Amazon brings their tablet-optimized experience to shoppers outside the US
When Amazon launched their Amazon Mobile version that had been optimized for tablets, it was only available in the United States. This, of course, frustrated many who live elsewhere who wanted to access the app, because it's pretty well done. Over the past few months, Amazon has been making it available in more locales and the total is now at 9 countries, including the United States.
Here is the full list:
United States
Canada
United Kingdom
Germany
Spain
France
Italy
Japan
China
If you're located in any of these places and have not yet checked out the tablet optimized version of Amazon Mobile, hit up the Play Store link.
Contact: Marco Finetti marco.finetti@dfg.de 49-228-885-2230 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Dortmund researcher honored for innovative science communication in physics
This press release is available in German.
Experimental physicist Metin Tolan is the winner of this year's Communicator Award, conferred by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the Donors' Association for the Promotion of Sciences and Humanities in Germany. The TU Dortmund University scientist was selected in recognition of his diverse and innovative approaches to communicating physics and research findings to the public and the media.
The "Communicator Award Science Award of the Donors' Association" is endowed with 50,000 euros and is the most important prize for science communication awarded in Germany. Established in 2000, the award is bestowed on researchers who have communicated their own scientific findings and their research field to a wide general audience. By recognising outstanding science communicators, the DFG and the Donors' Association aim to promote the increasingly important dialogue between the scientific community and the public while promoting science communication within the research community itself.
The prizewinners are selected by a jury composed of science journalists and experts from the fields of public relations and communications. The jury is chaired by a Vice President of the DFG. A total of 49 researchers working in a broad range of scientific disciplines applied or were nominated for this year's Communicator Award, more than twice the figure for last year. Eleven of these candidates were shortlisted, four of whom were selected for final consideration, with Metin Tolan chosen as the ultimate winner.
The 48-year-old experimental physicist impressed the jury with his original and varied approaches to science communication, such as his series of Saturday morning lectures entitled "Zwischen Brtchen und Borussia Modern Physik fr alle", which has regularly attracted several hundred visitors since 2003, his blog on the physics of football, and his successful books Geschttelt, nicht gerhrt James Bond und die Physik (Shaken, Not Stirred James Bond and Physics) (with Joachim Stolze) and Die Titanic Mit Physik in den Untergang (The Titanic The Physics of Sinking). Tolan makes regular appearances on radio and television as a guest and presenter, and has given over 500 public talks explaining familiar phenomena and puzzles from history, everyday life and film from the viewpoint of a physicist. The jury was particularly impressed by his work with schools; Tolan regularly teaches physics classes at a local school in Dortmund where most of the pupils have a family background outside Germany.
In his various communication endeavours, Tolan frequently draws on his own research work. For example, to explain the sinking of the Titanic he refers to his own research on the properties of steel, or for a scene from a James Bond film where the hero apparently sees through walls, he uses his work on the use of X-rays in materials research.
Metin Tolan was appointed Professor and Chair of Experimental Physics at TU Dortmund University in 2001. Prior to this he held teaching and research posts at the University of Kiel, where he obtained his degree, doctorate and habilitation. His main areas of interest are the use of X-rays to study the interface behaviour of polymers, biomaterials, liquids and other "soft materials" and the use of synchrotron radiation in materials research, for instance at the Dortmund Synchrotron Radiation Centre, which is home to the Delta electron storage ring and of which he is the director. In 2008 he won the TU Dortmund University research prize and in 2010 he was named Professor of the Year for natural sciences and medicine by Unicum Beruf magazine. In 2008 Tolan was appointed a prorector for his university, first for research and then in 2011 for teaching.
He has received DFG funding for several individual projects and as a member of a Research Unit. In 2012 Tolan joined the DFG review board for Experimental Physics of Condensed Matter, becoming one of the researchers chosen by his peers to play an important role in the review and decision-making process of Germany's central self-governing research funding organisation.
Metin Tolan is the fourteenth recipient of the Communicator Award. Previous winners have included mathematicians Albrecht Beutelspacher and Gnter M. Ziegler, marine researcher Gerold Wefer, astrophysicist Harald Lesch, palaeobiologist Friedemann Schrenk, sociologist Jutta Allmendinger, the glaciology working group at the Alfred Wegener Institute, and risk researcher Gerd Gigerenzer. Last year's award went to bee scientist and behavioural biologist Jrgen Tautz.
This year's Communicator Award will be presented on 2 July 2013 at the Annual Meeting of the DFG in Berlin. The prize money is donated by the Donors' Association, which unites more than 3,000 companies and private individuals who are committed to the promotion of science and science communication. Along with the prize money, Metin Tolan will also be presented with a hologram representing the Communicator Award. Created by Cologne-based artist Michael Bleyenberg, the hologram underscores the significance of transparency in science and expresses the importance of looking at things "in the right light". Like the hologram, it is only then that science can truly shine.
