“19-year-old Saint Louis University sophomore dies after falling from ... - WQAD” plus 3 more |
- 19-year-old Saint Louis University sophomore dies after falling from ... - WQAD
- Research seeks new emphases in Arctic climate change - HULIQ.com
- UNCA celebrates new science building - Asheville Citizen-Times
- Ethan Tobias '12: A truly open curriculum - Brown Daily Herald
| 19-year-old Saint Louis University sophomore dies after falling from ... - WQAD Posted: 10 Sep 2009 03:49 PM PDT |
| Research seeks new emphases in Arctic climate change - HULIQ.com Posted: 11 Sep 2009 04:42 AM PDT The paper reviews current knowledge on the ecological consequences of climate change on the circumpolar Arctic and issues a call for action in several areas of global climate change research. "Humans live in the Arctic with plants and animals and we care about the ecosystem services such as filtering water, fiber and food production and cultural values that the Arctic provides" said Bret-Harte, who specializes in Arctic plant ecology in Alaska. The global average surface temperature has increased by 0.72 F (0.4 C) over the past 150 years and the average Arctic temperature is expected to increase by 6 C. "That's a mind bogglingly large change to contemplate and keep in mind that no one lives at the average temperature," Bret-Harte said. The international team of scientists who collaborated on this paper reviewed dozens of research documents on the effects of circumpolar Arctic warming. They note that numerous direct effects including lengthening of growing season following a rapid spring melt, earlier plant flowering and appearance of insects following a warmer spring, deaths of newborn seal pups following melting of their under-snow birthing chambers have other, often more subtle, indirect effects on plants, animals and humans that warrants increased attention. Understanding how changes in plant and animal populations affect each other and how they affect the physical or nonliving components of the Arctic is critical to understanding how climate warming will change the Arctic. One effect studied intensively at the UAF Institute of Arctic Biology Toolik Field Station on Alaska's North Slope is shrub expansion on the tundra. "Shrubs are increasing on the tundra as the climate warms and more shrubs will lead to more warming in the spring," said Bret-Harte. Snow reflects most incoming radiation, which is simply light that can transfer heat. Shrubs that stick out of the snow in spring absorb radiation and give off heat. In this positive feedback cycle, the heating of the air immediately above the snow warms the snow, causing it to melt sooner. Warmer soils lead to increased nutrient availability, which contributes to greater shrub growth, which then contributes to still more warming. Another effect studied intensively in Alaska occurs under the snow. "We need to better understand how winter comes and goes and how that drives shifts in plant-animal interactions," said Jeff Welker, professor of biology at the University of Alaska Anchorage. When it didn't snow at Toolik Field Station until Thanksgiving a few years ago the soil got cold and stayed cold. So cold that microbes in the soil were barely active. The spring green-up was slow in coming and likely affected caribou forage, says Welker. In 2008, the snow started falling in September and never quit. The warmer winter soils with their active microbes were insulated from the cold and were able to provide nutrients to plants that stimulated growth. The authors call for immediate attention to the conservation of Arctic ecosystems; understanding the ecology of Arctic winters; understanding extreme events such as wildfires and extended droughts; and the need for more baseline studies to improve predictions. "This paper identifies gaps in our knowledge, what we need to be doing and where the public needs to spend its money," said Welker. BY University of Alaska Fairbanks |
| UNCA celebrates new science building - Asheville Citizen-Times Posted: 11 Sep 2009 04:21 AM PDT ASHEVILLE — At a lab inside UNC Asheville's Zeis Hall, biology professor Ted Meigs works side-by-side with student researchers to track the progression of cancer cells, looking for clues about the spread of the disease. The university's science programs have occupied the 86,000-square-foot building for only a few months, but Meigs said faculty and students have already noticed vast improvements in teaching and research. We're more centralized we have our research labs and teaching labs all in the same hallway, Meigs said, whereas in the old building classrooms and lab space was scattered among multiple floors. We're more efficient in the experiments we do, and we're able to have more students simultaneously doing their experiments. University officials Thursday held a dedication ceremony for the $24 million building, the largest project UNCA completed with the $50 million it received from a statewide higher education bond referendum distributed in 2000. The building was named after Steve and Frosene Zeis, who gave $3 million in 2005 toward UNCA scholarships and programs, one of the largest private gifts in the university's history. The four-story facility houses the biology, chemistry and multimedia arts