6 Ways Climate Change Will Affect You

Photograph by AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

The planet keeps getting hotter, new data showed this week. Especially in America, where 2012 was the warmest year ever recorded, by far. Every few years, the U.S. federal government engages hundreds of experts to assess the impacts of climate change, now and in the future.

From agriculture (pictured) to infrastructure to how humans consume energy, the National Climate Assessment Development Advisory Committee spotlights how a warming world may bring widespread disruption.

Farmers will see declines in some crops, while others will reap increased yields.

Won't more atmospheric carbon mean longer growing seasons? Not quite. Over the next several decades, the yield of virtually every crop in California's fertile Central Valley, from corn to wheat to rice and cotton, will drop by up to 30 percent, researchers expect. (Read about "The Carbon Bathtub" in National Geographic magazine.)

Lackluster pollination, driven by declines in bees due partly to the changing climate, is one reason. Government scientists also expect the warmer climate to shorten the length of the frosting season necessary for many crops to grow in the spring.

Aside from yields, climate change will also affect food processing, storage, and transportation—industries that require an increasing amount of expensive water and energy as global demand rises—leading to higher food prices.

—Daniel Stone

Published January 16, 2013

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FAA Grounds Boeing 787 Dreamliners

The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered the grounding of Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets until their U.S. operator proves that batteries on the planes are safe.

United is the only U.S. carrier flying the Boeing 787s, which have been touted as the planes of the future. However, several operated by overseas airlines have run into recent trouble, the latest because of a feared battery fire on a 787 today in Japan.

The FAA's so-called emergency airworthiness directive is a blow to Boeing, from the same government agency that only days ago at a news conference touted the Dreamliner as "safe." Even Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood went so far as to say he would have no issue flying on the plane.

Now, United will need to prove to the FAA that there is no battery fire risk on its six Dreamliners. An emergency airworthiness directive is one that requires an operator to fix or address any problem before flying again.

"Before further flight, operators of U.S.-registered Boeing 787 aircraft must demonstrate to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that the batteries are safe and in compliance," the FAA said in a statement today. "The FAA will work with the manufacturer and carriers to develop a corrective action plan to allow the U.S. 787 fleet to resume operations as quickly and safely as possible."

United Airlines responded tonight with a statement: "United will immediately comply with the airworthiness directive and will work closely with the FAA and Boeing on the technical review as we work toward restoring 787 service. We will begin reaccommodating customers on alternate aircraft."

787 Dreamliner Grounded, Passengers Forced to Evacuate Watch Video

Boeing 787 Dreamliner Deemed Safe Despite Mishaps Watch Video

Jim McNerney, Boeing's chairman, president and CEO, expressed regret about any scheduling disruptions in a written statement, adding that Boeing was "confident the 787 is safe and we stand behind its overall integrity."

"The safety of passengers and crew members who fly aboard Boeing airplanes is our highest priority," McNerney said. "Boeing is committed to supporting the FAA and finding answers as quickly as possible. The company is working around the clock with its customers and the various regulatory and investigative authorities. We will make available the entire resources of The Boeing Company to assist."

There are some 50 Dreamliners flying in the world, mostly for Japanese airlines, but also for Polish and Chilean carriers.

Overseas operators are not directly affected by the FAA's emergency airworthiness directive -- but Japanese authorities grounded all of their 787s overnight after All Nippon Airways (ANA) said a battery warning light and a burning smell were detected in the cockpit and the cabin, forcing a Dreamliner, on a domestic flight, to land at Takamatsu Airport in Japan.

The plane landed safely about 45 minutes after it took off and all 128 passengers and eight crew members had to evacuate using the emergency chutes. Two people sustained minor injuries on their way down the chute, Osamu Shinobe, ANA senior executive vice president, told a news conference in Tokyo.

ANA and its rival, Japan Airlines (JAL), subsequently grounded their Dreamliner fleets. ANA operates 17 Dreamliner planes, while JAL has seven in service.

Both airlines said the Dreamliner fleet would remain grounded at least through Thursday.

ANA said the battery in question during today's incident was the same lithium-ion type battery that caught fire on board a JAL Dreamliner in Boston last week. Inspectors found liquid leaking from the battery today, and said it was "discolored."

