PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Rim Fire update Sept. 9, 2013

2013-09-10
(Press-News.org) Inciweb.org updates the Rim Fire with this information: "Firefighters will face continued hot and extremely dry conditions. Shifting winds coupled with low humidity will provide conditions for active fire behavior. Pockets of unburned vegetation within the fire perimeter will continue to burn creating the potential for spot fires across containment lines. Today's top priority is to contain all spot fires especially along Tioga Road. Firefighters will continue to patrol mop up and monitor lines while maintaining structure defense. Yesterday firefighters responded to a new 4-acre fire near Long Barn. The fire has been contained and will be monitored today. Stagnate air over the fire area will cause a general haze and poor air quality all day."

NPR reports: "The Rim wildfire that began three weeks ago today is now 80 percent contained, officials say, but it has burned more than a quarter of a million acres, and it may continue to grow, thanks to low humidity and other conditions. Air quality concerns have led to warnings hundreds of miles away, according to NBC News. Officials say a shift in wind direction could help clear out the smoke on Monday. The Rim blaze has torched 385 square miles, making it the third-largest wildfire in California's history."

In this natural-color image collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Terra satellite, it does appear that the smoke has stopped its northeasterly direction and is staying concentrated over the burned area. This image was taken on September 08, 2013. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS's thermal bands, are outlined in red.



INFORMATION:

NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team, GSFC. Caption by Lynn Jenner with information from inciweb.org and NPR.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Tool created to avert future energy crisis

2013-09-10
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A University of California, Riverside assistant professor of electrical engineering and several colleagues have created a new measurement tool that could help avoid an energy crisis like the one California endured during the early 2000s and better prepare the electricity market for the era of the smart grid. The tool also unifies existing measures that assess "market power," which is the ability of power generating companies to alter energy prices. It also incorporates smart grid concepts such as large-scale storage, renewable power generation and ...

Calculating the carbon footprint of California's products

2013-09-10
Now that California's greenhouse gas cap-and-trade policy is law, attention is shifting to recognizing industry efficiency. Driven by that goal, a team of researchers from Northwestern University, the University of California, Berkeley and the international consulting company Ecofys has spent the last year and a half developing science-based methods to determine the amount of free allowances California facilities are eligible to receive based on the products they manufacture. The research team was hired by the state to assist with cap-and-trade design for several key ...

Researchers read the coffee grounds and find a promising energy resource for the future

2013-09-10
For many of us, it's the fuel that wakes us up and gets us started on our day. Now, University of Cincinnati researchers are discovering that an ingredient in our old coffee grounds might someday serve as a cheaper, cleaner fuel for our cars, furnaces and other energy sources. Yang Liu, a graduate student in environmental engineering in UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS), presents a summary of early-but-promising discoveries on his team's research at the American Chemical Society's (ACS) 246th National Meeting & Exposition this week in Indianapolis. Liu ...

Rainfall in South Pacific was more variable before 20th century

2013-09-10
A new reconstruction of climate in the South Pacific during the past 446 years shows rainfall varied much more dramatically before the start of the 20th century than after. The finding, based on an analysis of a cave formation called a stalagmite from the island nation of Vanuatu, could force climate modelers to adjust their models. The models are adjusted to match the current levels of climate variability that are smaller now than they were in the recent past for this region. "In this case, the present is not the key to the past, nor the future," says Jud Partin, a research ...

STING may take the bite out of autoimmune diseases like arthritis, Type 1 diabetes

2013-09-10
Augusta, Ga. – A little STING could go a long way in helping treat or even avoid autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis, researchers report. With some prompting, the protein STING can turn down the immune response or even block its attack on healthy body constituents like collagen, insulin and the protective covering of neurons, all targets in these debilitating diseases, said Dr. Andrew L. Mellor, immunologist at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University. MCG researchers saw STING's critical role play out after ...

Breaking deep-sea waves reveal mechanism for global ocean mixing

2013-09-10
Waves breaking over sandy beaches are captured in countless tourist photos. But enormous waves breaking deep in the ocean are seldom seen, although they play a crucial role in long-term climate cycles. A University of Washington study for the first time recorded such a wave breaking in a key bottleneck for circulation in the world's largest ocean. The study was published online this month in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The deep ocean is thought of as dark, cold and still. While this is mostly true, huge waves form between layers of water of different density. ...

