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Friday, April 5, 2013

Let me introduce myself -- leafcutter bee Megachile chomskyi from Texas

Public release date: 4-Apr-2013
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Contact: Cory S. Sheffield
cory.sheffield@gov.sk.ca
306-787-5781
Pensoft Publishers

The genus Megachile is a cosmopolitan group of solitary bees, often called leafcutter bees. This is one of the largest genera of bees, with well over 1,500 species in over 50 subgenera. A new species, Megachile chomskyi, has been found only in Texas, US. What is specific and interesting about this bee is the fact that it is among those insects which exhibit a narrow, specialized preference for pollen sources. Presumably, the irreplaceable host of M. chomskyi are the beautiful flowers of the widespread Onagraceae, or the so-called Evening-Primrose Family. The study has been recently published in the peer review, open access journal ZooKeys, with distribution data available via Canadensys.

The new species is named after Professor Noam Chomsky, Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for his long career and many academic achievements and contributions as a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, political critic, activist and global champion of human rights. Previously, Prof. Chomsky had inspired the name of another animal, the chimpanzee Nim Chimpsky, who was a part of an extended study of animal language acquisition at Columbia University. The pun referred to Chomsky's influential role in the development of modern linguistics, including in the ongoing debate about what aspects of language are unique to humans.

The most prominent features of M. chomskyi and the other members of this species group in the subgenus Megachiloides are their elongate tongues and the unique mandible structure of the females. Unlike the other representatives of the family that chew leaves or flower petals, many species of Megachile neatly cut circular pieces of leaves or petals for nest construction. Nests of Megachile are often constructed within hollow twigs or other similarly constricted natural cavities, but some species, including members of the subgenus Megachiloides, excavate burrows in the ground.

The subgenus Megachiloides still remains one of the most problematic Megachile groups in North America, partially due to males and females of many species not being associated with each other; as such, a large proportion of the species are described from one sex. Outdated identification keys and descriptions which are poorly illustrated are also contributing factors.

"In addition to naming the species after Dr. Chomsky to honour his many accomplishments, I also have been a huge fan and follower of his writings, lectures, and political views for a long time," said Dr Cory Sheffield, the author of the study.

###

Original Source

Sheffield CS (2013) A new species of Megachile Latreille subgenus Megachiloides (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae). ZooKeys 283: 43, doi: 10.3897/zookeys.283.4674

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This press release is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. It is expected to link back to the original article.

Posted by Pensoft Publishers.

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Let me introduce myself -- leafcutter bee Megachile chomskyi from Texas Public release date: 4-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Cory S. Sheffield
cory.sheffield@gov.sk.ca
306-787-5781
Pensoft Publishers

The genus Megachile is a cosmopolitan group of solitary bees, often called leafcutter bees. This is one of the largest genera of bees, with well over 1,500 species in over 50 subgenera. A new species, Megachile chomskyi, has been found only in Texas, US. What is specific and interesting about this bee is the fact that it is among those insects which exhibit a narrow, specialized preference for pollen sources. Presumably, the irreplaceable host of M. chomskyi are the beautiful flowers of the widespread Onagraceae, or the so-called Evening-Primrose Family. The study has been recently published in the peer review, open access journal ZooKeys, with distribution data available via Canadensys.

The new species is named after Professor Noam Chomsky, Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for his long career and many academic achievements and contributions as a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, political critic, activist and global champion of human rights. Previously, Prof. Chomsky had inspired the name of another animal, the chimpanzee Nim Chimpsky, who was a part of an extended study of animal language acquisition at Columbia University. The pun referred to Chomsky's influential role in the development of modern linguistics, including in the ongoing debate about what aspects of language are unique to humans.

The most prominent features of M. chomskyi and the other members of this species group in the subgenus Megachiloides are their elongate tongues and the unique mandible structure of the females. Unlike the other representatives of the family that chew leaves or flower petals, many species of Megachile neatly cut circular pieces of leaves or petals for nest construction. Nests of Megachile are often constructed within hollow twigs or other similarly constricted natural cavities, but some species, including members of the subgenus Megachiloides, excavate burrows in the ground.

The subgenus Megachiloides still remains one of the most problematic Megachile groups in North America, partially due to males and females of many species not being associated with each other; as such, a large proportion of the species are described from one sex. Outdated identification keys and descriptions which are poorly illustrated are also contributing factors.

"In addition to naming the species after Dr. Chomsky to honour his many accomplishments, I also have been a huge fan and follower of his writings, lectures, and political views for a long time," said Dr Cory Sheffield, the author of the study.

###

Original Source

Sheffield CS (2013) A new species of Megachile Latreille subgenus Megachiloides (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae). ZooKeys 283: 43, doi: 10.3897/zookeys.283.4674

Licensing

This press release is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. It is expected to link back to the original article.