###
Further Information
For further information on the Communicator Award and previous award recipients, please see: http://www.dfg.de/en/funded_projects/prizewinners/communicator_award/index.html
For further information from the DFG, please contact:
Marco Finetti, Head of Press and Public Relations, Tel. +49 228 885-2230, Marco.Finetti@dfg.de
For further information from the Donors' Association, please contact:
Moritz Kralemann, Head of Press Relations and Spokesperson, Tel. +49 30 322 982-527, moritz.kralemann@stifterverband.de
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Contact: Marco Finetti marco.finetti@dfg.de 49-228-885-2230 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Dortmund researcher honored for innovative science communication in physics
This press release is available in German.
Experimental physicist Metin Tolan is the winner of this year's Communicator Award, conferred by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the Donors' Association for the Promotion of Sciences and Humanities in Germany. The TU Dortmund University scientist was selected in recognition of his diverse and innovative approaches to communicating physics and research findings to the public and the media.
The "Communicator Award Science Award of the Donors' Association" is endowed with 50,000 euros and is the most important prize for science communication awarded in Germany. Established in 2000, the award is bestowed on researchers who have communicated their own scientific findings and their research field to a wide general audience. By recognising outstanding science communicators, the DFG and the Donors' Association aim to promote the increasingly important dialogue between the scientific community and the public while promoting science communication within the research community itself.
The prizewinners are selected by a jury composed of science journalists and experts from the fields of public relations and communications. The jury is chaired by a Vice President of the DFG. A total of 49 researchers working in a broad range of scientific disciplines applied or were nominated for this year's Communicator Award, more than twice the figure for last year. Eleven of these candidates were shortlisted, four of whom were selected for final consideration, with Metin Tolan chosen as the ultimate winner.
The 48-year-old experimental physicist impressed the jury with his original and varied approaches to science communication, such as his series of Saturday morning lectures entitled "Zwischen Brtchen und Borussia Modern Physik fr alle", which has regularly attracted several hundred visitors since 2003, his blog on the physics of football, and his successful books Geschttelt, nicht gerhrt James Bond und die Physik (Shaken, Not Stirred James Bond and Physics) (with Joachim Stolze) and Die Titanic Mit Physik in den Untergang (The Titanic The Physics of Sinking). Tolan makes regular appearances on radio and television as a guest and presenter, and has given over 500 public talks explaining familiar phenomena and puzzles from history, everyday life and film from the viewpoint of a physicist. The jury was particularly impressed by his work with schools; Tolan regularly teaches physics classes at a local school in Dortmund where most of the pupils have a family background outside Germany.
In his various communication endeavours, Tolan frequently draws on his own research work. For example, to explain the sinking of the Titanic he refers to his own research on the properties of steel, or for a scene from a James Bond film where the hero apparently sees through walls, he uses his work on the use of X-rays in materials research.
Metin Tolan was appointed Professor and Chair of Experimental Physics at TU Dortmund University in 2001. Prior to this he held teaching and research posts at the University of Kiel, where he obtained his degree, doctorate and habilitation. His main areas of interest are the use of X-rays to study the interface behaviour of polymers, biomaterials, liquids and other "soft materials" and the use of synchrotron radiation in materials research, for instance at the Dortmund Synchrotron Radiation Centre, which is home to the Delta electron storage ring and of which he is the director. In 2008 he won the TU Dortmund University research prize and in 2010 he was named Professor of the Year for natural sciences and medicine by Unicum Beruf magazine. In 2008 Tolan was appointed a prorector for his university, first for research and then in 2011 for teaching.
He has received DFG funding for several individual projects and as a member of a Research Unit. In 2012 Tolan joined the DFG review board for Experimental Physics of Condensed Matter, becoming one of the researchers chosen by his peers to play an important role in the review and decision-making process of Germany's central self-governing research funding organisation.
Metin Tolan is the fourteenth recipient of the Communicator Award. Previous winners have included mathematicians Albrecht Beutelspacher and Gnter M. Ziegler, marine researcher Gerold Wefer, astrophysicist Harald Lesch, palaeobiologist Friedemann Schrenk, sociologist Jutta Allmendinger, the glaciology working group at the Alfred Wegener Institute, and risk researcher Gerd Gigerenzer. Last year's award went to bee scientist and behavioural biologist Jrgen Tautz.
