Big DataData Storage

Microsoft, Facebook Partner On AI Framework Interoperability

Follow on: Google +

On Sept. 7, Microsoft and Facebook announced Open Neural Network Exchange (ONNX), a format for deep learning models that encourages interoperability between AI frameworks. ONNX was do-developed by the two companies as an open-source project and are now encouraging developers to help extend the technology by visiting the project’s page on GitHub and downloading its code and related documentation.

“ONNX provides a shared model representation for interoperability and innovation in the AI framework ecosystem,” wrote Eric Boyd, corporate vice president of AI Data and Infrastructure at Microsoft, in a blog post. “Cognitive Toolkit, Caffe2, and PyTorch will all be supporting ONNX.”

Artificial Intelligence AI

AI framework interoperability

There are perks for hardware vendors as well, Boyd said.

By targeting ONNX, hardware makers can effect multiple frameworks with their neural network optimizations in one fell swoop. “Frequently optimizations need to be integrated separately into each framework which can be a time-consuming process. The ONNX representation makes it easier for optimizations to reach more developers,” explained Boyd.

At Facebook, ONNX is helping to narrow the gap between the social media giant’s research and its commercialization efforts, pushing AI innovations through the company’s product pipeline faster, explained Joaquin Quinonero Candela, director of Applied Machine Learning, at Facebook, in a separate blog post.

“We can now export models for many common neural networks from PyTorch and deploy them on Caffe2. This is the first step in enabling us to rapidly move our latest research developments into production,” stated the Facebook executive. “Over the coming months, we will be enhancing ONNX and releasing improvements to Caffe2 and PyTorch that enable them to interoperate more deeply.”

Which mobile operating system do you use?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Cognitive Toolkit, Microsoft’s open-source AI software toolset, will support ONNX in an upcoming release, Boyd said. Cognitive Toolkit version 2.0 (formerly Computational Network Toolkit or CNTK) was released on June 1 and includes a deep learning system based on image and speech recognition technologies developed by Microsoft Research. With Facebook’s help, the software maker also plans to contribute tools and reference implementations, among other resources, said Boyd.

Facebook isn’t the only company forming AI alliances with Microsoft.

Originally published on eWeek

Quiz: What do you know about AI?


Geography @ Sonning

Mrs S Clowes

Geography Leader

Welcome to the Geography Page! Geography resources and information can be found here.

Children are given the opportunity to investigate the features of their local surroundings as well as questioning why environments change. In their work they develop their knowledge and understanding of places, rivers and settlements and are encouraged to develop mapping skills.  Off-site visits and activities support the development of geographical skills.


Senate takes up energy bill after 2-month delay for Flint

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Tuesday revived a bill that would promote a variety of energy sources, from renewables such as solar and wind power to natural gas, hydropower and geothermal energy.

“Moving forward with this act will help America produce more energy and bring us one step closer to being an energy superpower,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, one of the bill co-sponsors. “At the same time, it will help Americans save more money and save energy with all of the energy-policy provisions.”

Congress last approved broad energy measures in 2005 and 2007, during the George W. Bush administration. The two laws aimed to boost U.S. energy independence by cutting reliance on imported oil, boosting fuel economy standards for cars and imposing a mandate for ethanol in gasoline.

Since then, the U.S. energy landscape has changed dramatically, as improved drilling techniques, including hydraulic fracturing, have sparked a years-long boom that has pushed the United States to lead become the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas. Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, involves injecting water mixed with sand and chemicals into underground rock formations, allowing oil and gas to flow.

The Senate bill includes a long-delayed energy efficiency measure that includes incentives to cut energy use in commercial buildings, manufacturing plants and homes. The measure, co-sponsored by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, also requires federal agencies to develop best practices to increase energy efficiency in federal buildings.

The efficiency measure has passed the Senate before but has not been approved in the House.

Beside the Flint provision, Murkowski and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., also worked to remove a series of procedural obstacles that delayed the overall bill, including an amendment by Louisiana Sens. Bill Cassidy and David Vitter to expand revenue sharing for states where offshore drilling occurs.

Cassidy and Vitter, both Republicans, want Gulf Coast states to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue. They also would expand revenue sharing to Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, if drilling begins in those states. The Obama administration has blocked drilling in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Louisiana senators agreed to drop their amendment after Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., objected. Nelson said he feared the measure could increase pressure to allow drilling off the Florida coast.

Cassidy said Senate leaders have assured him that a revenue-sharing proposal will be voted on this year. “Revenue sharing is not only about fairness, it is about Louisiana’s survival and American energy security,” he said.

Reach Matthew Daly:


In the early evening hours of Thursday, Shenandoah Police Officers assisted by deputies from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, officers from the Oak Ridge North Police Department and Phillip Hight, Milstead Towing Company driver, rescued a deer from the waterway in the Portofino Shopping Center.

The deer had become trapped and was at risk of drowning after it had crossed the freeway in front of the shopping center with a small herd.

The deer was uninjured and, with the assistance of A Plus Towing Company, was relocated to a nearby wooded area a safe distance from the freeway.

The rescue team was surrounded by a group of people who had stopped to watch as the events unfolded and received a round of applause and cheers as the deer was brought safely out of the water. It is believed that the rescue was captured on several cell phone cameras.


International Museum Day 2017

In 2017, the theme of International Museum Day is  “Museums and contested histories: Saying the unspeakable in museums”.  In this day and age, It is a rather pertinent topic and here is how ICOM explain why museums are important institutions in our tumultuous world.

History is a vital tool for defining a given people’s identity, and each of us defines ourselves through important and fundamental historic events. Contested histories are unfortunately not isolated traumatic events. These histories, which are often little known or misunderstood, resonate universally, as they concern and affect us all.

Museum collections offer reflections of memories and representations of history. This day will therefore provide an opportunity to show how museums display and depict traumatic memories to encourage visitors to think beyond their own individual experiences.


Vulnerabilities Within Ruby on Rails

by Arvind Doraiswamy on May 5, 2015

I recently did a web application penetration testing assessment for an application that used Ruby on Rails. Besides checking for all of the common web application vulnerabilities, such as the OWASP Top 10 and other issues that could exist on any web platform I also wanted to dive deeply into the framework of Rails and see what issues I could identify at that layer.

In this blog post I’ll walk you through my findings and give you a checklist of common Ruby on Rails issues that we’ve seen. If you’re a developer this is a great guideline to make sure you’ve done everything at the framework level you can. If you’re a tester this can be a checklist to find issues that may have slipped through the cracks.

Of course, any application should be externally pen tested by an expert. Since Security Engineers live and breathe security they often understand vulnerabilities and edge cases that would be difficult for a developer or tester to keep abreast of. If you’d like us to take a look at your application, check out our services page or contact us for more information.

Ensure that Rails is patched. Identify the version of rails that is currently being used. Ensure that it is not vulnerable to any known exploits. The current version of Rails at the time of this writing is 4.2.1, but you can always check rubyonrails.org for the latest.

Identify versions of all the other gems that are used. The best way to do this is by looking at the file “Gemfile” that is located by default in RAILS_ROOT. Many gems might add some great functionality for the application but have behavior that could potentially be vulnerable as well. For example: The act_as_paranoid gem has a nice feature that does not permanently delete records, allowing for easy restoration. However, this might have legal or compliance consequences for PII or other sensitive data that should be destroyed after specific amount of time, it could also increase your risk of damage if a data breach were to occur. You can browse through the issues list of most gems on github or perform your own code review on critical gems.

SQL Injection. A lot of what Rails does with databases is secure by default. For example: By default the find () and the multiple find_by_<whatever> are all mostly secure by default and internally parameterize user input. However there are ways to write insecure queries. The find_by_sql() and execute() methods are 2 ways this can happen. These are good terms to grep through gems for, by the way, we once found an exploitable sql injection vulnerability in a required gem by searching through the source for find_by_sql(). It’s a good idea to look at the site http://rails-sqli.org/ which explains a number of ways in which insecure SQL queries are written. Notice that the entire page deals with examples written the 'wrong' way. So, be careful while comparing your code with the examples on that page.

Secrets in initialization files. Rails reads a number of files during the initialization process. It is possible that there are secrets hard-coded in many of them or code that is not as secure as that written in the other, more visible parts of the application. While auditing code, make sure that you also look at all the initialization files. A good reference to understand what files Rails looks at, during initialization is http://guides.rubyonrails.org/initialization.html. Do not hard code secrets in the code.

There are a couple of options to secure secrets. They could be stored in user-specific or PID-specific environment variables. This is what Rails recommends by default. Alternatively, they could be stored in a configuration file secured by setting strong OS level permissions. Ideally, the configuration file should be encrypted and the key stored in a keyring protected by the OS. On Windows, DPAPI (https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms995355.aspx) can be used to protect the key.

Cross-site scripting. Rails escapes content by default since Rails version 2.2, when rendered in a view between the <%= and %> tags. However if html_safe is used instead on user input, you are white-listing the data and telling Rails to NOT protect the user input. Doing this, bypasses the default protection, and is unsafe unless it is explicitly converted/encoded before being rendered. Using raw directly on user input has a similar affect, it is also is a bad practice and will cause JavaScript in user input to be executed. This is because the user input is rendered directly to the user’s browser without the user-input ever being output encoded.

Here are links to the official documentation for raw (http://apidock.com/rails/ActionView/Helpers/OutputSafetyHelper/r aw) and html_safe (http://apidock.com/rails/String/html_safe). Here is a great RailsCast on the subject that you should definitely see - http://railscasts.com/episodes/204-xss-protection-in-rails-3.

