interestingworldme-blog

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First trans-Neptunian object with a ring

The dwarf planet Haumea is confirmed to have a ring, the first time such a feature has been discovered around a trans-Neptunian object.

On the outskirts of our Solar System, beyond the orbit of Neptune, lies a belt of objects composed of ice and rocks, among which four dwarf planets stand out: Pluto, Eris, Makemake and Haumea. The latter is the least well known of the four and was recently the object of an international observation campaign that established its main physical characteristics. The study, led by astronomers from the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia and published in the journal Nature, reveals the presence of a ring around the planet.

Trans-Neptunian objects are difficult to study because of their small size, their low brightness, and the enormous distances that separate us from them. A very efficient but complex method lies in the study of stellar occultations, or the passing of these objects in front of a star (like a small eclipse). It allows astronomers to determine the main physical characteristics of an object (size, shape, and density) and has been successfully applied to dwarf planets Pluto, Eris and Makemake.

"We predicted that Haumea would pass in front of a star on 21st January 2017, and 12 telescopes from ten different European observatories converged on the phenomenon," says José Luis Ortiz, researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC) in charge of the study. "This deployment of technical means allowed us to reconstruct – with a very high precision – the shape and size of dwarf planet Haumea, and discover to our surprise that it is considerably bigger and less reflecting than was previously believed. It is also much less dense than previously thought, which answered questions that had been pending about the object."

Haumea is an interesting body: it rotates around the Sun in an elliptical orbit, which takes 284 years to complete (it presently lies 50 times further from the Sun than the Earth) and takes 3.9 hours to rotate around its axis, far less than any other body of 100 km or greater size in the entire Solar System. This high rotational speed causes it to flatten out, giving it an ellipsoid shape, similar to a rugby ball. The newly published data reveals that Haumea measures 2,320 km in its largest axis – almost the same as Pluto – but lacks the global atmosphere that Pluto has.

"One of the most interesting and unexpected findings was the discovery of a ring around Haumea," says Pablo Santos-Sanz, another member of the IAA-CSIC team. "Until a few years ago, we only knew of the existence of rings around the giant planets. Then, recently, our team discovered that two small bodies between Jupiter and Neptune, belonging to a group called centaurs, have dense rings around them, which came as a big surprise. Now we have discovered that bodies even farther away than the centaurs – bigger and with very different general characteristics – can also have rings."

According to the data obtained from the stellar occultation, the ring lies on the equatorial plane of the dwarf planet, just like its biggest satellite, Hi'iaka, and it displays a 3:1 resonance with respect to the rotation of Haumea, which means that the frozen particles which compose the ring rotate three times slower around the planet than it rotates around its own axis.

"There are different possible explanations for the formation of the ring," says Ortiz. "It may have originated in a collision with another object, or in the dispersal of surface material, due to the planet's high rotational speed. It is the first time a ring has been discovered around a trans-Neptunian object, and shows that the presence of rings could be far more common than was previously thought, in our Solar System as well as other planetary systems."

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Liquid metal brings soft robotics a step closer

Researchers at the University of Sussex and Swansea University developed a way to apply electrical charges to manipulate liquid metal into 2D shapes such as letters and a heart. In the picture above, an amorphous blob is seen forming into a letter "S".

The team says their findings represent an "extremely promising" new class of materials that could be programmed to change shape seamlessly. This opens up new possibilities in 'soft robotics' and shape-changing displays, the researcher say.

While the invention might bring to mind the film Terminator 2, in which the main antagonist morphs out of a pool of liquid metal, the creation of such advanced 3D shapes is still some way off. More immediate applications could include reprogrammable circuit boards and conductive ink.

Yutaka Tokuda, the Research Associate working on this project at the University of Sussex, says: "This is a new class of programmable materials in a liquid state which can dynamically transform from a simple droplet shape to many other complex geometries in a controllable manner. While this work is in its early stages, the compelling evidence of detailed 2D control of liquid metals excites us to explore more potential applications in computer graphics, smart electronics, soft robotics and flexible displays."

The electric fields used to shape the liquid are created by a computer, meaning that the position and shape of the liquid metal can be programmed and controlled dynamically.

Professor Sriram Subramanian, head of the INTERACT Lab at the University of Sussex, said: "Liquid metals are an extremely promising class of materials for deformable applications; their unique properties include voltage-controlled surface tension, high liquid-state conductivity and liquid-solid phase transition at room temperature.

"One of the long-term visions of us and many other researchers is to change the physical shape, appearance and functionality of any object through digital control to create intelligent, dexterous and useful objects that exceed the functionality of any current display or robot."

[interestingworldme-blog]

Futuristic pedestrian crossing unveiled in London

A prototype "smart crossing" has been demonstrated in London, which automatically differentiates between vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists – adapting its markings and signals to their needs in real-time, ensuring a safer experience for all users.

The world’s first responsive road crossing is being showcased in London this week, aimed at tackling the 7,000+ incidents recorded each year at UK crossings between vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. Urban design technologists Umbrellium created the crossing for insurer Direct Line, in response to research by Transport Research Lab (TRL), which unearthed the dangers faced at pedestrian crossings.

Many factors were identified by TRL that affect the safety of pedestrians on road crossings. The pedestrian’s position and route as they cross the road, the influence of other pedestrians dangerously crossing the road and the impact of overcrowding at crossing facilities, are all potentially hazardous occurrences that shaped the design of this new technology.

The Smart Crossing, which spans 22m (72 ft) of responsive road surface, uses computer vision technology to “see” exactly what’s happening around it, and an LED road surface to change its markings dynamically to keep users safe, without manual input. It can pre-empt pedestrians’ movement and where their eyeline is most likely to be, helping to ensure it grabs attention to limit danger.

The project has received backing from road safety charity, Brake and The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) – who stated that the Smart Crossing “could offer an innovative solution across the UK and especially in London where the problem is most prevalent.”

The Smart Crossing has a number of other features:

• It can widen to accommodate large groups, which could help in preventing crowd-related incidents outside schools or sporting events

• It can instantly adapt in emergency situations, such as a child chasing a ball into the path of oncoming traffic

• It can provide warning signals for pedestrians walking across the road, to ensure they're not hidden by high-sided vehicles that can cause a blind spot for other road users

• It can use dynamic road and pavement patterns to grab the attention of "smombies" (i.e. pedestrians engrossed in their mobile phones), urging them to "look up" and focus on crossing the road safely and to make life safer for the 'head down' generation

Usman Haque, founding partner of Umbrellium, said: "This is a genuine problem and we've developed a genuine solution. The Smarter Crossing dynamically responds in real-time, using technology which has been designed with colours that we know and understand and practical designs that help those on the crossing feel comfortable, confident and safe.

This is about bringing pedestrian crossings up to speed with the rest of a modern-day city. Pedestrian crossings as we know them were made for a different age, when the human relationship with the city was completely different.

Our prototype is waterproof, can hold the weight of vehicles and can recognise the difference between pedestrians, vehicles and cyclists – it's ready to change the future of how we cross the road."

Rachael Lynch, Brand Activation Marketing Manager at Direct Line, said: "Direct Line develops high performance solutions to everyday challenges and our Smart Crossing is the latest example of this. We've developed a world first piece of technology to address the problems that arise when pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles meet; at a pedestrian crossing. "Cities across the world are future proofing and we believe our model could be an essential part of everyday life. In a world where we are immersed in mobile technology, the Smart Crossing can pre-empt danger and urge pedestrians to look up before crossing a road."

[interestingworldme-blog]

Scientists find way to genetically boost nutritional value of corn

Scientists at Rutgers University have found an efficient way to enhance the nutritional value of corn, by inserting a bacterial gene from E. colithat stimulates production of a key nutrient called methionine, an amino acid usually found in meat.

