NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale team assembles final observatory

May 30, 2013 ? On May 20, 2013, the Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, mission team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., reached an unprecedented milestone. The team mated the instrument and spacecraft decks to form the fourth and final MMS observatory. This is the first time Goddard has simultaneously engineered this many observatories, or spacecraft, for a single mission.

"The logistics of building four of the same thing is a new challenge, one that really makes us push the boundaries of how we operate," said Brent Robertson the MMS deputy project manager at Goddard. "These are first generation, new science observatories, and we've built them all at the same time. It's been like a very intense game of musical chairs."

The large Goddard MMS clean room can hold all four spacecraft at once, and a detailed schedule keeps track of how the team is moving from task to task. The MMS team has cause for pride in their work: building four observatories for a single mission, when many don't have the chance to build four in an entire career.

Due to launch in late 2014, MMS will investigate how the sun and Earth's magnetic fields connect and disconnect, explosively transferring energy from one to the other -- a fundamental physical process that occurs throughout the universe, known as magnetic reconnection. Using four spacecraft will provide MMS with the multipoint measurements needed to determine whether reconnection events occur in an isolated locale, everywhere within a larger region at once, or by traveling across space.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/astronomy/~3/ZR_44pnG3ow/130530152307.htm

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Guess forecasts strong sales this quarter; shares rise

By Siddharth Cavale

(Reuters) - Apparel retailer Guess Inc forecast current-quarter sales above Wall Street's estimates after reporting a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, sending its shares up 10 percent in trading after the bell.

The retailer forecast total second-quarter sales of $620 million to $635 million, which beat analysts' average estimate of $618.4 million.

"So far in the second quarter, comparable-store sales have improved (in North America) and are roughly flat for the quarter to date," Russell Bowers, Chief Financial Officer of North American Retail said on a post earnings call with analysts.

Piper Jaffray & Co analyst Erinn Murphy said the signs of improving trends in North American retail as new product initiatives unfold are encouraging for potential margin recovery. She has the stock as a 'top pick' with an "overweight" rating.

The company, however, cautioned cold weather conditions in Europe were a cause for concern.

"What we have not expected has been ... the drastic weather conditions that continue to beat Europe like we have not seen for some time in a half century. The weather has been a big factor," Chief Executive Paul Marciano said. France and Italy were the most affected, he added.

The company said it expects sales in Europe to decline in the low-single-digit percentage range in the second quarter, assuming the Euro remained at its current rate. It expects Europe sales to improve in the third quarter, which begins in August.

FIRST-QUARTER PROFIT BEATS

First-quarter net income fell to $9.9 million, or 12 cents per share in the period ended May 4, from $26.6 million, or 30 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding restructuring charges, the company earned 14 cents per share. Analysts had expected earnings of 8 cents per share.

Sales fell 5 percent to $549 million, but were in line with Wall Street's expectations.

Sales in Europe, which contributes about a third to the total revenue, fell 13 percent in the first quarter, hurt by cooler weather conditions.

"The (decline in Europe) was driven by lower wholesale shipments as well as negative comp-store sales that were down in the high single digits," interim Chief Financial Officer Nigel Kershaw said on the call.

North American retail revenue fell 5 percent.

Sales in Asia, however, offset some of the slowdown and rose 10 percent to $71.1 million.

Guess shares closed at $29.35 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.

(Reporting by Siddharth Cavale in Bangalore; Editing by Sreejiraj Eluvangal)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/guess-profit-tops-street-estimates-shares-rise-202655762.html

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Will We Eventually Need Apps To Tell Us That We Are Moral People?

It feels nice to get points. It doesn't really matter for what, but the more points the better. When you check into Foursquare you get points, and it feels nice. And sometimes you even get a badge and that feels like the ultimate vindication, even if the badge is for 10 visits to traffic court.

If this point system really speaks to people, why not use it to deal with society's problems? It's genius! For example, if people got points every time they weren't racist, they wouldn't want to be racist anymore. All inveterate and institutionalized racism would melt away, right? Because points! The comedy network Above Average made a Thingstarter for their parody app iNotRacist so you can see just how productive and effective all these tracking apps are. It's time to facilitate some social change.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/will-we-eventually-need-apps-to-tell-us-that-we-are-mor-509954592

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Passengers returning to U.S. after cruise ship fire

BALTIMORE (AP) ? For the second time this year, a fire at sea has aborted a cruise ship's voyage. This time, aboard Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas and the ship's 2,200 passengers were expected back in Baltimore on Tuesday after being flown on charter flights from the Bahamas.

