Astronomers have been able to capture and record the first moments when a massive star blows itself apart. After decades of searching, researchers have used the world's top telescopes to observe the remarkable event. Previously, scientists had only been able to study these "supernovas" several days after the event. The results, published in the journal Nature, show that within two hours of the blast, a giant fireball scattered radioactive debris across space.
Astronomers have been able to capture and record the first moments when a massive star blows itself apart.
After decades of searching, researchers have used the world's top telescopes to observe the remarkable event.
Previously, scientists had only been able to study these "supernovas" several days after the event.
The results, published in the journal Nature, show that within two hours of the blast, a giant fireball scattered radioactive debris across space.
Scientists witness death of a star - Telegraph
he death of a star has been witnessed as it occurred for the first time. Galaxies typically host a supernova - star death - only once or twice every century, making it nearly impossible to record one as it turns into a fleeting supernova that will shine brighter than billions of stars combined. The glimpse by a satellite of the spectacular outburst from the very beginning has allowed astronomers from around the world to quickly follow up with eight other orbiting and ground-based telescopes and collect a wealth of new information on what happens when a star explodes.
he death of a star has been witnessed as it occurred for the first time. Galaxies typically host a supernova - star death - only once or twice every century, making it nearly impossible to record one as it turns into a fleeting supernova that will shine brighter than billions of stars combined.
The glimpse by a satellite of the spectacular outburst from the very beginning has allowed astronomers from around the world to quickly follow up with eight other orbiting and ground-based telescopes and collect a wealth of new information on what happens when a star explodes.
In the original this morning it had more pictures.
Gone are the days of believing plants are just passive organisms. Earlier this year, researchers found that plants can communicate through little understood chemical mechanisms. Now scientists are even saying that plants can do something perhaps even more incredible: Control the weather. According to researchers at the Scottish Association for Marine Science and the University of Manchester, brown seaweed, kelp, has the ability to create cloudy days at the seaside. But why would plants want to alter weather patterns? Apparently, because cloudy days make the plants more comfortable. When the sky is overcast kelp are comfortable when the tide goes out, since they are able to stay moist until it comes back. On a bright day however, they dry out. When they start getting dry the plants become stressed and begin releasing iodide. The iodide rises, causing clouds to form overhead, which in turns protects the kelp from unwelcome sunshine. Kelp plays an important antipollution role in the removal of ozone close to the Earth's surface. Frithjof Küpper, of the Scottish Association for Marine Science, who led the research, explains that the benefit is mutual. Iodide can neutralize ozone in the atmosphere and, as it rises, "these chemicals act as condensation nuclei around which clouds may form". Hence we get a healthier atmosphere and the kelp also gets what it wants: Shade.
Gone are the days of believing plants are just passive organisms. Earlier this year, researchers found that plants can communicate through little understood chemical mechanisms. Now scientists are even saying that plants can do something perhaps even more incredible: Control the weather. According to researchers at the Scottish Association for Marine Science and the University of Manchester, brown seaweed, kelp, has the ability to create cloudy days at the seaside. But why would plants want to alter weather patterns? Apparently, because cloudy days make the plants more comfortable.
When the sky is overcast kelp are comfortable when the tide goes out, since they are able to stay moist until it comes back. On a bright day however, they dry out. When they start getting dry the plants become stressed and begin releasing iodide. The iodide rises, causing clouds to form overhead, which in turns protects the kelp from unwelcome sunshine.
Kelp plays an important antipollution role in the removal of ozone close to the Earth's surface. Frithjof Küpper, of the Scottish Association for Marine Science, who led the research, explains that the benefit is mutual. Iodide can neutralize ozone in the atmosphere and, as it rises, "these chemicals act as condensation nuclei around which clouds may form". Hence we get a healthier atmosphere and the kelp also gets what it wants: Shade.
