The recent release of recommendations for computer configurations from UC Davis’s Information and Education Technology department outlines what specifications students should have to achieve maximum functionality.

The list, the Recommended Computer Configurations for 2010-2011, has key changes from previous versions. It orients students to have more RAM (random-access memory), bigger hard-drives and a new operating system (for both Macs and PCs).

Outdated computers run the risk of not meeting campus cyber security policy, and not achieving desirable functionality both on and off campus.

Mark Stinson, client and services manager of IET, said he recommends following the list’s suggestions and could not think of any negatives of having these requirements fulfilled.

“You’ll probably have a computer that can do all you need it to do as a student at UC Davis,” Stinson said in an e-mail interview.

He said the main differences in this year’s version are in hard-drive size, the wireless card and Apple and Windows operating systems. Stinson said last year a PowerMac G5 computer from Apple was adequate but that has changed for this year.

“[A PowerMac G5] can’t accommodate the latest Apple operating system (10.6 Snow Leopard),” Stinson said.

A newly purchased computer can meet good standards for two to four years, but the fast rate of technological evolution may downsize the proficiency of a computer in shorter time, he said.

Computers falling under the category of obsolete in this recently released list should be replaced or upgraded. Students with these obsolete systems may not be able to receive technical support from IET and be in violation of campus cyber security policy.

Stinson points out that students do have the alternative option of using computer rooms on campus to fulfill their basic computer needs.

When interviewed, some students had skeptical views toward the list and its recommendations.

Danny Huang, a sophomore computer science and engineering major said he did not know that this list was out, or that it even existed.

“Honestly, I don’t think students look at this list at all,” Huang said.

He said he would not regard this list as important, believing its recommendations to be “overkill.”

Much like Huang, Vikram Singh, a junior electrical engineering major, was also unaware of the list. However, Singh said he believes that the list is helpful and that he “would recommend it to friends.” Although Singh said it would not encourage him to immediately purchase a new computer, Singh thought the list is “good for people who don’t know.”

Nevertheless, Stinson understood that not all students have the same needs.

“It depends on how much the student needs the computer for coursework or research, whether the student has alternatives (using the computer rooms, for example), how long until the student graduates and affordability,” he said.

In terms of affordability, students can look to many sources to purchase a computer with the specifications recommended on the 2010-2011 list.

A computer such as those recommended on the list does not have to cost thousands of dollars. It is possible to find a computer that meets most of the IET’s recommendations at major retailers for approximately $479. According to Stinson, such a computer purchase would meet good standards for two to four years.

The recommended computer configurations list for the 2010-2011 academic year is accessible to all students on the IET website (iet.ucdavis.edu), a source students can consult when purchasing or upgrading a computer.

For more information in regards to this list, or any computer needs, go to iet.ucdavis.edu.

ERIC C. LIPSKY can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

A group of American and Russian scientists has discovered a new element that is a missing link to developing some of the heaviest bits of atomic mass ever produced.

The element, still nameless, was produced by smashing together an isotope of calcium with the radioactive element berkelium in a particle accelerator near Moscow.

Published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the data supports the theory that as elements become heavier, they also become more stable and live longer than other atomic structures produced before.

In order for the element to gain an official name, the discovery has to be confirmed at another location. Once confirmed, the element will take its place on the periodic table.

Source: nytimes.com

Researchers learn about the brain from songbirds

The next time you call someone a bird brain, it may be a compliment.

Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine have learned new information about the brain by decoding the genome of a zebra finch. Male zebra finches are known for their ability to learn a single love song from their father that they repeat through life.

The team of researchers, led by Wesley C. Warren and Richard K. Wilson, hope to glean clues about how humans learn language. The mechanisms of this learning in birds seem to have similarities with human vocal learning, all the way down to specific genes.

Decoding the zebra finch’s genome also assists others who study the bird’s other behaviors including its parental care and selection of mates.

Source: nytimes.com

Facial cues unnecessary for reading others’ emotions, study says

In a new study at San Francisco State University, researchers have discovered that people with Moebuis syndrome – a congenital condition that causes facial paralysis – have no trouble identifying other people’s emotions even though they cannot express them themselves.

The study comes from the theory that people determine others’ emotions by facial mimicry – the tendency of people to mirror each other’s emotions and facial cues.

Results from this study suggest that the brain has other systems to recognize facial expressions and people with facial paralysis learn to take advantage of those systems. If this can be taught, then it could be used to help others with social awkwardness or other developmental or social problems.