The fire that began at 2:50 a.m. Monday was extinguished about two hours later with no injuries reported. A cause wasn't immediately known but the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board planned to investigate.

The ship, which left Baltimore on Friday for a seven-night cruise, was headed originally to CocoCay, Bahamas. Royal Caribbean said the ship never lost power and was able to sail into port in Freeport, Bahamas, Monday afternoon. The ship launched in 1996 and was refurbished last year.

Royal Caribbean said on its website and through social media that executives met with passengers in port and that the cruise line was arranging flights for all 2,224 guests. Also, passengers will get a full refund of their fare and a certificate for a future cruise.

Aboard ship, the captain announced that passengers needed to go to their muster stations, said passenger Mark J. Ormesher in an email to The Associated Press. Immediately after, his room attendant knocked on the door and told him and his girlfriend to grab their flotation devices. The attendant said it wasn't a drill.

Ormesher, a native of England, who lives in Manassas, Va., said he and his girlfriend smelled acrid smoke as they went to their muster station, the ship's casino. The crew quickly provided instruction.

"This encouraged calm amongst the passengers," he said. Passengers were required to remain at their stations for four hours, he said, and the captain "provided us as much information as we needed to stay safe."

Ormesher, who is 25 and on his first cruise, said the air conditioner had been shut off, and as the hours passed and the ship got hot, bottled water was distributed. The crew and passengers remained calm, and helped those who needed it. Crying babies were given formula and held while their parents used the bathrooms.

Photos show a substantial area of the stern burned on several decks of the ship the length of about three football fields.

Royal Caribbean said all guests and 796 crew were safe and accounted for. Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said in an email that the company was arranging 11 different charter flights.

The company in a statement on its website said it is "deeply sorry for this unexpected development in our guests' vacation. We understand that this may have been a very stressful time for them. We appreciate their patience and cooperation in dealing with this unfortunate situation."

Carnival Corp. also had trouble with fire aboard ship earlier this year.

The 900-foot Triumph was disabled during a February cruise by an engine room fire in the Gulf of Mexico, leaving thousands of passengers to endure cold food, unsanitary conditions and power outages while the ship was towed to Mobile, Ala. It remained there for repairs until early May when it headed back to sea under its own power.

On the Royal Caribbean ship, after passengers were allowed to leave their stations, Ormesher said he saw water on the outside of deck 5 and in the hallways. The mooring lines were destroyed he said; crew members brought new lines from storage.

The damage at the rear of the ship "looks bad," Ormesher said; burned out equipment was visible.

Martinez said in a news release that a cruise scheduled aboard the Grandeur of the Seas for May 31 has been canceled so the ship can be repaired.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/passengers-returning-us-cruise-ship-fire-084732665.html

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T-Mobile Galaxy S3 getting Android 4.1.2 and multi-window update

 

T-Mo's Galaxy S3 gets full-screen multi-tasking in latest update

Looks like there's a new over-the-air update heading out to T-Mobile's Samsung Galaxy S3 today. Reports from XDA and TmoNews point to an official Android 4.1.2 update, which brings with it Samsung's "multi-window" feature. Multi-window, which we recently demonstrated on the Galaxy S4, allows the screen to be split between two concurrently-running applications. The new "Paper Artist" app, lock screen changes and a new "4G" logo are also among the reported changes.

The over-the-air update package weighs in at more than 186MB, so you might want to wait until you're on Wifi before hitting the download button. To see if your update is ready, head to Settings > About phone > Software updates.

T-Mo GS3 owners, be sure to hit the comments and let us know how you're getting on with this latest firmware version.

Source: TmoNews, XDA

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/EXb3cIqcGjQ/story01.htm

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Hearing the Russian meteor, in America: Sound arrived in 10 hours, lasted 10 more

May 3, 2013 ? How powerful was February's meteor that crashed into Russia? Strong enough that its explosive entry into our atmosphere was detected almost 6,000 miles away in Lilburn, Ga., by infrasound sensors -- a full 10 hours after the meteor's explosion. A Georgia Tech researcher has modified the signals and made them audible, allowing audiences to "hear" what the meteor's waves sounded like as they moved around the globe on February 15.

