Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Afghan woman killed, apparently for bearing girl

FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011 file photo, an Afghan woman, center, peeks inside a hospital while she and others wait for an employee to let them enter, on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. An Afghan woman has been strangled to death, apparently by her husband, who was upset that she gave birth to a second daughter rather than the son he wanted, police said Monday. It was the latest in a series of grisly examples of subjugation of women that have made headlines in Afghanistan in the past few months including a 15-year-old tortured and forced into prostitution by in-laws and a female rape victim who was imprisoned for adultery. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011 file photo, an Afghan woman, center, peeks inside a hospital while she and others wait for an employee to let them enter, on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. An Afghan woman has been strangled to death, apparently by her husband, who was upset that she gave birth to a second daughter rather than the son he wanted, police said Monday. It was the latest in a series of grisly examples of subjugation of women that have made headlines in Afghanistan in the past few months including a 15-year-old tortured and forced into prostitution by in-laws and a female rape victim who was imprisoned for adultery. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011 file photo, an Afghan woman carries her sick child to the emergency room at Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. An Afghan woman has been strangled to death, apparently by her husband, who was upset that she gave birth to a second daughter rather than the son he wanted, police said Monday. It was the latest in a series of grisly examples of subjugation of women that have made headlines in Afghanistan in the past few months including a 15-year-old tortured and forced into prostitution by in-laws and a female rape victim who was imprisoned for adultery. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, March 8, 2007 file photo, Afghan women look at photographs on display during a fair organized by United Nation Assistance Mission in Afghanistan to mark Women's Day at a women's park in Kabul, Afghanistan. An Afghan woman has been strangled to death, apparently by her husband, who was upset that she gave birth to a second daughter rather than the son he wanted, police said Monday. It was the latest in a series of grisly examples of subjugation of women that have made headlines in Afghanistan in the past few months including a 15-year-old tortured and forced into prostitution by in-laws and a female rape victim who was imprisoned for adultery. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? An Afghan woman has been strangled to death, apparently by her husband, who was upset that she gave birth to a second daughter rather than the son he wanted, police said Monday.

It was the latest in a series of grisly examples of subjugation of women that have made headlines in Afghanistan in the past few months ? including a 15-year-old tortured and forced into prostitution by in-laws and a female rape victim who was imprisoned for adultery.

The episodes have raised the question of what will happen to the push for women's rights in Afghanistan as the international presence here shrinks along with the military drawdown. NATO forces are scheduled to pull out by the end of 2014.

In the 10 years since the ouster of the Taliban, great strides have been made for women in Afghanistan, with many attending school, working in offices and even sometimes marching in protests. But abuse and repression of women are still common, particularly in rural areas where women are still unlikely to set foot outside of the house without a burqa robe that covers them from head to toe.

The man in the latest case, Sher Mohammad, fled the Khanabad district in Kunduz province last week, about the time a neighbor found his 22-year-old wife dead in their house, said District Police Chief Sufi Habibullah. Medical examiners whom police brought to check the body said she had been strangled, Habibullah said.

The woman, named Estorai, had warned family members that her husband had repeatedly reproached her for giving birth to a daughter rather than a son and had threatened to kill her if it happened again, said Provincial women's affairs chief Nadira Ghya, who traveled to Khanabad to deal with the case. Estorai gave birth to her second daughter between two and three months ago, Ghya said. Officials did not have a family name for either Sher Mohammad or Estorai.

Police took the man's mother into custody because she appears to have collaborated in a plot to kill her daughter-in-law, Habibullah said. Ghya, who visited the man's mother in jail, said that she swears that Estorai committed suicide by hanging. Police said they found no rope and no evidence of hanging from the woman's wounds.

Boy babies are traditionally prized much more highly than girls in Afghanistan, where a son means a breadwinner and a daughter is seen as a drain on the family until she is married off. Even so, a murder over the gender of a baby would be rare and shocking if proved true.

The U.S. Embassy issued a statement Monday praising the Afghan government for recent declarations supporting women's rights in the wake of the latest abuse cases that have garnered media attention.

"The rights of women cannot be relegated to the margins of international affairs, as this issue is at the core of our national security and the security of people everywhere," the statement said. It did not address the killing of the young woman in Kunduz.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-30-AS-Afghanistan/id-9ed9aa939f88461c869074e74cfc937d

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Retired Greyhounds as Pets | fox4kc.com ? Kansas City news ...

9:45 am, January 30, 2012, by Jason M. Vaughn

You know what makes a great pet? A retired racing greyhound, that?s what! Cher Oliver of Retired Greyhounds as Pets stopped by the FOX 4 Morning Show with more information.

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Source: http://fox4kc.com/2012/01/30/retired-greyhounds-as-pets/

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WPSL suspends 2012 season

updated 6:30 p.m. ET Jan. 30, 2012

SAN FRANCISCO - Women's Professional Soccer won't play the 2012 season amid a legal dispute with an ousted owner.

The league's Board of Governors voted Monday to suspend the season with hopes of resuming in 2013, the WPS announced.

In October, it terminated its South Florida franchise after clashing with owner Dan Borislow all season. A Florida judge ruled earlier this month that the league failed to follow its own dispute procedures when it terminated the franchise, and another court hearing is set for Wednesday.

WPS CEO Jennifer O'Sullivan said owners chose to cancel the season over possibly working with Borislow in the league again.

"We have diverted so many resources into litigation," she said. "This is something that needs to be resolved before we can move forward with play."

Borislow purchased the former Washington Freedom before last season and moved the club to South Florida, renaming it for a telephone call device he invented. The magicJack franchise was repeatedly disciplined during the season for not meeting league standards. In August, after Borislow filed suit against the WPS, the league released a statement accusing him of violations ranging from "unprofessional and disparaging treatment of his players to failure to pay his bills."

The league has played three seasons. It needed a waiver from the U.S. Soccer Federation to be sanctioned as a first-division league in 2012 with only five teams, below the required eight. In the deal with the governing body in December, WPS agreed to increase the number of teams to a minimum of six for 2013 and at least eight for 2014.

