ed Australia proposes banning social media for teens under 16 By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Thu, 07 Nov 2024 15:47:40 -0500 Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Thursday that his government would begin proceedings on a rule that would ban social media use for children under 16 years old. Full Article
ed Who will buy Infowars? Both supporters and opponents of Alex Jones interested in bankruptcy auction By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Fri, 08 Nov 2024 00:02:29 -0500 Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' Infowars broadcasts could end next week as he faces a court-ordered auction of his company's assets to help pay the more than $1 billion defamation judgment he owes families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Full Article
ed Vatican, Microsoft create AI-generated St. Peter's Basilica to allow virtual visits, log damage By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Mon, 11 Nov 2024 08:50:25 -0500 The Vatican and Microsoft on Monday unveiled a digital twin of St. Peter's Basilica that uses artificial intelligence to explore one of the world's most important monument's while helping the Holy See manage visitor flows and identify conservation problems. Full Article
ed Israeli media: Government confirms Netanyahu ordered pager attack on Hezbollah By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Mon, 11 Nov 2024 09:59:09 -0500 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved an audacious plan to employ booby-trapped pagers in September against members of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon, his office said Monday. Full Article
ed Facebook and Instagram users in Europe can opt for less personalized ads By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 09:26:14 -0500 Facebook and Instagram users in Europe will get the option to see less personalized ads if they don't want to pay for an ad-free subscription, social media company Meta said Tuesday, bowing to pressure from Brussels over digital competition concerns. Full Article
ed What Is Required For Salvation? By www.web-church.com Published On :: Thu, 29 May 2008 14:05:31 PST Learn what is essential in order to have Christ in your life and spend eternity with Him. There are other important things, but one essential. Full Article
ed As advertised: Derik Queen's double-double leads Maryland to season-opening rout of Manhattan By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Mon, 04 Nov 2024 20:55:46 -0500 The Baltimore big man recorded a double-double -- in the first half alone -- en route to a stellar 22 point, 20 rebound debut as Maryland pulled away from Manhattan in the second half to win its season opener, 79-49 Full Article
ed Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon expected to miss multiple weeks with right calf strain By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Tue, 05 Nov 2024 17:28:26 -0500 Denver Nuggets power forward Aaron Gordon is expected to miss multiple weeks with a strained right calf, two people familiar with the injury told The Associated Press. Full Article
ed South Carolina lifts suspension of Ashlyn Watkins after charges are dismissed By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Wed, 06 Nov 2024 13:36:00 -0500 South Carolina has lifted the suspension of forward Ashlyn Watkins after charges of assault and kidnapping were dismissed earlier this month. Full Article
ed Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks has surgery to repair fractured leg and dislocated ankle By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Wed, 06 Nov 2024 17:07:51 -0500 Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks underwent successful surgery on Wednesday to repair a fractured right fibula and dislocated ankle. Full Article
ed Joel Embiid is expected to make his season debut for the 76ers after injuries and suspension By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Mon, 11 Nov 2024 14:44:50 -0500 Joel Embiid is expected to play this week for the Philadelphia 76ers - barring another setback, and there is always that chance with the 7-footer - after he won Olympic gold, signed a contract extension, slogged through a knee injury, was the root of two NBA investigations, scuffled with a columnist and was hit with a technical foul for waving a towel from the bench. Full Article
ed Joel Embiid set to return to slumping 76ers team in need of his presence By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 12:17:36 -0500 Joel Embiid stuck around for extra work after shootaround. The 7-footer who has yet to officially step on the court for the Philadelphia 76ers this season was in no rush to finish his drills. Full Article
ed Prince William describes family's 'brutal' year as wife and father faced cancer treatment By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Fri, 08 Nov 2024 07:01:06 -0500 Britain's Prince William has described the past year as "brutal" following cancer diagnoses for his wife and father. "Honestly, it's been dreadful," he said. Full Article
ed Jury awards $12 million to woman fired after refusing to get COVID-19 vaccine By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Fri, 08 Nov 2024 17:35:35 -0500 A jury awarded more than $12 million Friday to a woman who lost her job at a Michigan insurance company after declining to get a COVID-19 vaccination. Full Article
