Biomass turnover time in ecosystems is halved by land use

In order to improve our understanding of climate change and to increase the predictability of future dynamics, it is necessary to gain a better understanding of the global carbon cycle. To date, little is known about the average time carbon is stored in biomass, before it passes back into atmosphere or soils (biomass turnover time), and the factors influencing this key parameter also remain largely unknown. Now, a new publication in Nature Geoscience shows that biomass turnover time in vegetation is halved as a result of human influence.

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Pharmaceutical advertising: A combination of information & emotion produces the best results

A new study, which takes a close look at the acceptance of advertising for non-prescription medications, has recently been published as a comprehensive book publication. The investigation focused on the pharmaceutical markets in the USA, in Germany, Austria and Brazil.

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Self-aware computing systems

Knowledge about oneself and how this influences one’s behaviour are well-established concepts from the fields of psychology and cognitive science. Over the past five years, an international team of researchers has studied how these concepts can be applied to computing systems, and the results have recently been published in a book.

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Highly prominent product placements tend to benefit from 3D movies, while placements with low prominence lose out

Product placements in movies are omnipresent. But how do modern film technologies, particularly the 3D technology, influence the memory of brands placed in movies? A new study has revealed that only brands placed very prominently benefit from 3D as compared to 2D technology, while the memory of less prominent and more subtle placements tends to dwindle. In the case of 4D movies (3D enhanced with scent), the memory was weakest.  

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