(Press-News.org) On August 20, 2013 at 4:24 am EDT, the sun erupted with an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection or CME, a solar phenomenon which can send billions of tons of particles into space that can reach Earth one to three days later. These particles cannot travel through the atmosphere to harm humans on Earth, but they can affect electronic systems in satellites and on the ground.
Experimental NASA research models, based on observations from NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory show that the CME left the sun at speeds of around 570 miles per second, which is a fairly typical speed for CMEs.
Earth-directed CMEs can cause a space weather phenomenon called a geomagnetic storm, which occurs when they funnel energy into Earth's magnetic envelope, the magnetosphere, for an extended period of time. The CME's magnetic fields peel back the outermost layers of Earth's fields changing their very shape. In the past, geomagnetic storms caused by CMEs of this strength have usually been mild.
Magnetic storms can degrade communication signals and cause unexpected electrical surges in power grids. They also can cause aurora.
NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center is the U.S. government's official source for space weather forecasts, alerts, watches and warnings.
Updates will be provided if needed.
INFORMATION:
NASA spacecraft capture an Earth directed coronal mass ejection
2013-08-21
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Common genes may underlie alcohol dependence, eating disorders
2013-08-21
PISCATAWAY, NJ – People with alcohol dependence may be more genetically susceptible to certain types of eating disorders, and vice-versa, according to a study in the September issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
In a study of nearly 6,000 adult twins, researchers found that common genetic factors seemed to underlie both alcoholism and certain eating disorder symptoms—namely, binge eating and purging habits, such as self-induced vomiting or laxative abuse.
Genes appeared to explain 38 percent to 53 percent of the risk of developing those disorders.
"This ...
Alcohol abuse, eating disorders share genetic link
2013-08-21
Part of the risk for alcohol dependence is genetic, and the same is true for eating disorders. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found it's likely some of the same genes are involved in both.
In the September issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, the researchers report that people with alcohol dependence may be more genetically susceptible to certain types of eating disorders and vice versa.
"In clinical practice, it's been observed that individuals with eating disorders also have high rates of alcohol abuse ...
Studies explore weapons/arrests in domestic violence cases
2013-08-21
HUNTSVILLE, TX (09/21/13) -- Weapons were involved in 40 percent of domestic violence cases in Houston, and researchers discovered distinct patterns on when and where each type of weapon was used, according to a recent study at Sam Houston State University.
The study, "Profiling weapon use in domestic violence: Multilevel analysis of situational and neighborhood factors," was based on 9,450 detailed reports of domestic violence cases that occurred in 2005 throughout Houston, the nation's fourth largest city. While the majority of cases – 60 percent -- reported the use ...
New survey of young adults: 7.8 million gained new or better coverage through Affordable Care Act
2013-08-21
New York, NY, August 21, 2013—An estimated 7.8 million of the 15 million young adults who were enrolled in a parent's health plan last year likely would not have been eligible for this coverage without the health reform law's dependent coverage provision, according to a new Commonwealth Fund survey. However, the survey also found that only 27 percent of young adults were aware of the state health insurance marketplaces that are launching October 1. Moreover, millions of low-income young adults are at risk of remaining uninsured if the states they live in choose not to expand ...
For disappointed sports fans, defeats increase consumption of fat and sugar
2013-08-21
On the Monday following a big football game, fans of the losing team seem to load up on saturated fats and sugars, whereas supporters of the winning team opt for healthier foods, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
"Although prior studies had shown that sport outcomes influence reckless driving, heart attacks, and even domestic violence, no one had examined how they influence eating," says Yann Cornil, researcher at INSEAD Business School and lead author of the study.
By comparing the ...
Growing share of HIV/AIDS burden shifts to changing group of regions
2013-08-21
August 21, 2013—The HIV/AIDS epidemic is changing in unexpected ways in countries around the world, showing that greater attention and financial investment may be needed in places where the disease has not reached epidemic levels, according to a new study from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington.
HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of disease burden in 21 countries concentrated in four regions: Eastern and Southern Africa, Central Africa, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia. In another seven countries, it's the second leading ...
The How-to Parenting Program improves the mental health of children
2013-08-20
This news release is available in French. While children of all ages will be heading back to school in a few days, a new study from the Université de Montréal may encourage their parents to return to the classroom themselves ... at least for a few evenings! The results of a study in developmental psychology published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies show that the How-to Parenting Program improves the mental health of children.
"Did you know that certain ways of talking to your child are more effective? Certain ways of listening make a real difference?" These ...
UCSB anthropologists study the genesis of reciprocity in food sharing
2013-08-20
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– When you share your lunch with someone less fortunate or give your friend half of your dessert, does that act of generosity flow from the milk of human kindness, or is it a subconscious strategy to assure reciprocity should you one day find yourself on the other side of the empty plate?
And how do those actions among humans compare to those of our chimpanzee cousins and other nonhuman primates?
Through two separate studies, UC Santa Barbara anthropologists Adrian Jaeggi and Michael Gurven found that reciprocity is similar among monkeys, apes, ...
Divers willingness to pay for biodiversity could help conservation efforts -- Ben-Gurion U. study
2013-08-20
EILAT, ISRAEL, August 20 – In 2007, an artificial reef designed by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers was placed in the Gulf of Eilat to reduce environmental pressure on the region's natural reef. Now teeming with life, a new study using the "Tamar Reef" shows that divers assign economic importance to aspects of reef biodiversity. These findings could help underwater conservation efforts.
According to the study published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science, divers were willing to pay to improve the reef's attributes and were able to differentiate and ...
NEETs are prime suspects in breast cancer proliferation
2013-08-20
HOUSTON -- (Aug. 19, 2013) -- Two proteins have been identified as prime suspects in the proliferation of breast cancer in a study by an international consortium of researchers from Rice University, the University of North Texas, Denton (UNT); the University of California, San Diego (UCSD); and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The research, which appears this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences' Online Early Edition, may offer a path to therapies that could slow or stop tumors from developing.
Rice's Center for Theoretical Biological Physics ...