Posted by Pensoft Publishers.

[ | E-mail | Share ]
?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/pp-lmi040413.php
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The Note's Must-Reads for Friday, April 05, 2013

The Note's Must-Reads are a round-up of today's political headlines and stories from ABC News and the top U.S. newspapers. Posted Monday through Friday right here at www.abcnews.com

Compiled by ABC News' Jayce Henderson, Amanda VanAllen, Carrie Halperin and Jordan Mazza

GUN CONTROL ABC News' Alexandra Dukakis: "Washington Has 'Cold Feet' on Gun Control, Says Obama Adviser" White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer doesn't understand why Congressional support for universal background checks for gun purchases is waning. LINK

The Wall Street Journal's Janet Hook and Kristina Peterson: "GOP Senators Pushed to Join Gun Filibuster" Opponents of new gun restrictions have mobilized during Congress's two-week spring recess to pressure lawmakers to block gun legislation, which the Senate is expected to consider after it returns next week. LINK

The New York Daily News' Ginger Adams Otis, Dan Friedman and Matthew Lysiak: " Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy signs bill with gun-control laws among the toughest in nation" As Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy signed a sweeping new bill Thursday that gives his state some of the toughest firearm laws in the country, families of Newtown victims made a heartfelt plea to save national gun-control legislation. "We are under no illusion that making these changes will end gun violence or prevent all mass shootings," relatives of nine of the 26 victims of the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School wrote in a letter to U.S. senators. LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Mark Z. Barabak and Melanie Mason: " States move quickly, divergently on gun laws" Even as momentum for new gun legislation wanes in Washington, lawmakers across the country are fashioning their own response to the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary, resulting in a patchwork that tightens restrictions in some places and eases them in others. While varied, the measures show how much more nimble states can be than the federal government. LINK

IMMIGRATION REFORM The Hills' Molly K. Hooper: " First key fight in immigration battle is what to name the reform bill" One of the first political issues negotiators must tackle in crafting an immigration reform bill is among the most important: what to name it. It's a decision that will bruise egos, create legacies and deeply affect subsequent messaging battles. LINK

BUDGET The New York Times' Jackie Calmes: " In Obama Budget, Social Programs Face a Cutback" President Obama next week will take the political risk of formally proposing cuts to Social Security and Medicare in his annual budget in an effort to demonstrate his willingness to compromise with Republicans and revive prospects for a long-term deficit-reduction deal, administration officials say. In a significant shift in fiscal strategy, Mr. Obama on Wednesday will send a budget plan to Capitol Hill that departs from the usual presidential wish list that Republicans typically declare dead on arrival. LINK

GAY MARRIAGE Politico's Katie Glueck: " Bill Nelson endorses gay marriage" Sen. Bill Nelson, one of the last Democratic hold-outs against gay marriage, reversed course on Thursday. "If we are endowed by our Creator with rights, then why shouldn't those be attainable by Gays and Lesbians?" the Florida senator wrote in a statement provided to the editorial board of the Tampa Bay Times. "Simply put, if The Lord made homosexuals as well as heterosexuals, why should I discriminate against their civil marriage? I shouldn't, and I won't. LINK

NORTH KOREA Bloomberg's Terry Atlas & David Lerman: " Obama Avoids Trading Threats With North Korea's Kim" President Barack Obama is leaving it to other U.S. officials to respond publicly to North Korea's hostile rhetoric, as his administration balances a display of military resolve against the risk that its actions will escalate tensions with dictator Kim Jong Un. LINK

The Washington Times' Shaun Waterman and Guy Taylor: " Obama administration brushes off latest North Korean nuke threat" The Obama administration appeared eager Thursday to downplay the North Korean military's latest threat that it has the final authority to carry out "cutting-edge, smaller, lighter and diversified" nuclear strikes on the United States. Read more: LINK

CYBER ATTACKS USA Today's Jim Michaels: "Pentagon seeking 'rules of engagement' for cyber-war" The Pentagon is putting the finishing touches on rules that will give military commanders clearer authority if they have to respond to an enemy cyber-attack, military officials and cyber-security experts say. LINK

OTHER The Washington Post's Paul Schwartzman: " Maryland's leftward swing" Benefits for illegal immigrants. Same-sex marriage. Strict regulations on gun purchases. Over the past two years, Maryland has enacted laws that represent a dramatic liberal shift, even for a state long dominated by Democrats. Driving the progressive swing is Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) and the Maryland General Assembly, which now embraces legislation that it previously rejected. Emboldened by victories in statewide referendums, the governor and his allies have imposed tax increases, repealed the death penalty and approved a system to provide more than $1 billion in subsidies to a potential offshore wind farm. LINK

ABC NEWS VIDEO "North Korea on High Alert" LINK

BOOKMARKS The Note: LINK The Must-Reads Online: LINK Top Line Webcast (12noon EST M-F): LINK ABC News Politics: LINK George's Bottom Line (George Stephanopoulos): LINK Follow ABC News on Twitter: LINK ABC News Mobile: LINK ABC News app on your iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad: LINK

North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly now say they support gay marriage (Star Tribune)

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Thursday, April 4, 2013

Video: Puzzle of how spiral galaxies set their arms comes into focus

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

As the shapes of galaxies go, the spiral disk ? with its characteristic pinwheel profile ? is by far the most pedestrian.

