Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Understanding Climate Change, With Help From Thoreau | Reduction
Understanding Climate Change, With Help From Thoreau

Tributes left at the grave of Henry David Thoreau by Muffet
License (according to Flickr): Attribution License
License (according to Flickr): Attribution License
Researchers in Massachusetts and Wisconsin are comparing modern flower blooming data with notes made by Henry David Thoreau and Aldo Leopold. They're seeing many plants, including irises in the Boston area, blooming consistently earlier than in the writers' times. Modern scientists trying to understand climate change are engaged in an unlikely collaboration — with two beloved but long-dead nature writers: Henry David Thoreau and Aldo Leopold. The authors of Walden and A Sand County Almanac and last spring's bizarrely warm weather have helped today's scientists understand that the first flowers of spring can continue to bloom earlier, as temperatures rise to unprecedented levels.
People:
Henry David Thoreau
Overall Sentiment: 0.0606067
Relevance: 0.921646
| Sentiment | Quote |
|---|---|
| -0.110104 | "I often visited a particular plant four of five miles distant, half a dozen times within a fortnight that I might know exactly when it opened," Thoreau wrote ... |
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Disambiguation: PhilosopherReferences:
Aldo Leopold
Overall Sentiment: 0.0200899
Relevance: 0.894789
Disambiguation: WriterReferences:
Primack
Overall Sentiment: 0.066952
Relevance: 0.519517
| Sentiment | Quote |
|---|---|
| 0.125568 | "If you take the old historical records of Thoreau and Aldo Leopold and use those to sort predict when plants will be flowering in an astonishingly warm year like we had in 2012, the flowering time of plants is exactly what you would predict using this historical data," says Boston University Biology Professor Richard Primack. |
| 0 | "So what Thoreau would do is he would go out for walks almost every day for about four hours and he would record in the spring when he saw the first open flower of a particular species," Primack says. |
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Stanley Temple
Overall Sentiment: -0.0254614
Relevance: 0.498576
| Sentiment | Quote |
|---|---|
| -0.0697468 | "Nina lived to be 93 years old, and was out walking the land observing things up until just a few weeks before she died," says Temple. |
| 0.020601 | "It was when we realized, 'Wow, 2012 is going to be a record setter,' we decided to ask the question: Could we have predicted the flowering date given what was known about the temperature? And indeed we could have," says Temple, ... |
| Sentiment Stats: |
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Nina Leopold Bradley
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bush
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Disambiguation: FilmCharacter | MusicalArtist | Politician | President | Appointer | AwardNominee | AwardWinner | ChivalricOrderMember | CompanyFounder | MilitaryPerson | PoliticalAppointer | USPresident | FilmActor | TVActorReferences:
Terry Root
Overall Sentiment: 0.0911458
Relevance: 0.294061
| Sentiment | Quote |
|---|---|
| -0.0760581 | "Is that good news or bad news? The answer to that is yes," Root says. ... |
| 0.0631888 | Root says that since the unusually high temperatures last spring could become the new normal, "this is kind of a peek into the future." |
| Sentiment Stats: |
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Richard Primack
Overall Sentiment: 0.433412
Relevance: 0.279121
| Sentiment | Quote |
|---|---|
| -0.0227274 | "So this was a plant species which has shifted its flowering time by five or six weeks since the time of Thoreau. So this is really quite unbelievable," Primack says. ... |
| 0 | "So what Thoreau would do is he would go out for walks almost every day for about four hours and he would record in the spring when he saw the first open flower of a particular species," Primack says. |
| Sentiment Stats: |
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Nina
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Disambiguation: References:
Charles Davis
Overall Sentiment: 0.0910507
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| Sentiment | Quote |
|---|---|
| 0.111119 | "In late December 2011 and January 2012, I started seeing irises blooming in the Boston area," says Charles Davis, ... |
| -0.0194277 | "In late December 2011 and January 2012, I started seeing irises blooming in the Boston area," says Charles Davis, a Harvard Professor of evolutionary biology and who collaborates with Primack. "And you know this is the dead of winter, and you can imagine it sort of rocked my world." |
| Sentiment Stats: |
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Key:
- Aggregate Sentiment is meant to be an indicator of an individual's overall sentiment.
- The Mean is meant to be an indicator of an individual's average comment sentiment.
