NEWS

[towhom]

Fluctuations and oscillations in a simple epidemic model
arXiv
G. Rozhnova¹ and A. Nunes^1
1Centro de F´ýsica Te´orica e Computacional and Departamento de F´ýsica,
Faculdade de Ciˆencias da Universidade de Lisboa, P-1649-003 Lisboa Codex, Portugal
(Submitted on 26 Oct 2008 (v1), last revised 2 Jun 2009 (this version, v3))
PACS numbers: 87.10.Mn; 87.19.ln; 05.10.Gg
arxiv.org/abs/0810.4683

Abstract
We show that the simplest stochastic epidemiological models with spatial correlations exhibit two types of oscillatory behaviour in the endemic phase. In a large parameter range, the oscillations are due to resonant amplification of stochastic fluctuations, a general mechanism first reported for predator-prey dynamics. In a narrow range of parameters that includes many infectious diseases which confer long lasting immunity the oscillations persist for infinite populations. This effect is apparent in simulations of the stochastic process in systems of variable size, and can be understood from the phase diagram of the deterministic pair approximation equations. The two mechanisms combined play a central role in explaining the ubiquity of oscillatory behaviour in real data and in simulation results of epidemic and other related models.

Complete article available for download in multiple formats at the link displayed above.

[towhom]

Damage and fluctuations induce loops in optimal transport networks
arXiv
Eleni Katifori,¹ Gergely J. Szollosi,² and Marcelo O. Magnasco^3
1Center for Studies in Physics and Biology, The Rockefeller University
²Biological Physics Department, Eotvos University, Budapest
³Laboratory of Mathematical Physics, The Rockefeller University, 10021 New York, NY USA
29 May 2009
PACS numbers: 89.75Hc, 89.75Da, 89.75Fb, 89.75.Kd
arxiv.org/abs/0906.0006

Abstract
Leaf venation is a pervasive example of a complex biological network, endowing leaves with a transport system and mechanical resilience. Transport networks optimized for efficiency have been shown to be trees, i.e. loopless. However, dicotyledon leaf venation has a large number of closed loops, which are functional and able to transport fluid in the event of damage to any vein, including the primary veins. Inspired by leaf venation, we study two possible reasons for the existence of a high density of loops in transport networks: resilience to damage and fluctuations in load. In the first case, we seek the optimal transport network in the presence of random damage by averaging over damage to each link. In the second case, we seek the network that optimizes transport when the load is sparsely distributed: at any given time most sinks are closed. We find that both criteria lead to the presence of loops in the optimum state.

Complete article available for download at the link displayed above.

[nodstar]

Jun 7, 2009 6:42:17 GMT 4 @towhom said:

Noddie

I would REALLY love to see any additional information on this site and the aboriginal astronomy...

The Mystery of Australia's Stonehenge
Aboriginal Australians have been observing the skies for 50,000 years, but only now are their astronomical achievements coming to light
Technology Review / arXiv blog
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/23603/

Aboriginal Australians have lived in Oz for the best part of 50,000 years, making them the world's oldest culture by quite some margin. It also makes them the world's first astronomers. However, years of prejudice have prevented the astronomical achievements of Aboriginal Australians from being fully appreciated--something that Ray Norris and Duane Hamacher at Macquarie University, in Sydney, want to change.

They've put together an impressive account of the astronomical achievements of Aboriginal Australians. It is fairly well known, at least in Australia, that these people had their own mythology associated with the night skies, centered on the idea that the world was created in "the Dreaming" by ancestral spirits whose presence can still be seen, both on the land and in the sky, say Norris and Hamacher.

But it turns out that Aboriginal Australians also had a sophisticated understanding of astronomical events, such as solar and lunar eclipses. That's all the more amazing given that total solar eclipses are rare, occurring over any one piece of land only every three or four generations, and that any information about them must have been passed from generation to generation in the form of songs, stories, and cave paintings that can still be seen today.

But the most eye-opening revelation, for me at least, is the existence of an "Australian Stonehenge" called Wurdi Youang, in Victoria, whose age is unknown but obviously predates European settlement.

Wurdi Youang is an egg-shaped ring of stones about 50 meters across. Some of the stones have significant astronomical alignments. For example, some stones seem to indicate the position of the setting sun at the equinoxes and solstices, although there is some disagreement over this idea. Like Stonehenge in the U.K., no records of its use survive, and consequently, nobody knows what it was used for.