This year's Communicator Award will be presented on 2 July 2013 at the Annual Meeting of the DFG in Berlin. The prize money is donated by the Donors' Association, which unites more than 3,000 companies and private individuals who are committed to the promotion of science and science communication. Along with the prize money, Metin Tolan will also be presented with a hologram representing the Communicator Award. Created by Cologne-based artist Michael Bleyenberg, the hologram underscores the significance of transparency in science and expresses the importance of looking at things "in the right light". Like the hologram, it is only then that science can truly shine.
###
Further Information
For further information on the Communicator Award and previous award recipients, please see: http://www.dfg.de/en/funded_projects/prizewinners/communicator_award/index.html
For further information from the DFG, please contact:
Marco Finetti, Head of Press and Public Relations, Tel. +49 228 885-2230, Marco.Finetti@dfg.de
For further information from the Donors' Association, please contact:
Moritz Kralemann, Head of Press Relations and Spokesperson, Tel. +49 30 322 982-527, moritz.kralemann@stifterverband.de
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran on Tuesday denied any links with an alleged terrorist plot that Canadian authorities claim was directed by al-Qaida operatives in Iran and sought to derail a passenger train.
Canadian authorities allege the suspects Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, and Raed Jaser, 35, had "direction and guidance" from al-Qaida members in Iran, though there were no claims the planned attacks were state-sponsored by Tehran. Esseghaier is believed to be Tunisian and Jaser from the United Arab Emirates.
Some al-Qaida members had been allowed to stay in Iran after fleeing Afghanistan, but were under tight Iranian controls. Relations have been rocky between mainly Shiite Iran and the Sunni-led al-Qaida on many fronts for years.
Iran was a strong opponent of the Taliban, which sheltered Osama bin Laden and others before the U.S.-led invasion after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Many al-Qaida leaders also view Shiite Muslims with suspicion and hostility.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters that there is "no firm evidence" of any Iranian involvement and groups such as al-Qaida have "no compatibility with Iran in both political and ideological fields."
"We oppose any terrorist and violent action that would jeopardize lives of innocent people," said Mehmanparast.
He called the Canadian claims part of hostile policies against Tehran, and accused Canada of indirectly aiding al-Qaida by joining Western support for Syrian rebels. Some Islamic militant factions, claiming allegiance to al-Qaida, have joined forces seeking to topple the regime of Bashar Assad, one of Iran's main allies in the region.
"The same (al-Qaida) current is killing people in Syria while enjoying Canada's support," said Mehmanparast.
In a separate comment, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi called the claim by Canadian authorities "the most ridiculous fake words."
"I hope Canadian officials resort to more wisdom," he said.
The two countries have no diplomatic relations after Canada unilaterally closed its embassy in Tehran in 2012 and expelled Iranian diplomats from Ottawa.
On Monday, Alireza Miryousefi, spokesman for the Iranian mission to the United Nations, said the terrorist network was not operating in Iran.
"Iran's position against this group is very clear and well known. (Al-Qaida) has no possibility to do any activity inside Iran or conduct any operation abroad from Iran's territory," Miryousefi said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. "We reject strongly and categorically any connection to this story."
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) ? The investigation into poisoned letters mailed to President Barack Obama and others has shifted from an Elvis impersonator to his longtime foe, and authorities must now figure out if an online feud between the two men might have escalated into something more sinister.
Paul Kevin Curtis, 45, was released from a north Mississippi jail on Tuesday and charges against him were dropped, nearly a week after authorities charged him with sending ricin-laced letters to the president, Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and an 80-year-old Lee County, Miss., Justice Court judge, Sadie Holland.
Before Curtis left jail, authorities had already descended on the home of 41-year-old Everett Dutschke in Tupelo, a northeast Mississippi town best known as the birthplace of the King himself. On Wednesday, they searched the site of a Tupelo martial arts studio once operated by Dutschke, who hasn't been arrested or charged.
Wednesday evening, hazmat teams packed up and left Dutschke's business. He was at the scene at times during the day. A woman drove off in a green Dodge Caravan parked on the street that had been searched. Daniel McMullen, FBI special agent in charge in Mississippi, declined to speak with reporters afterward.
Dutschke's attorney, Lori Nail Basham, said he is "cooperating fully" with investigators and that no arrest warrant had been issued.
After being released from jail Tuesday, Curtis, who performs as Elvis and other celebrities, described a bizarre, yearslong feud between the two, but Dutschke insisted he had nothing to do with the letters. They contained language identical to that found on Curtis' Facebook page and other websites, making him an early suspect.
Federal authorities have not said what led them to drop the charges against Curtis, and his lawyers say they're not sure what new evidence the FBI has found.