Japan's transport ministry categorized the problem as a "serious incident" that could have led to an accident.

Even more shaken up than the passengers on the Japanese flight may be the reputation of America's largest plane manufacturer, Boeing.

Since the 787 -- with a body mostly made of carbon fiber -- was introduced, it's had one small problem after another. But the nagging battery issue, which caused an onboard fire at Boston's Logan Airport last week, was serious enough for the FAA to ground the plane.

"It's a rough couple weeks for Boeing and ANA," said John Hansman, an MIT professor of aeronautics and astronautics. "I think clearly in the short term this type of bad press has been tough for Boeing. I think in the long haul, this is a good airplane. It's in a good market."

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Why musical genius comes easier to early starters

Good news for pushy parents. If you want your child to excel musically, you now have better justification for starting their lessons early. New evidence comes from brain scans of 36 highly skilled musicians, split equally between those who started lessons before and after the age of 7, but who had done a similar amount of training and practice.

MRI scans revealed that the white matter in the corpus callosum – the brain region that links the two hemispheres – had more extensive wiring and connectivity in the early starters. The wiring of the late starters was not much different from that of non-musician control participants. This makes sense as the corpus callosum aids speed and synchronisation in tasks involving both hands, such as playing musical instruments.

"I think we've provided real evidence for something that musicians and teachers have suspected for a long time, that early training can produce long-lasting effects on performance and the brain," says Christopher Steele of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany, and head of the team.

Sweet spot

Steele says that younger-trained musicians may have an advantage because their training coincides with a key period of brain development . At age 7 or 8, the corpus callosum is more receptive than ever to the alterations in connectivity necessary to meet the demands of learning an instrument.

However, he stresses that these connectivity adaptations are no guarantee of musical genius. "What we're showing is that early starters have some specific skills and accompanying differences in the brain, but these things don't necessarily make them better musicians," he says. "Musical performance is about skill, but it is also about communication, enthusiasm, style and many other things we don't measure. So while starting early may help you express your genius, it won't make you a genius," he says.

Nor should older aspiring musicians despair. "They should absolutely not give up. It is never too late to learn a skill," says Steele.

Journal reference: Journal of Neuroscience, DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3578-12.2013

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PAP's Koh Poh Koon describes himself as a man who wants to get things done

SINGAPORE: Someone who wants to get things done and done effectively.

That's how Dr Koh Poh Koon describes himself, believing these traits can help him contribute as the People's Action Party's (PAP) candidate for the Punggol East by-election.

Despite being a new face in the constituency, Dr Koh feels that many residents have warmed up to him.

Despite having only been introduced to Punggol East voters recently, Dr Koh already looks comfortable interacting with the residents. That's because he said, communicating with people comes as second nature given his profession as a surgeon.

"My job as a doctor has allowed me to really be connecting to strangers that just walk into my clinic and within five minutes we've established a rapport.

"They put their lives in my hands to operate for them so I think building up a rapport with people and gaining their trust is something that comes naturally to me because of my training and my profession.

"And I think my personality and disposition does make it easier as well. Be sincere, be yourself, never be a different person, life gets miserable when you put up a facade.

"Second thing, be sincere and ernest and I think people will be able to listen and they can feel it and that much I learned from my patients".

Dr Koh may have been a grassroots volunteer for the last 11 years. But a recent meeting with a low-income Punggol East resident convinced him that he has made the right choice to stand as a PAP candidate in this by-election.

"He said doctor, we don't want handouts, help us get a breakthrough, break our poverty cycle and that really struck me that helping people really goes beyond giving handouts. It's about putting in place programmes that give people a break in life, giving people a future, that there's hope."

Connecting with the residents is of utmost importance to Dr Koh, prompting him to share his humble childhood experience.

"The way to understand a person is to know what he's made of, you need to know where he came from and that's the way of putting forward my life for residents to understand what makes me tick and I think that has achieved some resonance with the residents."

Dr Koh already has plans to provide new services such as daycare for the elderly and health screening programmes within a soon-to-be built community centre.