ed Real Madrid defender Eder Militao tears ACL and needs surgery By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Sat, 09 Nov 2024 12:38:09 -0500 Just over a year since tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in his left leg, Real Madrid defender Eder Militao ruptured the ACL in his right leg when he crumbled amid screams at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Saturday. Full Article
ed 1 monkey recovered, 42 others still remain on the run from South Carolina lab By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Sat, 09 Nov 2024 13:46:55 -0500 One of 43 monkeys bred for medical research that escaped a compound in South Carolina has been recovered unharmed, officials said Saturday. Full Article
ed Traumatized by war, hundreds of Lebanon's children struggle with wounds both physical and emotional By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Mon, 11 Nov 2024 00:37:35 -0500 Curled up in his father's lap, clinging to his chest, Hussein Mikdad cried his heart out. The 4-year-old kicked his doctor with his intact foot and pushed him away with the arm that was not in a cast. "My Dad! My Dad!" Hussein said. "Make him leave me alone!" With eyes tearing up in relief and pain, the father reassured his son and pulled him closer. Full Article
ed WHO says mpox cases in Congo's epicenter where the new variant was detected may be 'plateauing' By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Mon, 11 Nov 2024 06:50:51 -0500 The World Health Organization said mpox cases in the region of Congo where a new and more infectious variant was first detected appear to be "plateauing," even as the virus continues to increase in other regions of the country, as well as in Burundi and Uganda. Full Article
ed Growing pollution in Pakistan's Punjab province has sickened 1.8M people in a month, officials say By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 07:50:05 -0500 Worsening air pollution sickened an estimated 1.8 million people in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province in the past month, health officials said Tuesday, as schools across the province were ordered to close for five days to protect children's health. Full Article
ed Justice Department sues to block UnitedHealth Group's $3.3 billion purchase of Amedisys By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 14:42:09 -0500 The Justice Department is suing to block UnitedHealth Group's $3.3 billion purchase of Amedisys, citing concerns the combination would hinder access to home health and hospice services in the U.S. Full Article
ed Dodgers great Fernando Valenzuela died of septic shock, medical examiner says By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 23:30:22 -0500 Fernando Valenzuela, the Los Angeles Dodgers pitching ace who helped the team win the 1981 World Series, died of septic shock last month, according to his death certificate. Full Article
ed Sebastian Coe among seven IOC members to enter race to succeed Thomas Bach as president By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Mon, 16 Sep 2024 07:09:43 -0400 Two former Olympic champions are in the race to be the next IOC president. So is a prince of a Middle East kingdom and the son of a former president. The global leaders of cycling, gymnastics and skiing also are in play. Full Article
ed Chiles takes bid to have Olympic bronze medal restored to Swiss Supreme Court By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Mon, 16 Sep 2024 18:48:38 -0400 American gymnast Jordan Chiles is asking Switzerland's Supreme Court to overturn a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that stripped Chiles of a bronze medal in floor exercise at the 2024 Olympics. Full Article
ed New Edwin Moses doc '13 Steps' shows how clearing the hurdles was the easy part for a track icon By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Wed, 18 Sep 2024 10:09:46 -0400 Not long after Edwin Moses figured out how to attack the solution to track's ultimate math problem, he transformed himself into the best hurdler in history. Full Article
ed Biden: Olympians represented 'the very best of America' By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Mon, 30 Sep 2024 13:01:26 -0400 Declaring the U.S. the "greatest sports nation in the history of the world," President Joe Biden welcomed U.S. Olympians and Paralympians at the White House on Monday to recognize their achievement in this summer's Games in Paris. Full Article
ed Russian Olympic Committee president to step down. Neutral athletes competed at Paris Games By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Tue, 15 Oct 2024 12:47:29 -0400 The president of the suspended Russian Olympic Committee said Tuesday he plans to step down after six years in charge. Full Article
ed Doping ban reduced for German hockey player who won Olympic silver medal By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Wed, 16 Oct 2024 08:28:42 -0400 Yannic Seidenberg, who won the silver medal with the German men's hockey team at the 2018 Olympics, has had his doping ban cut by 18 months. Full Article
ed That's flippin' amazing! Figure skating Grand Prix season begins with backflips no longer banned By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Wed, 16 Oct 2024 13:10:35 -0400 American figure skater Ilia Malinin has been doing gymnastics off the ice much of his life, one of the many reasons why he can so effortlessly land the dazzling quadruple jumps that made him a world champion at just 19 years old last March. Full Article
ed 7 charged in cyberbullying campaign targeting Paris Olympics' artistic director By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Fri, 25 Oct 2024 09:09:31 -0400 French authorities said Friday they have charged seven individuals in connection with a cyberbullying campaign targeting Thomas Jolly, the artistic director behind the Paris Olympics' opening and closing ceremonies. Full Article
