South Pole feat remembered, 100 years later

OSLO, Norway?? Polar adventurers, scientists and the prime minister of Norway gathered at the bottom of the world Wednesday to mark the 100th anniversary of explorer Roald Amundsen becoming the first to reach the South Pole.

Under a crystal blue sky and temperatures of 40 below zero Fahrenheit (-40 degrees C), the group remembered the Norwegian explorer's achievement on the spot where he placed his flag on Dec. 14, 1911.

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"We are here to celebrate one of the greatest feats in human history," Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said as he unveiled an ice sculpture of Amundsen.

Several expeditions skied across Antarctica to attend the ceremony, which was broadcast on Norway's NRK television. Many were delayed and had to be flown the last stretch.

"Our respect for Amundsen's feat 100 years ago grew as we traveled in his ski tracks, and felt the physical challenges he experienced," said Jan-Gunnar Winther, director of the Norwegian Polar Institute.

Winther dropped out of an expedition trying to follow Amundsen's entire route, skiing 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) to the South Pole, and was airlifted the last part.

Two other members of his group, however ? cross-country great Vegard Ulvang and polar historian Harald Dag Joelle ? reached the South Pole on skis late Wednesday, the Norwegian Polar Institute said.

Amundsen's rival also honored
Stoltenberg also honored British explorer Robert Falcon Scott, who lost the race against Amundsen and arrived at the South Pole more than month later, only to find Amundsen's tent, a Norwegian flag and a letter from Amundsen. Scott and four companions died on the way out.

"Scott and his men will forever be remembered for their valor and their determination to reach the most inhospitable place on earth," Stoltenberg said.

Amundsen and his team spent almost two months skiing across the frozen Ross Sea, climbing steep hills to the Antarctic plateau at about 9,800 feet (3,000 meters) and crossing vast ice fields to reach the pole.

During the preparations they placed several depots of food and supplies along parts of the route before the final assault toward the pole. Once there, they spent three days doing scientific measurements before starting the return trip.

Experts agree that Amundsen succeeded because he was better-prepared than Scott. Amundsen used skis and dog sleds, while Scott used motorized sleds that broke down and ponies that couldn't take the cold. The men ended up pulling their sleds themselves.

Amundsen's well-marked depots contained over three tons of supplies, while Scott had fewer and badly marked depots the expedition often couldn't find in the blizzards and cold.

How times have changed
Norwegian adventurer Boerge Ousland, who led a group of 16 people to the South Pole just in time for the anniversary, said the main difference between then and now is that today's expeditions have better communication and navigation tools, and faster transportation to and from Antarctica.

"You don't need to be away for three years," he told The Associated Press by satellite phone from Antarctica.

Ousland became the first person to cross Antarctica alone in 1997. Felicity Aston of Britain is currently trying to become the first woman to do it.

In contrast to the bitter competition between Amundsen and Scott, Stoltenberg pointed out that the South Pole today is marked by international cooperation, regulated by the Antarctic treaty, where peace and stability, environmental activity and scientific research are in focus.

Key research topic: climate
Among the most important fields of research are global warming and its effects on Antarctica.

"The loss of ice in the Antarctic can have grave global consequences. Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott and their men went to extraordinary lengths to accomplish their goals. We must be prepared to do the same," Stoltenberg said, alluding to the struggle against climate change.

Scientists and support personnel from the U.S. Antarctic Program at the Amundsen-Scott research station at the South Pole took part in the ceremony, and stressed that the occasion was a special day not only for Norway.

"It's also a special day in human history since the real discovery of the last of the great continents started," said Simon Stephenson, who represented USAP.

The USAP had not wanted a new permanent monument by the scientific base, but the ice sculpture is bound to stay put for a long time since temperatures at the South Pole rarely rise above freezing.

Amundsen disappeared aboard a French Latham 47 flying boat in the Barents Sea on June 18, 1928. The plane had been searching for the gas-filled airship "Italia," which crashed when returning from the North Pole during an expedition led by Italian aeronautical engineer Umberto Nobile.

More about Antarctica:

Associated Press writer Karl Ritter in Stockholm contributed to this report.

? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45671202/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Ohio homeowner captures and hogties burglar

ATHENS, Ohio (AP) ? An Ohio sheriff says he doesn't plan to pursue charges against a homeowner who subdued and hogtied a burglar.

Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly tells WBNS-TV (http://bit.ly/vLtJ2S) the homeowner had a right to protect his property and himself. Kelly says that's what authorities believe the homeowner did Thursday when he chased the burglar and tied up the man's hands and feet.

Kelly says when deputies arrived to investigate the theft at the southeast Ohio home, they found the suspect restrained in the back of the homeowner's car. He says the homeowner recognized the robber and went to his residence to subdue him.

Homeowner William Stanley tells the television station his video game systems were taken earlier Thursday, and he later found the man in his home.

___

Information from: WBNS-TV, http://www.10tv.com/

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2011-12-02-Homeowner%20Hogties%20Thief/id-4cb6d29031554483b62ab2b296b69801

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ESA abandons Russian space probe, hopes it doesn't plummet to earth

Things have gone from bad to worse for the orbit locked Phobos-Grunt space probe, having lost contact with the European Space Agency, the probe faces abandonment and disaster. The soviet star-gazer got stuck in Earth's orbit shortly after launch, stunting its two and a half year jaunt to the Martian moon Phobos. Attempts to send commands that would break the craft loose of the Earth's grip have failed, and the ESA has since given up hope of contacting the probe. The Russians will continue to try and reestablish contact with the probe, hopefully avoiding an expensive disaster. Weighing 13.2 metric tons, most of which is fuel, the probe threatens to return to Earth with a bang, crashing down to terra firma with a toxic payload. It's certainly not been a good couple of months for Euro based space travel. In the meantime let's just hope it doesn't bump into anything else while it's up there, or you might miss the big game.

ESA abandons Russian space probe, hopes it doesn't plummet to earth originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Dec 2011 03:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/05/esa-abandons-russian-space-probe-hopes-it-doesnt-plummet-to-ea/

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Rare Leopard Photographed in Remote Afghan Mountains (LiveScience.com)

Camera traps positioned in the rocky terrain of Afghanistan's central highlands by conservationists recently snapped a surprising photograph of a Persian leopard, a top predator that was long thought to have disappeared from the region.

In a series of images that provides indisputable proof that the big cat persists in the country?s interior, a big adult leopard can be seen prowling around the camera trap?s field of view and investigating the camera itself, appearing to threaten it with canines exposed.

Camera traps can be key resources in evaluating rare species, particularly in remote areas that are hard for conservationists to maintain a presence in.

The cameras also snapped images of other wildlife, including lynx, wild cat, wolf, red fox, and stone marten, showing that many of these predators can find enough prey to survive in the Hindu Kush highlands, where Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) scientists and Afghan rangers have been conducting surveys in recent months. [See the camera trap images .]

The indicators that sufficient prey is present "means that the rangelands can still support ibex, urial, and other species, which is a good sign for both wildlife and the people of this region who also depend on these grasslands for grazing," said Ghani Ghuriani, Afghanistan's Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock.

"To see such a varied array of wildlife after we have endured so much conflict gives us hope for Afghanistan?s future," said Mostapha Zaher, Director General of Afghanistan?s National Environmental Protection Agency.

It was not all good news caught by the cameras, however.

"We are thrilled by these images and the story of survival that they tell, but we were sobered by the fact that the cameras also took photographs of local people walking past with guns. Poaching is still a very real threat, and WCS is committed to helping the Afghan government and local communities protect these rare and beautiful animals," said the deputy director of WCS's Asia program, Peter Zahler.

The WCS and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have been aiding the government of Afghanistan in launching initiatives to safeguard wildlife and the lands they depend on. As part of this effort, the country's first and only national park, Band-e-Amir, was created in 2009.

The country has also created its first-ever list of protected species, which prohibits hunting of snow leopards, brown bears and other species.

This story was provided by OurAmazingPlanet, a sister site to LiveScience.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20111205/sc_livescience/rareleopardphotographedinremoteafghanmountains

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NCAA, other sports leagues monitoring high-caffeine 'energy' drinks

Gulping down high-caffeine "energy" drinks during a national championship could cost a young athlete.

The NCAA classifies caffeine as a banned substance but allows for "average dietary intake" from foods and beverages such as coffee and colas.

"If someone is consuming a lot of these drinks at a championship event and is tested, they could test positive," said Mary Wilfert, NCAA associate director of health and safety.