A genetic discovery by Rutgers University could benefit millions of people in developing countries, such as in South America and Africa, who depend on corn as a staple. It could also significantly reduce worldwide animal feed costs.

“We improved the nutritional value of corn, the largest commodity crop grown on Earth,” said Thomas Leustek, study co-author and professor in the Department of Plant Biology in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. “Most corn is used for animal feed, but it lacks methionine – a key amino acid – and we found an effective way to add it.”

Methionine, found in meat, is one of the nine essential amino acids that humans get from food. It is needed for growth and tissue repair, improves the tone and flexibility of skin and hair, and strengthens nails. The sulphur in methionine protects cells from pollutants, slows cell aging and is essential for absorbing selenium and zinc. Worldwide, several billion dollars of synthetic methionine is added to corn seeds annually, but the process is costly and energy-intensive.

The scientists inserted an E. coli bacterial gene into the corn plant’s genome and grew several generations of corn. The E. coli enzyme – 3′-phosphoadenosine-5′-phosphosulfate reductase (EcPAPR) – spurred methionine production in just the plant’s leaves instead of the entire plant to avoid the accumulation of any toxic by-products. As a result, methionine in corn kernels increased by 57 percent. Tests on chickens at the university showed that the genetically engineered corn was nutritious for them.

In the developed world, including the U.S., meat proteins generally have lots of methionine. But in the developing world, subsistence farmers grow corn for their family’s consumption: “Our study shows that they wouldn’t have to purchase methionine supplements or expensive foods that have higher methionine,” said Leustek.

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Offshore wind farms have powerful advantage over land-based turbines, study finds

Floating wind turbines at sea could create up to three times as much electricity as turbines on land, increasing the energy potential for a technology that has yet to be proven at scale, a new study suggests.

The new study comes at a time of reckoning for terrestrial wind power. Before the current wind power boom, researchers estimated that wind turbines on land could provide as much as 7 watts of power per square meter. But recent modeling shows that land turbines probably will provide only 1 watt per square meter when installed at scale. The problem is that turbines deplete the strength of winds downstream from them, creating a phenomenon called “wind shadow” that has proven a bigger issue than predicted.

Scientists at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Palo Alto, California, wanted to know whether turbines installed in the open ocean—where air currents are 70% stronger than on land—would also face wind shadow problems. So they conducted virtual experiments using a climate model, and in today’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences atmospheric scientist Anna Possner and climatologist Ken Caldiera report that turbines placed in the North Atlantic could produce three times as much power as an existing wind farm in Kansas of similar size.

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Driving this greater potential are wintertime low-pressure systems, which occur more frequently at sea than land. They efficiently mix energy from fast, upper level winds down to the surface of the ocean, speeding surface winds.  That means offshore wind turbines in close proximity would still encounter each other’s wind shadow, the authors write, but the wind speed would recover because of the replenished energy, allowing for sustained high power.

Charlie Zender, a physicist at the University of California, Irvine, commends the authors for a “masterful” analysis of the atmospheric forces at play. But he says the paper’s “relevance to energy policy is low” since the notion of building wind farms at sea, at the density envisioned in the paper, is still decades in the future. (Thus far, only a few companies are building floating wind farms because of high construction and operating costs.)

The authors say their findings should spur companies to try to overcome those obstacles, however, estimating that offshore wind farms in the North Atlantic alone “could potentially provide civilization- scale power.

[interestingworldme-blog]

Top stories: Science Nobels, a giant insect back from the dead, and how Neandertal DNA makes you fat

This year’s science Nobels

Two years ago, physicists detected for the first time the infinitesimal ripples in space called gravitational waves caused by the merger of two black holes. This observation fulfilled a century-old prediction from Albert Einstein and opened up a whole new way to explore the heavens. This week, three leaders of the massive experiment that made the discovery received the Nobel Prize in Physics. The Physiology or Medicine Prize recognized work on how several genes work together to control the basic circadian clock, encoding proteins that build up during the night and are broken down during the day. And three pioneers of a technique called cryo–electron microscopy won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The technique helped visualize biomolecules—everything from the needles that bacteria use to attack cells to the structure of Zika virus—with unprecedented detail.

The insult "You're a Neandertal!" has taken on dramatic new meaning in the past few years, as researchers have begun to identify the genes many of us inherited from our long-extinct relatives. By sequencing a remarkably complete genome from a 50,000-year-old bone fragment of a female Neandertal found in Vindija Cave in Croatia, researchers report a new trove of gene variants that living people outside of Africa obtained from Neandertals. Some of this DNA could influence cholesterol levels, the accumulation of belly fat, and the risk of schizophrenia and other diseases.

Disturbing allegations of sexual harassment in Antarctica leveled at noted scientist

Boston University is investigating sexual harassment complaints made against a prominent Antarctic geologist by two of his former graduate students. The women allege that David Marchant, then an assistant professor, harassed them during different research expeditions starting 2 decades ago, while they were isolated in small groups in the Antarctic. In supporting documents and interviews, several other women report similar treatment from Marchant in that period. But other women he has worked with defend Marchant, saying they do not recognize the man described in the complaints.

Watch a supercomputer design a radical new wing for airplanes

When engineers want to make an object weigh less, they literally cut corners. Using a tool called topology optimization, they enlist computers to snip as much material as possible from the inside of objects, reducing the number of spokes on a bicycle wheel, for example. But current methods can only optimize simple objects such as brackets and pipes. Now, a team of researchers says it has created a new method of paring down large-scale objects, such as plane wings.

Migrating researchers are cited the most, study finds

Researchers who are on the move are cited on average 40% more than those who aren’t, according to an analysis published this week. The study analyzed 14 million scholarly papers published between 2008 and 2015 by nearly 16 million individual authors. They found about 4%—more than 595,000 scholars—to be “mobile,” meaning they had affiliations with academic institutions in more than one nation. Of these, roughly 73% retained a footing at their original institution while gaining additional international affiliations. The remaining 27% became detached from the institution in their original country after moving and were the most highly cited, the study finds.

This giant Australian insect is still alive, despite being declared extinct nearly a century ago

Long thought to be extinct, Lord Howe Island stick insects (Dryococelus australis) are actually alive and well. The 15-centimeter-long bugs once thrived only on Lord Howe Island, near Australia. But after a ship accidentally introduced black rats to the island about a century ago, the stick insects disappeared, only to be found 40 years later on a nearby volcanic sea stack. But these critters didn't look like old stick insect museum specimens, leaving scientists wondering. Now, a DNA analysis shows that the live sticks and dead specimens are the same species.

Why was this 16th-century Scottish village buried in sand?

The farming town of Broo on Scotland’s Shetland Islands was no stranger to extreme weather. Located on an archipelago just south of the Arctic Circle, its inhabitants had braved lashing winds and bitterly cold winters. But it was something else that did Broo in: sand. Beginning around 1665, a series of sandstorms like nothing seen before buffeted the island, burying homes, destroying fertile soil, and eventually forcing the townspeople to flee. Now, scientists think they know what caused the freak weather event—and why it left neighboring towns relatively unscathed.

[interestingworldme-blog]

A behavioral approach wins the economics Nobel

Richard Thaler, an economist at University of Chicago, has been awarded the 2017 prize in economics "for his contributions to behavioural economics."

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences highlighted three areas in which Thaler's research has added aspects of human psychology into economics. As a founder of the field of behavioral finance, Thaler demonstrated some of the limitations people typically have with managing their finances. He also helped explain the impact of social preferences, such as for fairness, which can influence companies. Finally, Thaler has probed problems of self-control and how this has long-term consequences. Thaler is perhaps best known for an approach to interventions, called "nudging," which are designed to make self-control easier, for example by requiring people to opt out of pension contributions.  