ed Olympic medalist race walker Koki Ikeda of Japan suspended in doping investigation By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Fri, 01 Nov 2024 12:48:17 -0400 Olympic silver medalist race walker Koki Ikeda of Japan has been provisionally banned for suspected blood doping, track and field's Athletics Integrity Unit said on Friday. Full Article
ed Notre Dame marks arrival of Paris Olympics' iconic trackside bell as cathedral reopening nears By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Thu, 07 Nov 2024 09:02:05 -0500 Paris's Notre Dame cathedral, whose historic bells were silenced following 2019's devastating fire, will soon echo again with fresh chimes. Full Article
ed Canada Soccer Association said Olympics drone-spying scandal was not an isolated misstep By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Fri, 08 Nov 2024 16:57:00 -0500 The Canadian Soccer Association says an independent review confirmed the Paris Olympics drone-spying scandal was not an isolated misstep. Full Article
ed Federal judge blocks state law ordering Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 16:21:45 -0500 A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a state law that would require classrooms in Louisiana to post the Ten Commandments starting in January. Full Article
ed Louisville residents urged to shelter in place after apparent explosion at business By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 16:38:06 -0500 At least 11 employees were taken to hospitals and residents were urged to shelter in place after an apparent explosion at a Louisville, Kentucky, business on Tuesday. Full Article
ed Democrats for Life wins 97% of endorsed elections in rebuke to party's abortion stance By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 17:46:04 -0500 Democrats for Life of America said Tuesday that 97% of its endorsed candidates won their races in last week's election, which raises the question: Is there such a thing as a pro-life Democrat? Full Article
ed Five Ship-Based Shows You Should Watch By www.scifistream.com Published On :: Thu, 30 May 2024 07:29:01 +0000 If you are looking for an outer-space romp, here are five recommendations for your next sci-fi binge! The post Five Ship-Based Shows You Should Watch first appeared on SciFi Stream. Full Article Lists Video
ed Star Trek: Prodigy Return Date Has Been Revealed By www.scifistream.com Published On :: Mon, 03 Jun 2024 19:38:06 +0000 Dal and the crew of the U.S.S. Protostar return for a second season of adventures this summer at its new streaming home. The post Star Trek: Prodigy Return Date Has Been Revealed first appeared on SciFi Stream. Full Article Star Trek Netflix
ed EU BON featured in the January newsletter of the The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Wed, 13 Feb 2013 13:36:18 +0200 The news about the International Symposium "Nature and Governance – Biodiversity Data, Science, and the Policy Interface" and the official EU BON Kickoff Meeting has been reflected in the January newsletter of the The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). GBIF only features high end biodiversity news and major projects. EU BON project summary is placed in the collaborations section of the newsletter and the two events are included in the Upcoming Events, pointed out to the readers' attention. To view the GBIF newsletter for January, please go to: http://www.gbif.org/communications/resources/newsletters/, or see the newsletter PDF attached below. Full Article News
ed Data paper describes Antarctic biodiversity data gathered by 90 expeditions since 1956 By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Wed, 20 Feb 2013 12:23:00 +0200 Huge data encompassed into a unique georeferenced macrobenthic assemblages database A new peer-reviewed data paper offers a comprehensive, open-access collection of georeferenced biological information about the Antarctic macrobenthic communities. The term macrobenthic refers to the visible-for-the-eye organisms that live near or on the sea bottom such as echinoderms, sponges, ascidians, crustaceans. The paper will help in coordinating biodiversity research and conservation activities on species living near the ocean bottom of the Antarctic.The data paper "Antarctic macrobenthic communities: A compilation of circumpolar information", published in the open access journal Nature Conservation, describes data from approximately 90 different expeditions in the region since 1956 that have now been made openly available under a CC-By license. The paper provides unique georeferenced biological basic information for the planning of future coordinated research activities, for example those under the umbrella of the biology program Antarctic Thresholds – Ecosystem Resilience and Adaptation (AnT-ERA) of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). The information collected could be also beneficial for current conservation priorities such as the planning of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).The expeditions were organised by several famous explorers of the Antarctic. The area covered by the paper consists of almost the entire Southern Ocean, including sites covered by a single ice-shelf. The vast majority of information is from shelf areas around the continent at water depth shallower than 800m. The information from the different sources is then attributed to the classified macrobenthic assemblages. The results are made publicly available via the "Antarctic Biodiversity Facility" (data.biodiversity.aq).A specific feature of this paper is that the manuscript was automatically generated from the Integrated Publishing Toolkit of the Antarctic Node of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (AntaBIF IPT) and then submitted to the journal Nature Conservation through a novel workflow developed by GBIF and Pensoft Publishers. (see previous press release). Data are made freely available through the AntaBIF IPT, and sea-bed images of 214 localities through the data repository for geoscience and environmental data, PANGAEA- Data Publisher for Earth and Environmental Science (sample: http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.198682). Speaking from on board the research vessel 'Polarstern', the paper's lead author Prof. Julian Gutt of the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Germany commented: "The most important achievement of this paper is that data collected over many years and by various institutions are now not only freely available for anyone to download and use, but also properly described to facilitate future work in re-using the data. The Data Paper concept is certainly a great approach that multiplies the effect of funds and efforts spent by generations of scientists." The data will also be used for a comprehensive Biogeography Atlas of the Southern Ocean project to be released during the XI SCAR Biology Symposium in Barcelona July 2013. SOURCE: EurekAlert! Full Article News
ed New "LinkOut" tool by National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) providing easy link to PubMed and GenBank data By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:48:00 +0200 A new "LinkOut" feature introduced by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) NCBI’s allows the easy linking to content on PubMed and GenBank. Dryad has already introduced the feature benefitting from easy and fast linking of associated content to the two resources. PubMed and GenBank, from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), are hugely popular resources for searching and retrieving article abstracts and nucleotide sequence data, respectively. PubMed indexes the vast majority of the biomedical literature, and deposition of nucleotide sequences in GenBank or one of the other INSDC databases is a near universal requirement for publication in a scientific journal. LinkOut allows the data from an article to be distributed among repositories without compromising its discoverability. Dryad, intends to expand on this feature in a couple of ways. First, it is planned to make Dryad content searchable via the PubMed and GenBank identifiers, which because of their wide use will provide a convenient gateway for other biomedical databases to link out to Dryad. Second, open web standards will be used to expose relationships between content in Dryad and other repositories, not just NCBI. Original source: Dryad news and views Full Article News
ed Research Data Alliance (RDA) is now launched By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:03:40 +0200 The Research Data Alliance (RDA) has been recently launched. Its First Plenary took place between 18-20 March, 2013 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The hot topic of the Plenary was the RDA vision towards open access data without barriers. The 3 days of meetings and working sessions brought the research data community together to contribute and set milestones for the future work of the RDA towards open access data-driven innovation. Over the last decade, significant investments have been made all over the globefor developing scientific data infrastructures to support the work of research communities and improving shared access to data. There is a common understanding that solutions must be global and that the development of an integrated and interoperable data domain can only be achieved through increased global cooperation. As "big data" emerges as an international priority, the Research Data Alliance (RDA) is a newly formed organization whose goal is to accelerate data-driven innovation world-wide through research data sharing and exchange. At its first Plenary, the RDA was launched by sponsors from the European Commission, the U. S. Government and the Australian Government and leaders in the data community. The Plenary was used as a working meeting to accelerate discussion, Working and Interest Group interaction, and data community development. ICSU-WDS Data Publication Charter: http://www.icsu-wds.org/working-groups/data-publication Full Article News
ed Make us visible! – take full advantage of the project’s social media By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:23:00 +0300 Join the online community of EU BON and create buzz around the project. Take full advantage of our social network channels to interact with stakeholders and contribute to the EU BON discussion. Get an easy access and the latest updates on news and events around the project. You are a click away from making a difference to the project’s visibility. Like, follow or join EU BON Social Media and get involved in the community now! Like us on Facebook • Get the latest news in pictures and videos • Interact and join a community of like-minded supporters • Find out about events and group activities Follow us on Twitter • Get short and up-to-the-point updates on the latest news • Take part in live discussions during conferences and conventions • Join and interact with a wider bioinformatics community Join us on Google+ • Join a growing social community • Get the latest project and news alongside relevant media • Promote the project and get involved in discussions in your circles Join us on LinkedIn • Get in touch with professionals in the area of research • Contribute to discussions • Promote your project in a professional community Full Article News