If you are rendering JSON to the browser, use the render json call – render json: user_input_variable. Here is a good read about the same: http://blog.bigbinary.com/2012/05/10/xss-and- rails.html.

Here is a link to the official documentation as well - http://guides.rubyonrails.org/layouts_and_rendering.html#using-render.

Cross-Site Request Forgery. Most web applications will have actions that the user can perform and change server state. Hence automatically, CSRF becomes a valid attack for an attacker to try and perform. Rails has built-in protection against CSRF. If you see that application.rb has a line which says protect_from_forgery, and it’s being run, you're protected for all the POST requests that make state changes in the application.

For PUT and DELETE, invariably a token will be added as a custom header like X-CSRF-TOKEN with every request. This is usually done inside some common Javascript file, which reads a response...and pulls the server-set token from a hidden field and sets it in every request. It is highly possible though, that all these tokens never expire and are used across sessions even after days – as Rails doesn’t do
that by default – so make sure you do it.

Lastly, focus on GET requests. In general GET should not be used to perform a state change on the backend. If there any GETs which perform a state change in the backend these will have to be protected from CSRF. By default protection is not available for any GET requests. Ensure you don’t use GET to change state. Here is a good reference about this - http://guides.rubyonrails.org/security.html#csrf- countermeasures

Session Fixation. The session ID is generated usually when a user logs in to the application. By default though, the session ID doesn't change after the user logs in successfully. An attacker can misuse this behavior and gain access to a user’s session and eventually data as well. So, make sure that you call reset_session as soon as the user logs in successfully. Here is a good reference about this - http://guides.rubyonrails.org/security.html#session-fixation-countermeasures

Mass assignment. Mass assignment basically means setting the values of a number of database records via user input. Most times, the application will intend for the user to change only very specific fields in the database via user input (like say changing your date of birth - should change only your DOB and the user shouldn't be able to change the date the record was modified - for example.). If the defenses against mass-assignment aren't there – this kind of attack is possible.

Rails 3 defended against this using attr_accessible but Rails 4 has something called strong parameters with the :permit keyword which defends against this type of an attack. A developer can explicitly mention the parameters whose values can be changed, using strong parameters. Ensure that every action in every controller defends against this type of attack. Here is a nice reference that explains this attack - http://code.tutsplus.com/tutorials/mass-assignment-rails-and-you--net-31695

Server headers. Adding security headers is a nice additional layer of security. Ensure that the default_headers directive is set centrally. Alternatively, ensure you have the Strict-Transport-Security, X-XSS-Protection, X- Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options and X-Content-Security-Policy headers configured with the most secure values. Here is a reference to learn more about this subject - https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Ruby_on_Rails_Cheatsheet#Security-related_headers

If you allow a site other than your own to make changes to the content you host, ensure that you have configured CORS properly as well. Do not use the “*” wildcard in the Access-Control-Allow-Origin header, thus allowing any other website to modify content on your site. Here is a reference that explains this subject in greater detail - https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Ruby_on_Rail s_Cheatsheet#Cross_Origin_Resource_Sharing

Arbitrary URL redirects. This test is basically checking for arbitrary URL redirects to websites on the internet or even other intranet websites. Check if the render and redirect_to methods used in any ruby file, usually the controller – depend on user input. If yes, ensure that all the user input is canonicalized, and users are redirected only to sites that are white- listed. Here are a couple of good references:

https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Ruby_on_Rails_Cheatsh eet#Dynamic_Render_Paths

Insecure File uploads. The public files and folders in Rails are in the public/ directory under the application root. Users should not be able to upload arbitrary files to the public/ directory or any other directory that is directly accessible by an end-user and then be able to view/execute their uploaded files. Here is a good reference that discusses this in greater detail- http://guides.rubyonrails.org/security.html#executable-code-in-file-uploads

Logging sensitive information. Applications usually have auditing and logging enabled and at times log all the values that users send to the application as part of their requests. Care should be taken that values that contain sensitive information should never ever be logged. Ensure that config.filter_parameters in one of the initialization files – usually application.rb (Rails 3) OR config/initializers/filter_parameters.rb (Rails 4). All the parameters that should NEVER be logged must be values. Here is a good reference - http://brettu.com/rails-daily-ruby-tips-160-rails-4-filter-parameter-logging-moved-to-initializers/.

Authorization bypass. It is possible that certain SQL queries when made are insecure. The form Model.find or Model.find_by_<whatever>(params[:id]) is used, which causes every value to be returned. Instead, only records for the current user must be returned. Either use something like current_user.<models>.find OR add a where clause to the query that returns only specific records.

Public controller actions. Methods that are public in the controller can be directly invoked. Let us assume that there were 2 methods like f1() and f2() in the controller. If the only way that f2() was supposed to be called...was inside f1()... then f2 ()must definitely be private or protected.

If f2() is declared as public an attacker could directly invoke f2() using a REST URL like https://host/controller/f2. That could be fairly dangerous, depending on what f2() actually does. The code must be audited to identify all public methods. To actually exploit this though, the routes in config/routes.rb needs to be understood and the actual URL needed to invoke any of these public methods needs to be identified. Here is a good reference - https://www.ruby-forum.com/topic/210344.

Using default routes. Ensure that there are no default routes present there. Using default routes could generate many routes that users should not ever access as they could end up modifying content without having the requisite authorization. Here is a good blog that discusses this problem – https://ihower.tw/blog/archives/3265.

Accessing these routes could allow a user to modify the backend database. Here is a nice reference that explains a bit more on this topic - http://guides.rubyonrails.org/v2.3.11/routing.html#default-routes.

Overall though, I quite like Rails’ commitment to security. They attempt to do many things right – out-of-the-box which makes shooting one-self in the foot while developing stuff much harder. This blog discusses a number of the issues that affect Rails applications. If you address all the issues referred in this blog, in your RoR application, you are on your way towards making it more secure for all your users.

Topics: developer guidance, application security

Most Recent

What's Trending

Featured Resource


Opines are low molecular weight compounds found in plant crown gall tumours or hairy root tumors produced by parasitic bacteria of the genus Agrobacterium. Opine biosynthesis is catalysed by specific enzymes encoded by genes contained in a small segment of DNA (known as the T-DNA, for 'transfer DNA'), which is part of the Ti plasmid, inserted by the bacterium into the plant genome. The opines are used by the bacterium as an important source of nitrogen and energy. Each strain of Agrobacterium induces and catabolizes a specific set of opines. There are at least 30 different opines described so far.

Chemical structure

Chemically, opines fall into two major structural classes:

Chemical structure of nopaline
Chemical structure of octopine

1. The vast majority are secondary amine derivatives formed by condensation of an amino acid, either with a keto acid or a sugar. The first subcategory includes the nopaline and octopine families. The nopaline family (nopaline, nopalinic acid, leucinopine, glutaminopine, succinamopine) is formed when alpha-ketoglutarate serves as the keto substrate in the condensation reaction. The octopine family (octopine, octopinic acid, lysopine, histopine) is formed when pyruvate is involved in the condensation reaction.

Chemical structure of mannopine

The second subcategory includes the mannityl family (mannopine, mannopinic acid, agropine, agropinic acid) formed by the condensation of an amino-acid with mannose.

2. Agrocinopines form a small, separate class of opines. Chemically they're sugar-phosphodiesters. For example, agrocinopine A is a phosphodiester of sucrose and L-arabinose.

The name opine comes from octopine, the first opine discovered in 1927, not in crown galls, but in octopus muscle. According to Oxford English Dictionary, the word opine was first used in print in 1977. Usually, the name of newly discovered opines has the ending "-opine". Exceptions are nopaline and strombine. On the additional hand, not all molecule names ending in "-opine" are opines. For example, atropine, stylopine, europine, and lycopine belong to different classes of molecules.


Event Details
Subject to Change

Event Name: RPG Appreciation or: Why I Grumble about Today’s Youth
Event Description: Role Playing Games have always been recognized as those most at the forefront of storytelling in video games. In addition to creative original stories, RPG's draw from mythology and many of the world's religions to weave tales of adventure, political intrigue, mysticism and spirituality. This panel is for fans of both, hosted by a video game lover who is far too analytical for his own good. Come by and let's discuss some of these games' difficult to explain mysteries, deep exposition into seemingly simple events, or just what Cloud has done to deserve Aerith or Tifa...


