520-million-year-old fossilized nervous system is most detailed example yet found
Cambridge, UK (SPX) Mar 01, 2016 -
Researchers have found one of the oldest and most detailed fossils of the central nervous system yet identified, from a crustacean-like animal that lived more than 500 million years ago. The fossil, from southern China, has been so well preserved that individual nerves are visible, the first time this level of detail has been observed in a fossil of this age.
The findings, published in the ...
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North Dakota rig count holds steady
Bismarck, N.D. (UPI) Feb 29, 2016 -
With crude oil trying to stage a recovery, the rig count in North Dakota held steady despite a net decrease in the United States, state data for Monday show.
State data show 38 rigs in active service as of Monday, unchanged from last week. The all-time low point is zero and the current rig count is 15 percent below the last record low of 45 reported in August 2009.
Oilfield servi ...
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Research demonstrates that air data can be used to reconstruct radiological releases
Raleigh NC (SPX) Mar 01, 2016 -
New research from North Carolina State University demonstrates that experts can use data from air sampling technology to not only detect radiological releases, but to accurately quantify the magnitude and source of the release. This has applications for nuclear plant safety, as well as national security and nuclear nonproliferation monitoring.
"This is something we knew was theoretically p ...
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China tries charm to reassure over slowing growth
Shanghai (AFP) Mar 01, 2016 -
China's normally reclusive central bank chief Zhou Xiaochuan is an unusually prominent presence at the G20 finance ministers meeting in Shanghai, racing from seminar to news conference to spread positive messages about the world's second-largest economy.
After months of silence, the governor of the People's Bank of China (PBoC) wants investors to know that the yuan currency - also known as ...
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ONR Global sponsors research to improve memory through electricity
Washington DC (SPX) Mar 01, 2016 -
In a breakthrough study that could improve how people learn and retain information, researchers at the Catholic University Medical School in Rome significantly boosted the memory and mental performance of laboratory mice through electrical stimulation.
The study, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Global, involved the use of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, or tDCS, on ...
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China cuts reserve requirements in bid to boost economy
Shanghai (AFP) Feb 29, 2016 -
China's central bank on Monday cut the proportion of funds banks must set aside as reserves, in Beijing's latest attempt to tackle slowing growth in the world's second largest economy.
The People's Bank of China (PBoC) said in a statement it would trim the so-called "reserve requirement ratio" (RRR) for financial institutions by 0.50 percentage points, freeing up more funds for them to lend. ...
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University of Guam scientist and colleagues tag coconut rhinoceros beetles
Mangilao, Guam (SPX) Mar 01, 2016 -
Coconut rhinoceros beetles were first discovered on Guam in 2007. Adults kill palms when they bore into crowns to feed on sap. Rhino beetle larvae feed only on dead plant material at breeding sites and they do no damage. In order to eradicate rhino beetles, all breeding sites must be found and destroyed. Four dogs were trained to lead handlers to cryptic breeding sites on Guam. This detector dog ...
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