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Plasma plumes help shield Earth from damaging solar storms

<div class='wp-caption alignleft' style='width: 310px;' id='attachment_1773'><img alt="NASA images used in a photo composite. Credit: Christine Daniloff/MIT" class="size-medium wp-image-1773" height="171" src="http://www.winwic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/140306142757-large-300x171.jpg" width="300"/>NASA images used in a photo composite. Credit: Christine Daniloff/MIT</div> Earth’s magnetic field, or magnetosphere, stretches from the planet’s core out into space, where it meets the solar wind, a stream of charged particles emitted by the sun. For the most part, the magnetosphere acts as a shield to protect Earth from this high-energy solar activity Now scientists at MIT and NASA have identified a process in Earth’s magnetosphere that reinforces its shielding effect, keeping incoming solar energy at bay. By combining observations from the ground and in space, the team observed a plume of low-energy plasma particles that essentially hitches a ride along magnetic field lines — streaming from Earth’s lower atmosphere up to the point, tens of thousands of kilometers above the surface, where the planet’s magnetic field connects with that of the sun. In this region, which the scientists call the “merging point,” the presence of cold, dense plasma slows magnetic reconnection, blunting the sun’s effects on Earth. “The Earth’s magnetic field protects life on the surface from the full impact of these solar outbursts,” says John Foster, associate director of MIT’s Haystack Observatory. “Reconnection strips away some of our magnetic shield and lets energy leak in, giving us large, violent storms. These plasmas get pulled into space and slow down the reconnection process, so the impact of the sun on the Earth is less violent.” Foster and his colleagues publish their results in this week’s issue of Science. The team includes Philip Erickson, principal research scientist at Haystack Observatory, as well as Brian Walsh and David Sibeck at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Mapping Earth’s magnetic shield For more than a decade, scientists at Haystack Observatory have studied plasma plume phenomena using a ground-based technique called GPS-TEC, in which scientists analyze radio signals transmitted from GPS satellites to more than 1,000 receivers on the ground. Large space-weather events, such as geomagnetic storms, can alter the incoming radio waves — a distortion that scientists can use to determine the concentration of plasma particles in the upper atmosphere. Using this data, they can produce two-dimensional global maps of atmospheric phenomena, such as plasma plumes. These ground-based observations have helped shed light on key characteristics of these plumes, such as how often they occur, and what makes some plumes stronger than others. But as Foster notes, this two-dimensional mapping technique gives an estimate only of what space weather might look like in the low-altitude regions of the magnetosphere. To get a more precise, three-dimensional picture of the entire magnetosphere would require observations directly from space. Toward this end, Foster approached Walsh with data showing a plasma plume emanating from Earth’s surface, and extending up into the lower layers of the magnetosphere, during a moderate solar storm in January 2013. Walsh checked the date against the orbital trajectories of three spacecraft that have been circling the Earth to study auroras in the atmosphere. As it turns out, all three spacecraft crossed the point in the magnetosphere at which Foster had detected a plasma plume from the ground. The team analyzed data from each spacecraft, and found that the same cold, dense plasma plume stretched all the way up to where the solar storm made contact with Earth’s magnetic field. A river of plasma Foster says the observations from space validate measurements from the ground. What’s more, the combination of space- and ground-based data give a highly detailed picture of a natural defensive mechanism in Earth’s magnetosphere. “This higher-density, cold plasma changes about every plasma physics process it comes in contact with,” Foster says. “It slows down reconnection, and it can contribute to the generation of waves that, in turn, accelerate particles in other parts of the magnetosphere. So it’s a recirculation process, and really fascinating.” Foster likens this plume phenomenon to a “river of particles,” and says it is not unlike the Gulf Stream, a powerful ocean current that influences the temperature and other properties of surrounding waters. On an atmospheric scale, he says, plasma particles can behave in a similar way, redistributing throughout the atmosphere to form plumes that “flow through a huge circulation system, with a lot of different consequences.” “What these types of studies are showing is just how dynamic this entire system is,” Foster adds. <a href='http://www.winwic.com/science/plasma-plumes-help-shield-earth-from-damaging-solar-storms/'>Plasma plumes help shield Earth from damaging solar storms</a>

Plasma plumes help shield Earth from damaging solar storms

NASA images used in a photo composite.Credit: Christine Daniloff/MITEarth’s magnetic field, or magnetosphere, stretches from the planet’s core out into space, where it meets the solar wind, a stream o…

