GREENBELT, Md. -- A new NASA computer modeling effort has found that additional growth of plants and trees in a world with doubled atmospheric carbon dioxide levels would create a new negative feedback – a cooling effect – in the Earth's climate system that could work to reduce future global warming. The cooling effect would be -0.3 degrees Celsius (C) (-0.5 Fahrenheit (F)) globally and -0.6 degrees C (-1.1 F) over land, compared to simulations where the feedback was not included, said Lahouari Bounoua, of Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Bounoua is lead author ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The flurry of smart-phone patent suits at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is being driven by technology companies eager to capitalize on the speed and expertise of the specialized venue, says a University of Illinois patent strategy expert. Business professor Deepak Somaya says that this current wave of patent litigation is a "clash driven by company strategies." "Smart phones combine lots of amazing innovation from both computing and mobile telephony, and technology companies are seeing their patents as a potential source of leverage, ...

Los Angeles, CA (December 7, 2010) Most people feel chills and shivers in response to music that thrills them, but some people feel these chills often and others feel them hardly at all. People who are particularly open to new experiences are most likely to have chills in response to music, according to a study in the current Social Psychological and Personality Science (published by SAGE). Researchers Emily Nusbaum and Paul Silvia of University of North Carolina at Greensboro asked students about how often they felt chills down their spine, got goose bumps, or felt ...

MADISON — The "A" grades that high schoolers earn aren't just good for making the honor roll — they also make them healthier as adults, too. Studies have long shown that education is linked to better health, but new research by Pamela Herd, an associate professor of public affairs and sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, shows that higher academic performance in high school plays a critical role in better health throughout life. "How well you do in school matters," Herd says about the findings, which were published in the December issue of the Journal ...

In many Asian nations, the percentage of the population 65 and older is growing rapidly -- a demographic shift that will pose new social and economic challenges to governments in the region. Preparing for the Challenges of Population Aging in Asia: Strengthening the Scientific Basis of Policy Development, a new report from five national science academies in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, and the U.S., explores the critical issues that rapidly aging populations will raise and identifies research that could help policymakers respond. The report will be released at 6 p.m. ...

Ground-breaking research from Professor Douglas Kell, published in the journal Archives of Toxicology, has found that the majority of debilitating illnesses are in part caused by poorly-bound iron which causes the production of dangerous toxins that can react with the components of living systems. These toxins, called hydroxyl radicals, cause degenerative diseases of many kinds in different parts of the body. In order to protect the body from these dangerous varieties of poorly-bound iron, it is vital to take on nutrients, known as iron chelators, which can bind the iron ...

Los Angeles, CA (December 8, 2010) People who are neurotic often have more difficulty with relationships and marriage. But if neurotic newlyweds have frequent sexual relations, their marital satisfaction is every bit as high as their less neurotic counterparts, according to a study in the current Social Psychological and Personality Science (published by SAGE). Neuroticism is the tendency to experience negative emotion, and people who are high in it get upset and irritated easily, change their mood often, and worry frequently. People who score high in neuroticism are ...

Watson Land Company, one of Southern California's largest industrial real estate developers, has signed two new leases totaling 105,601 square feet. The transactions, which have a combined value of $3.3 million, mark an increase in South Bay leasing activity corresponding with a rise in port traffic. "The continued growth of port activity has resulted in many South Bay companies expanding their operations to larger facilities to accommodate the increased volume," said Lance Ryan, vice president of marketing and leasing with Watson Land Company. In the first transaction, ...

Authors Beverly Macy and Teri Thompson of Gravity Summit Consulting are pleased to announce their book entitled "The Power of Real-Time Social Media Marketing", published by McGraw-Hill Professional, will hit stores on January 7, 2011. Pre-order sales are available now at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com and other online book retailers. This much-anticipated book is already being hailed by insiders in the media , marketing and advertising world as a "must read". Alan Cohen, CEO, OMD USA says the book is, "Smart. Insightful. A must read for media and marketers. Everyone ...

NextStepU, a leading college planning resource for high school students, is eager to help students reach their next step. That's why the media company is excited to announce it's marketing partnership with StraighterLine, an online education resource that provides students with a lower cost and lower risk way to start college. NextStepU is excited about the low-cost, innovative programs StraighterLine offers and is eager to help introduce the concepts to students who are looking for new options for online coursework and alternatives to high tuition costs. Research shows ...

Leading Lone Tree green dentist, Dr. Angela Osborn, introduces the use of OralDNA Labs in her eco-friendly office. Not offered by many dentists, DNA testing was created to diagnose and help predict the onset of periodontal disease and other oral diseases that harm the body. DNA testing allows this Lone Tree holistic dentist to more accurately test for various diseases that could originate in a patient's mouth. With OralDNA Labs, this holistic dentist in Lone Tree can accurately prevent further complications with a patient's oral health and even overall health. Detection ...

Jerry Sullivan, a 25-year member of the financial services industry and resident of Green Valley/Fairfield, has joined Vitucci & Associates of Walnut Creek as a registered representative and insurance specialist. "We are pleased Jerry has agreed to join us and fortunate to have him helping our clients with their financial planning and insurance needs," said Pat Vitucci, a Bay Area Financial Advisor and founder of Vitucci & Associates. Jerry has been involved with many civic and fraternal organizations including Rotary International of Vacaville, California Chapter ...

What began as a search for chemical-free household cleaners ended up as a personal mission. We wanted to start buying organic foods and use all natural soaps and detergents. The grocery store was starting to carry organic produce but natural soaps and cleaners were hard to find, even on the web. What started out as wanting to protect ourselves from harmful chemicals turned into a larger mission to save the environment by reducing waste and buying smart. We wanted to make eco-friendly products easier to find by gathering the best products all on one website. And so, www.shopECOgoods.com, ...

