Email attachments be dangerous

Some of the characteristics that make email attachments convenient and popular are also the ones that make them a common tool for attackers:

• Email is easily circulated - Forwarding email is so simple that viruses can quickly infect many machines. Most viruses don't even require users to forward the email—they scan a users' computer for email addresses and automatically send the infected message to all of the addresses they find. Attackers take advantage of the reality that most users will automatically trust and open any message that comes from someone they know.


• Email programs try to address all users' needs - Almost any type of file can be attached to an email message, so attackers have more freedom with the types of viruses they can send.


• Email programs offer many "user-friendly" features - Some email programs have the option to automatically download email attachments, which immediately exposes your computer to any viruses within the attachments.

Landmark Completion of South Pole Telescope to Help Scientists Learn What the Universe Is Made of and How it Got Here

Just days before nations around the world were set to begin a coordinated global research campaign called the International Polar Year (IPY); scientists at the South Pole aimed a massive new telescope at Jupiter and successfully collected the instrument's first test observations.

Soon, a far more distant quarry will enter the South Pole telescope's (SPT) sights, as a team of researchers from nine institutions tackles fundamental mysteries of modern cosmology and the nature of the universe: What, for example, is dark energy, the force that dominates the universe?

The $19.2 million telescope is funded primarily by the National Science Foundation (NSF), with additional support from the Kavli Foundation of Oxnard, Calif., and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation of San Francisco.

"The telescope, camera and optics are all working as designed," said John Carlstrom, the S. Chandrasekhar distinguished service professor in astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Chicago, who heads the SPT team that tested the scope on Feb. 26. "SPT's first light is a major milestone for the project and a fitting conclusion to a remarkably productive summer at the South Pole station. We now look forward to fully characterizing the instrument and beginning cosmological observations."

"First light" is the scientific term for the time when a telescope becomes operational.

The telescope stands 75 feet (22.8 meters) tall, measures 33 feet (10 meters) across and weighs 280 tons (254 metric tons). It was assembled in Kilgore, Texas, then taken apart, shipped across the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand, and flown from there to the South Pole. Since November, the SPT team under the guidance of project manager Steve Padin has worked furiously to reassemble and deploy the telescope.

As with any construction project at the Earth southern extremity, SPT was supported by a long and complex logistical chain stretching around the globe. All cargo to the South Pole is delivered by ski-equipped LC-130 aircraft, and the components must be able to be broken down to fit into the aircraft cargo bay. Flown by the N.Y. Air National Guard, the aircraft are elements of Operation Deep Freeze, the military support arm of the U.S. Antarctic Program, which also includes Air Force cargo jets and U.S. Coast Guard icebreakers, Navy cargo handlers and many other logistical and personnel assets.

Raytheon Polar Services Co, of Centennial, Colo. is NSF's logistics contractor in Antarctica. RPSC personnel played a variety of essential roles in the successful completion of the SPT project, NSF officials noted.

Astrophysicists know that the universe has been expanding since the Big Bang occurred 13.8 billion years ago. In the late 1990s, astronomers using exploding stars as cosmic tape measures discovered that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. This led them to the idea that dark energy pushes the universe apart, overwhelming gravity, the attractive force exerted by all matter in the universe.

"We would like to know what makes the universe evolve," said Stephan Meyer, professor in Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of Chicago.

WHITE ASH - Fraxinus americana, Linn

ALMOST EVERY AMERICAN boy knows a great deal about white ash wood. He has felt the familiar "tock" and tingling jolt which accompanies the swinging of the ball bat made from white ash. White ash grows over most of the state on moist, deep, well-drained soils in small isolated stands. Other relatives found in Missouri are blue, green and pumpkin ash.

Winged seeds are borne in clusters on the twig. These are spread by wind or water or a combination of both.Leaves are opposite and compound with 5 to 7 leaflets which are oval and usually smooth-edged.

Smaller branches are stout, round and smooth. At the tip of the twig there are always three buds, the large, brown, pyramidal terminal and two small lateral buds. On older portions of the tree, bark is thick, dark brown, or gray and broken into flat ridges.

Because of its toughness, strength, and flexibility, the wood is used in the manufacture of athletic equipment, machinery, tools and furniture. It is a beautiful, light-colored wood with a distinctive grain.

In Missouri, white ash seldom exceeds 100 feet in height and 2 1/2 feet in diameter. Because it is so hardy and has good form, it has been widely planted as an ornamental tree. It is rarely planted in forest plantations.

Ash is a lover of light, therefore it will not grow rapidly under shaded conditions.

Coating to Keep Apple Slices Crisp, Fresh, Gains Popularity

Sliced applies, protected by an invisible, vitamin- and mineral-based coating, can keep their appealing color and texture for up to 28 days in the refrigerator, home cooks and gourmet chefs alike are discovering. The invisible coating—an easy-to-apply dip—was patented by ARS and co-investigators at Mantrose-Haeuser, Co., Inc., Westport, Conn., several years ago.

Today, marketed as NatureSeal, it's used in homes, school cafeterias, supermarket delicatessens, upscale restaurants and in fast-food restaurants nationwide. Some supermarkets sell packets of NatureSeal for home use. It's also available on the World Wide Web.

Unlike lemon juice—a traditional option for keeping apple slices from turning mushy and brown—the coating doesn't change the crisp texture and natural flavor of freshly sliced apples.