A longtime thoroughbred owner, Borislow was an outspoken figure in horse racing but sold most of his stable because of a dispute with the IRS.

O'Sullivan was not yet CEO when he was approved as an owner, but she acknowledged the vetting process might have been hurried.

"I do think the league at the time was in a situation where they were in a bit of a rush," she said.

With the Olympics this summer, the league's absence could give national team players more time to train together even if it means fewer games for them to play. The attention paid to the Olympics would have been valuable marketing for the WPS during the 2012 season.

The league's predecessor, the Women's United Soccer Association, folded after three years.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Arsenal recovers

Roundup: Arsenal kept its bid to end a seven-year trophy drought on track Sunday.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46191711/ns/sports-soccer/

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Monday, January 30, 2012

Baylor still No. 1 in AP women's basketball poll (AP)

Baylor remains the unanimous No. 1 choice in The Associated Press women's college basketball poll.

The Lady Bears received all the first-place votes Monday for the ninth straight week after routing Oklahoma and Kansas. Baylor visits Missouri and Kansas State this week.

Notre Dame, Connecticut, Stanford and Duke followed the Lady Bears. Connecticut and Duke play each other on Monday night. Kentucky was sixth. Miami, Tennessee, Maryland and Green Bay round out the first 10. It is the highest ranking ever for the Phoenix, who along with Baylor are the only unbeaten teams left in Division I.

Georgia Tech entered the poll for the first time this season at No. 24. The Yellow Jackets host N.C. State on Thursday.

DePaul dropped out of the Top 25.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_sp_co_ap_po/bkw_t25_women_s_bkb_poll

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Police checking robbery find 5 dead in home

Authorities investigating a robbery at a house in Birmingham found five people dead in the home on Sunday.

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Sgt. Johnny Williams says officers arrived at the house around 3:30 a.m. Sunday after getting a call that a robbery was in progress.

The officers soon discovered the five victims inside.

The victims were not identified.

Police have launched a homicide investigation, but there have been no arrests or charges filed in the case.

Brenda Houston, who lives across the street from the west Birmingham house where the bodies were found, said the house had been rented for about a year and a half by a woman in her late 40s and her son and brothers.

"They would speak to us, and that's all we knew," she said. "We didn't know their names but they were always friendly."

Houston, 64, said her street was a quiet one filled with older residents who were friendly with each other. She said there was a constant stream of visitors coming in and out of the home, but that the residents never seemed to cause any disturbances.

"Most people are in a state of shock. They never had any trouble over there," Houston said. "I never seen the police over there. This was really strange that this happened. It wasn't like they were real rowdy."

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46181275/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

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Woman gets life sentence in Md. yoga shop murder (AP)

ROCKVILLE, Md. ? A woman convicted of killing her co-worker at an upscale yoga clothing shop in the Washington suburbs, then spinning an elaborate lie about being attacked by two masked men, was ordered Friday to spend the rest of her life behind bars.

A judge sentenced Brittany Norwood, 29, to life in prison without parole, rejecting defense pleas that she deserved an eventual shot at rehabilitation and freedom.

A jury in November convicted Norwood of first-degree murder for bludgeoning and stabbing 30-year-old Jayna Murray, a co-worker at the Lululemon Athletica shop in Bethesda. Prosecutors said Norwood brutally attacked Murray with at least five weapons, including a knife and a hammer, during a fight March 11 after they closed the shop for the day. They said Norwood then doctored the scene to support her story that intruders had attacked and sexually assaulted them.

Murray was found the next morning in a pool of blood at the back of the store, with more than 330 distinct wounds. Norwood was found nearby, tied up, with superficial wounds on her hands and face. Her pants were slit at the crotch.

Norwood's allegations set off panic. Montgomery County police went on a manhunt and fielded hundreds of tips. The store is nestled along a corridor of high-end shops and trendy restaurants in Bethesda, an affluent suburb where violent crime is rare. Some residents and shoppers admitted to feeling anxious at night after Norwood's account of the attack became public.

But the tale unraveled within days as police identified her as their sole suspect. Workers at an adjacent Apple store told police they had heard two women arguing. Investigators found only two sets of footprints in the store. Norwood alleged she was sexually assaulted, but an examination did not back up the claim. And Norwood's DNA was found inside Murray's car. Police arrested Norwood six days after Murray's body was found.

Norwood's lawyers conceded at the outset of the trial that Norwood had killed Murray, but said she had simply "lost it" in a moment of irrationality and didn't have the required forethought to be convicted of first-degree murder. A jury rejected that argument after about an hour of deliberation, finding her guilty of first-degree murder.

The jury did not hear a motive for the killing, but investigators previously said the women fought after Murray found what she thought was stolen merchandise in Norwood's bag.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_us/us_yoga_shop_killing

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

UN nuclear officials want Iranian cooperation (AP)

VIENNA ? The head of a U.N. nuclear team traveling to Iran on Saturday urged the country to work with his mission on probing Tehran's alleged attempts to develop an atomic arms program, adding such cooperation is long overdue.

The unusually blunt comments by International Atomic Energy Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts reflected the importance the IAEA is attaching to the chief focus of the trip ? ending more than three years of Iranian refusal to answer questions about such suspicions.

Ahead of departure, Nackaerts told reporters at Vienna airport he hopes Iran "will engage with us on all concerns."

"So we're looking forward to the start of a dialogue," he said: "A dialogue that is overdue since very long."

Diplomats said Iran had accepted the inclusion of two senior weapons experts ? Jacques Baute of France and Neville Whiting of South Africa ? with relatively little fuss. That suggests the Islamic Republic may be prepared to address some issues related to the allegations.

Also on the team is Rafael Grossi, IAEA chief Yukiya Amano's right-hand man.

Any progress would be significant.