Learn More
Activations in human dorsomedial frontal and cingulate cortices are often present in neuroimaging studies of decision making and action selection. Interpretations have emphasized executive control, movement sequencing, error detection and conflict monitoring. Recently, however, experimental approaches, using lesions, inactivation, and cell recording, have(More)
Reward-guided decision-making and learning depends on distributed neural circuits with many components. Here we focus on recent evidence that suggests four frontal lobe regions make distinct contributions to reward-guided learning and decision-making: the lateral orbitofrontal cortex, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and adjacent medial orbitofrontal(More)
Behavioral ecologists and economists emphasize that potential costs, as well as rewards, influence decision making. Although neuroscientists assume that frontal areas are central to decision making, the evidence is contradictory and the critical region remains unclear. Here it is shown that frontal lobe contributions to cost-benefit decision making can be(More)
Although tasks assessing the role of dopamine in effort-reward decisions are similar to those concerned with the role of serotonin in impulsive choice in that both require analysis of the costs and benefits of possible actions, they have never been directly compared. This study investigated the involvement of serotonin and dopamine in two cost-benefit(More)
Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is widely held to be critical for flexibility in decision-making when established choice values change. OFC's role in such decision making was investigated in macaques performing dynamically changing three-armed bandit tasks. After selective OFC lesions, animals were impaired at discovering the identity of the highest value(More)
In both the wild and the laboratory, animals' preferences for one course of action over another reflect not just reward expectations but also the cost in terms of effort that must be invested in pursuing the course of action. The ventral striatum and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACCd) are implicated in the making of cost-benefit decisions in the rat,(More)
The rat medial frontal cortex (MFC) has been implicated in allowing animals to work harder to receive larger rewards. However, it is unknown what role the individual MFC regions [anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and prelimbic-infralimbic cortex (PL-IL)] play in such decision making. To investigate this, we trained rats on a T-maze cost-benefit task with two(More)


operational amplifiers
Skip this Video
Download Presentation
Operational Amplifiers

Loading in 2 Seconds...

play fullscreen
1 / 26

Operational Amplifiers - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

  • Uploaded on

Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory. Boylestad. Operational Amplifiers. Chapter 10. Ch.10 Summary. The Basic Op-Amp. Operational amplifier (Op-amp) : A high gain differential amplifier with a high input impedance (typically in M  ) and low output impedance (less than 100  ).

Download Presentation

PowerPoint Slideshow about 'Operational Amplifiers' - deacon-holmes

Presentation Transcript
Ch.10 Summary

The Basic Op-Amp

Note the op-amp has two inputs and one output.

Ch.10 Summary

Op-Amp Gain

  • Op-Amps can be connected in open-loop or closed-loop configurations.
    • Open-loop: A configuration with no feedback from the op-amp output back to its input. Op-amp open-loop gain typically exceeds 10,000.
    • Closed-loop: A configuration that has a negative feedback path from the op-amp output back to its input. Negative feedback reduces the gain and improves many characteristics of the op-amp.
    • Closed-loop gain is always lower than open-loop gain.
Ch.10 Summary

Inverting Op-Amp

The input signal is applied to the inverting (–) input

The non-inverting input (+) is grounded

The feedback resistor (Rf)is connected from the output to the negative (inverting) input; providing negative feedback.

Ch.10 Summary

Inverting Op-Amp Gain

Gain is set using external resistors: Rf and R1

Gain can be set to any value by manipulating the values of Rf and R1.

Unity gain (Av = 1):

The negative sign denotes a 180 phase shift between input and output.

Ch.10 Summary

Virtual Ground

Virtual ground: A term used to describe the condition where Vi 0 V (at the inverting input) when the noninverting input is grounded.

The op-amp has such high input impedance that even with a high gain there is no current through the inverting input pin, therefore all of the input current passes through Rf.

Ch.10 Summary

Common Op-Amp Circuits

Inverting amplifier

Noninverting amplifier

Unity follower

Summing amplifier

Ch.10 Summary

Inverting/Noninverting Amplifiers

Inverting Amplifier

Noninverting Amplifier

Ch.10 Summary

Unity Follower

Ch.10 Summary

Summing Amplifier

Because the op-amp has a high input impedance, the multiple inputs are treated as separate inputs.

Ch.10 Summary

The output is the integral of the input; i.e., proportional to the area under the input waveform. This circuit is useful in low-pass filter circuits and sensor conditioning circuits.

Ch.10 Summary

The differentiator takes the derivative of the input. This circuit is useful in high-pass filter circuits.

Ch.10 Summary

DC-Offset Parameters

Even when the input voltage is zero, an op-amp can have an output offset. The following can cause this offset:

  • Input offset voltage
  • Input offset current
  • Input offset voltage and input offset current
  • Input bias current
Ch.10 Summary

Input Offset Voltage (VIO)

The specification sheet for an op-amp indicates an input offset voltage (VIO).

The effect of this input offset voltage on the output can be calculated with

Ch.10 Summary

Input Offset Current (IIO)

If there is a difference between the dc bias currents generated by the same applied input, this also causes an output offset voltage:

  • The input offset current (IIO) is specified in the specifications for an op-amp.
  • The effect of IIO on the output offset voltage can be calculated using:
Ch.10 Summary

Total Offset Due to VIO and IIO

Op-amps may have an output offset voltage due to VIO and IIO. The total output offset voltage equals the sum of the effects of both:

Ch.10 Summary

Input Bias Current (IIB)

A parameter that is related to input offset current (IIO) is called input bias current(IIB)

The input bias currents are calculated using:

The total input bias current is the average of the two:

Ch.10 Summary

Frequency Parameters

An op-amp is a wide-bandwidth amplifier. The following factors affect the bandwidth of the op-amp:

  • Gain
  • Slew rate
Ch.10 Summary

Gain and Bandwidth

The op-amp’s high frequency response is limited by its internal circuitry. The plot shown is for an open loop gain (AOL or AVD). This means that the op-amp is operating at the highest possible gain with no feedback resistor.

In the open loop mode, an op-amp has a narrow bandwidth. The bandwidth widens in closed-loop mode, but the gain is lower.

Ch.10 Summary

Slew Rate (SR)

Slew rate (SR): The maximum rate at which an op-amp can change output without distortion.

The SR rating is listed in the specification sheets as the V/s rating.

Ch.10 Summary

Maximum Signal Frequency

The slew rate determines the highest frequency of the op-amp without distortion.

where VP is the peak voltage

Ch.10 Summary

General Op-Amp Specifications

Other op-amp ratings found on specification sheets are:

  • Absolute Ratings
  • Electrical Characteristics
  • Performance
Ch.10 Summary

Absolute Ratings

These are common maximum ratings for the op-amp.

Ch.10 Summary

Electrical Characteristics

Note: These ratings are for specific circuit conditions, and they often include minimum, maximum and typical values.

Ch.10 Summary

One rating that is unique to op-amps is CMRR or common-mode rejection ratio.

Because the op-amp has two inputs that are opposite in phase (inverting input and the non-inverting input) any signal that is common to both inputs will be cancelled.

Op-amp CMRR is a measure of the ability to cancel out common-mode signals.

Ch.10 Summary

Op-Amp Performance

The specification sheets will also include graphs that indicate the performance of the op-amp over a wide range of conditions.


Mobiado Lucido for only 200 affluent people

Taking pride at being a limited edition, the Mobiado Lucido takes inspiration from Mobiado Luminoso for exclusivity. Combining sapphire crystal, stainless steel, and aircraft aluminum, the phone will head home to only 200 affluent. Functionality takes a backseat with this phone, as it concentrates only at looking good and costing a bomb. Specs read triband GSM and WCDMA 2100 network coverage, support for MP3, MP4, eAAC+ and AAC multimedia file formats, 2 megapixel camera and 2GB of memory. Since price and availability has not yet been disclosed, one can assume that deep pockets will be easily be able to afford it.

READ:  Mobiado Professional 105 Damascus in steel is the new luxury phone


Download E-books Engineering Animals: How Life Works PDF

By Mark Denny

The alarm calls of birds lead them to tough for predators to find, whereas the howl of wolves and the croak of bullfrogs are designed to hold throughout lengthy distances. From an engineer's standpoint, how do such really expert diversifications between residing issues quite work? And how does physics constrain evolution, channeling it specifically directions?

Writing with wit and a richly knowledgeable experience of ask yourself, Denny and McFadzean provide a professional examine animals as works of engineering, each one exquisitely tailored to a particular demeanour of survival, no matter if that implies spinning webs or flying throughout continents or looking within the dark-or writing books. this actual e-book, containing greater than 100 illustrations, conveys essentially, for engineers and nonengineers alike, the actual ideas underlying animal constitution and behavior.

Pigeons, for instance-when understood as marvels of engineering-are flying distant sensors: they've got wideband acoustical receivers, hi-res optics, magnetic sensing, and celestial navigation. Albatrosses fritter away little power whereas touring throughout large southern oceans, by means of exploiting a method recognized to glider pilots as dynamic hovering. between bugs, one species of fly can find the resource of a valid accurately, even supposing the fly itself is way smaller than the wavelength of the sound it hears. And that big-brained, upright nice Ape? Evolution has outfitted us to determine a big truth in regards to the wildlife: that there's extra to lifestyles than engineering, yet no existence in any respect with no it.

Show description

Read or Download Engineering Animals: How Life Works PDF

Similar Animals books

New from Smithsonian Books, After the Ice is an eye-opening examine the winners and losers within the high-stakes tale of Arctic transformation, from countries to local peoples to animals and the very panorama itself. writer Alun Anderson explores the results of world warming amid new geopolitical rivalries, combining technological know-how, enterprise, politics, and event to supply a desirable narrative portrait of this quickly altering land of remarkable worldwide value.

The Truth of Me

My Family and Other Animals

Whilst the novel Durrell family members can now not undergo the damp, grey English weather, they do what any good relations could do: promote their condominium and relocate to the sunny Greek isle of Corfu. My kin and different Animals was once meant to include the traditional background of the island yet ended up as a pleasant account of Durrell’s family’s studies, from the numerous eccentric hangers-on to the ceaseless procession of domestic dogs, toads, scorpions, geckoes, ladybugs, glowworms, octopuses, bats, and butterflies into their domestic.

