Jellyfish are taking over!!! Oh ... never mind

Jellyfish have become the subject of what resembles a modern myth, some say.

The story goes like this: Around the world, more and more massive blooms of the gelatinous creatures are cropping up, nurtured by overfishing, climate change, pollution and other human alterations to the environment.

But so far, the paradigm of jellyfish rising to dominate the world's oceans is little more than a myth, without data or analysis to support it, according to a group of scientists who have set out to see what's really going on with this diverse group of animals on a global scale.

Research they have published in the journal BioScience points out that this paradigm has taken on a life of its own. Within the last two decades, news reports on jellies have increased by more than 500 percent, comfortably outnumbering scientific publications on jellyfish outbreaks and carrying headlines that are often alarmist, they point out.

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   3. Jellyfish are taking over!!! Oh ... never mind
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"Basically, this paper (the BioScience article) is just saying, 'Hang on a minute, show me the data that support the current paradigm,'" said Rob Condon, a marine scientist at Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama.

He and other members from the Global Jellyfish Group, a group of about 30 scientists in a variety of fields from around the world, authored the study.

The information currently available does not provide a cohesive picture. Clearly there are places where jellyfish have increased, such as near Japan. In other places, like off the coast of California, they have decreased. And in the Bering Sea, they increased and then decreased, Condon said.??

Not only do scientists have a very limited understanding of jellyfish biology, but there is little long-term data available for jellyfish. To address the latter problem, the jellyfish group has assembled a global database called the Jellyfish Database Initiative (JEDI), which contains data from many sources related to the presence of jellyfish as far back as 1790. Anyone can submit an observation to it at Jellywatch.org ; the submissions are monitored by experts.?

The group, which is based at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at the University of California, Santa Barbara, now has collected enough data that it has begun working toward making global analyses, according to Condon.

You can follow LiveScience writer Wynne Parry on Twitter @Wynne_Parry. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

? 2012 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46258467/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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5 Suggestions to Improve Your Writing Skills

Learning to improve your writing skills is not as difficult as it may seem. In most cases improvements can be made by applying simple adjustments to the writing process itself. Developing effective writing skills starts with ?removing? yourself from the actual process and first determining what it is you want to say. Each of us tend to get so involved in ?how? we write that we forget what it is we are trying to communicate. Often times this ends up resulting in writer?s block which then compounds the problem further making our efforts even more difficult. Remember the process is not difficult; it is your own mind that creates the complications!

Here are 5 suggestions you can put to use immediately to help you ?demystify? the writing process and make your efforts easier and more productive.

Determine Your Topic

Take the time to select a subject or topic of interest to you, and your readers of course.

If several come to mind than jot them down, provided you remember how to use a pen or pencil in this age of push button technology.

Determine Your Points

Now that you have determined what topic(s) you want to focus your efforts on, what points do you want to make and why? List these points out in an organized and easy to follow fashion for your viewers and by doing so you will also be giving the writing process some structure. This will make your efforts flow more easily! Knowing the ?why? behind what you are composing is useful for writing your introduction and a great way to let readers know what to expect. This is a very effective writing tip that will allow you to get past the first paragraph which is typically the hardest to compose.

Find the Words

Often the words you are looking for come to you quicker when you speak your thoughts out loud. Take a particular point you are trying to make but having difficulty putting into words and than take a walk to ?nail? down the way you want to say it. Sitting at a keyboard and ?pressing? for the right words leaves the door ?open? to increased frustration and writer?s block.

Speak as if you are conversing with a friend and do not write to impress but to be understood!

Just Write

Settle down and start composing only after thoughts start to flow freely through your mind. Do not concern yourself with spelling or grammar at this point but instead focus only on recording your thoughts. By doing this you will find the writing process flows much more smoothly and rapidly.

Edit Your Work

Remember when you wanted to take the time to correct your spelling and check your grammar, well now is your chance. Proofread what you have composed and get rid of needless words or phrases. Check to see if it sounds right and when you are satisfied, hit the spell check tab, make any corrections necessary, and congratulate yourself on a job well done!

