This color view of a mineral vein called "Homestake" comes from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The vein is about the width of a thumb and about 18 inches (45 centimeters) long. Opportunity examined it in November 2011 and found it to be rich in[Read More…]
Science
Secretary General Ban Presses for Support for UN Initiative to Combat Deforestation
SOUTH AFRICA–(ENEWSPF)–7 December 2011. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called today for increased support from Member States for a United Nations initiative to slow, halt and reverse deforestation, and help developing countries manage their forests in a sustainable manner. “I am encouraged to see that forest countries are acting to reduce deforestation, and[Read More…]
How to Stop the Flu
Engineering-systems researchers identify proven strategies to prevent influenza from spreading through a household. CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(ENEWSPF)–December 7, 2011. Between 1918 and 1920, an influenza epidemic swept across the globe, infecting more than a quarter of the world’s population and killing 50 to 100 million people. If a similar outbreak occurred today,[Read More…]
NRDC, FDA Reach Settlement in BPA Lawsuit
Agency Set to Make Decision on BPA Ban from Food Packaging by March 31 WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–December 7, 2011. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has committed to decide by March 31, 2012 whether a chemical that causes brain damage in developing babies, infants and young children should be banned from use[Read More…]
US Tox21 to Begin Screening 10,000 Chemicals
NIH, EPA, and FDA collaborate to move science forward Bethesda, Maryland–(ENEWSPF)–December 7, 2011. A high-speed robotic screening system, aimed at protecting human health by improving how chemicals are tested in the United States, begins today to test 10,000 compounds for potential toxicity. The compounds cover a wide variety of classifications,[Read More…]
Statement by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Re: Plan B One-Step Emergency Contraceptive
Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–December 7, 2011. Plan B One-Step is an emergency contraceptive, sometimes referred to as the “morning after pill.” Plan B One-Step is currently labeled over the counter to women ages 17 years and older, but is sold behind the pharmacy counter. It is available by prescription only to women[Read More…]
Watch the Dawn Eclipse of the Moon, Dec. 10, 2011
Taking a break from Game 4 of the World Series on October 27, 2004, Sky & Telescope editor in chief Rick Fienberg snapped this view of that evening’s total eclipse of the Moon. Click on the image for a larger version. Sky & Telescope photo by Richard Tresch Fienberg If[Read More…]
Secretary General Ban Urges Leaders to Make Real Progress at UN Climate Change Talks
South Africa–(ENEWSPF)–6 December 2011. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged countries not to lose momentum and show determined leadership to advance negotiations at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, as States enter their first day of high-level talks. “The world is looking to you for leadership,” Mr. Ban told[Read More…]
NOAA Activates GOES-15 Satellite; Deactivates GOES-11 After Nearly 12 Years in Orbit
Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–December 6, 2011. On Dec. 6, 2011 at 1545z, GOES-15 took its first infrared image as the operational geostationary satellite positioned over the Pacific – called GOES-West. This image shows a portion of that first image. The clouds are colorized based on their temperature, an indication of storm intensity.[Read More…]
Innovative Social Media Campaign From Audubon Takes Birding Online
Nearly 10,000 “Bird the Net” for fun and prizes New York, NY–(ENEWSPF)–December 6, 2011. The competition was fierce as virtual birders pursued animated orioles, puffins, cranes and more throughout the web in Audubon’s Birding the Net. In all, more than 9,500 participated in the ambitious social media campaign that stretched[Read More…]