Mr. Putter & Tabby Catch the Cold

Extra resources for Engineering Animals: How Life Works

Show sample text content

Or, to place it differently, it has loads of eyes, ears, and noses; after they notice anything of curiosity, they react instinctively, and the remainder of the flock follows. This collective motion offers the flock large merits in recognizing either threats and meals. 15 it may additionally offer defense opposed to the chilly. for instance, within the depths of the Antarctic wintry weather, Emperor Penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) incubating their eggs at the naked ice will shape a compact huddle with every one chook leaning ahead onto a neighbor. The birds at the outdoor of the huddle, the place it truly is chillier, are looking to movement to the interior, the place it really is hotter. Their light yet power shuffling for place produces a sluggish churning of the flock, which sees every one chicken relocating from outdoors to inside of and again back. for that reason, every body remains hot sufficient to make sure that they, and their eggs, live to tell the tale. So, if flocks provide some of these remarkable advantages, and also you don’t need to be particularly shrewdpermanent to interact in flocking habit, why don’t all animals shape flocks? the obvious drawback is if a wide flock reveals a small meals offer, now not every body will get to consume. (The variety of participants in a flock may possibly itself be made up our minds by way of the interactions of a sequence of straightforward principles that stability the benefits and drawbacks of alternative flock sizes. ) one other down-side to flocking is that a few predatory species have realized to use the flocking habit in their prey through herding them into positions the place they are often extra simply stuck. often the particular seize includes breaking the integrity of the flock to isolate the weaker, slower contributors. as soon as separated, they develop into even more susceptible. notwithstanding, species as assorted as cetaceans and sea birds can use a spread of—often cooperative—techniques to herd prey like small fish or krill into clusters which are so tightly packed that the predators easily can't s i m p l e c o m p l e x i t y : e m e r g e n t b e h av i o r one hundred forty five omit. And for a tiny fish confronted through a predator the dimensions of a humpback whale, sticking rather on the subject of your acquaintances isn’t going to be a lot aid in any respect. Animal species that flock are ones that take advantage of flocking habit; for them, benefits outweigh dangers. so much flocking creatures are ones preyed on through whatever else. Starlings flock; sparrowhawks don’t. Predators that shape flocks, like these proven in determine forty five, achieve this for purposes except defense (most most likely more suitable sensory power and better hunting). So, sheep shape flocks, yet wolves, well—wolves are a bit varied. Like a Wolf at the Fold Wolves are carnivorous mammals. As such, they're regularly opportunists by way of supper time, consuming something they could, from a beetle to a bison. provided that an grownup regularly wishes someplace among three and 10 kilos of meat an afternoon, it is smart for a wolf to head after prey on the higher finish of the scale—a better animal charges extra power to capture yet presents even more strength whether it is stuck (recall bankruptcy 1).

Rated 4.32 of 5 – based on 13 votes


Gaia Space Telescope Transported to Its Launch Location, Will Start Mapping Our Galaxy in Three Months

August 26, 2013

Thirteen years after its approval, the Gaia telescope is finally scheduled to be launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) into Earth's orbit in less than three months. Its mission consists of mapping about a billion stars, discovering thousands of exoplanets as well as dwarf planets at the edge of the solar system.

Artist's concept of the Gaia spacecraft.

Artist's concept of the Gaia spacecraft.

On November 20, 08:57 GMT, the European Space Agency will launch a Soyuz rocket carring Global Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics (GAIA) spacecraft with its two telescopes. The rocket will launch from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana.

Its mission? During the next five years it will observe about one billion stars in the Milky Way in order to create a three-dimensional map and study the origin and evolution of our galaxy. It will also look for exoplanets, mostly gas giants, as well as objects in our solar system such as asteroids between Earth and the Sun or icy dwarf planets at on the outer frontier of the solar system. Finally, it will test Einstein's theory of general relativity by observing how the Sun's gravitational pull bends starlight.

"The estimate of the number of stars in the Milky Way is between 100 and 200 billion stars, so we observe between one-half and one percent of these stars," said Timo Prusti, scientist at Gaia's project. "Because of the completeness of Gaia to a limiting magnitude, this proving of 1 percent of these objects will help us reconstruct the remaining part. We’re not going to take a full census of the Milky Way, but we are going to look at a billion stars and we’ll have enough statistical power to deduce the structure of the Milky Way."

The mission was approved by ESA in 2000. It costs 740 million euros and is expected to collect a petabyte of data. The telescope will orbit the Earth at 1.5 million kilometers from the planet, at L2 Lagrangian point, where it will maintain the same relative position in respect to the Sun and Earth.

The spacecraft was produced in Toulouse, France by an industrial team led by Astrium Satellites and delivered by Antonov An-124 transport airplane to French Guiana on August 23. "The most exciting moment is the work toward the launch itself, and the fact that it’s shipped to Kourou [French Guiana] makes it very real," Prusti said.

This was the first of two shipments. The second shipment, due on August 28, will deliver the sunshield which will keep Gaia's telescopes and instruments in the shadow during the mission in order to control the temperature inside, keeping it at minus 110 degrees Celsius.

"This is the start of the launch campaign," said Giuseppe Sarri, Gaia's project manager. "In the first month, we will do plenty of checks on the spacecraft. Once we have the spacecraft in the clean room, we will do inspections, and we will do some basic functional testing to check that everything is still fully functional after the transport. Then we will integrate the sunshield on the spacecraft."

Sunshield has the diameter of 10 meters, folded against the body of the spacecraft during the launch. Its deployment will be tested, as Sarri said, in the clean room during the next month.

"This is the first big chunk of activity, which takes place in one dedicated clean room in French Guiana," Sarri said. "Then we move the spacecraft to another place called the hazardous payload facility because we need to fuel the spacecraft and put the propellant in the tanks."

Gaia will launch with about 296 kg of fuel, most of which will be consumed during the first 30 days of the launch. Once its at the L2 Lagrangian point, the remaining fuel will be used for Gaia's cold gas micro-propulsion system. This will keep the craft in a stable spin of four rotations per day.

"When [fueling] is done, we go to another place where we integrate the spacecraft on the adapter, which is an interface cone to adapt the spacecraft to the launcher," Sarri said. "Then we integrate the spacecraft, plus the adapter, on the Fregat, which is the fourth stage of the launcher. Then we close the composite with the two fairing halves and we have the upper part of the rocket ready. At that point in time we go to the launch pad, and there we will integrate this upper composite cylinder on top of the Soyuz three-stage rocket."

If you're excited by Gaia's mission, make sure to stay tuned for more news in months to come.

Home  News


A Yellow Supergiant, not Its Partner Star, Went Supernova in 2011

August 27, 2013

For two years it was believed that a blue, smaller star of the two in a binary star system, had exploded. Now that the dust has settled, it is apparent that the bigger star is missing.

Supernova in the Whirlpool galaxy, 2011dh.

Supernova in the Whirlpool galaxy, 2011dh.

Two years ago, at the end of May 2011, astronomers have observed a supernova in M51 galaxy, better known as the Whirlpool galaxy. The supernova, designated 2011dh, was observed at the edge of M51, approximately 25 million light-years away from Earth.

It was captured by many amateur astronomers because Whirlpool galaxy is very beautiful and popular. "It's really one of the nearest galaxies, and it's a galaxy that's beautiful and very famous," says Schuyler Van Dyk, astronomer at the California Institute of Technology, USA.

Astronomers don't know when a star is about to go supernova and when it does, they can't be sure which star exactly exploded. But because the Whirlpool is so famous, there were plenty pre-supernova images that astronomers could use to determine where the explosion originated.

The supernova in question, 2011dh, was a type IIb supernova, which occurs only 10% percent of the time and while astronomers have some general explanations for this type, the exact chain of events is unknown. This is why it was interesting to find a yellow supergiant star in the Hubble images from 2005 at the exact spot where the supernova appeared in 2011.

However, many astronomers thought that the profile (type IIb) of the explosion didn't match what they expected from the collapse of a supergiant. Their data pointed to the explosion of a smaller star, maybe a companion to said yellow supergiant in a binary system. The supergiant could have stripped hydrogen from its smaller partner with its gravitational pull, which is characteristic of a type IIb supernovae occurring in binary systems, when two stars are locked to each other by gravity.

"We thought initially that the progenitor was essentially this very stripped star, very blue, and so it was unseen in the Hubble images", Van Dyk said. "The yellow star was hiding the bluer star that actually exploded – that was our conjecture."

Justyn Maund, Queen's University, Belfast, UK, and colleagues thought, however, that the giant star that Hubble had spotted had indeed been the progenitor. "They said that the yellow star was the star that exploded," Van Dyk says. "They had other data that was more consistent with a more extended progenitor. So there we were."

In March 2013, almost two years after the supernova was first observed in the Whirlpool galaxy and now that the remnants of the supernova have nearly dissipated, Van Dyk and his team took another look with the Hubble Space Telescope and found that the supergiant has indeed disappeared, meaning it was the source of the supernova.

"We just wanted to see what the evolution of the supernova was," Van Dyk says. "We fully expected the yellow supergiant to still be there in these images this year. The other team was actually correct, and we were fully contrite in that way."

Now, astronomers will be eager to observe the yellow supergiant's surviving partner, if they were locked in a binary system, to shed a new light on type IIb supernovae. This will be possible in November, as the light from supernova finally fades and Whirlpool returns to it's pre-2011 state. "You should actually be able to see the companion star in the binary system," Van Dyk says, "If [astronomers following the evolution of 2011dh] see the binary companion, then that lends a lot of credence to this binary pathway to this type of supernova. And that would be really important."

Source: scientificamerican.com

Home  News


Bill C-16 Passes

Twelve years after it was first introduced to Parliament, the law to add gender identity and gender expression to the Canadian Human Rights Act has finally passed. The final vote in the senate was 67 in favour, 11 against, and 3 abstentions.

