Scientists find possible hint of dark matter

This undated file image provided by the European Space Agency ESA on Wednesday April 3, 2013 shows the International Space Station in the sunlight. A $2 billion cosmic ray detector on the International Space Station has found the footprint of something that could be dark matter, the mysterious substance that is believed to hold the cosmos together but has never been directly observed, scientists say. But the first results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, known by its acronym AMS, are almost as enigmatic as dark matter itself. They show evidence of new physics phenomena that could be the strange and unknown dark matter or could be energy that originates from pulsars, scientists at the European particle physics laboratory near Geneva announced Wednesday April 3, 2013. (AP Photo/NASA/European Space Agency ESA. Keystone)

This undated file image provided by the European Space Agency ESA on Wednesday April 3, 2013 shows the International Space Station in the sunlight. A $2 billion cosmic ray detector on the International Space Station has found the footprint of something that could be dark matter, the mysterious substance that is believed to hold the cosmos together but has never been directly observed, scientists say. But the first results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, known by its acronym AMS, are almost as enigmatic as dark matter itself. They show evidence of new physics phenomena that could be the strange and unknown dark matter or could be energy that originates from pulsars, scientists at the European particle physics laboratory near Geneva announced Wednesday April 3, 2013. (AP Photo/NASA/European Space Agency ESA. Keystone)

FILE - In this July 25, 2012 file picture Director general of CERN Rolf-Dieter Heuer, left, Nobel laureate and AMS spokesperson Samuel C.C. Ting, right, and Mark Kelly, NASA astronaut and commander of mission STS-134, center, brief the media at the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) Payload Operations and Command Center (POCC) at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Meyrin near Geneva, Switzerland. A US $2 billion experiment on the International Space Station is on the verge of explaining one of the more mysterious building blocks of the universe: The dark matter that helps hold the cosmos together. An international team of scientists says the cosmic ray detector has found the first hint of dark matter, which has never yet been directly observed. The team said Wednesday its first results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, flown into space two years ago, show evidence of a new physics phenomena that could be the strange and unknown matter. Nobel-winning physicist Samuel Ting, who leads the team at the European particle physics laboratory near Geneva, says he expects a more conclusive answer within months. The findings are based on an excess of positrons positively charged subatomic particles. (AP Photo/Keystone/Martial Trezzini,File)

FILE -In this undated picture made available by NASA, a technician examines the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.. The cosmic ray detector was mounted on the International Space Station, searched the universe and shall help to explain how everything came to be. CERN , the European Organization for Nuclear Research, released first results of the experiment Wednesday April 3, 2013. (AP Photo/NASA, Glenn Benson)

FILE - This undated image shows an artist's concept of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, rounded module at left, installed on the International Space Station provided by NASA. The cosmic ray detector searched the universe and shall help to explain how everything came to be. CERN , the European Organization for Nuclear Research, released first results of the experiment Wednesday April 3, 2013. (AP Photo/NASA)

GENEVA (AP) ? It is one of the cosmos' most mysterious unsolved cases: dark matter. It is supposedly what holds the universe together. We can't see it, but scientists are pretty sure it's out there.

Led by a dogged, Nobel Prize-winning gumshoe who has spent 18 years on the case, scientists put a $2 billion detector aboard the International Space Station to try to track down the stuff. And after two years, the first evidence came in Wednesday: tantalizing cosmic footprints that seem to have been left by dark matter.

But the evidence isn't enough to declare the case closed. The footprints could have come from another, more conventional suspect: a pulsar, or a rotating, radiation-emitting star.

The Sam Spade in the investigation, physicist and Nobel laureate Sam Ting of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said he expects a more definitive answer in a matter of months. He confidently promised: "There is no question we're going to solve this problem."

"It's a tantalizing hint," said California Institute of Technology physicist Sean Carroll, who was not part of the team. "It's a sign of something." But he can't quite say what that something is. It doesn't eliminate the other suspect, pulsars, he added.

The results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, or AMS, are significant because dark matter is thought to make up about a quarter of all the matter in the universe.

"We live in a sea of dark matter," said Michael Salamon, who runs the AMS program for the U.S. Energy Department. Unraveling the mystery of dark matter could help scientists better understand the composition of our universe and, more particularly, what holds galaxies together.

