Everything at the Membrane Domain
Researchers have found that bats have neurons called “place cells” that help them navigate three-dimensional spaces. Rats have similar cells but only create 2-D maps for flat surfaces.
Similar to a point on a map representing a location, each place cell represented a specific area of the environment. The place cells create a 3-D map for the bats to navigate.
Scientists have unveiled partial skeletons of the two million-year-old species Australopithecus sediba that were discovered in South Africa in 2008.
“All of the research so far shows that sediba had a mosaic of primitive traits and newer traits that suggest it was a bridge between earlier australopiths and the first humans,” said Professor Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg of Ohio State University. That is to say, the skeletons showed some traits of humans and some traits of chimpanzees.
A conversation on FaceBook about the Universal Hum / Om:
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Also of interest:
When an opera singer shatters glass — standing wave
* resonant vibration *
“A standing wave is formed when energy moves in two directions at once.”
G1 (Minor) storming is expected on March 16th and G2 (Moderate) geomagnetic storming is expected on the 17th from this morning’s coronal mass ejection. The CME is the bright loop leaving the Sun to the upper left of the circular center in the image below (Image Credit ESA/NASA SOHO LASCO).
A British start-up company has invented a new type of piano.
“Evolved from the piano keyboard, the Seaboard is a new musical instrument which bridges the gap between acoustic and digital music by putting the control of pitch, volume and timbre right at your fingertips.”
The way in which you touch the keys changes the sound. For instance, you can bend notes similar to how you would on a guitar.
“The patent-pending SEA Interface is ROLI’s disruptive platform sensor technology. SEA stands for Sensory, Elastic and Adaptive. SEA Interfaces are highly precise, information-rich, and pressure-sensitive, and can be built in any form factor. They enable seamless transitions between discrete and continuous input, and capture three-dimensional gestures while simultaneously providing the user with tactile feedback.”
by the National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration
What is Global Warming?
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Why is Global Warming important?Temperature increases will have significant impacts on human activities, including: where we can live, what food we can grow, how and where we can grow food, and where organisms we consider pests can thrive. To be prepared for the effects of these potential impacts we need to know how much the Earth is warming, how long the Earth has been warming, and what has caused the warming. Answers to these questions provide us with a better basis for making decisions related to issues such as water resources and agricultural planning. |
What is the Greenhouse Effect?
Life on Earth would be very different without the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect keeps the long term annual average temperature of the Earth’s surface approximately 32°C (or about 58°F) higher than it would be otherwise. |
How is the Greenhouse Effect related to Global Warming?Greenhouse gases occur naturally in the Earth’s atmosphere, but are also being added by human activities. This happens primarily through the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas, which releases carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Over the past century, atmospheric carbon dioxide (as measured from ice cores) has increased due to human activities from 300 to 380 parts per million (ppm), and the average Earth temperature has increased approximately 0.7°C (or about 1.3°F). |
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| Given what we know about the ability of greenhouse gases to warm the Earth’s surface, it is reasonable to expect that as concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere rise above natural levels, the Earth’s surface will become increasingly warm. Many scientists have now concluded that global warming can be explained by a human-caused enhancement of the greenhouse effect.
It is important to remember both that the greenhouse effect occurs naturally, and that it has been intensified by humankind’s input of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. |
Are Ozone Holes related to Global Warming or the Greenhouse Effect?
The formation of ozone holes is related to global warming and the greenhouse effect in two ways. First, CFCs are greenhouse gases. Thus, the release of these compounds into the atmosphere will have two separate effects: to destroy ozone and to add to the greenhouse effect. Second, if stratospheric temperatures or patterns of atmospheric circulation change as part of global warming, this will affect the chemical reactions that destroy ozone and cause the ozone holes to either grow or shrink. |
 For daily updated images of the ozone, please visit NOAA’s Stratosphere: SBUV-2 Total Ozone Page with images of the ozone from the NOAA-14 Satellite by clicking here or on image at left. |
EARTH — NASA has been watching an asteroid, Asteroid 2012 DA14, fly near Earth; however, they missed another asteroid that became a meteor in Russia. An asteroid when it enters the Earth’s atmosphere. Usually, they burn up upon entry. Not this time.
A Russian health official estimated 1,000 people were injured when a 10 ton meteor exploded in the sky. A resident said, “There was panic. People had no idea what was happening. Everyone was going around to people’s houses to check if they were OK. We saw a big burst of light, then went outside to see what it was and we heard a really loud thundering sound.”
The sonic boom shattered 1,000,000 square feet of glass.
NASA says, “”According to NASA scientists, the trajectory of the Russian meteorite was significantly different than the trajectory of the asteroid 2012 DA14, making it a completely unrelated object. Information is still being collected about the Russian meteorite and analysis is preliminary at this point. In videos of the meteor, it is seen to pass from left to right in front of the rising sun, which means it was traveling from north to south. Asteroid DA14’s trajectory is in the opposite direction, from south to north.”