- The Standard Deviation, when there are enough quotes, will indicate an individual's consistency of sentiment (i.e. a Standard Deviation of 0 would mean they were very consistent in their sentiment and 1 would mean they were very inconsistent).
Note that quote stats are likely to be meaningless beyond the aggregate score due to the tiny sample size. However, they are always provided just in case you find something useful there.
Additional Info:
Organization: Aldo Leopold Foundation and University of Wisconsin
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StateOrCounty: Massachusetts
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Some of the most beloved nature writers of all time, Henry David Thoreau and Aldo Leopold, are helping scientists learn how global warming will affect spring by using historical records to predict when flowers will bloom during especially hot years.
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Understanding Climate Change, With Help From Thoreau
Embryo survival gene may fight range of diseases | Synopsis
Embryo survival gene may fight range of diseases

Get Set for Winter Illness by The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
License (according to Flickr): United States Government Work
License (according to Flickr): United States Government Work
A gene that keeps embryos alive appears to control the immune system and determine how it fights chronic diseases like hepatitis and HIV, and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, scientists said on Monday. Although the experts have only conducted studies on the gene Arih2 using mice, they hope it can be used as a target for drugs eventually to fight a spectrum of incurable diseases. Lead author Marc Pellegrini at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Australia said the gene appears to act like a switch, flipping the immune system on and off. "If the gene is on, it dampens... the immune response. And if you switch it off, it greatly enhances immune responses," Pellegrini said in a telephone interview.
People:
Marc Pellegrini
Overall Sentiment: -0.0580198
Relevance: 0.95056
| Sentiment | Quote |
|---|---|
| 0.106913 | "If the gene is on, it dampens ... the immune response. And if you switch it off, it greatly enhances immune responses," Pellegrini said ... |
| 0.088711 | "If the gene is on, it dampens ... the immune response. And if you switch it off, it greatly enhances immune responses," Pellegrini said in a telephone interview. "It is probably one of the few genes and pathways that is very targetable and could lead to a drug very quickly." |
| 0.107041 | "The mice survived for six weeks quite well. Then they started developing this very hyperactive immune responses and if you leave it for too long, it starts reacting against the body itself," Pellegrini said. ... |
| -0.0615772 | "It's like an accelerator. In infectious diseases, you want to slam on the brakes on this gene, and for autoimmune diseases, you want to push the accelerator to make it work much harder to stop the whole immune response," said Pellegrini. |
| -0.0466459 | "It's like an accelerator. In infectious diseases, you want to slam on the brakes on this gene, and for autoimmune diseases, you want to push the accelerator to make it work much harder to stop the whole immune response," said Pellegrini. "The more the gene works, the less of an immune response there is. And the less active the gene is, the more the immune response is." |
| Sentiment Stats: |
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Walter
Overall Sentiment: 0.0673639
Relevance: 0.174001
Disambiguation: Writer | DedicatorReferences:
Key:
- Aggregate Sentiment is meant to be an indicator of an individual's overall sentiment.
- The Mean is meant to be an indicator of an individual's average comment sentiment.
- The Standard Deviation, when there are enough quotes, will indicate an individual's consistency of sentiment (i.e. a Standard Deviation of 0 would mean they were very consistent in their sentiment and 1 would mean they were very inconsistent).
Note that quote stats are likely to be meaningless beyond the aggregate score due to the tiny sample size. However, they are always provided just in case you find something useful there.
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FieldTerminology: immune systems
Overall Sentiment: 0
Relevance: 0.79326
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Embryo survival gene may fight range of diseases
URL Provided Desc:
A gene that keeps embryos alive appears to control the immune system and determine how it fights chronic diseases like hepatitis and HIV, and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, scientists said
Provided Keywords:
- arthritis
- Australia
- autoimmune
- autoimmune diseases
- hepatitis
- HIV
- immune system
- immunology
- rheumatoid arthritis
- spectrum
Source URL: Source
Labels:
drug target,
infectious diseases,
interview,
large,
the rodents
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Transocean to pay $1.4 billion in Deepwater spill | Reduction
Transocean to pay $1.4 billion in Deepwater spill
Excerpt:WASHINGTON - Transocean Ltd has agreed to pay $1. 4 billion to settle U.S. government fees occurring from BP Plc's substantial 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The settlement unveiled by the Department of Justice includes $1 billion in civil penalties and $400 million in criminal penalties. The company had set aside a total of $1. 95 billion in potential losses related to the spill, consisting of $1. 5 billion for its anticipated settlement with the DoJ. Shares of Transocean were up 7 percent at $49. 50 on midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0. 1 percent. "The bottom line to me is they now can put away the big black cloud that has been hanging over them," said Phil Weiss, an oil analyst at Argus.