Thaler will receive 9 million krona for the prize.  "I will try to spend it as irrationally as possible," he said by telephone at the press conference.

[interestingworldme-blog]

5 Ways to Track A Cell Phone Location for Free (iPhone,Samsung..)

The fear of losing one's phone is a strong fear, even stronger than the fear of losing a limb, perhaps because it is easier to conceive of losing a cell phone than waking up without a limb. In fact, this is such a pertinent fear that it even has a name! Yup, the fear of losing your cell phone is called Nomophobia. In fact, according to studies around 50% of people suffer from Nomophobia, to varying degrees. And it's really no wonder, most people keep their whole lives, all their memories, everything packed into their cell phones, and it is so very easy to lose, isn't it?

Anyway, this is a fear with a few very easy solutions. Tracking phone location for free is actually quite easy, and with the right applications for the right phones you can track a cell phone location for free almost instantly, whether it's lost or stolen. If you're someone who even remotely suffers from Nomophobia, then read on to find out how to track a cell phone location for free.

Part 1: How to track an iPhone location for free via Find My iPhone

The fear of losing an iPhone is probably the most excruciating one. Probably because it is expensive as hell, and no other phone is compatible with Apple devices. So if you lose an iPhone for good, you have no option but to again scrounge around to buy yet another ridiculously overpriced iPhone, even if you can hardly afford it! So lets start with giving you the solution for this fear. You can easily track iPhone location for free using Find My iPhone. This app can help you locate any lost or stolen Apple device from any other device.

What can 'Find My iPhone' Do?

It can pin point the exact location of your missing iPhone on a map.

It can activate a siren sound at full volume for 2 minutes so that anyone close-by can identify and hopefully return it.

It can put the device under Lock with a Passcode.

You can Toggle on "Lost Mode", and flash a custom message on the screen of the iPhone.

You can find the shortest driving route to the iPhone.

If you feel the iPhone has been stolen or compromised, you can wipe off all data.    

How to track iPhone location for free using Find my iPhone:

Step 1: Download and Enable the App.

You can download the App  from the app store if you don't have it.

Your 'Find My iPhone' app needs to have been enabled before losing the iPhone. Go to Settings > iCloud. Enter the Apple ID. Then toggle the 'Find My iPhone' setting On.

Step 2: Use Another iOS Device to locate it.

You can access the Find My iPhone app from any other iOS device.

You'll find a map with the exact location of the device.

You'll even find other options to perform any of the other functions mentioned earlier, such as playing a siren sound, enabling Lost Mode, etc.

If you have any difficulty accessing or using Find My iPhone, here's a couple of tips to troubleshoot Find My iPhone.

After these easy steps you can easily drive over to your iPhone and reclaim it!

Part 2: How to track an iPhone location for free via iCloud.com

If you don't have another iOS device at hand, then fear not, you can also track iPhone location for free using iCloud. In fact, iCloud.com is basically just like the Find My iPhone app, and can perform all the same features.

How to track iPhone location for free using iCloud: 

 -Log in with your Apple ID and Password.       

                                                                                                                                -Click on the Find My iPhone icon.  

                               -You'll find a large interactive map with the locations of all your Apple devices.

-Click on 'Devices' at the top.

-Select the one which is lost.

-You'll find the same options as with Find My iPhone, namely: Play Sound, Lost Mode, and Erase iPhone.

-You can use the interactive map to be led to the exact location of the iPhone as well.

Part 3: How to track Samsung phone location for free

Tracking Samsung phone location for free is every bit as simple as that of iPhone. In fact, the procedure and features for both are pretty much exactly the same. For most Android phones you would have to install a separate app to track phone location for free. But Samsung Galaxy has its own in-built feature called Find My Mobile with which you can track phone location for free using a Samsung Account. In case you haven't read the previous part, here they are.

Features of Find My Mobile:

*GPS tracking. 

*Locking the device remotely.

*Send out a siren signal to alert those close to it.

*Wipe the device clean.

How to track Samsung phone location for free:

Step 1: Creating a Samsung Account.

This part is simple. However, this must be done before you lose your Samsung Galaxy. Go to Android Settings > Account > Add Account and Choose Samsung Account.

Step 2: Log into your Account.

Enter your Samsung ID and password and enter.

Step 3: Track cell phone for free using Find My Mobile

Go to Find My Mobile icon.

Select the Registered Mobile tab.

You can now either GPS track phone location for free, or you can enable any of the other features as listed above.

Part 4: How to track other Android phone location for free

If you have a Google Account, as most Android users do, then it is extremely easy to track phone location for free using Android Device Manager. This is a tool in-built in Google Android Devices, and all you need to do to activate it is toggle a switch on. You can then download the app from Play Store on any other Android Device, and use it to locate phone location for free.

Features of Android Device Manager:

Locate Android devices which are logged onto a Google Account.

Reset the screen lock PIN.

Erase all data.

Set off an alarm.

Lock the Phone.

How to track other Android phone location for free using Android Device Manager:Step 1: Switch Android Device Manager On.

Go to Settings > Security.

You'll find the option "Remotely locate this device" and "Allow remote lock and erase" under the Android Device Manager option. Keep them turned on.

Step 2: Turn the Location Access On.

Go to Settings > Location.

Toggle it On.

Step 3: Track Phone location for free using Android Device Manager.

Access the App.

Sign in with your Google Account.

Swipe along the bottom of the screen to get access to all your devices.

Choose the device you want to locate.

You'll find a map with the location of the device.

You can even access any of the other features mentioned earlier.

Part 5: Look at the first four steps :)

Thank you for watching.  

[interestingworldme-blog]

Kroatien: Reise- und Sicherheitshinweise

LandwirtschaftsministeriumsLandesspezifische Sicherheitshinweise

Obwohl seit Ende des Balkankrieges umfangreiche Minenräumungsaktionen in Kroatien durchgeführt wurden, besteht in einigen Landesteilen immer noch eine Gefährdung durch Minen, insbesondere in den bis 1995 umkämpften Gebieten und entlang der damaligen Frontlinien.

Betroffen sind folgende Gebiete:

Ostslawonien (30 bis 50 km vor der Grenze zu Serbien und an der Grenze zu Ungarn, insbesondere Gebiete um Vukovar und Vinkovci)

Westslawonien (Gebiet Daruvar, Pakrac, Virovitica)

das westliche und südwestliche Grenzgebiet zu Bosnien und Herzegowina (der Raum südlich von Sisak und Karlovac, östlich von Ogulin, Otocac, Gospic, am östlichen Stadtrand von Zadar und im Hinterland der Küste zwischen Senj und Split und in den Bergen südöstlich von Dubrovnik)

In diesen Gebieten wird davor gewarnt, Straßen und Wege zu verlassen. Achtung: Minen wurden oft dicht am Straßenrand verlegt. Bekannte Minenfelder sind durch dreieckig gekennzeichnete Schilder mit Warnaufdrucken (Ne Prilazite) ausgewiesen. Sie können auch durch gelbe Plastikstreifen abgesperrt oder durch Schilder oder Pfähle mit Plastikstreifen gekennzeichnet sein. Bisweilen fehlt jedoch jede Kennzeichnung. Trümmergrundstücke und leerstehende Gebäude sollten auf keinen Fall betreten werden. Wie ein Zwischenfall im Sommer 2005 auf der Insel Vis zeigte, können einzelne Landminen auch noch in anderen Gebieten verlegt worden sein, die nicht in der offiziellen kroatischen Übersicht aufgeführt sind. Nähere Informationen bietet die kroatische Minenräumanstalt Externer Link, öffnet in neuem FensterHrvatski Centar za Razminiranje auch in englischer Sprache. Dort sind die gefährdeten Gebiete anhand einer Externer Link, öffnet in neuem Fensterdetaillierten Karte ersichtlich.