Ting announced the findings in Geneva at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, the particle physics laboratory known as CERN.

The 7-ton detector with a 3-foot magnet ring at its core was sent into space in 2011 in a shuttle mission commanded by astronaut Mark Kelly while his wife, then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, was recovering from a gunshot wound to the head. The device is transmitting its data to CERN, where it is being analyzed.

For 80 years scientists have theorized the existence of dark matter but have never actually observed it directly. They have looked for it in accelerators that smash particles together at high speed. No luck. They've looked deep underground with special detectors. Again no luck.

Then there's a third way: looking in space for the results of rare dark matter collisions. If particles of dark matter crash and annihilate each other, they should leave a footprint of positrons ? the anti-matter version of electrons ? at high energy levels. That's what Ting and AMS are looking for.

They found some. But they could also be signs of pulsars, Ting and others concede. What's key is the curve of the plot of those positrons. If the curve is one shape, it points to dark matter. If it's another, it points to pulsars. Ting said they should know the curve ? and the suspect ? soon.

The instrument will be measuring cosmic rays, where the footprints are found, until 2020 or so.

Other scientists praised the results and looked forward to more.

"This is an 80-year-old detective story and we are getting close to the end," said University of Chicago physicist Michael Turner, one of the giants in the field of dark matter. "This is a tantalizing clue and further results from AMS could finish the story."

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Borenstein reported from Washington.

___

Online:

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer: http://www.ams02.org

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2013-04-03-Switzerland-Cosmic%20Rays/id-e003bd4281dd4ec4bf59de404a5cddbb

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Firefox Updates with Per-Window Private Browsing, a New Download Manager, and More

Firefox's latest update offers better privacy controls and an easier downloading experience. Now you can browse privately in a new window without interrupting your current browsing session, better access and find your downloaded files, and also close hanging plugins without shutting down the entire browser.

On its company blog, Mozilla points out a few ways the new private browsing feature can help you out: Instead of being asked to save your session and closing your browser before opening a new private browsing window, now you can keep that session open while you privately shop for a birthday gift or check multiple email addresses simultaneously.

In addition, Firefox for Android now also supports private browsing on a per tab basis.

The video above showcases the new download manager in the Firefox toolbar?no more switching to another window to manage your downloaded files.

Read more about what's new in Firefox 20 or download it at Mozilla.org. Current users can just fire up their browser to check for the update.

Firefox Notes | Mozilla.org via The Mozilla Blog

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/WXlLNZHDrGc/firefox-updates-with-per+window-private-browsing-a-new-download-manager-and-more

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Total buzz kill: Metals in flowers may play role in bumblebee decline

Apr. 2, 2013 ? Beekeepers and researchers nationally are reporting growing evidence that a powerful new class of pesticides may be killing off bumblebees. Now, research at the University of Pittsburgh points toward another potential cause: metal pollution from aluminum and nickel.

Published in the journal Environmental Pollution, the Pitt study finds that bumblebees are at risk of ingesting toxic amounts of metals like aluminum and nickel found in flowers growing in soil that has been contaminated by exhaust from vehicles, industrial machinery, and farming equipment. The Pitt study finds that bumblebees have the ability to taste -- and later ignore -- certain metals such as nickel, but can do so only after they visit a contaminated flower. Therefore, the insects are exposed to toxins before they even sense the presence of metals.

"Although many metals are required by living organisms in small amounts, they can be toxic to both plants and animals when found in moderate to high concentrations," said Tia-Lynn Ashman, principal investigator of the study and professor and associate chair in Pitt's Department of Biological Sciences in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. "Beyond leading to mortality, these metals can interfere with insect taste perception, agility, and working memory -- all necessary attributes for busy bumblebee workers."

Ashman and George Meindl, coauthor of the study and a PhD candidate in Ashman's lab, studied bumblebee behavior using the Impatiens capensis, a North American flower that blooms in summer. Its flowers are large, producing a high volume of sugar-rich nectar each day -- an ideal place for bumblebees to forage. The blooms were collected from the field each morning of the two-week study and were of a similar age, color, and size.