Curtis said he's not sure exactly what led to the bad blood. It involves the men's time working together, a broken promise to help with a book by Curtis and an acrimonious exchange of emails, according to Curtis.
The two worked together at Curtis' brother's insurance office years ago, Curtis said. He said Dutschke told him he owned a newspaper and showed interest in publishing his book called "Missing Pieces," about what Curtis considers an underground market to sell body parts.
But Dutschke decided not to publish the material, Curtis alleged, and later began stalking Curtis on the Internet.
For his part, Dutschke said he didn't even know Curtis that well.
"He almost had my sympathy until I found out that he was trying to blame somebody else," Dutschke said Monday. "I've known he was disturbed for a long time. Last time we had any contact with each other was at some point in 2010 when I threatened to sue him for fraud for posting a Mensa certificate that is a lie. He is not a Mensa member. That certificate is a lie."
Curtis acknowledges posting a fake Mensa certificate on Facebook, but says it was an online trap set up for Dutschke because he believed Dutschke was stalking him online. He knew Dutschke also claimed to be a member of the organization for people with high IQs. Dutschke had a Mensa email address during a legislative campaign he mounted in 2007.
Dutschke started a campaign to prove him a liar, Curtis said, and allegedly harassed him through emails and social networking.
Curtis said the two agreed to meet at one point to face off in person, but Dutschke didn't show up.
"The last email I got from him, was, 'Come back tomorrow at 7 and the results of you being splattered all over the pavement will be public for the world to see what a blank, blank, blank you are.' And then at that point, I knew I was dealing with a coward," Curtis said.
Hal Neilson, one of the attorneys for Curtis, has said the defense gave authorities a list of people who may have had a reason to hurt Curtis, and that Dutschke's name came up. Efforts to reach Curtis, his lawyers and his brother were unsuccessful on Wednesday.
Both men say they have met Wicker, and they each have a connection to Holland.
Authorities say the letters were mailed April 8, but the one sent to Holland was the only one to make it into the hands of an intended target. Her son, Democratic state Rep. Steve Holland of Plantersville, said his mother did a "smell test" of the envelope and a substance in it irritated her nose. The judge was not sickened by what authorities say was a crude form of the poison, which is derived from castor beans.
Judge Holland has declined to comment on the case.
She was presiding judge in a case in which Curtis was accused of assaulting a Tupelo attorney in 2003. Holland sentenced Curtis to six months in the county jail. He served only part of the sentence, according to his brother.
Running as a Republican, Dutschke lost a lopsided election to Steve Holland in 2007, and observers say the judge publicly chastised Dutschke at a political rally that year.
Brandon Presley, Mississippi's northern district public service commissioner and a distant cousin of Elvis Presley, attended the 2007 political rally in Verona. He told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he remembers Dutschke giving a "militant" speech with personal and professional attacks on Steve Holland.
Presley, also a Democrat, said he doesn't recall details of the speech ? just the tone of it, and the crowd's reaction.
"I just remember everybody's jaw dropping," Presley said.
Dutschke said his speech included sharp criticism of Steve Holland's record in public office.
Steve Holland said earlier this week that his mother made Dutschke get down on his knees at the 2007 rally and apologize. On Wednesday, he said he was mistaken about her telling Dutschke to kneel.
"She just got up and said 'Sir, you will apologize," Steve Holland said.
Dutschke said Steve Holland exaggerated the incident. Presley said he remembers Judge Holland chastising Dutschke.
Presley said of the judge: "I don't believe the woman has an enemy in the world.... I don't know anybody who doesn't love Ms. Sadie Holland, except whoever this fool is who sent the letter. Whoever it is, they ought to be ashamed of themselves, picking on Ms. Sadie."
Dutschke ? who unsuccessfully ran as a Democrat for Lee County election commissioner in 2008 ? told AP on Tuesday that he has no problem with Sadie Holland. "Everybody loves Sadie, including me," he said.
On Wednesday, dozens of investigators were searching at a small retail space where neighboring business owners said Dutschke used to operate a martial arts studio. Officers at the scene wouldn't comment on what they were doing.
Investigators in gas masks, gloves and plastic suits emerged from the business carrying five-gallon buckets full of items covered in large plastic bags. Once outside, others started spraying their protective suits with some sort of mist.
Dutschke told the AP on Wednesday morning that he and his wife had gone to a friend's house because they didn't feel safe at their home. He didn't immediately respond to messages Wednesday afternoon.
"They ripped everything out of the house," he said, adding: "I haven't slept at all."
____
Wagster Pettus contributed from Jackson, Miss., and Associated Press writers Jeff Amy and Jay Reeves contributed from Tupelo, Miss.