- CNA/ck

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iPhone 5's initial ramp too big to sustain, says DisplaySearch

Market research firm DisplaySearch said the reduction in shipments of displays for the iPhone 5 -- which reflect shipments of the phone itself -- is real but that it doesn't necessarily mean the device's popularity is suffering.

"We started hearing indications of cutbacks before the new year," Paul Semenza, senior vice president, analyst services, at DisplaySearch, told CNET today.

That said, he doesn't exactly have a negative take on demand for the
iPhone 5.

"It was a very quick ramp up. The Q4 [estimate] was about 61 million [for the iPhone 5]...that may be dialed back a bit, but anything near that number is still huge," he said, referring to an estimate of display shipments for the iPhone 5.

"That would support the theory that the ramp was too much to sustain."

By comparison, shipments of the
iPhone 4S in the first quarter of sales were far below that number.

Looking to the first quarter of 2013, DisplaySearch's original estimate of 57 million has now been reduced to a range of 33 million to 42 million.

Some analysts said improvement in yields -- the number of good components that are produced versus bad -- have been involved in the shipment drop. But Semenza said such a view was problematic. "That's not logical. If the number of orders are cut, that really has nothing to do with yields," he said.

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Mars Rover Finds Intriguing New Evidence of Water

The first drill sample ever collected on Mars will come from a rockbed shot through with unexpected veins of what appears to be the mineral gypsum.

Delighted members of the Curiosity science team announced Tuesday that the rover was now in a virtual "candy store" of scientific targets—the lowest point of Gale crater, called Yellowknife Bay, is filled with many different materials that could have been created only in the presence of water. (Related: "Mars Has 'Oceans' of Water Inside?")

Project scientist John Grotzinger, of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, said during a press conference that the drill area has turned out "to be jackpot unit. Every place we drive exposes fractures and vein fills."

Mission scientists initially decided to visit the depression, a third of a mile from Curiosity's landing site, on a brief detour before heading to the large mountain at the middle of Gale Crater. But because of the richness of their recent finds, Grotzinger said it may be some months before they begin their trek to Mount Sharp.

The drilling, expected to start this month, will dig five holes about two inches (five centimeters) into bedrock the size of a throw rug and then feed the powder created to the rover's two chemistry labs for analysis.

The drill is the most complex device on the rover and is the last instrument to be used. Project Manager Richard Cook, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said that operating it posed the biggest mechanical challenge since Curiosity's high-drama landing. (Watch video of Curiosity's "Seven Minutes of Terror.")

A Watery Past?

That now-desiccated Mars once had a significant amount of surface water is now generally accepted, but every new discovery of when and where water was present is considered highly significant. The presence of surface water in its many possible forms—as a running stream, as a still lake, as ground water soaked into the Martian soil—all add to an increased possibility that the planet was once habitable. (Watch a video about searching for life on Mars.)

And each piece of evidence supporting the presence of water brings the Curiosity mission closer to its formal goal—which is to determine whether Mars was once capable of supporting life.

Curiosity scientists have already concluded that a briskly moving river or stream once flowed near the Gale landing site.

The discovery of the mineral-filled veins within Yellowknife Bay rock fractures adds to the picture because those minerals can be deposited only in watery, underground conditions.

The Curiosity team has also examined Yellowknife Bay for sedimentary rocks with the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI).  Scientists have found sandstone with grains up to about the size of a peppercorn, including one shaped like a flower bud that appears to gleam. Other nearby rocks are siltstone, with grains finer than powdered sugar. These are quite different from the pebbles and conglomerate rocks found in the landing area, but all these rocks are evidence of a watery past. (Related: "A 2020 Rover Return to Mars?")

One of the primary reasons Curiosity scientists selected Gale crater as a landing site was because satellite images indicated that water-formed minerals were present near the base of Mount Sharp. Grotzinger said that the minerals' presence so close to the landing site, and some five miles from the mountain, is both a surprise and an opportunity.

The current site in Yellowknife Bay is so promising, Grotzinger said, that he would have been "thrilled" to find similar formations at the mission's prime destination at the base of Mount Sharp.  Now the mission can look forward to the surprises to come at the mountain base while already having struck gold.

