Monthly Archives: March 2011

New approach to programming may boost \’green\’ computing

A Binghamton University computer scientist with an interest in \”green\” software development has received the National Science Foundation\’s most prestigious award for young researchers. Yu David Liu received a five-year, $448,641 grant from the NSF\’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program. The highly competitive grants support junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through […] … learn more→

Against the tide: Currents keep dolphins apart

Conservationists from the Wildlife Conservation Society, the American Museum of Natural History, and other conservation and research groups have discovered that groups of dolphins in the western Indian Ocean do not mix freely with one another. In fact, dolphin populations are kept separate by currents and other unseen factors. Specifically, the researchers have found that […] … learn more→

Pulling an all-nighter can bring on euphoria and risky behavior

A sleepless night can make us cranky and moody. But a lesser known side effect of sleep deprivation is short-term euphoria, which can potentially lead to poor judgment and addictive behavior, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley. Researchers at UC Berkeley and Harvard Medical School studied the brains of healthy young […] … learn more→

New software calculates heating costs in greenhouse operations

In parts of the United States where ornamental and vegetable plants are produced in greenhouses during cold seasons, heating costs are second only to labor costs for greenhouse operators. Greenhouse growers are faced with important management decisions that rely on understanding how temperature settings, heating systems, fuel types, and construction decisions influence their heating costs. […] … learn more→

Ancient trash heaps gave rise to Everglades tree islands

Garbage mounds left by prehistoric humans might have driven the formation of many of the Florida Everglades\’ tree islands, distinctive havens of exceptional ecological richness in the sprawling marsh that are today threatened by human development. Tree islands are patches of relatively high and dry ground that dot the marshes of the Everglades. Typically a […] … learn more→

Traumatizing your DNA

When the Human Genome Project ended a decade ago, scientists thought that they\’d closed the lid on all that\’s to be known about our genes. But what they really did was open a Pandora\’s Box, says theoretical evolutionary biologist Prof. Eva Jablonka of Tel Aviv University\’s Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science […] … learn more→

UK coastlines in danger

\”We are an island nation; we live and die by the sea,\” he says. \”Even if protecting the coastline does not make sense in cost-benefit terms, it is vital to our national character and identity.\” … learn more→