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Thursday, May 17, 2012

Amber reveals earliest example of pollinating insects

Caroline Morley, online picture researcher

(Image: Enrique Pe?alver, IGME)

Insects and plants have a long, entwined history through pollination. Plants attract insects through their flowers' colour and scent, often providing their visitors with food. For their part, the insects unwittingly carry the pollen from one plant to another thus playing a key role in the plant's sexual reproduction.

This photo gives a glimpse to how the relationship began. It shows the earliest known record of pollen grains trapped in the hairs of an insect preserved in prehistoric sap that hardened to form amber. The amber is one of two pieces containing several thrips covered in pollen from a cycad or gingko tree found in Cretaceous deposits in northern Spain making them around 115 million years old. Thrips are tiny, primitive insects with wings made of a fringe of hairs.

Below is an image created using synchroton X-ray tomography of one of the insects (identified as Gymnospollisthrips minor). The pollen has been highlighted in yellow.

(Image: ESRF)

"Thrips might indeed turn out to be one of the first pollinator groups in geological history," said Carmen Soriano of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility who led the investigation. Because all the insects trapped in the amber are female, the researchers have suggested that they are carrying the pollen to feed their young.

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Immigrant women farm workers suffer sex abuse: report

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Pinterest raises $100 million in funding

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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

'Dine Out' webinar to show how to boost sales during fundraising ...

Anti-hunger organization Share Our Strength has teamed up with the National Restaurant Association to host a webinar May 23 to help restaurateurs drive sales and grow business during the next Dine Out for No Kid Hungry campaign.

The event will be held from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. and feature renowned restaurateur George McKerrow Jr., chief executive and co-founder of the Ted's Montana Grill casual-dining chain.

During the presentation, McKerrow will discuss:

? the methods that worked for Ted's Montana Grill when it participated in the fundraiser last year

? how the company rallied managers and team members to support the cause

? relevant and compelling marketing tactics that were used to boost the cause

A 40-year restaurant industry veteran, McKerrow founded the LongHorn Steakhouse chain and RARE Hospitality Group as well as upscale establishments Aria and Canoe in Atlanta, before rolling out Ted's Montana Grill in 2002. That concept was born when the restaurateur, looking to start up an eco-friendly, socially responsible chain, partnered with billionaire entrepreneur/environmentalist Ted Turner to offer consumers more healthful and environmentally friendly fare, including bison that is raised on Turner's Montana ranch.

Dine Out for No Kid Hungry is a national campaign that aims ? through the support of participating restaurants ? to drive sales and raise funds through culinary events that support SOS' imperative to end childhood hunger in America by 2015. This year, the Dine Out will be held Sept. 16-22. Last year, more than 5,500 restaurants raised nearly $2.4 million. This year's goal is to engage 10,000 restaurants and raise $5 million.

The NRA last month announced its commitment to help Share Our Strength triple the amount of funds raised during the Dine Out for No Kid Hungry campaign through 2013.

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Colorectal Cancer: Eating Fish, And 8 Other Things That Could ...

If you don?t watch ?Ice Loves Coco? you might assume that Ice-T and his wife Coco have a shallow, reality show relationship. After all, he?s a rap star, she?s a voluptuous model; usually that combo doesn?t make for the most healthy and equal partnerships. But anyone who has watched ?Ice Loves Coco? knows that these two crazy kids are actually the reality show exception: they have a genuinely solid relationship and have been married for over 11 years. As an avid fan of the show, I thought it might be helpful to compile some relationship tips I?ve learned from watching the show. Read on for seven love lessons from Coco and Ice-T that we should all take to heart?

1. Stay curious about your partner. Even after 11 years, Coco and Ice still seem genuinely intrigued by each other. As Ice said in a recent episode, ?I think you stop learning new things about your partner when you?re uninterested in them.? So simple, so true. No matter how well you think you know each other, remember that there?s always more to learn.

2. Adore each other. This sounds so corny, but you guys, the way Ice and Coco look at each other is seriously the sweetest thing ever; you can tell how much they adore each other. Many people try to play it cool in their relationships, but really, we should all take a page from Ice and Coco?s playbook and be more transparent about our romantic feelings. Never hide your love away!

3. Go on adventures. Some of the best bonding experiences a couple can have are of the random, crazy, adventurous variety, so practice saying ?yes? to new experiences as a couple. Ziplining, art classes, even trying new foods?anything that takes you out of your comfort zone is good. And if one or both of you is a little scared, even better: you can take turns playing the fearless hero.