Lilburn is home to one of nearly 400 USArray seismic/infrasound stations in use in the eastern United States. They are part of a large-scale project named "Earthscope," an initiative funded by the National Science Foundation that studies Earth's interior beneath North America. The stations are mainly deployed to record seismic waves generated from earthquakes, but their sound sensors can record ultra long-period sound waves, also known as infrasound waves.

The human ear cannot hear these infrasound signals. However, by playing the data faster than true speed, Georgia Tech faculty member Zhigang Peng increased the sound waves' frequency to audible levels. The Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology's Data Managment Center provided the data.

"The sound started at about 10 hours after the explosion and lasted for another 10 hours in Georgia," said Peng, an associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. He's confident that the sound is associated with the meteor impact because a slow propagation of the sound waves can be seen across the entire collection of USArray stations, as well as other stations in Alaska and polar regions.

"They are like tsunami waves induced by large earthquakes," Peng added. "Their traveling speeds are similar, but the infrasound propagates in the atmosphere rather than in deep oceans."

Scientists believe the meteor was about 55 feet in diameter, weighed more than 7,000 tons and raced through the sky at 40,000 miles an hour. Its energy was estimated at 30 nuclear bombs. More than 1,500 people were hurt.

Using the same sonification process, Peng also converted seismic waves from North Korea's nuclear test on February 12 and an earthquake in Nevada the next day. Each registered as a 5.1 magnitude event but created different sounds. The measurements were collected by seismic instruments located about 100 to 200 miles from each event. For further comparison, Peng has also created a seismic recording of the meteor impact at a similar distance.

"The initial sound of the nuclear explosion is much stronger, likely due to the efficient generation of compressional wave (P wave) for an explosive source," said Peng. "In comparison, the earthquake generated stronger shear waves that arrived later than its P wave."

Peng says the seismic signal from the meteor is relatively small, even after being amplified by 10 times. According to Peng, this is mainly because most of the energy from the meteor explosion propagated as the infrasound displayed in the initial sound clip. Only a very small portion was turned into seimsic waves propagating inside Earth.

This isn't the first time Peng has converted seismic data into audible files. He also sonified 2011's historic Tohoku-Oki, Japan, earthquake as it moved through Earth and around the globe.

The seismic and sound data generated by the meteor impact and other sources can be used to demonstrate their global impact. Scientists are also using them to better understand their source characterizations and how they propagate above and inside Earth.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1ey5zc6TOo

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/7mm1Fm5d-a8/130503105033.htm

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Morning-after pill okay for ages 15 and up, says FDA

The FDA announced that Plan B, usually described as a 'morning-after pill' because it can prevent pregnancy if taken shortly after sexual intercourse, will be available to girls and women without a prescription if they can prove they are at least 15 years old.

By Lauran Neergaard,?AP medical writer / April 30, 2013

Plan B One-Step (levonorgestrel), one of the brands known as the 'morning-after pill,' will be available without a prescription (over-the-counter), the FDA announced today. The FDA also lowered to 15 the age at which girls and women can buy the emergency contraceptive without a prescription.

Teva Women's Health / AP

Enlarge

The government is moving the morning-after pill over the counter but only those 15 and older can buy it ? an attempt to find middle ground just days before a court-imposed deadline to lift all age restrictions on the emergency contraceptive.

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Today, Plan B One-Step is sold behind pharmacy counters, and buyers must prove they're 17 or older to buy it without a prescription or else see a doctor first. Tuesday's decision by the Food and Drug Administration lowers the age limit to 15 ? and will allow the pill to sit on drugstore shelves next to condoms and spermicides or other women's health products. But customers must prove their age at the cash register.

Teva Women's Health, which makes Plan B, said it would begin over-the-counter sales in a few months.

The question is whether Tuesday's action settles a larger court fight. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Edward Korman of New York blasted the Obama administration for imposing the age-17 limit, saying it had let election-year politics trump science and was making it hard for women of any age to obtain the emergency contraception in time. He ordered an end to all age restrictions by Monday, for Plan B and its generic versions.

The FDA said Tuesday's decision was independent of the court case and wasn't intended to address it. Technically, the FDA approved Teva's application to sell Plan B in this manner.