ed Improved flow of European biodiversity data By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 14:05:00 +0300 The Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre (NBIC) was host to an international biodiversity informatics workshop May 29th-31st. The event was held as part of the EU-project European Biodiversity Observation Network (EU BON), where NBIC is a partner. The theme for the ‘EU BON Initial Informatics Workshop’ was data architectures, standards and interoperability (improving flow of information between systems). The event gathered renowned international and national experts within data structures for biological data. EU-project for better data flowNBIC is the Norwegian partner in EU BON, an EU-project spanning 5 years where 30 institutions from 18 countries contribute. The objective is to build an infrastructure that improves the flow of biodiversity data in all of Europe. Furthermore, the project is a European affiliate to its global counterpart (GEO BON) and will contribute to the work of the newly established ‘Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services’ (IPBES). Good solutions showcasedWorldwide, a large number distinct standards and solutions for management of data on species and nature types exist, and one of EU BON’s objectives is to find solutions to get all of these systems to communicate with one another. Several attendees contributed with presentations highlighting diverse standards and solutions for interoperability. Additionally, four international players in the field of biodiversity informatics presented general international initiatives, projects and services relevant to EU BON. What is biodiversity informatics? Biodiversity informatics is the field of applying IT techniques to improve management and presentation of biodiversity information, making it easier to discover, use and analyze such data. Full Article News
ed The First EU BON stakeholder roundtable: What policy needs By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 18:12:00 +0300 The first EU BON Stakeholder Round Table was held on 18 June 2013 at the Leibniz Association in Brussels, under the motto "Requirements for Policy". Important topics regarding biodiversity information were discussed with political stakeholders and a variety of valuable recommendations were given for the future process of EU BON. Among the participants were members of the European policy, representatives of recent European biodiversity projects and EU BON members. At the round table, intensive discussions took place regarding what biodiversity policy needs, like which indicators and measurements are needed to answer burning policy questions. Suggestions were made to formalize Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBV’s) and Aichi targets. A future approach was set towards producing a guideline and timeline for indicators that should be established within EU BON. The challenges of future research policy were also discussed and the collaboration of EU BON with the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) will be a substantial part of the continuous contributions to the global process. EU BON should also serve as a showcase for the European Commission in this respect. EU BON will also be responsible for answering crucial questions regarding data policy, e.g. how to establish a general repository for a long-lasting storage of data and how to handle ‘big data’. Another future task will be to integrate EU relevant projects and initiatives and their data portals, datasets and metadata. At the round table it was also discussed how public stakeholders can be involved in the future, particularly citizen scientists, so that they could be integrated in EU BON and provide useful information for scientists and researchers. Among the participants were representatives of major biodiversity stakeholders including Gilles Ollier, Jane Shiel and Sofie Vandewoestijne - European Commission, DG Research and Innovation; Anne Teller - European Commission, DG Environment; Georgios Sarantakos - GEO Secretariat; Cigdem Adem - European Environment Agency; representatives of recent European biodiversity projects (FunDiv, BioFresh, STEP and INSPIRE) and EU BON members. Presentations: 1_Häuser_EU_BON_biodiversity data.pdf (1.7MB) 2_Verheyen_FunDivEUROPE.pdf (793KB) 3_Freyhof_BioFresh.pdf (1.0MB) 4_Penev_STEP.pdf (890KB) 5_May_INSPIRE.pdf (1.1MB) 6_Galbusera_ConGRESS.pdf (2.8MB) 7_Köljag_EU BON gap analyses.pdf (379KB) 8_Secades_biodiversity indicators.pdf (1.1MB) 9_Sarantakos_GEO.pdf (1.2MB) 10_Teller_EU 2020.pdf (556KB) 11_Runnel_EU BON Citizen Science perspectives.pdf (326KB) 12_Adem_EEA and Citizen Science.pdf (2.0MB) 13_Mergen_EU-BON Biodiversity Portal.pdf (204KB) EU BON_minutes_Stakeholder Meeting v7.pdf (479KB) Full Article News