4. Prioritize your relationship. Coco was recently offered the lead role in an action movie, but when the director mentioned that it would be filming in New Mexico for three months, Coco paused. She didn?t want to be away from Ice for that long. When she talked it out with Ice, he agreed it would be awful to be apart but reminded her that should never sacrifice her career for their relationship. The lesson here? Your relationship shouldn?t necessarily be more important than other parts of your life, but you should always take it into consideration.

5. Be a cheerleader. Coco is always by Ice?s side at his movie premieres and often visits the set of ?Law and Order? to cheer him on, which is awesome. Even more awesome, though, is that she knows that support goes both ways: Ice goes to Coco?s photo shoots and is always rooting for her, too. Remember to cheer your partner on in whatever they?re passionate about, and expect them to cheer for you in return.

6. Revel in your differences. Ice is naturally laid back. Coco is a self-professed control freak. Does this cause tension sometimes? Of course. Do they ever try to change each other? No way. Ice and Coco understand that our differences are often the things that bring us together and ultimately strengthen our relationships.

7. Don?t take life too seriously. One thing I see time and time again in successful relationships is an element of playfulness, an ability to keep things light even when times are tough. Ice and Coco are no exception?they?re always teasing each other, laughing, and just generally having fun. Try to make some room for lightness and laughter in your relationship, especially when things feel heavy. Trust me ? if it works for Ice and Coco, it will work for you.

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Editorial: California universities less appealing

California keeps breaking. Example: Kids in the state aren't choosing California universities as much as in the past. According to a survey released last week by the Public Policy Institute of California, "Enrollment rates at UC and CSU have fallen by one-fifth over the past five years, from about 22 percent of all high school graduates to below 18 percent."

Among the state's "most highly prepared high school graduates," the drop is even sharper, from about 67 percent to 55 percent.

Many kids are choosing community colleges instead, increasing the burdens on that already-crowded system. However, many of these young students ? the best and the brightest ? choose to not "attend college anywhere."

Many others are going to school in other states. This is ominous because students often first look for work near where they go to school.

PPIC pointed out that a major culprit in the students' plight is the recent sharp rise in tuition at all state universities in California, a result of the state's endemic budget problems. Unfortunately, PPIC also advises, "A proposed tax initiative could lead to increased revenue for the state, with policy-makers explicitly identifying higher education as a primary beneficiary if the initiative passes."

That's a reference to Gov. Jerry Brown's $9 billion proposed tax increase, for which he submitted petitions last week to qualify it for the November ballot. Actually, the opposite is the real problem: That the state's businesses and workers already are overburdened with high taxes and too many regulations, and are going bankrupt or fleeing the state, thus crashing the tax base. More taxes only would make matters worse.

"The bad weather in other states keeps our students away only so long," Lance Izumi told us; he's an education-policy analyst for the Pacific Research Institute. "Yet a lot of California policy-makers think that people will simply respond to the good weather here. But economic factors are important in the end. Other states are less expensive, less bureaucratic ? and now maybe have better-quality schools. Policymakers need to see how they're allotting college money to give students the best bang for their bucks."

As we noted in a recent editorial, university administrative pay remains shockingly high. Cal State presidents make as much as $400,000 a year in total compensation. And not enough is going to classrooms. For example, according to the North County Times, 43 percent of the $23.8 million budget at Cal State San Marcos in 2010 went to classroom instruction.

Mr. Izumi said state schools still also fund too many pointless courses. "Colleges need to make hard decisions about what courses they prioritize," he said. He added that community colleges have been doing a better job, gearing their courses to preparing students to complete their educations at four-year universities.

Here's one course we found in Cal State Fullerton course catalog, subsidized with your tax dollars: "American Studies 346: American Culture Through Spectator Sports," described as, "Includes analysis of sports rituals, symbols and heroes." How about just watching ESPN, for the price of a basic-cable subscription?

Here's another: "Philosophy 384, Philosophy of the Body," described as, "examining how correcting philosophy's bias towards the mind informs our understanding of social hierarchy, gender identity and exclusion from public life." But don't they use the mind to read and discuss class material? Whatever.

"These are hard times that require hard decisions even though some constituencies will be upset by it," Mr. Izumi urged.

As with a family or business, in hard times, state schools need to cut waste ? pointless classes and bloated administration ? to make themselves more attractive to the rising generation.

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