departments, which together have an enrollment of 1,850 students. Designed for group learningClassrooms in the former science building, the Rhoades-Robinson complex, were designed for students to conduct individual research with work stations set up along long benches. But teaching labs in Zeis have large, square tables, encouraging students to talk and work together on experiments. These new science and multimedia labs enable project-based work teams where professors can circulate, ask questions and guide students in their research projects, UNCA Chancellor Anne Ponder said in a statement. Rhoades-Robinson, a 25,000-square-foot facility built in the 1960s with additions over the years, will be renovated over the next year or so with $9 million in state funding the university obtained in 2007. |
| Ethan Tobias '12: A truly open curriculum - Brown Daily Herald Posted: 10 Sep 2009 11:42 PM PDT At the start of the fall term, many Brown students will have to make difficult decisions about which classes they plan on attending. Shopping period is an essential part of Brown's open curriculum, as it allows students to experience a multitude of classes before deciding which ones would be best to pursue. Unfortunately, much too often, shopping period fails to fulfill this crucial role. The problem is that too many classes are offered in only one time slot, one semester each year. For example, both this year and last, BIOL0200: "The Foundation of Living Systems," the introductory biology course, was offered only at eleven o'clock spring semester. In 2007, the class's highly esteemed professor, Ken Miller '70 P'02, was on sabbatical, and a substitute teacher taught the class. A freshman interested in taking the class with Professor Miller would not have had an opportunity during his or her first year at Brown. So, you might ask, what is the problem with taking the class sophomore year? Well, on the one hand, if this student were to take the class sophomore year and find that he had a profound passion for biology, it would probably be too late to begin a concentration in the field. If, on the other hand, that student were a political science concentrator who wished to explore other fields, he might miss this opportunity to take biology because POLS 1130, The American Presidency, is offered at the same time. If that same student were to study abroad spring of junior year, it could well be spring of senior year before he has the opportunity to take biology, though that may yet be thwarted by the necessity to take a concentration requirement. Sadly, this situation is not uncommon. When I was registering for classes for this fall, I was deeply dissatisfied by a scheduling conflict. BIOL0470: "Genetics," and NEUR1030 "Neural Systems," are taught at the same time. While I knew that I definitely did not want to take both classes at the same time, I was unsure about which one I would rather take. As a potential biology or neuroscience concentrator, my decision would have a large impact on the path I would follow. Perhaps if one had been a humanities course, I could stop and pick up a syllabus on my way to the second class. But these were both mid-level science classes, sure to begin intense coursework from the first lecture. There was no way I could risk missing something important. There had to be a better way. Most of the work that a professor does for an individual class is preparation: making the slides or going through the readings. The actual act of lecturing is pretty simple once all the background effort has been made. Therefore, it seems foolish that so many courses are only offered during one time slot for an entire semester. It would only take up a mere three additional hours a week of a professor's time to repeat lectures. This trivial amount of extra work would be an enormous boon to students interested in exploring many fields. Now, I am not ignorant that professors will not like to work extra hours. They will say that over the course of four years, conflicts will work themselves out and you will inevitably get to take the classes you desire. This is, however, a fallacy. The aforementioned political science concentrator might never be able to take biology. One goal of the open curriculum is to encourage students to explore different ways of thinking across many disciplines. If students are prevented from taking the classes they desire because of conflicts, the open curriculum has failed. This is especially problematic freshman and sophomore years, when students should be taking classes in many fields before finally declaring a concentration. In the best interests of Brown students and professors, I propose a much less drastic solution than making professors teach an entire additional section. During shopping period, professors should teach an additional section or two, so that students can attend conflicting classes and make an educated decision as to which one they will continue with for the duration of the semester. This way, professors will only have to teach an additional section for two weeks at most, students will be able to make an unfettered decision about classes and Brown will move one step closer to keeping its promise of an open curriculum.
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