Starfish

FOUR SEASONS RESORT MAUI CELEBRATES SPRING BREAK WITH NEW SEASONAL EXPERIENCES FOR FAMILIES AND YOUNG TRAVELERS FROM MARCH 10 - APRIL 6, 2024

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 26, 2024

WAILEA, Hawaii, Feb. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea welcomes back Spring Break travelers to the island's sunny shores with a slate of new and expanded seasonal Four Seasons Maui Academy programming rooted in the destination's remarkable culture and environment starting March 10 – April 6, 2024. Young visitors ranging in age from 5 through 12 can form a connection to Hawaii through the magic of hands-on learning experiences, marine exploration, new culinary adventures, and enchanting storytelling under the stars with new and reinvigorated experiences including: ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian Language), Hawaiian Star Stories, Ocean Aloha, Chef's Garden Club, Maui Whale Watchers, and more.

Key Points: 
  • "We look forward to welcoming families and children of all ages to experience this spring's Four Seasons Maui Academy and Camp Manitou offerings," says Four Seasons Resort Maui General Manager Ben Shank .
  • "Through these hands-on learning experiences and explorations, our young visitors build meaningful connections with Maui that we hope last a lifetime."
  • Four Seasons Maui Academy and Camp Manitou join the Resort's complimentary Kids for All Seasons day camp, as well as a long list of activities and amenities , available to families year-round.
  • Four Seasons Maui Academy 2024 Spring Break complimentary schedule:
    Children will sing and play their way to learning the Hawaiian language under the guidance of "Uncle Koa" Mattos, Four Seasons Resort Maui Cultural Ambassador.

20°C seems the optimal temperature for life on Earth to thrive – what does this mean in a warming world?

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 16, 2024

We know many species can live at much colder or warmer temperatures than humans.

Key Points: 
  • We know many species can live at much colder or warmer temperatures than humans.
  • This means biological processes increase in line with temperature, reach a maximum, and then rapidly decline when it gets too hot.
  • When the number of species was plotted against the average annual temperature, there was a decline above 20°C.
  • Read more:
    Remote Pacific coral reef shows at least some ability to cope with ocean warming – new study

Biological processes and biodiversity

  • Research in Tasmania modelled the growth rates of microbes and multi-cellular organisms and found the most stable temperature for their biological processes was also 20°C.
  • This “Corkrey model” built on other studies showing 20°C was the most stable temperature for biological molecules.


marine and freshwater species’ tolerance of low oxygen
marine pelagic (open water living) and benthic (seabed living) algal productivity and fish predation rates on bait
global species richness in pelagic fishes, plankton, benthic invertebrates and fossil molluscs
and genetic diversity.
There were also increased extinctions in the fossil record when temperatures exceeded 20°C.

Increased species richness

  • While many species have evolved to live at warmer and colder temperatures, most species live at 20°C.
  • As species evolve to live at temperatures above and below 20°C, their thermal niche gets wider.
  • In turn, this should maximise species richness across all domains of life, from bacteria to the multi-cellular plants and animals.

Predicting the effects of climate change

  • This means the many marine species that can adapt to global warming by shifting their geographic distribution are unlikely to go extinct due to climate change.
  • Despite the complexity of multi-cellular species, it is remarkable that the cellular-level temperature efficiencies are reflected in those other aspects of biodiversity.
  • Exactly why 20°C is pivotal and energy-efficient for cellular processes may be due to the molecular properties of water associated with cells.


Mark John Costello received funding from the Royal Society of New Zealand-Te Apārangi that contributed to this research.. Ross Corkrey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Inbox.com Acquires Leading Email Hosting Provider Atmail

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, January 31, 2024

BRISBANE, Australia, Jan. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Inbox.com AS, an email provider based in Norway, is pleased to announce its acquisition of Atmail, a renowned email hosting provider headquartered in Brisbane, Australia. This strategic move represents a significant milestone in Inbox.com's expansion and diversification strategy.

Key Points: 
  • Inbox.com AS, an email provider based in Norway, is pleased to announce its acquisition of Atmail, a renowned email hosting provider headquartered in Brisbane, Australia.
  • BRISBANE, Australia, Jan. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Inbox.com AS, an email provider based in Norway, is pleased to announce its acquisition of Atmail , a renowned email hosting provider headquartered in Brisbane, Australia.
  • Founded in 1998, Atmail is a pioneer in the email hosting industry, offering tailored, cloud-based solutions to a global clientele.
  • "As I reflect on the 25-year journey with Atmail, from pioneering web-based email access to today, where Atmail is a world-class cloud provider of secure email services, I'm excited for the company's continued growth.

San Francisco Giants Relief Pitcher Joins National Nonprofit Board of Directors

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, January 25, 2024

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- WAWOS (We're All Working On Something), a national nonprofit dedicated to shifting the perception of physical disability in children and teens, is proud to announce the appointment of Tristan Beck to its board of directors as an Honorary Member. As an ambassador for WAWOS, this collaboration signifies Tristan's continued commitment to community engagement and philanthropy.