Jewels of the Sea: Kelp Forests
Big-Bellied Seahorse (Jon Bryan) Did you know that....? Kelp leaves called fronds can grow up to 50 centimetres a day. Kelp forms dense canopies up to 35 metres above the seabed.
melo's recipe for fried kombu snack
cook 2 kombu leaves in boiling water (and whatever, add vegies for stock or brown rice)
remove kombu when it is soft enough to cut with the edge of a fork, but not yet squishy.
(if you cook it in beans it will eventually dissolve, like wakame, it just takes 5 times as long)
heat olive oil in a shallow frying pan, cut kombu into squares, and stir fry, turning frequently, with garlic and a splash of tamari, till kombu is krispy. it may spit and bubble, so keep a cover handy to avoid flying fat molecules! a few sesame seeds thrown in for added texture, if you like!
drain on paper towel, eat as is, or as accompaniment for whatever else you're eating...
when you taste how delicious this is, and take on board how nutritious it is too:-
What is so good about eating seaweed nutrition article
Seaweed is found naturally in the salt water oceans and seas. However, in Asia, seaweed cultivation is a major industry. They use a process called aquaculture in China, Korea, and Japan to cultivate Nori, Kombu, and Wakame. Some seaweeds are used in maritime countries for industrial purposes and as a fertilizer, but most seaweed is cultivated for food use. Large scale seaweed aquaculture is only found in Asia, where the demand is high for seaweed products and the market continues to grow. This process is low-technology and labor intensive. The whole, attached plants are placed in the water manually. Several attempts have been made to introduce high technology to reduce labor, but none of these are viable at present. China produces 59% of the world production of seaweed, Korea 11%, and Japan 10%. Beneficial nutrients in seaweed Some beneficial nutrients in seaweed include organic (photo-synthetic) vitamins, trace minerals, lipids, plant sterols, amino acids, omega-3 and omega-6, anti-oxidants, growth hormones, polyphenols, and flavenoids. Seaweed also contains Fucoidan, Laminarin, and Alginate compounds. Studies suggest that these are anti-biotic and anti-viral. Land plants do not contain these photochemicals.
more...
Professor Mike Guiry of the University of Ireland in Galway has done extensive studies of seaweeds. He promotes seaweed for good general health as well as for some specific issues. Seaweed nutrition and seaweed diets are becoming increasingly more popular, as the world discovers the health hazards of eating too much meat and high calorie, high carbohydrate foods. Seaweed helps people eat a balanced diet and is vegetarian and organic. Some people believe that farming has had drastic soil effects. We derive our minerals and vitamins from the fruits and vegetables that we eat that are grown in the soil. Some people feel that our food can no longer provide all the nutrients we need to protect us from sickness and disease. Many people are turning to the vegetation of the sea: seaweed. People are choosing seaweed diets and seaweed nutrition to have a balanced diet that gives them all the nutrients and trace elements they can't get in other foods. Seaweed is also believed to be a detoxifier and a healing agent, as well as protecting against breast and other cancers. Seaweed has been promoted for weight loss (by stimulating thyroid activity), boosting the immune system, decreasing blood sugar and cholesterol, increasing gastro-intestinal tract function, and for decreasing the symptoms of arthritis joint pains. If you can't or do not want to incorporate fresh seaweed into your diet, you can get seaweed nutrition from seaweed extract and seaweed pills, which contain all the nutritional vitamins and trace elements of fresh seaweed. These products are made from pure seaweed that is harvested by hand and is free of toxins. Be sure to purchase your seaweed extract and seaweed pills from a reputable company that certifies that their products are pure. You can purchase seaweed extract and seaweed pills at health food stores, or visit one of the seaweed websites online. You can also get more seaweed facts and learn about seaweed nutrition and how to have a balanced diet. There are even recipes for seafood salads and other dishes online for seaweed diets. If you can't or do not want to incorporate fresh seaweed into your diet, you can get seaweed nutrition from seaweed extract and seaweed pills, which contain all the nutritional vitamins and trace elements of fresh seaweed. These products are made from pure seaweed that is harvested by hand and is free of toxins. Be sure to purchase your seaweed extract and seaweed pills from a reputable company that certifies that their products are pure. You can purchase seaweed extract and seaweed pills at health food stores, or visit one of the seaweed websites online. You can also get more seaweed facts and learn about seaweed nutrition and how to have a balanced diet. There are even recipes for seafood salads and other dishes online for seaweed diets.