Tehran has blocked IAEA attempts for more than three years to follow up on U.S. and other intelligence, dismissing the charges as baseless and insisting all its nuclear activities were peaceful and under IAEA purview.

Faced with Iranian stonewalling, the IAEA summarized its body of information in November, in a 13-page document drawing on 1,000 pages of intelligence. It stated then for the first time that some of the alleged experiments can have no other purpose than developing nuclear weapons.

Iran continues to deny the charges and no change in its position is expected during the three-day Tehran talks with IAEA officials. But even a decision to enter a discussion over the allegations would be a major departure from outright refusal to talk about them.

The diplomats said that the IAEA team was looking for permission to talk to key Iranian scientists suspected of weapons work, inspect documents relating to such suspected work and get commitments for future visits to sites linked to such allegations.

Iran says it is enriching only to generate energy. But it has also started producing uranium at a higher level than its main stockpile ? a move that would jump-start the creation of highly enriched, weapons-grade uranium, should it chose to go that route. And it is moving its higher-enriched operation into an underground bunker that it says is safe from attack.

__

AP video reporter Philipp Jenne contributed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_re_eu/iran_nuclear

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Prejudices? Quite normal!

Friday, January 27, 2012

Girls are not as good at playing football as boys, and they do not have a clue about cars. Instead they know better how to dance and do not get into mischief as often as boys. Prejudices like these are cultivated from early childhood onwards by everyone. "Approximately at the age of three to four years children start to prefer children of the same sex, and later the same ethnic group or nationality," Prof. Dr. Andreas Beelmann of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany) states. This is part of an entirely normal personality development, the director of the Institute for Psychology explains. "It only gets problematic when the more positive evaluation of the own social group, which is adopted automatically in the course of identity formation, at some point reverts into bias and discrimination against others," Beelmann continues.

To prevent this, the Jena psychologist and his team have been working on a prevention programme for children. It is designed to reduce prejudice and to encourage tolerance for others. But when is the right time to start? Jena psychologists Dr. Tobias Raabe and Prof. Dr. Andreas Beelmann systematically summarise scientific studies on that topic and published the results of their research in the science journal Child Development (DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01668.x.).

According to this, the development of prejudice increases steadily at pre-school age and reaches its highest level between five and seven years of age. With increasing age this development is reversed and the prejudices decline. "This reflects normal cognitive development of children," Prof. Beelmann explains. "At first they adopt the social categories from their social environment, mainly the parents. Then they start to build up their own social identity according to social groups, before they finally learn to differentiate and individual evaluations of others will prevail over stereotypes." Therefore the psychologists reckon this age is the ideal time to start well-designed prevention programmes against prejudice. "Prevention starting at that age supports the normal course of development," Beelmann says. As the new study and the experience of the Jena psychologists with their prevention programme so far show, the prejudices are strongly diminished at primary school age, when children get in touch with members of so-called social out groups like, for instance children of a different nationality or skin colour. "This also works when they don't even get in touch with real people but learn it instead via books or told stories."

But at the same time the primary school age is a critical time for prejudices to consolidate. "If there is no or only a few contact to members of social out groups, there is no personal experience to be made and generalising negative evaluations stick longer." In this, scientists see an explanation for the particularly strong xenophobia in regions with a very low percentage of foreigners or migrants.

Moreover the Jena psychologists noticed that social ideas and prejudices are formed differently in children of social minorities. They do not have a negative attitude towards the majority to start with, more often it is even a positive one. The reason is the higher social status of the majority, which is being regarded as a role model. Only later, after having experienced discrimination, they develop prejudices, that then sticks with them much more persistently than with other children. "In this case prevention has to start earlier so it doesn't even get that far," Beelmann is convinced.

Generally, the psychologist of the Jena University stresses, the results of the new study don't imply that the children's and youths attitudes towards different social groups can't be changed at a later age. But this would then less depend on the individual development and very much more on the social environment like for instance changing social norms in our society. Tolerance on the other hand could be encouraged at any age. The psychologists' "prescription": As many diverse contacts to individuals belonging to different social groups as possible. "People who can identify with many groups will be less inclined to make sweeping generalisations in the evaluation of individuals belonging to different social groups or even to discriminate against them," Prof. Beelmann says.

###

Raabe T, Beelmann A.: Development of ethnic, racial, and national prejudice in childhood and adolescence: A multinational meta-analysis of age differences. Child Development. 2011; 82(6):1715-37. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01668.x.

Friedrich-Schiller-Universitaet Jena: http://www.uni-jena.de

Thanks to Friedrich-Schiller-Universitaet Jena for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117152/Prejudices__Quite_normal_

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UFC on Fox 2?s Mike Russow balances police work and fighting

CHICAGO -- As a rookie police officer, Mike Russow was assigned to work a Chicago Bulls game at the United Center in 2003. On Saturday, he will be back at the United Center. This time, instead of keeping the peace, he'll fight Jon Olav Einemo at UFC on Fox 2.

While putting together a record of 14-1 with three wins in the UFC, Russow has kept his day job in the Chicago Police Department. Russow currently patrols the third district on the city's South Side. He is understandably hesitant to give specifics about the details of his daily work,? but said that he has been recognized as a fighter when on the job.

"I had someone who I was arresting for a warrant, and he saw the Chicago Sun-Times picture that day. He noticed," Russow said.

Though Russow can't use his Octagon-worthy moves on offenders, he says police work and fighting share a mental side.

"You have to be calm. There's a lot of situations with police work where it's scary. You're clearing a house, by yourself, it's dark, no lights, and you don't know if the offender is in there. It's just like in the cage."

His calm demeanor came in handy when Russow fought Todd Duffee at UFC 114.

"When I was fighting Todd Duffee, he was beating my ass. I stayed calm, hung in there, and got a lucky punch. I think that's how it helps. Being mentally tough."

He broke his left arm early in the bout, and was having trouble with his right arm. Still he knew he had to pull something out to get the win.

