Today on New Scientist: 8 October 2012

Why sea ice records are poles apart

Levels of sea ice seem to be heading in opposite directions at the Earth's poles, for complex reasons

Star-shaped waves emerge from wobbly oil

Watch how an unusual pattern can emerge while shaking a tray of silicone oil

Chinese telcos branded national security risk for US

Fearing that internet routers and phone switches could relay secrets to Chinese intelligence, the US is warning against two foreign makes of telecoms kit

Cloning and stem cell Nobel for Gurdon and Yamanaka

John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka have won this year's Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine for showing that cells can be rewound to an embryonic state

Tech festival of dazzling displays but no big picture

This year's Ars Electronica festival lost its way in search of territory where science and art are truly integrated

Black-hole laser edges closer to testing Hawking

A novel laser could confirm Stephen Hawking's theory that black holes emit light - and find practical applications

Look to the ceiling for mathematical enlightenment

These kaleidoscope-like photos of the interiors of domes show places of worship in a new, mathematical light

Japan's Yamanaka wins Nobel for stem cell breakthrough

Joint Nobel prize winner Shinya Yamanaka talks about turning adult human cells into cells akin to embryonic stem cells - and his ethical worries

The sickening truth about wind farm syndrome

Hilltop turbines are being blamed for myriad maladies. Simon Chapman deconstructs the outlandish claims levelled against these modern windmills

The ultimate guide to memory

We are all collections of memories, yet memory, with its many virtues and flaws, has puzzled for centuries. New Scientist set out to clear the fog

Mammals' ancestor was not as puny as we thought

A new genetic analysis suggests that the common ancestor of modern mammals may not have been shrewlike in size, but more like a small monkey

App helps tell your colourful pills apart

Software that identifies different pills by sight could help avoid dangerous drug mix-ups

Webcam + sunshine + time = 3D model of your world

Using only webcam pictures and seasonal sunshine, a new system can create incredibly detailed 3D models of outdoor environments

Wasp has hints of a clockwork brain

The tiny greenhouse whitefly parasite has brain cells so slender, they may not behave like normal neurons - and may work mechanically instead

Astrophile: Supernova impostor explodes for real

The latest outburst of SN 2009ip was no fake and the death was like no other - that has implications for a nearby, looming star explosion

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Nickelodeon TV says Romney skipped kids' questions

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney poses for photographs with students of Fairfield Elementary School, Monday, Oct. 8, 2012, in Fairfield, Va. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney poses for photographs with students of Fairfield Elementary School, Monday, Oct. 8, 2012, in Fairfield, Va. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

(AP) ? Mitt Romney may want to reconsider his campaign strategy involving the pint-size voters of tomorrow.

The Republican presidential candidate skipped the chance to take part in Nickelodeon's "Kids Pick the President" special that includes President Barack Obama, said Linda Ellerbee, the show's host and executive producer. The decision "disses" children, she said.

During last week's presidential debate, Romney vowed to cut federal funding for PBS while acknowledging it's the home of popular "Sesame Street" character Big Bird.

"Kids Pick the President: The Candidates," with videotaped questions for the candidates from youngsters nationwide, debuts Oct. 15 on the children's channel. Afterward, an online poll asks kids to make their pick.

Romney's campaign said "he simply didn't have time. He couldn't fit it in his schedule," Ellerbee said Monday.

His decision is disappointing because "answering kids' questions directly shows respect for the several million kids who will vote in Nickelodeon's 'Kids Pick the President' campaign," she said.

"That's several million kids who actually want to get involved in the democratic process," Ellerbee said. "They don't deserve to be dissed. But former Gov. Romney also blew off Letterman and Big Bird, so I guess we're in good company."

The Romney campaign did not immediately respond to email and phone requests for comment.

Since 1992, when Nickelodeon began airing the Q&As, only two other candidates have declined to take part, Ellerbee said: Democratic contender John Kerry said no in 2004, which prompted President George W. Bush to withdraw. Bush participated in 2000.

The online kids' polling has gotten the outcome right five out of six times, including Bush's re-election in 2004, Ellerbee said. Democratic contender Al Gore was the children's pick in 2000.

"It's not always that Democrats win" the poll, she said. "It's not that we're some left-wing show and that's the only kids that watch us."

Nickelodeon has been in touch with Romney's representatives since April and they had been "encouraging" about prospects for the former Massachusetts governor's involvement, Ellerbee said.

