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Friday, March 29, 2013
Motion Capture Without Skintight Suits Will Make Blu-ray Extras Way Less Fun
On the difference between natural history art photography, and natural history photojournalism
Meet?Tetradonia, a pugnacious little rove beetle that eats army ants:
Tetradonia beetle attacking an army ant. Belize.
Any animal specialized to feed on army ants is seriously badass, especially those that are smaller than the ants themselves. I?ve wanted to photograph Tetradonia for years, and this January during the BugShot workshop we happened across this one sniping at the edges of an Eciton hamatum raid.
I managed a single shot. This one. It?s slightly overexposed with too much motion blur. ?I also framed it poorly. I cropped away 50% of the pixels to make a passable composition. Not my best work.
But, the blurry capture is also my only photograph of this animal. Do I upload it to my professional galleries anyway? It won?t look great printed, and I?d feel embarrassed to sell it onwards for, say, a display at a natural history museum.
The question isn?t trivial, as it burrows right to the heart of why I photograph insects. Am I making pretty images? Or am I documenting real natural history?
Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=8329a3a2e130d16d39f4da2f14922781
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Thursday, March 28, 2013
New evidence ancient asteroid caused global firestorm on Earth
Mar. 27, 2013 ? A new look at conditions after a Manhattan-sized asteroid slammed into a region of Mexico in the dinosaur days indicates the event could have triggered a global firestorm that would have burned every twig, bush and tree on Earth and led to the extinction of 80 percent of all Earth's species, says a new University of Colorado Boulder study.
Led by Douglas Robertson of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, or CIRES, the team used models that show the collision would have vaporized huge amounts of rock that were then blown high above Earth's atmosphere. The re-entering ejected material would have heated the upper atmosphere enough to glow red for several hours at roughly 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit -- about the temperature of an oven broiler element -- killing every living thing not sheltered underground or underwater.
The CU-led team developed an alternate explanation for the fact that there is little charcoal found at the Cretaceous-Paleogene, or K-Pg, boundary some 66 million years ago when the asteroid struck Earth and the cataclysmic fires are believed to have occurred. The CU researchers found that similar studies had corrected their data for changing sedimentation rates. When the charcoal data were corrected for the same changing sedimentation rates they show an excess of charcoal, not a deficiency, Robertson said.
"Our data show the conditions back then are consistent with widespread fires across the planet," said Robertson, a research scientist at CIRES, which is a joint institute of CU-Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Those conditions resulted in 100 percent extinction rates for about 80 percent of all life on Earth."
A paper on the subject was published online this week in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences, a publication of the American Geophysical Union. Co-authors on the study include CIRES Interim Director William Lewis, CU Professor Brian Toon of the atmospheric and oceanic sciences department and the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics and Peter Sheehan of the Milwaukee Public Museum in Wisconsin.
Geological evidence indicates the asteroid collided with Earth about 66 million years ago and carved the Chicxulub crater in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula that is more than 110 miles in diameter. In 2010, experts from 33 institutions worldwide issued a report that concluded the impact at Chicxulub triggered mass extinctions, including dinosaurs, at the K-Pg boundary.
The conditions leading to the global firestorm were set up by the vaporization of rock following the impact, which condensed into sand-grain-sized spheres as they rose above the atmosphere. As the ejected material re-entered Earth's atmosphere, it dumped enough heat in the upper atmosphere to trigger an infrared "heat pulse" so hot it caused the sky to glow red for several hours, even though part of the radiation was blocked from Earth by the falling material, he said.
But there was enough infrared radiation from the upper atmosphere that reached Earth's surface to create searing conditions that likely ignited tinder, including dead leaves and pine needles. If a person was on Earth back then, it would have been like sitting in a broiler oven for two or three hours, said Robertson.
The amount of energy created by the infrared radiation the day of the asteroid-Earth collision is mind-boggling, said Robertson. "It's likely that the total amount of infrared heat was equal to a 1 megaton bomb exploding every four miles over the entire Earth."
A 1-megaton hydrogen bomb has about the same explosive power as 80 Hiroshima-type nuclear bombs, he said. The asteroid-Earth collision is thought to have generated about 100 million megatons of energy, said Robertson.
Some researchers have suggested that a layer of soot found at the K-Pg boundary layer roughly 66 million years ago was created by the impact itself. But Robertson and his colleagues calculated that the amount of soot was too high to have been created during the massive impact event and was consistent with the amount that would be expected from global fires.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Colorado at Boulder.
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Journal Reference:
- Douglas S. Robertson, William M. Lewis, Peter M. Sheehan, Owen B. Toon. K-Pg extinction: Reevaluation of the heat-fire hypothesis. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1002/jgrg.20018
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/k2wC9zxC0PY/130327144249.htm
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Researchers discover how model organism Tetrahymena plays roulette with 7 sexes
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
It's been more than fifty years since scientists discovered that the single-celled organism Tetrahymena thermophila has seven sexes. But in all that time, they've never known how each cell's sex, or "mating type," is determined; now they do. The new findings are published 26 March in the open access journal PLOS Biology.
By identifying Tetrahymena's long-unknown mating-type genes, a team of UC Santa Barbara biologists, with research colleagues in the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and in the J. Craig Venter Institute, also uncovered the unusual process of DNA rearrangements needed for sex determination in this organism. The discovery has potential human health implications ranging from tissue transplantation to cancer, including allorecognition?the ability of an organism to distinguish its own tissues from those of another?which can be a first line of defense against infection and illness.
In the study, the scientists show that in this multi-sexed, single-celled organism, the sex of the progeny is randomly determined by a series of "cut and paste" genomic recombination events that assemble one complete gene pair and delete all others.
"We found a pair of genes that have a specific sequence which is different for each mating type," said Eduardo Orias, a research professor emeritus and part of the UCSB team. "They are very similar genes?clearly related to one another, going back probably to a common ancestor?but they have become different. And each is different in a specific way that determines the mating type of the cell."
Each unicellular Tetrahymena boasts two nuclei: the 'germline nucleus' and the 'somatic nucleus'. Genetic information for progeny cells is stored in the former, analogous to ovaries or testes in humans, while genes are actively transcribed in the latter, the "working copy" nucleus. The sex of the progeny is determined during mating, when fertilization results in new germline and somatic nuclei that are made using contributions from the germline nucleus of each parent.