Naturkatastrophen In den Sommermonaten kommt es in Kroatien aufgrund der herrschenden klimatischen Bedingungen immer wieder zu Busch- und Waldbränden. Mit einer Beeinträchtigung der Infrastruktur auch in Tourismusgebieten muss in diesen Fällen gerechnet werden. Reisende sollten auf entsprechende Meldungen in den Medien und ggf. Hinweise der lokalen Behörden achten. Diese werden u.a. vom Externer Link, öffnet in neuem Fensterkroatischen Automobilklubveröffentlicht.

Deutschen Staatsangehörigen wird grundsätzlich empfohlen, sich in die Externer Link, öffnet in neuem FensterKrisenvorsorgelisteeinzutragen, um im Notfall eine schnelle Kontaktaufnahme zu ermöglichen. Pauschalreisende werden ggfs. über die Reiseveranstalter über die Sicherheitslage im Reiseland informiert.

Weltweiter Sicherheitshinweis Es wird gebeten, auch den Externer Link, öffnet in neuem Fensterweltweiten Sicherheitshinweis zu beachten.

Allgemeine Reiseinformationen

Grenzübertritt Am 7. April 2017 ist die EU-Verordnung 458/2017 zur Änderung des Schengener Grenzkodex in Kraft getreten, wonach beim Überschreiten der Außengrenzen nicht nur die Gültigkeit von Reisedokumenten zu überprüfen ist, sondern jedes Reisedokument systematisch mit einschlägigen Datenbanken abzugleichen ist. Diese Kontrollpflicht trifft auch EU-Bürger und andere Personen, die EU-Freizügigkeit genießen. Sie gilt an allen Außengrenzen, Luft-, See- und Landgrenzen des Schengenraums und wird sowohl bei der Einreise als auch bei der Ausreise durchgeführt.  Verlängerte Wartezeiten an den slowenisch-kroatischen Grenzübergängen, insbesondere zu den Hauptreisezeiten, an Feiertagen und im Sommer, können nicht ausgeschlossen werden.  

Tagesaktuelle Informationen in deutscher Sprache zur Verkehrslage in Kroatien sind beim Externer Link, öffnet in neuem FensterKroatischen Automobilklub verfügbar.

Straßenverkehr Alle Muster der deutschen Führerscheine (d. h. der alte graue, der rosafarbene und der im Scheckkartenformat ausgestellte) sind in Kroatien gültig.

Auf den Autobahnen wird eine Mautgebühr erhoben.

Wenn ein im Ausland zugelassenes Fahrzeug in Kroatien in einen Unfall verwickelt ist, ist für die Ausreise mit dem beschädigten Fahrzeug eine Schadensfeststellung des Polizisten, der den Unfall aufgenommen hat, mitzuführen.

Geld/ Kreditkarten Deutsche Kreditkarten werden in den meisten Hotels, Restaurants, Tankstellen und in Geschäften akzeptiert. Bargeldabhebungen sind an den meisten Bankautomaten mit der deutschen EC-Maestro-Card oder der Kreditkarte möglich. Vielerorts wird in Euro berechnet, zu zahlen ist jedoch in der kroatischen Landeswährung Kuna. Bargeldumtausch ist in Banken (samstags und sonntags geschlossen) und in den zahlreichen Wechselstuben möglich. Der Umtauschkurs der Landeswährung Kuna schwankt um 7,45 HRK für 1 €.

Einreisebestimmungen für deutsche Staatsangehörige

Reisedokumente Die Einreise ist für deutsche Staatsangehörige mit folgenden Dokumenten möglich:

Reisepass: Ja

Vorläufiger Reisepass: Ja

Personalausweis: Ja

Vorläufiger Personalausweis: Ja

Kinderreisepass: Ja

Auch wenn für die Einreise nach Kroatien Kinderreisepässe nicht mit einem Lichtbild versehen sein müssen, empfiehlt das Auswärtige Amt, nur Kinderreisepässe mit Lichtbild zu verwenden.

Anmerkungen:

Reisedokumente müssen für die Dauer des Aufenthalts gültig sein.

Kindereinträge im Reisepass eines Elternteils sind seit dem 26.06.2012 nicht mehr gültig. Jedes Kind benötigt ein eigenes Ausweisdokument.

Von der Einreise mit einem als gestohlen/verloren gemeldeten und wieder aufgefundenen Personaldokument wird dringend abgeraten. Auch wenn die örtliche deutsche Polizei bzw. Passbehörde die Fahndung nach diesem Dokument aufgehoben hat, besteht keine Garantie, dass diese Information auch an den Grenzkontrollstellen vorliegt.

Seit dem EU-Beitritt Kroatiens gelten grundsätzlich die Aufenthaltsbestimmungen der EU.

Bitte beachten Sie, dass Kroatien kein Mitgliedstaat des Schengener Abkommens (Wegfall der Grenzkontrollen innerhalb des Schengen-Gebiets) ist. D. h. an der slowenisch-kroatischen Grenze werden nach wie vor strikte Grenzkontrollen durchgeführt. Es wird ein gültiges Ausweis-/Reisedokument verlangt. Dies gilt für alle Reisenden, auch Kinder. Sofern kein solches Dokument vorgewiesen werden kann, erfolgt die Zurückweisung an der Grenze. D. h. es ist keine Einreise nach Kroatien möglich.

Führerschein oder Geburtsurkunde der Kinder sind keine gültigen Reisedokumente!

EU-Bürger müssen sich bei einem Aufenthalt von bis zu 90 Tagen nicht mehr bei den örtlichen Behörden registrieren lassen.

Bei einem beabsichtigten Aufenthalt von mehr als 90 Tagen müssen EU-Staatsangehörige spätestens acht Tage nach Ablauf der dreimonatigen Frist ihren vorübergehenden Aufenthaltsort bei der für sie zuständigen Polizeidienststelle anmelden.

Die Bescheinigung über die erfasste Registrierung des vorübergehenden Aufenthaltsortes von EU-Staatsangehörigen wird in Form eines biometrischen Aufenthaltsausweises ausgestellt und zwar mit einer Gültigkeitsdauer von fünf Jahren.

Es wird empfohlen, sich verbindliche Auskünfte von den zuständigen kroatischen Auslandsvertretungen geben zu lassen oder sich beim Externer Link, öffnet in neuem Fensterkroatischen Innenministerium zu informieren.

Reisende, die nicht Staatsangehörige eines EU-Mitgliedstaates sind, können sich beimExterner Link, öffnet in neuem Fensterkroatischen Außenministerium informieren, ob sie ein Visum für Kroatien benötigen.

Hinweise für die Einreise von Minderjährigen Es wird empfohlen, allein reisenden Minderjährigen eine formlose Einverständniserklärung der Sorgeberechtigten mitzugeben; eine gesetzliche Verpflichtung hierzu besteht seit 31.03.2009 nicht mehr.  

Einreisebestimmungen für deutsche Staatsangehörige können sich kurzfristig ändern, ohne dass das Auswärtige Amt hiervon vorher unterrichtet wird. Rechtsverbindliche Informationen und/oder über diese Hinweise hinausgehende Informationen zu den Einreisebestimmungen erhalten Sie nur direkt bei der Botschaft oder einem der Generalkonsulate Ihres Ziellandes.

