Neuronal feedback could change what we 'see'
Pittsburgh PA (SPX) Mar 31, 2016 -
Ever see something that isn't really there? Could your mind be playing tricks on you? The "tricks" might be your brain reacting to feedback between neurons in different parts of the visual system, according to a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience by Carnegie Mellon University Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Sandra J. Kuhlman and colleagues.
Understanding this feedbac ...
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Palaeosol loess shed light on early Pleistocene climate
Kazan, Russia (SPX) Mar 31, 2016 -
Famous for its deserts, arid central Asia (ACA) is one of the driest regions in the mid-latitudes and one of the main potential dust sources for the northern hemisphere. The mobilization, transportation, and deposition of Asian dust played an important role in global mineral dust cycles and had a prolonged and profound impact on global climate changes via direct effects on Earth's radiative bala ...
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Researchers reproduce mechanism of slow earthquakes
University Park PA (SPX) Apr 01, 2016 -
Up until now catching lightning in a bottle has been easier than reproducing a range of earthquakes in the laboratory, according to a team of seismologists who can now duplicate the range of fault slip modes found during earthquakes, quiet periods and slow earthquakes.
"We were never able to make slow stick slip happen in the laboratory," said Christopher Marone, professor of geosciences, ...
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Sea-Level rise from Antarctic ice sheet could double
University Park PA (SPX) Mar 31, 2016 -
An ice sheet model that includes previously underappreciated processes indicates that sea level may rise almost 50 feet by 2500 due to Antarctic ice sheet melting if greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated, according to researchers from Penn State and University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
"In this case the atmospheric warming will soon become the dominant driver of ice loss, but prolong ...
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Want to know where threatened species live? Look to the clouds
Buffalo NY (SPX) Apr 01, 2016 -
Much of our planet's biodiversity is concentrated in hotspots, such as tropical mountains, where knowledge about the habitats and distributions of species remains too uncertain to guide management and conservation.
Scientists increasingly look to satellite remote sensing as a way to address this quandary, and a new study by University at Buffalo and Yale University scientists has now demon ...
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Hercules Offshore: Few bright spots ahead
Houston (UPI) Mar 31, 2016 -
Prospects for drilling services for oil and gas won't improve without a recovery in crude oil prices, the head of U.S. rig company Hercules Offshore said.
The company reported a net combined loss of $385.5 million for the three-month period ending Dec. 31. Hercules last year filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and, upon emergence Nov. 6, the company said it's had a "fresh start."
"We ...
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Statoil steaming ahead with Johan Sverdrup
Stavanger, Norway (UPI) Mar 31, 2016 -
Norwegian energy company Statoil said Thursday construction on parts of the drilling infrastructure necessary to tap into the giant Johan Sverdrup are underway.
Statoil said construction started on an island north of Stavanger on the utility and living-quarters platform designated for Johan Sverdrup, one of the largest fields ever discovered.
Kjetel Digre, the project director fo ...
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