Norris and Hamacher say that they know of other stone arrangements with various alignments but have not been able to study these to the same degree. Meanwhile, the search goes on for "lost" stone formations--no mean feat, given the size of Australia.

A fascinating project to document the world's first astronomers and their legacy.

Ref: arxiv.org/abs/0906.0155: The Astronomy of Aboriginal Australia

Hiya Sally Anne ..

This is an extraordinary article ..!!

My travels in Oz have included some of the most remote places on this continent
and some of the most remote islands as well .
I have always had this feeling that man may well have come from here, and that the
current so called Peking man theory of human migration could be wrong.

I've seen cave paintings that are no longer available to the public, been to sacred grounds and ceremonies, and each time I came away with the same feeling..

That these people, their race is OLD .. really OLD.

What's astonishing about this article is that it attributes complex issues such as astronomy and mapping ( the arrangements of the stones ) to a people that have been previously thought of as primitive just above the neanderthals in development,( migratory hunter gatherers ) by anthropologists and historians.

Oz as as racist and redneck in its social values as most other white dominated countries, and it's only since the early 70's that the indigenous people were counted in the national census.
Before that they were listed under the Flora and Fauna act ..( no I'm NOT kidding )
so it doesn't surprise me that the researchers are looking for a needle in a haystack re other 'Stone arrangements".

This is an incredible discovery, and the Aboriginals will hopefully benefit from better understanding of their culture, after all .. they've been here for at least 50,000 years.. ;D ( the above quote of 50,000 years is debatable .. it IS the time frame that is most accepted by scientists .. however .. there have been discoveries that predate that 50,000 year time frame )

Lotsa love

Nod

[stan]

pm done Noddy. truly,..

[nodstar]

Jun 7, 2009 14:33:41 GMT 4 @stan said:

pm done Noddy. truly,..

Hiya Stan ..

PM received and a reply awaits you ;D

Nod

[towhom]

Jun 7, 2009 12:26:37 GMT 4 @nodstar said:

Jun 7, 2009 6:42:17 GMT 4 @towhom said:

Noddie

I would REALLY love to see any additional information on this site and the aboriginal astronomy...

The Mystery of Australia's Stonehenge
Aboriginal Australians have been observing the skies for 50,000 years, but only now are their astronomical achievements coming to light
Technology Review / arXiv blog
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/23603/

Aboriginal Australians have lived in Oz for the best part of 50,000 years, making them the world's oldest culture by quite some margin. It also makes them the world's first astronomers. However, years of prejudice have prevented the astronomical achievements of Aboriginal Australians from being fully appreciated--something that Ray Norris and Duane Hamacher at Macquarie University, in Sydney, want to change.

They've put together an impressive account of the astronomical achievements of Aboriginal Australians. It is fairly well known, at least in Australia, that these people had their own mythology associated with the night skies, centered on the idea that the world was created in "the Dreaming" by ancestral spirits whose presence can still be seen, both on the land and in the sky, say Norris and Hamacher.

But it turns out that Aboriginal Australians also had a sophisticated understanding of astronomical events, such as solar and lunar eclipses. That's all the more amazing given that total solar eclipses are rare, occurring over any one piece of land only every three or four generations, and that any information about them must have been passed from generation to generation in the form of songs, stories, and cave paintings that can still be seen today.

But the most eye-opening revelation, for me at least, is the existence of an "Australian Stonehenge" called Wurdi Youang, in Victoria, whose age is unknown but obviously predates European settlement.

Wurdi Youang is an egg-shaped ring of stones about 50 meters across. Some of the stones have significant astronomical alignments. For example, some stones seem to indicate the position of the setting sun at the equinoxes and solstices, although there is some disagreement over this idea. Like Stonehenge in the U.K., no records of its use survive, and consequently, nobody knows what it was used for.

Norris and Hamacher say that they know of other stone arrangements with various alignments but have not been able to study these to the same degree. Meanwhile, the search goes on for "lost" stone formations--no mean feat, given the size of Australia.

A fascinating project to document the world's first astronomers and their legacy.

