thin as a sheet of paper and is flexible enough to be wrapped around a device or structure. Initially, Willow will be used as a coating for products like solar panels, but it is eventually expected to create curved products.

A key selling point for Willow is more efficient production which involves so-called roll-to-roll manufacturing, like a printing press, rather than today's more costly batch manufacturing. But the commercialization of Willow as a flexible product is some way off, James Clappin, who heads Corning's glass technology group, told Reuters.

And glass has its limits.

"You can bend it, but you can't keep flexing it," said Adrian Burden, a UK consultant who has worked on several start-ups related to display technology, and holds patents in the field. This means that while glass is likely to continue to play a leading role in devices with curved displays, screens that users can bend, fold and roll will likely be plastic.

But plastic is not as robust as glass. "As soon as you introduce plastic substrates you have all kinds of issues with sensitivity to the environment," says Burden.

Plugging the leaks
So while OLED and plastic would seem to be companion technologies they create an extra problem when laid together: they need so-called barrier films to prevent the various layers from leaking oxygen and moisture.

"There are barrier films in all sorts of products, for example food packaging, but the challenge is that OLED is one of the most sensitive materials we follow, and so creates huge challenges," says Lux Research's Melnick.

Singapore-based Tera-Barrier Films, for example, has developed a way to plug leaks in the layers using nanoparticles. Director Senthil Ramadas says that after years of delays the company last month started production in Japan and aims for mass production by end-2014. "You have several challenges in the value chain," he said. "All these things need to be established, and only now is it coming out."

And there's another problem: all the materials in a bendable display need to be bendable, too ? including the transparent conductors that drive current through the display. Several technologies are vying to replace the brittle and expensive Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) used in most fixed displays, including nanowires, carbon nanotubes, graphene and conductive mesh.

Some of these technologies are close to production. Another Singapore-based firm, Cima Nanotech, for example, rolls a coating of silver-based conductive ink on a sheet which then self-aligns into a web of strands a few microns across that forms the conductive layer.

It's unlikely such shifts in the underlying technologies will yield products immediately. For one thing, "prototypes can be made," says Melnick, "but that's a long way from mass production as many of the processes and material in these devices face big yield and scaling issues."

On a roll
This is gradually changing, some in the industry say, as production shifts from making parts in batches of sheets to the more efficient roll-to-roll process. "Batch is more expensive and slower than roll-to-roll, which needs new equipment and design ? and takes time," said Ramadas at Tera-Barrier.

All this requires money, and manufacturers have to be convinced to invest in the new equipment.

Even after the success of Gorilla Glass, popularized by the iPhone, Corning is having to work hard to prepare customers for Willow displays. Clappin said customers want thinner devices and easier to produce glass, but Willow requires a completely different manufacturing set-up.

"When we talk about commercializing Willow a big part of our development activity is enabling the ecosystem to handle what is essentially a brand new material," Clappin added. "Nobody's accustomed to working with glass that bends and moves. It's a new material. The ecosystem needs to be trained to handle it."

He sees demand, particularly from video gamers, for Willow-based curved screens, but remains less convinced about rollable or foldable screens. "Conformable is in the near future. As far as flexible, bendable, fold-upable goes, I see that further out and I'm not even sure that's a viable product," he said.

For companies with deep pockets, like Samsung, this can mean building prototypes such as those displayed at international technology shows. But that doesn't guarantee success in selling products. Sony, for example, promoted flexible OLED displays back in 2007. "Six years later they've not come up with anything," says Zhang Jie, senior scientist at Singapore's Institute of Metals Research and Engineering. "If Samsung's going to really drive this the application really needs to drive people and make them want it."

This slows down the process. In late 2011, Samsung told analysts it planned to introduce flexible displays into handsets "some time in 2012, hopefully the earlier part than later,"but a year later the company said the technology was still "under development." In an investment note last month Jefferies said that while Samsung may introduce "unbreakable" screens this year, it didn't expect to see flexible displays in Samsung devices until 2014-15.

Ultimately, teasing out the technical problems may be only half the battle.

