May 2013 story tips from Oak Ridge National Laboratory
2013-05-07
(Press-News.org) POWER GRID – Preparing for natural disasters . . .
Software developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory can help emergency responders predict where power outages are likely when a storm hits, which can minimize the amount of time people are in the dark. The fully automated system uses wind speed and location estimates to geospatially map the impact to the electric grid, allowing planners who would otherwise have to perform tedious manual processing to focus on other tasks. A paper outlining the research was presented at a recent Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers conference. [Contact: Ron Walli, (865) 576-0226; wallira@ornl.gov]
COMPUTING – Spotlight on super machines . . .
Computer aficionados now have a new virtual encyclopedia focused on high-performance computing trends, architecture, software, applications, facilities and sponsors. Oak Ridge National Laboratory staff researcher Jeff Vetter's book, titled "Contemporary High Performance Computing," examines the growth from terascale to petascale computers and the influence of the TOP500 and Green500 lists. The book provides a description of a flagship high-performance computing system, including architecture, system software, programming environment, and storage and visualization support. The 730-page book, which was released by CRC Press (http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781466568341) April 23, includes contributions from some of the premier researchers involved in designing, deploying and using supercomputer systems. [Contact: Ron Walli, (865) 576-0226; wallira@ornl.gov]
PLASMONICS – Revolutionary sensors . . .
By coupling quantum light sources with quantum information squeezed through nano-scale triangular holes strategically etched into a thin layer of silver, Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have demonstrated a path to sensors and information processing up to 10 times better than what was previously possible with plasmonics. The technology moves the field of plasmonics, dubbed "light on a wire," to a level previously only imagined, said Raphael Pooser, co-author of a Physical Review Letters paper (http://prl.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v110/i15/e156802) that details the discovery. "We transferred multiple quantum bits into the plasmons whereas in the past only one at a time had been done, and it was done with only a single photon at a time while we used millions," said Pooser, a member of ORNL's Quantum Information Science Group. [Contact: Ron Walli, (865) 576-0226; wallira@ornl.gov]
BIOMEDICAL – Bridging the gap . . .
Researchers from disparate scientific disciplines will gather at Oak Ridge National Laboratory May 21-23 for a conference aimed at building global networks to tackle some of society's most challenging biomedical problems. The scientific theme is "Integrating Experiments, Simulations and Modeling for Biomedical Advances: From Single Molecules to Public Health Dynamics." India's Samir Brahmachari, director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, will deliver the keynote address. Plenary speakers are Viren Jain of Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chinnappa Kodira of GE Global Research and Grant Schaffner of the University of Cincinnati. ORNL's Georgia Tourassi, director of the Biomedical Science and Engineering Center, is the conference chair. Registration and other information is available at https://www.ornl.gov/bsec_conferences/2013/index.shtml. [Contact: Ron Walli, (865) 576-0226; wallira@ornl.gov]
CLIMATE -- Model improvements . . .
At the Climate Change Science Institute at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, researchers are helping accelerate development of a model that the climate science community depends upon to generate simulation data for periodic planetary assessments. Researchers from seven Department of Energy national laboratories and the National Science Foundation's National Center for Atmospheric Research have teamed up for the Climate Science for a Sustainable Energy Future project to transform model development and testing. The CSSEF contributions are expected to improve the ability of simulations to predict global climate change. [Contact: Dawn Levy, (865) 576-6448; levyd@ornl.gov]
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2013-05-07
Millions of seniors are turning down free money.
The Low Income Subsidy for Medicare Part D is a rare beast in economics research. The subsidy provides prescription drug coverage essentially free for low-income adults. That means it is what economists call a dominant option. For those who are eligible, there is no rational reason not to choose it. And yet, a new study shows that many eligible seniors do not take advantage of the program, despite outreach efforts by the Social Security Administration.
"We examined the role of seniors' cognitive abilities in explaining ...
2013-05-07
The increasing proportion of the population that received treatment for a specific medical condition – called "treated disease prevalence" -- along with higher spending per treated case accounted for most of the rise in health care spending in the U.S. between 1987 and 2009, according to a recent analysis.
