Organic Gases Help Cloud Formation

Organic gases gases coat aerosolized particles in the atmosphere, enhancing their potential to form cloud droplets. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Clouds. They?re fluffy, white, and full of mystery. [Song lyric: I really don?t know clouds at all.] Although scientists may have a better handle on clouds, even they don?t know it all. Because a new study shows that atmospheric gases can help clouds form in a way no one had ever considered. That?s according to a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. [Neha Sareen et al, Surfactants from the gas phase may promote cloud droplet formation]

Clouds form when water vapor condenses around dust particles in the atmosphere. But there?s more to the sky than just water and dust. The atmosphere is loaded with trace amounts of a variety of carbon-containing gases.

To see how these organic gases might affect cloud formation, scientists mixed them with aerosolized particles, and then loaded the particles into an experimental cloud chamber. And they found that the gases coat the particles and make them more ?soapy,? which enhances their ability to form cloud droplets.

Because clouds reflect incoming sunlight, the findings could lead to better climate models. And maybe another look at clouds. [Song lyric: I?ve looked at clouds from both sides now.]

?Karen Hopkin

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast]?
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Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=48c7cb09c6e6c80f5c7dfd676993bc6d

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Braun says he used Fla clinic owner as consultant

NEW YORK (AP) ? Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun said he used the person who ran the Florida clinic under investigation by Major League Baseball only as a consultant on his drug suspension appeal last year.

"I have nothing to hide," Braun said in a statement released by his representatives to The Associated Press on Tuesday night.

Earlier in the day, Yahoo Sports reported the 2011 NL MVP's name showed up three times in records of the Biogenesis of America LLC clinic. Yahoo said no specific performance-enhancing drugs were listed next to his name.

The Miami New Times recently released clinic documents that purportedly linked Alex Rodriguez, Gio Gonzalez, Melky Cabrera and other players to purchases of banned drugs from the now-closed anti-aging center.

Rodriguez and Cabrera were on the list with Braun that also included New York Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli and Baltimore Orioles infielder Danny Valencia.

Braun said his name was in the Biogenesis records because of an issue over payment to Anthony Bosch, who ran the clinic near Miami.

"There was a dispute over compensation for Bosch's work, which is why my lawyer and I are listed under 'moneys owed' and not on any other list," Braun said.

"I have nothing to hide and have never had any other relationship with Bosch," he said. "I will fully cooperate with any inquiry into this matter."

On Tuesday, MLB officials asked the Miami New Times for the records the alternative newspaper obtained for its story.

Asked specifically about Braun's name in the documents before the five-time All-Star released his statement, MLB spokesman Pat Courtney said: "Aware of report and are in the midst of an active investigation in South Florida."

Braun tested positive during the 2011 postseason for elevated testosterone levels. He maintained his innocence and his 50-game suspension was overturned during spring training last year when arbitrator Shyam Das ruled in favor of Braun due to chain of custody issues involving the sample.

With that, Braun became the first major leaguer to have a drug suspension overturned.

"During the course of preparing for my successful appeal last year, my attorneys, who were previously familiar with Tony Bosch, used him as a consultant. More specifically, he answered questions about T/E ratio and possibilities of tampering with samples," Braun said.

The T/E ratio is a comparison of the levels of testosterone to epitestosterone.

Braun led the NL in homers (41), runs (108) and slugging percentage (.595) last season while batting .319 with 112 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. He finished second to San Francisco catcher Buster Posey in MVP balloting."

Cervelli, who spent nearly all of last season in Triple-A, posted a statement on Twitter later Tuesday night.

"Following my foot injury in March 2011, I consulted with a number of experts, including BioGenesis Clinic, for (cont)," Cervelli posted, "(cont)legal ways to aid my rehab and recovery. I purchased supplements that I am certain were not prohibited by Major League Baseball."