ed "Biodiversity and Integrated Environmental Monitoring": A new book explores the challenges in front of biodiversity data management and implementation in the future By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 13:24:00 +0300 The Brazilian initiative PPBio (The Program for Research on Biodiversity) launches a new book based on over a decade of experience in implementing the biodiversity monitoring system RAPELD in the Brazilian Amazon. Richly illustrated and written in simple language, the book "Biodiversity and Integrated Environmental Monitoring" addresses the issues that led to the system development, covering topics such as the spatial organization and representation of biological diversity, environmental monitoring, and data management. Monitoring of biodiversity is not merely an academic endeavor. Although scientific aspects such as representation of biodiversity and biodiversity data integration, management and preservation are of a great importance, it is also essential to think about the political context in which decisions will be made and how to incorporate political stakeholders and decision makers. "As this important book makes clear questions about biodiversity are far from purely scientific. Biodiversity matters. Our needs to assess it embed in a complex of questions posed by managers, policy makers and those who live in or otherwise benefit from biodiversity.", explains Dr Stuart L. Pimm in the preface of the book. "So how do we ensure that data collected now will be useful for purposes we cannot yet imagine at some unexpected time in the future? Or provide comparison to some other place that we might survey some day?" Those and many more questions regarding biodiversity data management and policy involvement are discussed in the new book "Biodiversity and Integrated Environmental Monitoring". Full Article News
ed Memorandum of Understanding signed at Bioinformatics Horizon Conference in Rome By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 10:26:00 +0300 At the Bioinformatics Horizon 2013 Conference (3 - 6 September 2013, Rome) a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between PESI and EU BON. Christoph Häuser, on behalf of EU BON and Yde de Jong on behalf of PESI (see picture below), signed the document to strengthen the cooperation and formalise the integrating efforts of the European species infrastructures. PESI is now a new associate partner of EU BON, a consortium with currently 30 partners from 18 countries. One of the common aims of EU BON and PESI will be to establish and sustain standard taxonomies for Europe. EU BON will support the PESI backbone developments, including its components, with a focus on Fauna Europaea and Euro+Med. Besides analyzing current gaps, new ideas will be developed to trigger expert involvement and enhance the data management systems. In a side-meeting at BIH 2013, some ideas were discussed with available EU BON and PESI partners. Important steps will be taken to secure the sustainability of databases and expertise networks combined with the development of technical innovations for users and stakeholders and to promote the implementation of PESI as a European (INSPIRE) standard. It will be also important to further integrate the huge expertise networks, outreach to PESI Focal Points and expand the geographical scope. Furthermore, it will be important to integrate additional data types and data-resources. Full Article News
ed New framework to deliver biodiversity knowledge By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Wed, 02 Oct 2013 13:57:00 +0300 Global Biodiversity Informatics Outlook sets out key steps to harness IT and open data to inform better decisions Copenhagen, Denmark – A new initiative launched today (2 Oct) aims to coordinate global efforts and funding to deliver the best possible information about life on Earth, and our impacts upon it. The Global Biodiversity Informatics Outlook sets out a framework to harness the immense power of information technology and an open data culture to gather unprecedented evidence about biodiversity and to inform better decisions. The framework is outlined in a document and website entitled Delivering Biodiversity Knowledge in the Information Age, inviting policy makers, funders, researchers, informatics specialists, data holders and others to unite around four key focus areas where progress is needed. The focus areas, each consisting of several specific components, are: Culture – promoting practices and infrastructure for sharing data, using common standards and persistent archives, backed up by strong policy incentives and a community of willing specialists; Data – addressing the need to transform all data about species, past and present, into usable and accessible digital formats; from historic collections and literature to citizen science observations, remote sensors and gene sequencing; Evidence – organizing and assessing data from all sources to provide clear, consistent views giving them context; including taxonomic organization, integrated occurrences in time and space, capturing information about species interactions, and improving data quality through collaborative curation; and Understanding – building models from recorded measurements and observations to support data-driven research and evidence-based planning, including predictive tools, better visualization and feedbacks to prioritize new data capture. The document is being promoted through a number of upcoming events this month, including the Governing Board of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD SBSTTA) where it forms part of the discussion on meeting global targets to end biodiversity loss. The framework arose from the Global Biodiversity Informatics Conference which gathered around 100 experts in Copenhagen in July, 2012, to identify critical questions relating to biodiversity and tools needed answer them. Workshop leaders at that conference went on to draw up and author the current document. The Global Biodiversity Informatics Outlook includes examples of projects and initiatives contributing to its objectives, and the accompanying website www.biodiversityinformatics.org invites feedback from others wishing to align their own activities to the framework. A deck of slides for presentations about GBIO is available at http://www.slideshare.net/GBIF/global-biodiversity-informatics-outlook Full Article News