In the analysis, published in the May edition of Health Affairs, Kenneth E. Thorpe, PhD, chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at Emory's Rollins School of Public Health, analyzed data from the National Medical Expenditure Survey and the Medical Expenditure ...
2013-05-07
Mothers who have experienced childhood abuse, neglect or other traumatic experiences show an unwillingness to talk with their children about the child's emotional experiences, a new study from the University of Notre Dame shows.
According to the study, which was presented at the Society for Research in Child Development 2013 Biennial Meeting in Seattle, a sample of low-income mothers who had experienced their own childhood traumas exhibited ongoing "traumatic avoidance symptoms," which is characterized by an unwillingness to address thoughts, emotions, sensations or memories ...
2013-05-07
VIDEO:
On May 3, 2013, the GOES infrared and visible imagery were combined to create an animation that showed the plume of smoke from California's Springs fire. The smoke plume is...
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On May 3, 2013, the NOAA GOES infrared and visible imagery were combined to create an animation that showed the plume of smoke from the fire. The smoke plume is seen blowing west and out over the eastern Pacific Ocean. The animation runs 17 seconds and shows the ...
2013-05-07
As the Landsat Data Continuity Mission satellite flew over Indonesia's Flores Sea April 29, it captured an image of Paluweh volcano spewing ash into the air. The satellite's Operational Land Imager detected the white cloud of smoke and ash drifting northwest, over the green forests of the island and the blue waters of the tropical sea. The Thermal Infrared Sensor on LDCM picked up even more.
By imaging the heat emanating from the 5-mile-wide volcanic island, TIRS revealed a hot spot at the top of the volcano where lava has been oozing in recent months.
The two LDCM ...
2013-05-07
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — An entomologist at the University of California, Riverside discovered a new wasp species in Russia and named it after the university, commonly abbreviated as UCR.
Serguei V. Triapitsyn, principal museum scientist at the Entomology Research Museum on campus, had been sorting wasps from the Russian Far East, when he discovered several tiny female fairyflies, or mymarid wasps, 1.1 to 1.2 millimeters in body length.
He named the species Gonatocerus ucri in a research paper he published April 30 in the international scientific journal Zootaxa.
A Russian ...
2013-05-07
From its orbit around the Earth, the NASA-NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite or Suomi NPP satellite, captured a night-time image of California's Springs Fire.
The Suomi NPP satellite carries an instrument so sensitive to low light levels that it can detect wildfires in the middle of the night. The Day/Night band on Suomi/NPP produces Night-Time visible imagery using illumination from natural (the moon, forest fires) and man-made sources (city lights, gas flares).
On May 3 and 4, 2013, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on Suomi-NPP ...
2013-05-07
PHILADELPHIA — Men who reported sleep problems, including difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, had up to a twofold increased risk for prostate cancer, according to data published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
"Sleep problems are very common in modern society and can have adverse health consequences," said Lara G. Sigurdardóttir, M.D., at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik. "Women with sleep disruption have consistently been reported to be at an increased risk for breast cancer, ...
2013-05-07
San Diego, CA, May 7, 2013 – Preventing skin cancer by reducing use of indoor tanning devices requires a coordinated approach at the national, state, and local levels suggests a pair of papers by CDC authors in a special theme issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Evidence has shown that use of indoor tanning devices increases the risk of developing skin cancer, including melanoma, and these papers discuss approaches that could help reduce use of indoor tanning devices and prevent future incidence of skin cancers.
Melanoma is one of the most commonly ...
2013-05-07
ANN ARBOR---More than one in every 10 members of Generation X are enrolled in classes to continue their formal educations, according to a new University of Michigan study released today. In addition, 48 percent of GenXers take continuing education courses, in-service training, and workshops required for professional licenses and certifications.
"This is an impressive level of engagement in lifelong learning," says Jon D. Miller, author of the latest issue of The Generation X Report. "It reflects the changing realities of a global economy, driven by science and technology.
Projected ...
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[Press-News.org] May 2013 story tips from Oak Ridge National Laboratory