"It was like an effortless punch. The right technique, and the right time, and I hit him and he went down. I was coming off of elbow surgery, and I couldn't extend my right arm all the way. My left arm broke. I knew something was wrong. Right before that I thought, I got to do something."

After beating Duffee, Russow TKOed Jon Madsen. Those wins earned him a shot at Einemo, a highly decorated grappler. Because of Einemo's ground skills, Russow hopes to keep the fight standing.

"I've really worked a lot on my stand-up game. He's a world-class jiu jitsu guy, so even if I did get the takedown, I don't know if I want to play in his world. I'm more or less going to try and control him and keep it standing."

To prepare for this bout, Russow used up all of his vacation time and spent time just training. Most UFC-level fighters train full-time, and Russow was appreciative of the chance to focus on MMA. He said he would love the chance to fight full time, but it's not a practical option.

"Right now I'm married and with a baby, a mortgage. I'm not in a position where I could train full time. I'm 35, and I can't take that chance. My dream would be to fight solely for the UFC."

Unlike UFC welterweight Sean Pierson, who was not allowed to join the Toronto Police Department because of his fight career, the CPD has been supportive of Russow.

"I've never had any problems. My bosses have been really supportive. I've been fortunate. They think it's a little nuts, but they support it."

Balancing the two careers is not easy. Since he works from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., his sleep and diet are both disrupted.

"Every time you go to a gas station, they try to give you something, take this, take that. Not that I do, but it makes it harder. And you get hungry anyways around 10 or 11. I wish I was in bed, but I'm stuck out there working."

But this Saturday, when his friends, family, and fellow police officers fill the United Center with cheers, Russow will be living a dream. He'll be fighting in the Octagon in the city he patrols. It's a far cry from the days he had to sit outside the United Center, waiting for the Bulls game to end.

"Back then, I never would have imagined this."

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-fox-2-mike-russow-balances-police-fighting-154723780.html

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Friday, January 27, 2012

USS Enterprise Coffee Table Is Furniture's Final Frontier [Star Trek]

When I was a in middle school, I built the bridge of the Enterprise in my parents' basement out of old computer parts. It wasn't this cool, but I was pretty proud of my level of Trek fandom. Now, Inhabitat found something that tops that level of Trekkie swag: a coffee table modeled after the USS Enterprise. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/9j7EMNpv4Fk/

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AfricaNews - Kenya's finance minister resigns - The AfricaNews ...

LAWRENCE NZUVE, AfricaNews reporter in Nairobi, Kenya

Kenyan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Uhuru Kenyatta has resigned on Thursday together with the Secretary to the Cabinet and head of the Public Service Ambassador Francis Muthaura. The two alongside Eldoret Member of Parliament William Ruto and radio journalist Joshua Sang were on Monday ordered to stand for trial by the International Criminal Court based at The Hague, Netherlands.

President Kibaki has in the meantime appointed Njeru Githae and Francis Kimemia in acting capacity to the ministry of finance and head of public service respectively.

The two top Kenyan officials had been suspected of masterminding the blood bath that was the disputed 2007 general elections in Kenya and where more than 1000 people were killed and thousands displaced.

The ruling by the ICC which also acquitted a former Police Commissioner (Rtd Major General) Hussein Ali and Tinderet member of parliament Henry Kosgey had divided the country sharply with the civil society filing a case in court to compel them to resign from their positions while Uhuru's colleague in the Cabinet and senior lawyer Mutula Kilonzo had openly called for their resignation citing the constitution.


Source: http://www.africanews.com/site/Kenyas_finance_minister_resigns/list_messages/40979

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Amid calls for tax fairness, government report shows federal workers owe $3.4B in back taxes (Star Tribune)

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Young Americans recognize the impact of innovation on US economy according to survey

Young Americans recognize the impact of innovation on US economy according to survey [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 25-Jan-2012
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Contact: Jessica Benjamin
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Lemelson-MIT Program

2012 Lemelson-MIT Invention Index reveals barriers and drivers to becoming US inventors

Cambridge, Mass., January 25, 2012 The 2012 Lemelson-MIT Invention Index , announced today, indicates that young Americans are acutely aware of the importance of invention and innovation in their personal lives, and within the context of the nation's economy. Yet most feel there are factors that would prevent them from furthering education in or entering inventive fields, posing a threat to the pool of future U.S. innovators and the country's economic prosperity.

A Threat to U.S. Innovation

The annual Lemelson-MIT Invention Index, which gauges Americans' perceptions about invention and innovation, surveyed Americans ages 16 25. When asked about how new technology like smartphones and tablets influences and impacts their personal lives, 40 percent of respondents said they couldn't imagine their life without it. Americans also have a clear understanding of the role invention and innovation play in the health of the nation with nearly half (47 percent) saying that a lack of invention will hurt the U.S. economy. Those surveyed, however, may not be the ones to take-on the challenge; 60 percent say there are factors that could keep them from pursuing an education or career in science, technology, engineering or math - fields that yield invention and lead to innovation.

Thomas Edison Chosen over Steve Jobs as Greatest Innovator

Though part of the "Apple Generation," many young Americans surprisingly chose Thomas Edison (54 percent) over Steve Jobs (24 percent) as the greatest innovator of all time, demonstrating that education around the history of invention exists in today's curriculum. However, it may not be strong enough to inspire young Americans to make the leap into innovative fields themselves. When asked what other factors would stop them from pursuing innovation-driving fields, nearly half (45 percent) said that invention is not given enough attention in their school. Additionally, 28 percent said their education left them unprepared to enter these fields.

"Hands-on invention activities are critical, but few too many students have opportunities to learn and develop their inventive skills," said Leigh Estabrooks, the Lemelson-MIT Program's invention education officer. "This year's survey revealed that less than half of respondents have done things like used a drill or hand-held power tool, or made something out of raw materials in the past year. We must engage students in these types of invention experiences as well as provide a strong STEM education to drive future innovators."