People:
Phil Weiss
Overall Sentiment: 0
Relevance: 0.744252
| Sentiment | Quote |
|---|---|
| 0 | "The bottom line to me is they now can put away the big black cloud that has been hanging over them," said Phil Weiss, ... |
| 0.227687 | "The bottom line to me is they now can put away the big black cloud that has been hanging over them," said Phil Weiss, an oil analyst at Argus. "I take this as a positive, even if the number is a little higher than I expected." |
| Sentiment Stats: |
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Key:
- Aggregate Sentiment is meant to be an indicator of an individual's overall sentiment.
- The Mean is meant to be an indicator of an individual's average comment sentiment.
- The Standard Deviation, when there are enough quotes, will indicate an individual's consistency of sentiment (i.e. a Standard Deviation of 0 would mean they were very consistent in their sentiment and 1 would mean they were very inconsistent).
Note that quote stats are likely to be meaningless beyond the aggregate score due to the tiny sample size. However, they are always provided just in case you find something useful there.
Additional Info:
Region: Gulf of Mexico
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City: WASHINGTON
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Company: Transocean Ltd
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Company: Transocean
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Company: BP Plc
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FinancialMarketIndex: Standard & Poor's 500 Index
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Relevance: 0.708992
FinancialMarketIndex: New York Stock Exchange
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Transocean Ltd has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle U.S. government charges arising from BP's massive 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
Site Provided Title:
Transocean to pay $1.4 billion in Deepwater spill
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Source URL: Source
Labels:
criminal penalties,
Deepwater,
oil analyst,
Transocean,
U.S. government
Hubble and Webb Telescope Exhibit Comes to Portland, Oregon, Museum | Synopsis
Hubble and Webb Telescope Exhibit Comes to Portland, Oregon, Museum

1968 ... '2001' Dr. Floyd and Monolith by x-ray delta one
License (according to Flickr): Attribution-ShareAlike License
License (according to Flickr): Attribution-ShareAlike License
The talk is part of the Gerald Soffen Lecture Series and will be held at the Visitor Center at NASA Goddard in Greenbelt, Md. , on Wed. , Nov. 14, 2012, at 7 p.m. EST (doors will open at 6:45 p.m.). The cost-free talk has to do with one hour and will end with a question and answer session. Registration is requested online at: http://visitorcenterevents.gsfc.nasa. gov/ Pre-registration will level till Nov. 9, 2012. How are inherent human qualities reflected in our journey to explore and understand the world? Our nation 's space science undertakings have functional and in some cases hidden benefits, and could be motivating. Fundamentally, however, they are a symptom of human nature, and something where we could all take pride.
Keywords:
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Visitor Center NASA Gerald Soffen lecture series infrared Infrared Astronomical Satellite NASA Headquarters NASA Academy Earth Observing System question and answer Viking program space science space mission human nature security checkpoint public outreach Life Sciences Research Council astrophysics scientist ICESat Viking 2 interferometry mentors internship premiere pride online post-doctorate Mars Astronomical nation practical undergraduate generation engineers Austin leadership scientific machines questions Texas education project teamPeople:
Dr. Gerald Soffen
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Relevance: 0.50938
Disambiguation: References:
Dave Leisawitz
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Relevance: 0.37853
postdocs
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Additional Info:
Facility: NASA Headquarters
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Organization: Goddard Visitor Center
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Organization: NASA
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Webpage Meta
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Provided Desc:
Source : Click
Hubble and Webb Telescope Exhibit Comes to Portland, Oregon, Museum
URL Provided Keywords:
Provided Desc:
The public is invited to a free event on Nov. 14 to experience "Space Exploration and Humanity's Quest to Understand Everything,” by Dr. David T. Leisawitz, chief of the Science Proposal Support Office at NASA Goddard.