"This is the eternal question of the speciality materials industry," says Lutz Grubel, Japan-based head of marketing for German glass maker Schott's Xensation Cover 3-D glass. "You have something, a material, and you're looking for an application. That's the game."

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2ab51b2a/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Cfutureoftech0Cbendable0Escreens0Estill0Eneed0Ebreakthrough0E1C9340A963/story01.htm

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Close vote seen on background checks on gun buyers

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A bipartisan Senate proposal to expand background checks for gun buyers gained the backing of one Republican and the potential support of a second Sunday as sponsors said the vote expected this week was too close to call.

The plan would "strengthen the background check system without in any way infringing on Second Amendment rights," Maine Sen. Susan Collins said in a statement explaining her support for the measure. But she added that "it is impossible to predict at this point" what will be in a final bill.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, who has a B+ rating from the National Rifle Association, said he was "very favorably disposed" to the proposal that has emerged from Sens. Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.

"I appreciate their work," McCain said. "And the American people want to do what we can to prevent these tragedies. And there's a lot more that needs to be done, particularly in the area of mental health."

It was in McCain's home state that a gunman with schizophrenia shot then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in the head during a 2011 rampage in Tucson that left six people killed.

Collins and Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois are the only two Republicans besides Toomey who are expected to vote for the compromise as of now.

It will take 60 votes to pass, meaning that more Republicans will have to come on board because some Democrats from gun-friendly states are expected to oppose the measure.

"It's an open question as to whether or not we have the votes. I think it's going to be close," Toomey said.

The measure requires background checks for people buying guns at gun shows and online. Background checks currently apply only to transactions handled by the country's 55,000 licensed gun dealers. Private transactions, such as a sale of a gun between family members, would still be exempt.

Manchin urged lawmakers to read the 49-page proposal. He said it should dispel any misconceptions about infringing on the constitutional right to bear arms.

"You can imagine for what, the last two or three months, that all you heard is they're going to take this away from you and that away," and all of the gun groups are trying to outdo each other, Manchin said Sunday on Fox News Channel. "And the bottom line is when you have a group now ? Alan Gottlieb, the chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, said, 'We read the bill, we like the bill' and it protects law-abiding gun owners like myself. And they are supporting it now. That is huge."

Gottlieb did not respond to a request Sunday to provide more details of the position taken by his group.

The Manchin-Toomey compromise was also endorsed late Sunday by the Independent Firearms Owners Association, a pro-gun group that is smaller and more moderate than the NRA.

The bill is the right way to "stand firm in defense of our constitutional rights and the security of our fellow citizens," said the group's president, Richard Feldman, a former NRA official.

The senators' agreement actually includes language expanding firearms rights by easing some restrictions on transporting guns across state lines, protecting sellers from lawsuits if buyers passed a check but later used a gun in a crime and letting gun dealers conduct business in states where they don't live.

"If you are a law-abiding gun owner, you're going to like this bill," Manchin said.

He acknowledged the vote would be tight. Asked how many votes he thought he had now, Manchin said: "Well, we're close. We need more."

The compromise, if successful, would be added to broader gun control legislation to strengthen laws against illegal gun trafficking and to increase slightly school security aid.

Other additions to the legislation also are expected to be debated this week, including a measure that would allow concealed hand gun permits issued by one state to be accepted nationwide as a de facto background check.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said in news show interviews that concealed weapons permits should be applied nationally. He also called for more prosecution of people that are trying to buy guns and fail a background check.

The Senate is also expected to consider, and reject, Democratic amendments to ban assault weapons and ammunition magazines carrying more than 10 rounds.

Manchin and Toomey were on CNN's "State of the Union" and CBS' "Face the Nation." McCain was on CNN.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/close-vote-seen-background-checks-gun-buyers-145632653--politics.html

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Alicia Keys campaigns for HIV education

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Alicia Keys says she wants to spark a global conversation about HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

The Grammy Award-winning singer says that when she traveled to Africa and India she felt connected to women with the virus because "they looked like they could be my sister, or they could be my aunt, or they could be my cousin."

Keys is working with the Kaiser Family Foundation for "Empowered," a campaign launched last month to educate women about HIV and provide grants to community-based projects that will do that.