A caffeine level of more than 15 micrograms per milliliter in a urine sample will result in a positive test. But because people metabolize caffeine differently, the NCAA can't say how many drinks over what time period might result in a failed drug test, Wilfert said.

The NCAA discourages use of caffeine in a supplement form, and Wilfert said there also was "a concern about whether these drinks are an appropriate hydration beverage."

"The overarching concern is we just don't know what's in a lot of these drinks," she said.

Some leagues and sports organizations are taking action to limit the use of caffeinated energy drinks. Others leave the decision to athletes.

Until 2004, the International Olympic Committee classified caffeine as a banned substance because of potential performance-enhancing qualities, but it was removed from the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list because of concern about the risk of sanctioning athletes for social or dietary consumption. Caffeine remains part of WADA's monitoring program, which seeks to detect patterns of misuse.

Last year, the Virginia High School League became the first state high school federation to impose a ban on such drinks at high school competitions and practices.

"There was nothing specific other than kids becoming ill with nervous energy they couldn't come down from," said Tom Dolan, assistant director of the Virginia High School League, adding the organization acted on concerns from its sports medicine advisers.

"At first there were some questions, but we've had a lot of parents coming up to us at state events or who have e-mailed and called and said, 'Thank you. This is really helping us deal with this issue.' "

(Page 2 of 2)

Among the major North American professional sports leagues, only the NFL prohibits teams from distributing energy drinks, although players can provide their own. In Major League Baseball, the NBA and the NHL, the decision about whether to provide the drinks is left to individual teams.

The Arizona Diamondbacks and Houston Astros are among teams that no longer keep the drinks on hand. In the Astros' case, the decision was made in part because of player dehydration issues, including a 2009 case when reliever Wesley Wright was treated at a hospital after drinking several energy drinks and soft drinks before pitching.

But on many teams, it is part of the daily routine, particularly for relief pitchers who sometimes wait hours for their moment to perform.

"We have a tradition," said reliever Jordan Walden of the Los Angeles Angels. "We all drink it together around the same time, the third inning, normally.

"If you didn't get a good night's sleep or you're a little tired, you get on the field and that could pick you up a little bit."

A ban wouldn't sit well with him or his teammates, Walden said.

"That'd be tough to see in this locker room."

Source: http://thetowntalk.com/article/20111203/NEWS/111203005/-1/rss01

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Same Sex Romance Comes to a Galaxy Far, Far Away (Newsarama.com)

Same-sex relationships are coming to the "Star Wars" universe, courtesy of video game developer BioWare and publisher Electronic Arts' new massively multiplayer online role- playing game (or "MMORPGs" or "MMOs" for short), "Star Wars: The Old Republic," and the decision is getting people talking.

MMOs are games that create immersive virtual environments in which millions of players can interact with computer-generated characters as well as characters created by fellow gamers. While this is BioWare's first MMO, the developer is known among fans for the emphasis they place on romantic relationships between characters in their single-player role-playing games. In the past, BioWare games have featured same-sex relationships between men and women, and in the case of the immensely popular sci-fi game "Mass Effect," relationships between men and women with an asexual alien.

BioWare originally announced that players and their companions in "Star Wars: The Old Republic" would only be able to experience mixed-gender romantic relationships. After many inquiries from fans asking the developer to explain the decision, earlier this week a new forum post by Stephen Reid, the senior online community manager for the game, showed up on the company's official website announcing that those fans had been heard and same-sex romance will be added to the game.

BioWare's statement explained that while the game will still launch with only male/female relationships, they will be adding same gender romance options in future updates.

"Due to the design constraints of a fully voiced MMO of this scale and size, many choices had to be made as to the launch and post-launch feature set. Same gender romances with companion characters in 'Star Wars: The Old Republic' will be a post-launch feature. Because 'The Old Republic' is an MMO, the game will live on through content expansions which allow us to include content and features that could not be included at launch, including the addition of more companion characters who will have additional romance options."

"Companion characters" are computer-controlled characters that follow player-created characters around the virtual world, aiding them as gamers maneuver through the story.

The response to BioWare's announcement has been massive. There are 326 pages of comments as of Friday afternoon on the official "Star Wars: The Old Republic" forum alone. They range from "thank you for listening to our requests" to "how dare you expose my children to this."