Learning to improve your writing abilities starts with making a conscious effort to not overly complicate what you are trying to do. Simply put, the writing process should involve nothing more than you sharing a conversation with others. Allowing your thoughts to flow freely as you record them in an uninterrupted fashion is what you want to achieve and how to develop more effective writing skills. The 5 suggestions offered above serve to help simplify your approach while avoiding writer?s block which normally results the longer your progress continues to be delayed. Remember composing anything is not really all that difficult unless you allow your own mind to make it that way. Just say what you want and write what you say!

TJ Philpott is an author and Internet entrepreneur based out of North Carolina. For more tips about how to improve your writing and to also receive a free instructional manual that teaches valuable niche research techniques visit:http://affiliatequickstart.com/

Source: http://www.1directory.net/writing-speaking/5-suggestions-to-improve-your-writing-skills-1966.html

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Men behaving nicely: Selfless acts by men increase when attractive women are nearby

ScienceDaily (Feb. 2, 2012) ? Men put on their best behaviour when attractive ladies are close by. When the scenario is reversed however, the behaviour of women remains the same. These findings were published February 2, 2012, in the British Psychological Society's British Journal of Psychology via the Wiley Online Library.

The research, which also found that the number of kind and selfless acts by men corresponded to the attractiveness of ladies, was undertaken by Dr Wendy Iredale of Sheffield Hallam University and Mark Van Vugt of the VU University in Amsterdam and the University of Oxford.

Two experiments were undertaken. For the first, 65 men and 65 women, all of an average age of 21, anonymously played a cooperation game where they could donate money via a computer program to a group fund. Donations were selfless acts, as all other players would benefit from the fund, whilst the donor wouldn't necessarily receive anything in return.

Players did not know who they were playing with. They were observed by either someone of the same sex or opposite sex -- two physically attractive volunteers, one man and one woman. Men were found to do significantly more good deeds when observed by the opposite sex. Whilst the number of good deeds made by women didn't change, regardless of who observed.

For the second experiment, groups of males were formed. Males were asked to make a number of public donations. These increased when observed by an attractive female, where they were found to actively compete with one another. When observed by another male, however, donations didn't increase.

Dr Iredale said: "The research shows that good deeds among men increase when presented with an opportunity to copulate. Theoretically, this suggests that a good deed is the human equivalent of the peacock's tail. Practically, this research shows how societies can encourage selfless acts."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by British Psychological Society (BPS), via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Mark Van Vugt, Wendy Iredale. Men behaving nicely: Public goods as peacock tails. British Journal of Psychology, 2012; DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8295.2011.02093.x

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120202093836.htm

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The Facts About Adoption and Foster Care | Free Articles Directory

Fact ? The number of children in US foster homes alone is well in the half millions and that population is daily increasing. Children in similar situations all over the world are possibly in the millions. A fourth of these American children have no legal parents or families at all and will probably end up as orphans for life unless they are adopted.

Fact ? Thousands of adolescents who spent their childhood in foster homes have to be sent away when they reach 18 years of age, disappointed and without a family to go home to. The question is arguable as to whether their time in foster care has prepared them to face life maturely.

Fact ? Comparing adoption and foster care, children who have to go in with foster families are sometimes forced to go from one family to another because of financial and other constraints. That means that in the course of their life as foster siblings, they need to accustom themselves to being uprooted, like young plants, every now and then. If adjusting to those conditions is at all possible, has never been proven by any positive effect it has on these children.

Comparing adoption and foster care, although a certain amount of funding is provided for children to go into foster care, the structure of that system has been found to have many weaknesses which will be too detailed to discuss here. Enough for us to know that children who have foster parents usually do not get a physically and psychologically wholesome environment to grow up in.

Fact ? The average population in America for each family has declined to 3.13 persons for each of the 60 million families in 2007 from the 3.76 persons for each of the 26 million families in 1940.

That makes the total family population in 2007 to be 187,800,000 (3.13 x 60 million). On the other hand that figure was 97,760,000 (3.76 x 26 million) in 1940. The total difference is 11,960,000.

