The Amazon is home to more species than almost anywhere else on earth. One of them, carried home recently by a group from Yale University, appears to be quite happy eating plastic in airless landfills.
The fungus, new to science, has a voracious appetite for a global waste nightmare: polyurethane.
Their findings regarding the species estalotiopsis microspora were published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology late last year.
(READ the story in FastCoexist)
The CMA Foundation has donated another $1.4 million to benefit music education programs for Nashville’s public schoola through its “Keep the Music Playing” campaign, bringing the total to more than $6.1 million.
This money, raised during CMA Music Festivals, has been used to build music labs and purchase more than 4,000 instruments, and much needed supplies for 80 Metro Nashville Public Schools.
Keep the Music Playing, now in its sixth year serving 78,000 students, raises money from the hundreds of Country artists who perform and make appearances at the CMA Music Festival for free.
Mexico’s ruling party on Sunday chose a former congresswoman to run for president, the first time a major party has nominated a woman to compete for the nation’s top office.
The National Action Party’s vote for Josefina Vazquez Mota, 51, over two other candidates sets the race for Mexico’s July 1 presidential election.
(READ the AP story in the Atlanta J-C)
Today marks the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne in 1952, after her father, King George VI, died.
A village school in Norfolk was given the honor of hosting the Queen and kicking-off the royal mum’s diamond jubilee year. The primary school students performed music and a play based on her 60 years of service.
Cheering crowds braved the cold outside to greet the 85 year-old monarch. The small children gave three cheers for her as she left the building.
India racked up investments of $10.3 billion for its green energy sector, an increase of 52 percent over last year, which dwarfed the rest of the world’s economies in 2011.
Solar investments led the growth with a seven-fold increase in funding, according to figures released yesterday by analysts Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
7,688 residents of a southern Chinese village used ballot boxes in their first open and transparent election last week, an experiment in democracy that could affect other places in China.
Wukan was in the spotlight late last year for a high-profile protest by villagers against local officials believed to be illegally selling public land to developers.
The Chrysler car company aired a poignant Super Bowl ad touting the Motor City’s turnaround, with a message from Clint Eastwook saying the United States could learn from Detroit’s rebound.
“The people of Detroit almost lost everything,” begins the two-minute spot narrated by Eastwood that features auto workers at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant, an abandoned building and a city flag.
“We find a way through tough times … Detroit’s showing it can be done. And what’s true about them is true about all of us.”
Charles Dickens may have died in 1870, but legions of fans around the world will unite on Tuesday and beyond to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of this titan of English fiction.
Queen Elizabeth is throwing a star-studded party for him at Buckingham Palace and leading cultural figures will gather in an old orphanage to read from his works.
The personal story of the author who penned classics like “A Christmas Carol” and “A Tale of Two Cities” is thoroughly modern in its rags-to-riches flair.
Charles Dickens may have died in 1870, but legions of fans around the world will unite on Tuesday and beyond to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of this titan of English fiction.
Queen Elizabeth is throwing a star-studded party for him at Buckingham Palace and leading cultural figures will gather in an old orphanage to read from his works.
The personal story of the author who penned classics like “A Christmas Carol” and “A Tale of Two Cities” is thoroughly modern in its rags-to-riches flair.
The voice of Otto von Bismarck, one of the 19th century’s most important figures has been identified as one recorded on a wax cylinder more than 120 years ago.
The recording of the German chancellor was one of a dozen cylinders that were once stored near Thomas Edison’s cot in his West Orange, N.J., lab, announced the National Park Service.
It is believed to be the only recording of a person born in the 18th century.
Otto von Bismarck became Chancellor of Germany in 1871.
Nevada has the lowest high school graduation rate in the country. But now a multi-million dollar federal grant is helping one district turn its schools around. Host Michel Martin speaks with a principal who spent last Saturday knocking on the doors of students who dropped out, encouraging them to come back to school.
“We’re trying to reclaim our students, the students that have dropped out and that’s the whole purpose of this initiative.”
112 million Americans will watch Mark Herzlich take the field tomorrow, a rookie linebacker and cancer survivor whose story has inspired Super Bowl fans across the country.
The New York Giant player delivered a powerful message of hope across the social media network, Twitter, as he arrived in Indianapolis with his teammates and coaches.
He reminded fans of his long journey from “cancer hell to football heaven”, said one sports broadcaster.
The Super Bowl TV ads are as much anticipated as the game itself.