Cell transplants may be a novel treatment for schizophrenia

2013-09-10
SAN ANTONIO (Sept. 9, 2013) — Research from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio suggests the exciting possibility of using cell transplants to treat schizophrenia. Cells called "interneurons" inhibit activity within brain regions, but this braking or governing function is impaired in schizophrenia. Consequently, a group of nerve cells called the dopamine system go into overdrive. Different branches of the dopamine system are involved in cognition, movement and emotions. "Since these cells are not functioning properly, ...

A swarm on every desktop: Robotics experts learn from public

2013-09-10
HOUSTON -- (Sept. 9, 2013) -- The next experiment from Rice University's Multi-Robot Systems Laboratory (MRSL) could happen on your desktop. The lab's researchers are refining their control algorithms for robotic swarms based upon data from five free online games that anyone can play. "What we learn from the game and our lab experiments applies directly to real-world challenges," said Aaron Becker, a postdoctoral researcher at MRSL. "For example, if a doctor had a swarm of several thousand microscopic robots, each carrying a tiny payload of anti-cancer drugs, might it ...

Upgrade to Mars rovers could aid discovery on more distant worlds

2013-09-10
WASHINGTON, DC—Smart as the Mars Curiosity mission has been about landing and finding its own way on a distant world, the rover is pretty brainless when it comes to doing the science that it was sent 567 million kilometers to carry out. That has to change if future rover missions are to make discoveries further out in the solar system, scientists say. The change has now begun with the development of a new camera that can do more than just take pictures of alien rocks – it also thinks about what the pictures signify so the rover can decide on its own whether to keep exploring ...

Butterfly wings inspire new technologies: from fabrics and cosmetics to sensors

2013-09-10
A new study has revealed that the stunning iridescent wings of the tropical blue Morpho butterfly could expand the range of innovative technologies. Scientific lessons learnt from these butterflies have already inspired designs of new displays, fabrics and cosmetics. Now research by the University of Exeter, in collaboration with General Electric (GE) Global Research Centre, University at Albany and Air Force Research Laboratory, and funded by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), has discovered that the physical structure and surface chemistry of ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Prepare today to save lives tomorrow: SFU study finds gaps in B.C. extreme heat response plans

National Foundation for Cancer Research congratulates Dr. Rakesh Jain on AACR Lifetime Achievement Award

Farms with more intensive management have lower soil functionality

Tracing the emergence and spread of H5N1 in U.S dairy cattle

Carnivorous “bone collector” caterpillar patrols spiderwebs while adorned in body parts of its insect prey

New approach to silicone waste recycling closes the loop

Blocking a surprising master regulator of immunity eradicates liver tumors in mice

A new recycling process for silicones could greatly reduce the sector’s environmental impacts

Simple consultations in emergency room can help patients manage high blood pressure

Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD) and gene therapy: a game-changing treatment backed by NEJM—Timing Is Everything

Estimating complex immune cell structures by AI tools for survival prediction in advanced melanoma

Modeling reemergence of vaccine-eliminated infectious diseases under declining vaccination in the US

2024 Top 100 US Universities announced by the National Academy of Inventors

Female bonobos keep males in check—not with strength, but with solidarity

What happens in the brain when your mind blanks

The oldest ant ever discovered found fossilized in Brazil

Health care cost concerns and hardships for families of children with disabilities

Trends in mental health diagnoses among publicly insured children

Measles may be making a comeback in the US, Stanford Medicine-led research finds

We still have a representation problem for women in physics – and Canada is no exception

Even light exercise could help slow cognitive decline in people at risk of Alzheimer’s

Prostate cancer discovery opens door to more tailored treatments

The potential oncogenic role of serum-derived hsa_circ_101555 as a non-invasive diagnostic/prognostic marker in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Use of traditional Chinese medicine in Chinese patients with cancer receiving outpatient care: primary reasons and communication with oncologists

Largest imaging spectro-polarimeter achieves first light at the NSF Daniel K. Inouye solar telescope

The heart of world’s largest solar telescope begins to beat

Society for cardiovascular angiography & interventions scientific sessions 2025 features latest clinical innovations in cardiology care

Tumor microenvironment dynamics: the regulatory influence of long non-coding RNAs

Research update: Plant-based calamari that rivals real seafood in texture

Rethinking stroke risk in patients with atherosclerotic carotid stenosis

[Press-News.org] Rim Fire update Sept. 9, 2013