The authors found that the germline nucleus contains a tandem array of similarly organized but incomplete gene pairs?one for each mating type (although Tetrahymena have seven sexes, the particular cell line used in this study has just six). In the new somatic nucleus, a single complete gene pair is assembled when DNA segments from each end of this array are fused to one of the six incomplete pairs, and the remaining five are deleted. This precise but random rearrangement leaves the new cell with exactly one gene pair?and one mating type.
"The mating type of the 'parents' has no influence whatsoever on the sex of the progeny," Orias said. "It's completely random, as if they had roulette wheel with six numbers and wherever the marble ends up is what they get. By chance they may have same mating type as the parents?but it's only by chance. It's a fascinating system."
"By understanding this process better in Tetrahymena, what we learn ultimately may be of use in medicine," Orias said. "Tetrahymena has about as many genes as the human genome. For thousands of those genes you can recognize the sequence similarity to corresponding genes in the human genome with the same biological function. That's what makes it a valuable organism to investigate important biological questions."
###
Cervantes MD, Hamilton EP, Xiong J, Lawson MJ, Yuan D, et al. (2013) Selecting One of Several Mating Types through Gene Segment Joining and Deletion in Tetrahymena thermophila. PLoS Biol 11(3): e1001518. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001518
Public Library of Science: http://www.plos.org
Thanks to Public Library of Science for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
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Tuesday, March 26, 2013
'Game of Thrones': How well do you know Season 2?
'Game of Thrones' has drawn in lovers of the original George R.R. Martin series and newbies alike during its first two seasons, becoming one of network HBO's most popular shows. Now it returns for a highly anticipated third season on March 31. But before you launch into Season 3, how well do you remember Season 2?
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/cBM7OHkpQ5g/Game-of-Thrones-How-well-do-you-know-Season-2
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Police: No sign of 3rd party in Berezovsky death
LONDON (AP) -- There was no evidence to suggest anyone else was involved in the death of Boris Berezovsky, the self-exiled Russian tycoon who went from Kremlin kingmaker to fiery critic, British police said Sunday.
With an investigation under way, police are treating the death of Berezovsky ? who fled to Britain in the early 2000s after a bitter falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin ? as unexplained. But the former oligarch survived assassination attempts and recently faced financial difficulties, prompting speculation as to whether his death was part of a conspiracy ? or suicide.
Police said Sunday it would be wrong to speculate on Berezovsky's cause of death pending the results of an autopsy, but said they had no evidence to suggest anyone else was involved.
"We are at the early stages of the investigation and we are retaining an open mind as we progress," said Detective Chief Inspector Kevin Brown. "The investigation team is building a picture of the last days of Mr. Berezovsky's life, speaking to close friends and family to gain a better understanding of his state of mind."
Police released some details on the circumstances that triggered their investigation into his demise and a subsequent check for hazardous materials at a home he stayed at in Ascot, a town 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of London where Berezovsky's body was found on Saturday.
A call came into police from the local ambulance service at 3:23 p.m. GMT (11:23 a.m. EDT) Saturday saying a man had been found dead, Thames Valley Police said in a statement on Sunday.
The police said an employee of Berezovsky told how he had called an ambulance after becoming concerned for Berezovsky's welfare and forced open a bathroom door locked from the inside to find the tycoon's body on the floor.
The employee was the only person in the house when Berezovsky's body was discovered, police said. Members of the ex-oligarch's family arrived at the home while the paramedic was on scene.
After a paramedic declared Berezovsky dead and left the scene, a device measuring the paramedic's exposure to radiation was triggered, police said. This is why chemical and radiations experts were called to examine the home, they said.
"Officers found nothing of concern in the property and we are now progressing the investigation as normal," a statement from police said earlier, adding that the majority of the cordon put in place around the property has now been lifted.
Berezovsky ? who had survived a number of assassination attempts ? amassed a fortune through oil and automobiles during Russia's chaotic privatization of state assets following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.
Once a member of Russian President Boris Yeltsin's inner circle, Berezovsky fell out with Yeltsin's successor, Putin, and fled Britain in the early 2000s to escape fraud charges that he said were politically motivated.
He became a strident and frequent critic of Putin, accusing the leader of ushering in a dictatorship, and accused the security services of organizing 1999 apartment house bombings in Moscow and two other Russian cities that became a pretext for Russian troops to sweep into Chechnya for the second war there in half a decade.
Putin's spokesman acknowledged Sunday that the Russian president considered Berezovsky an enemy.
"We know for certain that he spared no expense in support of processes, within Russia and beyond, that could be said to have been directed against Russia and Putin," spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on the independent cable television channel Rain. "He definitely was Putin's opponent, and unfortunately not only his political opponent, but most likely in other dimensions as well."
In recent years, Berezovsky fended off legal attacks that often bore political undertones ? and others that bit into his fortune.
Russia repeatedly sought to extradite Berezovksy on a wide variety of criminal charges, and the tycoon vehemently rejected allegations over the years that he was linked to several deaths, including that of slain journalist Anna Politkovskaya and ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko.
Berezovsky won a libel case in 2010 against a Kremlin-owned broadcaster that aired a show in which it was suggested he was behind the poisoning of Litvinenko, who had fled Russia with Berezovsky's help after accusing officials there of plotting to assassinate political opponents.
He took a hit with his divorce from Galina Besharova in 2010, paying what was at the time Britain's largest divorce settlement. The figure beat a previous record of 48 million pounds ($73.1 million) and was estimated as high as 100 million pounds, though the exact figure was never confirmed.
Last year, Berezovsky lost a multibillion-pound High Court case against fellow Russian Roman Abramovich and was ordered to pay 35 million pounds ($53.3 million) in legal costs.
Berezovsky had claimed that Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club, cheated him out of his stakes in the oil group Sibneft, arguing that he blackmailed him into selling the stakes vastly beneath their true worth after he fell from Putin's good graces.
But a judge threw out the case in August, ruling that Berezovsky was a dishonest and unreliable witness, and rejected Berezovsky's claims that he was threatened by Putin and Alexander Voloshin, a Putin ally, to coerce him to sell his Sibneft stake.