08 Mar 2014

Icy wreckage discovered in nearby planetary system

<div class='wp-caption alignright' style='width: 310px;' id='attachment_1770'><img alt="This artist's concept illustrates the preferred model for explaining ALMA observations of Beta Pictoris. At the outer fringes of the system, the gravitational influence of a hypothetical giant planet (bottom left) captures comets into a dense, massive swarm (right) where frequent collisions occur. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/F. Reddy" class="size-medium wp-image-1770" height="168" src="http://www.winwic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/140306142550-large-300x168.jpg" width="300"/>This artist’s concept illustrates the preferred model for explaining ALMA observations of Beta Pictoris. At the outer fringes of the system, the gravitational influence of a hypothetical giant planet (bottom left) captures comets into a dense, massive swarm (right) where frequent collisions occur. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/F. Reddy</div> Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope have discovered the splattered remains of comets colliding together around a nearby star; the researchers believe they are witnessing the total destruction of one of these icy bodies once every five minutes. Comets and other icy bodies trap vast amounts of CO and other gases in their frosty interiors. When these objects collide, as is common in the chaotic environment around a young star, they quickly release their stored gases. If these collisions were occurring randomly in this system, then the CO would be more or less evenly distributed. But the new images from ALMA show something else: a single compact clump of CO approximately 13 billion kilometers (8 billion miles) from the star — or about three times the distance of Neptune to the Sun. “This clump is an important clue to what’s going on in the outer reaches of this young planetary system,” says Mark Wyatt, an astronomer at the University of Cambridge and coauthor on the paper. Earlier observations of Beta Pictoris with other telescopes revealed that it is surrounded by a large disk of dusty debris and harbors at least one planet orbiting approximately 1.2 billion kilometers (750 million miles) from the star. The new ALMA data suggest, however, that there may be a second, as-yet-undetected planet orbiting much farther out. The gravity from such a planet would shepherd millions of cometary bodies into a relatively confined area. A similar phenomenon is seen in our own Solar System where the planet Jupiter keeps a group of so-called Trojan asteroids in a confined orbit around the Sun. “To get the amount of CO we observed — which is equal to about one-sixth the mass of Earth’s oceans — the rate of collisions would be truly startling, with the complete destruction of a large comet once every five minutes,” noted Aki Roberge, an astronomer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and coauthor on the paper. “To get this number of collisions, this would have to be a very tight, massive swarm.” The astronomers propose an alternate possibility for the origin of this swarm of icy bodies; two Mars-size icy planets smashing together within the past million years could have produced the compact, cometary debris around the star. Such an occurrence, however, would be rare and there is a low likelihood that it could have occurred recently enough for the remnants to still be so concentrated. Both possibilities, however, give astronomers reason to be optimistic that there are many more planets waiting to be found around Beta Pictoris, which is located a relatively nearby 63 light-years from Earth in the southern constellation Pictor. ALMA’s unprecedented resolution and sensitivity enabled the astronomers to detect the faint millimeter-wavelength light emitted by both the dust grains and CO in the system. “And carbon monoxide is just the beginning; there may be other more complex pre-organic molecules released from these icy bodies,” adds Roberge. The astronomers hope that further observations with ALMA will shed more light on this system and help us understand what conditions were like during the formation of our own Solar System. ALMA, an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of Europe, North America and East Asia in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA construction and operations are led on behalf of Europe by ESO, on behalf of North America by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), and on behalf of East Asia by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership and management of the construction, commissioning and operation of ALMA. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. <a href='http://www.winwic.com/space/icy-wreckage-discovered-in-nearby-planetary-system/'>Icy wreckage discovered in nearby planetary system</a>

Icy wreckage discovered in nearby planetary system

This artist’s concept illustrates the preferred model for explaining ALMA observations of Beta Pictoris. At the outer fringes of the system, the gravitational influence of a hypothetical giant planet …