Besondere Zollvorschriften

Reisende, die im Reiseverkehr in die Republik Kroatien ein- oder durch die Republik Kroatien durchreisen  wollen, sollten folgende Hinweise beachten:

Reisende im sogenannten Reiseverkehr (nicht gewerblicher Verkehr) sind bei der Einreise aus einem Nicht-EU-Land in die Republik Kroatien grundsätzlich verpflichtet, eine Anmeldung für alle mitgeführten Waren abzugeben. Das gilt auch für Waren, die vom Reisenden lediglich durch die Republik Kroatien transportiert oder nach vorübergehender Verwendung in der Republik Kroatien wieder ausgeführt werden.

In der Regel werden Reisende aus einem Nicht-EU-Land dabei durch den kroatischen Zollbeamten aufgefordert die erforderliche Anmeldung mündlich abzugeben.

Auf die Frage, ob es etwas zu verzollen gibt, sollten Reisende dem Zollbeamten alle mitgeführten Waren anmelden. Möglichst auch die Waren, die sie für „zollfrei“ oder „nicht anmeldepflichtig“ halten.Darunter fallen z. B. sowohl das mitgeführte Laptop, welches die Reisenden nach ihrem Aufenthalt in der Republik Kroatien wieder aus der Republik Kroatien ausführen, als auch die Waren, die die Reisenden lediglich durch das Gebiet der Republik Kroatien durchführen möchten.

Das Nichtanmelden von Waren trotz Aufforderung durch den Zollbeamten führt in der Regel dazu, dass für diese Waren eine Eingangsabgabenschuldentsteht und zusätzlich strafrechtliche Konsequenzen auf die Reisenden (Schnellgericht) zukommen.

Im Reiseverkehr gibt es für Waren, die für den persönlichen Gebrauch bestimmt sind, Obergrenzen, innerhalb derer keine Zollabgaben fällig werden und die am Zoll nicht angemeldet werden müssen. Die genauen Mengen können bei der Externer Link, öffnet in neuem Fensterkroatischen Zollverwaltung abgerufen werden. Der Wert der einzuführenden Waren darf pro Person auf dem Landweg Euro 300,00, im Flugverkehr Euro 430,00 nicht überschreiten.

Bargeld und Schecks können unbegrenzt ein- und ausgeführt werden, müssen aber ab einem Betrag von 10.000.- Euro (oder Gegenwert) schriftlich angemeldet werden.

Fahrzeuge, die im Ausland zugelassen sind sowie das persönliche Reisegepäck (dazu zählen z. B. auch Kameraausrüstung, Laptop, CD-Player) dürfen nur von dem Besitzer verwendet und nicht an Dritte ausgeliehen werden. Zuwiderhandlungen werden als Zollvergehen angesehen und können mit hohen Zollstrafen belegt werden.

Haustiere (Hunde, Katzen, Frettchen) können ohne weitere tierärztliche Überprüfung zu Urlaubsaufenthalten nach Kroatien mitgenommen werden, wenn sie einen Mikrochip tragen, einen Heimtierausweis oder ein tierärztliches Zeugnis besitzen und gegen Tollwut geimpft sind. Informationen des  in englischer Sprache.

Für die Einfuhr von Jagd- oder Sportwaffen sowie deren Munition besteht eine Anmeldepflicht. Sie erfolgt durch Eintragung in das Reisedokument. Ausländern wird für die Dauer ihres Aufenthalts in Kroatien von der Grenzpolizei eine Trageerlaubnis für ihre Sportwaffen erteilt.

Die Ein- und Durchfuhr von Gegenständen, die sich für einen Angriff auf Personen eignen, wie z.B. Baseballschläger, Pfefferspray, Schlagringe, Messer mit beidseitiger scharfer Klinge, Bajonette, Gummiknüppel (sogenannte kalte Waffen) muss beim Grenzübertritt unbedingt angezeigt werden. Zuwiderhandlungen werden grundsätzlich mit empfindlichen Geldbußen geahndet.

Die Zollkontrollen an den Grenzen innerhalb der EU entfallen. Sie dürfen jedoch von mobilen Einheiten des Zolls auf dem gesamten Staatsgebiet der Republik Kroatien durchgeführt werden. Die verdachtsunabhängigen Kontrollen erfolgen durch dazu ermächtigte Zollbeamte und werden mit einer Anhaltekelle mit der Aufschrift "Stop Carina" angekündigt. Es sind Überprüfungen von Fahrzeugen, deren Insassen sowie insbesondere der mitgeführten Waren, inklusive des Reisegepäcks, möglich.

Bei spezifischen Rückfragen sollte eine kroatische Auslandsvertretung vor der Einreise kontaktiert werden.

Weitergehende Zollinformationen zur Einfuhr von Waren erhalten Sie bei der Botschaft Ihres Ziellandes. Nur dort kann Ihnen eine rechtsverbindliche Auskunft gegeben werden. Die Zollbestimmungen für Deutschland können Sie auf der Externer Link, öffnet in neuem FensterWebsite des deutschen Zolls einsehen oder telefonisch erfragen.

Besondere strafrechtliche Vorschriften

Dem Auswärtigen Amt liegen keine Hinweise auf besondere strafrechtliche Vorschriften vor.

Medizinische Hinweise

Frühsommer-Meningoenzephalitis (FSME) In Teilen des Landes kommt es zu bestimmten Jahreszeiten zur Übertragung der Frühsommer-Meningoenzephalitis (FSME) durch Zeckenbisse. Rechtzeitig vor Einreise sollte deshalb mit einem Reise-/Tropenmediziner wegen einer möglichen Impfung Kontakt aufgenommen werden.

Borreliose und Zeckenbissfieber (Richettsien) In Teilen des Landes kann es durch Zeckenbisse auch zu Erkrankungen an Borreliose und Zeckenbissfieber kommen. Bitte informieren Sie sich daher vor Einreise, wie entsprechende Erkrankungen vermieden bzw. schnell erkannt werden können, um sich ggf. unverzüglich in ärztliche Behandlung begeben zu können.

Impfschutz Das Auswärtige Amt empfiehlt weiterhin einen Impfschutz wie in Deutschland gemäß den aktuellen Impfempfehlungen des Robert-Koch-Instituts und zusätzlich gegen Hepatitis A, bei Langzeitaufenthalt über 4 Wochen oder besonderer Exposition auch gegen Hepatitis B, FSME und Tollwut.

Behandlungskosten Akute ärztliche Behandlung und Krankenhausbehandlung ist unter Vorlage der Europäischen Krankenversicherungskarte einer deutschen gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung möglich. U.U. müssen Zuzahlungen zu bestimmten Untersuchungen, Behandlungen und Medikamenten geleistet werden. In Einzelfällen wird eine umgehende Bezahlung der Behandlungskosten verlangt; in solchen Fällen empfiehlt es sich eine detaillierte Rechnung ausstellen zu lassen. Kosten für die Rückführung werden von den gesetzlichen Krankenkassen nicht übernommen; der Abschluss einer privaten Reisekrankenversicherung wird daher angeraten. Neben niedergelassenen Ärzten existieren vielerorts Gesundheitszentren ("Dom Zdravlja"). Bei den meisten Polikliniken handelt es sich um private Einrichtungen. Die Botschaft kann bei Bedarf eine bei ihr geführte Liste deutschsprachiger Ärzte zur Verfügung stellen.

Bitte beachten Sie neben unserem generellen Haftungsausschluss den folgenden wichtigen Hinweis:

Eine Gewähr für die Richtigkeit und Vollständigkeit der medizinischen Informationen sowie eine Haftung für eventuell eintretende Schäden kann nicht übernommen werden. Für Ihre Gesundheit bleiben Sie selbst verantwortlich.

