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"Objectives: This is a multileveled approach to learning some of the common characteristics of acidic and basic solutions and use of some of the common indicators."

Science 8 July 2011: Vol. 333 no. 6039 pp. 173-175 Galaxy Zoo Volunteers Share Pain and Glory of Research 1. Daniel Clery A project to "crowdsource" galactic classifications has paid off in ways the astronomers who started it never expected. Figure View larger version: * In this page * In a new window Space oddity. Greenish "voorwerp" spotted by a Dutch volunteer still intrigues scientists. "CREDIT: NASA, ESA, W. KEEL (UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA), AND THE GALAXY ZOO TEAM" The automated surveys that are becoming increasingly common in astronomy are producing an embarrassment of riches for researchers. Projects such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) are generating so much data that, in some cases, astronomers don't know what to do with them all. SDSS has compiled a list of more than 1 million galaxies. To glean information about galaxy evolution, however, astronomers need to know what type of galaxy each one is: spiral, barred spiral, elliptical, or something else. At present, the only reliable way to classify galaxies is to look at each one. But the SDSS list is so long that all the world's astronomers working together couldn't muster enough eyeballs for the task. Enter the "wisdom of crowds." An online effort called Galaxy Zoo, launched in 2007, set a standard for citizen-scientist participation projects. Zealous volunteers astonished the project's organizers by classifying the entire catalog years ahead of schedule. The results have brought real statistical rigor to a field used to samples too small to support firm conclusions. But that's not all. Buoyed by the curiosity and dedication of the volunteers, the Galaxy Zoo team went on to ask more-complicated classification questions that led to studies they hadn't thought possible. And in an online discussion forum on the Galaxy Zoo Web site, volunteers have pointed to anomalies that on closer inspection have turned out to be genuinely new astronomical objects. "I'm incredibly impres

Key Findings Current Coastal Management Challenges Current coastal management challenges are worsening. Top management challenges will be exacerbated by climate change. Current management challenges make adaptation planning and decision-making difficult. Climate Change Concerns, Knowledge, and Actions Attitudes and knowledge about climate change are strongly supportive of adaptation action. Attention to adaptation has increased markedly over the past five years. Adaptation planning and implementation is still in the very early stages. There is limited familiarity with innovative adaptation approaches. Information, Technical Assistance, and Training Needs Organizational missions, job responsibilities, and legal requirements shape common information use. Ease of access to information is the overriding determinant of information use. Specific information needs differ by professional group. Critical opportunities exist to meet coastal professionals' information, technical assistance, and training needs Survey Background Decision-makers in California's (CA) coastal counties recognize that climate change will impact their communities and coastline. Yet, coastal CA communities are at different stages in developing and/or implementing climate change adaptation plans. During the Summer of 2012, USC Sea Grant, in partnership with 14 other CA-based organizations (listed below), launched a survey to understand the needs and barriers coastal communities have in planning for climate change in order to develop appropriate trainings and technical assistance for communities and determine the best way to link communities to resources and tools already available. Survey Partners USC Sea Grant California Sea Grant Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford University California Nevada Applications Program (CNAP) at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego through the NOAA Regional Integrat

How to Make Red Cabbage pH Indicator By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D., About.com Guide "Red cabbage juice can be used to test the pH of common household chemicals." Make your own pH indicator solution! Red cabbage juice contains a natural pH indicator that changes colors according to the acidity of the solution. Red cabbage juice indicator is easy to make, exhibits a wide range of colors, and can be used to make your own pH paper strips (watch the video).

"Multilingualism-the ability to understand and speak several languages-is exceptional in the United States but common elsewhere, especially in small-scale traditional societies. For instance, once while I was camped with some New Guinea Highlanders conversing simultaneously in several local languages, I asked each man to name each language in which he could converse. It turned out that everyone present spoke at least 5 languages, and the champion was a man who spoke 15. What are the cognitive effects of such multilingualism? Recent studies (1-5) show that children raised bilingually develop a specific type of cognitive benefit during infancy, and that bilingualism offers some protection against symptoms of Alzheimer's dementia in old people. "