Ref: arxiv.org/abs/0906.0155: The Astronomy of Aboriginal Australia

Hiya Sally Anne ..

This is an extraordinary article ..!!

My travels in Oz have included some of the most remote places on this continent
and some of the most remote islands as well .
I have always had this feeling that man may well have come from here, and that the
current so called Peking man theory of human migration could be wrong.

I've seen cave paintings that are no longer available to the public, been to sacred grounds and ceremonies, and each time I came away with the same feeling..

That these people, their race is OLD .. really OLD.

What's astonishing about this article is that it attributes complex issues such as astronomy and mapping ( the arrangements of the stones ) to a people that have been previously thought of as primitive just above the neanderthals in development,( migratory hunter gatherers ) by anthropologists and historians.

Oz as as racist and redneck in its social values as most other white dominated countries, and it's only since the early 70's that the indigenous people were counted in the national census.
Before that they were listed under the Flora and Fauna act ..( no I'm NOT kidding )
so it doesn't surprise me that the researchers are looking for a needle in a haystack re other 'Stone arrangements".

This is an incredible discovery, and the Aboriginals will hopefully benefit from better understanding of their culture, after all .. they've been here for at least 50,000 years.. ;D ( the above quote of 50,000 years is debatable .. it IS the time frame that is most accepted by scientists .. however .. there have been discoveries that predate that 50,000 year time frame )

Lotsa love

Nod

Hiya Noddie!

A thought (that has re-occurred throughout many lifetimes and ages):

The flow of knowledge has been "interrupted" by those who seek to withhold and control - repeatedly. If it cannot be "sanitized and incorporated" into controlled dogma, then it must be "defused and/or debunked" with tactics up to and including the use of genocide.

As a result, our "history" has become so fragmented and misleading that it is a wonder we have anything left to draw upon.

And yet...

It isn't "a wonder" - the sources are still with us, surround us and are in us.

Perhaps the current "defusers and debunkers" should take that thought within.

Peace and Joy
Always

Sally Anne

[stan]

Jun 7, 2009 14:44:35 GMT 4 @nodstar said:

Jun 7, 2009 14:33:41 GMT 4 @stan said:

pm done Noddy. truly,..

Hiya Stan ..

PM received and a reply awaits you ;D

Nod

Ok! ;D

Mongraal has posted a bunch in the Amalfi Gateway. Requests to become a new member in the Eagles Forum can start today.

Because the team has undergone some changes, we'll have to look at how to admit people.

Familiar theme (below)?

www.rense.com/general86/jump.htm

;D

Stan

[towhom]

Sports Update:

The RED WINGS are one game away from the STANLEY CUP...

The Penguins are vallantly attempting to thwart the playoff rematch results / repeat title winners...

Good luck to both teams - but I'm a HOCKEYTOWN WINGER - let the octos FLY!

;D

[towhom]

Emergence of the stochastic resonance in glow discharge plasma
arXiv
Md Nurujjaman¹, A N Sekar Iyengar¹ and P Parmananda^2
1Plasma Physics Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1/AF, Bidhannagar, Kolkata-700064, India
²Facultad de Ciencias, UAEM, Avenida Universidad 1001, Colonia Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
5 Jun 2009
arxiv.org/abs/0906.1078

Abstract
Stochastic resonance (SR) has been studied experimentally in a glow discharge plasma. For the SR phenomena, it is observed that a superimposed subthreshold periodic signal can be recovered via stochastic modulations of the discharge voltage. In the present experiments, induction of SR is quantified using the absolute mean difference (AMD). Comparison of the AMD techniques with respect to cross-correlation has also been shown.

Complete article available for download in multiple formats at the link displayed above.

[towhom]

An Aborigine Creation Story
This is the story of Dreamtime.
It comes from the Aborigines of Australia.

When the earth was new-born, it was plain and without any features or life. Waking time and sleeping time were the same. There were only hollows on the surface of the Earth which, one day, would become waterholes. Around the waterholes were the ingredients of life.

Underneath the crust of the earth were the stars and the sky, the sun and the moon, as well as all the forms of life, all sleeping. The tiniest details of life were present yet dormant: the head feathers of a cockatoo, the thump of a kangaroo's tail, the gleam of an insect's wing.

A time came when time itself split apart, and sleeping time separated from waking time. This moment was called the Dreamtime. At this moment everything started to burst into life.