Die Angaben sind

zur Information medizinisch Vorgebildeter gedacht. Sie ersetzen nicht die Konsultation eines Arztes;

auf die direkte Einreise aus Deutschland in ein Reiseland, insbes. bei längeren Aufenthalten vor Ort zugeschnitten. Für kürzere Reisen, Einreisen aus Drittländern und Reisen in andere Gebiete des Landes können Abweichungen gelten;

immer auch abhängig von den individuellen Verhältnissen des Reisenden zu sehen. Eine vorherige eingehende medizinische Beratung durch einen Arzt / Tropenmediziner ist im gegebenen Fall regelmäßig zu empfehlen;

trotz größtmöglicher Bemühungen immer nur ein Beratungsangebot. Sie können weder alle medizinischen Aspekte abdecken, noch alle Zweifel beseitigen oder immer völlig aktuell sein.

Haftungsausschluss

Reise- und Sicherheitshinweise beruhen auf den zum angegebenen Zeitpunkt verfügbaren und als vertrauenswürdig eingeschätzten Informationen des Auswärtigen Amts. Eine Gewähr für die Richtigkeit und Vollständigkeit sowie eine Haftung für eventuell eintretende Schäden kann nicht übernommen werden. Gefahrenlagen sind oft unübersichtlich und können sich rasch ändern. Die Entscheidung über die Durchführung einer Reise liegt allein in Ihrer Verantwortung. Hinweise auf besondere Rechtsvorschriften im Ausland betreffen immer nur wenige ausgewählte Fragen. Gesetzliche Vorschriften können sich zudem jederzeit ändern, ohne dass das Auswärtige Amt hiervon unterrichtet wird. Die Kontaktaufnahme mit der zuständigen diplomatischen oder konsularischen Vertretung des Ziellandes wird daher empfohlen.

Das Auswärtige Amt rät dringend, die in den Reise- und Sicherheitshinweisen enthaltenen Empfehlungen zu beachten sowie einen entsprechenden Versicherungsschutz, z.B. einen Auslands-Krankenversicherungsschutz mit Rückholversicherung, abzuschließen. In diesem Zusammenhang wird darauf hingewiesen, dass Ihnen Kosten für erforderlich werdende Hilfsmaßnahmen nach dem Konsulargesetz in Rechnung gestellt werden.

[interestingworldme-blog]

Njemačka najavila novi zakon o useljavanju radnika

Njemačka kancelarka Angela Merkel najavila je u ponedjeljak, predstavljajući predizbornu platformu svojeg konzervativnog bloka, da će se donijeti novi zakon o useljavanju stručnih radnika i da je glavni cilj programa otvaranje novih radnih mjesta i poticanje zapošljavanja.

Glavni cilj programa je otvaranje novih radnih mjesta i poticanje zapošljavanja, ali i useljavalje stručnih radnika.

U Njemačkoj je u lipnju bilo 730.802 slobodnih radnih mjesta, prema podacima Savezne agencije za rad.

U sklopu tog plana, predlaže se novi zakon o useljavanju za stručne radnike kako bi se popunila prazna radna mjesta u njemačkom zdravstvu i IT sektoru.

I njemački socijaldemokrati (SPD) predlažu novi zakon koji bi Njemačkoj omogućio da zaposli stručne radnike koji joj manjkaju.

Predizborni program CDU-a i CSU-a uključuje i mjere za obitelji, gradnju stanova i jačanje policijskih snaga.

[interestingworldme-blog]

Galaxy S9 price, release date and specs: Smartphone could feature iPhone 8-style 'notched' display

THE GALAXY S8 may have arrived on shelves mere months ago, but reports claim that Samsung has already started production of next year's flagship: the Galaxy S9.

We've done some digging, and this isn't all we know about the so-called Galaxy S9, so we've rounded up everything we know about the handset so far.

Specs - 5.8in / 6.2in QHD+ Super AMOLED curved display (570ppi / 529ppi) -Android 8.0 'O' - Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (US) / Samsung Exynos (UK) - Cat 18 LTE support (1.2Gbps download speeds) - Display embedded fingerprint scanner - Dual rear-facing camera - Bixby AI assistant with dedicated button - USB-C

Release date With reports claiming that Samsung will start production of the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus this year, it's likely that the handsets will debut earlier in the year than the Galaxy S8, and hints that Samsung could be planning a launch at next year's MWC.

This has been further fuelled as the displays look set to arrive in November, which puts the final delivery date, based on previous timings, at January.

Price There's no word yet on pricing for the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. If anything like the S8, expect handsets to fetch around £689 and £779 SIM-free.

Latest news 6/9/17: A patent(below), which has recently been approved by Korean Intellectual Property Rights Information Service, suggests that the Galaxy S9 could feature a cutout at the top of its display, similar to that expected to feature on the iPhone 8. Alternatively, the firm could be planning to introduce a notched display on a new smartphone altogether.

18/8/17: Just days before Samsung unveils its next flagship, the Galaxy Note 8, a help load of information about the Galaxy S9 has appeared online. The first rumour comes via well-known tipster Elder Murtazin, who claims that the 2018 flagship could feature a 'MotoMod' style modular design, allowing users attach external modules via magnetic pins on the rear of the phone. Separately, a post over at Weibo claims that Samsung will be 'hoarding' 2018's initial supply of Snapdragon 835 chips for ahead of the Galaxy S9 launch.

31/7/17:Samsung has announced the 'industry's first' Cat 18 LTE modem with 6CA support, and it'll probably make its debut inside the Galaxy S9. The modem, set to go into production earlier this year, can reach download speeds of 1.2Mbps, a 20 per cent increase compared to the 1Gbps modem inside the Galaxy S8.

18/7/17: Korean news outlet The Investor is reporting that the Samsung Galaxy S9 will feature the same 5.8in display as the Galaxy S9, while the bigger S9+ will feature the same 6.2in screen as the current Galaxy S8+. The report notes that Samsung 'is likely to attempt again to feature on-screen fingerprint scanning that is missing from the S8 due to technical immaturity.'

28/6/17: Despite recent chatter that Samsung wouldn't offer a Snapdragon variant,new rumours suggest that the Galaxy S9 will use both its own 8nm Exynos chips and an as-yet-unannounced 7nm processor out of Qualcomm. The same report claims that TSMC will make the upcoming Snapdragon chip, rather than Samsung.

23/6/17: Speculation over at Weibo claims that the Galaxy S9 might not come in a Snapdragon variant, with the smartphone instead shipping only with Samsung's own Exynos 9810 processor, complete with CDMA network support. If this rumour is legit, it would mean that Qualcomm and Samsung have reached an agreement in relation to a CDMA patents issue.

12/6/17: The Galaxy S9 will be the first Samsung smartphone to boast new AMOLED screen tech codenamed 'Sunflower', according to a report at Android Headlines.  Tech specs haven't yet been confirmed, but it's likely Samsung is looking to improve the display fidelity.

24/5/17: The Bell reports that production of the Galaxy S9 will likely start as soon as this year, with Samsung having settled on the codenames Star and Star 2 for the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ smartphones. The report also notes that S9 and S9 Plus will have "similar specs" to the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, and won't feature Samsung's foldable display tech.

21/4/17: Reports claimthat Samsung and Qualcomm have started developing the so-called Snapdragon 845 processor - based on the second-gen 10nm manufacturing process - which is tipped to debut inside the Galaxy S9.