The day had started with conservative senators arguing that recognizing the rights of trans people infringed on freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and brought up fears of sexual predators. These statements received applause from Conservatives in attendance.

The inclusion of a new group in the Canadian Human Rights Act and in relevant hate crime sections of the Criminal Code does not improve the condition for those who are discriminated against. I would like to reiterate strongly that our laws, including the Criminal Code, are no place for an awareness campaign to assist in building understanding for those who do not fit into the colloquial “norm.”

This will allow men to go into women’s change rooms and bathrooms across the country.

If a person is unwilling, for religious or cultural reasons, to show a man one’s hair, how are we expected to force such a person to share the most private and intimate of spaces with someone who appears, in all physical and biological ways, to be of the opposite sex? I ask, honourable senators: Is it possible that, in passing this bill, we would be discriminating against our Muslim friends, as well as other groups, and their practice and policy of modesty?

One of those potential consequences, as some witnesses in committee had mentioned, is that Bill C-16 in its current form may compel speech, which goes against a fundamental right that we uphold in Canada.

Senator Plett’s motion to add one sentence “For greater certainty” — and if I may read the full sentence:

…which was defeated, would have added language to this bill that would have given assurances of protecting free speech.

To the “compelled speech” argument, a brilliant retort came from senator Lillian Eva Dyck:

Even here, in the chamber, we do not have unlimited freedom of speech. […]

As an example, recently when Senator Plett felt or perceived that Senator McPhedran had called him a bigot, he raised a point of privilege and the Speaker ruled in his favour.  […] Senator McPhedran said it was not her intention to offend Senator Plett. So there was a ruling made on the balance between what was said, what was intended and what was perceived. That’s what freedom of speech is all about, and that’s also what harassment is all about. If Senator McPhedran had continued to speak along those lines, then she could have been found guilty of harassment, but she did not do that.

How does this relate to Bill C-16 and pronouns? I’ve already outlined that. If I or any other person were to call a trans woman by the pronoun “he,” that trans woman may well be offended. If that trans woman spoke to me and said to me, “Please, I would rather be called ‘she’ than ‘he’,” and I ignored that and continued to call that trans woman “he,” that would be discrimination. She could take this case to a human rights tribunal, and in all likelihood I would be found guilty of harassing her because I called her by the wrong pronoun and had done it willingly and as a way to discredit her, humiliate her or make her feel less than what she was really worth.

The Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould, who had introduced Bill C-16, came by to sit down in the Senate gallery while we were observing the proceedings. Following these speeches against and in favour the bill came to a vote.

The Speaker asked those in favour to yell “Yea”. So yelled numerous senators. Then he asked those against to yell “Nay”. The nay yells appeared to be louder. My heart stopped. “The yays have it”, declared the Speaker. Two senators stood up to trigger a roll call. The Speaker announced a half hour intermission.

At 3:54 pm, the senate was far fuller than it had been throughout the proceedings. Each senator in favour stood up to have their vote recorded, then the senators opposed, and those abstaining, followed suit. The final vote was 67 in favour, 11 against. Plett was unsurprisingly among the eleven. The gallery cheered and stood up, to the security guard’s dismay, who was trying to get us to be quiet. The senate applauded, looking up at us as they did so.

Afterwards, we headed to Senator Grant Mitchell’s office, the senator who had sponsored the bill. The Minister of Justice joined us. There was a brief chat, then they left, and we took the following photo.

Some of us, myself included, headed to Dunn’s to celebrate, while other advocates headed to Nate’s. News outlets pickled up the story within hours with mostly positive coverage. The response was much more significant than it had been throughout the bill’s life cycle following its introduction. The National Post and the CBC published stories opposing the passage of the bill.

I don’t feel particularly joyful at the news of the bill’s passage. There are benefits to C-16 that will permeate across the country. For instance, when someone in an HR department copies the list of prohibited grounds for discrimination for their own internal policy, it could now include gender identity and expression. Trans employees will benefit from that. When pollsters look to define populations, they might pull from the prohibited grounds list, and trans people will now be counted. Specific hate crime statistics will also be collected now that gender identity or expression is part of the Criminal Code. Individuals challenging institutional discrimination will have another argument to call upon. There’s lots of freebies that comes from the passage of this law, without it ever being used in a human rights case.

This bill would of had a much greater impact had it passed when it was introduced twelve years ago. Perhaps my lack of celebratory feelings is related to thinking of all the people who were harmed while Parliament let these intervening bills die through action and inaction. The bill, though a positive step, has less impact now.

Perhaps my muted response comes from knowing that this law alone won’t alone protect transgender, non-binary and otherwise gender variant individuals. It isn’t laws like this which significantly changes statistics in short order, like these ones I picked for trans youth:

This is unsurprising given the attitudes of cisgender Canadians:

These numbers are a sobering reminder that legislation represent a small component of a much larger effort. I do want to acknowledge that there’s a lot of positive changes lately though, and I’m pleased.

I also want to recognize former NDP MP Bill Siksay, who first introduced this legislation as a private members bill in 2005, and current NDP MP Randall Garrison who took over the task of introducing it’s successors after Bill Siksay retired from politics. I am likewise thankful to Grant Mitchell the sponsor of the bill in the Senate and Amanda Ryan, Susan Gapka and the many others who tirelessly lobbied for this. This is a victory. This law was needed, and their work has made a difference.


Reflect AdLogic is a platform for effectively managing, delivering, and reporting on media campaigns for digital signage networks. It is unique and powerful compared to previous ad management systems available to the place-based digital media industry.

Content for digital networks can mean different things to different people, but a high-quality CMS can handle a wide range of content types, and a quality CMS provider will help you design and build a strategy for how to best create and present content for maximum return.

Where does your CMS live? There is much buzz about taking things into the cloud, but what does that mean for digital CMS platforms? Early CMS platforms were designed to be packages installed and managed onsite by local IT organizations. Some content management systems have been designed without installed software running on servers, resulting in scope limitations.

At the heart of any out-of-home network is a purpose for it to exist, and content for it present. As digital out-of-home, also known as DOOH, networks have become more widespread, powerful, and capable, the tech behind driving and controlling them has evolved considerably. In this blog series, we will discuss keys to deploying an optimal DOOH network.

There has been a noticeable consumer push for better digital integration from retailers. As a result, smart brands have stopped ignoring the web and mobile devices and have embraced them. One of the fastest growing and most flexible hardware solutions to emerge from this trend is digital kiosks.


Books  | Hu Fang

Hu FangGarden of Mirrored Flowers

Three Principles of Garden of Mirrored Flowers:
“The sensations that visitors to the theme park will experience
are precisely those that classical Chinese literature has always
wanted to convey: life as a bewildering maze.
As such, we can better comprehend one of the key principles
for the construction of the theme park: bewilder—the soul—

“In the process of construction, I began to increasingly feel that
the process should be an intermittent walk from one area to the next,
like how a moving essay is extracted from a grand narrative—this is
therefore the second principle of designing gardens: the form may
disperse but not the spirit.”

"Just like the flower fairies, we have all fallen to earth, having
lost our inner equilibrium. As such, no one would turn down the
opportunity to enjoy the spiritual release and pleasure that this kind
of theme park can offer.
Garden of Mirrored Flowers is hence a psychodrama of an even
higher class.
Therefore, we should be able to understand the third principle
for the construction of the park easily: the world’s experiential

Fang’s novel tells the story of a man in the process of designing a theme park, called Garden of Mirrored Flowers, and is an adaptation and transformation of the classical Chinese novel Jin Hua Yuan, or Flowers in the Mirror, from the Qing Dynasty. Beginning as a pictorial journey through myriad advertisements and the way they allow for many different entries into reality, Fang depicts parallels between the park’s actual construction and how it has been imagined, or how it has evolved out of history. For Garden of Mirrored Flowers is less the vision of one author (Fang) and more the result of reality writing itself through this author; that is, a script, or documentary, of life. “It’s a book,” Fang states, “written by a ghost writer. Me? Just a traveler floating within the wave of globalization.” Culminating with the park’s opening ceremony, Fang creates a space where history seems to have been completely consumed and absorbed by contemporary social movements. It is both a labyrinth to get lost in and a pavilion made of reflective glass.

Hu Fang is a novelist, art critic, and the co-founder and artistic director of Vitamin Creative Space, a project and gallery space dedicated to contemporary art exploration and searching for an independent working mode, specifically geared to the contemporary Chinese context. He lives and works in Beijing and Guangzhou.

2010, English
13 x 21 cm, 192 pages, 70 b/w ill., softcover
ISBN 978-1-934105-15-3

Karl-Marx-Allee 78
D-10243 Berlin
T: +49 30 59 00 958-21
F: +49 30 59 00 958-20


Gryffindor Discussion 4 Notes

* Most students didn’t mind taking a CAT or STAR test as a child, but still would get anxiety before, during, and after an exam. That’s not to say that we liked taking them.

* Rather than just issue a grade, instructors should offer constructive criticism and explain the parts that the student didn’t understand that resulted in them getting a poor grade.

* Setting goals for yourself is a good way to address accountability and accomplishment.

* Teacher/student compassion is key to some students being able to succeed.

* Teachers allowing students to go back and correct their mistakes on test for a half point as long as they show their work is helpful in development of content and comprehension.