An email sent to Valencia's agent was not returned.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/braun-says-used-fla-clinic-owner-consultant-024438311--mlb.html

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Wall Street bounces back, Dow briefly passes 14,000

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, with the Dow rising above 14,000, as earnings came in stronger than expected and investors sought bargains a day after the market's biggest drop since November.

Dell Inc's stock rose after the world's No. 3 computer maker agreed to be taken private in a $24.4 billion deal, the largest leveraged buyout since the 2008-2009 financial crisis. The stock gained 0.8 percent to $13.39 after a delayed open.

Major stock indexes fell about 1 percent in Monday's selloff, pressured by renewed worries over the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis. Still, equities have been strong performers recently, with the benchmark S&P 500 index up about 5 percent for 2013.

Wall Street has advanced on strong fourth-quarter earnings and signs of improved economic growth, suggesting the market's longer-term trend remains higher.

"Yesterday was the first real down day of the year, which shows that we are in this strong bull market. Today we are back to the normal pattern. People are realizing that we've overreacted to Europe yesterday," said Uri Landesman, president of Platinum Partners in New York.

"Money in the euro, euro bonds and euro stocks are coming back to the good, old U.S. stock market and 1,545 (on the S&P 500) is the short-term target, probably in the first half of the year."

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was up 110.50 points, or 0.80 percent, at 13,990.58 after rising as high as 14,006. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was up 13.42 points, or 0.90 percent, at 1,509.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was up 30.96 points, or 0.99 percent, at 3,162.13.

Archer Daniels Midland reported revenue and adjusted fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations, boosted by strong global demand for oilseeds. Shares rose 3.4 percent to $29.40.

Est?e Lauder Cos Inc reported a higher quarterly profit on Tuesday and raised its full-year profit forecast. The stock rose to a new 52-week high of $66.07 earlier but traded at around $64 in afternoon.

According to Thomson Reuters data, of the 53 percent of S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings thus far, 69 percent have beaten profit expectations, over the 62 percent average since 1994 and the 65 percent average over the past four quarters.

Fourth-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are expected to rise 4.5 percent, according to the data, above the 1.9 percent forecast at the start of earnings season but well below the 9.9 percent forecast on October 1.

The S&P is less than 5 percent away from its all-time intraday high of 1,576.09, reached in October 2011.

McGraw-Hill slumped 5.4 percent to $47.55 after the Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit against it seeking $5 billion over mortgage bond ratings. Standard & Poor's, a McGraw Hill unit, was accused of inflated ratings and understated risks out of a desire to gain more business from investment banks.

The stock has dropped more than 20 percent over the past two days.

U.S. shares of BP Plc rose 1.1 percent to $44.07 after the company reported earnings that beat expectations and said underlying financial momentum would be "strongly evident" by 2014.

The Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing index was 55.2 in January, as expected and down slightly from the previous month.

(Reporting By Angela Moon; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-stock-index-futures-signal-higher-wall-street-101251316--finance.html

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Did You Hear That? I Think It Was The Sound Of A Walrus

Stand aside Beyonce, there's a new sound in town. More than 9,000 sounds, to be more precise. The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has just finished digitizing its huge archive of wildlife sounds and made it available online.

"It represents the voice of the world ? all the voices of the world," Greg Budney, audio curator for the archive, tells NPR's Scott Simon. Among the vast collection are birds, mammals, insects and amphibians, Budney says, all made available "to anyone who has an interest in nature, in conservation and in the world around them."

The library's holdings total more than 7,000 hours of sounds, the result of an 80-year collaboration between the scientific community and the library's "volunteer collaborators: private individuals who record for a hobby, really with no other purpose than engaging in science," Budney says.

David Cook Wildlife Photography/flickr

Some highlights from the collection: the clarinet-like cry of the indri lemur, which the archive describes as the "best candidate to appear on a John Coltrane record," and the spine-tingling call of the common loon.