07 Mar 2014

Mystery of planet-forming disks explained by magnetism

<div class='wp-caption alignleft' style='width: 310px;' id='attachment_1766'><img alt="Magnetic loops carry gas and dust above disks of planet-forming material circling stars, as shown in this artist's conception. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech" class="size-medium wp-image-1766" height="168" src="http://www.winwic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/140307124655-large-300x168.jpg" width="300"/>Magnetic loops carry gas and dust above disks of planet-forming material circling stars, as shown in this artist’s conception. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech</div> Astronomers say that magnetic storms in the gas orbiting young stars may explain a mystery that has persisted since before 2006. A new theory, based on three-dimensional models of planet-forming disks, suggests the answer: Gas and dust suspended above the disks on gigantic magnetic loops like those seen on the sun absorb the starlight and glow with infrared light. “If you could somehow stand on one of these planet-forming disks and look at the star in the center through the disk atmosphere, you would see what looks like a sunset,” said Neal Turner of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The new models better describe how planet-forming material around stars is stirred up, making its way into future planets, asteroids and comets. While the idea of magnetic atmospheres on planet-forming disks is not new, this is the first time they have been linked to the mystery of the observed excess infrared light. According to Turner and colleagues, the magnetic atmospheres are similar to what takes place on the surface of our sun, where moving magnetic field lines spur tremendous solar prominences to flare up in big loops. Stars are born out of collapsing pockets in enormous clouds of gas and dust, rotating as they shrink down under the pull of gravity. As a star grows in size, more material rains down toward it from the cloud, and the rotation flattens this material out into a turbulent disk. Ultimately, planets clump together out of the disk material. In the 1980s, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite mission, a joint project that included NASA, began finding more infrared light than expected around young stars. Using data from other telescopes, astronomers pieced together the presence of dusty disks of planet-forming material. But eventually it became clear the disks alone weren’t enough to account for the extra infrared light — especially in the case of stars a few times the mass of the sun. One theory introduced the idea that instead of a disk, the stars were surrounded by a giant dusty halo, which intercepted the star’s visible light and re-radiated it at infrared wavelengths. Then, recent observations from ground-based telescopes suggested that both a disk and a halo were needed. Finally, three-dimensional computer modeling of the turbulence in the disks showed the disks ought to have fuzzy surfaces, with layers of low-density gas supported by magnetic fields, similar to the way solar prominences are supported by the sun’s magnetic field. The new work brings these pieces together by calculating how the starlight falls across the disk and its fuzzy atmosphere. The result is that the atmosphere absorbs and re-radiates enough to account for all the extra infrared light. “The starlight-intercepting material lies not in a halo, and not in a traditional disk either, but in a disk atmosphere supported by magnetic fields,” said Turner. “Such magnetized atmospheres were predicted to form as the disk drives gas inward to crash onto the growing star.” Over the next few years, astronomers will further test these ideas about the structure of the disk atmospheres by using giant ground-based telescopes linked together as interferometers. An interferometer combines and processes data from multiple telescopes to show details finer than each telescope can see alone. Spectra of the turbulent gas in the disks will also come from NASA’s SOFIA telescope, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope in Chile, and from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope after its launch in 2018. JPL manages the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Spacecraft operations are based at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Littleton, Colo. Data are archived at the Infrared Science Archive housed at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at Caltech. Caltech manages JPL for NASA. For more information about Spitzer, visit <a href='http://spitzer.caltech.edu' title='http://spitzer.caltech.edu'>http://spitzer.caltech.edu</a> and <a href='http://www.nasa.gov/spitzer' title='http://www.nasa.gov/spitzer'>http://www.nasa.gov/spitzer</a> . <a href='http://www.winwic.com/science/mystery-of-planet-forming-disks-explained-by-magnetism/'>Mystery of planet-forming disks explained by magnetism</a>

Mystery of planet-forming disks explained by magnetism

Magnetic loops carry gas and dust above disks of planet-forming material circling stars, as shown in this artist’s conception.Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechAstronomers say that magnetic storms in the gas or…

