U.S. scientist urges support for NSF
WASHINGTON, March 29 (UPI) -- The head of the American Chemical Society said the National Science Foundation's education programs are critical to the nation's competitiveness.
ACS President Catherine Hunt told a congressional panel Thursday that the NSF's education and research programs are needed to fend off threats to the United States' economic and technological leadership.
Hunt said NSF plays an "absolutely essential" role in addressing challenges in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics education from kindergarten through graduate school and beyond, the ACS said in a release.
NSF provides about one-fifth of all federal funding in support of basic research at America's colleges and universities.
"We must set aside any notion that NSF's education programs are either subservient to or stand in competition with its research programs," said Hunt. "NSF's education and research missions are mutually supportive and play key, unique roles in building our nation's scientific and technological capacity."
CDC warns of risks of Easter chicks
WASHINGTON, March 29 (UPI) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said baby chicks shouldn't be given to children for Easter gifts because of the risk of salmonella.
The CDC said some children can be exposed to salmonella by holding, cuddling or kissing the birds.
Children are most susceptible to infection because they are more likely to put their fingers into their mouths and because their immune systems are developing, the CDC said in a release.
People with HIV/AIDS, pregnant women, the elderly and others with compromised immune systems are also especially at risk.
Easter chicks are more likely to carry salmonella because the high demand at this time of year means chicks are likely hatched in large quantities and shipped around the country, which increases the stress upon the animals and makes them more prone to disease.
Temps too warm for Arctic ice
BERLIN, March 29 (UPI) -- European scientists say temperatures were too warm this winter for ice formation in parts of the Arctic Ocean that were formerly icebound.
Scientists with the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research and the German Aerospace Center say measurements in the region around the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen showed that ice levels were down this year.
In the past, large areas around Spitsbergen were surrounded by ice at the end of the winter and the fjords were all frozen, scientists said in a release.
"This year, our aircraft had to fly all the way to the limits of their range in order to collect sufficient data above the sea ice," said Jorg Hartmann, climate scientist at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany.
Scientists said the decline of the ice cover means that ice reflects progressively less solar energy back into space, causing temperatures in the Arctic to rise further.