It also recently emerged that Berezovsky ran up legal bills totaling more than 250,000 pounds in just two months of a case against his former partner, Elena Gorbunova, with whom he had two children and who claimed the businessman owed her millions.
Earlier this week, The Times of London newspaper reported that Berezovsky was selling property ? including an Andy Warhol portrait of the former Soviet Union leader Vladimir Lenin ? to settle his debts and pay expenses owed to lawyers.
News of Berezovsky's death has prompted conspiracy theories along with speculation as to his state of mind, given his recent financial setbacks.
Ilya Zhegulev, a journalist with the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, said he spoke with Berezovsky the day before he died and discussed the tycoon's decision to flee Russia in 2000.
The journalist quoted Berezovsky as saying that during his years in London life had lost meaning.
"I no longer want to be involved in politics," Zhegulev quoted Berezovsky as saying in a story published Saturday on the Forbes.ru website.
He said Berezovsky told him that he wanted nothing more than to return to Russia. The former oligarch said he had changed his views on Russia, saying he now understood that it should not look to Europe as a model.
"I had absolutely, idealistically imagined that it was possible to build a democratic Russia. And idealistically imagined what democracy was in the center of Europe. I underestimated the inertia of Russia and greatly overestimated the West. This took place gradually. I changed my understanding of Russia's path," he quoted Berezovsky as having said.
___
AP writer Lynn Berry in Moscow contributed to this report. Cassandra Vinograd can be reached at http://twitter.com/CassVinograd
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-no-sign-3rd-party-160914806.html
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Monday, March 25, 2013
'Amazing': Obama turns tourist in ancient city of Petra
Larry Downing / Reuters
U.S. President Barack Obama ended his Middle East trip with a visit to the ancient city of Petra, Jordan, Saturday.
By Steve Holland, Reuters
PETRA, Jordan -- President Barack Obama marveled at the sights of Jordan's ancient city of Petra on Saturday as he wrapped up a four-day Middle East tour by setting aside weighty diplomatic matters and playing tourist for a day.
The visit followed a trip to Israel and the Palestinian Territories that was capped by Obama's brokering of a rapprochement between Israel and Turkey, but which offered little more than symbolic gestures toward Middle East peacemaking.
Before heading to Petra, Obama used his stop in Jordan to ratchet up criticism of Syrian President Bashar Assad, but he stopped short of promising military aid to Syrian rebels to help end a two-year-old civil war that has claimed 70,000 lives.
President Obama receives applause from a crowd in Jerusalem Thursday by challenging groups that reject Israel.
U.S. officials privately voiced satisfaction with the results of Obama's first foreign trip of his second term, but the president's aides had set expectations so low that it was not hard to proclaim it a mission accomplished.
Shifting into sightseeing mode on Saturday, Obama flew by helicopter to Petra and took a walking tour of the restored ruins of a city more than 2,000 years old which is half-carved into sandstone cliffs.
Ordinary tourists had been cleared out for the president's visit, and guards with assault weapons dogged his every step.
"This is pretty spectacular," the president, wearing sunglasses, khaki trousers and a dark jacket, said as he craned his neck to look up at the Treasury, a towering rose-red fa?ade cut into a mountain. "It's amazing."
The U.S. president arrived in Jordan on Friday after an unexpected diplomatic triumph in Israel, where he announced a breakthrough in relations between Israel and Turkey after a telephone conversation between the countries' prime ministers.
President Barack Obama on Thursday urged the Israeli people to put themselves in the shoes of Palestinians and recognize their "right to self-determination, their right to justice." NBC's Chuck Todd reports.
Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu apologized on behalf of his country for the killing of nine Turkish citizens in a 2010 naval raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla, and the two feuding U.S. allies agreed to normalize ties.
The 30-minute call was made in a runway trailer at Tel Aviv airport, where Obama and Netanyahu huddled before the president boarded Air Force One for a flight to Jordan.
The rapprochement could help Washington marshal regional efforts to contain spillover from the Syrian civil war and ease Israel's diplomatic isolation in the Middle East as it faces challenges posed by Iran's nuclear program.
Larry Downing / Reuters
Obama, left, looks at the Treasury while he receives a tour of the ancient historic and archaeological site of Petra on Saturday.
During his visit, Obama appeared to have made some headway in easing Israelis' suspicions of him, calming their concerns about his commitment to confronting Iran and soothing his relationship with the hawkish Netanyahu.
Obama attempted to show Palestinians he had not forgotten their aspirations for statehood but he left many disappointed that he had backtracked from his previous demands for a halt to Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank.
The president offered no new peace proposals but he promised his administration would stay engaged while putting the onus on the two sides to set aside mutual distrust and restart long-dormant negotiations - a step the president failed to bring about in his first term.
Muhammad Hamed / Reuters
Members of the U.S. Secret Service Counter Assault Team survey a path after Obama walked through it during his tour of the ancient historic and archaeological site of Petra on Saturday.
After visiting both Israel and the West Bank, President Obama met with King Abdullah of Jordan, a country facing some very turbulent times of its own, post Arab Spring. But there may be no stronger Arab ally to the U.S. and Israel than Jordan. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.
As Obama's critics were complaining that his Middle East trip was heavy on symbolism and lacking in substance, the last-minute move toward Israeli-Turkish reconciliation gave his aides a chance to tout a tangible achievement.
On the last leg of his trip, Obama promised further humanitarian aid in talks with Jordan's King Abdullah, a close ally, as the economically strapped country grapples with a refugee crisis caused by Syria's civil war.
Obama also used the opportunity to underscore U.S. wariness about arming rebels fighting to overthrow Assad, despite pressure from Republican critics at home and from some European allies to do more.
He warned that a post-Assad Syria could become an "enclave" for Islamist extremism and insisted it was vital to help organize the Syrian opposition to avoid that, but he stopped short of announcing any new concrete steps.
Related:
Obama lays stone from MLK memorial on grave of Israeli PM slain for trying to make peace
Obama appeals to Israelis: Give justice to the Palestinians
Obama: 'Still time' for diplomatic solution to Iran nuke dispute
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Sunday, March 24, 2013
Rebels enter C. African Republic capital
BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) ? Hundreds of rebels penetrated the capital of Central African Republic on Saturday, posing the gravest threat to President Francois Bozize's government in a decade.