The game has no firm release date, only a release window of "holiday 2011." It has also already received an ESRB rating of "T for Teen," meaning the game is recommended for players 13 and older. Neither facts have stopped detractors from crying foul, such as John Nolte on the blog "Big Hollywood," who starts his post on the subject with "Say goodbye to your child's innocence," and ends with the inaccurate proclamation, "Announcing the gay relationships AFTER the game has been sold is pure bait and switch."

The game already has reportedly broken preorder records for publisher Electronic Arts.

Got a comment? There's lots of conversation on Newsarama's FACEBOOK and TWITTER!

Related Stories:

Newsarama.com is the go-to source for the latest comic book and genre entertainment news, reviews and commentary. Newsarama's passionate audience contributes to lively discussions ranging from classic and new comics to movies, TV, manga, anime and more. Watch previews, interviews and more on our video player, sneak peeks of new comics on our Comic Book Viewer and sign up for our RSS feeds. And be sure to join our community so you can voice your opinion on our articles and in our lively forums.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/videogames/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/newsarama/20111203/en_newsarama/samesexromancecomestoagalaxyfarfaraway

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Even unconsciously, sound helps us see

Friday, December 2, 2011

"Imagine you are playing ping-pong with a friend. Your friend makes a serve. Information about where and when the ball hit the table is provided by both vision and hearing. Scientists have believed that each of the senses produces an estimate relevant for the task (in this example, about the location or time of the ball's impact) and then these votes get combined subconsciously according to rules that take into account which sense is more reliable. And this is how the senses interact in how we perceive the world. However, our findings show that the senses of hearing and vision can also interact at a more basic level, before they each even produce an estimate," says Ladan Shams, a UCLA professor of psychology, and the senior author of a new study appearing in the December issue of Psychological Science, a journal published by the Association for Psychological Science. "If we think of the perceptual system as a democracy where each sense is like a person casting a vote and all votes are counted (albeit with different weights) to reach a decision, what our study shows is that the voters talk to one another and influence one another even before each casts a vote."

"The senses affect each other in many ways," says cognitive neuroscientist Robyn Kim. There are connections between the auditory and visual portions of the brain and at the cognitive level. When the information from one sense is ambiguous, another sense can step in and clarify or ratify the perception. Now, for the first time, Kim, Megan Peters, and Ladan Shams, working at the University of California Los Angeles, have shown behavioral evidence that this interplay happens in the earliest workings of perception?not just before that logical decision-making stage, but before the pre-conscious combination of sensory information.

To demonstrate that one sense can affect another even before perception, the researchers showed 63 participants a bunch of dots on a screen, in two phases with a pause between them. In one phase, the dots moved around at random; in the other, some proportion moved together from right to left. The participants had to indicate in which phase the dots moved together horizontally. In experiment 1, the subjects were divided into three groups. While they looked at the dots, one group heard sound moving in the same direction as the right-to-left dots, and stationary sound in the random phase. A second group heard the same right-to-left sound in both phases. The third group heard the identical sound in both phases, but it moved in the opposite direction of the dots. In the second and third conditions, because the sound was exactly the same in both phases, it added no cognitively useful information about which phase had the leftward-moving dots. In experiment 2, each participant experienced trials in all three conditions.

The results: All did best under the first condition?when the sound moved only in the leftward-motion phase. The opposite-moving sound neither enhanced nor worsened the visual perception. But surprisingly, the uninformative sound?the one that traveled leftward both with the leftward-moving dots and also when the dots moved randomly?helped people correctly perceive when the dots were moving from one side to the other. Hearing enhanced seeing, even though the added sense couldn't help them make the choice.

The study, says Kim, should add to our appreciation of the complexity of our senses. "Most of us understand that smell affects taste. But people tend to think that what they see is what they see and what they hear is what they hear." The findings of this study offer "further evidence that, even at a non-conscious level, visual and auditory processes are not so straightforward," she says. "Perception is actually a very complex thing affected by many factors."

"This study shows that at least in regards to perception of moving objects, hearing and sight are deeply intertwined, to the degree that even when sound is completely irrelevant to the task, it still influences the way we see the world," Shams says.

###

Association for Psychological Science: http://www.psychologicalscience.org

Thanks to Association for Psychological Science for this article.

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