Professor Mike Guiry of the University of Ireland in Galway has done extensive studies of seaweeds. He promotes seaweed for good general health as well as for some specific issues. Seaweed nutrition and seaweed diets are becoming increasingly more popular, as the world discovers the health hazards of eating too much meat and high calorie, high carbohydrate foods. Seaweed helps people eat a balanced diet and is vegetarian and organic. Some people believe that farming has had drastic soil effects. We derive our minerals and vitamins from the fruits and vegetables that we eat that are grown in the soil. Some people feel that our food can no longer provide all the nutrients we need to protect us from sickness and disease. Many people are turning to the vegetation of the sea: seaweed. People are choosing seaweed diets and seaweed nutrition to have a balanced diet that gives them all the nutrients and trace elements they can't get in other foods. Seaweed is also believed to be a detoxifier and a healing agent, as well as protecting against breast and other cancers. Seaweed has been promoted for weight loss (by stimulating thyroid activity), boosting the immune system, decreasing blood sugar and cholesterol, increasing gastro-intestinal tract function, and for decreasing the symptoms of arthritis joint pains. If you can't or do not want to incorporate fresh seaweed into your diet, you can get seaweed nutrition from seaweed extract and seaweed pills, which contain all the nutritional vitamins and trace elements of fresh seaweed. These products are made from pure seaweed that is harvested by hand and is free of toxins. Be sure to purchase your seaweed extract and seaweed pills from a reputable company that certifies that their products are pure. You can purchase seaweed extract and seaweed pills at health food stores, or visit one of the seaweed websites online. You can also get more seaweed facts and learn about seaweed nutrition and how to have a balanced diet. There are even recipes for seafood salads and other dishes online for seaweed diets.
If you can't or do not want to incorporate fresh seaweed into your diet, you can get seaweed nutrition from seaweed extract and seaweed pills, which contain all the nutritional vitamins and trace elements of fresh seaweed. These products are made from pure seaweed that is harvested by hand and is free of toxins. Be sure to purchase your seaweed extract and seaweed pills from a reputable company that certifies that their products are pure. You can purchase seaweed extract and seaweed pills at health food stores, or visit one of the seaweed websites online. You can also get more seaweed facts and learn about seaweed nutrition and how to have a balanced diet. There are even recipes for seafood salads and other dishes online for seaweed diets.
any other ET'ers love to eat seaweed too? if i don't eat it several times a week, i feel the difference.
it could offer a real benefit to feeding the very hungry, as if you're going to reduce quantity, quality becomes much more important. ~"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." Karl Jung~
I'm quite enthusaistic about trying different types prepared in different ways, I've never really had access to seaweed so don't know what there is and what can be done. It's like foraging in general, I'm enthusaistic but don't know where to start. keep to the Fen Causeway
ka-pow!
the first time i had wakame was with tomato salad. thought i'd died and gone to japanese-italian food heaven. ~"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." Karl Jung~
Excerpt: 'The Woman Who Can't Forget' by Jill Price Prologue I know very well how tyrannical the memory can be. I have the first diagnosed case of a memory condition that the scientists who have studied me termed hyperthymestic syndrome -- the continuous, automatic autobiographical recall of every day of my life from when I was age fourteen on. My memory started to become shockingly complete in 1974, when I was eight years old. From 1980 on, it is near perfect. Give me a date from that year forward and I can instantly tell you what day of the week it was, what I did on that day, and any major event that took place -- or even minor events -- as long as I heard about them on that day. <...> Though I hate the idea of losing any of my memories, it's also true that learning how to manage a life in the present with so much of the past continually replaying itself in my mind has been quite a challenge, often a debilitating one. I have struggled through many difficult episodes of being emotionally overwhelmed by my memory through the course of my life. Then finally I decided I had to reach out and try to discover whatever I could about what was going on in my head and why.