The number of families in the US in 1940 was 26 million. In 2007 it went up to 60 million. The difference is 34 million. If we are to assume that all those families have a mother and a father, there are 68 million more parents today than in 1940.

The difference between the number of American families in 2007 and 1940 is roughly 34 million (60 million ? 26 million). Assuming that there are mother and father for all those families there are 68 million more parents in America today than in 1940.

For the sake of argument and strictly in a superficial manner, we see that lately, between 1940 and 2007, America stopped adding children to its registered population. We have 68 million parents more today and have only 11,960,000 more people registered in families.

That is of course, blatantly incorrect. However it is a strong indication that somewhere along the line, the number of homeless and parentless kids has increased geometrically, resulting in those statistics. Also we have to consider that not all families have two parents.

Fact ? Comparing adoption and foster care, today the government is in favor of adoption rather than foster care for homeless children. This is obviously because the kids have a better chance to develop as they should when they become permanent member of a family. The subsidies granted to children who are adopted extend all the way into the pre-adoption processes; the home studies, the court fees and others. Besides that there are also post-adoption funds.

If you have been thinking of adopting children, you should take some time to visit an organization or website that can assist you in reaching this very worthy dream.

Doc No:CB701MAC20

Colby Brister is a writer for My Baby Bedding Shop and is the loving parent of two. His children are all grown up now but he loves writing about children and giving tips on certain scenarios that parents are faced. Colby would like for you to check out his JoJo Designs Crib Bedding and Glenna Jean Bedding Collection.

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Source: http://www.articles-land.com/the-facts-about-adoption-and-foster-care/

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"X Factor" shakeup an admission of failure: enter Mariah? (Reuters)

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) ? "X Factor" judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger may have sealed their fates when they let a 13-year-old go home bawling.

The dismissal of that 13-year-old, Rachel Crow, represented everything that was wrong with the first season of "X Factor": It was jumbled and confusing, with too much happening at once. It didn't break new ground. And worst of all, it sometimes just felt mean-spirited.

Scherzinger was widely criticized for voting to send Crow home -- on advice from Abdul -- so that the judges' panel would deadlock between Crow and fellow contestant Marcus Canty. The deadlock meant the decision came down to which competitor had more viewer votes. Host Steve Jones almost mechanically announced that Crow would exit, and turned to shake Canty's hand, apparently not noticing Crow, beside him, falling to her knees in tears.

It was Simon Cowell who rushed to the stage to embrace her -- not Abdul and Scherzinger, who orchestrated her exit, and not Jones, who announced it.

When Simon Cowell is the most empathetic person around, something's wrong with your show.

Word late Monday that Abdul, Scherzinger and Jones are out for the second season of "X Factor" amounts to an admission by Cowell that the show he created hasn't lived up to his lofty expectations.

He said before "X Factor" aired that he wanted it to top his former show, "American Idol," as the biggest on television. But it has scored less than half the ratings of "Idol." Its closer rival is NBC's upstart singing competition "The Voice," which slipped onto the airwaves and became a hit during the endless and much-hyped run-up to the "X Factor" premiere.

Cowell has long dreamed of including Mariah Carey on "X Factor," if not as a judge than as a performer or mentor. Her pregnancy made that impossible once; later, Cowell said, plans for Carey to appear were undone by Hurricane Irene.

Now, nothing would seem to stand in the way of Carey sweeping in -- except, perhaps, for fear that she can't bring the show up to Cowell's rigorous standards. Cowell's hope at this point must be that the flaws in "X Factor" are cosmetic enough that new casting can improve it.

But the flaws may go deeper. From the beginning, the show has tried to gin up conflict under the simple theory that conflict equals drama. It does, but not all drama is pleasant to watch.

At their best, "Idol" and "The Voice" temper their mini-controversies with redeeming moments. The good guys win and no one falls down crying -- except tears of joy.

But "X Factor" feels at times like a mass-marketing machine, fueled by its prominent corporate sponsors, that can't slow down for a few seconds of genuine human emotion.