The body of King Richard III was found in a parking lot. The physical appearance, including a curved spine, an arrowhead and other battle wounds, led scientists to believe it is King Richard III. DNA tests have since confirmed it is Richard.
Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat at the Battle of Bosworth Field was the decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses and is sometimes regarded as the end of the Middle Ages in England. He is the subject of an eponymous play by William Shakespeare.
Richard’s death at Bosworth resulted in the end of the Plantagenet dynasty, which had ruled England since the succession of Henry II in 1154. The last male Plantagenet, Edward, Earl of Warwick (son of Richard III’s brother Clarence), was executed by Henry VII in 1499.
Richard’s Council of the North, derived from his ducal council, greatly improved conditions for Northern England, as commoners of that region were formerly without any substantial economic activity independent of London. Its descendant position was Secretary of State for the Northern Department.
In December 1483 Richard instituted what later became known as the Court of Requests, a court to which poor people who could not afford legal representation could apply for their grievances to be heard.[49] He also introduced bail in January 1484 to protect suspected felons from imprisonment before trial and to protect their property from seizure during that time.[50] He founded the College of Arms in 1484,[51] he banned restrictions on the printing and sale of books,[52] and he ordered the translation of the written Laws and Statutes from the traditional French into English.
Human Induced Climate Change Experiment
A study mandated by congress highlights the cost of global warming to United States citizens. One of the most significant costs is the impact of more severe weather events.
A LETTER TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
Climate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present. This report of the National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee concludes that the evidence for a changing climate has strengthened considerably since the last National Climate Assessment report, written in 2009. Many more impacts of human-caused climate change have now been observed. Corn producers in Iowa, oyster growers in Washington State, and maple syrup producers in Vermont have observed changes in their local climate that are outside of their experience. So, too, have coastal planners from Florida to Maine, water managers in the arid Southwest and parts of the Southeast, and Native Americans on tribal lands across the nation.
Americans are noticing changes all around them. Summers are longer and hotter, and periods of extreme heat last longer than any living American has ever experienced. Winters are generally shorter and warmer. Rain comes in heavier downpours, though in many regions there are longer dry spells in between.
Other changes are even more dramatic. Residents of some coastal cities see their streets flood more regularly during storms and high tides. Inland cities near large rivers also experience more flooding, especially in the Midwest and Northeast. Hotter and drier weather and earlier snow melt mean that wildfires in the West start earlier in the year, last later into the fall, threaten more homes, cause more evacuations, and burn more acreage. In Alaska, the summer sea ice that once protected the coasts has receded, and fall storms now cause more erosion and damage that is severe enough that some communities are already facing relocation.
Scientists studying climate change confirm that these observations are consistent with Earth’s climatic trends. Long-term, independent records from weather stations, satellites, ocean buoys, tide gauges, and many other data sources all confirm the fact that our nation, like the rest of the world, is warming, precipitation patterns are changing, sea level is rising, and some types of extreme weather events are increasing. These and other observed climatic changes are having 26 wide-ranging impacts in every region of our country and most sectors of our economy. Some of these changes can be beneficial, such as longer growing seasons in many regions and a longer shipping season on the Great Lakes. But many more have already proven to be detrimental, largely because society and its infrastructure were designed for the climate of the past, not for the rapidly changing climate of the present or the future.
This National Climate Assessment collects, integrates, and assesses observations and research from around the country, helping to show what is actually happening and what it means for peoples’ lives, livelihoods, and future. This report includes analyses of impacts on seven selected sectors: human health, water, energy, transportation, agriculture, forests, and ecosystems and biodiversity. This report additionally focuses on the interactions among several sectors at the national level. It also assesses key impacts on the regions of the U.S.: Northeast, Southeast and Caribbean, Midwest, Great Plains, Southwest, Northwest, Alaska and the Arctic, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands; as well as coastal areas, oceans, and marine resources. Finally, this report is the first to explicitly assess the current state of adaptation, mitigation, and decision support activities.
STUDY
8. Ecosystems, Biodiversity, and Ecosystem Services
10. Water, Energy, and Land Use
11. Urban Systems, Infrastructure, and Vulnerability
12. Impacts of Climate Change on Tribal, Indigenous, and Native Lands and Resources
13. Land Use and Land Cover Change
15. Interactions of Climate Change and Biogeochemical Cycles
23. Hawaii and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands
24. Oceans and Marine Resources
25. Coastal Zone Development and Ecosystems
Introduction to Response Strategies
29. Research Agenda for Climate Change Science
30. The NCA Long-Term Process: Vision and Future Development
Appendix I: NCA Climate Science – Addressing Commonly Asked Questions from A to Z
A quote from Linux Slackware: “A bird in the hand is safer than one overhead.”
Our planet absorbs radiant energy from the sun and emits some of that energy back to space. The term 
The formation of ozone holes is related to these scientific issues, yet is still distinct.