07 Mar 2014

Father's age tied to higher rates of psychiatric, academic problems in kids

<div class='wp-caption alignleft' style='width: 310px;' id='attachment_1650'><img alt="When compared to a child born to a 24-year-old father, a child born to a 45-year-old father is 3.5 times more likely to have autism, 13 times more likely to have ADHD, two times more likely to have a psychotic disorder, 25 times more likely to have bipolar disorder and 2.5 times more likely to have suicidal behavior or a substance abuse problem. For most of these problems, the likelihood of the disorder increased steadily with advancing paternal age, suggesting there is no particular paternal age at childbearing that suddenly becomes problematic. Credit: © soupstock / Fotolia" class="size-medium wp-image-1650" height="195" src="http://www.winwic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/140226165303-large-300x195.jpg" width="300"/>When compared to a child born to a 24-year-old father, a child born to a 45-year-old father is 3.5 times more likely to have autism, 13 times more likely to have ADHD, two times more likely to have a psychotic disorder, 25 times more likely to have bipolar disorder and 2.5 times more likely to have suicidal behavior or a substance abuse problem. For most of these problems, the likelihood of the disorder increased steadily with advancing paternal age, suggesting there is no particular paternal age at childbearing that suddenly becomes problematic. Credit: © soupstock / Fotolia</div> An Indiana University study in collaboration with medical researchers from Karolinska Institute in Stockholm has found that advancing paternal age at childbearing can lead to higher rates of psychiatric and academic problems in offspring than previously estimated. Among the findings: When compared to a child born to a 24-year-old father, a child born to a 45-year-old father is 3.5 times more likely to have autism, 13 times more likely to have ADHD, two times more likely to have a psychotic disorder, 25 times more likely to have bipolar disorder and 2.5 times more likely to have suicidal behavior or a substance abuse problem. For most of these problems, the likelihood of the disorder increased steadily with advancing paternal age, suggesting there is no particular paternal age at childbearing that suddenly becomes problematic. “We were shocked by the findings,” said Brian D’Onofrio, lead author and associate professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences at IU Bloomington. “The specific associations with paternal age were much, much larger than in previous studies. In fact, we found that advancing paternal age was associated with greater risk for several problems, such as ADHD, suicide attempts and substance use problems, whereas traditional research designs suggested advancing paternal age may have diminished the rate at which these problems occur.” The study, “Parental Age at Childbearing and Offspring Psychiatric and Academic Morbidity,” was published today (Feb. 26) in JAMA Psychiatry. Notably, the researchers found converging evidence for the associations with advancing paternal age at childbearing from multiple research designs for a broad range of problems in offspring. By comparing siblings, which accounts for all factors that make children living in the same house similar, researchers discovered that the associations with advancing paternal age were much greater than estimates in the general population. By comparing cousins, including first-born cousins, the researchers could examine whether birth order or the influences of one sibling on another could account for the findings. The authors also statistically controlled for parents’ highest level of education and income, factors often thought to counteract the negative effects of advancing paternal age because older parents are more likely to be more mature and financially stable. The findings were remarkably consistent, however, as the specific associations with advancing paternal age remained. “The findings in this study are more informative than many previous studies,” D’Onofrio said. “First, we had the largest sample size for a study on paternal age. Second, we predicted numerous psychiatric and academic problems that are associated with significant impairment. Finally, we were able to estimate the association between paternal age at childbearing and these problems while comparing differentially exposed siblings, as well as cousins. These approaches allowed us to control for many factors that other studies could not.” In the past 40 years, the average age for childbearing has been increasing steadily for both men and women. Since 1970 for instance, the average age of first-time mothers in the U.S. has gone up four years from 21.5 to 25.4. For men the average is three years older. In the northeast, the ages are higher. Yet the implications of this fact — both socially and in terms of the long-term effects on the health and well-being of the population as a whole — are not yet fully understood. Moreover, while maternal age has been under scrutiny for a number of years, a more recent body of research has begun to explore the possible effects of advancing paternal age on a variety of physical and mental health issues in offspring. Existing studies have pointed to increasing risks for some psychological disorders with advancing paternal age. Yet the results are often inconsistent with one another, statistically inconclusive or unable to take certain confounding factors into account. The working hypothesis for D’Onofrio and his colleagues who study this phenomenon is that unlike women, who are born with all their eggs, men continue to produce new sperm throughout their lives. Each time sperm replicate, there is a chance for a mutation in the DNA to occur. As men age, they are also exposed to numerous environmental toxins, which have been shown to cause mutations in the DNA found in sperm. Molecular genetic studies have, in fact, shown that sperm of older men have more genetic mutations. This study and others like it, however, perhaps signal some of the unforeseen, negative consequences of a relatively new trend in human history. As such, D’Onofrio said, it may have important social and public policy implications. Given the increased risk associated with advancing paternal age at childbearing, policy-makers may want to make it possible for men and women to accommodate children earlier in their lives without having to set aside other goals. “While the findings do not indicate that every child born to an older father will have these problems,” D’Onofrio said, “they add to a growing body of research indicating that advancing paternal age is associated with increased risk for serious problems. As such, the entire body of research can help to inform individuals in their personal and medical decision-making.” <a href='http://www.winwic.com/life-news/fathers-age-tied-to-higher-rates-of-psychiatric-academic-problems-in-kids/'>Father's age tied to higher rates of psychiatric, academic problems in kids</a>