The sun rose through the surface of the Earth and shone warm rays onto the hollows which became waterholes. Under each waterhole lay an Ancestor, an ancient man or woman who had been asleep through the ages. The sun filled the bodies of each Ancestor with light and life, and the Ancestors began to give birth to children. Their children were all the living things of the world, from the tiniest grub wriggling on a eucalyptus leaf to the broadest-singed eagle soaring in the blue sky.

Rising from the waterholes, the Ancestors stood up with mud falling from their bodies. As the mud slipped away, the sun opened their eyelids and they saw the creatures they had made from their own bodies. Each Ancestor gazed at his creation in pride and wonderment. Each Ancestor sang out with joy: "I am!". One Ancestor sang "I am kangaroo!" Another sang "I am Cockatoo!" The next sang "I am Honey-Ant!" and the next sang "I am Lizard!"

As they sang, naming their own creations, they began to walk. Their footsteps and their music became one, calling all living things into being and weaving them into life with song. The ancestors sang their way all around the world. They sang the rivers to the valleys and the sand into dunes, the trees into leaf and the mountains to rise above the plain. As they walked they left a trail of music.

Then they were exhausted. They had shown all living things how to live, and they returned into the Earth itself to sleep. And, in honour of their Ancestors, the Aborigines still go Walkabout, retracing the steps and singing the songs that tell the story of life.

[towhom]

Linking Genetic Material MicroRNAs With Cells That Regulate The Immune System Could One Day Lead To New Therapies For Treating Cancer
ScienceDaily
June 7, 2009
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090601182658.htm

Linking genetic material microRNAs with cells that regulate the immune system could one day lead to new therapies for treating cancer, infections and autoimmune diseases, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.

Qing-Sheng Mi, M.D., Ph.D., the study's senior author and director of Henry Ford's Immunology Program, says their findings are important because it shows for the first time an association between microRNAs and a key subset of immune regulatory cells in the body, natural killer T cells (NKT), which are known to lead to autoimmune diseases and cancer.

The study is being published June 1 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"While further studies are needed, we believe this provides important insight about how microRNAs can regulate NKT cells, and signals a major step forward in biology science for looking at new therapies for treating some chronic immune disease," Dr. Mi says.

MicroRNAs are short strands of genetic material that researchers believe perform a vital role in healthy development by turning off gene activity. NKT cells potent regulators of diverse immune responses in the body.

By genetically modifying mice with specific deletion microRNAs in hematopoietic stem cells, Henry Ford researchers showed that the lack of microRNAs can block the development and function of normal NKT cells.

If researchers are successful at identifying unique microRNA that specifically regulate NKT cells, Dr. Mi, it could lead to new treatment therapies for some chronic disease.

Adapted from materials provided by Henry Ford Health System, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

[towhom]

New Way To Enhance Stem Cells To Stimulate Muscle Regeneration
ScienceDaily
June 7, 2009
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090604124025.htm

Scientists at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the University of Ottawa have discovered a powerful new way to stimulate muscle regeneration, paving the way for new treatments for debilitating conditions such as muscular dystrophy.

The research, to be published in the June 5 issue of Cell Stem Cell, shows for the first time that a protein called Wnt7a increases the number of stem cells in muscle tissue, leading to accelerated growth and repair of skeletal muscle.

"This discovery shows us that by targeting stem cells to boost their numbers, we can improve the body's ability to repair muscle tissue," said senior author Dr. Michael Rudnicki. Dr. Rudnicki is the Scientific Director of Canada's Stem Cell Network and a Senior Scientist at OHRI and Director of OHRI's Sprott Centre for Stem Cell Research, as well as a Professor of Medicine at the University of Ottawa.

Stem cells give rise to every tissue and organ in the body. Satellite stem cells are specialized muscle stem cells that live in adult skeletal muscle tissue and have the ability to both replicate and differentiate into various types of muscle cells. Dr. Rudnicki's team found that the Wnt7a protein, when introduced into mouse muscle tissue, significantly increased the population of these satellite stem cells and fueled the regeneration process, creating bigger and stronger muscles. Muscle tissue mass was increased by nearly 20 per cent in the study.