The rebels, who signed a peace agreement in January that was to allow Bozize to stay in power until 2016, have threatened to overthrow the country's leader unless he meets their demands.
The rebels come from several different armed groups that have long challenged the government. They are now accusing Bozize of failing to abide by the terms of the latest deal signed two months ago, with the help of mediators from neighboring countries.
Fighters rapidly seized a dozen towns in December and January but never entered the capital of Bangui before agreeing to negotiations.
Guy Moussa, who lives in the PK12 neighborhood on the north side of the city, told The Associated Press that hundreds of rebels had entered the city around 6 p.m.
Panicked residents cowered in their homes, many shrouded in darkness after rebels took out a power station supplying parts of Bangui.
Earlier in the afternoon, non-essential United Nations personnel taking a bus to the airport were stopped by a group of angry youths.
"No one leaves this country. You will stay here. If we die, we all die together," the youths shouted, according to U.N. employee Debonheur Deotar.
The unrest is the latest threat to the stability of Central African Republic, a desperately poor nation of 4.5 million that has long been wracked by rebellions and power grabs. The president himself took power in 2003 following a rebellion, and his tenure has been marked by conflict with myriad armed groups.
Bozize's whereabouts late Saturday were not immediately known. On Friday, state radio announced that he had returned from South Africa where he was meeting with that country's president, Jacob Zuma.
South Africa has sent troops and equipment to support Central African Republic forces.
The rebels insist the foreign troops leave, and, as part of their demands, they want their own fighters integrated into the national army.
On Friday, the rebels seized Damara, which had been the boundary line drawn up by regional forces before the January peace accord was signed.
The move marked a serious escalation by the rebels, who went on to take the town of Bossembele early Saturday, said military spokesman Lt. Evrard Tekremoyen.
The insurgents then drove to the neighboring town of Boali and took control of three power plants that serve the town and the capital, residents said.
The rebels also cut off the electrical grid, plunging some of Bangui into darkness, Elisabeth Kofio, the director of Central African Republic Energy, said on the radio.
Earlier in the week, Bozize had offered to release some political prisoners, but the rebels said the gestures were too little, too late.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rebels-enter-c-african-republic-capital-181734866.html
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More an immigrant holiday, St. Patrick's Day has come home to Ireland (+video)
Writer Jason Walsh in Dublin says he cannot recall the modern-day holiday hoopla in the Ireland of his youth.?
Children dressed as St. Patrick in a St. Patrick's Day parade in Limerick, Ireland.
Peter Morrison/AP
EnlargeHalf a million people will parade in Dublin today to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but since when did Irish people celebrate this holiday?
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March 17 has always meant a lot to the Irish diaspora, particularly those who themselves had left the country seeking a better life abroad. It was a day to celebrate Irishness, to reminisce about home, and to stand together in solidarity. Public gatherings, and particularly parades, have always been part of the annual celebration of Irishness.
In recent years, though, St. Patrick's Day has come home: The Irish, the actual Irish in Ireland, now celebrate St. Patrick's Day with as much enthusiasm as their cousins in the US and Britain. Half a million people will take to the streets of Dublin today to watch the parade.
In fact, it's not just St. Patrick's Day, it's now a week-long?St. Patrick's Festival. Slick branding, float parades, giant green foam hands, buildings lit in green, fun fairs, stand-up comedy, and street performers: This is not how I remember things.
As a child in Belfast, Northern Ireland during the 1980s, St. Patrick's Day was little more than one of many days of religious observance. Church-goers went to church and wore shamrocks on their lapels, and Irish republicans paraded, much to the chagrin of pro-British unionists. My family was not religious so we didn't do much, though we did pin shamrocks to our jackets.
Later, but still a child, in the Republic of Ireland it was much the same, though the parades were less politically-charged state affairs.
In neither case did leprechaun hats, green beer, and the rest of the tidal wave of Paddywhackery feature. Of course, memory is notoriously?faulty, but I think it's unlikely I mistook pious Mass-goers with hard-partying fun-seekers. Difficult as it is to believe, in Ireland St. Patrick's Day was once a day of temperance, with the only overindulgence being in sugary-sweets as a kind of cheating break from severe Lenten fasting.
Reportedly things weren't much different in rural Ireland. My colleague Cian Ginty grew-up in Mayo in the west of Ireland and the parades he remembers were not slick affairs.
"Tractors. That's my memory of St Patrick's Day. You get tractors, or at least used to in parades in the country down here," he says.
It's not that I'm a killjoy. If people want to have a New York-style parade, floats and all, through Dublin and then head to an Irish pub, authentic or otherwise, it's no skin off my nose. Headlines such as St. Paddy's Day FAILS: Beer, Booze And Barfing?get on my nerves, but that's life. If I was to react to everything that irked me I'd have had an embolism years ago.
Nor am I a Catholic seeking a return to the true meaning of St. Patrick's Day. After all, what is the meaning of St. Patrick's Day? He didn't drive snakes out of Ireland and his explanation of the Trinity using a shamrock is a romantic fabrication from the eighteenth century.?Patrick the man, if his confession is anything to go by, cut a pious and stern figure, arguably closer to Protestant Rev. Ian Paisley than the green-festooned and cheery miter-wearing?bishop that we Irish tend to portray him as.
Bernie Whelan, second-generation Irish living in Britain, says she remembers when St. Patrick's Day had real meaning to the London Irish. Today, though, the Irish are just like everyone else.
?"The Irish community in North London has dispersed. I was an advice worker in the London Irish women's center in Stoke Newington until it closed. To be honest couldn't justify funding any more," she says.
As Ireland has modernized, the ongoing economic crisis notwithstanding, the idea of a unique Irish ethnicity has come to look increasingly threadbare. There is, no doubt, such a thing as Irish culture, but Ireland is also part of the modern, developed world and shares a universal culture with the rest of Europe, the US, and other countries. Irish identity, at least the version long defined by political oppression and poverty makes less sense than ever.
This hasn't stopped the marketing, though. In fact, the absence of bombs and bullets makes Irishness much easier to sell, abroad and at home, even if the beer-soaked mawkishness is now harder to explain. And so, on St. Patrick's Day we're told that everyone has a bit of Irish in them. Actually, they don't. Don't take it as an insult, it's just a fact. Besides, despite the attempt to turn Irishness into some kind of universal character trait, it's really just a nationality and, like all nationalities, means less than we tend to ascribe to it.