1/4/17: Korean publication The Bell claims that Samsung has  started work on the display panel for the Galaxy S9 and S9 Pus. It doesn't say much else, but notes that the screen will be similar to that found on the Galaxy S8, and will be made available in the same 5.8in and 6.2in sizes. µ

[interestingworldme-blog]

Just How Strong Is Hurricane Irma?

Here’s how Irma compares with Katrina, Patricia, Haiyan and other record holders

On Wednesday, September 6, the colossal Category 5 Hurricane Irma amped up its already stunning winds to 185 miles per hour—the second fastest ever recorded for a hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean. We are all fascinated with brutal extremes, it seems. So, below, are the records for North Atlantic hurricanes, since meteorologists began to name them more than half a century ago—and for storms in the Pacific Ocean, which actually rank number one in many of the categories.

By the way, hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons are all the same thing; they’re just different names used in different regions. “Smaller” hurricanes can still be terribly dangerous and damaging, too; Hurricane Harvey, which just drowned Texas and Louisiana, does not make the record books in any category except for rainfall. Hurricane Irma (so far): Category: 5 Peak winds: 185 mph Lowest atmospheric pressure: 920 millibars Greatest diameter: 420 miles

North Atlantic’s Biggest Beasts Peak Winds (sustained for one minute) Allen (1980): 190 mph Irma (2017): 185 Wilma (2005): 185 Gilbert (1988): 185 Katrina (2005): 175

Lowest Atmospheric Pressure (lower is stronger) Wilma: 882 millibars Gilbert: 888 Katrina: 902 Typical at sea level: 1013 Most Rainfall in U.S. Hiki (1950, Hawaii): 52.0 inches Harvey (2017, Texas): 51.8 Amelia (1978, Texas): 48.0

World Record Holders

Peak Winds at Sea Patricia (2015, south Pacific): 215 mph Nancy (1961, north Pacific) 215 Peak Winds upon Landfall Haiyan (2013, Philippines) 190 mph Meranti (2016, Philippines) 190

Lowest Pressure 

Tip (1979, south Pacific): 870 millibars

Greatest Diameter (of circulation) Tip: 1,380 miles (distance from New York City to Dallas)

[interestingworldme-blog]

The Most Popular Science Stories of 2016

The presidential election took center stage, but our readers were also fascinated by everything from particle physics and rage disorder to autism in girls and the polar vortex

It was a momentous year in science: astronomers detected gravitational waves for the first time, Zika virus spread around the globe and drought accompanied war to fuel a mass migration of refugees in Syria. These were among the stories our editors felt were the most important of 2016, and we invite you to read the entire collection.

But we also wanted to know which stories most captured our readers’ attention this year, so we looked at the data. Here is a list of the two most visited articles in each of our core topic areas. And because U.S. election news led the headlines in 2016, scroll down to see our top five stories about President-elect Donald Trump.

SPACE AND PHYSICS

1. Hints of new, exotic particles observed at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider stand to shake up foundational ideas in physics. Read Here: Is Particle Physics About to Crack Wide Open?

2. A member of the Cassini mission to Saturn and a science writer made the case that one of Saturn's frigid moons is humans’ best option for an extraterrestrial home (sorry, Mars). Read Here: Let's Colonize Titan

1. Faced with the rigors of a changing climate, Israel turned its drought-inflicted water deficit into a surplus with a string of new desalination plants. Read Here: Israel Proves the Desalination Era Is Here

2. A study published in October showed that the polar vortex is shifting toward Europe, raising the potential for icy weather to dip into lower latitudes this winter. Read Here: Dreaded Polar Vortex May Be Shifting

MIND AND BRAIN

1. A long-running investigation of exceptional youths revealed what it takes to produce a whiz kid. How to Raise a Genius: Lessons from a 45-Year Study of Supersmart Children

2. New research is showing that female children with autism often display unique traits, leading many to be misdiagnosed. Read Here: Autism—It’s Different in Girls

TECHNOLOGY

1. Researchers devised a new approach to harvesting superstrong fabrics—some even able to conduct electricity. Read Here: Silkworms Spin Super-Silk after Eating Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene

2. In April some of the top minds in physics gathered to debate, in seriousness, whether human existence may just part of an alien's computer program. Read Here: Are We Living in a Computer Simulation?

HEALTH AND MEDICINE

1. Scientists gathered more evidence that a widespread parasitic infection can alter human mood and behavior. Read Here: Rage Disorder Linked with Parasite Found in Cat Feces

2. Even mild concussions sustained during recreational athletics or other activities might be more detrimental than anyone anticipated. Read Here: A Single Concussion May Triple the Long-Term Risk of Suicide

ELECTION 2016

Of course, the biggest news of the year—even for science—was the election of businessman and reality TV star Donald J. Trump as the 45th president of the U.S. Here are our top five stories about Trump’s successful quest for the Oval Office.

In the lead up to the election, Scientific American evaluated the candidates’ knowledge and positions on STEM issues. Read Here: Grading the Presidential Candidates on Science

One of our bloggers, psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman, conducted an early assessment of Trump's personality and the true motivation behind his actions. Read Here: Donald Trump's Real Ambition

In September Trump appointed a notorious climate change doubter, Myron Ebell, as the head of his Environmental Protection Agency transition team. Read Here: Trump Picks Top Climate Skeptic to Lead EPA Transition

As evidence of Trump’s troubling views on science, Scientific Americanpublished a collection of his tweets and other public commentary. Read Here: Trump's Views on Science Are Shockingly Ignorant

Once the surprising election results were in, one of the country’s most renowned journalists issued a call to action. Read Here: Dan Rather: Now, More Than Ever, We Must Stand Up for Science

[interestingworldme-blog]

Make Money with Google AdSense

Google AdSense is a contextual advertising program that allows you to run ads on your website or blog, or YouTube videos, and get paid when when visitors click on them. The ads are generated from businesses that use Google's AdWords program.

The Google AdSense program has several great advantages including:

It's free to join.

Eligibility requirements are easy, which means you can monetize your website or blog even when it's new.

There are a variety of ad options and several you can customize to fit the look and feel of your site.

Google pays monthly (if you meet the $100 threshold) by direct deposit.

You can run ads on several websites from one AdSense account.

There are options to run ads on mobile devices and RSS feeds.

You can easily add it to your YouTube and Blogger accounts.

With that said, there are a few drawbacks to AdSense as well:

Google can terminate your account in an instant, and it's not very forgiving if you break the rules.

Like all forms of online income, you need targeted traffic in order to make money.

When people click on an AdSense ad, you do make some money, but your visitor also leaves your site.

It doesn't necessarily pay more than other similar programs.

AdSense is a great monetization option, but it's not a get-rich-quick or make-money-doing-nothing option. Further, Google has a lot of rules that aren't always noticed upfront.

As a result, many website owners found out the hard way that they'd violated a Google policy, and have lost their account forever.

Types of AdSense Ads

Google offers a variety of ad types to run on your website:

Text ads use words, either as an Ad Unit (one offer) or a Link Unit (list of offers), and come in a variety of sizes. You can customize the color of the box, text and link.

Image ads are graphic ads. They come in a variety of sizes. You can choose an option that mixes both text and image ads.

Flash

Video

Rich media ads include HTML, Flash or other interactive feature.

Audio

AdSense for Search allows you to have a Google search box on your site. When a user enters a term and conducts a search, a search results page opens with AdSense ads. You can customize the color scheme of the search results page to harmonize with your web site.

Google AdSense Payments

Google pays monthly through direct deposit or check, but will not issue an AdSense payment until your earnings reach or exceed $100. If you don't earn it in one month, your earnings roll over and are added to the next month. Each time you reach the $100 threshold, Google will issue a payment on the next payment period. Through your AdSense account, you can see your current earnings, what ads are generating the most clicks, and more.