ed Advanced Open Access publishing model By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 14:45:00 +0300 The Biodiversity Data Journal goes beyond the basics of the Gold Open Access There are two main modes of open access publishing – Green Open Access, where the author has the right to provide free access to the article outside the publisher's web site in a repository or on his/her own website, and Gold Open Access, where articles are available for free download directly from the publisher on the day of publication. Opening of content and data, however does not necessarily mean "easy to discover and re-use". The Biodiversity Data Journal proposed the term "Advanced Open Access" to describe an integrated, narrative (text) and data publishing model where the main goal is to make content "re-usable" and "interoperable" for both humans and computers. To publish effectively in open access, it is not sufficient simply to provide PDF or HTML files online. It is crucial to put these under a reuse-friendly license and to implement technologies that allow machine-readable content and data to be harvested and collated into a big data pool. The Advanced Open Access means: Free to read Free to re-use, revise, remix, redistribute Easy to discover and harvest Content automatically summarised by aggregators Data and narrative integrated to the widest extent possible Human- and computer-readable formats Community-based, pre- and post-publication peer-review Community ownership of data Free to publish or at low cost affordable by all BDJ shortens the distance between "narrative" (text) and "data" publishing. Many data types, such as species occurrences, checklists, measurements and others, are converted into text from spreadsheets for better readability by humans. Conversely, text from an article can be downloaded as structured data or harvested by computers for further analysis. "Open access is definitely one of the greatest steps in scientific communication comparable to the invention of the printing technology or the peer-review system. Great but not sufficient!" said Prof. Lyubomir Penev, founder of Pensoft Publishers and the Biodiversity Data Journal. "We need to switch the focus already from making content 'available for free download' to being discoverable and extractable. Such re-usability multiplies society's investment in science". ### Additional information: The Biodiversity Data Journal is designed by Pensoft Publishers and was funded in part by the European Union's Seventh Framework Program (FP7) project ViBRANT. Source: Smith V, Georgiev T, Stoev P, Biserkov J, Miller J, Livermore L, Baker E, Mietchen D, Couvreur T, Mueller G, Dikow T, Helgen K, Frank J, Agosti D, Roberts D, Penev L (2013) Beyond dead trees: integrating the scientific process in the Biodiversity Data Journal. Biodiversity Data Journal 1: e995. DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.1.e995 Full Article News
ed The cyber-centipede: From Linnaeus to big data By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 13:34:00 +0200 Taxonomic descriptions, introduced by Linnaeus in 1735, are designed to allow scientists to tell one species from another. Now there is a new futuristic method for describing new species that goes far beyond the tradition. The new approach combines several techniques, including next generation molecular methods, barcoding, and novel computing and imaging technologies, that will test the model for big data collection, storage and management in biology. The study has just been published in the Biodiversity Data Journal. While 13,494 new animal species were discovered by taxonomists in 2012, animal diversity on the planet continues to decline with unprecedented speed. Concerned with the rapid disappearance rates scientists have been forced towards a so called 'turbo taxonomy' approach, where rapid species description is needed to manage conservation. While acknowledging the necessity of fast descriptions, the authors of the new study present the other 'extreme' for taxonomic description: "a new species of the future". An international team of scientists from Bulgaria, Croatia, China, UK, Denmark, France, Italy, Greece and Germany illustrated a holistic approach to the description of the new cave dwelling centipede species Eupolybothrus cavernicolus, recently discovered in a remote karst region of Croatia. The project was a collaboration between GigaScience, China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen and Pensoft Publishers. Eupolybothrus cavernicolus has become the first eukaryotic species for which, in addition to the traditional morphological description, scientists have provided a transcriptomic profile, DNA barcoding data, detailed anatomical X-ray microtomography (micro-CT), and a movie of the living specimen to document important traits of its behaviour. By employing micro-CT scanning in a new species, for the first time a high-resolution morphological and anatomical dataset is created - the 'cybertype' giving everyone virtual access to the specimen. This, most data-rich species description, represents also the first biodiversity project that joins the ISA (Investigation-Study-Assay) Commons, that is an approach created by the genomic and molecular biology communities to store and describe different data types collected in the course of a multidisciplinary