To determine whether nickel and aluminum in the flowers' nectar influenced bumblebee behavior, Ashman and Meindl used two groups of uncontaminated flowers, one group of flowers contaminated by nickel, and another contaminated by aluminum. When a bumblebee visited a flower in an array, the entire visitation was recorded as well as the time spent (in seconds) foraging on each individual flower. This included monitoring whether the bee moved from a contaminated to a noncontaminated flower, whether the bee moved to the same group it had just sampled, or whether the bee left the flower group without visiting other individual blooms. Following each observed visit, all flowers in the array were replaced with new flowers, to ensure accurate results.

"We found that the bees still visited those flowers contaminated by metal, indicating that they can't detect metal from afar," said Ashman. "However, once bumblebees arrive at flowers and sample the nectar, they are able to discriminate against certain metals."

In the study, the bees were able to taste, discriminate against, and leave flowers containing nickel. However, this was not the case for the aluminum-treated flowers, as the bees foraged on the contaminated flowers for time periods equal to those of the noncontaminated flowers.

"It's unclear why the bees didn't sense the aluminum," said Meindl. "However, past studies show that the concentrations of aluminum found throughout blooms tend to be higher than concentrations of nickel. This suggests that the bees may be more tolerant or immune to its presence."

These results also have implications for environmentally friendly efforts to decontaminate soil, in particular a method called phytoremediation -- a promising approach that involves growing metal-accumulating plants on polluted soil to remove such contaminates. Ashman says this approach should be considered with caution because the bees observed in the study foraged on metal-rich flowers. She states that further research is needed to identify plants that are ecologically safe and won't pose threats to local animals that pollinate.

The paper, "The effects of aluminum and nickel in nectar on the foraging behavior of bumblebees" first appeared online March 6 in Environmental Pollution. Funding was provided by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History's Powdermill Nature Reserve in Rector, Pa., a Botany-In-Action Fellowship from the Phipps Botanical Garden and Conservatory in Pittsburgh, an Ivey McManus Predoctoral Fellowship to Meindl, and a National Science Foundation grant (DEB 1020523) to Ashman. The bees were observed at a nature reserve in Western Pennsylvania during August and September 2012.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Pittsburgh.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. George A. Meindl, Tia-Lynn Ashman. The effects of aluminum and nickel in nectar on the foraging behavior of bumblebees. Environmental Pollution, 2013; 177: 78 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2013.02.017

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/most_popular/~3/AegmMOcRNhc/130402152432.htm

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Jane Henson Dead: Co-Creator Of The Muppets Dies At 78

LOS ANGELES ? The Jim Henson Co. says Henson's partner in marriage and Muppets has died.

The company says Jane Henson died Tuesday at her Connecticut home following a battle with cancer. She was 78.

She and Jim Henson met in a University of Maryland puppetry class in the mid-1950s, and they became creative and business partners in the development of the Muppets.

The Hensons married in 1959 and had five children: Lisa, Cheryl, Brian, John and Heather. The pair separated in 1986, and Jim Henson died in 1990.

In 1992, Jane Henson created and funded The Jim Henson Legacy to preserve his artistic contributions.

A memorial Mass is planned next week.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/02/jane-henson-co-creator-of-muppets_n_3003055.html

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HTC One Pre-Sales Start At AT&T April 4 For $199.99, Smartphone Ships April 19

HTC's great aluminum hope, the HTC One, will be available on AT&T beginning April 19, with pre-orders starting April 4. The smartphone will cost $199.99 with a two-year agreement for the 32GB variety, with a 64GB version for $299.99 on a two-year contract, a U.S. launch exclusive for AT&T. Pre-orders for the phone start at 1 P.M. Central Time on April 4, if you're marking your calendars.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/OW5KWvc2aH4/

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Gorilla raised by humans: Baby gorilla thriving in Ohio

A two-month old baby gorilla, born to a first-time mother with little maternal instinct, is being raised by humans at the Cincinnati Zoo ? for now.

By Associated Press / March 28, 2013

Ron Evans, team leader with the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden Primate Team, is one of 10 surrogate mothers to 2-month-old "Gladys", a Western Lowland Gorilla, March 27, in Cincinnati.

Glenn Hartong / The Cincinnati Enquirer / AP

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A baby?gorilla?being raised temporarily by human surrogate parents is doing well ? learning to roll over, sit up and getting ready to walk on all fours.

