How we perceive motion is a significantly more complex process than previously thought, researchers at New York University's Center for Neural Science, Stanford University and the University of Washington have found. Their results, which appear in the journal Current Biology, show that the relationship between the brain and visual perception varies, depending on the type of motion we are viewing.
Neuroscientists have posited that our perception of motion is derived from a relatively simple process?that is, it relies on a single cortical area in the brain. This region, MT, has a well-established role in processing information about moving visual objects. However, less clear is the scope of its influence?does it dictate our ability to detect all types of motion or is its function more limited or, perhaps, more nuanced?
With this in mind, the NYU-led team examined how the visual system processes two types of motion: local motion, which involves tracking signals that fall within a small retinal area, and global motion, in which several movements are integrated over larger areas. Specifically, they monitored activity in MT to determine if its neurons were active in response to both types of motion.
In normal scenes, local and global motion are normally in agreement. Here, the researchers conducted experiments in which macaque monkey and human subjects watched specially crafted patterns in which the local and global motion information were in competition. The researchers made physiological and perceptual measurements of brain activity.
Their results showed notable differences in how the visual system functions in processing local and global motion. They found that neuronal activity in MT was controlled by the local motion in the stimulus and unaffected by global motion. Under the same conditions, though, humans' perceptual responses were dominated by global motion, which means that their responses were determined by a second brain mechanism that encodes global motion, whose nature is currently unknown.
J. Anthony Movshon, director of the Center for Neural Science and the paper's senior author, says that the work opens a window for further study: "While comprehending the specifics of this process requires more work, it's clear that motion perception does not depend on a single cortical brain area, but, rather, reflects the action and interaction of multiple mechanisms. We now have new tools to help us identify and study brain systems that are currently unknown."
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New York University: http://www.nyu.edu
Thanks to New York University for this article.
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SAN FRANCISCO ? Jim Harbaugh delivered exactly what the San Francisco 49ers hired him for back in January: a playoff berth and NFC West title in his first season running the show. So much for the lockout slowing him down.
Left tackle Joe Staley delivered the celebratory Gatordade dousing on Harbaugh's head in the closing moments of Sunday's 26-0 win over the St. Louis Rams that wrapped up that long-awaited division title for a once-proud franchise determined to return to the glory days of Jerry Rice and Joe Montana, Steve Young and Roger Craig.
Frank Gore helped run San Francisco (10-2) right into the postseason, becoming the 49ers' career rushing leader by passing late Hall of Famer Joe Perry and finishing with 73 yards.
Alex Smith threw second-half touchdowns of 52 and 56 yards to Michael Crabtree and Kyle Williams and David Akers kicked four field goals to help Harbaugh join George Seifert (1989) and Steve Mariucci (1997) as the only rookie coaches in franchise history to win the division.
The only downer came when star linebacker Patrick Willis left the game in the first half with a right hamstring injury.
Rams quarterback A.J. Feeley struggled in place of injured starter Sam Bradford for the reeling Rams (2-10), who watched several more key players go down.
San Francisco became the NFL's second team to secure a playoff berth behind defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay.
The 49ers bounced back from a discouraging 16-6 loss at Baltimore on Thanksgiving night against the Ravens and Harbaugh's big brother, John, with another methodical victory. Smith was sacked nine times in that game and four more Sunday.
Despite further problems converting in the red zone early, San Francisco shut out an opponent for the first time since a 35-0 home win at Candlestick Park on Oct. 4, 2009. That was also the Rams' last shutout.
The Niners also avenged a late-season loss from 2010 that was still plenty fresh. They had won five straight before losing at St. Louis in the second-to-last week. It was after that game when coach Mike Singletary was fired. That led to the high-profile hiring of Harbaugh in January. And the 49ers' transformation began in earnest.
San Francisco's impressive season might help shed that "NFC Worst" stigma from the West.
Smith, who didn't start that last game against the Rams, completed 17 of 23 passes for 274 yards with four sacks and no interceptions to finish with a career-high 142.3 quarterback rating. He gave way to rookie backup Colin Kaepernick midway through the fourth.
Gore ran for 2 yards early in the second quarter to give him 7,345 career yards rushing, moving him past Perry (7,344) for most in franchise history.
The 28-year-old Gore, a two-time Pro Bowl selection in his seventh NFL season, has said it was a goal for this season to become the career rushing leader ? though getting to the playoffs for the first time has always been the top priority.
Same for Smith, Vernon Davis, Willis and all the others who haven't played on the NFL's big stage before.