According to Kaiser, one in four of the 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States are women. Women of color account for about two-thirds of new HIV infections among women.

The campaign includes outreach through public service ads, social media and community programs. It encourages women to learn about HIV and AIDS, talk with family and friends, protect themselves and loved ones, get tested, prevent spreading the disease and stay on treatment.

Keys is also leading the Empowered Community Grants program with Kaiser and AIDS United that will give up to $25,000 grants to community-based projects that focus on women and HIV.

The campaign is scheduled to run for five years and publish a report annually on women's experiences with HIV/AIDS and examine cultural changes regarding education, misconceptions and the stigma associated with the disease.

Keys is co-founder of Keep a Child Alive, which provides AIDS treatment, food and other support to children and families affected by HIV and AIDS in Africa and India.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/alicia-keys-campaigns-hiv-education-191441302.html

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Electroconvulsive therapy can restore quality of life for some severely depressed patients

Apr. 15, 2013 ? Patients whose severe depression goes into remission for six months following electroconvulsive therapy report a quality of life similar to that of healthy individuals, researchers say.

"If we can get you into remission, you get this big, big improvement in quality of life at six months such that our patients' quality of life is as good as that of the overall general population," said Dr. W. Vaughn McCall, Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University.

Researchers looked at quality-of-life questionnaires filled out by more than 500 patients, rating themselves on topics such as physical function, pain, vitality and social function. About half the patients went into remission after ECT and researchers completed their information gathering, including pre- and post-ECT quality-of-life measures, on 64 patients who remained in remission at six months.

Essentially all the patients headed for ECT had poor quality-of-life scores before treatment, reflecting a severity of disease that made them strong candidates for the therapy. Researchers compared those scores to depressed patients who did not receive ECT as well as a group of about 500 healthy individuals.

After therapy, the worst scores generally normalized. The not-so-great news was that not enough patients stayed in remission, notes McCall, an expert in depression and ECT and corresponding author of the study in the Journal of Affective Disorders. "We need to look at different drug treatments for patients to prevent relapse." In fact, McCall and others have early evidence that ECT patients who also take antidepressants fare better. Antidepressant use was not restricted in this study. "The other possibility is that there are some people who seem to respond to nothing but ECT and will need booster ECT sessions to stay well," he said.

Interestingly, after successful therapy, ECT patients scored themselves higher on bodily pain and mental health than their healthy peers. However patients reported that their emotional role -- the ability to relate to others and feel empathy which received the lowest score pre-therapy -- did not return to normal or near-normal levels. That poor showing could mean these patients may not be optimally effective in their work and other regular activities, the researchers said.

"What I tell patients is that six months after this is over, my expectation is that you will be better off, not just in terms of your depression, I mean globally, in your quality of life. The trick is going to be keeping you well so you do not slide back into depression. That is the biggest risk."

Ideal candidates for ECT tend to be severely depressed individuals who have failed multiple drug therapies, McCall said. Less commonly, patients present with severe disease, for example, the first time they are seen is in the emergency room after a suicide attempt.

Often, ECT patients do relapse into depression months after successful ECT and may eventually get additional ECT. Over a lifetime, a depressed patient could receive a handful of courses with eight-10 sessions in each course. In the United States, ECT is used almost exclusively for depression and occasionally for mania and schizophrenia, McCall said. Therapy includes a short, controlled burst of electricity to the brain via electrodes placed on the scalp. Patients receive an anesthetic and muscle relaxer to help ensure safety and comfort.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/mind_brain/depression/~3/nQ2Api_Klc8/130415124916.htm

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Dell XPS 18 is up for pre-order online: $900 and up, shipping in May

Add this to the list of Tax Day surprises: the Dell XPS 18 all-in-one is available for pre-order online one day ahead of schedule. The giant tablet / semi-portable desktop won't actually ship until the first week in May, but you can add one of three configurations to your cart now. The entry-level model, with a Pentium processor and a 320GB hard drive, will set you back $900, while Core i3 and Core i5 versions are priced at $1,000 and $1,350, respectively. We liked what we saw when we went hands-on with the 4.85-pound PC: its flip-out feet let you transition between slate and desktop mode easily, and the 1080 capacitive touch display is very crisp. Admittedly, there is only a handful of tabletop Windows 8 slates, but the XPS 18 can hold its own against the Sony VAIO Tap 20 and Lenovo's jumbo-sized Horizon Table PC. Click through to Dell's US site for more details.