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Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden primate specialists say "Gladys" is in good health, developing and growing quickly with loving care from 10 humans imitating a?gorilla?mom's behavior. This week she began supporting herself on all fours.

"The next step, she'll be able to walk around by herself," said Ron Evans, primate team leader.

Gladys also is teething and has begun eating some cooked foods, such as sweet potatoes and carrots, besides being bottle-fed five times a day.

"She's at the age now where she really starts growing by leaps and bounds," Evans said.

She came to Cincinnati last month from Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas, after she was born there Jan. 29 to a first-time mother who showed little maternal instinct. It was decided to move her to Cincinnati's zoo because of its extensive experience in raising?gorilla?babies and its availability of experienced?gorilla mothers.

Human surrogates dress in black, wear furry vests and kneepads and make?gorilla?sounds to help prepare Gladys for the transition to a real?gorilla?family. They have been showing her to other?gorillas?and letting them touch her.

The Cincinnati Enquirer (http://cin.ci/WYwKZK?) reports that zoo specialists think she will be ready within a few months, and there are four potential adoptive moms among their?gorillas.

"The?gorillas?have to decide who this baby's mom is going to be," Evans said.

"That will be the day that all this hard work pays off," said primate keeper Ashley O'Connell, crawling around with the 9-pound?gorilla?riding on her back.

O'Connell just had her own first child five months ago.

"I feel like I'm the mother of two right now," she said. "If I have to be away from my own child, this is where I want to be."

Information from: The Cincinnati Enquirer,?http://www.enquirer.com

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/mXrsuga4nYU/Gorilla-raised-by-humans-Baby-gorilla-thriving-in-Ohio

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Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management ...

Note: Electronic submission of application materials is required. For additional information about this position and to apply, please visit https://employment.uwlax.edu/

The University of Wisconsin -? La Crosse seeks candidates to fill the position of Associate Vice Chancellor (AVC) for Enrollment Management. The AVC provides strong strategic direction and leadership in enrollment management, including recruitment, retention, and student success. Reporting to the Provost, he or she will lead a campus-?wide effort to improve student centered institutional practices in ways that positively influence college choice and the transition to college. The person in this position is responsible for the development of both short term and long term goals and initiatives for enrollment management in order to improve student enrollment, retention, and campus image. He or she works collaboratively with the enrollment-?related units to maintain and analyze historical enrollment trends, set strategies, and develop recruitment and financial aid policies to meet enrollment goals. The successful candidate will work to support the university's mission and become actively involved in the University's Inclusive Excellence agenda.

The AVC should have significant experience in developing and executing a strategic enrollment plan designed to bring a diverse, academically well-?qualified set of students to the university (e.g., mix of new first-?year students and transfer students, geographic representation, race/ethnicity, first generation, veteran). He or she should have a clear understanding of admissions, financial aid, and the activities associated with recruitment efforts, including marketing and communications, admissions counselling and university relations. The AVC provides the leadership needed to achieve UW-?L's enrollment goals, including modest enrollment growth for domestic students, a robust enrollment plan for attracting international students, and adherence to high standards in a climate characterized by increased competition for students.

The AVC chairs the Enrollment Management Committee. This committee oversees campus-?wide recruitment and retention strategies and studies the student experience from first university contact through first post-?university destination. The AVC leads the Enrollment Services team meetings, comprising the directors of Financial Aid, Records and Registration, Admissions, Academic Advising Center, Career Services and International Education. In addition, the AVC sits on the Provost's Council, the Deans' Council, and represent the Provost as needed. He or she establishes short-?term and long-?term plans for open communication and sharing of Enrollment Management knowledge with University
offices and provides a channel for collaboration among key administrators.

The Office of the Provost/Vice Chancellor interacts with UW-?L's faculty, staff, and student communities. The office seeks to foster collaboration across the campus as it manages policies and practices that affect the academic life of the university as a whole. We at the University of Wisconsin-?La Crosse believe students, faculty, and staff are enriched by our exposure to differing ideas, opinions, and cultures. We strive to be a leader in Wisconsin's movement toward increased diversity and inclusiveness. We believe that employees from diverse backgrounds are critical to achieving excellence as a nationally recognized institution of higher education. We seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool. We strongly encourage applications from persons with diverse backgrounds and experiences.

