Papa pipefish's pregnancy good for young's immunity

MALE pipefish pregnancy may suit the females, but it's a real boon for their offspring.

In human fetuses, antibodies from the mother's egg and others that pass across the placenta help build its developing immune system. Sperm are too small to carry antibodies, so males aren't thought to contribute.

Not so in pipefish, where the male carries the pregnancy. To see if the immune priming might come from both the mother's egg and via the father's placenta-like structure, Olivia Roth at the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel in Germany and colleagues exposed lab-grown male and female broad-nosed pipefish to dead bacteria. The fish were then left to mate and the resulting offspring were later also exposed.

The young had the strongest immune response if both parents had been exposed to the bacteria, suggesting both provided antibodies (The American Naturalist, doi.org/jrq).

Pipefish may not be the only fathers that help build their offspring's immune system. Pigeons of both sexes have been shown to "lactate" antibody-rich "milk" in their crops for their chicks.

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.

If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.

Read More..

Dubai plans new 'city', world's largest mall

DUBAI: Dubai, famed for its mega-projects before it was hit by the global financial crisis, on Saturday announced a new development to open the world's biggest mall and a park larger than London's Hyde Park.

The ruler of the Gulf desert city state, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, announced the plan for a "new city within Dubai," according to an official statement, naming it after himself.

No cost was stated for "Mohammed bin Rashid City," to be carried out by his Dubai Holding and the publicly-listed Emaar Properties, which developed many of Dubai's prestigious projects, including Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower.

The plan also features new residential areas, although the emirate continues to have a surplus of units built during a five-year bubble which burst in 2009.

The "Mall of the World" will have a capacity of 80 million visitors a year to become the "largest in the world," said the statement, while its park will be "30 percent bigger than Hyde Park of London."

The mall will be connected to a family entertainment centre to be developed in cooperation with Universal Studios International that will be the largest in the region, aiming to attract six million visitors a year.

The emirate already has countless malls and hotels, including the Dubai Mall, touted as the world's largest shopping, leisure and entertainment destination, with 62 million visitors this year.

"The current facilities available in Dubai need to be scaled up in line with the future ambitions for the city," Sheikh Mohammed said in the statement.

Dubai's tourism is growing by 13 percent a year, according to the statement, with hotel occupancy hitting 82 percent in 2011 while hotel revenues grew 22 percent last year, exceeding 16 billion dirhams ($4.4 billion).

The emirate rocked global financial markets in autumn 2009 over its debt crisis, but Dubai has restructured the mountain of debt owed by its corporations, and its economy has returned to growth after contracting in 2009.

- AFP/lp

Read More..

Black Friday, Thanksgiving Day mobile sales on rise

Here's a quick Thanksgiving/Black Friday question for you.

In the run-up to Christmas, Hanukkah, and all the other gift-laden winter holidays, would you rather go after a bargain by letting your fingers loll about on the screen of a smartphone or
tablet -- or mix it up with the punch-throwing, gun-toting, um, customers at your local big box store?

We thought so. And if numbers from eBay are any indication, that instinct toward self-preservation is strong in many of us (or at least an increasing number of us). For the numbers show that, since last year, Thanksgiving and
Black Friday have -- not surprisingly -- seen significant jumps in the number of people shopping via mobile device.

In a blog post today, eBay-owned PayPal said it saw a 173 percent year-over-year rise in worldwide mobile payment volume on Thanksgiving Day, with a 164 percent jump in the numbers of global shoppers who were using PayPal mobile to make purchases.

Most of the T-Day mobile mania transpired between noon and 1 p.m., PayPal informs us, with these cities leading the pack: Houston, LA, Chicago, Miami, and New York. As for eBay itself, the online auctioneer posted a graphic (embedded below) showing that the company saw a 133 percent year-over-year jump in U.S. mobile volume transacted on Thanksgiving, and that eBay-owned GSI Commerce, which provides e-commerce setups and services to client companies, observed a 170 percent year-over-year rise in U.S. mobile sales.

In a second blog post, PayPal said that as of the late morning on Black Friday, it was already seeing a 190 percent year-over-year increase in global mobile payment volume.

As noted in AllThingsD, IBM's Benchmark report, which looks at data from the Web sites of more than 500 large U.S. retailers, chimed in with its own Black Friday numbers: e-sales up 20 percent year over year; a jump to 28 percent, from last year's 18.1 percent, in the number of folks visiting retailers' sites from mobile devices; a jump to 14.3 percent, from 2011's 10.3 percent, in the number of people who actually made purchases with their mobile gadgets.

IBM's data also shows that people tapped the
iPad more often than other mobile devices to buy stuff: Apple's gadget saw a conversion rate of 4.2 percent, higher than all other mobile devices, IBM said.

Now, this doesn't necessarily mean that everyone except for a few hundred crazy big-box rioters was standing back and surfing for gifts via iOS, Android, or other device. As ATD's Kara Swisher points out, mobile sales figures remain a small fraction of total sales. Still, it may well be only a matter of time till the mobile approach wins out over full (body) engagement with the brick-and-mortar mosh pit. It's not only getting easier to shop by way of a tablet or smartphone, the gadgets also do a bang-up job of showing you YouTube videos of the horrors of the shopping maul.

Read More..

Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed

Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling.

Discovered in 2005, Makemake—pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group of dwarf planets in 2006. (Related: "Pluto Not a Planet, Astronomers Rule.")

Just like the slightly larger Pluto, this icy world circles our sun beyond Neptune. Researchers expected Makemake to also have a global atmosphere—but new evidence reveals that isn't the case.

Staring at a Star

An international team of astronomers was able for the first time to probe Makemake's physical characteristics using the European Southern Observatory's three most powerful telescopes in Chile. The researchers observed the change in light given off by a distant star as the dwarf planet passed in front of it. (Learn how scientists found Makemake.)