Driving Future Innovators

American youth feel that education is most in need of a new, inventive solution, more than other fields like healthcare, energy and finance. They also believe there are several ways to generate aspiring inventors by reforming learning experiences both in and out of the classroom. Fifty-four percent said including invention projects during school, or a creative field trip could be a solution; while 52 percent said simply giving students a place to develop an invention could do the trick.

Outside of the classroom, a majority (80 percent) expressed interest in education training courses to help them become more inventive and creative. Fifty-eight percent said an opportunity to participate in an invention-related national service co-op, such as a training program where aspiring inventors can "shadow" working professionals in science, technology, engineering and math would encourage aspiring inventors in the U.S.

Joshua Schuler, executive director of the Lemelson-MIT Program, supports such ideas. "These encouraging statistics show that young Americans have an interest in learning more about invention. At the Lemelson-MIT Program our mission is to celebrate and inspire invention. We invite communities to join us by giving youth access to role models and hands-on programs like InvenTeams to help them become more inventive in their personal and professional lives."

Now in its ninth year, the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam Initiative inspires and empowers youth to invent by engaging students in creative thinking, problem-solving and hands-on learning. Granted up to $10,000 each, InvenTeams create and pursue a yearlong invention project addressing real-world problems such as energy efficiency and disaster relief.

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ABOUT THE LEMELSON-MIT PROGRAM
Celebrating innovation, inspiring youth

The Lemelson-MIT Program celebrates outstanding innovators and inspires young people to pursue creative lives and careers through invention.

Jerome H. Lemelson, one of U.S. history's most prolific inventors, and his wife Dorothy founded the Lemelson-MIT Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1994. It is funded by The Lemelson Foundation and administered by the School of Engineering. The Foundation sparks, sustains and celebrates innovation and the inventive spirit. It supports projects in the U.S. and developing countries that nurture innovators and unleash invention to advance economic, social and environmentally sustainable development. To date The Lemelson Foundation has donated or committed more than U.S. $150 million in support of its mission. http://web.mit.edu/invent/


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Young Americans recognize the impact of innovation on US economy according to survey [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 25-Jan-2012
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Contact: Jessica Benjamin
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Lemelson-MIT Program

2012 Lemelson-MIT Invention Index reveals barriers and drivers to becoming US inventors

Cambridge, Mass., January 25, 2012 The 2012 Lemelson-MIT Invention Index , announced today, indicates that young Americans are acutely aware of the importance of invention and innovation in their personal lives, and within the context of the nation's economy. Yet most feel there are factors that would prevent them from furthering education in or entering inventive fields, posing a threat to the pool of future U.S. innovators and the country's economic prosperity.

A Threat to U.S. Innovation

The annual Lemelson-MIT Invention Index, which gauges Americans' perceptions about invention and innovation, surveyed Americans ages 16 25. When asked about how new technology like smartphones and tablets influences and impacts their personal lives, 40 percent of respondents said they couldn't imagine their life without it. Americans also have a clear understanding of the role invention and innovation play in the health of the nation with nearly half (47 percent) saying that a lack of invention will hurt the U.S. economy. Those surveyed, however, may not be the ones to take-on the challenge; 60 percent say there are factors that could keep them from pursuing an education or career in science, technology, engineering or math - fields that yield invention and lead to innovation.

Thomas Edison Chosen over Steve Jobs as Greatest Innovator

Though part of the "Apple Generation," many young Americans surprisingly chose Thomas Edison (54 percent) over Steve Jobs (24 percent) as the greatest innovator of all time, demonstrating that education around the history of invention exists in today's curriculum. However, it may not be strong enough to inspire young Americans to make the leap into innovative fields themselves. When asked what other factors would stop them from pursuing innovation-driving fields, nearly half (45 percent) said that invention is not given enough attention in their school. Additionally, 28 percent said their education left them unprepared to enter these fields.

"Hands-on invention activities are critical, but few too many students have opportunities to learn and develop their inventive skills," said Leigh Estabrooks, the Lemelson-MIT Program's invention education officer. "This year's survey revealed that less than half of respondents have done things like used a drill or hand-held power tool, or made something out of raw materials in the past year. We must engage students in these types of invention experiences as well as provide a strong STEM education to drive future innovators."

Driving Future Innovators

American youth feel that education is most in need of a new, inventive solution, more than other fields like healthcare, energy and finance. They also believe there are several ways to generate aspiring inventors by reforming learning experiences both in and out of the classroom. Fifty-four percent said including invention projects during school, or a creative field trip could be a solution; while 52 percent said simply giving students a place to develop an invention could do the trick.

Outside of the classroom, a majority (80 percent) expressed interest in education training courses to help them become more inventive and creative. Fifty-eight percent said an opportunity to participate in an invention-related national service co-op, such as a training program where aspiring inventors can "shadow" working professionals in science, technology, engineering and math would encourage aspiring inventors in the U.S.

Joshua Schuler, executive director of the Lemelson-MIT Program, supports such ideas. "These encouraging statistics show that young Americans have an interest in learning more about invention. At the Lemelson-MIT Program our mission is to celebrate and inspire invention. We invite communities to join us by giving youth access to role models and hands-on programs like InvenTeams to help them become more inventive in their personal and professional lives."

Now in its ninth year, the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam Initiative inspires and empowers youth to invent by engaging students in creative thinking, problem-solving and hands-on learning. Granted up to $10,000 each, InvenTeams create and pursue a yearlong invention project addressing real-world problems such as energy efficiency and disaster relief.

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ABOUT THE LEMELSON-MIT PROGRAM
Celebrating innovation, inspiring youth

The Lemelson-MIT Program celebrates outstanding innovators and inspires young people to pursue creative lives and careers through invention.