Discussion 3

Team: Gryffindor

Assessment Block

Discussion leader: Will

Note Taker: Biviana

Twitter/Time Keeper: Luna

Devil’s Advocate/Challenge Tweeter: Madison

Summary of last discussion:

  • Based off of the previous discussion, teachers should not be responsible for students’ assessments on state tests because there is a chance that there could be too much focus on one or two students. There is also the issue of kids that get outside help.
  • Some students can be amazing at art and music, be well versed in math, but if they have severe test anxiety, then they will almost always do poorly on the test. If you’re a good teacher, you will know your students well enough to know if they truly understand the material.
  • There should be another form of accountability in other ways than just the standardized tests. Observational accountability is an option.
  • Teachers working together reviewing students’ work is a good idea. Teachers bouncing ideas off of each other and principal support is key. Principal support for teachers especially when dealing with incidents with students is key and teachers should not feel and have to be in this alone.

Discussion Warm Up:

You Tube Video:

Discussion Questions

  1. In what ways can you get the students who are on a winning streak to assist those that are on a losing streak?
  2. The reading states that teachers and students are partners in the assessment for learning process. What do you think is meant by this?
  3. How would you set your students up for success?
  4. How would you turn students’ failure into success?

Discussion Ender:

“…each student is an individual. You have to know where they are on that continuum…assessment for learning; it’s about the kids. It’s about the students and making them better.”


Enjoy every moment, those won’t come again

Focus on Present 2

Deer Looking in Water

Lord Shiva

Listen to the video below –

Karma and Kartayya

Toil & Cultivate Thoughts

Path to Happiness

Who Am I? – Swami Sarvapriyananda from Mandukya Upanishad

Knowing and identifying oneself amongst the ocean of humanity and understanding the journey of our soul through this material universe is always a hard struggle. We often get drowned into the deluge from our own (ego) involvement. While we are living this material life, we understand the importance of self and how best to maintain the balance between self and this eternal journey through this transient world. Swami Sarvapriyananda explains this in the accompanying youtube video. A must for all professionals who are on the rising path.

Swami Sarvapriyananda at IITK – “Who Am I?” according to Mandukya Upanishad-Part 1

Swami Sarvapriyananda-“Secret of Concentration” at IIT Kanpur

Swami Sarvapriyananda-“BHAGVAD GITA FOR STUDENTS” at IIT Kanpur

Taking Charge of Prana

Sadhguru 2017 – Repair your body from inside!

Sadhguru – 3 Things we MUST do every morning

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev shuts up Barkha Dutt

How can we erase bad memories?

Human experiences are a collation of good and bad incidences, events and experiences. Our experiences uniquely define us. It is absolutely understandable when we lose those blemishes and get that onslaught from those trepidations of life. Often, we our adverse experiences influence our current perception and create an unwanted filter that muddles our normal interaction.  Often, it leaves us in agony and that agony consumes a lot of our energies. How do we do that? Understanding, appreciating and respecting our individual experiences.

Understanding the blemishes

I often equate it with a utensil that comes out of a factory. When it is manufactured, just out in the open market, it is shining, glistening and unblemished. As this moves forward in life, it starts losing it glitter, often getting into skirmishes and sometimes indentations, small and big. Some of those completely deface the utensil but most often, we see lost glitter, some small indentations. That state defines the identity of the utensil. It is hard to bring the original shine or remove those indentations. Why?

Comparing is our two edged sword

Because we compare this state with that original just manufactured state. Comparing is our worst enemy, comparing with our original state, comparing with our peers, comparing with our siblings and comparing with our competitors. Somewhere, while comparing degrades ourselves. Ideally, comparison offers a benchmark that should provide an insight, however, we compare quantitatively and qualitatively with utter disregards to that insight.

Accepting the glory of our experiences

Let me give another example. What is so good about a soldier who never sustained any injuries? We feel proud about the injuries a soldier sustains while in the battle field. On the contrary, if a soldier protects himself from such injuries to maintain his cosmetic semblance to original handsome state, one would hardly be impressed with that.

Life’s journey is similar; we should feel proud about those moments and cherish those as our unique experiences. Those onslaughts are truly unique moments that define our life, our wisdom and our new self.

Recognizing and honoring the wisdom within

Let us imagine a life of a student graduating from college. He labored hard for the required period of time to gain that knowledge and wisdom. Those experiences have changed her/his perception and deeply defined his views. What if he comes to use his old repository of knowledge and think in the same old fashioned way? This is certainly not acceptable to anyone. Real life is similarly a school where we learn and accumulate our own set of experiences and gain knowledge that reflects, eventually as wisdom. We have to feel proud about our own experiences.

Coming back to the journey of soul through this material world, we can change our own perception of human experiences, we can stop comparing and if we try enjoying the new battle hardened state, understand that this is the true existence and appreciate the beauty, assimilate those strains of life, and cherish that as part of our cycle of karma, we should lessen or possibly remove and delete the pain from those estranged and tangled memories.

Yes, we change the perception of our battle hardened Karma.


Infection can cause temporary loss of immunity to other diseases

02 January 2014

Anopheles gambiae mosquito

Image: Anopheles gambiae mosquito©  US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Immunity following vaccination can be temporarily lost due to another infection, but replenished over time by immune cells called memory B cells, according to a new study.

The fascinating finding comes from a study by a team at the Medical Research Council's National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR; now part of the Francis Crick Institute) who vaccinated mice against flu and then infected them with malaria.

The subsequent malaria infection caused the mice to lose their immunity to influenza. However this loss was only temporary - they regained immunity within a few weeks.

George Kassiotis of NIMR explained: "Think of immunological memory (in this case, antibody memory of immunity to flu) as computer memory. You store all your photos and videos - memories of past events - as single copies on a physical hard drive. You can retrieve these memories as you need them, but if the hard drive breaks down they are permanently lost.

"However, imagine that these memory files are not static copies, but are constantly being replaced with new copies from another source, such as an online storage vault. If the hard drive breaks down now, you would temporarily lose your memories, but as soon as you plug in a new hard drive, they could all be copied back and restored."

After vaccinating the mice against flu, checking that they had developed immunity and then infecting them with malaria, the researchers measured their amount of flu-specific antibodies and numbers of specific plasma cells over several weeks. The specific plasma cells are responsible for secreting the antibodies that provide immunity to flu.

They found that the plasma cells were replenished over the following weeks by circulating memory B cells, a type of white blood cell. The work shows that B memory cells are crucial - not only for providing immunity against reinfection by a pathogen an animal is already immune to, but also in recovery of this immunity if it is lost due to infection by a different pathogen.

Jean Langhorne, also of NIMR, said: "This study is important because it directly demonstrates how an acute infection such as malaria can cause loss of existing immunity to other infections. This might mean that there are periods when an otherwise protective vaccine is no longer protective.

"However, this is transient as memory B cells replenish the pool of cells making protective antibodies. A large pool of memory B cells is therefore very important for maintaining and recovering protective antibody responses after vaccination."

The results have implications for understanding the length of time vaccination provides immunity against various diseases, which is especially important in countries where continuous infections are common.

The paper, Recovery of an antiviral antibody response following attrition caused by unrelated infection, by Dorothy Ng, John Skehel, George Kassiotis and Jean Langhorne, is published in PLOS Pathogens.

  • Infecting mice with malaria after vaccinating them against the flu virus causes transient loss of their immunity to flu, according to scientists from the Medical Research Council's National Institute for Medical Research. The immunity is recovered over the following weeks thanks to white blood cells called memory B cells - the same cells that are responsible for retaining long-term memory of infections against which an animal already has immunity.
  • The work may lead to new insights into the longevity of immune memory after vaccination - which is particularly important in countries where continuous or recurring infections are common.


Essay on Contemporary Religion in America

No Works Cited
Length: 791 words (2.3 double-spaced pages)
Rating: Yellow
Open Document

Religion has stricken much debate over its origins. Some finds propose that some sort of religion was present since the beginning of mankind. Evidence of sacrificial ceremonies can relate the relationship between man and animal, and between man and his natural environment. Another theory of the birth of religion came from the “Near East” from the polytheistic views of the Hindu. They believed there were gods and goddesses of fire, wind, rain, and earth which lead to them making ceremonial prayers for rain, sunshine, or health. The pantheistic views, from African and American Indian cultures, briefly meant all is God. And the monotheistic views which is believed to have come from 2000BC. One can only question, what purpose does religion serve in today’s society? And what does society, as a whole, feel it needs to know?

America is a melting pot of culture and race. Thus, bringing many different types of religious faiths to today’s society. Whether the beliefs are ancient, new, reconstructed or if people have no faith at all, it is all in America. It is difficult to scrutinize one religion without it concerning another. All religions have diverse beliefs ranging from; the belief of...

... middle of paper ...

...or having rebirth in nature. Meaning, people are still scared to ask the question, what is next after death?

I think that contemporary religion in America has not lost sight of its purpose altogether. The society as a whole cannot have one purpose. Each individual member of society needs to know how to find ones self purpose of life and reason of being. Though, the purpose is always adjusting, people can still answer the questions they ask; what is the meaning of life? Who are we? Where are we? Where will we go? Whether it is through Scientology, Christianity, Buddhism or Islam, these questions can be answered. People still go to church, temples, mosques, synagogues, et cetera, for the same reasons people did long ago, to worship and be grasped by a higher being. People believe that having a relationship with God or nature helps them answer ones purpose of life.

This essay is 100% guaranteed.