"These events are extremely difficult to predict and observe, but they are the only means of obtaining accurate knowledge of important properties of dwarf planets," said Jose Luis Ortiz, lead author of this new study and an astronomer at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, in Spain.

It's like trying to study a coin from a distance of 30 miles (48 kilometers) or more, Ortiz added.

Ortiz and his team knew Makemake didn't have an atmosphere when light from the background star abruptly dimmed and brightened as the chilly world drifted across its face.

"The light went off very abruptly from all the sites we observed the event so this means this world cannot have a substantial and global atmosphere like that of its sibling Pluto," Ortiz said.

If Makemake had an atmosphere, light from the star would gradually decrease and increase as the dwarf planet passed in front.

Coming Into Focus

The team's new observations add much more detail to our view of Makemake—not only limiting the possibility of an atmosphere but also determining the planet's size and surface more accurately.

"We think Makemake is a sphere flattened slightly at both poles and mostly covered with very white ices—mainly of methane," said Ortiz.

"But there are also indications for some organic material at least at some places; this material is usually very red and we think in a small percentage of the surface, the terrain is quite dark," he added.

Why Makemake lacks a global atmosphere remains a big mystery, but Ortiz does have a theory. Pluto is covered in nitrogen ice. When the sun heats this volatile material, it turns straight into a gas, creating Pluto's atmosphere.

Makemake lacks nitrogen ice on its surface, so there is nothing for the sun to heat into a gas to provide an atmosphere.

The dwarf planet has less mass, and a weaker gravitational field, than Pluto, said Ortiz. This means that over eons of time, Makemake may not have been able to hang on to its nitrogen.

Methane ice will also transform into a gas when heated. But since the dwarf planet is nearly at its furthest distance from the sun, Ortiz believes that Makemake's surface methane is still frozen. (Learn about orbital planes.)

And even if the methane were to transform into a gas, any resulting atmosphere would cover, at most, only ten percent of the planet, said Ortiz.

The new results are detailed today in the journal Nature.

Read More..

'Dallas' Star Larry Hagman Dead at 81

Larry Hagman, who emerged in the 1960s as the slightly befuddled astronaut in "I Dream of Jeannie," then became a major star in the 1980s primetime soap "Dallas," playing evil oil baron J.R. Ewing, has died. He was 81.

Hagman's cause of death was due to complications related to his battle with cancer according to his family.

Linda Gray, who played Hagman's on-screen wife on "Dallas" was at the actor's bedside when he died.

"He brought joy to everyone he knew. He was creative, generous, funny, loving and talented, and I will miss him enormously. He was an original and lived life to the fullest," Gray said in a statement released through her publicist.

Warner Bros."Dallas" executive producers Cynthia Cidre and Michael M. Robin, and the show's cast and crew released the following statement today: "Larry Hagman was a giant, a larger-than-life personality whose iconic performance as J.R. Ewing will endure as one of the most indelible in entertainment history. He truly loved portraying this globally recognized character, and he leaves a legacy of entertainment, generosity and grace. Everyone at Warner Bros. and in the "Dallas" family is deeply saddened by Larry's passing, and our thoughts are with his family and dear friends during this difficult time."

Hagman inherited the acting gene from his mother, Broadway musical legend Mary Martin. He'd had roles in television programs 20 years prior to "Dallas," including "I Dream of Jeannie" from 1965-70.

"Dallas," which debuted in 1978 on CBS and had an astonishing 13-year run, centered on the Ewings, a family of Texas oil barons who had money, cattle, and more scandals and power struggles than the Kardashians.

AP Photo/Dr. Scott M. Lieberman

The original strategy behind "Dallas" was to focus on the newly-married Bobby and Pam Ewing. But Hagman made his role more than the producers had intended, and he quickly became the focus of the program.

When TNT revived the program earlier this year, he was the undisputed power villain.

"All of us at TNT are deeply saddened at the news of Larry Hagman's passing. He was a wonderful human being and an extremely gifted actor," TNT officials said in a statement. "We will be forever thankful that a whole new generation of people got to know and appreciate Larry through his performance as J.R. Ewing. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this very difficult time.

VIEW: "Dallas" Then and Now

But though he may be best known as a villain, Hagman used his fame to try to give back.

In addition to actively supporting charities like the National Kidney Foundation and, in what might seem an irony, efforts to develop solar power, Hagman just last month announced the formation The Larry Hagman Foundation, to fund education programs promoting the fine arts and creative learning opportunities for economically disadvantaged children in Dallas.

Hagman began his acting career in the late 1950s, but it wasn't until "I Dream of Jeannie" premiered in 1965 that he found himself a star. He played Anthony Nelson, an astronaut who during a mission finds an unusual bottle, and when he opens it, out pops a genie named Jeannie -- Barbara Eden.

Through the series' five-year run, Jeannie found new ways to make Hagman's life difficult, as she tried to serve her "master."

Though Hagman continued to work regularly after "I Dream of Jeannie" ended in 1970, it wasn't until "Dallas" hit the air in 1978, that he again struck a chord with audiences.

The show was originally only supposed to be a five-episode miniseries, but the show caught on so quickly, that it was extended and eventually became a series that would become the highest rated TV show of all time.

Unlike many TV stars, who find themselves playing variations on the same character over and over, the Hagman viewers saw in J.R. Ewing was worlds away from Major Nelson.

While the astronaut was always at wits end, trying to keep Jeannie a secret and trying to prove to the base psychiatrist that he was sane, Ewing was a man who seemed completely in control of his world, wheeling and dealing, backstabbing and cheating on his wife.

Read More..