Source : Click
Labels:
NASA Academy,
scientist,
Texas,
undergraduate,
Viking program
NASA tests vintage Apollo 11 rocket engine for ideas for new US missions | Redux
NASA tests vintage Apollo 11 rocket engine for ideas for new US missions

Apollo 11 Launched Via Saturn V Rocket by NASA on The Commons
License (according to Flickr): No known copyright restrictions
License (according to Flickr): No known copyright restrictions
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A vintage rocket engine built to blast the first U.S. lunar mission into Earth's orbit more than 40 years ago is again rumbling across the Southern landscape. The engine, known to NASA engineers as No. F-6049, was supposed to help propel Apollo 11 into orbit in 1969, when NASA sent Neil Armstrong and two other astronauts to the moon for the first time. The flight went off without a hitch, but no thanks to the engine -- it was grounded because of a glitch during a test in Mississippi and later sent to the Smithsonian Institution, where it sat for years.
Keywords:
engine Apollo F-1 engineers Case F-1 engine rocket Marshall F-1 engines NASA gas generator Earth orbit young engineers space shuttle vintage rocket engine single F-1 engine dozen F-1 engines Marshall Space Flight U.S. lunar mission main rocket chamber space shuttle program tests low Earth orbit old 18-foot-tall motor outdoor test stand massive orange flame high school intern liquid propulsion office main propulsion center Apollo engine NASA engineers thrust old engine jet-like rocket Saturn V engine Coates moon deep-space exploration huntsville Southern landscape bell-shaped motor missions deep-space missions Nick Case 363-foot-tall Saturn Neil Armstrong second-generation version R.H. Coates technical systems small stepPeople:
Marshall
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R.H. Coates
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Relevance: 0.3243
| Sentiment | Quote |
|---|---|
| 0 | "This wouldn't be your daddy's F-1," Coates said. ... |
| 0.100096 | "This wouldn't be your daddy's F-1," Coates said. "We'd use new materials and try to simplify it, update it." |
| Sentiment Stats: |
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Neil Armstrong
Overall Sentiment: 0.0446387
Relevance: 0.313243
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Nick Case
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Relevance: 0.245097
Key:
- Aggregate Sentiment is meant to be an indicator of an individual's overall sentiment.
- The Mean is meant to be an indicator of an individual's average comment sentiment.
- The Standard Deviation, when there are enough quotes, will indicate an individual's consistency of sentiment (i.e. a Standard Deviation of 0 would mean they were very consistent in their sentiment and 1 would mean they were very inconsistent).
Note that quote stats are likely to be meaningless beyond the aggregate score due to the tiny sample size. However, they are always provided just in case you find something useful there.
Additional Info:
City: HUNTSVILLE
Overall Sentiment: 0
Relevance: 0.390396
Technology: Apollo engine
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Technology: Apollo 11
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Organization: NASA
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- heart
- huntsville
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- NASA
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- Space Flight Center
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Site Provided Desc:
Young NASA engineers are testing a vintage rocket engine that was meant to blast the first U.S. lunar mission into Earth's orbit more than 40 years ago.
Site Provided Title:
NASA tests vintage Apollo 11 rocket engine for ideas for new US missions
Strong quake hits Alaska, sparks tsunami warning | Synopsis
Strong quake hits Alaska, sparks tsunami warning
![Search-and-Rescue Workers Arrive in Ofunato [Image 6 of 23]](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5096/5531710181_6262a90a1b_m.jpg)
Search-and-Rescue Workers Arrive in Ofunato [Image 6 of 23] by DVIDSHUB
License (according to Flickr): Attribution License
License (according to Flickr): Attribution License
JUNEAU, Alaska – Officials say a tsunami warning is in effect for parts of southern Alaska and coastal Canada after a strong earthquake shook the region. The Alaska Tsunami Warning Center says the warning area includes coastal areas from about 75 miles southeast of Cordova, Alaska, to the north tip of Vancouver Island. The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude 7. 6 quake struck at midnight Friday and was centered about 60 miles west of Craig.
Events:
NaturalDisaster: tsunami
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Additional Info:
StateOrCounty: Alaska
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Relevance: 0.848182
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City: JUNEAU
Overall Sentiment: -0.195189
Relevance: 0.328769
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Officials say a tsunami warning is in effect for parts of southern Alaska and coastal Canada after a strong earthquake shook the region.
Provided Title:
Strong quake hits Alaska, sparks tsunami warning
URL Provided Keywords:
- Alaska
- Canada
- earthquake
- geological survey
- tsunami
- tsunami warning
- Tsunami Warning Center
- U S
- U S Geological Survey
- Vancouver
- vancouver island
Source Webpage: Click Here
Labels:
coastal Canada,
Craig,
Friday,
miles,
warning area
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