The candidate has until Monday to reverse his decision, she said.

An Obama campaign spokesman jumped on Romney's decision when asked for comment, saying, "It's no surprise Romney decided to play hooky" and jabbing at the GOP candidate over education and PBS funding.

"Unfortunately for Mitt Romney, 'The dog ate my homework' just doesn't cut it when you're running for president," spokesman Adam Fetcher said in a statement.

For the special, Obama fielded questions regarding gun control, jobs, illegal immigration, same-sex marriage and bullying. He also was asked about his most embarrassing moment, Nickelodeon said.

"Running into the wall is par for the course for me," the president replied. "I'm running into doors and desks all the time."

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Online:

http://www.nick.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-10-08-TV-Nickelodeon-Pick%20the%20President/id-2ba25893bbf14025a59cba66c3be8789

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NKorea says South, US are within its missile range

FILE - In this April 15, 2012 file photo, a North Korean vehicle carrying what appears to be a new missile passes by during a mass military parade in the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang to celebrate 100 years since the birth of the late North Korean founder Kim Il Sung. North Korea warned Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012 that the U.S. mainland is within range of its missiles, saying Washington's recent agreement to let Seoul possess missiles capable of hitting all of the North shows the allies are plotting to invade the country. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

FILE - In this April 15, 2012 file photo, a North Korean vehicle carrying what appears to be a new missile passes by during a mass military parade in the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang to celebrate 100 years since the birth of the late North Korean founder Kim Il Sung. North Korea warned Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012 that the U.S. mainland is within range of its missiles, saying Washington's recent agreement to let Seoul possess missiles capable of hitting all of the North shows the allies are plotting to invade the country. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

South Korean soldiers stand guard at the border village of Panmunjom that separates the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012. North Korea on Tuesday warned that the U.S. mainland is within range of its missiles, and said Washington's recent agreement to let Seoul possess missiles capable of hitting all of the North shows the allies are plotting to invade the country. (AP Photo/Hye Soo Nah)

North Korean soldiers, back, look at the southern side as South Korean soldiers, foreground, stand guard at the border village of Panmunjom that separates the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012. North Korea on Tuesday warned that the U.S. mainland is within range of its missiles, and said Washington's recent agreement to let Seoul possess missiles capable of hitting all of the North shows the allies are plotting to invade the country. (AP Photo/Hye Soo Nah)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? North Korea on Tuesday warned that the U.S. mainland is within range of its missiles and said that Washington's recent agreement to let Seoul possess missiles capable of hitting all of the North shows the allies are plotting to invade the country.

South Korea announced Sunday that it reached a deal with Washington that would allow it to nearly triple the range of its missiles to better cope with North Korean missile and nuclear threats. On Tuesday, North Korea called the deal a "product of another conspiracy of the master and the stooge" to "ignite a war" against the North.

In a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, an unidentified spokesman at the powerful National Defense Commission said the North will bolster its military preparedness.

"We do not hide ... the strategic rocket forces are keeping within the scope of strike not only the bases of the puppet forces and the U.S. imperialist aggression forces' bases in the inviolable land of Korea but also Japan, Guam and the U.S. mainland," the spokesman said.

South Korea's Defense Ministry said Tuesday it had no official comment on the North's statement, but Seoul and Washington have repeatedly said they have no intention of attacking North Korea.

North Korean long-range rockets are believed to have a range of up to about 6,700 kilometers (4,160 miles), putting parts of Alaska within reach, according to South Korea's Defense Ministry.

But the North's spotty record in test launches raises doubts about whether it is truly capable of an attack.

Pyongyang shocked Japan in 1998 when it sent a rocket over Japan's main island and into the Pacific. That also alarmed Washington because about 50,000 U.S. troops are deployed in Japan and their bases could be within the North's range. Tokyo and Washington have since intensified their ballistic missile defenses.

But the North's most recent rocket launch, in April, ended in humiliating failure shortly after liftoff. North Korea said it was trying to launch a satellite with that launch, but the U.S. and other countries said it was actually a test of long-range missile technology. The failure suggests that Pyongyang has yet to master the technology it needs to control multistage rockets ? a key capability if it is to threaten the United States with intercontinental ballistic missiles.

And although North Korea is believed to have a small nuclear arsenal, experts do not believe it has mastered the miniaturization technology required to mount a nuclear weapon on a long-range rocket.