Ken Canning/iStockphoto.com

In compiling such a vast collection, Budney has hit upon a few favorites ? like the tuneful call of the musician wren, a small brown bird found throughout the Amazon region. "It walks along the forest floor," Budney says, "flipping over leaves looking for insects."

Courtesy of John S. Dunning/VIREO

Then there's the walrus, one of Budney's favorite mammalian recordings. The sound produced to attract females, he says, "starts out with these methodical beats ? and then what sounds like a gong or banging on a garbage can lid."

The brown-backed solitaire, found in Mexico and Central America, also has a distinct call ? one that Budney considers among the world's most beautiful bird songs.

Courtesy of John S. Dunning/VIREO Courtesy of John S. Dunning/VIREO

The brown-backed solitaire and musician wren images by John S. Dunning are from the VIREO Collection of The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. Audio files are courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/02/02/170849125/did-you-hear-that-i-think-it-was-the-sound-of-a-walrus?ft=1&f=1007

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Milan court convicts 3 Americans in CIA kidnapping

MILAN (AP) ? A Milan appeals court on Friday vacated acquittals for a former CIA station chief and two other Americans, and instead convicted them in the 2003 abduction of an Egyptian terror suspect from a Milan street as part of the CIA's extraordinary rendition program.

The appeals court sentenced former CIA Rome station chief Jeffrey Castelli to seven years, and handed sentences of six years each to Americans Betnie Medero and Ralph Russomando. All three were tried in absentia at both levels. A lower court that convicted 23 other Americans in 2009 had previously acquitted the three citing diplomatic immunity.

The November 2009 convictions, which were held up on two levels of appeal, were the first anywhere in the world against CIA actors involved in a practice alleged to have led to torture.

None of the Americans tried in Italy have ever been in Italian custody, but they risk arrest if they travel to Europe and lawyers have in the past suggested that final verdicts would open the way for the Italian government to seek their extradition. No such action has yet been taken.

Italy's highest court last year upheld the convictions of the 23 other Americans in absentia in the abduction of an Egyptian terror suspect Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, on Feb. 17, 2003. Nasr was transferred to U.S. military bases in Italy, then Germany, before being flown to Egypt, where he alleges he was tortured. He has since been released.

Those convicted in the original trial included the former Milan CIA station chief, Robert Seldon Lady, whose original seven-year sentence was raised to nine years by Italy's high court. The other 22 Americans, all but one identified by prosecutors as CIA agents, also saw their sentences stiffened on the final appeal, from five to seven years.

The appeals process for Castelli and the other two was separated for technical reasons. The appellate court's reasoning was expected to be released in 15 days, but defense lawyer Alessia Sorgato said the decision noted extenuating circumstances.

"That goes some way to saying they acted on orders of a superior," said Sorgato, who represents Medero. She said she was satisfied that the sentences were less than that for the other Americans. She will decide whether to appeal to the highest court after reading the court's reasoning.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-01-Italy-CIA-Kidnapping/id-201bf4b25bb54f25be1547bb66382a67

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Alabama: Hostage drama continues

After allegedly fatally shooting a school bus driver on Tuesday, an Alabama man took a kindergartner from the bus and is now holding the boy hostage. The suspect appears to be an "antigovernment radical and survivalist," said one observer. ?

By Phil Sears,?Reuters / January 30, 2013

An undated handout photo of school bus driver Charles Albert Poland Jr. Poland who was fatally shot after a gunman boarded a bus ferrying more than 20 children home from school Tuesday. The shooter took a 6-year old kindergarten student, fled the scene and is now holed up in an underground bunker.

REUTERS/Dale County Board of Eductation/Handout

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A gunman suspected of fatally shooting an Alabama?school bus driver before holing up in an underground bunker with a young child is a?Vietnam?veteran with anti-government views, authorities and an organization that tracks hate groups said on Wednesday.

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Law enforcement officials from multiple agencies were bivouacked near the bunker in?Midland City?but offered few details about a standoff with the shooter that stretched into its second day on Wednesday.