"USC researcher experiments with changing ocean chemistry Jan. 19, 2011 | Molly Peterson | KPCC In his lab, USC's Dave Hutchins is simulating possible future atmospheres and temperatures for the Earth. He says he's trying to figure out how tiny organisms that form the base of the food web will react to a more carbon-intense ocean. Burning fossil fuels doesn't just put more carbon into the atmosphere and help warm the climate. It's also changing the chemistry of sea water. KPCC's Molly Peterson visits a University of Southern California researcher who studies the consequences of a more corrosive ocean. Tailpipes and refineries and smokestacks as far as the eye can see in Los Angeles symbolize the way people change the planet's climate. They remind Dave Hutchins that the ocean's changing too. Hutchins teaches marine biology at USC. He says about a third of all the carbon, or CO2, that people have pushed into earth's atmosphere ends up in sea water - "which is a good thing for us because if the ocean hadn't taken up that CO2 the greenhouse effect would be far more advanced than it is." He smiles. Hutchins says that carbon is probably not so good for the ocean. "The more carbon dioxide that enters the ocean the more acidic the ocean gets." On the pH scale, smaller numbers represent more acidity. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute estimates we've pumped 500 million tons of carbon into the world's oceans. Dave Hutchins at USC says that carbon has already lowered the pH value for sea water. "By the end of this century we are going to have increased the amount of acid in the ocean by maybe 200 percent over natural pre-industrial levels," he says. "So we are driving the chemistry of the ocean into new territory - into areas that it has never seen." Hutchins is one of dozens of scientists who study the ripples of that new chemistry into the marine ecosystem. Now for an aside. I make bubbly water at home with a soda machine, and to do that, I pump ca

"common sense for the oceans"

Right Whales Finally Coming Home Figure "CREDIT: MICHAËL CATANZARITI/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS" After more than 100 years, right whales have returned to their calving grounds in New Zealand, an international team of scientists reports. The 100-ton whales, known for their social frolicking and impressive acrobatic displays, were hunted to extinction in these same waters during the 19th and 20th centuries' era of industrial whaling. A small population managed to survive near remote, sub-Antarctic islands south of New Zealand. In recent years, a few dozen females found their way back to the same bays their ancestors used for bearing their young. Normally, such cultural knowledge is passed from mother to daughter, the researchers say. But the tradition had been lost, until these pioneering females began making the journey once again. Reporting in Marine Ecology Progress Series, the scientists-from Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand-confirmed that some of the females had migrated from the southern islands to New Zealand by comparing the DNA in tissue samples collected from seven whales at both sites. Now that the tradition has been restored, scientists expect more whales to follow the pioneers.

"Oil Exploration Oil Exploration Gulf Drilling Disaster Triggers Scrutiny of Mediterranean Oil Rush 1. Laura Margottini* A rush to find and extract oil in the Mediterranean Sea is threatening one of the planet's marine biodiversity hot spots, scientists warn. PANTELLERIA, ITALY-This tiny speck in the Mediterranean, home to a few thousand people, seems like one of the most tranquil places in the world. But looks are deceptive. Pantelleria, in the Strait of Sicily halfway between Palermo and Tunis, is close to one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, and of late, its waters have also become the center of a new oil rush. Attracted by Italy's easygoing drilling regulations and low tax on oil extraction, dozens of companies have new plans for exploration and drilling in this part of the Mediterranean Sea. At a recent meeting here,* however, scientists, conservationists, and environmental activists warned that such efforts put several important biodiversity hot spots in danger. An oil disaster like the Deepwater Horizon explosion, which sent oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico for months, could easily ruin the Mediterranean ecology for a century or longer, some said. The Italian government has recently issued 66 permissions for drilling around its coasts and 25 concessions for exploration. Another 67 applications for exploration are under review. "Italy now represents the region that holds the most exciting and significant long-term opportunities," one company, Northern Petroleum, says on its Web site. The Strait of Sicily is the center of attention, but other biodiversity hot spots, such as the Tremiti Islands in the Adriatic Sea, could soon be explored as well. Italy isn't alone. Tunisia, for example, has granted concessions for oil exploration for most of its Mediterranean waters, without much political opposition. But the areas coveted by oil companies are ecological treasures, researchers and groups such as Greenpeace Italy stress. Last year, the Uni