The Justice Department remained mum on whether it planned to appeal Korman's decision, and the White House had no immediate comment.

The women's group that sued over the age limits said Tuesday's action is not enough, and it will continue the court fight if necessary.

Lowering the age limit "may reduce delays for some young women but it does nothing to address the significant barriers that far too many women of all ages will still find if they arrive at the drugstore without identification," said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights.

The FDA said the Plan B One-Step will be packaged with a product code that prompts the cashier to verify a customer's age. Anyone who can't provide such proof as a driver's license, birth certificate or passport wouldn't be allowed to complete the purchase. In most states, driver's licenses, the most common form of identification, are issued at age 16.

"These are daunting and sometimes insurmountable hoops women are forced to jump through in time-sensitive circumstances, and we will continue our battle in court to remove these arbitrary restrictions on emergency contraception for all women," Northup said.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/G3C3ZAiI2DA/Morning-after-pill-okay-for-ages-15-and-up-says-FDA

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Musical memory deficits start in auditory cortex

Apr. 30, 2013 ? Congenital amusia is a disorder characterized by impaired musical skills, which can extend to an inability to recognize very familiar tunes. The neural bases of this deficit are now being deciphered. According to a study conducted by researchers from CNRS and Inserm at the Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon (CNRS / Inserm / Universit? Claude Bernard Lyon 1), amusics exhibit altered processing of musical information in two regions of the brain: the auditory cortex and the frontal cortex, particularly in the right cerebral hemisphere. These alterations seem to be linked to anatomical anomalies in these same cortices. This work, published in May in the journal Brain, adds invaluable information to our understanding of amusia and, more generally, of the "musical brain," in other words the cerebral networks involved in the processing of music.

Congenital amusia, which affects between 2 and 4% of the population, can manifest itself in various ways: by difficulty in hearing a "wrong note," by singing "out of tune" and sometimes by an aversion to music. For some of these individuals, music is like a foreign language or a simple noise. Amusia is not due to any auditory or psychological problem and does not seem to be linked to other neurological disorders. Research on the neural bases of this impairment only began a decade ago with the work of the Canadian neuropsychologist Isabelle Peretz.

Two teams from the Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon (CNRS / Inserm / Universit? Claude Bernard Lyon 1) have studied the encoding of musical information and the short-term memorization of notes. According to previous work, amusical individuals experience particular difficulty in hearing the pitch of notes (low or high) and, although they remember sequences of words normally, they have difficulty in memorizing sequences of notes.

In a bid to determine the regions of the brain concerned with these memorization difficulties, the researchers conducted magneto-encephalographs (a technique that allows very weak magnetic fields produced by neural activity to be measured at the surface of the head) on a group of amusics while they were performing a musical task. The task consisted in listening to two tunes separated by a two-second gap. The volunteers were asked to determine whether the tunes were identical or different.

The scientists observed that, when hearing and memorizing notes, amusics exhibited altered sound processing in two regions of the brain: the auditory cortex and the frontal cortex, essentially in the right hemisphere. Compared to non-amusics, their neural activity was delayed and impaired in these specific areas when encoding musical notes. These anomalies occurred 100 milliseconds after the start of a note.

These results agree with an anatomical observation that the researchers have confirmed using MRI: amusical individuals have an excess of grey matter in the inferior frontal cortex, accompanied by a deficit in white matter, one of whose essential constituents is myelin. This surrounds and protects the axons of the neurons, helping nerve signals to propagate rapidly. The researchers also observed anatomical anomalies in the auditory cortex. This data lends weight to the hypothesis according to which amusia could be due to insufficient communication between the auditory cortex and the frontal cortex.

Amusia thus stems from impaired neural processing from the very first steps of sound processing in the auditory nervous system. This work makes it possible to envisage a program to remedy these musical difficulties, by targeting the early steps of the processing of sounds and their memorization.

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Journal Reference:

1. P. Albouy, J. Mattout, R. Bouet, E. Maby, G. Sanchez, P.-E. Aguera, S. Daligault, C. Delpuech, O. Bertrand, A. Caclin, B. Tillmann. Impaired pitch perception and memory in congenital amusia: the deficit starts in the auditory cortex. Brain, 2013; 136 (5): 1639 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awt082

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/gIAYfMbGmWs/130430131346.htm

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