[Thanks, Tom]

Filed under: Desktops, Tablets, Dell

Comments

Source: Dell

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/15/dell-xps-18-hybrid-preorder/

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NewNowNext Awards 2013: Peep The Purple Carpet Tonight!

Before the show airs Monday at 10 p.m. ET on Logo, head to TheBacklot.com at 8 p.m. tonight for live interviews.
By James Montgomery

Logo Next Now Next Awards 2013
Photo: Logo

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1705591/newnownext-awards-2013.jhtml

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Tiger ends a long day four shots off lead

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) ? The 5-iron was almost as good as the wedge the day before. Tiger Woods played the 15th hole Saturday as if he wanted payback, and this time there was nothing controversial about it.

The 10-foot eagle putt slid just by the left side, but birdie was almost as good. Woods was not only still playing, but back in contention for a fifth green jacket on what was easily the most unusual day in his 19 years in the Masters.

"Under the rules of golf I can play," Woods said. "I was able to go out there and compete and play."

A day that began with the threat of a possible disqualification ended with Woods surrounded by media as the sun started to fade behind the towering Georgia pines. But the questions were about what happened the day before, rather than the 5-iron he hit close on No. 15 or the 2-under 70 he posted to move within four shots of the lead.

That he started his third round two shots worse than where he stood the night before wasn't all that bad. After signing a scorecard that didn't include a penalty for an improper drop on the 15th hole, there was a real possibility Woods could have been heading home Saturday instead of to the first tee.

Once there, he was determined to make his good fortune pay.

"I was fired up and ready to play," Woods said. "I was five back and wanted to cut that in half. I kept it within reach and, as we all know, if you're six shots within the lead on the back nine on Sunday you're in it."

Woods was pumped, indeed. His fairway wood found the short grass and he followed with an iron that rolled just 2 feet past the cup. The birdie touched off the first big roar of the afternoon and a big crowd followed him to the second hole, sensing that this might be a special round.

If the events of the morning were weighing on his mind, Woods didn't show it. If anything, he seemed relieved to be playing after being summoned to the course at 8 a.m. to explain what happened when he took his drop on the 15th hole after hitting a wedge so perfect it struck the flagstick and ricocheted back into the water fronting the green.

If he didn't explain it well after his round Saturday, maybe it was because his explanation the day before was what got him into trouble in the first place. Masters officials ? acting on a tip from a television viewer ? had decided among themselves that Woods would not be penalized for the drop, but that changed after hearing comments made by Woods that he dropped back two yards so he wouldn't hit the pin again.

That would be taking advantage of a drop, something that carries a two-stroke penalty. Upon further review it was deemed just that, though Masters officials declined to disqualify Woods for signing an incorrect scorecard because he didn't know he was under investigation when he signed it.

"There's no question that Tiger should be penalized," Masters competition committee chief Fred Ridley said before Woods teed off. "That's not the issue. The issue is what should we do in imposing that penalty."

Woods got the word he might be in trouble in a text from his agent, and was complimented by Ridley for his candor when he met with Masters officials. The penalty was quickly adjudicated, and he was sent on his way before coming back alone in a black Mercedes SUV shortly before noon to play his third round.

Later, CBS would open its telecast with announcer Jim Nantz talking about how Woods made an "innocent" and "absent-minded" mistake.

"I've seen guys get DQ'd before," Woods said. "The rules officials did a fantastic job."

Woods had a chance to make an early run after his opening birdie but missed short birdie putts on the next two holes and made the turn in even par. He finally got things going on the back nine ? where he had just made one birdie in the first two rounds ? with three birdies in four holes, including his last on the par-5 15th.