Our own Milky Way, astronomers believe, is a spiral. Our solar system and Earth reside somewhere near one of its filamentous, swept-back arms. And nearly 70 percent of the galaxies closest to the Milky Way are spirals, suggesting they have taken the most ordinary of galactic forms in a universe with billions of galaxies.

But despite their common morphology, how galaxies like ours get and maintain their characteristic arms has proved to be an enduring puzzle in astrophysics. How do the arms of spiral galaxies arise? Do they change or come and go over time?

The answers to these and other questions are now coming into focus as researchers capitalize on powerful new computer simulations to follow the motions of as many as 100 million "stellar particles" as gravity and other astrophysical forces sculpt them into familiar galactic shapes. Writing April 1 in the Astrophysical Journal, a team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics report simulations that seem to resolve longstanding questions about the origin and life history of spiral arms in disk galaxies.

"We show for the first time that stellar spiral arms are not transient features, as claimed for several decades," says UW-Madison astrophysicist Elena D'Onghia, who led the new research along with Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics colleagues Mark Vogelsberger and Lars Hernquist. "They are self-perpetuating, persistent and surprisingly long lived."

The origin and fate of the emblematic spiral arms in disk galaxies have been debated by astrophysicists for decades, with two theories predominating: One holds that the arms come and go over time. A second and widely held theory is that the material that makes up the arms ? stars, gas and dust ? is affected by differences in gravity and jams up, like cars at rush hour, sustaining the arms for long periods.

The new results fall somewhere in between the two theories and suggest that the arms arise in the first place as a result of the influence of giant molecular clouds, star forming regions or nurseries common in galaxies. Introduced into the simulation, the clouds, says D'Onghia, a UW-Madison professor of astronomy, act as "perturbers" and are enough to not only initiate the formation of spiral arms but to sustain them indefinitely.

"We find they are forming spiral arms," explains D'Onghia. "Past theory held the arms would go away with the perturbations removed, but we see that (once formed) the arms self-perpetuate, even when the perturbations are removed. It proves that once the arms are generated through these clouds, they can exist on their own through (the influence of) gravity, even in the extreme when the perturbations are no longer there."

The new study modeled stand-alone disk galaxies, those not influenced by another nearby galaxy or object. Some recent studies have explored the likelihood that spiral galaxies with a close neighbor ? a nearby dwarf galaxy, for example ? get their arms as gravity from the satellite galaxy pulls on the disk of its neighbor.

According to Vogelsberger and Hernquist, the new simulations can be used to reinterpret observational data, looking at both the high-density molecular clouds as well as gravitationally induced holes in space as the mechanisms that drive the formation of the characteristic arms of spiral galaxies.

###

University of Wisconsin-Madison: http://www.wisc.edu

Thanks to University of Wisconsin-Madison for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127569/Video__Puzzle_of_how_spiral_galaxies_set_their_arms_comes_into_focus

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Australia's example in healing the sexually abused

A special panel begins work taking testimony from Australians sexually abused as children in institutions, such as churches and police stations. Allowing victims to speak will be a first step toward personal healing and national reform.

By the Monitor's Editorial Board / April 3, 2013

Australia Prime Minister Julia Gillard set up the the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which began work April 3, taking testimony from survivors of sex abuse in places like churches and orphanages.

AP Photo

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On Wednesday, Australia set an example for the world by opening an official inquiry that will allow people who were sexually abused as children in institutions to finally tell their stories.

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At least 5,000 Australians are expected to be heard by the commission, many of them able to recount their experiences in private before the six-member panel. They will shed light on a half century of abuse in orphanages, churches, schools, detention centers, and child-care centers, and groups such as the military, Scouts, and organized sports.

Up until now, many were too ashamed to speak out. Or their stories were neglected by authorities. As children, they suffered for years in silence.

It is noteworthy that a woman prime minister, Julia Gillard, set up this panel.

?I want this to be a moment of healing, for us to say to them as a nation ?we hear you, you?re valued, and you?re believed? because for too long, so many of these survivors have just run into closed doors and closed minds,? Ms. Gillard told ABC NewsRadio.

The commission?s purpose is not to prosecute or award compensation. Rather it is, as the chairman, Justice Peter McClellan, stated, ?to bear witness, on behalf of the nation, to the abuse and consequential trauma inflicted on many people who have suffered sexual abuse as children.?

