Earth Day 2014: NASA Celebrates The Occasion With #GlobalSelfie Campaign

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According to NASA, the year 2014 is a big one for the space agency as five of its major missions are planned to be launched into space by December to gather critical data about the planet. And, to mark the significance of the year and what its missions mean for the planet, NASA has asked people to send in selfies that showcase mountains, parks, rivers, lakes and the sky from all over the world.

While NASA satellites constantly look at Earth from space, on Earth Day we're asking you to step outside and take a picture of yourself wherever you are on Earth. Then post it to social media using the hashtag #GlobalSelfie, NASA saidon its website. For Earth Day we are trying to create an image of Earth from the ground up while also fostering a collection of portraits of the people of Earth. Once those pictures stream around the world on Earth Day, the individual pictures tagged #GlobalSelfie will be used to create a mosaic image of Earth -- a new "Blue Marble" built bit by bit with your photos.

#GlobalSelfie sign. NASA

The Earth mosaic image and a video using the images will be released in May. According to NASA, it will monitor photos -- with the hashtag #GlobalSelfie -- posted to five social media sites, including Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google+ and Flickr. Users can also post photos to the #GlobalSelfie event page on Facebook, #GlobalSelfie Google+ event page, or the #GlobalSelfie group on Flickr.

NASA has identified thousands of new planets in the universe in recent years, but the space agency, which currently has 17 Earth-observing missions orbiting the planet to study its atmosphere, land and oceans, has studied Earth more closely than any other planet.

Now, NASA wants to create a different picture of the planet -- a crowd-sourced collection of snapshots of the people of Earth that we could use to create one unique mosaic of the Blue Marble.

To download the #GlobalSelfie sign, click here.Meanwhile, NASA has alsoreleased a video that provides a look back at Earth in 2013 from the viewpoint of orbit. Here is the video:

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Earth Day 2014: NASA Celebrates The Occasion With #GlobalSelfie Campaign

NASA invites public to join 'Global Selfie'

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ORLANDO, Fla. -

NASA plans to mark Earth Day by creating a unique view of the planet -- through selfies.

The agency is asking the public to join its "#GlobalSelfie" project by taking selfies to add to a collection that will ultimately be used for a mosaic.

NASA says the selfies will help them capture a new image of Earth that can't be seen using its satellites.

In order to participate, people can download, print and fill out a #GlobalSelfie sign. People are asked to hold up the sign while taking the selfie to indicate the location of the photo.

[RELATED:Download #GlobalSelfie sign]

NASA encourages the public to take the selfie in an area that highlights Earth's beauty, such as its mountains, parks, rivers and lakes.

After taking the photo, people can share their selfies with NASA by posting the photos to social media web sites using the hashtag #GlobalSelfie. NASA will use the selfie collection to create its mosaic.

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NASA invites public to join 'Global Selfie'

Ultra-fast electrical circuits using light-generated tunneling currents

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Assistant Professor Christian A. Nijhuis of the Department of Chemistry at the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Faculty of Science, in collaboration with researchers from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), namely Dr Bai Ping of the Institute of High Performance Computing and Dr Michel Bosman of the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering has successfully designed and fabricated electrical circuits that can operate at hundreds of terahertz frequencies, which is tens of thousands times faster than today's state-of-the-art microprocessors.

This novel invention uses a new physical process called 'quantum plasmonic tunnelling'. By changing the molecules in the molecular electronic device, the frequency of the circuits can be altered in hundreds of terahertz regime.

The new circuits can potentially be used to construct ultra-fast computers or single molecule detectors in the future, and open up new possibilities in nano-electronic devices. The study is funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF) and A*STAR and results of the research were first published in prestigious scientific journal Science on 28 March 2014.

The quest to be super-small and super-fast Light is used as an information carrier and transmitted in optical fibre cables. Photonic elements are large but they operate at extremely high frequencies of 100 terahertz - about 10,000 times faster than the desktop computer. But current state-of-the-art nano-electronic devices operate at length scales that are much smaller, making it very difficult to combine the ultra-fast properties of photonic elements with nano-scale electronics.

Scientists have long known that light can interact with certain metals and can be captured in the form of plasmons, which are collective, ultra-fast oscillations of electrons that can be manipulated at the nano-scale. The so-called quantum plasmon modes have been theoretically predicted to occur at atomic length scales. However, current state-of-the-art fabrication techniques can only reach length scales that are about five nanometre larger, therefore quantum-plasmon effects have been difficult to investigate.

In this landmark study, the research team demonstrated that quantum-plasmonics is possible at length scales that are useful for real applications. Researchers successfully fabricated an element of a molecular electronic circuit using two plasmonic resonators, which are structures that can capture light in the form of plasmons, bridged by a layer of molecules that is exactly one molecule thick. The layer of molecules switches on the quantum plasmonic tunneling effects, enabling the circuits to operate at terahertz frequencies.

Dr Bosman used an advanced electron microscopy technique to visualise and measure the opto-electronic properties of these structures with nanometer resolution. The measurements revealed the existence of the quantum plasmon mode and that its speed could be controlled by varying the molecular properties of the devices.

By performing quantum-corrected simulations, Dr Bai confirmed that the quantum plasmonic properties could be controlled in the molecular electronic devices at frequencies 10,000 times faster than current processors.

Explaining the significance of the findings, Asst Prof Nijhuis said, "We are very excited by the new findings. Our team is the first to observe the quantum plasmonic tunneling effects directly. This is also the first time that a research team has demonstrated theoretically and experimentally that very fast-switching at optical frequencies are indeed possible in molecular electronic devices."

The results open up possible new design routes for plasmonic-electronics that combines nano-electronics with the fast operating speed of optics.