One thing, though: It's Paddy's day, not Patty. Patty is a female name, and don't start on the Patrick doesn't contain the letter "d". The Irish-language (Gaelic to you) P?draic does.
Celebrate St. Patrick's Day if you like. Have fun. Just don't for a moment think it's authentic.
As for me? ?I'll be celebrating that we're just like everyone else.
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Invasive species: Understanding the threat before it's too late
Mar. 22, 2013 ? Catching rides on cargo ships and fishing boats, many invasive species are now covering our shorelines and compromising the existence of our native marine life.
In a study published in Ecology Letters, Northeastern University Prof. David Kimbro and his team examine what factors allow some invasive species to survive in their new environments and others to fail.
Why we should care
Once invasive species arrive in their new location, they begin multiplying, and in some cases, overpowering the local marine life. This can have a very strong impact on our ecosystems and businesses, such as fisheries.
Understanding what makes these invaders thrive or fail in their new environments is not only key to preventing the collapse of local marine life, but also figuring out ways to make some invaders work to benefit their new locations. "Not all invasive species are bad. In fact, we need some of them to succeed. But invasions are certainly a double-edged sword because many invasions cost us a lot in terms of money and natural heritage."
Prof. Kimbro, currently stationed at Northeastern University's Marine Science Center in Nahant, collected synthesized research on marine diversity reports published from 1997-2012 to better understand the specific biological and environmental properties that allow invasive species to succeed or fail.
"For the past 15 years, marine scientists have conducted a lot of experiments that have taught us a lot about specific invasions in many different places. But unlike terrestrial scientists, no one had pieced all of these unique stories together to see if they collectively tell us a general and useful message. And until we see cattle swimming and kudzu growing in the ocean, we can't just recycle the messages from land studies and use them to manage our coastal systems."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Northeastern University College of Science.
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Journal Reference:
- David L. Kimbro, Brian S. Cheng, Edwin D. Grosholz. Biotic resistance in marine environments. Ecology Letters, 2013; DOI: 10.1111/ele.12106
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/O03dNKVD7tc/130322125354.htm
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Saturday, March 23, 2013
Cops: Fake pilot arrested on US Airways flight after struggling with jump seat
By Lauren DiSanto, NBC10.com
A man caught impersonating a pilot was arrested after he boarded a plane scheduled to fly from Philadelphia International Airport to West Palm Beach, Fla, authorities said.
Philippe Jernnard, 61, of France, boarded the US Airways flight Wednesday night, according to the FBI.
NBC10's Rosemary Connors talked with airport police Capt. Michael Murphy who says that Jernnard was wearing an Air France shirt, had an Air France bag and presented a ticket to the gate agent and walked onto the plane.
Jernnard does not work for Air France, the airline said in a statement released Friday. "This person was not wearing an Air France uniform, badge or carrying an Air France crew baggage," the statement said. "Regarding the badge, it was a very poor fake badge, which in no way resembled the Air France Crew Member Certificate."
The gate agent told authorities that Jernnard had asked if there was any room in first class and was told "no."
According to the arrest report, Jernnard became irate after being told "no"?and told her that he hated Americans and began to argue with her.
When the gate agent finished boarding the flight and went to close the plane's doors for takeoff, the arrest report states that she saw Jernnard sitting in the jump seat behind the captain's seat and his carry-on bag was stowed in the cockpit.
?She just assumes he takes his seat in coach and when she goes in to inform co-captain of the number of passengers on the flight that?s when she kind of recognizes he?s out of place,? said Philadelphia Police Lt. John Walker.
According to the arrest report, the agent told Jernnard that he couldn't sit there unless he filled out paperwork and the captain told him to return to his assigned seat.
Read more from NBC10.com
Police say Jernnard started arguing and that's when they notified authorities.
The captain and first officer told authorities the man told them he was a pilot with Air France and knew how to fly 747s, but they became suspicious when he couldn't figure out how to open the jump seat.
After Jernnard was taken off the plane, police found an Air France ID card that had been changed to match his name.
Jernnard was arrested and charged with criminal trespass, tampering with records, impersonating a person privately employed and false ID to law enforcement. He will be charged federally?Friday morning.
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iMore show. Today. 9am PT. 12pm ET. Be here!
Come our usual time slot on Sunday, I'll be on a plane to San Francisco and the Game Developers Conference (GDC) so we're doing the iMore show early this week. And our very special guest will be Dieter Bohn of The Verge! We'll be talking about Apple's new hire, Kevin Lynch, the current competitive landscape, the idea of Google Now on iOS, and trying to read the Jony Ive tea leaves.
9am PT. 12pm ET. Be here!
Want to go full screen? Head to iMore.com/live. Want to watch via iPhone or iPad? Grab the Ustream app and search for "mobilenations". Want to subscribe to any or all of our shows? Head on over to our podcast page.
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/3dc_RazxfNk/story01.htm
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Big Sean Hits Stage With 'Uncle' Snoop Lion At Secret Show In Los Angeles
G.O.O.D. Music rapper promises fans new album Hall of Fame is 'coming soon as hell.'
By Driadonna Roland
Big Sean and Snoop Lion
Photo: Big Sean/Instagram
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1704155/big-sean-secret-show-los-angeles.jhtml
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You can now secure your Apple ID with two-step verification
Two-factor (or two-step) verification means that logging into an account requires two proofs of identity ? typically a password and a temporary code sent to a cellphone or generated by an app. You can now finally use this process to better lock down your Apple ID.
To turn on two-factor authentication, you need to head to the Apple ID website ? which can be found at appleid.apple.com ? and click "Manage your Apple ID." You'll be asked to login and then have the option to click on "Password and Security." After verifying your identity by answering some security questions, you'll be able to toggle on two-factor verification. You will set up one (or more) devices to receive 4-digit verification codes either through Find My iPhone push notifications or via SMS.
You may not immediately be able to complete the setup process though. Some users are forced to wait for several days before making any major account changes. "This waiting period helps Apple ensure that you are the only person accessing or modifying your account," a support page explains. "Apple will send an email to all the addresses you have on file notifying you of the waiting period and encouraging you to contact Apple Support if you think that someone else has unauthorized access to your account. You will be able to return to set up two-step verification after the date listed on your Apple ID account page and in the email that you receive."