"Our findings point the way to the development of new therapeutic treatment for muscular diseases such as muscular dystrophy, sarcopenia and muscle wasting conditions resulting from extended hospital stays and surgeries," said Dr. Rudnicki.

This project was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the National Institutes of Health, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Canada's Stem Cell Network and the Canada Research Chairs Program.

Journal reference:
Fabien Le Grand, Andrew E. Jones, Vanessa Seale, Anthony Scimè, Michael A. Rudnicki. Wnt7a Activates the Planar Cell Polarity Pathway to Drive the Symmetric Expansion of Satellite Stem Cells. Cell Stem Cell, 2009; DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2009.03.013

Adapted from materials provided by Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.

And, of course, here's the US Patent:

United States Patent: 7,541,183
Authors: Rudnicki, et al.
Issued: June 2, 2009
Title: Growth and differentiation of adult muscle stem cells with activators or inhibitors of Wnt signaling
Inventors: Rudnicki; Michael (Gloucester, CA), Seale; Patrick (Brookline, MA), Polesskaya; Anna (Villejuif, FR), Fortin; Anouk (Gloucester, CA)
Assignee: Ottawa Health Research Institute (Ottawa, Ontario, CA)
Appl. No.: 11/318,419
Filed: December 22, 2005
patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=Wnt7a&OS=Wnt7a&RS=Wnt7a

Abstract
Compositions and methods for modulating proliferation and/or lineage commitment of stem cells by modulating the Wnt signalling pathways. Modulators of the Wnt signalling pathways and screening methods to identify modulators are also provided. The methods of the invention may be conducted in vitro or in vivo to induce or inhibit stem cell proliferation and/or lineage commitment, and are particularly useful for in vivo stimulation of proliferation and/or lineage commitment of resident stem cells in a tissue.

[towhom]

'Colossal' Magnetic Effect Under Pressure: Another Revolution In Computing Technology?
ScienceDaily
June 7, 2009
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090605125340.htm

Millions of people today carry around pocket-sized music players capable of holding thousands of songs, thanks to the discovery 20 years ago of a phenomenon known as the “giant magnetoresistance effect,” which made it possible to pack more data onto smaller and smaller hard drives. Now scientists are on the trail of another phenomenon, called the “colossal magnetoresistance effect” (CMR) which is up to a thousand times more powerful and could trigger another revolution in computing technology.

Understanding, and ultimately controlling, this effect and the intricate coupling between electrical conductivity and magnetism in these materials remains a challenge, however, because of competing interactions in manganites, the materials in which CMR was discovered. In the June 12, 2009, issue of the journal Physical Review Letters, a team of researchers report new progress in using high pressure techniques to unravel the subtleties of this coupling.

To study the magnetic properties of manganites, a form of manganese oxide, the research team, led by Yang Ding of the Carnegie Institution’s High Pressure Synergetic Center (HPSync), applied techniques called x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) and angular-dispersive diffraction at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) of Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. High pressure XMCD is a newly developed technique that uses high-brilliance circularly polarized x-rays to probe the magnetic state of a material under pressures of many hundreds of thousands of atmospheres inside a diamond anvil cell.

The discovery of CMR in manganite compounds has already made manganites invaluable components in technological applications. An example is magnetic tunneling junctions in soon-to-be marketed magnetic random access memory (MRAM), where the tunneling of electrical current between two thin layers of manganite material separated by an electrical insulator depends on the relative orientation of magnetization in the manganite layers. Unlike conventional RAM, MRAM could yield instant-on computers. However, no current theories can fully explain the rich physics, including CMR effects, seen in manganites.

“The challenge is that there are competing interactions in manganites among the electrons that determine magnetic properties,” said Ding. “And the properties are also affected by external stimuli, such as, temperature, pressure, magnetic field, and chemical doping.”

“Pressure has a unique ability to tune the electron interactions in a clean and theoretically transparent manner,” he added. “It is a direct and effective means for manipulating the behavior of electrons and could provide valuable information on the magnetic and electronic properties of manganite systems. But of all the effects, pressure effects have been the least explored.”

The researchers found that when a manganite was subjected to conditions above 230,000 times atmospheric pressure it underwent a transition in which its magnetic ordering changed from a ferromagnetic type (electron spins aligned) to an antiferromagnetic type (electron spins opposed). This transition was accompanied by a non-uniform structural distortion called the Jahn-Teller effect.