That was the hole where his wedge went in the water on Friday and he made what he thought was a bogey 6. It was turned into a snowman 8 with the penalty by the time he teed off and he technically cut his second round score in half with his birdie 4.

Woods finished with three pars, including an up-and-down on No. 18 that he finished off with a 10-foot putt. He gave it a little fist pump and headed toward the clubhouse, with the crowd cheering his every move.

'It's tough out there," Woods said. "This is a normal Masters. We had soft conditions but the greens aren't soft anymore. We had serious speed; they were moving."

The round put Woods at 213, 3 under for the tournament and four back of leaders Brandt Snedeker and Angel Cabrera. It's a spot that gives Woods hope on Sunday to end a nearly five-year victory drought in major championships, though he has never come from behind on the final day to win a major.

"It started off obviously different, but I'm right there in the ballgame," Woods said. "As of right now I'm four back with a great shot to win this championship."

Woods answered a few questions after the round, but clearly wasn't about to get in any long discussions about his possible disqualification. He quickly moved to the practice green, where he threw down a half dozen balls and began hitting 3-footers, one after another.

It was back to golf. And those are the putts he'll have to make on Sunday if he wants to win a fifth green jacket.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tiger-ends-long-day-four-shots-off-lead-003831796--golf.html

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NOAA: Arctic Likely Free Of Summer Ice By 2050 — Possibly Much Sooner

Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have published research into the shrinking levels of sea ice in the Arctic. They wanted to figure out how long it would take before summer sea ice disappeared entirely. Since there's no perfect model for predicting ice levels, they used three different methods. All three predicted the Arctic would be nearly free of summer sea ice by the middle of the century, and one indicated it could happen as early as 2020. Two of the methods were based on observed sea ice trends. If ice loss proceeds as it has in the past decade, we get the 2020 timeframe. If ice loss events are large, like the 2007 and 2012 events, but happen at random some years, the estimate is pushed back to 2030. The third method uses global climate models to 'predict atmosphere, ocean, land, and sea ice conditions over time.' This model pushes the timeframe back to 2040 at the earliest, and around 2060 as the median (abstract). One of the study's authors, James Overland, said, "Rapid Arctic sea ice loss is probably the most visible indicator of global climate change; it leads to shifts in ecosystems and economic access, and potentially impacts weather throughout the northern hemisphere. Increased physical understanding of rapid Arctic climate shifts and improved models are needed that give a more detailed picture and timing of what to expect so we can better prepare and adapt to such changes. Early loss of Arctic sea ice gives immediacy to the issue of climate change."

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/QYd5fhisziA/story01.htm

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Mysteriously Shrinking Proton Continues to Puzzle Physicists

DENVER ? The size of a proton, long thought to be well-understood, may remain a mystery for a while longer, according to physicists.

Speaking today (April 13) at the April meeting of the American Physical Society, researchers said they need more data to understand why new measurements of proton size don't match old ones.

"The discrepancy is rather severe," said Randolf Pohl, a scientist at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics. The question, Pohl and his colleagues said, is whether the explanation is a boring one ? someone messed up the measurements ? or something that will generate new physics theories. [Wacky Physics: The Coolest Particles in Nature]

The incredible shrinking proton

The proton is a positively charged particle in the nucleus of atoms, the building blocks of everything. Years of measurements pegged the proton at 0.8768 femtometers in radius (a femtometer is a millionth of a billionth of a meter).

But a new method used in 2009 found a different measurement: 0.84087 femtometers, a 4 percent difference in radius.?

The previous measurements had used electrons, negatively charged particles that circle the nucleus in a cloud, to determine proton radius. To make the measurement with electrons, researchers can do one of two things. First, they can fire electrons at protons to measure how the electrons are deflected. This electron-scattering method provides insight into the size of the positively charged proton.

An alternative is to try to make the electron move. Electrons zing around the nucleus of an atom, where protons reside, at different levels called orbitals. They can jump from orbital to orbital by increasing or decreasing their energy, which electrons do by losing or gaining an elementary particle of light called a photon. The amount of energy it takes to budge an electron from orbital to orbital tells physicists how much pull the proton has, and thus the proton's size.