A Master's degree is required and a doctorate is preferred. The successful candidate should have significant experience in higher education with progressively increasing responsibilities relating to enrollment management.

To apply, submit a Resume, a Cover Letter, and reference contact information by May 1st, 2013. For your reference contact information document, please include the names, email addresses and phone numbers of at least 3 professional references. If you have any questions about this position, please contact Dr. Robert Hoar, Search and Screen Chair, at rhoar@uwlax.edu. This is a full-time annual appointment with a starting date (negotiable) of July 1, 2013.

Please note that candidates must be legally entitled to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the U.S., a lawful permanent resident, an alien authorized to work in the U.S. without UW-?La Crosse sponsorship) at the time of hire and must be able to maintain a valid immigration and work authorization status throughout employment with UW-?L. If you have questions regarding this, please contact Human Resources at 608-?785-?8013.

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UW-La Crosse) provides a challenging, dynamic, and diverse learning environment in which the entire university community is fully engaged in supporting student success. Grounded in the liberal arts, UW-L fosters curiosity and life-long learning through collaboration, innovation, and the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge. Acknowledging and respecting the contributions of all, UW-L is a regional academic and cultural center that prepares students to take their place in a constantly changing world community.

UW-La Crosse's diversity and inclusion efforts are guided by our adherence to Inclusive Excellence. We define Inclusive Excellence as "... our active, intentional and ongoing commitment to bridge differences with understanding and respect so all can thrive." The goals of Inclusive Excellence are to increase the retention of diverse faculty, staff and students while encouraging a campus climate that is inviting and welcoming to all. UW-La Crosse strives to promote acceptance of all facets of diversity from racial/ethnic diversity to diversity of thought and experience.

UW-La Crosse has appeared prominently on the U.S. News & World Report list of "America's Best Colleges" for more than a decade and is ranked consistently as one of the top institutions in the Midwest. With a student population of roughly 10,000, the university offers 91 undergraduate programs in 29 disciplines and a variety of graduate programs in three colleges: Liberal Studies, Science and Health, and Business Administration, including the School of Arts & Communication and the School of Education. There are over 400 full-time faculty and instructional academic staff, 76 percent of whom hold terminal degrees. UW-La Crosse boasts a retention rate (freshmen returning as sophomores) of 85 percent, graduation rate (degree within six years) of 69 percent, and is among only 12 institutions cited nationally by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities for its success in linking campus culture and university leadership to outstanding graduation rates.

The UW-La Crosse campus is nestled in a residential area of the City of La Crosse (pop. 51,818) located in western Wisconsin. The area, known as the 7 Rivers Region, is famous for its exceptional natural beauty which includes the Mississippi River on one side, majestic bluffs on the other, and views of rolling farmland and forested valleys in between. Ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top ten "Best Places to Live" in 2009, La Crosse is one of the most scenic places in mid-America. Abundant water, woodlands and varying terrain provide ample opportunities for year-round outdoor recreation. Only a couple of hours from Minneapolis or Madison, La Crosse enjoys the affordability and charm of small town living with larger city benefits. Three colleges, two world-class medical institutions, the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra, a restored nineteenth century downtown business district, and a number of galleries and art centers have made La Crosse a regional center for culture, entertainment, medical care, shopping, sports and recreation.

UW-La Crosse is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We strive to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool, and we encourage applications from persons with varied backgrounds and perspectives. Please contact the Search and Screen Committee if you have a special need/accommodation to aid your participation in our hiring process.

As an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse is engaged in an effort to be a leader in Wisconsin?s movement toward increased diversity and inclusiveness. Please contact the Search and Screen Committee if you have a special need/accommodation to aid your participation in our hiring process.
Employment will require a criminal background check. A pending criminal charge or conviction will not necessarily disqualify an applicant. In compliance with the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act, UW-La Crosse does not discriminate on the basis of arrest or conviction record.
Under Wisconsin Statutes, we are required to provide, upon request, a list of nominees and applicants. As part of the application process, you may choose to be excluded from this list. Persons agreeing to be final candidates (to be interviewed) will have their identities revealed as final candidates.

Source: http://www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?JobCode=175736139

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