“It is quite interesting to observe that uniform compression leads to a non-uniform structural change in a manganite, which was not predicted by theory,” said Ding, “Working with Michel van Veenendaal’s theoretical group at APS, we found that the predominant effect of pressure on this material is to increase the strength of an interaction known as superexchange relative to another known as the double exchange interaction. A consequence of this is that the overall ferromagnetic interactions in the system occur in a plane (two dimensions) rather than in three dimensions, which produces a non-uniform redistribution of electrons. This leads to the structural distortion.”

Another intriguing response of manganite to high pressure revealed by the experiments is that the magnetic transition did not occur throughout the sample at the same time. Instead, it spread incrementally.

“The results imply that even at ambient conditions, the manganite might already have two separate magnetic phases at the nanometer scale, with pressure favoring the growth of the antiferro-magnetic phase at the expense of the ferromagnetic phase,” said coauthor Daniel Haskel, a physicist at Argonne’s APS. “Manipulating phase separation at the nanoscale level is at the very core of nanotechnology and manganites provide an excellent playground to pursue this objective”.

“This work not only displays another interesting emergent phenomenon arising from the interplay between charge, spin, orbital and lattice in a strongly correlated electron system,” commented coauthor Dr. Ho-kwang Mao of Carnegie’s Geophysical Laboratory, Director of HPSync,” but it also manifests the role of pressure in magnetism studies of dense matter.”

Journal reference:
Yang Ding, Daniel Haskel, Yuan-Chieh Tseng, Eiji Kaneshita, Michel van Veenendaal, John Mitchell, Stanislav V. Sinogeikin, Vitali Prakapenka, and Ho-kwang Mao. Pressure-induced magnetic transition in manganite (La_0.75Ca_0.25MnO₃). Physical Review Letters, June 2009

Adapted from materials provided by Carnegie Institute Of Science.

Hey...check this out, Carnegie...

Los Alamos scientists provide new understanding of manganites
By Todd Hanson
June 3, 2004
www.lanl.gov/news/index.php/fuseaction/nb.story/story_id/5227

Laboratory researchers recently unveiled a new theory explaining the strange coexistence of metallic and insulating phases in the crystals of a mineral called perovskite manganite. The theoretical framework they present could provide a basis for the engineering of nanoscale metallic and insulating phase patterns in manganites. Such phase patterns could be useful in the computer industry's quest to miniaturize computer disk drive heads beyond their current size limitations.

In a paper published in the March 25 issue of the scientific journal Nature, Los Alamos scientists Ken Ahn, Turab Lookman and Alan Bishop theorize that the presence of metallic and insulating phases in perovskite manganite are strain-induced, caused by pressures applied to the mineral's structure lattice during formation. Perovskite manganite, or manganite, is a steel-gray or black mineral that occurs as crystals of manganese ore. Perovskite refers to the cubic crystal form the manganite may take.

According to Lookman, a physicist in Condensed Matter and Statistical Physics (T-11), a better understanding of the nanoscale structure of manganites is more than simply an academic adventure. "If the computer industry is going to continue to miniaturize electronics beyond silicon's current limitations, it will probably be necessary to look at materials like manganites, where, for example, nanoscale structures such as coexistent metallic and insulating phases can be built within media that are otherwise homogenous," Lookman said.

The evolution of computer drives has been made possible to a significant extent by a better understanding of magnetoresistance in materials. In 1988, a property called "gigantic magnetoresistance" was discovered in certain materials that made them useful for creating better magnetic read heads for computer disk drives. In 1994, a more powerful magnetoresistance phenomenon known as "colossal magnetoresistance" was discovered in manganite and other materials with perovskite crystalline structure that made them appealing to industry as potential materials for use in a new generation of miniature magnetic read heads for computer disk drives. While gigantic magnetoresistance -based technologies are now used in most hard drives, colossal magnetoresistance has been less widely understood and therefore not been applied.

The Los Alamos discovery could lead to advanced electronic applications of colossal magnetoresistance in the future, if the strain-induced metallic and insulating phases can be replicated at nanoscales using electromagnetic radiation, explained Lookman.