CheapSingleBeds.org.uk is proud to introduce its line up of price busting single beds, all of their single bed frames can be bought for under GBP150. At a time of year when family budgets are stretched to the limit some may struggle to find room in their budget for a new bed. Many people usually wait for the January sales, but with the impending VAT increase this may not be so wise. Company owner Lee said "With Christmas fast approaching and rising heating bills many low income families just don't have much room to manoeuvre in their budget, so paying out a few hundred ...

Glacial Energy, a national supplier of electricity and gas, is giving back to the community in Freehold, New Jersey by helping to sponsor the holiday activities lead by Downtown Freehold. Staying true to the holiday spirit Glacial Energy is sponsoring the Santa Train on December 11th providing families the opportunity to meet and greet Santa Claus while he stops over in New Jersey prior to Christmas.. Glacial Energy is proud of its commitment to the community and is delighted to be part of Downtown Freeholds holiday celebrations. For more details on the holiday events, ...

Fraser Yacht is pleased to announce that they will be showcasing four outstanding luxury motor yachts at next week's Antigua Yacht Show. This year's event will be taking place between the 6th and 11th of December with yacht viewing hours taking place between 09.00 and 12.30 and 13.30 and 17.00. The event will be taking place at three separate locations; the Falmouth Harbour; Nelson's Dockyard, where M/Y Chosen One and M/Y Kai will be moored; and the Antigua Yacht Club Marina where the luxury motor yachts M/Y Exuma and M/Y Newvida will be moored along with S/Y Phocea and ...

Fraser Yachts are delighted to announce details of the two luxury sailing yachts that they will be showcasing at this year's Antigua Yacht Show. This year both S/Y Phocea and S/Y Marie will be representing the company's fleet of luxury sailing yachts and will be appearing at the Antigua Yacht Club Marina along with the luxury motor yachts Newvida and Exuma. This year's event will run for six days between the 6th and 11th of December and will be held at three separate locations, the Antigua Yacht Club Marina, Falmouth Harbour Marina and Nelson's Dockyard in the English Harbour, ...

DVDVideoSoft has published new Free Studio 5.0 with re-designed interface. It bundles all free applications developed by the company as their number has considerably grown within the last months. New Free Studio 5.0 contains 8 sections: YouTube, MP3 Audio, CD-DVD-BD, DVD Video, Photo&Images, Mobiles, Apple Devices, 3D. Thus the company managed to include all 39 programs in the new interface for easy access to any of them, including four new converters: Free Video to LG Converter, Free Video to Nintendo Converter, Free Video to Samsung Converter, Free Video to Sony PlayStation ...

That crazy, fascinating sometimes incomprehensible world that lives at the intersection of biotechnology and intellectual property got quite a jolt last week when, in a court filing, the United States Justice Department opined that genes should not be eligible for patents. The rationale behind the position shift: genes are the product of nature, so humans should not be able to claim any proprietary right to them. This marked a reversal in the government's longstanding thinking that genes were indeed patentable as reported by Andrew Pollack's recent story in the New York ...

This October the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced some positive changes to the fast-track process for disability benefits. The fast-track, or Quick Disability Determination process, is used by the most severely disabled applicants. It requires less checking on the part of the SSA because of the obviousness of disabilities. The change focuses on identifying cases that should simply be approved for benefits without additional work by the SSA. In the past, medical reviews were required in every case, but this review is not always necessary. Now, medical reviews ...

The 2000 U.S. Census began to track questions of grandparents as primary caregivers. The results showed 2.4 million grandparents in this role. While grandparents frequently have an abundance of love and concern for their grandchildren, they need to understand the legal ramifications of grandparenthood. For Virginia law to apply, it needs to be determined to be the home state for the grandchild. If their parent lives here or the parent or guardian has 'significant contacts' with the state, Virginia MAY will be the home state. The grandchild does not have to live in Virginia, ...

Holding foreign manufacturers accountable for the injuries caused by their dangerous or defective products can be difficult for injured consumers in Illinois and across the country. Congress is currently considering legislation - the Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act - intended to make recovering compensation from these manufacturers more feasible. The proposed bill, HR 4678, would require manufacturers that import products into the U.S. to have a registered agent to accept service of process for the manufacturer. The legislation would apply to a broad range ...

A recent study by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) details the causes of truck crashes from 2009. The report, authored by Ralph Craft, Ph.D. for the Analysis Division, noted there were declines in overall truck crashes and the number of fatalities. The report notes that many factors could have contributed to the decline, including the economy, and numerous safety measures put in place over the last year by the FMCSA, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) and other motorist safety groups. Decreased truck accidents and ...

The ingredients were all there for tragedy: snow, a slush-covered road, and an 18-wheeler pulling two trailers going dangerously fast. When the truck came to a curve in the highway, the tragedy unfolded. An Oregon mother and wife, Robin Rae Udey, was killed when Ronald Jory lost control of his Kenworth tractor trailer on a cold winter day. According to witnesses, Jory was driving far too fast for conditions; as his big rig neared the curve, the vehicle crossed the center line and slammed into Udey's Toyota head on. Jory was pronounced dead at the scene of the violent ...

According to AAA Carolinas, nationwide motorcycle accident fatalities have fallen by 16 percent. This was not the case in North Carolina, however, where motorcycle deaths have spiked 29 percent compared to last year. Since other types of traffic deaths are decreasing statewide, many officials are puzzled why motorcycle fatalities are not following suit. So far this year 97 people have died in motorcycle accidents on North Carolina roads. Several factors are potentially to blame for the large number of fatalities. These include a high number of inexperienced drivers, ...