Key Points: 
  • SF Giants player, Tristan Beck, joins as Honorary Board Member at WAWOS, a National Disability Advocacy & Empowerment Nonprofit
    SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- WAWOS (We're All Working On Something), a national nonprofit dedicated to shifting the perception of physical disability in children and teens, is proud to announce the appointment of Tristan Beck to its board of directors as an Honorary Member.
  • WAWOS is recognized for its commitment to fostering inclusivity and empowerment among young individuals with neuromuscular diagnoses and delays.
  • Tristan Beck, who made his major league debut in 2023, brings his passion for making a difference to the WAWOS Board of Directors.
  • His dedication to community aligns with our mission to create a more inclusive and supportive world for all."

Pliops Elevates Performance, Reliability for High-Performance Computing Applications

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, November 14, 2023

SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In conjunction with this week’s SC23, which focuses on high-performance computing, networking and storage, Pliops, a leading provider of data processors for cloud and enterprise data centers, is highlighting its storage solutions addressing the demands of these massively complex, data-laden applications.

Key Points: 
  • Running on the Pliops Extreme Data Processor (XDP) , the Pliops portfolio of XDP Data Services maximize data center infrastructure investments by exponentially increasing application performance, storage reliability and capacity, as well as overall stack efficiency.
  • At SC23, Pliops will discuss how XDP Data Services help optimize data infrastructure and accelerate modern workloads, while in tandem reducing TCO by 50%.
  • For example, drug discovery and development company Eikon Therapeutics is using Pliops XDP to improve overall operations and address data growth, with a particular focus on performance, reliability, high availability and disaster recovery.
  • The Pliops solution impressed the Eikon storage team and has significantly improved performance, as well as reduced operational overhead.

One Planet Group Announces Annual Fundraiser, Holidays with a Purpose

Retrieved on: 
Monday, November 27, 2023

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- One Planet Group, a closely-held private equity firm headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, today announced the return of its annual fundraiser, Holidays with a Purpose. This year's holiday event is designed to benefit two worthy causes, Lidé Haiti and Starfish International, two outstanding organizations dedicated to empowering girls through education in Haiti and The Gambia, respectively.

Key Points: 
  • SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- One Planet Group , a closely-held private equity firm headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, today announced the return of its annual fundraiser, Holidays with a Purpose .
  • At One Planet Group, we believe businesses can and should be elevated to serve humanity.
  • "At One Planet Group, we believe businesses can and should be elevated to serve humanity.
  • One Planet Group wholeheartedly embraces the philosophy that service to humanity often benefits the giver more than the receiver.

Discover 6 fascinating animals that live at the bottom of the St. Lawrence River

Retrieved on: 
Friday, October 27, 2023

In the vast St. Lawrence River, an impressive variety of animals live on the seabed.

Key Points: 
  • In the vast St. Lawrence River, an impressive variety of animals live on the seabed.
  • These organisms live either buried in the sediment (infaunas) or on the surface of the seabed (epibenthos).
  • As far back as 1988 researchers listed over 1,855 species of benthic invertebrates living in the estuary and gulf of the St. Lawrence River.

Luminous worms

  • Some of these worms are actually capable of bioluminescence.
  • The production of light in the form of luminous flashes has three general functions: defensive (to escape predators), offensive (in support of predation) and communicative (for reproduction).
  • In the St. Lawrence River, the only scale worms with this ability are of the Harmothoe genus, of which there are five species.

Are corals cold?

  • But does coral only grow in warm waters?
  • Corals are actually marine polyps, cylindrical animals with a mouth surrounded by a ring of tentacles, that secrete a molecule called calcium carbonate to form a skeleton.
  • There are two types: soft corals, with an internal skeleton that reinforces the structure of the colony (a collection of cloned individuals) while ensuring its elasticity, and hard corals, where each polyp secretes a cup-shaped external skeleton, creating their characteristic rigidity.

Starfish: dreaded gourmets

  • They are actually fearsome predators, and understanding how they feed will likely change the way you see them.
  • Faced with the two greediest species in the St. Lawrence (Asterias rubens and Leptasterias polaris), mussels normally have nothing to fear.
  • But thanks to dozens of ambulacral feet — little suckers on their underside — starfish can easily open mussels.

You said centenarian?


Present in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, particularly in the Magdalen Islands, the Northern quahog (Arctica islandica) is the world’s longest-living animal. It is a bivalve mollusc protected by a calcareous shell with two valves, like that of a mussel or oyster. The Northern quahog can easily live up to 200 years, but the oldest specimen, recorded in Iceland, was 507 years old.
Other bivalves are known to live long lives. The age of these molluscs can be determined by the growth rings on their shells, rather like trees, but the technique here is called sclerochronology. It is even possible to read the history of the climate on the shells of several bivalves and use this information to predict future conditions.

Worms, medicine and the Olympics

  • Although this worm could revolutionize medicine, it could also pose problems for anti-doping agencies and athletes.
  • Virtually undetectable and hyper-performing, the incredible oxygenating benefits of the arenicolous worm’s hemoglobin could undoubtedly boost athletes’ performance at the next Olympics.