Gore and his teammates are wearing No. 34 helmet decals this season in honor of Perry, the first player with back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons and nicknamed "The Jet" for his sensational speed. He died in April at age 84.
Willis watched the second half on the sideline in a sweatsuit.
The four-time Pro Bowler landed awkwardly after missing a tackle on fullback Brit Miller, who made an 18-yard completion from A.J. Feeley with 4:28 left in the first quarter. Willis' body twisted as he fell to the ground at Candlestick Park and he stayed down for a short time as trainers ran out to check on him, then helped him limp off the field.
Akers kicked a 36-yard field goal on San Francisco's second possession of the game to go up 3-0 with 4:54 left in the first quarter.
Ray McDonald knocked the ball away from Feeley midway through the second quarter to force a fumble and Aldon Smith recovered deep in St. Louis territory. That gave the 49ers first-and-goal on the 6 but they again failed to get in the end zone, settling for Akers' 19-yard field goal.
Akers booted a 28-yarder 1:41 before halftime for his 31st field goal of the year, topping Jeff Wilkins' single-season franchise mark of 30 he set in 1996.
That gave the 49ers nine field goals ? with only three TDs ? in the last 14 trips to the red zone before Crabtree's TD catch.
Davis dropped a would-be 40-yard touchdown catch in the end zone late in the second quarter on a perfectly thrown pass from Smith. Davis later had a catch and fumble for San Francisco, which hasn't scored a first-half touchdown since Week 9 at Washington.
Rams DE Chris Long's second-quarter sack on Smith gave him one in six straight games.
NEW YORK (AP) ? Real estate mogul Donald Trump will moderate a Republican presidential debate in Iowa a week before the state holds the first in the nation caucuses.
The conservative website Newsmax will host the debate, scheduled for Dec. 27 in Des Moines. All the Republican contenders have been invited to participate.
Trump announced he would not seek the Republican nomination himself after toying with a bid last spring. The host of "Celebrity Apprentice" has remained visible in the campaign, hosting many of the candidates for meetings at Trump Tower in New York City. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is set to visit Trump on Monday.
Trump has also been a strong critic of President Barack Obama and drew considerable publicity when he questioned the validity of Obama's birth certificate.
LONDON ? Global markets rose on Friday as investors welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel's call to enforce tighter government spending rules and a surprise drop in the U.S. unemployment rate.
In a closely scrutinized speech to Germany's parliament, Merkel said the 17 nations that use the euro currency must move quickly to restore market confidence, changing EU treaties to make financial controls stricter and more binding.
She reiterated her objection to so-called eurobonds ? debt jointly backed by eurozone countries ? and warned that the debt crisis will take years, not months, to fix. But her call for long-term changes suggested a commitment to strengthen financial union between countries in the euro, something analysts have said is necessary to make sure the eurozone doesn't break up.
Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are meeting Monday to discuss potential treaty changes. The talks will culminate in a Dec. 9 summit of EU leaders, where the proposals are expected to be debated and detailed.
Investors are hoping if eurozone governments agree to longer-term changes in the way they control their finances, the European Central Bank will agree to step up its interventions in the bond markets. Those interventions keep borrowing rates down for debt-troubled nations like Italy.
Whether the ECB will agree to step up its bond purchases is not clear, although its President Mario Draghi hinted Thursday that it was a possibility.
"Expectations have been growing that a 'Grand Plan' will be delivered next week," said Frederik Ducrozet, analyst at Credit Agricole CIB.
European stocks rose, as did bonds for Italy and Spain. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 1.1 percent to 5,548.87 while Germany's DAX added 1.0 percent to 6,094.66. France's CAC-40 climbed 1.4 percent to 3,172.22.
Italy's 10-year bond yield was down to 6.52 percent, almost a full percentage lower than Wednesday, an indication investors have high hopes of next week's talks to save the euro. Spain's 10-year yield was down to 5.56 percent.
Wall Street also rose on the open ? the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.8 percent at 12,111 while the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.8 percent to 1,255 after the release of cautiously upbeat U.S. jobs data.
The U.S. government said the unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent in November, the lowest in 2 1/2 years and better than economists' expectations for an unchanged rate of 9 percent.
The world's largest economy also added 120,000 jobs in November, while the previous two months were revised up to show another 72,000 more jobs were created ? the fourth straight month the government revised prior months higher.
Although the drop in the unemployment rate was unexpected, the increase in jobs was roughly as forecast by most analyst.
Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.5 percent to end at 8,643.75, its highest closing in three weeks. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.2 percent and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 1.4 percent.