Even Scherzinger seemed overwhelmed by the process as she refused to choose between Canty and Crow. Jones, who often seemed more focused on delivering his lines than making genuine connections, only added to the emotional disconnect. Abdul, the old hand, gave Scherzinger an easy out by advising her to send the decision to the viewers.

It was the coldness of the dismissal that made it so uncomfortable, as if a little girl's dreams were just a casualty of something bigger. A better judge could have humanized the moment, promised Crow that better things lay ahead. Instead, she got the paralyzed, inexperienced Scherzinger and the cool Abdul, who advised her fellow judge to pass the buck.

Cowell's next judge, or judges, may be gifted enough to humanize his show. But that's a lot to ask of one or two panelists. The show should also back away from its many cynical elements, like playing up the dire financial straits of its contestants, and suggesting to viewers that one contestant exposed himself, when he actually didn't.

What "X Factor" badly needs is more compassion -- or at least a better show of it.

You can watch Rachel Crow's horrible exit here:

http://www.thewrap.com/tv/article/x-factor-shakeup-admission-failure-enter-mariah-34938

(Editing by Chris Michaud)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120131/tv_nm/us_xfactor_analysis

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Emma, The Emma Edition: Let's Get Mortified

On the first day of my memoir writing elective for this school term, my teacher handed out a sheet of paper with a series of diary-style letters on it. These letters were written by a really random variety of famous people (everyone from J.K. Rowling to Hugh Jackman to Suze Orman to Stan Lee) to their teenage selves. At first, when I read some of the names on the paper, I thought the letters would just be generic suggestions of celebrities telling themselves how famous they'd someday be, or to invest in Mac or something. But even for the celebrities that I had never thought anything much of to begin with, it was interesting to get a glimpse of who they were as awkward teenagers aside from the guarded people we see today in the media. After reading the letters, my memoir class was then asked to write our own Dear Me letter, only to our future selves. What essential qualities would we hope stays the same? What would we hope changes about ourselves?

I was still thinking about this activity a few days later, when I was flipping through the TV, in an attempt to find something other than a Kardashian marathon to watch. On the Sundance Channel, I saw a new show was premiering that night, listed as The Mortified Sessions. The name alone sounded like some sort of paradoxical horror-comedy, but I decided to check it out. I tuned in just in time for the opening credits, which showed a shoebox with "PRIVATE: KEEPOUT" written on it, spilling open with precious childhood memorabilia. Then the screen panned over to a crumpled piece of paper taken out of a diary, the diary moved pages, revealing old photographs. Some of them were recognizable faces like a young Will Forte (MacGruber) and Jennifer Grey (Dirty Dancing), but others were indiscernible. Whoever these memorabilia belong to, it really matter, because it was clear I had entered a magical world that had little to do with horror (unless it was the under the bed kind) and everything to do with celebrity confessions about their formative years.

The Mortified Sessions was a project started by Dave Nadelberg, which began in a live stage setting where celebrities and amateurs alike are asked to bring a shoebox full of all the songs, poems, art, love letters from their adolescence, to chip away at our exterior and expose our inner geek. Sundance has the televised adaptation of the project, where each week Dave interviews new subjects, who bring Dave a shoebox full of their past. It interesting to see what these childhood artifacts, unearths not only about their pasts, but even often unlocks something that they hadn't realized about who they are today, before they go through the process with Dave.

The premiere episode that I saw was with Ed Helms, who plays Andy, my favorite character on The Office. Even in the first few minutes of the show, when Ed read a diary entry he'd written when he was little about refusing to give out Valentine's had me hooked on the project. The other guests this season were equally illuminating. There was this one episode with married couple and comedic geniuses, Megan Mullaly and Nick Offerman. In looking at what they shared from their shoeboxes -- Nick was kind of the "class clown" and into sports while Megan loved to write and spend time alone in her room making up stories about fairies -- both of them did things to seek attention in their own right. It was in seeing that episode, going through their old photos, old homework assignments, and such, that you could see they had realized it too.

I wonder who Dave Nadelberg's target audience is, because everything about his project makes me, as a 16-year old, so incredibly happy. Watching the show somehow makes me nostalgic for a time that I am currently going through. What I mean by this is that I wish I kept everything I ever wrote, a diary, and was generally more sentimental about things pertinent to my childhood. Ever since the show started, I've been a packrat, though, making sure to keep everything for a shoebox session that I will someday have with myself. Maybe Dave will join me for this.

