Z@bz@b@t ذبذبات

Design, not just threads, toughens spider web: study

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:27:00 +0000

Scientists said Wednesday they had unraveled the mystery of how spider webs can withstand multiple tears and even hurricane-force winds without collapsing.

The findings should be of keen interest to engineers searching for shock-resistant structural designs, they said.

The silk-like threads with which arachnids spin their traps are famously stronger than steel and tougher than Kevlar, but this alone does not explain how webs withstand, say, a gash from a fallen branch.

Once ripped, what keeps the whole web from falling apart?

Researchers led by Markus Buehler of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) probed the question using lab experiments, observation and computer modelling.

They began by delving deeper into the molecular structure of the silk threads.

A strand comprises a unique combination of shapeless protein and ordered, nanoscale crystals, they found.

When stress increases -- the falling branch, for example -- the filament elongates in four phases: a linear tugging, a drawn-out stretching as the protein unfolds, a stiffening phase that absorbs force, and finally the breaking point triggered by friction.

Spider threads fall into into two categories, and what makes webs so resilient is how they interact, the researchers said.

So-called viscid silk -- stretchy, wet and sticky -- winds out in ever-widening spirals from the centre of the web, and serves to capture unsuspecting prey.

But the straight threads that radiate outwards like spokes on a wheel, called dragline silk, are dry and stiff and provide structural support.

The radial and spiral filaments each play a different role in absorbing motion, and the way they are intertwined limits puncture damage to the spot where it occurs, the researchers found.

As a result, the web is organised to "sacrifice" local areas so that failure will not prevent the remainder from functioning, even if this is in a diminished capacity.

Dennis Carter, an expert on biomechanics at the US National Science Foundation, which partly funded the research, paid tribute to a "clever strategy" by spiders, which expend precious energy to build their webs.

"It is a distinct departure from the structural principles that seem to be in play for many biological materials," he said in a press release.

There are lessons to be learned from these insights, the researchers said.

"Engineering structures are typically designed to withstand large loads with limited damage, but extreme loads are more difficult to account for," said lead-author Steven Canford of MIT.

"The spider has uniquely solved this problem by allowing a sacrificial member to fail under a high load."

إكتتابات ضخمة لشركات الانترنت. Facts and figures about largest internet flotations ever

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:26:00 +0000

January 31, 2012 -- Facebook's initial public offering will be the most anticipated internet IPO since Google went public in 2004. The deal could make co-founder and CEO – 27-year-old Mark Zuckerberg – a fortune of $20 billion. Graphic shows facts and figures about largest internet flotations ever.

A Batmobile parades

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:10:00 +0000

A Batmobile parades on January 28, 2012 in downtown of Los Angeles, at the traditional Chinese New Year festivities in the California's metropol. China is welcoming the year of the dragon, a symbol considered to be particularly auspicious because it is the only mythical creature among the dozen animals that represent each year in the Chinese cosmic cycle.

West takes Internet freedom for granted: Google boss

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:46:00 +0000

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Google boss Eric Schmidt

The Internet proved the only true form of free communication during the Arab Spring and yet the West has come to take the freedom it confers for granted, Google boss Eric Schmidt said Friday.

In a stout defence of Internet freedoms at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Schmidt also said that rather than be seen as contributing to job losses, the web was a great opportunity for businesses to grow.

Schmidt told delegates he had just returned from a visit to Libya after the revolution that toppled Moamer Kadhafi, a trip which had underlined the value of the Internet in societies where phones are tapped and media is state-run.

"The thing I learnt most about the Arab Spring is that we take the Internet for granted here," said Schmidt, Google's executive chairman.

"When you live in country where censorship is the norm ... the Internet is your only communications mechanism."

The role of the Internet in the Arab Spring was memorably illustrated by Wael Ghonim, Google's head of marketing for the Middle East and North Africa, who administered the Facebook page that helped spark Egypt's revolution.

Schmidt said an uncensored Internet could ensure the new generation of Arab leaders does not repeat the same pattern of corruption of the old regimes.

He proposed it becomes mandatory for politicians running for office to disclose their assets on the Internet.

Schmidt, whose own firm employs some 30,000 people, also said the Internet should not be blamed for problems in the labour market, arguing that: "It's important not to fear technological innovation and revolution."

He said that governments had to address what he called "a huge labour shortage for highly educated people" in manufacturing.