South Korea's Kospi was marginally down and mainland Chinese shares also lost ground as investors cashed in on earlier gains. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 1 percent.
Markets continued to enjoy some momentum from Wednesday, when the U.S. Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England and the central banks of Canada, Japan and Switzerland jointly made it easier for banks to borrow dollars.
The coordinated effort was meant to prevent Europe's debt crisis from exploding into a global panic. Should a European bank fail or if a country default on its debt, investors fear it could result in a freeze-up in global lending like the one that occurred in 2008 when Lehman Brothers collapsed.
China's central bank also acted to release money for lending and to shore up growth by lowering bank reserve levels for the first time in three years. The bank actions caused global stocks to rally Thursday.
Benchmark oil for January delivery was down 5 cents to $100.15 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday. The contract lost 16 cents to end at $100.20 per barrel on the Nymex on Thursday.
In currency trading, the euro rose to $1.3478 from $1.3460 late Thursday in New York. The dollar rose to 77.93 yen from 77.76 yen.
___
Pamela Sampson in Bangkok contributed to this report.
NJIT's Louis Lanzerotti to be honored as AGU's 2011 William Bowie Medalist Public release date: 1-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sheryl Weinstein sheryl.m.weinstein@njit.edu 973-596-3436 New Jersey Institute of Technology
Lanzerotti has spent 4 and one-half decades contributing to research that includes studies of space plasmas and geophysics, and engineering problems
Louis Lanzerotti, distinguished research professor of physics at NJIT, has been selected as the 2011 William Bowie Medalist of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). The presentation will be made at the Honors Ceremony at the 2011 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco on December 7, 2011.
The Bowie Medal is AGU's highest honor. It was established in 1939 in honor of William Bowie for his "spirit of helpfulness and friendliness in unselfish cooperative research." Bowie was the first president of AGU (1920) and the first recipient of the medal. The Bowie medal, awarded annually, acknowledges an individual for outstanding contributions to fundamental geophysics and for unselfish cooperation in research, one of the guiding principles of AGU. Bowie was a distinguished geodesist who was not only one of the founders of the American Geophysical Union and the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics but was also an architect of international cooperation in geophysical research.
Lanzerotti has spent four and one-half decades contributing to research that includes studies of space plasmas and geophysics, and engineering problems related to the impact of atmospheric and space processes on terrestrial technologies, and those in space. Prior to joining NJIT in 2003, Lanzerotti spent more than three decades at Bell Laboratories-Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, NJ.
U.S. President George W. Bush nominated Lanzerotti in 2004 to a six-year term on the National Science Board, the 24-member governing body of the National Science Foundation. Lanzerotti has served as the chair of many committees for the National Academies, including the blue-ribbon panel to study whether to prolong the mission of the Hubble Space Telescope, the committee on the safety and security of spent nuclear fuel, and the Space Studies Board. He currently serves as the chair of the Governing Board of the American Institute of Physics.
NASA has recognized Lanzerotti's contributions to science with the agency's Distinguished Scientific Achievement Medal, and twice awarded him the agency's Distinguished Public Service Medal. He has also received the William Nordberg Medal for applications of space science from the International Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). Lanzerotti has been elected to the International Academy of Astronautics and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).
Lanzerotti has been principal investigator or co-investigator on a number of NASA Earth-orbiting, interplanetary and planetary missions including IMP, Voyager, Ulysses, Galileo, and Cassini. He is currently a Principal Investigator for instruments to be flown in 2012 on NASA's Radiation Belt Storm Probes mission in Earth's magnetosphere. Lanzerotti's research directed toward understanding Earth's upper atmosphere and space environments has also taken him to the Antarctic and the Arctic.
Minor Planet 5504 Lanzerotti recognizes his space and planetary research, and Mount Lanzerotti (74.50 S, 70.33 W) recognizes his research in the Antarctic. In 2003, the American Geophysical Union named Lanzerotti the founding editor of Space Weather, The International Journal of Research and Applications. The journal has been the first to focus on the emerging field of space weather and its impact on technical systems.
Lanzerotti has co-authored one book, co-edited four books, and is an author of more than 500 refereed engineering and science papers. He is a member of the NJIT Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research, which also manages the Big Bear Solar Observatory, Calif. Lanzerotti holds a BS in engineering physics from the University of Illinois and master's and doctoral degrees in physics from Harvard University.