The research was funded by the Department of Energy's Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program. LDRD funds basic and applied research and development focusing on employee-initiated creative proposals selected at the discretion of the Laboratory director.

[towhom]

After GM and Chrysler Bankruptcies -- What Now?
Huffington Post
By Jennifer M. Granholm / Governor of Michigan
Posted: June 1, 2009 03:05 PM
www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-m-granholm/after-gm-and-chrysler-ban_b_209906.html

Despite this morning's wrenching news about GM filing for bankruptcy, my state should not be the object of pity. Michigan should be the subject we study as the president leads an energy economy revolution. We will not be victims: we intend to lead the country in a move from 20th century rust to 21st century green.

Predictions are that by the end of this decade, due to the collapse of the nation's automotive and manufacturing sectors, Michigan will have lost almost one million jobs. Let me say that again: one million jobs lost in ten years in just one state. Good paying, middle class jobs. Jobs that have defined our state's identity and prosperity. Jobs that created communities, large and small. Gone.

We've had enough. We've gone through all the stages of grief and loss: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and, just maybe, acceptance. With GM's bankruptcy filing today, we know we're finally starting to hit bottom. While many of us have not been supportive of the bankruptcy strategy, we are bound and determined to climb out of this decade-long tunnel of darkness.

My fellow governors often offer their sympathies. "When I feel depressed about my state's situation," one recently said to me, "all I have to do is look to the manufacturing sector in Michigan to feel better." Hmmm. I'm not sure we want to provide the means of comfort to others in that way. We don't want anyone to feel sorry for us. We are resolute, determined, and focused on the fix to our situation. Key to that fix is using Michigan's expertise in manufacturing products to achieve our nation's goal of energy independence.

It is old news that with globalization, U.S. manufacturers move production to low-wage countries. But when it comes to manufacturing green products, it's time to change direction on offshoring. And here's why: in short order, the U.S. will have enacted a national commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and end our dependence on foreign oil. This new energy policy will have defined a critical national need for the U.S. to become energy independent.

My point is this: we can't become energy independent by becoming dependent on energy products made by other countries. We either have the means to control our energy future, or we have to rely upon products made elsewhere to do it. Great nations do not relinquish their ability to make the products that will lift them to greatness. This is the moment for our nation to make green products here and export them, rather than the other way around.

In Michigan, we're not waiting around. Now and for the past five years, we are laboring to position ourselves to help lead the green industrial revolution. We adopted our own energy policy to create demand for renewables. We restructured utility incentives to deploy efficiency. We enacted tax incentives and grants for production of green products and created venture capital for green start-ups. We changed regulatory policy to invite producers of alternative energy products. We restructured our workforce training to provide the skills for green jobs. We are targeting our competitive strengths. And, now, we're no longer going it alone. We have a president whose energy policies will put Michigan's efforts on steroids.

Today, the advanced batteries used in electric and hybrid vehicles are made in Asia. Tomorrow, they will be made in Michigan. Today, the wind turbines used in much of America's wind farms are made in Europe. Tomorrow, they will be made in Michigan and in states across America. We have the technology, the workforce, the machining know-how, the universities, the factory capacity, the infrastructure for transporting these products...and we will have federal policies that drive demand for those products researched, developed and produced in America.

So, three major opportunities exist to turn the destruction of bankruptcies and job losses into the creative reconstruction of America's manufacturing economy:

• President Obama's commitment to free us from dependence on foreign and carbon-based fuels
  
• The imperative that those green products be made in America to create that true independence
  
• A talented manufacturing sector hungry for work

The moment is now to use our lean, retooled American manufacturing sector to build the green cars, batteries, a smart electric grid, wind turbines and solar panels that will lead us to energy independence.

It's a time of dramatic, historic, national transformation. And despite today's devastating news, Michigan is ready to lead.

That's my home - MICHIGAN - born and raised in Metro Detroit. It's more than just the Great Lakes State. It's more than just Motown. It's more than just automobiles. It's MICHIGAN, My MICHIGAN...

[kiek]

Dear Sally Anne,

'Chicago Chicago That Toddlin' Town' ......
That's a song we used to sing at home here in NL because my Dad used to bring records home with these songs on it, 'Sing Along With Mitch Miller' etc!
I've been to Chicago many times for my work, love it!! The state must be beautiful too!

;-))