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NY Passes Nation's Toughest Gun Law

Today New York became the first state to pass a gun control law -- the toughest in the nation -- since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting massacre last month.

Acting one month and a day since the rampage killing that left 20 first-graders and six educators dead, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law shortly after 5 p.m.

Called the New York Safe Act, the law includes a tougher assault weapons ban that broadens the definition of what constitutes an assault weapon, and limits the capacity of magazines to seven bullets, down from 10. The law also requires background checks of ammunition and gun buyers, even in private sales, imposes tougher penalties for illegal gun use, a one-state check on all firearms purchases, and programs to cut gun violence in high-crime neighborhoods.

As he signed the bill into law, Cuomo said it was not only "the first bill" but the "best bill."

"I'm proud to be a New Yorker, because New York is doing something, because we are fighting back, because, yes, we've had tragedies, and yes, we've had too many innocent people lose their lives, and yes, it's unfortunate that it took those tragedies to get us to this point, but let's at least learn from what's happened, let's at least be able to say to people, yes, we went through terrible situations, but we saw, we learned, we responded, and we acted, and we are doing something about it," Cuomo said. "We are not victims.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg on 'Epidemic of Gun Violence' Watch Video

'The View' on NRA Shooting App: Think It Out Watch Video

"You can overpower the extremists with intelligence and with reason and with commonsense," Cuomo continued, "and you can make this state a safer state."

New York's law also aims to keep guns out of the hands of those will mental illness. The law gives judges the power to require those who pose a threat to themselves or others get outpatient care. The law also requires that when a mental health professional determines a gun owner is likely to do harm, the risk must be reported and the gun removed by law enforcement.

The legislation also includes what is called a "Webster provision," named for the two firefighters ambushed on Christmas Eve in Webster, N.Y. The measure would mandate a life sentence with no chance of parole for anyone who kills a first responder.

The National Rifle Association issued a statement after the bill's signing, saying it was "outraged at the draconian gun control bill that was rushed through ... late Monday evening."

"Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature orchestrated a secretive end-run around the legislative and democratic process and passed sweeping anti-gun measures with no committee hearings and no public input," the statement read. "These gun control schemes have failed in the past and will have no impact on public safety and crime. Sadly, the New York Legislature gave no consideration to that reality. While lawmakers could have taken a step toward strengthening mental health reporting and focusing on criminals, they opted for trampling the rights of law-abiding gun owners in New York, and they did it under a veil of secrecy in the dark of night. The legislature caved to the political demands of a governor and helped fuel his personal political aspirations."

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Today on New Scientist: 14 January 2013

Activist's death sparks open-access tribute on Twitter

Hundreds of researchers have been offering free access to their work in tribute to internet freedom activist Aaron Swartz, who committed suicide on Friday

Exploding microchip could make arms dumps safer

Shrapnel and bullets can set off huge explosions if they hit weapons stores. But microchip-based detonators could help keep them safe

The hologenome: A new view of evolution

Far from being passive hangers-on, symbiotic microbes may shape the evolution of the plants and animals that play host to them

White House uses Death Star request to plug science

The White House has politely declined to build a version of the planet-destroying space station from Star Wars but took the opportunity to promote science

Wolves bite back in the human world

Grey wolves are an evolutionary success story, giving rise to the domestic dog 10,000 years ago and now rebounding from centuries of persecution

Mariko Mori: From stone circles to stardust

The artist's new exhibition tethers human history to the life of the entire cosmos

Why we called off hunt for ancient Antarctic life

Geoscientist Martin Siegert says that drilling through 3 kilometres of ice to reveal the secrets of an entombed lake was never going to be easy

Give video games a sporting chance

Traditional fans will turn their noses up at e-sports, but they risk missing some compelling action

Benefits of emissions cuts kick in only next century

Even rapid action now to curb emissions will bring only modest results this century, but the earlier we act, the greater the eventual rewards

Video games take off as a spectator sport

Professional gaming has been huge in Asia for years, and improved technology means it is now going global

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Tennis: Ice-cool Murray crushes Haase at Australian Open

MELBOURNE: Andy Murray brushed aside Dutchman Robin Haase in a clinical display to progress smoothly to the second round of the Australian Open.