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NJIT, New Jersey's science and technology university, enrolls more than 9,558 students pursuing bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in 120 programs. The university consists of six colleges: Newark College of Engineering, College of Architecture and Design, College of Science and Liberal Arts, School of Management, College of Computing Sciences and Albert Dorman Honors College. U.S. News & World Report's 2010 Annual Guide to America's Best Colleges ranked NJIT in the top tier of national research universities. NJIT is internationally recognized for being at the edge in knowledge in architecture, applied mathematics, wireless communications and networking, solar physics, advanced engineered particulate materials, nanotechnology, neural engineering and e-learning. Many courses and certificate programs, as well as graduate degrees, are available online through the Office of Continuing Professional Education.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
NJIT's Louis Lanzerotti to be honored as AGU's 2011 William Bowie Medalist Public release date: 1-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sheryl Weinstein sheryl.m.weinstein@njit.edu 973-596-3436 New Jersey Institute of Technology
Lanzerotti has spent 4 and one-half decades contributing to research that includes studies of space plasmas and geophysics, and engineering problems
Louis Lanzerotti, distinguished research professor of physics at NJIT, has been selected as the 2011 William Bowie Medalist of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). The presentation will be made at the Honors Ceremony at the 2011 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco on December 7, 2011.
The Bowie Medal is AGU's highest honor. It was established in 1939 in honor of William Bowie for his "spirit of helpfulness and friendliness in unselfish cooperative research." Bowie was the first president of AGU (1920) and the first recipient of the medal. The Bowie medal, awarded annually, acknowledges an individual for outstanding contributions to fundamental geophysics and for unselfish cooperation in research, one of the guiding principles of AGU. Bowie was a distinguished geodesist who was not only one of the founders of the American Geophysical Union and the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics but was also an architect of international cooperation in geophysical research.
Lanzerotti has spent four and one-half decades contributing to research that includes studies of space plasmas and geophysics, and engineering problems related to the impact of atmospheric and space processes on terrestrial technologies, and those in space. Prior to joining NJIT in 2003, Lanzerotti spent more than three decades at Bell Laboratories-Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, NJ.
U.S. President George W. Bush nominated Lanzerotti in 2004 to a six-year term on the National Science Board, the 24-member governing body of the National Science Foundation. Lanzerotti has served as the chair of many committees for the National Academies, including the blue-ribbon panel to study whether to prolong the mission of the Hubble Space Telescope, the committee on the safety and security of spent nuclear fuel, and the Space Studies Board. He currently serves as the chair of the Governing Board of the American Institute of Physics.
NASA has recognized Lanzerotti's contributions to science with the agency's Distinguished Scientific Achievement Medal, and twice awarded him the agency's Distinguished Public Service Medal. He has also received the William Nordberg Medal for applications of space science from the International Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). Lanzerotti has been elected to the International Academy of Astronautics and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).
Lanzerotti has been principal investigator or co-investigator on a number of NASA Earth-orbiting, interplanetary and planetary missions including IMP, Voyager, Ulysses, Galileo, and Cassini. He is currently a Principal Investigator for instruments to be flown in 2012 on NASA's Radiation Belt Storm Probes mission in Earth's magnetosphere. Lanzerotti's research directed toward understanding Earth's upper atmosphere and space environments has also taken him to the Antarctic and the Arctic.
Minor Planet 5504 Lanzerotti recognizes his space and planetary research, and Mount Lanzerotti (74.50 S, 70.33 W) recognizes his research in the Antarctic. In 2003, the American Geophysical Union named Lanzerotti the founding editor of Space Weather, The International Journal of Research and Applications. The journal has been the first to focus on the emerging field of space weather and its impact on technical systems.
Lanzerotti has co-authored one book, co-edited four books, and is an author of more than 500 refereed engineering and science papers. He is a member of the NJIT Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research, which also manages the Big Bear Solar Observatory, Calif. Lanzerotti holds a BS in engineering physics from the University of Illinois and master's and doctoral degrees in physics from Harvard University.
###
NJIT, New Jersey's science and technology university, enrolls more than 9,558 students pursuing bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in 120 programs. The university consists of six colleges: Newark College of Engineering, College of Architecture and Design, College of Science and Liberal Arts, School of Management, College of Computing Sciences and Albert Dorman Honors College. U.S. News & World Report's 2010 Annual Guide to America's Best Colleges ranked NJIT in the top tier of national research universities. NJIT is internationally recognized for being at the edge in knowledge in architecture, applied mathematics, wireless communications and networking, solar physics, advanced engineered particulate materials, nanotechnology, neural engineering and e-learning. Many courses and certificate programs, as well as graduate degrees, are available online through the Office of Continuing Professional Education.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
TORONTO (Reuters) ? Research in Motion booked a huge charge to write down inventories of its underwhelming PlayBook tablet on Friday, capping a dismal year with a steep profit warning that sent its shares tumbling more than 8 percent.
Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM, the company whose now ubiquitous BlackBerry created the concept of on-the-go email, said it now no longer expects to meet its full-year earnings forecast, due to weak sales, the PlayBook writedown and a charge related to a damaging service outage in October.
RIM, which launched its first BlackBerry device in 1999, has fallen out of favor with investors as it has struggled to keep pace in the rapidly evolving smartphone market it pioneered. In recent years, Apple's iPhone and Google Android devices have gobbled up RIM's once mighty market share.
Bernstein Research analyst Pierre Ferragu said the warning itself was not a surprise. But he was alarmed that RIM management apparently fails to see the writing on the wall for its products and for its corporate structure.
"What is more worrying, of course, is the profound denial the tone of the release reflects. Although it appears obvious to us that RIM's current strategy is bound to fail rapidly, the company continues to support it vehemently," he said.
"We can only hope that this increasing dissonance will accelerate necessary changes at the top of the company."
The success of the PlayBook, launched to unfavorable reviews in April, is crucial for RIM, as it plans to new smartphones based on the same QNX-based operating system in 2012.
But the woes of the tablet, a late arrival in a new market segment where Apple's iPad has established an overwhelming dominance, are just one of a string of problems for the one-time technology darling.
Many analysts have lost patience with RIM after a series of product missteps and profit warnings. RIM also faced an embarrassing global outage in October, when customers were stranded without e-mail and the popular BlackBerry messaging service for several days.
If RIM cannot convince developers to build apps for the languishing PlayBook, its new smartphones will struggle to gain traction against the iPhone and Android devices that already boast a huge library of applications.
Seeking to boost anemic PlayBook sales, RIM recently slashed prices on the device and it now plans to expand the promotion to help increase its market share in the segment. RIM sold only about 150,000 tablets in the quarter to November 26, down from 200,000 in the previous quarter - a tiny fraction of the 11 million iPads that Apple sold in its latest quarter.
"RIM is continuing to suffer from its Playbook endeavors," said CCS Insight analyst Geoff Blaber. "It hurt RIM initially by diverting focus, but muted demand is now becoming clearly visible in the financials."
"The severe outage in October did little for consumer confidence and undoubtedly dented sales during that time."
RIM's Nasdaq-listed shares fell 8.7 percent to $16.96 by mid afternoon and the stock is down more than 70 percent this year. Its Canadian-listed shares fell 8.2 percent to C$17.27 and continue to hover around seven-year lows.
The meltdown in RIM's stock price has actually prompted some analysts to raise their ratings on RIM, with Goldman Sachs contending that the current valuation already fairly captures the fundamental concerns. Speculation has also been rife that RIM could be the target of a strategic buyout.
FULL YEAR EARNINGS
In the latest of several profit warnings, RIM said it no longer expects to meet its full-year forecast of $5.25 to $6 per share because of weaker than expected smartphone shipments, a $360 million after-tax writedown on PlayBook inventories and a $50 million charge related to the October outage.
It had previously forecast full-year earnings of $7.50 a share, but it backed away from that in mid-June, following product delays and lackluster sales.
Excluding the two charges, RIM now expects adjusted earnings in the third-quarter to be at the low to mid-point of its previously forecast $1.20 to $1.40 per share range.
Revenue, excluding the outage charge, is expected to be slightly below the previously forecast range of $5.3 billion to $5.6 billion, in part because of the PlayBook discounting.
RIM, which reports third quarter results on December 15, said it shipped about 14.1 million BlackBerry phones in the quarter, in line with its earlier forecast of between 13.5 and 14.5 million.
It said it was confident the PlayBook promotion will help boost sales and reduce its inventories.
"RIM is committed to the BlackBerry PlayBook," Co-Chief Executive Mike Lazaridis said in a statement. "Early results from recent PlayBook promotions indicate a significant increase in demand across most channels."
But RIM also said it expects to ship fewer smartphones in the current quarter than in the recently-ended third quarter.
"We do not see any sign that RIM's downward spiral is about to bottom out," Nomura analyst Stuart Jeffrey said in a note for clients. "The company has a number of new phones on the market, yet guidance for Q4 suggests that their momentum is already starting to stall."
(Reporting By Euan Rocha and Alastair Sharp in Toronto and Tarmo Virki in Helsinki; Editing by Frank McGurty and Janet Guttsman)
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Public release date: 1-Dec-2011
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