Father's age tied to higher rates of psychiatric, academic problems in kids

When compared to a child born to a 24-year-old father, a child born to a 45-year-old father is 3.5 times more likely to have autism, 13 times more likely to have ADHD, two times more likely to have a …

27 Feb 2014

Technique allows for radiation-free detection of tumors, study finds

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford have developed a way to scan young cancer patients’ bodies for tumors without exposing them to radiation. The technique could reduce patients’ risk of developing secondary cancers later in life. <div class='wp-caption alignleft' style='width: 310px;' id='attachment_1592'><img alt="Magnetic resonance imaging machine (stock photo). Credit: © uwimages / Fotolia" class="size-medium wp-image-1592" height="199" src="http://www.winwic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/140218185102-large-300x199.jpg" width="300"/>Magnetic resonance imaging machine (stock photo). Credit: © uwimages / Fotolia</div> The new method, described in a scientific paper that will be published Feb. 18 in The Lancet Oncology, is a modification of magnetic resonance imaging that employs a novel contrast agent to find tumors. The MRI-based method is as effective as cancer-detection scans that use ionizing radiation — specifically, positron emission tomography-computed tomography — the researchers found. Although whole-body PET-CT technology provides essential information for detecting cancer, it has one big drawback: A single scan exposes the patient to as much radiation as 700 chest X-rays. This exposure is especially risky for children and teenagers, who are more vulnerable to radiation than adults because they are still growing. Children are also more likely to live long enough to develop a second cancer. “I’m excited about having an imaging test for cancer patients that requires zero radiation exposure,” said senior author Heike Daldrup-Link, MD, associate professor of radiology at Stanford and a diagnostic radiologist at the hospital. “That is a big deal.” The research team compared the modified MRI technique to standard PET-CTs in 22 patients ages 8 to 33 who had lymphoma or sarcoma. These cancers originate in the immune system and the bones, respectively. Both cancers can spread throughout tissues such as bone marrow, lymph nodes, liver and spleen. In the past, several hurdles prevented physicians from using whole-body MRIs to look for tumors. The scans take up to two hours. A whole-body PET-CT, however, takes only a few minutes. (It combines PET images taken by monitoring the metabolism of radioactive glucose with CT images, which are essentially a series of X-rays from different angles.) More importantly, in many organs, MRI does not distinguish healthy from cancerous tissue. And existing contrast agents — chemicals injected into the body to make tumors visible — leave the tissues too quickly to be used in a lengthy, whole-body MRI. To find tumors via MRI, the Stanford team used a new contrast agent consisting of nanoparticles of iron. Injections of these iron nanoparticles are approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat anemia, and the researchers obtained FDA permission for the experimental use. The nanoparticles are retained in the body for many days. On MRIs, they cause blood vessels to appear brighter, providing anatomic landmarks. The nanoparticles also cause healthy bone marrow, lymph nodes, liver and spleen to appear darker, making tumors stand out. The images generated from the experimental MRIs provided comparable information to the PET-CT scans that study subjects received as part of their care. The PET-CTs detected 163 of 174 total tumors in the 22 patients; the MRIs found 158 of 174 tumors. The two methods had similar levels of sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy. “We were able to find a new way to integrate anatomical and physiological MRI information and make it more efficient,” said Christopher Klenk, MD, a postdoctoral scholar and the paper’s lead author. None of the patients experienced adverse reactions to the iron nanoparticles, though the FDA has previously noted a small risk of allergic reaction to the nanoparticles’ coating. (It’s rare for patients to have adverse reactions to other contrast agents, too.) Radiologists at several academic hospitals are searching for ways to reduce children’s radiation exposure, Daldrup-Link said, adding that she is sharing the new technique with colleagues around the country. “Some type of whole-body MRI imaging test is available at many big children’s hospitals right now,” she said, adding that for such techniques to be widely adopted, doctors are asking for evidence that whole-body MRI does the job. “It’s slowly entering clinical practice, but clinicians are cautious and want to be convinced,” she added. The other barrier to wide adoption of MRI-based tests is lack of a billing code, a hurdle the researchers hope will soon be resolved. But there are no technologic obstacles to use of the new technique. “It’s really exciting that this will soon be clinically applicable,” Daldrup-Link said. Future research will aim to validate the MRI-based method in larger, more diverse groups of cancer patients, as well as examine its possible use for monitoring tumors over the course of cancer treatment. The MRI-based method also holds promise for scanning patients after their treatment is complete, when the ability to monitor them without radiation would be especially valuable. <a href='http://www.winwic.com/science/technique-allows-for-radiation-free-detection-of-tumors-study-finds/'>Technique allows for radiation-free detection of tumors, study finds</a>

Technique allows for radiation-free detection of tumors, study finds

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford have developed a way to scan young cancer patients’ bodies for tumors without exposing them to…

23 Feb 2014

What is Super Bowl?