The third-seeded Scot had few problems with the 53rd-ranked Haase, winning 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 in 1hr 37min in warming temperatures on Rod Laver Arena.

Murray, who broke through for his first Grand Slam title at last year's US Open, was always in charge of his opening match breaking Haase's service eight times in a dominant display.

"It was a good start and it was nice to win in straight sets, it was the hottest day of the tournament so far," Murray said at courtside.

"It took a little while to get used to that and the court was playing much quicker because of it."

Murray, 25, has twice been runner-up at the Australian Open. He is drawn to face 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer in the semi-finals and possibly defending champion Novak Djokovic in the final.

The Scot hit 25 winners mixed with 20 unforced errors, while Haase gave up 35 unforced errors.

Murray broke the erratic Dutchman's serve three times to take the opening set in 41 minutes helped by his superior accuracy. Meanwhile Haase frequently over-hit his volleys and failed to put consistent pressure on the third seed.

Murray was broken as he attempted to serve out for the set, putting a weak sliced backhand into the net, but it was only a temporary setback as the Scot broke Haase's serve next game for the set.

Murray, with an iced towel around his neck at changeovers to cope with the heat, took a grip on the match and he raced through the second set in 26 minutes with two more service breaks, conceding just 12 points.

And the third seed broke the wilting Dutchman's opening service game in the final set as he surged towards victory.

Murray reeled off another break in the fifth game, but lost his own serve for only the second time in the match at 4-2. But he again broke Haase's serve to take the match when the Dutchman overhit a forehand.

- AFP/ck

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GPS sends woman 810 miles out of her way

Here's how Google Maps plots her route.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

We need to get something out of the way.

Croatia is not Belgium. Neither is it in Belgium. Nor was it ever, in some strange historical time before America existed, Belgian in any way.

This does not seem to have prevented a Belgian lady from trusting her GPS enough to end up in Zagreb, Croatia's capital, when she was actually trying to go 90 miles from her home in Hainault Erquelinnes to Brussels.

Both, remarkably, are in Belgium.

I am grateful to Gizmodo for sending me several thousand miles to Spain's El Mundo, for there is a report complete with a picture of 67-year-old Sabine Moreau.

Some might find it awkward to hear that her destination was to the north of her hometown, while Zagreb is to the south. Far to the south. So far to the south that this tale bulges one's believability box.

Still, El Mundo quotes Moreau as saying: "I was distracted." And we've all done things while distracted that have sent us on chases for extremely wild geese.

One might have imagined that she didn't conceive that it might take two days to drive 90 miles. But she claims her GPS was on the fritz and soon she was passing through Fritz's homeland.

Moreau was quoted by El Mundo as explaining: "I saw all kinds of road signs: first in French, then in German, and finally in Croatian."

She claims it was only the Croatian signs that finally told her she might have drifted off course.

On her way, she said she slept in the
car and even got into a minor road accident. It was her son who contacted the police after she failed to reach her destination and kept on failing.

I am quite familiar with Croatia -- and especially with Zagreb. In order to get there, Moreau would have had to drive through Austria (or, conceivably, Italy).

More Technically Incorrect

Indeed, I just asked Google Maps to plot the route she took and it sends her through Germany, Austria, and Slovenia.

But even crossing into Croatia, there is still a little driving to do before you get to Zagreb. Was there no point at which she wondered that she had gone awry?

In Google's translation of the original story in Belgium's Nieuwsblad, Moreau admits she saw signs for Frankfurt, Aachen and Cologne, but says she just kept her foot on the gas.

One can only hope that, once in Zagreb, she got a chance to dine at the wonderful Prasac restaurant and perhaps have a coffee or two with the locals, who do love to sit around all day drinking, chatting and reading a new newspaper which is ambitiously called "21st Century."

Hers is a tale of disorientation that might go beyond the simple confines of her GPS. However, sometimes it's good to see the world in a spontaneous manner.

Currently, there are several very wealthy French people -- such as the actor Gerard Depardieu -- who are spontaneously departing French shores in order to pay less tax in Belgium.

Could it be that Depardieu also had similar GPS problems to Moreau and drove straight through Belgium?

How else could one explain his suddenly being offered Russian citizenship?

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