Sometimes the guests on The Mortified Sessions will say things like "this is like a therapy session," or "Dave, you know me better than I know myself," I guess that sounds a little cheesy when I write it out, but ever since I've watched The Mortified Sessions every week since its premiere, it feels like I'm hanging out with my heroes in their living room (literally, the show is often times filmed in their living rooms). But more than that, it's getting to open a time capsule with them, through hearing about milestones like crushes, first jobs, college, and beyond -- not only do you realize how they became the person they are today, but how they are really not that much unlike the awkward teenager they once were. Which is nice to hear, because we're all human, you know? It makes me think that there's no reason to fetishisize celebrities and put them on absurd pedestals, when really, their jobs, be it acting, singing, directing, whatever it is, is just a job for them... it's us as audiences who make it anything more.

I have dreams that for season 2, Dave Nadelberg will ask me to switch places with him for episode so I can interview him for his own Mortified Session....do you hear that Dave???

The last episode for season one The Mortified Sessions premieres tonight, January 30th, 8:00 EST on the Sundance Channel.

?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/emma-the-emma-edition/lets-get-mortified_b_1242979.html

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Ill. nuclear plant shuts after 'unusual incident'

CHICAGO?? A nuclear reactor at a northern Illinois plant shut down after losing power, and steam was being vented to reduce pressure, according to officials from Exelon Nuclear and federal regulators.

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Unit 2 at Byron Generating Station, about 95 miles northwest of Chicago, shut down at 10:18 a.m. Monday, after losing power, Exelon officials said. Diesel generators began supplying power to the plant, and operators began releasing steam to cool the reactor from the part of the plant where turbines are producing electricity, not from within the nuclear reactor itself, officials said.

The steam contains low levels of tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen, but federal and plant officials insisted the levels were safe for workers and the public.

'Not a health concern'
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission declared the incident an "unusual event," the lowest of four levels of emergency. Commission officials also said the release of tritium was expected.

A spokesman for Exelon told WREX that steam was "not a health concern for our employees who are walking outside ... or anybody in the local community."

"All of our systems have operated," the spokesman added. "The safety systems worked as expected."

Interactive: Population within 10 and 50 miles of nuclear power (on this page)

Exelon Nuclear officials believe a failed piece of equipment at a switchyard caused the shutdown but were still investigating an exact cause. The switchyard is similar to a large substation that delivers power to the plant from the electrical grid and from the plant to the electrical grid. Smoke was seen from an onsite station transformer, Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokeswoman Viktoria Mitlyng said, but no evidence of a fire was found when the plant's fire brigade responded.

Mitlyng said officials can't yet calculate how much tritium is being released. They know the amounts are small because monitors around the plant aren't showing increased levels of radiation, she said.

Tritium molecules are so microscopic that small amounts are able to pass from radioactive steam that originates in the reactor through tubing and into the water used to cool turbines and other equipment outside the reactor, Mitlyng said. The steam that was being released was coming from the turbine side.

Interactive: Aging nuclear plants (on this page)

Tritium is relatively short-lived and penetrates the body weakly through the air compared to other radioactive contaminants.

Releasing steam helps "take away some of that energy still being produced by nuclear reaction but that doesn't have anywhere to go now." Even though the turbine is not turning to produce electricity, she said, "you still need to cool the equipment."

Candace Humphrey, Ogle County's emergency management coordinator, said county officials were notified of the incident as soon as it happened and that public safety was never in danger.

"It was standard procedure that they would notify county officials," she said. "There is always concern. But, it never crossed my mind that there was any danger to the people of Ogle County."

Unit 1 was operating normally while engineers investigate why Unit 2 lost power, which comes into the plant from the outside power grid, Mitlyng said. She said Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspectors were in the control room at Byron and in constant contact with the agency's incident response center in Lisle, Illinois.

The Associated Press and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46199857/ns/us_news-environment/

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