Natural “crazy glue”

  • Although mussels are tossed about by breaking waves all day long, they still manage to hold tight to the rocks.
  • The byssus, a collection of hair-sized fibres that are both strong and elastic.
  • The proteins that make up byssus form natural ‘crazy glue’; this liquid glue hardens rapidly, enabling the mussel to adhere with unrivalled tenacity to virtually any surface, even wet ones.
  • Cindy Grant is a member of the Québec-Océan strategic group and of the Unité Mixte Internationale Takuvik.
  • Lisa Treau De Coeli is a member of the Québec-Océan strategic group and of the Unité Mixte Internationale Takuvik.

Could 'marine cloud brightening' reduce coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef?

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Australia’s Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program – a collaboration between several universities, CSIRO and the Australian Institute of Marine Science – is exploring whether cloud brightening could reduce coral bleaching.

Key Points: 
  • Australia’s Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program – a collaboration between several universities, CSIRO and the Australian Institute of Marine Science – is exploring whether cloud brightening could reduce coral bleaching.
  • We started exploring cloud brightening after the mass bleaching event in 2016.
  • Then we began pilot testing in the central Great Barrier Reef near Townsville during January 2020.

A bright idea

    • Recently, scientists have begun to consider regional rather than global application of cloud brightening.
    • Could brightening clouds directly over the Great Barrier Reef for a few months reduce coral bleaching during a marine heat wave?
    • The sea salt particles sprayed in the process typically only persist in the atmosphere for one to several days.
    • Read more:
      We are poised to pass 1.5℃ of global warming – world leaders offer 4 ways to manage this dangerous time

How do you brighten a cloud?

    • A warm cloud (as opposed to an ice cloud) is a collection of small water droplets floating in the air.
    • Every droplet begins with the condensation of water vapour around a nucleus, which can be almost any kind of tiny particle suspended in air.
    • Typically, in the lower atmosphere over land there are thousands to tens of thousands of these tiny particles suspended in every cubic centimetre of air.
    • To brighten such clouds, we can spray large quantities of microscopic seawater droplets into the air.

Testing the theory

    • Although scientists have researched cloud brightening for more than 30 years, no one had ever directly tested the theory.
    • In Australia, we have now developed technology to a point where we are starting to measure the response of the clouds.

Not so far-fetched

    • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates humanity’s unintentional release of aerosols offsets around 30% of the warming effect due to greenhouse gases.
    • Sulphates in ship exhaust are such a potent source of aerosols for droplet formation, the passage of ships leaves cloud trails called ship tracks.

Amazon Best Selling Author Matt George Launches 50-City 'Change Lives Save Lives Tour' in Boston on October 11

Retrieved on: 
Friday, September 29, 2023

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Matt George, executive leadership business coach, host of the television series "Business Forward," and author of the No. 1 Amazon Best Seller "Nonprofit Game Plan: The Proven Strategy for Nonprofit Success," embarks on the 50-city "Change Lives Saves Lives Tour" launching in Boston on October 11. The coast-to-coast tour ends on December 18 in Virginia Beach. Two of George's mentors will join him on select dates. Kevin Harrington, original "Shark Tank" co-host and Harrington Enterprises founder, will speak in Tampa and St. Petersburg, FL, on December 8. Mark Victor Hansen, creator and co-founder of "The New York Times" Best Seller "Chicken Soup for the Soul," will accompany George in Phoenix, AZ on November 7 and Scottsdale, AZ on November 8. (See complete tour schedule below.)

Key Points: 
  • Matt George embarks on 50-City 'Change Lives Save Lives Tour' and releases two books, 'The Nonprofit Prophet' and 'Starfish Among Us' on October 13.
  • LOS ANGELES, Sept. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Matt George, executive leadership business coach, host of the television series "Business Forward," and author of the No.
  • 1 Amazon Best Seller "Nonprofit Game Plan: The Proven Strategy for Nonprofit Success," embarks on the 50-city "Change Lives Saves Lives Tour" launching in Boston on October 11.
  • The "Change Lives Save Lives Tour" coincides with the release of George's two new fiction books, "The Nonprofit Prophet" and "Starfish Among Us" on October 13.

One Planet Group takes Service Trip to The Gambia

Retrieved on: 
Friday, September 15, 2023

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., Sept. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of One Planet Group team members have recently returned from a service trip to Starfish International , an organization working tirelessly to improve access to education in The Gambia.

Key Points: 
  • WALNUT CREEK, Calif., Sept. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of One Planet Group team members have recently returned from a service trip to Starfish International , an organization working tirelessly to improve access to education in The Gambia.
  • The group from One Planet Group, spent a week on Starfish's main campus, working with and learning from the students, and ultimately taking part in their annual graduation ceremony.
  • The team members that went to The Gambia, were drawn across One Planet Group companies, including Buyerlink, Autoweb, and One Planet Studios.
  • The trip was funded by One Planet Group, and will be an annual initiative.