Pohl and his colleagues didn't use electrons at all in their measurements of the proton. Instead, they turned to another negatively charged particle called the muon. The muon is 200 times heavier than an electron, so it orbits the proton 200 times closer. This heft makes it easier for scientists to predict which orbital a muon resides in and thus a much more sensitive measure of proton size.

"The muon is closer to the proton and it has a better view," Pohl said.

Possible explanations

These sensitive muon measurements are the ones that gave the smaller-than-expected result for the proton radius, a totally unexpected discovery, Pohl said. Now, physicists are racing to explain the discrepancies.

One possibility is that the measurements are simply wrong. Pohl said this "boring explanation" is the most probable, but not all physicists agree.

"I would say it's not the experimental side," said Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist Jan Bernauer.

The electron-based measurements have been repeated many times and are well-understood, Bernauer said, and muon experiments have the advantage that if they're done wrong, they don't provide results at all.

If experimental error turns out not to be the culprit, there may be some calculation issue, "so we actually know everything that goes on but we are just not calculating it quite right," Bernauer told reporters.

Most exciting of all, the discrepancy could reveal some new physics not explained by the dominant physics theory, the Standard Model. Perhaps there is something unknown about how muons and electrons interact with other particles, said John Arrington, a physicist at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. [Twisted Physcis: 7 Mind-Blowing Findings]

One possibility is that photons aren't the only particles that carry forces between particles ? perhaps an unknown particle is in the mix, causing the proton-measurement discrepancies.

Next steps

To find out what's going on, physicists are launching a new set of experiments across multiple laboratories. One major line of research involves testing electron-scattering experiments to be sure they've been done correctly and that all the facets are understood, Arrington said.

Another goal is to repeat the scattering experiments, but instead of shooting electrons at protons they'll shoot muons at protons. This project, the Muon Scattering Experiment, or MUSE, is set to take place at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland. The facilities there will allow researchers to simultaneously measure electron- and muon-scattering in one experiment.

"The hope is that on the electron-scattering side, we'll have double-checked all the things that are challenging in these measurements," Arrington said. "If we still have this discrepancy, we'll be able to fill in this last box and look at the muon-scattering and see, independent of how you make the measurement, do electrons and muons give you something different?"

The plan is to start collecting data in that experiment in 2015 or 2016, Arrington said, meaning the size of the proton will remain in limbo for a little longer.

"It's not easy," Arrington said. "We hope to do it in a little less than 10 years, but maybe we're being optimistic."

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter?and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook?& Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mysteriously-shrinking-proton-continues-puzzle-physicists-191038291.html

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London School of Economics denounces BBC tactics

The name plaque outside the London School of Economics (LSE) in this file photo dated Sept. 3, 2009, in central London. The renowned LSE has denounced the BBC for using a student-organized trip to North Korea as "cover" for a reporting trip to the secretive communist country, and alleging the BBC put students at risk by having a journalist pretend to be affiliated with the university to be free to gather material and conducting undercover filming for a TV program which is set to be broadcast upcoming Monday. Foreign reporting crews usually have to operate under strict supervision in North Korea, but it seems that an covert three-person TV crew was involved and the LSE alleges that the BBC were reckless in putting the students at rick.(AP Photo/Johnny Green) UNITED KINGDOM OUT - NO SALES - NO ARCHIVES (AP Photo/Johnny Green, PA) UNITED KINGDOM OUT - NO SALES - NO ARCHIVES

The name plaque outside the London School of Economics (LSE) in this file photo dated Sept. 3, 2009, in central London. The renowned LSE has denounced the BBC for using a student-organized trip to North Korea as "cover" for a reporting trip to the secretive communist country, and alleging the BBC put students at risk by having a journalist pretend to be affiliated with the university to be free to gather material and conducting undercover filming for a TV program which is set to be broadcast upcoming Monday. Foreign reporting crews usually have to operate under strict supervision in North Korea, but it seems that an covert three-person TV crew was involved and the LSE alleges that the BBC were reckless in putting the students at rick.(AP Photo/Johnny Green) UNITED KINGDOM OUT - NO SALES - NO ARCHIVES (AP Photo/Johnny Green, PA) UNITED KINGDOM OUT - NO SALES - NO ARCHIVES

LONDON (AP) ? One of Britain's leading academic institutions, the London School of Economics, is accusing the BBC of putting students at risk by using them as cover for a covert reporting trip to North Korea.