Authorities said driver?Charles Albert Poland Jr., 66, was killed after the gunman boarded a bus ferrying more than 20 children home from school on Tuesday.

The suspect demanded the driver let a student off the bus, Alabama?media reported. When?Poland?refused, the man boarded the bus and shot the driver before taking a 6-year-old kindergarten student and fleeing the scene.

The shooting and subsequent hostage drama came as a national debate rages over gun violence, especially in schools, after a gunman shot dead 20 students and six staff members at a?Connecticut?elementary school last month.

In Alabama?on Wednesday night, the suspected gunman remained holed up with the boy in the underground bunker on his property down a dirt road. Any efforts to negotiate with the man, or to stage a hostage rescue operation, were shrouded in secrecy with authorities declining to comment.

Television images showed security force officers, clad in camouflage uniforms and brandishing assault rifles, patrolling the area.

An Alabama?legislator, Representative?Steve Clouse, told reporters the hostage suffered from Asperger's Syndrome and ADHD but had apparently been able to receive his medication while held captive. The?Dale County Sheriff's Department?said the child was not believed to have been harmed.

Schools in the area of the Alabama?shooting were closed on Wednesday and will remain shuttered for the rest of the week.?

Driver hailed as hero?

Dale County Superintendent?Donny Bynum?lauded?Poland?as "a hero ... who gave his life to protect 21 students who are now home safely with their families."

The superintendent's assistant said the young boy still being held by the gunman appeared to have been chosen at random.

"Emotions are high, and it's a struggle?for us all?to make sense of something so senseless, but let us keep this young student, his family and Mr.?Poland's family in our thoughts and prayers," Bynum said in a statement.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/sDUAZVmBSpE/Alabama-Hostage-drama-continues

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Russian Court upholds ban on &#39;extremist&#39; - Amnesty International

A Russian court's decision to uphold a ban on 'extremist' videos of Pussy Riot's protest performance in a Moscow cathedral last year, highlights the escalating clampdown on freedom of expression in the country, Amnesty International said.

The Moscow City Court on Wednesday rejected the appeal by band member Ekaterina Samutsevich and upheld the ruling of a lower court in November, banning the videos under vaguely defined counter-extremist legislation.

"The increasing use of loosely-worded counter-extremist laws to crack down on dissent shows the Russian authorities' absolute lack of respect for the right to freedom of expression as one of the foundations of a democratic society," said David Diaz-Jogeix, Europe and Central Asia Deputy Programme Director.

"The ban on Pussy Riot's videos must be lifted and all such attacks on the internationally recognized right to freedom of expression must be stopped along with the narrow application of counter-extremist legislation."

Maria Alekhina together with Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Ekaterina Samutsevich, three of the members of the all-female group Pussy Riot,? were charged with ?hooliganism on grounds of religious hatred? after they sang a protest song in Moscow?s main Orthodox cathedral in February 2012.

All three were subsequently sentenced to two years imprisonment in a penal colony but later Ekaterina Samutsevich was given a suspended sentence on appeal.

Amnesty International has expressed concern at the court's judgment that the videos contained "images and expressions that were aiming at inciting hatred or enmity and humiliation of persons based on their religion and belonging to social institutions."

The organization believes that there are no indications of violence or calls for violence in the videos.

The members of Pussy Riot insist that their actions, including the performance at the Church of Jesus the Saviour, were not intended to incite hatred, whether of religion, or of those belonging to certain social groups or other minorities.

The court judgment seems to go against a statement by the Russian Supreme Court in June 2011 that the criticism of public officials and professional politicians, their actions and beliefs in itself should not be regarded as actions aimed at humiliating or degrading a person or a group, since boundaries for criticism of such persons are wider than those of private individuals.

Source: http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/russian-court-upholds-ban-extremist-pussy-riot-videos-2013-01-31

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