<img alt="super bowl" class="alignleft size-large wp-image-1143" height="322" src="http://www.winwic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/super-bowl-766x1024.jpg" width="243"/>The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather than the year in which it is held. For example, Super Bowl I was played on January 15, 1967, following the 1966 regular season, while Super Bowl XLVIII will be played on February 2, 2014, following the 2013 season. The game was created as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and its then-rival league, the American Football League (AFL). It was agreed that the two leagues’ champion teams would play in the AFL–NFL World Championship Game until the merger was to officially begin in 1970. After the merger, each league was redesignated as a “conference”, and the game was then played between the conference champions. Currently, the National Football Conference (NFC) leads the league with 25 wins to 22 wins for the American Football Conference (AFC). The Pittsburgh Steelers hold the record for Super Bowl victories with six. The day on which the Super Bowl is played, now considered by some a de facto American national holiday,[1][2] is called “Super Bowl Sunday”. It is the second-largest day for U.S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day.[3] In addition, the Super Bowl has frequently been the most watched American television broadcast of the year; the four most-watched broadcasts in U.S. television history are Super Bowls.[4] In 2011, Super Bowl XLV became the most-watched American television program in history with an average audience of 111 million viewers, surpassing the previous year’s Super Bowl, which itself had taken over the number-one spot held for 28 years by the final episode of M*A*S*H.[5] The Super Bowl is also among the most-watched sporting events in the world, almost all audiences being North American, and is second to soccer’s UEFA Champions League Final as the most watched annual sporting event worldwide.[6] Due to the event’s high viewership, commercial airtime during the Super Bowl broadcast is the most expensive of the year, leading to companies regularly developing their most expensive advertisements for this broadcast. As a result, watching and discussing the broadcast’s commercials has become a significant aspect of the event.[7] In addition, popular singers and musicians including Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, The Rolling Stones, The Who, and Whitney Houston have performed during the event’s pre-game and halftime ceremonies. Source: Wikipedia <a href='http://www.winwic.com/sports/what-is-super-bowl/'>What is Super Bowl?</a>

What is Super Bowl?

The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the …

31 Jan 2014

What they look like under the helmets

When they approved several Grammys in silence from underneath their trademark robot headgears, Daft Criminal drew in fairly a couple of queries. But which is truly under all that metallic and glass? <img alt="Daft Punk come back to France with their Grammys" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1138" height="957" src="http://www.winwic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/1.jpg" width="570"/> Daft Criminal’s two members are Frenchmen Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, both 39 years old, that’ve been making music en masse since 1993. The duo has come to be known for their interesting privacy, which started when they put on trash can over their heads at very early efficiencies. Bags progressed into helmets and wigs, and at some point into the smooth headgears they put on today. As for the genuine meaning goes, Rolling Stone posted Daft Criminal’s very own explanation <img alt="Daft Punk come back to France with their Grammys" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1139" height="919" src="http://www.winwic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/2.jpg" width="570"/> Bangalter explains the robot look as both a high-concept philosophical gambit– “We like the line between fiction and fact, creating these fictional identities that already existing in real life”– and a means to enfold Daft Hooligan’s popular music within a practice of flamboyant pop stagecraft that includes “Kraftwerk and Ziggy Stardust and Kiss; people thought the headgears were marketing or something, but also for us it was sci-fi glam. Certainly, the outfits just make the world much more eager to discover about individuals behind the thug. The duo were caught grabbing their bags in Paris with their helmets securely packed away. <a href='http://www.winwic.com/monden/what-they-look-like-under-the-helmets/'>What they look like under the helmets</a>

What they look like under the helmets

When they approved several Grammys in silence from underneath their trademark robot headgears, Daft Criminal drew in fairly a couple of queries. But which is truly under all that metallic and glass?Da…

31 Jan 2014

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