Title Length Color Rating
Atheism as a historical philosophy and its relevance in contemporary America - Disbelief in the existence of God is an enduring, worldwide phenomenon that is quite possibly also one of the most misunderstood belief systems in the world. For many, the term “atheism” immediately spurs negative imagery inspired by years of indoctrination – churches proclaiming the sins of the infidels, and how questioning God’s infinite love will result in instant damnation. Atheists are perceived as dark, nihilistic, immoral, amoral, pessimistic, and even evil, because without God, clearly they are also without morality and goodness....   [tags: Religion Atheist]
:: 13 Works Cited
4179 words
(11.9 pages)
Research Papers [preview]
Colonial Influences Which Shaped Brazil's Contemporary Society Essay - This paper analyzes aspects of Brazil’s colonial history that has influenced contemporary societies. It also describes and critiques measures that have recently been implemented by the Brazilian government in attempt to curb the further deterioration of society. In Brazil’s society, neoliberal and capitalist beliefs within the social structure have hindered democratic politics. Diverse social groups are unable to come together and exert their political power as a united front, instead, the neoliberal belief of market power replacing citizenship power stratified the population based on capital....   [tags: Brazils Contemporary Society]
:: 15 Works Cited
3129 words
(8.9 pages)
Research Papers [preview]
(2.2 pages)
Good Essays [preview]
:: 9 Works Cited
3672 words
(10.5 pages)
Term Papers [preview]
Essay about Religion in America - Religion in America OVERVIEW The history of religion in America is fascinating, both on its own terms and also with respect to what it teaches us about other aspects of American culture. The period we are studying is especially interesting, because it was during this era that many developments and changes within American society occurred; in some cases these effects challenged the development of religion in general, while other effects promoted it, or at least specific varieties of it. I shall proceed to examine several of these changes; while this list is by no means comprehensive, it hopes to capture the overall texture of religion in America during the modern era, or roughly the peri...   [tags: Exploratory Essays Research Papers]
:: 5 Works Cited
1967 words
(5.6 pages)
Powerful Essays [preview]
Contemporary Ethical Challenges and Leadership Essay examples - A00014183 PHI 300 CONTEMPORARY ETHICAL CHALLENGES AND LEADERSHIP Ethics is a discipline of philosophy that outlines the right and the wrong moral conduct. It is a study of the moral behaviour of individuals and sets out a code of conduct as to how humans should act in a given situation. Contemporary ethics links the basic ideology of ethics with various other disciples of philosophy. Global dynamics have changed over the years. The way people think and behave, their sense of right and wrong, their views on the good and the bad, all of this has changed over time....   [tags: ethics, ideology, decisions, leaders, values]
:: 5 Works Cited
1730 words
(4.9 pages)
Powerful Essays [preview]
:: 5 Works Cited
643 words
(1.8 pages)
Better Essays [preview]
Shakespeare in Contemporary Movies Essay - Shakespeare in Contemporary Movies In the middle of Looking for Richard, Al Pacino's documentary about making Richard III and bringing Shakespeare to the people, there is a moment which illuminates the relationship of scholarship, Shakespeare and popular culture. The director is ranting at Pacino for offering (threatening?) to bring a Shakespearean scholar into the film: You said you were going to find a scholar to speak directly into the camera and explain what really went down and I'm telling you that is ridiculous, that you know more about Richard III than any fucking scholar at Columbia or Harvard....   [tags: William Shakespeare Films Religion Essays]
:: 2 Works Cited
4862 words
(13.9 pages)
Powerful Essays [preview]
(2 pages)
Better Essays [preview]
Contemporary Gods of Metamorphosis Essay - Contemporary Gods of Metamorphosis Ovid’s metamorphosis reads as a collection of mythical poems, describing the timeless battle between the gods and humans. The relationship between humans and gods is not just one of single sided adulation. The gods in the Metamorphosis are susceptible to the same errors in judgement and of living erroneous lifestyles just as humans. The only real difference between the two classes of beings is that one has direct power over another. The relationship is interesting because it mirrors modern day relationships between public figures and the public....   [tags: Papers] 715 words
(2 pages)
Good Essays [preview]


FindLaw Blotter - The FindLaw Crime and Criminals Blog

No Jail for Mom in Son's Hit-and-Run Death

Guy pled guilty to the hit-and-run, and served a six-month prison sentence. He is also serving out five years of probation. Nelson could have been sentenced to 36 months in jail based on her convictions, but was instead sentenced to 12 months of probation and 40 hours of community service, reports MSNBC.

She was also given the option of a new trial in order to clear her name. At this time, Nelson has decided to go for a new trial.

Nelson's plight has become a point of popular protest, including the NAACP and transportation advocates. More than 135,000 people signed an online petition that was advocating leniency for the mother.

The bus stop where Nelson and her children had gotten off was on the side of a busy four-lane freeway. Nelson's apartment complex was right across the street, but the nearest crosswalk was about half a mile away from the bus stop itself, according to Forbes. Perhaps this was the result of negligent city planning?

Even if there was negligent city planning, it seems clear that the original jury thought that Raquel Nelson was responsible for her son's death. In Georgia, homicide by vehicle in the second degree is when any person causes the death of another person without an intention to do so as a result of a motor vehicle accident. Was Nelson the cause? Or was the city of Marietta, or whoever designed the city bus stop to be in such an inconvenient area?

Related Resources:


Eureka! I finally nailed down the theme for my YA. You're probably thinking that it's about time, since I'm almost (oh so close) to finishing the first draft. Knowing my theme early on in the writing of my story probably would have given the first draft more focus.

Last year during the Desire pitch, Diana asked me what the theme for my book was. It was a classic deer in the headlights moment. Fingers poised over the keyboard, clock ticking down the precious seconds of my ten minute pitch, I had nothing.

So, what is my theme for the YA?

No one is exactly who they appear to be.

I went through a dozen ideas before this one popped into my head this morning. The last one I felt pretty good about was: Doing the right thing, versus doing the easy thing. That states the book's moral, but as a theme, it didn't completely resonate for me.

The story is about a girl who can tell when people are lying. Early on, I decided that her new ability lets her glimpse what's hidden behind everyone's public face. Her perceptions are turned on their head about her parents and her classmates. She's got a pretty simple view of the world in the beginning of the book. By the end, she sees that there's a lot more layers.

I'm not sure why it took me so long to determine what is now a pretty obvious theme. Maybe because I didn't have Blake Snyder's Save The Cat Goes To The Movies helping me out.

Today's goal: 500 words
Yesterday's achievement: Tossed entries into IGO and Golden Gateway
What I'm grateful for: When friends sell. It gives me hope that my time will come
Quote: I take the view, and always have, that if you cannot say what you are going to say in twenty minutes you ought to go away and write a book about it." -Lord Brabazon (1884 - 1964)


Move-in day goes smoothly for freshmen at UW-Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Wednesday, August 28th was the first of three days students were scheduled to move into the residence halls at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

With about 2,700 students moving in in just three days, some incoming freshmen and their parents thought they were in for a long day. However, they were surprised right off the bat from an organized line of cars, to dozens of volunteers and staff members on hand, to a planned system for using the elevators. The UWM staff had the day under control.

The Schmidt family expected long lines, long waits, and lots of hours spent moving.  But 30 minutes later, they were out the door.

“Expect delays, expect to wait for the elevator,” said Kathy Schmidt of what they were told. “But they were really well organized and it went really quick.”

“Right away the carts are wrapped, the elevators are moving really fast, they have a really good service here,” added her daughter Olivia, a freshman at UWM.

It gave Olivia, and the other students, more time to get used to their new home for the year, which is whole point of the rest of the week. The week is dedicated to students and staff.

There will be a series of events designed to help students meet new people and explore the campus and Milwaukee.


World Media

SpaceX to launch top-secret military vehicle

The Elon Musk-founded company lofted the X-37B space plane to orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 10 a.m. ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The X-37B, also called the Orbital Test Vehicle, weighs about 11,000 pounds (5 metric tons) and has typically orbited Earth at altitudes between 200 and 250 miles (320 to 400 kilometers).

Though we don't know much about the X-37B's mission specifics, we do know a little bit about where it's going in orbit thanks to SpaceX.

About 2.5 minutes into the flight, the Falcon 9's two stages separated. The X-37B, built by Boeing, is an uncrewed vehicle, but resembles the Space Shuttle on a smaller scale.

The X-37B will glide back to Earth for a runway landing to conclude its mission, likely targeting a homecoming at the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center, where the OTV-4 mission ended. For comparison, the space shuttles were 122 feet (37 m) long, with 78-foot (24 m) wingspans.

SpaceX has been valued at $21bn (£16bn), making it one of the most valuable privately owned companies in the world. While the secretive nature of the Orbital Test Vehicle missions mean that live coverage ended after the first stage landed, this resulted in fantastic live coverage of the landing, as is now routine. The previous missions relied on United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rockets.

According to the U.S. Air Force, this mission was also launched into, and will be landed from, "a higher inclination orbit than prior missions to further expand the X-37B's orbital envelope".

You can watch a livestream of the launch and landing attempt below. The goal was to get the launch up before the arrival of Hurricane Irma, and they succeeded.

But this week's rocket launch is not what an ordinary SpaceX launch looks like. "A strong relationship with our mission partners, such as the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, is vital toward maintaining the Eastern Range as the World's Premiere Gateway to Space".

As usual, SpaceX aims to land its leftover booster back at Cape Canaveral for eventual reuse.


Wednesday, June 22, 2016

What to do in Naples?? Visit the Naples Botanical Gardens!

One question I often get when people are trying to make the decision to move to Naples is "What is there to do in Naples other than golf or go to the beach"? The answer is LOTS! This blog will be devoted to the beautiful Naples Botanical Gardens.