It's unusual for the North to say its missiles are capable of striking the U.S., but Pyongyang has often threatened to attack South Korea and the U.S. in times of tension. It often does not follow through, but its deadly 2010 artillery strikes on a South Korean island came after it issued a threat to retaliate against South Korean military drills.

Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korean studies professor based in Seoul, said that in the latest case, the North had no choice but to respond to South Korea's extended missile range but is unlikely to launch a provocation, as it is waiting for the results of U.S. and South Korean presidential elections.

Under the new deal with the U.S., South Korea will be able to possess ballistic missiles with a range of up to 800 kilometers (500 miles). South Korea will continue to limit the payload to 500 kilograms for ballistic missiles with an 800-kilometer range, but it will be able to use heavier payloads for missiles with shorter ranges.

A previous 2001 accord with Washington had barred South Korea from deploying ballistic missiles with a range of more than 300 kilometers (186 miles) and a payload of more than 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) because of concerns about a regional arms race.

The Korean Peninsula remains officially at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. The U.S. stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea as deterrence against possible aggression from North Korea.

___

Associated Press writer Eric Talmadge in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-10-09-Koreas-US-Missiles/id-5d5aede8371541ed812c1b1019377355

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Finance ministers meets to launch 500-billion-euro rescue fund ...

By Agence France-Presse
Monday, October 8, 2012 7:50 EDT

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The eurozone launches its much-awaited 500-billion-euro rescue fund on Monday, a positive backdrop for finance ministers trying to settle Greece?s tortuous debt bailout and as Spain agonises over seeking a rescue.

Finance ministers of the 17-nation euro bloc gather just 10 days before the EU?s 27 leaders meet in Brussels, with recent market calm giving them some breathing room after months of turmoil and anxiety over Spain?s future.

The meeting will see the formal launch and inaugural board meeting of the European Stability Mechanism, a key step forward in the eurozone?s defences against the debt crisis which has help push the bloc back into recession.

At the same time, the economic landscape is not encouraging, with recent data showing Europe back in recession and threatening to slip further into the doldrums.

EU officials said on Friday that they do not expect Greece to get the green light, either in Luxembourg or at the October 18-19 Brussels summit, for the resumption of its drip-feed bailout after differences with its EU, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund creditors.

The EU, IMF and ECB, the so-called ?troika?, have been locked in discussions on more austerity with Greece which insists it has done as much as it can and now needs more time to meet the targets required.

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Friday that the country could not take more tough medicine and if its next aid instalment worth 31.5 billion euros ($40.6 billion) did not arrive soon, then by November state coffers would be empty.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is due in Greece on Tuesday and her visit may allow some easing of the tensions which have built up but the October summit comes ?considerably too early? to resolve the problems, a senior EU official said on Friday.

The position has become more complicated after eurozone hardliners Germany, the Netherlands and Finland questioned commitments made at a June EU summit, which notably agreed that the ESM would be able to recapitalise banks directly once a single banking supervisor was in place, potentially by the end of the year.

The three said the ESM should not be used to help banks bailed out before it became operational ? a stand on ?legacy assets? which must have been ?very unwelcome? for Spain and bailed-out Ireland, another EU official said.

In the run-up to the eurozone and EU finance ministers? meeting in Luxembourg on Monday and Tuesday, Spain has been in the spotlight over whether or not it would ask for a bailout, thereby activating the ESM and action by the ECB.

The ECB has said it will intervene, buying up government bonds to bring down their borrowing costs but only if a member state first asks the ESM for help ? which will also come with conditions for reforms.

Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said on Thursday that Madrid did ?not need a bailout at all? and insisted that the government?s tough austerity policies were putting the country on the right track.

Official briefings on Friday all suggested that finance ministers did not expect any imminent developments on Spain as Madrid?s latest austerity package showed the country was ?going in right direction.?

At the same time, the recent easing of strains on the financial markets, in part due to the ECB?s stance, mean ?market conditions are totally distant from any need for a full, macro-economic adjustment programme,? one official said.