Making Money with AdSense

Making a significant amount of money with AdSense requires a plan. Here are tips for maximizing AdSense revenue:

Read and adhere to Google's rules. Webmasters must comply with

Google's webmaster policies as well as the AdSense program policy. Don't click on your own ads or ask others to click on them. Incentivizing clicks, buying Pay Per Click

(PPC) space, or using a program designed to drive traffic to AdSense pages are against the rules.

Have great content your target market wants to read.

Use honest, organic traffic building website promotion techniques, especially search engine optimization and article marketing.

Test ad types and placement to find the options that lead to the most income.

Read email from Google, especially if it's sending a warning about something it doesn't like on your site. Failure to deal with Google's complaints will lead to termination of the program.

Dealing with Competitors' or Questionable Advertisements

If you offer products or services on your website, you may find that some ads Google delivers come from your competitors. Another issue that can occur is ads that may not be completely legitimate or they might offend your market. To prevent these offers from showing up on your site, Google AdSense allows you to specify up to 200 URLs you want to bar from appearing on your site.

The challenge of this is two-fold.

You don't know what ads are running on your site until you see them there. Plus, with each page load, and depending on the visitors browsing history, the ad may not show up again or it might appear in a different spot.

Since you can't click on your own links (to the get the URL), you need to be careful about obtaining the URL to block. The best way is to right click the link, select "Copy Link Address," and paste it into a document or text editor (i.e. Notepad). The Google URL is really long, but you're looking for the section that identifies the advertiser. Copy that link, and paste into your AdSense blocked ads account.

Other Programs Besides AdSense

There are many ad network programs similar to AdSense, such as Media.net and InfoLinks. Some might require a traffic threshold, so you'd need to wait until your site was established. Most have similar rules to Google, such as a limit to the number of the network's ads per page (usually 3) and termination for clicking your own ads. In most cases, you can run different ad networks on your site without violating terms of service, but you'll want to read the rules of each network before doing it. Further, you want to avoid your site becoming so overwhelmed with ads that your readers can't find the content.

[interestingworldme-blog]

How To Earn $100 A Day With Google AdSense

Earning $100, $200 or even $300 per day with Google AdSense can be done from a home office. Many website owners are doing it. The only thing you need is planning, work, determination, and passion about your topic or niche.

Term Definitions  

Before diving into the exact process, here's some terminology for better understanding of Google AdSense.

AdSense: AdSense is when you place Google Ads on your website, and when a visitor from your website clicks on an ads, Google pays you 68% of what the advertiser pays them. It's free to sign up.

CTR: Your ad Click-Through Rate is the number of ad clicks divided by the number of individual ad impressions. Suppose you are showing 3 AdSense ads on every page of your website, 1 page view is equal to 3 ad impressions.

CTR = Clicks / Ad Impressions X 100

Suppose, you get 5 clicks out of 500 ad impressions, your CTR would be 1% (5/500X100).

CPC: Cost Per Click is the revenue you earn each time a visitor clicks on your ad. CPC is determined by the advertisers. In some competitive niches like finance, marketing, online products etc. advertisers may be willing to pay more per click than others.

CPM: CPM means “Cost Per 1000 Impressions.”

Sometimes advertisers opt for CPM ads instead of CPC and set their price for 1000 ad impressions. And they pay each time their ads appear on any website.

What It Takes To Make $100 A Day With AdSense

When your CTR is 1% and your average CPC is $0.25. it’s quite achievable to make $100 dollars a day, and lots of people are doing it. Let's assume that a Page View = An Ad Impression.

To make $100 everyday you need 40,000 Page Views/day Or, 400 Clicks a day @ 1% CTR and $0.25 CPC. For 40,000 Page Views you have to produce 500 awesome articles on your website. These pages must attract at least 80 or more page views everyday. These articles can be as little as 300 words. Always include a YouTuble video on every article page you create. Many people writing a book, can simply write their book on their website and make money simply by writing it. You can also get your visitors to contribute their story ideas. This gets you free content and engages your followers.

Apart from CPC, you will also earn from your CPM ad impressions. Irrespective of any niche, the average CPM earning is $1 to $1.5 per 1,000 impressions. You can make $40 to $60 per day from 40,000 page views.

You can also sell your Ad space directly or via BuySellAds.com, and generate $6,000 Per Month on an average from 40,000 page views. Check out how webmasters are making $6,000 to $8,000 Per Month from BuySellAds with forty thousand page views per day. So your daily earning will be $200 (6000/30=200).

A niche website with high quality articles works well with affiliate marketing. You can might be able to earn $40 to $80/day from affiliate selling with correct implementation and execution.

Now your total earning per day is $100 + $40 + $200 +$40 = $380 from CPC, CPM, Direct Ad Sell, Affiliate Marketing for 40,000 page views per day. I’ve taken the lowest possible earnings from all the 4 sources.

$380 per day means $11,400 per month (380X30= 11,400) Or, $136,800 per year (11,400X12=136,800).

When deciding to be in the 'Creating Content Business' your desired earning of $100 per day from Google AdSense is achievable. 1,000s of people are making money by writing articles, and you can do it too, when you are Focused!

P.S. The above results can be possible if you produce at least 200 to 250 great articles or blog posts per year for 2 years. So how much traffic you actually need to make $100 per day from Google AdSense – It’s way less than 40,000 Page Views Per Day!

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How you can calculate your future AdSense income

I hate to disappoint you, but there is no sure, easy way to calculate your future AdSense earnings, because you cannot predict how much money you will make per click.  AdSense income is dependent on a on variety of factors.  Following are some of the most common factors which contribute to increased AdSense earnings:

*The topic of your blog: Let’s start with the basics of AdSense. Google AdSense is based on the concept of AdWords, where advertisers bids on keywords, and then ads are displayed on 3rd party websites like yours’ and mine using AdSense.Over time, advertisers have become smarter, and they now bid more on long-tail keywords, as these offer better conversion.In addition, there is the concept of high-paying and low-paying niches.  For example, a niche like health, financial loans or the legal niche have high CPC (cost per click), and other niches like movies or posters are considered low paying niches. The technology niche is a moderate AdSense niche, and income per click depends on various factors.

*Your traffic demographic: AdSense income also depends on the country which is sending you the most traffic. For example, if your blog is getting more traffic from countries like the U.S.A., you are more likely to earn more money-per-click on your AdSense ads. If, on the other hand, you are getting more traffic from developing nations like India and Nepal, you are likely to earn less/click (mostly pennies), and this difference is due to the difference in the average purchasing power of these nations.

*Other common factors:

While the factors mentioned above are the most influential factors related to your Adsense earnings, other factors such as your Ad placement, ad blending, and types of Ads (image, text or both), also factor in.

All of these factors can easily be optimized by strategically implementing AdSense ads on your blog (above the fold and wisely blended). There are also a number of other factors which will require work before the launch of your blog which may contribute to your Adsense earning capacity.

There are many bloggers who create blogs expressly for the purpose of earning money using AdSense. There is nothing wrong with that, of course, but people usually give up on it relatively quickly as it doesn’t keep them glued for long. Moreover, without complete domain knowledge, the quality of a site goes down with time, and it it really doesn’t pay off well in the long run.

In my recent guide on How I Created an AdSense Blog With Little Effort,I explained how to create a quality AdSense blog, a strategy that you can easily copy.

So — the next time you find yourself wondering how much money you can earn from AdSense ads, ask yourself what in what niche you have an interest and information to share, and what kind of traffic you are likely to get on the blog you intend to create.

If you know of anyone who might benefit from the information in this post, feel free to share it.  As always, please share with your friends on Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus if you wish!