Humorous commercials have always created buzz with the public in the days following Sunday’s game, like last year’s Volkswagon ad, “The Force,” which featured a boy in a Darth Vadar costume. Betty White’s football smack-down in a Snickers ad stole the show in 2010.
This year, advertisers are getting more bang for their buck by releasing the ads early on YouTube, often racking up millions of views days before the opening kick-off.
A 10-year-old girl was experimenting with a molecule-building set in her Montessori school when she created an unusual-looking specimen.
Clara Lazen randomly arranged a unique combination of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon atoms, with the result being a molecule her teacher had never seen before. Intrigued, he photographed it and sent it to a chemistry professor at Humboldt State University in California.
Robert Zoellner discovered that not only was Lazen’s molecule unique, it had the potential to store energy.
“It contains the same combination of atoms as nitroglycerin, a powerful explosive. If a synthetic chemist succeeded at creating the molecule—dubbed tetranitratoxycarbon for short—it could store energy, create a large explosion, or do something in between, Zoellner says: ‘Who knows?'”
He cranked out a scientific paper for an esteemed chemistry journal, and listed Clara and Boehr as co-authors.
Regardless of what happens, the experience has already strengthened the young girl’s interest in science. It’s refreshing, Zoellner says, because so many women shy away from science careers as they get older.
“Women are often better prepared for high school and college than men but they decide not to pursue science careers for whatever reason,” Zoellner says. “If I’ve been able to keep her and some of her classmates interested in science, I’ve succeeded.”
(WATCH the video below from FOX, or read the story from Humboldt State U.)
Last month, teachers in Chester, Pennsylvania were hailed as heroes when they pledged to work for free after their school district ran out of the funds to make payroll.
The leader of the teacher movement, Sara Ferguson, sat in Michelle Obama’s box at the State of the Union address, and appeared as a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show yesterday to discuss the experience.
The segment included footage of the district’s impoverished students and the revelation that the school lost 40% of its teachers and 50% of support staff, due to budget cuts. DeGeneres applauded the teachers who were putting their students first.
Last month, teachers in Chester, Pennsylvania were hailed as heroes when they pledged to work for free after their school district ran out of the funds to make payroll.
The leader of the teacher movement, Sara Ferguson, sat in Michelle Obama’s box at the State of the Union address, and appeared as a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show yesterday to discuss the experience.
The segment included footage of the district’s impoverished students and the revelation that the school lost 40% of its teachers and 50% of support staff, due to budget cuts. DeGeneres applauded the teachers who were putting their students first.
In this delightful family movie based on a true story, a family of gray whales, stranded beneath the ice near the northern-most Alaskan town of Barrow, brings together old foes in an inspiring rescue operation that catches the attention of the whole world.
John Krasinski plays a small-time TV reporter, Adam, whose “Adam Around Alaska” stories aren’t the ticket to the big time he wants. Then he stumbles across three whales — parents and a baby — clinging to an air hole in the ice outside town. They’re miles from open ocean, too far to hold their breath. They won’t last more than a day or two.
Adam’s story about tragedy unfolding in Barrow gets picked up by the network, and suddenly every government agency, scientist, press reporter and Greenpeace activist (Drew Barrymore) is faced with the question of what can be done, if anything.
In this delightful family movie based on a true story, a family of gray whales, stranded beneath the ice near the northern-most Alaskan town of Barrow, brings together old foes in an inspiring rescue operation that catches the attention of the whole world.
John Krasinski plays a small-time TV reporter, Adam, whose “Adam Around Alaska” stories aren’t the ticket to the big time he wants. Then he stumbles across three whales — parents and a baby — clinging to an air hole in the ice outside town. They’re miles from open ocean, too far to hold their breath. They won’t last more than a day or two.
Adam’s story about tragedy unfolding in Barrow gets picked up by the network, and suddenly every government agency, scientist, press reporter and Greenpeace activist (Drew Barrymore) is faced with the question of what can be done, if anything.
The unemployment rate fell for the fifth straight month after a surge of January hiring, a promising shift in the nation’s outlook for job growth.
The Labor Department says employers added 243,000 jobs in January, the most in nine months. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent from 8.5 percent in December. That’s the lowest in nearly three years.
The graffiti artist who took Facebook stock instead of cash for painting the walls of the social network’s first headquarters made a smart bet. The shares owned by the artist, David Choe, are expected to be worth upward of $200 million when Facebook stock trades publicly later this year.
The social network company announced its $5 billion public offering Wednesday afternoon, which is expected to value the whole company at $75 billion to $100 billion. Ultimately, that offering will mint a lot of billionaires and millionaires.