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Source: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/10/08/finance-ministers-meets-to-launch-500-billion-euro-rescue-fund/

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Purported Nexus 7 with 32GB of storage gets accidentally delivered in Japan

Purported Nexus 7 with 32GB of storage gets accidentally delivered in Japan

Back when Google ecstatically unveiled its 7-inch Nexus tablet a few months ago, the company decided to keep things simple by only introducing 8GB and 16GB models -- much to the dismay of folks who prefer a device with a bit more storage space. One lucky customer in Japan, however, claims to have unexpectedly received a Nexus 7 loaded with more built-in storage than Mountain View currently advertises, having been delivered Google's Jelly Bean-packing slate with 32GB instead of the 16GB unit that was ordered. Interestingly enough, the surprise delivery comes at a time when Google is rumored to launch a new, more spacious 32GB model as soon as October 24th -- though only time will tell if that's actually going to be the case.

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Purported Nexus 7 with 32GB of storage gets accidentally delivered in Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 13:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Managers: Addressing Team Communication Is A "Top Down" Issue ...

team building events and team communicationTeam building events and efforts are often targeted at employees. But the fact is that improving team communication typically has to begin at the top, with a company?s management staff.

For businesses looking to improve team communication, utilizing team building events has no doubt become a ?best practice,? since more and more data shows that a team that communicates well sees a steady increase in quality and productivity. And while managers and business owners who make team building efforts are moving in the right direction, typically the issue of team communication is one that involves them more so than their employees.

Manage In Person ? Not Via E-mail

The great thing about the written word is that it gives people a medium for composing and organizing their thoughts so that they are communicated effectively. In the generations before high-speed communication, letter writing was more than just practical ? it was an art form, and being a great letter writer meant that you could express yourself fluidly.

Unfortunately, e-mails bears little resemblance to the romantic nature of letter writing. It is a practical albeit curt form of communication, and in the workplace, it often leads to miscommunication and hurt feelings. Unless you are a manager who is willing to take the time and care to craft concise e-mail directives and memos, it?s better to just get up from your desk and take a stroll to manage in person.

This is particularly true for ?shooting quick e-mails? about narrow yet sometimes critical issues. Granted, if you are managing a project off-site, then e-mail ? or maybe even texting ? might be applicable. But in an office environment, staying on your feet allows you to communicate in person, and be around in case your employee has questions or doesn?t understand what you want from them.

Position Yourself In The Information Stream

For managers to achieve effective communication in their department, they need to be directly in the center of communication and information exchange. Communication needs to be monitored since, as the manager, you should ultimately see the big picture of your project better than anyone else in the department. Thus, if anything goes awry in the business process for achieving your goals, you are there to step in and correct it.

However, in order to achieve fluid team communication, positioning yourself to review all communication without being a ?hub? is a fine line that needs to be balanced. It?s easy for a manager to quickly become a ?micro manager,? so that nothing gets done without their approval. This kind of managerial positioning would be ineffective for team communication, since it would mean that there is no real direct communication happening between team members; it would all be channeled into the manager.

Instead, the best practice for this is to remain in the pipeline for communication without being a part of the process itself. If e-mail is part of the communication strategy, then being CC?ed makes a lot of sense, as well as using some sort of project management platform. A more hands-on approach is to have an assistant manager run a brief daily meeting that the manager sits in on, without actually running.

In any case, it?s important to allow team members to communicate and work with one another directly. But have a watchful eye over all of those communications can be a big help.

Listen To Your Employees

We?ve already pointed out that a manager typically has the ?big picture? view of projects that take place within a department. While this world view of project management is key, it doesn?t necessarily mean that it is always accurate. Employees ? particularly ones that complete a narrowly-focused task ? come from a different perspective that allows them to see the project in a different light. And for the manager, this information is valuable, since wider perspectives on projects do not always take into account the finer details of specific work tasks.

Thus, setting up a clear channel of communication for employees to give feedback on work processes is a definitely best practice for team communication.

A great way to achieve this is to arrange a meeting early on in the project that is specifically designed to address any flaws in the business process, or suggest improvements. Often times, when a team is beginning a new project, many of the project difficulties are still hidden from the employees themselves. Giving your team an opportunity to help you fine-tune the project can be the deciding factor in whether or not the project is a success or failure.

Focusing on team communication is a step in the right direction in improving quality and productivity in the workplace. Just make sure that you take a look at yourself and see what you can improve on your end communication-wise.

Thanks for reading our article! Are you looking to improve team communication for your business? Be sure to talk to Accolade about our effective team building events today!

Source: http://www.accolade-corporate-events.com/team-building-blog/2012/10/managers-addressing-team-communication-is-a-top-down-issue/

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TheRedzoneorg: NFL will look into Redskins' reporting of RG3 injury http://t.co/uQr4EaCL #NFL #Redskins