study. "Communicating the results of next generation sequencing effectively requires the next generation of data publishing" says Prof. Lyubomir Penev, Managing director of Pensoft Publishers. "It is not sufficient just to collect 'big' data. The real challenge comes at the point when data should be managed, stored, handled, peer-reviewed, published and distributed in a way that allows for re-use in the coming big data world", concluded Prof. Penev. "Next generation sequencing is moving beyond piecing together a species genetic blueprint to areas such as biodiversity research, with mass collections of species in "metabarcoding" surveys bringing genomics, monitoring of ecosystems and species-discovery closer together. This example attempts to integrate data from these different sources, and through curation in BGI and GigaScience's GigaDB database to make it interoperable and much more usable," says Dr Scott Edmunds from BGI and Executive Editor of GigaScience. Additional information: Pensoft and the Natural History Museum London have received financial support by the EU FP7 projects ViBRANT and pro-iBiosphere. The China National GeneBank (CNGB) and GigaScience teams have received support from the BGI. The DNA barcodes were obtained through the International Barcode of Life Project supported by grants from NSERC and from the government of Canada through Genome Canada and the Ontario Genomics Institute. Original Sources: Stoev P, Komerički A, Akkari N, Shanlin Liu, Xin Zhou, Weigand AM, Hostens J, Hunter CI, Edmunds SC, Porco D, Zapparoli M, Georgiev T, Mietchen D, Roberts D, Faulwetter S, Smith V, Penev L (2013) Eupolybothrus cavernicolus Komerički & Stoev sp. n. (Chilopoda: Lithobiomorpha: Lithobiidae): the first eukaryotic species description combining transcriptomic, DNA barcoding and micro-CT imaging data. Biodiversity Data Journal 1: e1013. DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.1.e1013 Edmunds SC, Hunter CI, Smith V, Stoev P, Penev L (2013) Biodiversity research in the "big data" era: GigaScience and Pensoft work together to publish the most data-rich species description. GigaScience 2:14 doi:10.1186/2047-217X-2-14 Watch the 3D cybertype video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqPuwKG8hE4&feature=em-upload_owner Full Article News
ed European Commission launches pilot to open up publicly funded research data By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Mon, 16 Dec 2013 17:59:00 +0200 Today, 16/12/2013, the European Commission announced the launch of a new Pilot on Open Research Data in Horizon 2020, to ensure that valuable information produced by researchers in many EU-funded projects will be shared freely. Researchers in projects participating in the pilot are asked to make the underlying data needed to validate the results presented in scientific publications and other scientific information available for use by other researchers, innovative industries and citizens. This will lead to better and more efficient science and improved transparency for citizens and society. It will also contribute to economic growth through open innovation. For 2014-2015, topic areas participating in the Open Research Data Pilot will receive funding of around €3 billion. The Commission recognises that research data is as important as publications. It therefore announced in 2012 that it would experiment with open access to research data (see IP/12/790). The Pilot on Open Research Data in Horizon 2020 does for scientific information what the Open Data Strategy does for public sector information: it aims to improve and maximise access to and re-use of research data generated by projects for the benefit of society and the economy. The Pilot involves key areas of Horizon 2020: Future and Emerging Technologies Research infrastructures – part e-Infrastructures Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies – Information and Communication Technologies Societal Challenge: Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy – part Smart cities and communities Societal Challenge: Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw materials – with the exception of topics in the area of raw materials Societal Challenge: Europe in a changing world – inclusive, innovative and reflective Societies Science with and for Society Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission for the Digital Agenda said "We know that sharing and re-using research data holds huge potential for science, society and the economy. This Pilot is an opportunity to see how different disciplines share data in practice and to understand remaining obstacles." Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn said: "This pilot is part of our commitment to openness in Horizon 2020. I look forward to seeing the first results, which will be used to help set the course for the future." Projects may opt out of the pilot to allow for the protection of intellectual property or personal data; in view of security concerns; or should the main objective of their research be compromised by making data openly accessible. The Pilot will give the Commission a better understanding of what supporting infrastructure is needed and of the impact of limiting factors such as security, privacy or data protection or other reasons for projects opting out of sharing. It will also contribute insights in how best to create incentives for researchers to manage and share their research data. The Pilot will be monitored throughout Horizon 2020 with a view to developing future Commission policy and EU research funding programmes. Full Article News