Jerome H. Lemelson, one of U.S. history's most prolific inventors, and his wife Dorothy founded the Lemelson-MIT Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1994. It is funded by The Lemelson Foundation and administered by the School of Engineering. The Foundation sparks, sustains and celebrates innovation and the inventive spirit. It supports projects in the U.S. and developing countries that nurture innovators and unleash invention to advance economic, social and environmentally sustainable development. To date The Lemelson Foundation has donated or committed more than U.S. $150 million in support of its mission. http://web.mit.edu/invent/


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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/lp-yar012412.php

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School lunches to have more veggies, whole grains

First lady Michelle Obama visits the cafeteria as she has lunch with school children at Parklawn elementary school in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, Jan., 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

First lady Michelle Obama visits the cafeteria as she has lunch with school children at Parklawn elementary school in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, Jan., 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

First lady Michelle Obama takes a bit of her turkey taco as she has lunch with school children at Parklawn Elementary School in Alexandria, Va. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Celebrity cook Rachael Ray has lunch with school children at Parklawn Elementary School in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, Jan., 25, 2012. She joined first lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at the luncheon. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

First lady Michelle Obama visits the cafeteria as she has lunch with school children at Parklawn elementary school in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, Jan., 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

First lady Michelle Obama has lunch with school children at Parklawn elementary school in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday,Jan., 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

(AP) ? The first major nutritional overhaul of school meals in more than 15 years means most offerings ? including the always popular pizza ? will come with less sodium, more whole grains and a wider selection of fruits and vegetables on the side.

First lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the new guidelines during a visit Wednesday with elementary students. Mrs. Obama, also joined by celebrity chef Rachael Ray, said youngsters will learn better if they don't have growling stomachs at school.

"As parents, we try to prepare decent meals, limit how much junk food our kids eat, and ensure they have a reasonably balanced diet," Mrs. Obama said. "And when we're putting in all that effort the last thing we want is for our hard work to be undone each day in the school cafeteria."

After the announcement, the three went through the line with students and ate turkey tacos with brown rice, black bean and corn salad and fruit ? all Ray's recipes ? with the children in the Parklawn Elementary lunchroom.

Under the new rules, pizza won't disappear from lunch lines, but will be made with healthier ingredients. Entire meals will have calorie caps for the first time and most trans fats will be banned. Sodium will gradually decrease over a 10 year period. Milk will have to be low in fat and flavored milks will have to be nonfat.

Despite the improvements, the new rules aren't as aggressive as the Obama administration had hoped. Congress last year blocked the Agriculture Department from making some of the desired changes, including limiting french fries and pizzas.

A bill passed in November would require the department to allow tomato paste on pizzas to be counted as a vegetable, as it is now. The initial draft of the department's guidelines, released a year ago, would have prevented that. Congress also blocked the department from limiting servings of potatoes to two servings a week. The final rules have incorporated those directions from Congress.

Among those who had sought the changes were potato growers and food companies that produce frozen pizzas for schools. Conservatives in Congress called the guidelines an overreach and said the government shouldn't tell children what to eat. School districts also objected to some of the requirements, saying they go too far and would cost too much.

The guidelines apply to lunches subsidized by the federal government. A child nutrition bill signed by President Barack Obama in 2010 will help school districts pay for some of the increased costs. Some of the changes will take place as soon as this September; others will be phased in over time.

While many schools are improving meals already, others still serve children meals high in fat, salt and calories. The guidelines are designed to combat childhood obesity and are based on 2009 recommendations by the Institute of Medicine, the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences.

Vilsack said food companies are reformulating many of the foods they sell to schools in anticipation of the changes.

"The food industry is already responding," he said. "This is a movement that has started, it's gaining momentum."

Diane Pratt-Heavner of the School Nutrition Association, which represents school lunch workers, said that many schools won't count pizza as a vegetable even though they can. Students qualifying for subsidized meals must have a certain number of vegetables and other nutritious foods on their lunch trays.

"Most schools are serving fruit or vegetables next to their pizza and some schools are even allowing unlimited servings of fruit or vegetables," Pratt-Heavner said.

Celebrity chef Ray said she thinks too much has been made of the availability of pizza and French fries. The new rules will make kids' lunch plates much more nutrient dense, she said.

"The overall picture is really good," she said. "This is a big deal."

The subsidized meals that would fall under the guidelines are served as free and low-cost meals to low-income children and long have been subject to government nutrition standards. The 2010 law will extend, for the first time, nutrition standards to other foods sold in schools that aren't subsidized by the federal government. That includes "a la carte" foods on the lunch line and snacks in vending machines.

Those standards, while expected to be similar, will be written separately and have not yet been proposed by the department.

___

Online:

USDA school lunch rules: http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Governance/Legislation/nutritionstandards.htm

___

Find Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mcjalonick

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-25-US-Healthier-School-Lunches/id-ab621367f98648fbb4053629004e9f9b

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Teen passengers: 'The other distraction' for teen drivers

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

A pair of studies by The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and State Farm? identify factors that may lead teens to drive with multiple peer passengers and, then, how those passengers may affect their driver's behavior just before a serious crash. The studies were published today in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Experts have long known that peer passengers increase teen driver crash risk. What hasn't been well understood was how they increase crash risk. "These studies help us understand the factors that may predispose teens to drive with multiple friends and how those passengers may contribute to crashes by distracting the driver and promoting risky driving behaviors, such as speeding, tailgating, or weaving," said study author Allison Curry, PhD, director of epidemiology at the Center for Injury Research and Prevention. "Knowing this, we can develop programs that work in tandem with current Graduated Driver Licensing laws that limit the number of passengers for teens during their first year of driving."

The first study surveyed 198 teen drivers and found that teens who are most likely to drive with multiple passengers shared the following characteristics: considered themselves "thrill-seekers," perceived their parents as not setting rules or monitoring their whereabouts, and possessed a weak perception of the risks associated with driving in general.

"The good news is that that these teens make up the minority," said Jessica Mirman, PhD, study author and a behavioral researcher. "Teens in this study generally reported strong perceptions of the risks of driving, low frequencies of driving with multiple passengers, and strong beliefs that their parents monitored their behavior and set rules."