Of course the fabulous beaches and the world class golf courses in the Southwest Florida are what draw many people to our area, but we have so much more to offer if you look around.

One of our favorite places to go is the spectacular Naples Botanical Gardens is open year round, but really any time is a great time to visit. The Garden usually has a few events planned during the week, including weekly times for the dogs to come and visit the Garden! They also have children's programs, concerts, and healthy living series. Click here to visit their calendar.

The Gardens are tucked away, but just minutes from downtown Naples, and some of the most desirable real estate in the area. As soon as you walk in, a calm washes over you as you step away from the hustle and bustle of the area. The various gardens inside include Caribbean, Florida, Brazilian, and Asian Gardens. The "artwork" that is scattered around the Gardens in the form of mosaics, pots, buildings and water features makes you want to keep exploring and finding more - which you will always see something new with each visit. And as an added bonus there is a wonderful Children's Garden that provides an endless stream of entertainment for the younger guests (don't forget the bathing suits since there is a splash pad!).

Here is a link to our video so you can see a bit more of the Gardens...until then enjoy these beautiful stills from our visit!


Christopher columbus and spiritual

Two Lovers christopher columbus and spiritual for you

Shortly thereafter, he started practicing meditation, and honing his skills from formal trainings, reading the Tarot and other esoteric knowledge. If you are confident in your abilities and feel joy, you may succeed. Together, we can make a real improvement in our world. You'll uncover practically any sort of studying is accessible on chdistopher. Again, professional Mediums are not dark, evil or scary and there are some really good Mediums out there. However, tech chrisstopher ushered in a new era of instruction christopher columbus and spiritual the form of comprehensive online courses. Additionally many readers shield their playing cards by not letting anyone touch them. Gold candles: Gold candles are used whenever casting spells that involve business efforts, financial gain, and even solar spirigual. Maybe they can throw a ball without touching it or flip a light switch from across the room: this is a free mini reading psychic psychic. The first thing that should be considered is the feasibility of the idea. There are quite a few psychics providing finding out by cellphone and not choosing the proper psychic can make a distinction in you getting the acceptable options. I believed that it was possible to light a candle, say a few words, and through some strange magic my wish would be granted. This not only bodes great career success and physical beauty, but the fact that both of them have this means that they really do understand each other's needs professionally and as celebrities. chritopher, but I am willing to perform the task for a flat 49. They're worn by males to guard in opposition to the withering of the genitals considered attributable to the harmful eye. While you spirituxl the list you might find that colkmbus clarity has already been shed and that others that you were not truly thinking about appear on your list. These looking for love furthermore uncover the reply to their components from psychic readings. Mary, I hope you don't think I'm Doctor Chrietopher Balo. Harry and Ron both get detentions for arriving at Hogwarts in the flying car. The Tower is the only man-made image in the tarot, and as such, represents the constraints of society's demands and the strict requirements of convention. I have been able to create creatures with correct cameras and abilities. With each card that was drawn and described to me in detail of its christopher columbus and spiritual, my mind was racing and connecting the dots christopher columbus and spiritual a state of clarity free personal psychic advice flow that felt natural and right for collumbus. You may help the individual and facet by side see real studying occurring whereby you could possibly be taught arms-on whereas consulting your own interpretation with the assistance of tarot card directions. It's christopher columbus and spiritual a giant teeter-totter, with fire damage christopher columbus and spiritual on one end and arcane damage stacked on another. You do want to do a little due diligence before you spend a great deal of money with christopher columbus and spiritual online psychic. Christipher do not know for sure. Choose a unique feature and emphasize that in the headline and the advertising text. wow how can they spiritkal these scammers fool people out of their hard earned money with no results in return. Most helpful information yet. For some people, they think that voodoo and love spells are just a christopehr. listen to your inner spiritual cleansing of new home to, you know you want change. As the name suggests, the card of The Lovers talks about amorous love. The 4 suits are, Pentacles or Coins, which cope with workmoneysuccess points, the Wands, or Staffs, which deal with extra religious issues, the Cups, which cope with christopher columbus and spiritual issues, and the Swords, which some see as representing detrimental anf and loss.

25.01.2013 at 03:20 Kakinos:
There are some more lacks

27.01.2013 at 07:43 Moogurn:
The authoritative message :)

29.01.2013 at 03:14 Faule:

08.02.2013 at 05:54 Zululkree:

09.02.2013 at 10:33 Daijar:
It is simply excellent phrase

18.02.2013 at 10:02 Sharn:
Everything, everything.

21.02.2013 at 08:57 Vusida:
Bravo, is simply excellent phrase :)


Science Daily

Subscribe to Science Daily feed Science Daily
Updated: 9 hours 40 min ago

Thu, 09/28/2017 - 2:20pm

Bursting with starbirth

Thu, 09/28/2017 - 10:12am

Black holes with ravenous appetites define Type I active galaxies

Wed, 09/27/2017 - 1:36pm
Type I and Type II active galaxies do not just appear different -- they are, in fact, very different from each other, both structurally and energetically, new research shows. According to the results of a new study, the key factor that distinguishes Type I and Type II galaxies is the rate at which their central black holes -- or active galactic nuclei -- consume matter and spit out energy.

LIGO and Virgo observatories jointly detect black hole collision

Wed, 09/27/2017 - 12:36pm
The first observation of gravitational waves has been discovered by by three different detectors, marking a new era of greater insights and improved localization of cosmic events now available through globally networked gravitational-wave observatories.

Total solar eclipse viewed from space

Wed, 09/27/2017 - 12:35pm

The strange structures of the Saturn nebula

Wed, 09/27/2017 - 9:33am
The spectacular planetary nebula NGC 7009, or the Saturn Nebula, emerges from the darkness like a series of oddly-shaped bubbles, lit up in glorious pinks and blues. This colourful image was captured by the MUSE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). The map -- which reveals a wealth of intricate structures in the dust, including shells, a halo and a curious wave-like feature -- will help astronomers understand how planetary nebulae develop their strange shapes and symmetries.

Near-Earth asteroid CubeSat goes full sail

Tue, 09/26/2017 - 1:39pm
NASA's Near-Earth Asteroid Scout, a small satellite the size of a shoebox, designed to study asteroids close to Earth, recently performed a full-scale solar sail deployment test. The test was performed in an indoor clean room to ensure the deployment mechanism's functionality after recent environmental testing.

IceCube helps demystify strange radio bursts from deep space

Mon, 09/25/2017 - 1:29pm
Scientists are turning IceCube, the world's most sensitive neutrino telescope, to the task of helping demystify powerful pulses of radio energy generated up to billions of light-years from Earth.

The material that obscures supermassive black holes

Mon, 09/25/2017 - 1:29pm
New research examines the material that obscures active galactic nuclei obtained from infrared and X-ray observations.

Oxygen-deficient dwarf galaxy hints at makings of early universe

Mon, 09/25/2017 - 1:29pm
Astronomers have long searched for understanding of how the universe assembled from simplicity to complexity. A newly studied tiny galaxy is providing clues.

Mon, 09/25/2017 - 11:28am
Lava tubes, underground caves created by volcanic activity, could provide protected habitats large enough to house streets on Mars or even towns on the Moon, according to new research. A further study shows how the next generation of lunar orbiters will be able to use radar to locate these structures under the Moon's surface.

NASA'S OSIRIS-REx spacecraft slingshots past Earth

Fri, 09/22/2017 - 4:25pm
NASA's asteroid sample return spacecraft successfully used Earth's gravity on Friday to slingshot itself on a path toward the asteroid Bennu, for a rendezvous next August.

Fri, 09/22/2017 - 9:09am

Detecting cosmic rays from a galaxy far, far away

Thu, 09/21/2017 - 2:12pm
Where do cosmic rays come from? Solving a 50-year-old mystery, a collaboration of researchers has discovered it's much farther than the Milky Way.

Solar eruption ‘photobombed’ Mars encounter with Comet Siding Spring

Thu, 09/21/2017 - 9:50am
When Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) passed just 140,000 kilometers from Mars on 19th October 2014, depositing a large amount of debris in the Martian atmosphere, space agencies coordinated multiple spacecraft to witness the largest meteor shower in recorded history. It was a rare opportunity, as this kind of planetary event occurs only once every 100,000 years.

Unique type of object discovered in our solar system

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 2:47pm

New concept of terrestrial planet formation

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 1:17pm
Scientists are proposing a new way of understanding the cooling and transfer of heat from terrestrial planetary interiors and how that affects the generation of the volcanic terrains that dominate the rocky planets.

Is the Milky Way an 'outlier' galaxy? Studying its 'siblings' for clues

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 11:33am
The most-studied galaxy in the universe -- the Milky Way -- might not be as 'typical' as previously thought, according to a new study. Early results from the Satellites Around Galactic Analogs (SAGA) Survey indicate that the Milky Way's satellites are much more tranquil than other systems of comparable luminosity and environment. Many satellites of those 'sibling' galaxies are actively pumping out new stars, but the Milky Way's satellites are mostly inert.

Space radiation is risky business for the human body

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 10:01am
NASA's Human Research Program (HRP) is working to protect the whole human body from radiation in space. Space radiation is dangerous and one of the primary health risks for astronauts. Virtually any cell in the body is susceptible to radiation damage.

Mercury's poles may be icier than scientists thought

Tue, 09/19/2017 - 12:31pm
A new study identifies three large surface ice deposits near Mercury's north pole, and suggests there could be many additional small-scale deposits that would dramatically increase the planet's surface ice inventory.