The whole two-factor verification process will keep your account safer even if your password is somehow compromised (or if the device which receives the temporary codes is misplaced). Without both items, it will not be possible to log into the account. It is possible to use a "recovery key" which is generated when you set up two-factor verification to reset a password or to setup a new authorized device though. (Basically you always need to have two out of the following three: The authorized device, your password, and your recovery key.)
Since we recommend that everyone take advantage of two-factor authentication, not just for your Apple ID but also for your Facebook and Google accounts, by all means head over and set this up as soon as you can.
Want more tech news or interesting links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.
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Friday, March 22, 2013
Corsair unveils $130 Vengeance K70 gaming keyboard with backlit keys
Just a few months after Corsair revealed its high-end K95 mechanical gaming keyboard, the company has unveiled a slightly lower-end K70 for those who want to save a bit of money. Essentially an upgrade to the K60, the K70 still has those Cherry MX Red mechanical switches, but each key is now individually backlit -- the backlighting can be adjusted to four levels of intensity and can be independently enabled or disabled. Other features include 20-key rollover, a 1000Hz reporting rate, contoured keycaps for WASD keys, dedicated multimedia controls, a detachable wrist rest and an extra USB connector. The K70 will be available in April for $130 in two different color schemes; silver aluminium with blue backlight and anodized black with deep red backlight.
Filed under: Gaming
Source: Corsair K70
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/22/corsair-vengeance-k70/
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Thursday, March 21, 2013
Weighing yourself every day when trying to lose weight can be counterproductive.
Great discussions are par for the course here on Lifehacker. Each day, we highlight a discussion that is particularly helpful or insightful, along with other great discussions and reader questions you may have missed. Check out these discussions and add your own thoughts to make them even more wonderful!
Discussion of the Day
Other Great Discussions
Get Involved
Great Discussions Any Time
To join or start great discussions on any topic, be sure to visit the Openthread forum.
If you've got a cool project, inspiration, or just something fun to share, be sure to let us know in our Tips forum.
Happy Lifehacking, everybody!
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Australia's Heron Island: A Canary In The Coal Mine For Coral Reefs?
Heron Island is located on the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, about 25 miles off the northeast coast of Australia.
Ted Mead/Getty ImagesNPR Science Correspondent Richard Harris traveled to Australia's Great Barrier Reef to find out how the coral reefs are coping with increased water temperature and increasing ocean acidity, brought about by our burning of fossil fuels. Day 1: Richard gets a hefty dose of bad news.
I've seen the future, and it isn't pretty.
That's a tough sentence to write because the setting for this unhappy discovery is spectacular. Heron Island sits in tropical turquoise waters about 25 miles off the northeast coast of Australia. It's an island on the far southern end of the Great Barrier Reef ? one of our planet's most dramatic natural features, akin to the tropical rain forests, only submerged.
Sophie Dove (right) and Annamieke Van Den Heuvel of the Coral Reef Ecosystems Laboratory at the University of Queensland, St. Lucia, check on part of an experiment on the effects of water temperature and carbon dioxide levels on coral reefs.
Richard Harris/NPRSophie Dove (right) and Annamieke Van Den Heuvel of the Coral Reef Ecosystems Laboratory at the University of Queensland, St. Lucia, check on part of an experiment on the effects of water temperature and carbon dioxide levels on coral reefs.
Richard Harris/NPRThe low vegetation is filled with fearless and noisy sea birds. Snorkelers watch as graceful turtles swim toward the coral sand beaches ? it's egg-laying time for them.
Within earshot of the lapping waves is a modern scientific laboratory, the Heron Island Research Station. And that's where the topic turns from tropical relaxation to a nagging anxiety about the future of the world's coral reefs.
Sophie Dove, from the University of Queensland in St. Lucia, has spent the past couple of years crafting an experiment to see what will happen to coral reefs as the ocean absorbs ever more of the carbon dioxide and heat we've added to our planet's thin skin. She's gathered a variety of coral species from the island's nearby reef and placed them in tanks that look like a cross between a kettle drum and an oversized plant pot.
Into one set of these pots, she has put seawater at the reef's current temperature and carbon dioxide concentration. A second set circulates water that's somewhat cooler and has less carbon dioxide ? conditions the reef experienced 100 years ago, before we started burning fossil fuels and pouring huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Two final sets of tanks hold water that's warmer and contains far more carbon dioxide than the oceans absorb today. These are glimpses into our perhaps not-so-distant future.
Carbon dioxide matters to coral because when it soaks into sea water, it turns into carbonic acid. We've put so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that the oceans are already 30 percent more acidic now than they were before the Industrial Revolution. And as acidity increases, it becomes harder and harder for corals to build their calcium structures. Eventually, corals will need to expend a lot of energy just to prevent their skeletons from dissolving into seawater.
Heat is also a problem. Most of the additional heat that Earth has absorbed as a result of the enhanced greenhouse effect has in fact been soaked up by the world's oceans. In fact, we're really experiencing ocean warming more than global warming.
The result?
Dove opens up the first of these tanks ? present-day conditions. The corals look like they came from a picture book of life on the reef. The second tank, pre-industrial, looks about the same, though Dove says those corals are actually growing faster and are healthier than those growing in modern-day seawater.
This composite image of pots used in the experiment shows how healthy coral (left) is dramatically affected by higher carbon dioxide levels and sea temperatures (right).
Courtesy of Sophie DoveThe third and fourth tanks are the shockers. Most of the corals have died in this "future" world. A gelatinous black slime floats across the top of one tank. Corals still hanging in there have lost the colorful organisms that live inside those calcium skeletons, so they are bleached white.
Scientists have been worrying about this for well over a decade. It's taking some time for the experimental evidence to catch up with the basic chemistry, which strongly suggests that many marine animals that build shells from calcium are going to have it rough as carbon dioxide builds up in the water. Add heat, and the situation for these corals is grim.
That's not the end of the story, thankfully. This experiment offers a glimpse at our most likely future, but it's not the only possible path. Carbon dioxide levels and sea temperatures depend on what humanity does over the coming decades.