The second study analyzed a nationally-representative sample of 677 teen drivers involved in serious crashes to compare the likelihood of driver distraction and risk-taking behaviors just prior to the crash when teens drive with peer passengers and when they drive alone.

"Both male and female teen drivers with peer passengers were more likely to be distracted just before a crash as compared to teens who crashed while driving alone," explained Dr. Curry. "Among the teens who said they were distracted by something inside the vehicle before they crashed, 71 percent of males and 47 percent of females said they were distracted directly by the actions of their passengers."

Additionally, the researchers found males with passengers were almost six times more likely to perform an illegal maneuver and more than twice as likely to drive aggressively just before a crash, as compared to males driving alone. Females rarely drove aggressively prior to a crash, regardless of whether they had passengers in the car.

"Most teens take driving seriously and act responsibly behind the wheel. However, some may not realize how passengers can directly affect their driving," said Dr. Mirman. "Teen passengers can intentionally and unintentionally encourage unsafe driving. Because it can be difficult for new drivers to navigate the rules of the road and manage passengers, it's best to keep the number of passengers to a minimum for the first year."

The study authors also emphasized the important role parents play in supporting safe driving among teens and their passengers. They recommend parents set a house rule of no non-sibling teen passengers for the first six months of driving and only one non-sibling passenger for the second six months.

"It's critical that parents stay involved in their teens' driving beyond the learner permit phase. This includes continuing to monitor their driving activities and to review ways teens can be safe drivers and passengers," said Chris Mullen, research director at State Farm. "Combined with Graduated Driver Licensing laws that limit passengers for the first year of driving, involved parents are an effective strategy to protect teens from a dangerous and preventable crash risk ? driving with their friends."

###

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: http://www.chop.edu

Thanks to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116994/Teen_passengers___The_other_distraction__for_teen_drivers

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Japan's Tepco set for $13 billion bailout: sources (Reuters)

TOKYO (Reuters) ? The owner of Japan's stricken nuclear reactor, Tokyo Electric Power Co, will agree to be taken over by the government in a near-$13 billion bailout, sources said on Thursday, even as the country debates the future of nuclear power.

The injection of 1 trillion yen ($12.8 billion) in public funds would effectively nationalize Tepco (9501.T), supplier of power to almost 45 million people including Tokyo residents, in one of the world's biggest bailouts outside the banking sector.

Tepco has been dragging its feet over a proposal for the state-backed Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund to take at least a two-thirds stake in the company, which has been swamped by liabilities associated with the earthquake and tsunami which ruined its Fukushima nuclear power plant in March.

"If the government has a two-thirds stake, they have a right to control management, so naturally, Tepco doesn't like that," said one source familiar with the matter.

Tepco's future as an independent firm has been in doubt since the disaster, which triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years and left the utility with huge compensation payments, cleanup costs and rising fuel bills as public concerns over safety make it hard to restart other off-line reactors.

Its plight has become emblematic of problems facing Japan's entire nuclear power industry, much of which has been idled since the disaster while authorities work to regain some public trust in an industry that had provided a third of Japan's power.

Tepco's fate is also being watched for clues as to whether Japan will deregulate its system of monopolistic regional utilities that both generate and distribute electricity.

Tepco's share price soared on the news, jumping 8 percent in heavy trade to 219 yen.

Tepco, which together with the fund is drafting a business reconstruction plan to be unveiled in March, is also seeking about 1 trillion yen in additional bank loans, sources said.

Under the plan, the utility is expected to swing to profit in fiscal 2014 and resume issuing bonds two years later, the Nikkei business newspaper reported.

The plan calls for government control to end in six or seven years, the Nikkei added, though other reports have said it might last about a decade.

According to the plan, Tepco is expected to post a parent-only net loss of about 580 billion yen in the year ending March 31 and next fiscal year, followed by a net profit of 37.7 billion yen in fiscal 2013, largely on the sale of real estate, the Nikkei said. Tepco is also expected to generate a pretax profit of 159.1 billion yen in fiscal 2014, it added.

The projection for improved earnings is based on the assumption Tepco will increase household electricity rates by 10 percent in October and reduce fuel costs by restarting reactors at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in fiscal 2013 -- moves the utility will find difficult to execute, the daily said.

Tepco shareholders will need to approve an increase in its authorized share capital at an annual meeting in June before the nationalization plan could go ahead.

(Reporting by Ashutosh Pandey in Bangalore, Osamu Tsukimori and Nobuhiro Kubo in Tokyo; Editing by Chris Gallagher and Mark Bendeich)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/bs_nm/us_tepco

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The Medieval World Of Delaria needs you!

roleplay/the-medieval-world-of-delaria/

This world has fallen into shadows and only you can save it or destroy it.....

In this world the forces of darkness have rose from there isolation in the Light Shield that was fromed twenty years ago by the hero of light and and the hero of neutrality.

If you are with the light you start in the capital of light Radur as a Weary traveler.

If you are with the Darkness you start as a servant of the Shadow king in the shadow rift.

If you are with neither you start at the bridge of Carcian as a Eager new adventurer.

If you want to read more go to Delaria's page and read the lore!

(We need many new players and I will accept as many as I can if I like them.)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/YeG5Q-v3OBA/viewtopic.php

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

2nd day of mourning for Paterno to end with burial (AP)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. ? The second day of a three-day period of public mourning for the late Joe Paterno will culminate with the funeral and burial service for the Hall of Fame football coach who became the face of Penn State University.

Hundreds ? if not thousands ? of alumni, residents and students are expected to attend a four-hour visitation Wednesday morning to begin a slate of events that will end with a funeral service in the afternoon that the family has made private.

First in line to pay his respects was David Brown, who left his home in Greensburg at midnight and drove more than two hours to State College then prepared to wait a few hours outside until the doors opened.

"I wouldn't have been surprised if there were 1,000 people here," he said.