The school says BBC's decision to send three TV journalists to the secretive communist state in March to shoot a documentary without governmental permission to work there by posing as members of a student trip could have caused grave trouble for the pupils, if the deception had been uncovered by North Korean authorities.

The squabble between two powerful British institutions comes at a time of uncertainty caused by North Korea's bellicose threats to launch a new medium-range missile at its enemies.

It brought more unwelcome attention to the BBC, which has faced sustained criticism for its handling of an investigation into alleged child sex abuse committed by the late Jimmy Savile, long a top BBC talk show host.

The "Panorama" documentary on North Korea based on the eight-day trip in March is set to air Monday night.

The BBC has thus far refused the university's plea to keep it off the air to protect the students from possible retribution if their identities are revealed on the show. The broadcaster said three students who have asked to be removed from the show will have their images blurred so they cannot be identified.

The trip was not organized by LSE but by a students' society known as the Grimshaw Club. University officials said they did not know about the BBC arrangement and would not have approved it if they had known about BBC's plans.

The BBC's John Sweeney, who LSE officials say posed as a post-graduate LSE student, said Sunday it was "entirely wrong" for the university to try to prevent the broadcast. He said all of the students had been told about the potential risk and had agreed to allow the journalists to join the trip, adding that all were over 18 years of age and capable of making their own decisions.

A BBC story about the trip that the network filed online Sunday said Sweeney and a two-person crew that included his wife spent "eight days undercover" in North Korea.

LSE student union general secretary Alex Peters-Day said Sunday that the students were lied to and that at least one of the students on the eight-day trip was not told in advance of the journalists' participation.

"This is a student welfare issue," she told a BBC interviewer. "We don't know what could have happened to those students and, truthfully, neither does the BBC. It's absolutely disgraceful that he (Sweeney) put students in that position. It's incredibly reckless."

She said Sweeney was being "disingenuous" by citing free-speech concerns as justification for putting students in danger.

LSE blamed BBC for not being forthcoming about its reporting plans in North Korea. In the past, journalists have at times been detained for working without authorization in North Korea, where foreign reporting crews usually have to operate under strict governmental supervision.

In an email sent to staff and students, the university complains that the BBC program was produced "using as cover a visit to North Korean which took place from 23-30 March in the name of the Grimshaw Club, a student society at LSE."

BBC News Head of News Programs Ceri Thomas said on a BBC News program Sunday that the students were given the information needed to give informed consent to the increased risk of traveling with journalists who did not have authorization to work in North Korea.

He said, however, that the students were told roughly a month before the trip that there would be "a journalist" traveling with them but were later told, once they were en route to North Korea, that there would be three journalists who would be conducting undercover filming for TV.

Thomas said the students may have been under the impression that a print journalist, not a three-person TV crew, was going to be involved.

He said BBC would air the documentary despite LSE's concerns because of high public interest in the show.

"It is disappointing for us that LSE has chosen to make this public," he said. "We would have kept them out of this altogether. They could have avoided the publicity, and we think that would have lowered the reputational risk."

He said BBC executives felt that if the deception was discovered the students likely would have been deported, but he admitted he could not "categorically" rule out the possibility that their lives might have been at risk.

BBC press officials said senior executives would not discuss the matter but might issue further statements.

The BBC's action sparked concerns that the use of a British academic research trip as a cover for a clandestine TV reporting venture might undermine the ability of researchers to operate overseas.

Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, said BBC must understand how its actions might hurt research institutions. She said the BBC may have not only put students in harm's way but also damaged the reputations of British universities.

"We regret the BBC's approach," she said.

A BBC story about the trip says Sweeney and a two-person crew that included his wife spent "eight days undercover" in North Korea.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-04-14-Britain-BBC-North%20Korea/id-06e9a26c731540db889c31de6cad9600

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