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Ultra-fast electrical circuits using light-generated tunneling currents

Kevin Pietersen's gag about Peter Moores sums up the gamble the ECB have taken

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By Lawrence Booth

Published: 06:20 EST, 22 April 2014 | Updated: 06:20 EST, 22 April 2014

'Everyone deserves a 2nd chance!' tweeted Kevin Pietersen on Saturday morning, after news broke of Peter Mooress reappointment as England coach.

It was a decent enough gag Pietersen certainly thought so, embroidering his tweet with 14 smileys even if it said little about the more vexed matter of third, fourth and fifth chances. But, unwittingly perhaps, he had just summed up the gamble taken by the ECB.

English cricket's recent problems have gone beyond the Ashes whitewash and the Dutch debacle. More profoundly than that, the administration of the game has been fighting for its credibility, its fit-for-purposeness.

All smiles! Lancashire's Peter Moores was appointed the new England coach, succeeding Andy Flower

Any need? Kevin Pietersen tweeted that 'everybody deserves a second chance' on hearing the news

Perception isnt quite everything, but right now it feels like a lot and the perception on the mean streets of Talkboard Town and Below-the-Linesville is that the ECB is unable to adequately distinguish its backside from its elbow, let alone ascertain whether its right hand has ever met its left.

That Pietersen appears to be winning the PR battle in the wake of his sacking must take its place among the many low points of the last few months.

The ECB is viewed as a joke, with Pietersen its punchline. For the time being, provided with plenty of column inches by sympathetic journalists at the IPL, he can do little wrong. Heck, he has even given himself credit for spotting Jonathan Trotts stress-related illness.

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Kevin Pietersen's gag about Peter Moores sums up the gamble the ECB have taken

Paul Farbrace resigns as Sri Lanka's coach

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Under Paul Farbrace, Sri Lanka won the Asia Cup and also grabbed the World Twenty20 title after beating India in the final in Dhaka earlier this month.

Colombo: Sri Lanka were left searching for their seventh coach in four years after Paul Farbrace resigned on Tuesday to take up a possible assignment with England, Sri Lanka Cricket said. (Also read: Mudgal panel agrees to probe IPL scam)

Farbrace, 46, has been linked to the post of assistant coach to Peter Moores, who was named England's chief coach last week replacing Zimbabwean Andy Flower.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have yet to confirm Farbrace's appointment, but Sri Lankan chiefs appeared certain that the Englishman will return to his home nation.

"National coach Paul Farbrace tendered his resignation and has indicated his unavailability to continue with immediate effect in order to take up an appointment with the ECB," Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement.

Farbrace, the former Kent wicket-keeper, took over as Sri Lanka's coach in January for a two-year term that was to include next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Under him, Sri Lanka won the Asia Cup one-day tournament and also grabbed the World Twenty20 title after beating India in the final in Dhaka earlier this month.

Sri Lanka will need a new coach before they head to England next month for two Tests and a limited-overs series.

Since 2010, Sri Lanka have had a succession of coaches in Trevor Bayliss, Stuart Law, Rumesh Ratnayake, Geoff Marsh, Graham Ford and Farbrace.

Story first published on: Tuesday, 22 April 2014 16:16

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Paul Farbrace resigns as Sri Lanka's coach

Ginseng Can Treat and Prevent Influenza and RSV

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Newswise ATLANTA--Ginseng can help treat and prevent influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages, according to research findings by a scientist in Georgia State Universitys new Institute for Biomedical Sciences.

In a recent issue of Nutrients and an upcoming publication of the International Journal of Molecular Medicine, Sang-Moo Kang reports the beneficial effects of ginseng, a well-known herbal medicine, on human health.

Kangs primary research focuses on designing and developing effective vaccines against viral diseases such as influenza virus and RSV, but he partnered with a university and research institutes in South Korea that wanted international collaborative projects to study if ginseng can be used to improve health and protect against disease because of the potential benefit in fighting these viruses. Ginseng has been reported to have anticancer, anti-inflammatory and immune modifying abilities.

Seasonal influenza is a serious respiratory disease that causes annual epidemics in humans worldwide, resulting in about three to five million cases of severe illness and about 250,000 to 500,000 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. Influenza can spread quickly, and new, unexpected pandemic influenza viruses may emerge at any time and cross over to different species. The H1N1 influenza virus, a new strain known as swine flu that emerged in 2009, spread rapidly to more than 74 countries. There are also challenges with existing influenza vaccines, such as required annual updates and no protection against pandemic strains and bird flu.

In addition, there are no vaccines available for RSV, which affects millions and is the leading cause of inflammatory bronchiolitis pneumonia and viral death in infants and in some elderly adults.

In his study published in Nutrients, Kang investigated whether red ginseng extract has preventive effects on influenza A virus infection. He found that red ginseng extract improves the survival of human lung epithelial cells infected with influenza virus. Also, treatment with red ginseng extract reduced the expression of genes that cause inflammation.

After infection with influenza A virus, mice that were orally administered ginseng over a long time showed multiple immune modifying effects, such as stimulated antiviral production of proteins important in immune response and fewer inflammatory cells in their bronchial walls. The study indicates the beneficial effects of red ginseng extract on preventing influenza A virus infections could result from immune modifying capabilities of ginseng.

In his upcoming publication in the International Journal of Molecular Medicine, Kang investigated whether Korean red ginseng extract has antiviral effects, or the ability to treat RSV infection. Kang found Korean red ginseng extract improved the survival of human lung epithelial cells against RSV infection and inhibited the virus from replicating, or multiplying, in the body. In addition, treatment with Korean red ginseng extract suppressed the expression of RSV-induced inflammatory genes and the formation of chemically reactive molecules containing oxygen, which play a role in virus-induced epithelial damage in RSV.

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Ginseng Can Treat and Prevent Influenza and RSV