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Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Check with Your Credit Union or Insurance Company for Big Savings when Car Shopping
Trying to get the best price on a new or used car is an uphill battle, but odds are you have some friends in your corner you didn't know about: Your credit union and your auto insurance provider.
You may already know to check with your credit union for financing on that new car, since their interest rates are likely lower than anything a bank or (heaven forbid) an auto dealer will offer you. However, credit unions also offer car buying and discount programs through selected auto dealerships that can cut hundreds?sometimes thousands?off of the sticker price of the car you want. Many car insurance providers, most notably USAA, participate in similar programs.
The folks at Kiplinger also note that select manufacturers offer discounts to credit unions and insurance companies, so sometimes it's best to start the search with the type of car you want to buy. They also suggest a free-to-join non-profit that can qualify you for a price cut. When we discussed online quoting as a way to get a good price, a few of you also mentioned that non-profits like AAA or CAA can also help you score a bargain. Hit the link below for a few more money-saving tips.
Little-Known Discounts for Car Buyers | Kiplinger
Photo by David Hilowitz.
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What Pope Francis can teach CEOs about leadership
Cardinals from around the world gathered in the Vatican to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
By Allison Linn, TODAY
He dresses modestly, pays his own hotel bills, personally greets parishioners and insists on taking the bus with his colleagues instead of riding in his lush private car.
Pope Francis has held Catholicism?s highest position for less than a week, and yet he has already grabbed the attention of Catholics and non-Catholics alike with his humble, down-to-earth style of leadership.
Experts say it?s a smart move for a man who has just picked to lead an organization desperate to regain the public?s trust and reinvigorate its many workers. In fact, it?s something that many American chief executive officers could learn from.
?Leadership of anything means mission first and your self-interest last,? said Michael Useem, director of the Center for Leadership and Change Management at the University of Pennsylvania?s Wharton School. ?That?s the very definition of what it means to lead.?
There?s no doubt that most chief executives work hard on behalf of their employees, customers and shareholders. But experts note that in recent years, many also have become further and further removed from both the lifestyle of their employees and workings of their companies.
?Weirdly enough, in this Woodstock generation, (CEOs) are more insulated and pampered and elevated than any before,? said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, head of The Chief Executive Leadership Institute at the Yale School of Management.
Many large-company CEOs travel by corporate jet and work in offices that could be thousands of miles from the shop floor, surrounded by a staff of aides and public relations experts who limit their exposure to employees, investors and the public.
It?s also no longer uncommon to demand compensation packages in the tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars. The lavish pay was a main theme of recent protests about the growing gap between the so-called 1 percent of the nation?s wealthiest taxpayers and the remaining 99 percent of the public.
Pope Francis seems intent on going in the opposite direction. His now-famous frugal lifestyle is in contrast even to many others in the Roman Catholic Church and also is a powerful symbol of his commitment to building what he recently termed ?a poor church for the poor.?
That mission comes after several years in which the church has been plagued by scandal and struggled to adjust to changing mores.
Chief executives acting in a time of crisis also can build, or ruin, their reputations depending on the examples they set.
Former Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit drew accolades in 2009 when he agreed to take a salary of just $1 as the nation was grappling with a recession and the results of the financial crisis. But not long after, he was seen as a symbol of overly lavish pay when Citi?s shareholders voted down his $15 million pay package. He stepped down last fall.
It?s about perks as well as pay. Newly appointed Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer drew intense criticism from some working parents after her company?s decision to ban employees from working from home, especially when reports surfaced that Mayer had allegedly built a nursery next to her office for her own young son.
Some chief executives have found that they are able to build morale, and gain customers, by regularly mixing among their workers. Sonnenfeld noted that JetBlue Airways founder David Neeleman was known for regularly flying in coach alongside his customers and even occasionally working as a flight attendant.
The style drew a lot of acclaim, but he was replaced in 2007 after the company suffered a big black eye over storm-related travel snafus. He has since founded Azul Brazilian Airlines.
Donald Hambrick, a management professor at Pennsylvania State University?s Smeal College of Business who has studied CEO narcissism, said chief executives who spend time with rank-and-file employees may have more information on which to base decisions than those who only surround themselves with top execs and other CEOs.
Still, he said that to be an effective leader you also have to make clear that although you are listening to your employees and customers, you are in charge and will ultimately make the tough calls.
Hambrick said there?s no strong evidence that being humble makes you a better leader. But he also noted that there?s no evidence that being particularly authoritarian works better, either.
?If you can lead an organization without making people miserable, why don?t you do it that way?? Hambrick said. ?There?s no evidence that you have to make people miserable to be a good leader.?
Related:
How the Vatican's finances work
Catholics and the curious flooded St. Peter's Square to greet Pope Francis on the day of the ceremony to officially install him as pope. NBC's Keir Simmons reports.
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Baylor, ND, UConn, Stanford top NCAA women's seeds
FILE - In this Jan. 26, 2013, file photo, Baylor's Brittney Griner (42) celebrates after breaking the NCAA women's career record for blocks as Odyssey Sims (0) and Oklahoma's Aaryn Ellenberg (3) stand by during the second half of a college basketball game in Waco Texas. Baylor was announced Monday, March 18, to join Connecticut, Stanford and Notre Dame as a No. 1 seed in the women's tournament, marking the second straight season those four schools were the top seeds. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 26, 2013, file photo, Baylor's Brittney Griner (42) celebrates after breaking the NCAA women's career record for blocks as Odyssey Sims (0) and Oklahoma's Aaryn Ellenberg (3) stand by during the second half of a college basketball game in Waco Texas. Baylor was announced Monday, March 18, to join Connecticut, Stanford and Notre Dame as a No. 1 seed in the women's tournament, marking the second straight season those four schools were the top seeds. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
FILE - In this Dec. 18, 2012, file photo, Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey, center, hugs Brittney Griner (42) and Odyssey Sims (0) after the players were pulled late in the second half of their NCAA college basketball game against Tennessee in Waco, Texas. Baylor was announced Monday, March 18, 2013, to join Connecticut, Stanford and Notre Dame as a No. 1 seed in the women's tournament, marking the second straight season those four schools were the top seeds. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 27, 2013, file photo, Stanford's Bonnie Samuelson (41), Taylor Greenfield (4), Sara James (21) and Erica Payne (25) celebrate in the closing seconds of their 69-56 win over Colorado in an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif. Stanford was announced Monday, March 18, to join Connecticut, Notre Dame and Baylor as a No. 1 seed in the women's tournament, marking the second straight season those four schools were the top seeds. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
FILE - In this March 12, 2013, file photo, Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins (4) is fouled by Connecticut's Bria Hartley, left, in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the final of the Big East Conference tournament in Hartford, Conn. Notre Dame was announced Monday, March 18, to join Connecticut, Stanford and Baylor as a No. 1 seed in the women's tournament, marking the second straight season those four schools were the top seeds. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)
FILE - In this March 4, 2013, file photo, Notre Dame guard Skylar Diggins (4) celebrates a steal and the subsequent Connecticut foul during the third overtime of an NCAA college basketball game, Monday, March 4, 2013, in South Bend, Ind. Notre Dame was announced Monday, March 18, to join Connecticut, Stanford and Baylor as a No. 1 seed in the women's tournament, marking the second straight season those four schools were the top seeds. (AP Photo/Joe Raymond, File)
If that NCAA women's tournament bracket looks familiar, it should.