"There are plenty of countries, (the) United States and other countries that I have visited, that are very short of skilled people," he said.

He said the web worked to the benefit of small business as "there's no better tool" to find customers, adding: "A reasonable expectation is that the access to the Internet will produce a very large number of smaller companies."

Facebook may file for IPO next week

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:44:00 +0000

Facebook may file papers for an initial public offering next week that would value the social network at up to $100 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The newspaper, citing people familiar with the matter, said Facebook could file IPO papers with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as early as Wednesday but the "timing is still being discussed."

"Executives are also considering filing a few weeks later," it said.

The Journal said the Menlo Park, California-based social networking giant is looking at a valuation of $75 billion to $100 billion and is close to picking Morgan Stanley as the lead underwriter for the stock offering.

It said Goldman Sachs is also expected to "play a significant role in the deal."

The Journal quoted its sources as saying that Facebook's IPO could raise as much as $10 billion, making it one of the largest ever.

With a deal size of $10 billion, Facebook would slip into sixth place on the list of largest US IPOs between AT&T Wireless Group ($10.62 billion) and Kraft Foods ($8.68 billion), according to Renaissance Capital.

It would be the largest IPO ever by a US Internet company, eclipsing that of Google in 2004 which raised $1.9 billion and valued the Web search giant at $23 billion.

A market capitalization of $100 billion would put Facebook on a par with McDonald's ($101 billion), well ahead of Boeing ($56 billion) but behind Apple ($415 billion) and Google ($186 billion).

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has deflected IPO talk for years, saying he is focused on building the company and not on going public.

But Zuckerberg, who co-founded Facebook in his Harvard University dorm room nine years ago and has seen it grow to more than 800 million members, recently seemed to bow to the inevitability of selling stock to the public.

In an interview with Charlie Rose of PBS television, Zuckerberg said an IPO was "not something I spend a lot of time on a day-to-day basis thinking about."

But, he added, "a big part of being a technology company is getting the best engineers and designers and talented people around the world.

"And one of the ways that you can do that is you compensate people with equity or options," Zuckerberg said. "At some point we're going to make that equity worth something publicly and liquidly."

Facebook's current annual revenue, mostly from online advertising, is estimated to be around $5 billion.

Forrester Research analyst Josh Bernoff recently told AFP that a Facebook IPO would be "the biggest financial event in the tech industry for 2012."

Several other Internet companies went public in 2011.

Career-oriented social network LinkedIn was undervalued while online daily deals site Groupon and social games titan Zynga have both been trading at or below their list price.

The formation of Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:10:00 +0000

Attorney General Eric Holder announces the formation of the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington. President Barack Obama directed Holder to collaborate with several state attorneys general and other federal entities to investigate those responsible for misconduct contributing to the financial crisis through the pooling and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities. This working group will be operated out of the President's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which is chaired by Holder.

No chance for climate deal unless firms join push: UN

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:06:00 +0000

The world has no chance of sealing an emissions cut deal unless companies lobby their governments for an accord, the UN climate chief told the global business elite in Davos on Thursday.

"Even though governments have said in Durban 'yes we're going to dedicate the next three years to negotiating and agreeing by 2015 a new legally binding agreement', let's be very clear, that is not going to happen," said Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

"That is not going to happen merely from the top down perspective. That is only going to happen if it's bottom up, if the private sector moves in.

"Unless you have this from the bottom up, unless you have very powerful pressure from consumers, from private sector, from civil society to governments to say yes, this is what we want, as a humankind this is what we want, it's not going to happen because it's just too big," she added.

Marathon talks in December delivered a broad agreement to seal a new accord by 2015 on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, which have been blamed for global warming.

Corporations would not be spared if the world continued to heat up, leading to warped weather events, said Figueres.

Citing the devastating floods in Bangkok late last year, the UN climate chief noted the disaster "shut down 25 percent of hard-drive computer production around the world."

"If that's not an example of how intricately linked we are, how governments and private sector need to work together, there's just no more compelling example than that," she said.

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga also called on corporations to play their part even if governments agreed in Durban to launch the Green Climate Fund.

This will help channel up to $100 billion a year by 2020 to poor countries facing worsening floods, drought, storms and rising seas.

"But more funds are needed, and as bureaucrats continue to talk, people continue to suffer almost on a daily basis, so something has to be done.