Behind him was John Myers, 70, who drove more than two hours from Tamaqua to arrive at 5 a.m. ? three hours before the viewing was scheduled to begin.

"It's worth it," Myers said. "Joe was one of the best, if not the best, football coaches ever."

The 85-year-old Paterno died Sunday of lung cancer. He had been ousted just days before learning of his diagnosis in November, forced out of his job in the wake of child sex-abuse charges against a former assistant.

This week, mourners are focusing on the full body of accomplishments and philanthropy compiled by Paterno over his 46-year tenure as the Nittany Lions' coach.

"His legacy is still going to be filled with the great things that he did. Look at this place," said Tom Sherman, a 1969 graduate from Johnstown, Pa. Before tearing up, Sherman said he attended Paterno's first game as head coach in 1966.

"It's like he's part of your life. I admire that guy so much."

Thousands more waited in line Tuesday on an overcast winter afternoon for the first day of visitation at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center, where Paterno family members regularly attended services.

Inside the hall, the coach's body lay in a closed, hardwood casket topped by a spray of white roses. About six feet away sat a stylized black-and-white picture of the man who became lovingly known on campus as "JoePa," smiling and peering out through his trademark thick-rimmed glasses.

Paterno's casket had an "honor guard" of two Penn State players ? one past and one present. Some mourners stopped for a moment of reflection, or to genuflect in the interfaith hall.

Others fought back tears and sniffles. The only other sounds were the occasional clicks of news photographers taking pictures.

Paterno won 409 games and two national championships in a career admired by peers as much for its longevity as its success. Paterno also took as much pride in the program's graduation rates, often at or close to the top of the Big Ten.

"The passion, the love that he gave almost gave you a sense that you wanted to give it back to him," Penn State men's basketball coach Patrick Chambers said after escorting his team to the worship hall Tuesday evening. "We're forever indebted to him and we will continue to work as hard as we can."

On Thursday, the school's basketball arena will be the site of a public service called "A Memorial for Joe." Tickets on Tuesday were quickly snapped up for the event, even though there was a two-per-person limit for those ordering.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_sp_co_ne/fbc_penn_state_paterno

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Jupiter?s 'Trojans' on an atomic scale

ScienceDaily (Jan. 25, 2012) ? The planet Jupiter keeps asteroids on stable orbits -- and in a similar way, electrons can be stabilized in their orbit around the atomic nucleus. Calculations carried out at the Vienna University of Technology have now been verified in an experiment.

Planets can orbit a star for billions of years. Electrons circling the atomic nucleus are often visualized as tiny planets. But due to quantum effects, the behavior of atoms usually differs significantly from planetary systems. Austrian and US-American scientists have now succeeded in keeping electrons on planet-like orbits for a long time. This was done using an idea from astronomy: Jupiter stabilizes the orbits of asteroids (the so called "Trojans"), and in a very similar way, the orbits of electrons around the nucleus can be stabilized using an electromagnetic field. The results of this experiment have now been published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

Giant Atoms

They are probably the largest atoms on earth: "The diameter of the electronic orbits is several hundredths of a millimeter -- an enormous distance on an atomic scale," says Shuhei Yoshida (Vienna UT). The atoms are even larger than erythrocytes. Yoshida made the calculations at Vienna University of Technology, the experiment was carried out at Rice University in Houston (Texas).

The Electron is not a Planet

The idea that atoms are similar to planetary systems dates back to Niels Bohr: he came up with the first atomic model, in which electrons circle the nucleus in well-defined orbits. This view, however, is now seen to be outdated. In quantum physics, the electron is described as a quantum wave, or a "probability cloud," that surrounds the atomic nucleus. The location of an electron in the ground state (the lowest possible energy level) is not well defined. Relative to the nucleus, it is situated in all possible directions at the same time. Asking about its "real position" or its orbit just does not make sense. Only if the electron is transferred into a state of higher energy, it can be manipulated in such a way that it moves along orbit-like paths.

Jupiter's trick -- Used for the Atom

Unlike planets, electrons will not keep moving in such an orbit for ever. "Without additional stabilization, the electron-wave would become delocalized after a few cycles," says Professor Joachim Burgd?rfer, head of the Institute for Theoretical Physics at Vienna UT. A simple idea on how to stabilize orbits has been known in astronomy for a long time: the gravity of Jupiter, the heaviest planet in our solar system, stabilizes the orbits of the "Trojans" -- thousands of small asteroids. They aggregate around so-called "Lagrange points" on Jupiter's orbital path. Staying close to these Lagrange points, the asteroids circle the sun together with the planet -- with exactly the same orbital velocity, so that the asteroids never collide with Jupiter.

In the experiment, the stabilizing influence of Jupiter's gravity is substituted by a cleverly designed electromagnetic field. The field oscillates precisely with the frequency corresponding to the orbital period of the electron around the nucleus. It sets the pace for the electron, and that way the electron-wave is kept at a specific point for a long time -- much like a large number of asteroids, staying close to Jupiter's Lagrange points on their orbit around the sun. Quantum physics even allows manipulations which are impossible in a planetary system: using the electromagnetic field, the electron can by shifted into a different orbit -- as if the orbit of Jupiter and its asteroids was suddenly shifted to the orbit of Saturn.

Big and Small

The physicists succeeded in creating an atomic miniature version of a solar system and preparing atoms which are remarkably close to the historic Bohr model. In future, the researchers want to prepare atoms in which several electrons move on planetary orbits at the same time. Using such atoms, it should be possible to investigate in greater detail how the quantum-world of tiny objects corresponds to the classical world as we perceive it.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Vienna University of Technology, TU Vienna, via AlphaGalileo.

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Journal Reference:

  1. B. Wyker, S. Ye, F. Dunning, S. Yoshida, C. Reinhold, J. Burgd?rfer. Creating and Transporting Trojan Wave Packets. Physical Review Letters, 2012; 108 (4) DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.043001

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/~3/2pPjoxeYDaM/120125091057.htm

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