The panel will also make recommendations for new laws and practices to prevent further sex abuse in both private and public institutions.

Empathy and truth-telling can be powerful healers, as many doctors now recognize. In cases of sexual abuse, it can help ease a person?s suffering by shining the truth onto an evil act and dissipating its emotional hold. When an entire nation takes responsibility for having so many institutions that allowed the abuse to take place ? and then covered it up ? the empathy is writ large.

?There have been too many adults who have averted their eyes to this evil,? Gillard said. She said the commission?s work will be a ?moral moment? for Australians.

The panel comes soon after a similar inquiry by Ireland into decades of institutional sex abuse there. And it also builds on a global trend toward using ?truth commissions? ? in countries from post-apartheid South Africa to one possibly in post-dictatorship Tunisia where the Arab Spring began.

A commission in Canada is finishing up a probe into past treatment of its aboriginal children forced into schools for cultural assimilation. In February, Maine started a truth commission into the forced assimilation of native Wabanaki children.

Many ?truth? panels aim for social reconciliation by allowing victims to tell their stories and perpetrators to confess their actions and apologize. Often such actions can be a substitute for harsh justice if done well and if institutional reforms are made.

As Australia?s panel does its work over the next couple years, other nations can learn from it. Breaking a society?s conspiracy of silence about child sex abuse is a major first step toward preventing it. And being heard and embraced will help the abused to be healed.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/Y4A6M2sKy2k/Australia-s-example-in-healing-the-sexually-abused

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Wednesday, April 3, 2013

HuffPo And Vampire Squid Promote 'Small Business' | Washington ...

Arianna Huffington, Lloyd Blankfein / AP

BY: Washington Free Beacon Staff
April 2, 2013 11:58 am

Founder and CEO of the Huffington Post Arianna Huffington officially rolled out HuffPo?s new small businesses section What is Working: Small Businesses yesterday on her blog:

So today, we add to HuffPost?s family of sections dedicated to telling the stories of these opportunities, with a new section called ?What Is Working: Small Businesses.? Sponsored by Goldman Sachs? 10,000 Small Businesses initiative, the section will tap into one of the most robust and promising sectors of our economy, offering small business owners tips and tools for success. By bringing together a multitude of voices ? from HuffPost?s business reporters and editors to our vibrant community of bloggers and commenters ? ?What Is Working: Small Businesses? will open up the conversation on topics such as business education, support and financial capital, and reflect the state of American small business and its vital role in the economy at large.

The kind words towards Goldman Sachs? 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative stand in stark contrast to the blog?s ruthless coverage of Lloyd Blankfein?s firm.

A Free Beacon investigation of the Goldman Sachs section on HuffPo reveals numerous unflattering stories about the bank, including a featured link to a story titled ?The Worst Corporate Reputations in America.?

It is unclear whether Arianna Huffington agrees with the assessment, although it appears despite earlier speculation she has not ordered a purge of her website.

AOL recently purchased the Huffington Post for?$315 million.

Update?(11:54 a.m.): HuffPo has bumped the featured link??The Worst Corporate Reputations in America? off the front page of the Goldman section.

Source: http://freebeacon.com/huffpo-and-vampire-squid-promote-small-business/

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MTV: Crew wasn't with 'BUCKWILD' star when he died

SISSONVILLE, W.Va. (AP) ? Production crews were not with a young star of the reality show "BUCKWILD" when he died over Easter weekend and hadn't filmed him since earlier in the week, MTV officials said Wednesday.

Shain Gandee, 21, was found dead Monday in his SUV near Sissonville, along with two passengers.

Autopsies determined that all three died of carbon monoxide poisoning, possibly caused by the vehicle's tailpipe being submerged in mud. That could have allowed the invisible gas to fill the vehicle's cabin.

MTV spokesman Jake Urbanski said it would be at least a few weeks before producers and cast members decide whether to continue shooting season two. For now, he said, everyone is focused on supporting Gandee's friends and family.

Also killed were his 48-year-old uncle, David Gandee, and 27-year-old Donald Robert Myers.

Cunningham-Parker-Johnson Funeral Home in Charleston said services for Shain and David Gandee were scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at the Charleston Municipal Auditorium. A private family burial service will follow in Thaxton Cemetery.

Family members said David Gandee worked for Appalachian Tire Co., was a fan of both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the West Virginia University Mountaineers, and loved golf.

Shain Gandee's family has requested that instead of flowers, fans and friends send donations to one of two charities: the Angels Among Us program at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., or the Autism Society in Bethesda, Md.

___

Online:

Funeral home: http://www.cpjfuneralhome.com/html/obituaries.html

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-04-03-BUCKWILD%20Death/id-9f17411bde554b01994915751288dc03

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