"That's where the private sector comes in, as a partner... to move this agenda forward," he said.

However, the chairman of Africa's biggest energy company Escom Holdings threw the ball back in the governments' court.

Companies consider risks above all before taking on any new ventures, said Zola Tsotsi, who heads the South African group.

Therefore, governments need to show determination to fight climate change in order to convince corporations to throw in their lot.

"Governments and countries need to show commitment in their involvement in mitigation and climate change," he said.

"By so doing they should make the treasuries available to show that guarantees are in place for those who want to invest in these areas."

Overgrazed fields could promote locust swarms: study

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:04:00 +0000

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Swarming locusts may be drawn to overgrazed fields because the insects prefer to feed on low-nitrogen plants in areas where the soil is depleted, US and Chinese researchers said Thursday.

In bad years, locust swarms can inhabit as much as 20 percent of the Earth's surface, particularly in Asia and Africa, and negatively impact the livelihoods of one in 10 people, according to the article in the journal Science.

Since little is known about what makes locusts swarm, a team of scientists from the University of Arizona along with experts at the Chinese Academy of Sciences decided to find out what was driving them.

Theorizing that the insects were trying to find better food sources, they doused land plots at the Inner Mongolia Grassland Ecosystem Research Station in China with nitrogen, thinking the locusts would prefer higher protein plants.

Instead, the locusts who ate nitrogen-fertilized plants either died or grew more slowly than typical locusts -- the type studied were Oedaleus asiaticus, one of the two main swarming locusts of Asia.

After more field observation and testing different diets in the lab, they realized the locusts liked to eat low-protein, high-carbohydrate diets, typically found in overgrazed areas.

"These experiments confirmed that consuming foods with too much protein is deleterious for this locust, explaining why heavy grazing promotes populations of Oedaleus," said co-author Jon Harrison.

The locusts, close cousins of the grasshopper, may have adapted in order to survive and even thrive in a sparse environment, said lead author Arianne Cease.

"Our results fit with an emerging paradigm that animal species can vary dramatically in their nutritional responses," said Cease.

"The particularly low protein (to high) carbohydrate preference of Oedaleus may explain their success in a heavily grazed world."

The researchers added that nitrogen fertilizer, such as airborne nitrogen deposited on grasslands, may be a cheap and less damaging alternative to chemical pesticides for trying to control locusts in the future.

Romney is one of the wealthiest U.S. presidential candidates

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:58:00 +0000

This image released by the Romney presidential campaign shows the front page of the estimated 2011 IRS 1040 tax form for Republican presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and his wife Ann. Romney's tax returns tell the tale: Yes, he's rich _ really rich. His returns, spanning more than 500 pages and released under political pressure Tuesday Jan. 24, 2012, represent an extraordinary financial accounting of one of the wealthiest U.S. presidential candidates in generations, with his annual income topping $20 million.

RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:55:00 +0000

An undated U.S. Air Force handout photo of a RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft. The U.S. Air Force has decided to scrap its Northrop Grumman Corp high-altitude unmanned surveillance plane program and instead extend the life of its U-2 aircraft into the 2020s, according to a government official and a defense analyst. Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the Virginia-based Lexington Institute, said the Air Force decision was based on the cost of the Global Hawk unmanned planes, and that the service would investigate using a marine version with different sensors that Northrop is developing for the Navy.