The specter of the Boston Marathon bombings ? and the fact that they were allegedly carried out by two immigrants to the United States ? continues to hang over the immigration reform efforts underway in the Senate.
A seven-hour hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday showed that those opposed to the Gang of Eight?s legislation seem willing to point to national security concerns as a reason to delay or significantly alter the immigration bill.
?The background checks in this bill are insufficient to prevent a terrorist from getting the amnesty,? argued Kris Kobach, the Kansas Secretary of State who helped author Arizona?s famously strict immigration law. ?The Tamerlan Tsarnaev example demonstrates how important an alien's ability to have freedom of movement and to travel abroad for terrorist connections and terrorist training is and how dangerous it can be for Americans,? he said, referring to one of the men suspected in the Boston bombings.
Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies who advocates for lower immigration levels, raised questions about why the Tsarnaev brothers were given visas to come to the U.S. in the first place.
?The Boston bombing is not an excuse for delay of considering this immigration bill, but it is an illustration of certain problems that exist with our immigration system,? he said. ?What does it say about the automated background checks that this bill would subject 11 million illegal immigrants to, that in-person interviews by FBI agent of Tamerlan Tsarnaev resulted in no action, even though it was actually based on concerns about terrorism??
But the Republican lawmakers who have expressed opposition to aspects of the Gang of Eight?s bill declined to follow up on the Boston-related sections of Kobach?s and Krikorian?s testimony. Instead, Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, John Cornyn, R-Texas, Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, focused on other issues, ranging from border security to the legalization provisions.
Grassley in particular was so averse to being accused of saying the bombings should delay reform that he got in a shouting match with Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., early in the hearing.
?I never said that,? Grassley shouted, with no small measure of indignation, when Schumer referenced his colleagues, ?who are pointing to what happened, the terrible tragedy in Boston? as an ?excuse for not doing a bill or delaying it.?
Schumer then said he wasn?t referring to Grassley, who at the start of Friday?s hearing on the bill said a close look at the immigration system was very important,?"particularly in light of all that's happening in Massachusetts right now and over the last week."
Democrats and members of the Gang of Eight have been going on the offensive against anyone suggesting that the bill?s passage should be slowed because of the bombings. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., opened the hearing by saying he was ?troubled a great deal? by opponents of the bill who ?began to exploit the Boston Marathon bombing.?
?Let no one be so cruel as to try to use the heinous acts of these two young men last week to derail the dreams and futures of millions of hardworking people,? he said. ?The bill before us would serve to strengthen our national security by allowing us to focus our border security and enforcement efforts against those who do us harm.?
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a member of the Gang of Eight, said, ?If Boston tells us anything, we need to be aware of who's living among us, whether they're native-born or come in on a visa and become a citizen.?
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Monday on Fox News: ?I?m in the camp of, if we fix our immigration system, it may actually help us understand who all?s here, why they?re here, and what legal status they have.?
That?s not to say there haven?t been Republicans who argued for a delay after the bombings. They just don?t sit on the Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has outlined his own vision for comprehensive reform, penned a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Monday, asking that national security concerns be a part of the debate going forward.
?We should not proceed until we understand the specific failures of our immigration system,? he wrote. ?Why did the current system allow two individuals to immigrate to the United States from the Chechen Republic in Russia, an area known as a hotbed of Islamic extremism, who then committed acts of terrorism? Were there any safeguards? Could this have been prevented? Does the immigration reform before us address this??
He called for hearings in the Senate Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee to study the national security aspect of the debate.
Two key House Republicans also backed up the Gang of Eight members on Monday by saying that immigration reform could improve national security.
We didn't find much in the way of news at the Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo here in NYC (and, we're sad to say, our press badges were just old-fashioned 2D printed), but there was plenty to look at, thankfully. Between the slew of business and consumer devices and the boatload of printed objects, the event was part business conference, part art show. And while the real star was the still-fresh world of desktop home printers, plenty of companies brought out their big-gun industrial devices (including at least one really sweet giant 3D scanner). Peep the gallery below to check out some of the eye candy from the event.
Huawei, the world's second-largest supplier of network gear by revenue, is pulling out of the U.S. after it sales efforts have been repeatedly stymied due to concerns over security. According to a report in the Financial Times, executive vice president Eric Xu said at the company's annual analyst summit yesterday that Huawei "is not interested in the U.S. market any more." He added that the company has been gradually shifting its focus away from the U.S. over the last year as it seeks to expand in other global markets.
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Public release date: 24-Apr-2013
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Huawei, the world's second-largest supplier of network gear by revenue, is pulling out of the U.S. after it sales efforts have been repeatedly stymied due to concerns over security. According to