Baylor, Connecticut, Notre Dame and Stanford all earned No. 1 seeds when the field was announced Monday night.
Those four schools are in the top slots for the second straight year ? the first time that's ever happened in NCAA tournament history.
The similarity to 2012 doesn't stop there. Three of the No. 2 seeds are repeaters from last year also.
"We probably all knew who the No. 1 seeds were," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said.
Unlike the men's side, where it was a topsy-turvy season with major upsets seemingly every week, women's basketball hasn't had the same parity. The top six teams in the final Associated Press poll only had two losses outside of each other, the fewest by far since writers began voting for the AP's No. 1 in the 1994-95 season.
"To think that the rest of the field is going to catch up to Baylor or Notre Dame or the top four or five teams in the country this year is probably unrealistic," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "But I think all those teams between five and 12 are way better than they've ever been."
The women's basketball madness gets started Saturday ? the first step en route to the Final Four, which begins April 7 in New Orleans.
Mulkey hopes to make it there with her Lady Bears. For the NCAA selection show, the Louisiana native wore a black shirt featuring a bedazzled fleur-de-lis along with New Orleans in print.
"I can't hide the fact that I want to go New Orleans pretty bad," Mulkey said.
Last season, Baylor was trying to becoming the first team to win 40 games in a season. Now the Lady Bears are just focused on becoming the fourth team to win consecutive national championships, joining Tennessee, UConn and Southern California.
"Nothing's different this year," Griner said. "Our goal is to win the six games and win the national championship."
Standing in the way could be Tennessee. The Lady Vols, who have made every NCAA tournament since it began in 1982, are the No. 2 seed in Baylor's region. This will be the first time that coach Pat Summitt won't be on the sidelines. Summitt stepped down after last season because she had been afflicted with early onset dementia, Alzheimer's type.
"The whole season has been different, and at times, it's hard," said longtime assistant Holly Warlick, who took over this season and guided the Lady Vols to an SEC regular season title. "Other times, it's OK. But I still have her there. She's still around these young ladies. She's still there in spirit and everything else, and she's still a vital part of this team."
While Tennessee set the standard in women's basketball, Stanford has been one of the most dominant teams lately.
The Cardinal will try and reach the Final Four for a sixth straight season and end Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer's 21-year drought without a national championship.
Led by junior star Chiney Ogwumike, Stanford may already have the most impressive win this season, ending Baylor's 42-game winning streak in November. That's the only loss the defending national champion Lady Bears suffered this season.
The Cardinal, who will open up against Tulsa at home on Sunday, could face No. 2 seed California in the regional final. The Golden Bears shared the Pac-12 title with Stanford this season after ending the Cardinal's 81-game conference winning streak in January.
Notre Dame will be trying to make it back to a third straight national championship game. The Irish, led by senior guard Skylar Diggins, have already had an incredible season losing only to Baylor. Notre Dame won its first Big East tournament championship last Tuesday and also went undefeated in the conference in the regular season.
Unlike the other three No. 1 seeds, who are playing at home, the Irish will open up on the road against Tennessee-Martin. Potentially they could face host Iowa in the second round.
"Lower-seeded team playing on higher-seeded floors is part of our format," NCAA selection committee chair Carolayne Henry said. "We looked at putting Notre Dame in Columbus. But to make our bracket work, we weren't able to put Notre Dame there."
Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said the Irish will just have to live with it.
"It's disappointing that we didn't get a neutral site. I thought that the committee would take care of the No. 1 seed, but you've got to play good teams," she said. "If we're the No. 1 seed, we ought to be able to take care of business in the first round, at least."
The Irish swept all three meetings with Connecticut and have dominated the series recently, winning seven of the past eight meetings, including the past two in the Final Four.
To get to a third straight title game, they'll likely have to beat UConn again. The Huskies will open on Saturday against Idaho, which will be making its first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1985. It's been a somewhat disappointing season for the Huskies, who didn't win either the Big East conference regular season or tournament title for the first time in 19 years.
UConn lost four of its five games against the other top seeds, faltering down the stretch in each of the losses.
One intriguing story line for UConn before a potential rematch with Notre Dame could be if Elena Delle Donne and Delaware can advance to the regional finals in Bridgeport, Conn. Delle Donne was originally enrolled at UConn before transferring to Delaware before her freshman season. She's put her team on her back.
"I knew the UConn question was going to come into this," Delle Donne said. "But I do think it's just going to be one game at a time. I'm not looking ahead and I know the rest of my team isn't either."
The sixth-seeded Blue Hens will be hosting the first two rounds and the games are already sold out. They open against West Virginia.
Delaware is one of 15 sites that have host teams in the tournament. The only one that doesn't is Columbus. Ohio State didn't make the cut, and perennial NCAA tournament team Rutgers also missed out on the field. The Scarlet Knights had been to the last 10 NCAA tournaments.
While Rutgers and Ohio State will be missing, three schools ? Wichita State, Quinnipiac and Cal Poly ? are making their first appearance in the field.
The Big East, which is set to be reconfigured next season, led all conferences with eight bids.
___
Follow Doug on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg
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