رئيس بعثة صندوق النقد الدولي : لن نفرض شروطاً على مصر مقابل القرض

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:03:00 +0000

القاهرة 18 كانون ثان/يناير (د ب أ)- قال مسعود أحمد ، رئيس بعثة صندوق
النقد الدولي لمصر ، مدير إدارة الشرق الأوسط بالصندوق إن الصندوق لا
يحتاج إلى فرض أي شروط على مصر مقابل منحها قرض بقيمة 2ر3 مليار دولار ،
وهو القرض الذي يعتبره مسؤولون حكوميون بمثابة شهادة براءة للاقتصاد
المصري.
وأضاف في تصريحات لصحيفة "المصري اليوم" نشرته اليوم الأربعاء أن
الصندوق لا يحتاج إلى فرض أي شروط كما لا ينوى فرض أي شروط وأن أي
برنامج للإصلاح الاقتصادي لابد أن ينبع من الحكومة المصرية لأنها هي
التي ستعمل على تنفيذه.
وكشف مسعود عن أن هناك قضايا ومشكلات اقتصادية في مصر متمثلة في الدعم
بشكل عام ودعم الطاقة بشكل خاص والتشوهات الضريبية ، وهي أمور لا يمكن
حلها بشكل سريع ، خاصة أنها مطبقة منذ فترة طويلة ، لكنه أكد أن السلطات
المصرية تعكف حاليا على تحديد بعض الإجراءات والبرامج والتدابير لحل هذه
المشكلات بداية برفع أسعار الطاقة على المصانع كثيفة الاستخدام للطاقة
خاصة الصناعات الثقيلة اعتباراً من كانون ثان/يناير الجاري.
وقال إن الصندوق حريص على تحقيق مصلحة مصر وأن أي عضو من أعضائه يتطلع
لتحديد برنامج جيد ، مضيفاً أن دور الصندوق يتمثل في عرض تجارب الدول
الأخرى ونتائجها وما يهمه هو أن تتبلور الإجراءات والتدابير في أرقام
توضح حل المشكلات الرئيسية وسد عجز الموازنة.
وشدد على أن ما يحتاجه الصندوق من مصر هو برنامج للإصلاح الاقتصادي يمتد
لمدة عامين أو أكثر ، على أن تضعه السلطات المصرية وتتوافق عليه القوى
السياسية خاصة الأحزاب الممثلة فى البرلمان.

The fourth South American edition of the Dakar Rally 2012

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 09:19:00 +0000

France's Stephane Peterhansel and co-pilot Jean-Paul Cottret drive their Mini Monster during the 12th stage of the fourth South American edition of the Dakar Rally 2012 from Arequipa to Nasca January 13, 2012.

Los Angeles elaborate system of roadway tracks

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:53:00 +0000

Miniature cars move along the elevated freeway at Chris Burden's large-scale kinetic sculpture, Metropolis II, during the media preview at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in Los Angeles, California January 11, 2012. The sculpture, modeled after a fast-paced futuristic city with 1,100 miniature cars running through an elaborate system of roadway tracks at a scale speed of about 240 miles per hour (386 kph), is meant to evoke the energy of a city. The exhibit opens to the public January 14.

France winter sales (shopping in underwares)

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:46:00 +0000

People in theirs underwares arrive at a store Desigual to get free outfits, on January 11, 2012 in Lyon, centre France, during the official start of winter sales.

"A Day Without Pants"

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:09:00 +0000

Participants in "A Day Without Pants" ride the subway in Mexico City, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012. he event was organized by the organization Flashmob Mexico.

Group training for female bodyguards

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:57:00 +0000

Trainees dressed in swimming suits carry a log on their shoulders as they walk through the sea under the instructions of a trainer from Tianjiao Special Guard/Security Consultant Ltd. Co. during a training session in Sanya, Hainan province January 8, 2012. According to the company, a total of 20 women, mostly college graduates, participated in the training session on Sunday, which was the first open group training for female bodyguards in China. All trainees will have to undergo 8-10 months of training to develop sufficient skills to serve their clients. The company will offer the best trainee a chance to attend further study at the International Security Academy in Israel. Picture taken January 8, 2012.

A swimmer riding a broomstick jumps into icy water

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:47:00 +0000

A swimmer riding a broomstick jumps into icy water during a winter swimming event on the ice-covered Songhua river in Harbin in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province, Monday Jan. 9, 2012.

The 2012 Argentina-Chile-Peru Dakar Rally

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 10:12:00 +0000

Hummer's driver Nasser Al-Attiyah from Qatar and co-driver Cruz Luca from Spain compete in the seventh stage of the 2012 Argentina-Chile-Peru Dakar Rally through Copiapo, Chile, Saturday Jan. 7, 2012.

The tenth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2012 (Overseas Indian Conference)

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 09:40:00 +0000

Folk dancers from the western Indian state of Rajasthan take part in a performance during the opening ceremony of the tenth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2012 (Overseas Indian Conference) in Jaipur on January 8, 2012. Some 1,600 delegates from 50 countries have gathered for the annual gathering of overseas Indians where Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar is present as the chief guest.

