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Scientists Find the Trigger of the Northern Lights

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:18:37 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: The researchers hope the finding will be a step in developing reliable forecasts of geomagnetic storms.

Clip Source: graphics8.nytimes.com

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Researchers working on a NASA mission to understand the interplay of magnetic fields and charged particles blown outward from the Sun have identified the trigger for the colorful electrical storms in the polar regions. They hope this is a step in developing reliable forecasts of geomagnetic storms that can disrupt satellites in orbit and power grids on the ground.

“They happen every three or four hours,”

Scientists knew two events that occur in the tail of the magnetic field during substorms, but did not know which event acted as the trigger for the auroras.

scientists will try to figure out exactly why the magnetic field lines snap. With a better understanding of substorms, scientists would like to understand what happens during the larger storms. They hope to have better prediction methods working by the time the next peak of solar storms arrives between 2010 and 2012.

Tail Reconnection Triggering Substorm Onset (Science Express)

Apollo 14 astronaut claims aliens HAVE made contact

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:58:46 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Can you believe this? The guy is 77 years old now, could he be cooking things up?

Clip Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Apollo 14 astronaut claims aliens HAVE made contact - but it has been covered up for 60 years

Aliens have contacted humans several times but governments have hidden the truth for 60 years, the sixth man to walk on the moon has claimed.

Apollo 14 astronaut Dr Edgar Mitchell, said he was aware of many UFO visits to Earth during his career with NASA but each one was covered up.

Dr Mitchell, 77, said during a radio interview that sources at the space agency who had had contact with aliens described the beings as 'little people who look strange to us.'

He said supposedly real-life ET's were similar to the traditional image of a small frame, large eyes and head.

Edgar Mitchell was the Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 14

Tags: astronomy, ufo

Extinguishing the Fear at the Roots of Anxiety

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:52:12 GMT

clipped by: Bluewhale

Clip Source: health.nytimes.com

The study of anxiety is fast merging with the science of memory. No longer focused just on symptoms like social isolation and depressed mood, scientists are turning to the disorder’s neural roots, to how the brain records and consolidates in memory the frightening events that set off long-term anxiety. And they are finding that it may be possible to blunt the emotional impact of even the worst memories and fears.

Genetics and the environment play roles in the development of anxiety disorders, but the point where these influences intersect is clearly the brain. The biology of anxiety has been very difficult to untangle in part because it is so familiar, so integral to our survival.

The brain’s anticipation of threats is an invaluable survival tool. The question for scientists is: Why can’t some people turn down the voltage?

Tags: anxiety, memory

Do Not Read This !

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:08:56 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: At the current state of our planet, and mounting evidence to human induced climate change, these rich resources of fossil fuels are nothing short of a Faustian proposition.

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

The area north of the Arctic Circle has an estimated 90 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil, 1,670 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable natural gas, and 44 billion barrels of technically recoverable natural gas liquids in 25 geologically defined areas thought to have potential for petroleum.

The U.S. Geological Survey assessment released July 24 is the first publicly available petroleum resource estimate of the entire area north of the Arctic Circle.

These resources account for about 22 percent of the undiscovered, technically recoverable resources in the world.

The Arctic accounts for about 13 percent of the undiscovered oil, 30 percent of the undiscovered natural gas, and 20 percent of the undiscovered natural gas liquids in the world. About 84 percent of the estimated resources are expected to occur offshore.

we're providing the same information to everyone in the world so that the global community can make those difficult decisions.

Tags: fossil fuels, environment

Richest Americans See Their Income Share Grow

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:25:18 GMT

clipped by: kkcapricorn
clipper's remarks: It's no surprise to us average - soon-to-be-poor folk.
Can we do something about it?

Clip Source: www.michaelmoore.com

By Jesse Drucker / Wall Street Journal

In a new sign of increasing inequality in the U.S., the richest 1% of Americans in 2006 garnered the highest share of the nation's adjusted gross income for two decades

the average tax rate of the wealthiest 1% fell to its lowest level in at least 18 years

the richest 1% reported 22% of the nation's total adjusted gross income in 2006. That is up from 21.2% a year earlier, and is the highest in the 19 years that the IRS has kept strictly comparable figures

As the wealthiest Americans' share of income has risen, so has their share of the income-tax burden. The group paid 39.9% of all income taxes in 2006, compared with 27.6% in 1988. In the most recently reported five years, however, the share of income reported by the very wealthy has risen faster than the group's share of income taxes.

The figures are from the IRS's income-statistics division and were posted on the agency's Web site last week.

Tags: wealthy, tax-breaks, income