Source: nytimes.com

Cancer test may have anti-doping implications for athletes

A test used for cancer treatments may be a new way to determine if athletes are using human growth hormone.

The test uses the same concept that is used to detect breast and bone cancer. A laboratory technician takes several milliliters of blood, spins it in a centrifuge and then mixes it with chemicals. The reaction with the chemicals causes the sample to illuminate and the intensity of that light can signal whether a person has used human growth hormone over the past 10 to 14 days.

Anti-doping officials hope to use this new testing method as soon as possible because it is a drastic improvement over the older test. The previous test can only detect human growth hormone that has been used in the previous 24 to 48 hours.

Source: nytimes.com

– Compiled by NICK MARKWITH

Early ecologists thought plants were wimps. Sure, some plants have toxins or thorns, but most just sit there like wild salad bars. Plant passivity is the dark side of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. In a conflict between plant and herbivore, the caterpillar gets fat and the plant gets dead.

Researchers at UC Davis, however, are studying plant responses to enemies like viruses and insects. It turns out plants are far from defenseless. They can fight off disease and even call in reinforcements. In the struggle for survival, every leaf is a battlefield.

Dr. Bryce Falk, professor of plant pathology at UC Davis, said that viral infections are easy to see in a garden. Find a plant where the leaves look like a dark green/light green “mosaic.” This odd coloring is often the result of a virus. The light green patches are where the virus is winning, causing the plant to produce less green-colored chlorophyll. The dark green patches are where the plant’s immune system is winning. Many plants build up natural immunity to viruses over multiple generations.

Naturally, humans arrive and eff that up.

California’s famous orange trees and grapevines are losing a battle against foreign viruses that cause diseases called citrus tristeza and grapevine leafroll.

“When these grapes and trees were brought here, someone brought a virus with them,” Falk said.

Not only did humans give plants viruses, but we also took away their weapons. Farmers don’t usually plant grapevines or trees using seeds. Instead, they use a clipping from a live vine or tree. The result is a plant that is genetically identical to its parent. The fields of genetic copies have no chance of evolving immunity to disease because we keep them from reproducing naturally.

“In many cases, they’ve lost the natural resistance to pathogens,” Falk said.

Ian Pearse, an entomology graduate student at UC Davis, said we can thank plant defenses against insect predators for some of our favorite foods.

Pearse said that researchers discovered long ago that basil grown in a greenhouse is less tasty than basil grown outside. They found that basil leaves naturally release chemicals to ward off predators. When grown indoors, the predator threat is reduced and leaves don’t produce the chemicals.

Insects might hate the taste of basil, but many humans enjoy plant-defense-chemicals in spaghetti sauce.

“A lot of the flavor is a result of defenses against herbivores,” Pearse said.

Pearse added that caffeine and nicotine are also produced by plants as protection against insects.

Plants may be sedentary, but they have allies that can launch an attack. Pearse said many “clever” plants react to insect herbivores by releasing chemicals that attract herbivore-killing critters. Plants munched on by caterpillars can call on parasitoid wasps to fly down and take out enemies. This same strategy has been observed in corn, tomatoes and tobacco plants.

A recent study out of the University of Florida found that citrus tree roots attacked by pests called citrus root weevils (Diaprepes abbreviates) emit compounds that attract weevil-munching worms called nematodes. Scientists call this a “tritrophic interaction.” I call it the circle of death!

Pearse said that an important plant defense is simply being hard to find. Many plants have specific predators out to get them. So if there are a few grapevines scattered in an ecosystem, it’s harder for insects to locate and travel between them.

In gardening folklore, they say you can stop pests by placing gross-tasting marigolds between plants in a garden. Pearse doesn’t know if marigolds are anything special, but he thinks the real trick is having a variety of plants.

“By having a diverse garden, it’s likely that you’ll cut down on some degree of herbivory,” Pearse said.

Of course, people found a way to mess up that defense, too. We like to grow crops of the same kind very close together. This system is called “monoculture,” and insects see it as a feast. We screw up plant defenses against pests and then spend bushels of money on pesticides. Plants have spent millennia evolving protection against natural enemies, but they have little way of stopping the very hungry Homo sapiens.

As Falk put it, “Humans are the worst.”

MADELINE McCURRY-SCHMIDT wants to share a plant joke that her little brother made up. Q: What do plants do in the Shire? A: They Frodo-synthesize. E-mail her your favorite science jokes at memschmidt@ucdavis.edu.