by Jill Price
Prologue
I know very well how tyrannical the memory can be. I have the first diagnosed case of a memory condition that the scientists who have studied me termed hyperthymestic syndrome -- the continuous, automatic autobiographical recall of every day of my life from when I was age fourteen on. My memory started to become shockingly complete in 1974, when I was eight years old. From 1980 on, it is near perfect. Give me a date from that year forward and I can instantly tell you what day of the week it was, what I did on that day, and any major event that took place -- or even minor events -- as long as I heard about them on that day. <...>
Though I hate the idea of losing any of my memories, it's also true that learning how to manage a life in the present with so much of the past continually replaying itself in my mind has been quite a challenge, often a debilitating one. I have struggled through many difficult episodes of being emotionally overwhelmed by my memory through the course of my life. Then finally I decided I had to reach out and try to discover whatever I could about what was going on in my head and why.
Here is a radio interview with Jill Price from Tuesday in which she demonstrates her perfect memory, but at the same time sadly comes across as a very unhappy woman. ... all progress depends on the unreasonable mensch.(apologies to G.B. Shaw)
As the saying goes, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's reasonable to assume it's a duck. In light of a new rodent study, environmental scientists worry that the same might apply to asbestos.Certain long carbon nanotubes -- tiny cylinders only 20 micrometers long and perhaps a few micrometers wide -- have the same basic dimensions as toxic asbestos fibers. A broad body of data has suggested that the damage caused by asbestos traces more to its physical dimensions than its chemical recipe. So scientists had begun over the past few years expressing concerns that long nanotubes could trigger characteristic asbestos disease, especially mesothelioma -- an unusual cancer that is nearly always fatal.Support for such concerns emerges in the new study, although the study's duration was too short and its design too simplistic to prove such a link. For instance, asbestos diseases develop slowly over many years, and this study lasted only seven days. Asbestos diseases result from inhalation of toxic mineral fibers, which over time migrate through the wall of the lung to produce disease on the breathing organ's exterior surface. Here, the researchers released the fibers into the abdomen, giving them direct access to the lung's exterior mesothelial tissue, where mesothelioma develops.
As the saying goes, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's reasonable to assume it's a duck. In light of a new rodent study, environmental scientists worry that the same might apply to asbestos.
Certain long carbon nanotubes -- tiny cylinders only 20 micrometers long and perhaps a few micrometers wide -- have the same basic dimensions as toxic asbestos fibers. A broad body of data has suggested that the damage caused by asbestos traces more to its physical dimensions than its chemical recipe. So scientists had begun over the past few years expressing concerns that long nanotubes could trigger characteristic asbestos disease, especially mesothelioma -- an unusual cancer that is nearly always fatal.
Support for such concerns emerges in the new study, although the study's duration was too short and its design too simplistic to prove such a link. For instance, asbestos diseases develop slowly over many years, and this study lasted only seven days. Asbestos diseases result from inhalation of toxic mineral fibers, which over time migrate through the wall of the lung to produce disease on the breathing organ's exterior surface. Here, the researchers released the fibers into the abdomen, giving them direct access to the lung's exterior mesothelial tissue, where mesothelioma develops.
Photographing a Wedding and then an Earthquake | lelandwong's Xanga Site - Weblog
Photographing a Wedding and then an EarthquakeCan you imagine what it was like to have been photographing a wedding in Sichuan, China when 7.9earthquake hit and shakes for three minutes? (photos courtesy of Dragon Photo, ND Daily and Sohu.com)