New Year's purification ceremony

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 09:34:00 +0000

Shinto believers pray in a ice-pool to purify their bodies and souls as they display their endurance skills during the New Year's purification ceremony at the Teppozu Irani Shrine in Tokyo on January 8, 2012. Some 75 believers attended the annual New Year ceremony.

Daytona International Speedway

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:06:00 +0000

The #56 Ferrari 458 of Michael Waltrip, Robert Kauffman, Travis Pastrana and Rui Aguas of Portugal drives during the "Roar Before the 24" Grand-Am testing at Daytona International Speedway on January 6, 2012 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

صادرات كوريا من تكنولوجيا المعلومات 157 مليار دولار العام الماضي

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:49:00 +0000

سول 5 كانون ثان/ يناير (د ب أ)- كشف تقرير حكومي في كوريا
الجنوبية اليوم الخميس أن صادرات البلاد من تكنولوجيا
المعلومات وصلت إلى مستوى قياسي بلغ 97ر156 مليار دولار في
عام 2011 بفضل قوة الطلب في الخارج على الهواتف المحمولة
وأشباه الموصلات.
جاء في تقرير وزارة اقتصاد المعرفة أن الرقم يزيد بنسبة 2%
عن 94ر153 مليار دولار المسجلة في عام 2010 معلنا عن عام
ثاني على التوالي تحقق فيه صادرات تكنولوجيا المعلومات إلى
الخارج مستويات قياسية جديدة.
ونمت الواردات بنسبة 8ر7% إلى 52ر81 مليار دولار مع تحقيق
البلاد فائضا تجاريا قدره 45ر75 مليار دولار العام الماضي.
يمثل ذلك تراجعا طفيفا بالمقارنة مع الفائض التجاري القياسي
البالغ 32ر78 مليار دولار في عام 2010.
نقلت وكالة أنباء يونهاب الكورية الجنوبية عن الوزارة قولها
إن "رقم نمو الصادرات والفائض رقم رائع في ضوء أن الأزمة
المالية في بعض الدول الأوروبية والفيضانات في تايلاند
وتطورات أخرى كلها مارست تأثيرا سلبيا على التجارة العالمية
العام الماضي".
وأضافت أن صادرات تكنولوجيا المعلومات انتعشت بفضل قفزة في
الطلب العالمي على الهواتف المحمولة الذكية وأشباه الموصلات
ومنتجات التقارب التقني الجديدة.
وقفزت صادرات الهواتف المحمولة بمفردها بنسبة 5ر53% لتصل
قيمتها إلى 88ر11 مليار دولار ما ساهم في أن تصبح كوريا
الجنوبية أكبر منتج في العالم للهواتف المحمولة العام
الماضي.
ووصلت حصة كوريا الجنوبية في السوق العالمية للهواتف الذكية
نسبة 1ر27% في الربع الثالث من العام الماضي ما يجعلها
الرائدة عالميا في هذا المجال.
كانت الصين التي استوردت من كوريا الجنوبية ما قيمته 86ر73
مليار دولار في شكل منتجات تكنولوجيا المعلومات أكبر سوق في
الخارج، كما ارتفعت الصادرات إلى اليابان ودول رابطة جنوب
شرق آسيا "آسيان" في حين انكمشت تلك المتجهة إلى الولايات
المتحدة والاتحاد الأوروبي.
وتتوقع الوزارة أن ترتفع صادرات تكنولوجيا المعلومات بنسبة
8ر3% هذا العام لتسجل مستوى قياسي جديد عند 01ر163 مليار
دولار مع تحقيق فائض في القطاع يبلغ 53ر76 مليار دولار.

Japanese traditional calligraphy

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 09:14:00 +0000

Participants write Japanese traditional calligraphy during the New Year calligraphy contest in Tokyo, Japan, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012.

New Year's attraction at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 07:54:00 +0000

Sea lion "Jay" writes the word "Dragon" in Chinese characters as part of a New Year's attraction at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama, suburban Tokyo

Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme

noreply@blogger.com (The Ferocious) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 11:39:00 +0000

In this Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011 photo, veterinarian of Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) Yenni Saraswati plays with Marvel, a 4-year-old orangutan who is prepared for a surgery for having a respiratory problem at an SOCP facility in Batu Mbelin, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Indonesia has lost half of its rain forests in the last half century putting the remaining 50,000 to 60,000 orangutans live in scattered, degraded forests in frequent, and often deadly, conflict with humans.