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Public Release: 1-Dec-2012
Long-term research reveals how climate change is playing out in real ecosystems Around the world, the effects of global climate change are increasingly evident and difficult to ignore. However, evaluations of the local effects of climate change are often confounded by natural and human induced factors that overshadow the effects of changes in climate on ecosystems. Now, a group of scientists writing in the journal BioScience report a number of surprising results that may shed more light on the complex nature of climate change. Contact: Lori Quillen Public Release: 30-Nov-2012
Emerging vector-borne diseases create new public health challenge Human activities are advancing the spread of vector-borne, zoonotic diseases such as West Nile virus, Lyme disease and dengue fever, report scientists publishing a series of papers today in the journal the Lancet. Contact: Cheryl Dybas Public Release: 30-Nov-2012
How native plants and exotics coexist Exotic plants in many ecosystems may be better competitors, but in a study in Ecology Letters researchers at Winthrop University and Brown University found that exotics can be kept in check by herbivory. Contact: David Orenstein Public Release: 30-Nov-2012
New study finds what makes a good mentor and mentee How-to books are full of advice on what makes a good mentor. But what makes a good mentee and what chemistry is needed to make the relationship work? Contact: Leslie Shepherd Public Release: 30-Nov-2012
Help for European children to resist unhealthy temptations It is easy for children and teenagers in Europe to get their hands on sweets and other unhealthy foods. A major European research project has therefore developed a range of tools that children and teenagers can use to ward off temptation. Contact: Liliya Nureeva Public Release: 29-Nov-2012
Marketing analytics ups Fortune 1000 return on assets 8 percent, says operations research study Fortune 1000 companies that increase their use of marketing analytics improve their return on assets an average 8 percent and as much as 21 percent, with returns ranging from $70 million to $180 million in net income, according to a paper written by two key members of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences. Contact: Barry List Public Release: 29-Nov-2012
Inviting customer complaints can kill business: UBC research Giving customers a chance to complain can be a bad idea if customers believe they're to blame for a product's failure, a new study from the Sauder School of Business at UBC shows. Contact: Andrew Riley Public Release: 29-Nov-2012
Homicide spreads like infectious disease Homicide moves through a city in a process similar to infectious disease, according to a new study that may give police a new tool in tracking and ultimately preventing murders. Contact: Andy Henion Public Release: 29-Nov-2012
Technology use in the classroom helps autistic children communicate The use of technology in the classroom is nothing new, but Topcliffe Primary School in Birmingham is breaking new ground by using technology to help pupils with Autism communicate more effectively in the a project, jointly funded by the ESRC and the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council. Contact: Pressoffice Public Release: 29-Nov-2012
When good service means bad behavior Economists and professionals praise the merits of competition, as it leads to lower prices and improvements in quality. But in the automobile smog-testing industry, competition can lead to corruption and even public health problems. Contact: Amy Blumenthal Public Release: 29-Nov-2012
Employers often more interested in hiring potential playmates than the very best candidates Employers are often more focused on hiring someone they would like to hang out with than they are on finding the person who can best do the job, suggests a study in the December issue of the American Sociological Review. Contact: Daniel Fowler Public Release: 29-Nov-2012
Behavior problems, not depression, linked to lower grades for depressed youths Behavior problems, not depression, are linked to lower grades for depressed adolescents, according to a study in the December issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. Contact: Daniel Fowler Public Release: 29-Nov-2012
Study shows increase in negative messages about Muslims in the media Organizations using fear and anger to spread negative messages about Muslims have moved from the fringes of public discourse into the mainstream media since the Sept. 11 attacks, according to new research by a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill sociologist. Contact: Daniel Fowler Public Release: 28-Nov-2012
Math detects contamination in water distribution networks A paper published earlier this month in the SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics considers the identification of contaminants in a water distribution network as an optimal control problem within a networked system. Contact: Karthika Muthukumaraswamy Public Release: 28-Nov-2012
Mexican banking data reveal cities and villages that borrow more have a better quality of life Mexican cities and villages where credit exceeds savings deposits offer a higher quality of life and a more educated citizenry, according to 12 years of financial data released by Mexico's National Banking and Securities Commission. The research was funded by the Consortium on Financial Systems and Poverty at the University of Chicago. The data provide a detailed look at the spending and saving habits of Mexicans for the past decade. Contact: Cheryl L. Reed Public Release: 28-Nov-2012
Voter polls portend conflict between Obama administration and Republican leaders over ACA Newly released polls show most of those who voted for Obama in 2012 favor the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and want the federal government to make sure most Americans have health insurance. However, Republicans maintain a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, and 30 states will have Republican governors. The polls suggest that Republican voters, and many Republican governors and House Republican leaders, are likely to oppose implementing parts of the ACA. Contact: Marge Dwyer Public Release: 28-Nov-2012
Research criticizes young offenders' institution for gang-related violence A youth offending facility in the East Midlands has been criticized in a new report for taking criminals from rival gangs in Leicester and Nottingham. Contact: Emma Thorne Public Release: 28-Nov-2012
Family's economic situation influences brain function in children Children of low socioeconomic status work harder to filter out irrelevant environmental information than those from a high-income background because of learned differences in what they pay attention to, according to new research published in the open access journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. Contact: Amedeo D'Angiulli Public Release: 28-Nov-2012
Report finds Big Pharma is doing more for access to medicine in developing countries The latest Access to Medicine Index, which ranks the top 20 pharmaceutical companies on their efforts to improve access to medicine in developing countries, finds that the industry is doing more than it was two years ago. Seventeen out of the 20 companies perform better than they did at the time of the last Index report in 2010. Contact: Suzanne Wolf Public Release: 28-Nov-2012
80 percent of parents interested in genetic risk assessment for siblings of children with autism The vast majority (80 percent) of parents with at least one child with ASD would pursue genetic testing, if available, to identify risk in a younger sibling, citing earlier identification of at-risk children, evaluation and intervention, closer monitoring and lessened anxiety reported in the journal Clinical Pediatrics. The survey also reported an almost three-year lag from the time ASD was initially suspected until diagnosis -- even in families with a previously diagnosed child. Contact: Jane E. Rubinstein Public Release: 28-Nov-2012
Tiny algae shed light on photosynthesis as a dynamic property Many of the world's most important photosynthetic eukaryotes such as plants got their light-harnessing organelles (chloroplasts) indirectly from other organisms through endosymbiosis. In some instances, this resulted in algae with multiple, distinct genomes, some in residual organelles (nucleomorphs). To better understand why nucleomorphs persist after endosymbiosis, an international team including researchers at the DOE Joint Genome Institute collaborated to sequence and analyze two tiny algae. Their report appeared online Nov. 29, 2012 in Nature. Contact: David Gilbert Public Release: 27-Nov-2012
How vegetables make the meal Adding vegetables to a meal can make you a better cook and a better person. A new Cornell University study published in Public Health Nutrition, found that adding vegetables to the dinner led to more positive evaluations of both the main entree and the cook. Given that vegetables are served with only 23 percent of meals, these results could provide added motivation for parents to serve vegetables with dinner. Contact: Adam Brumberg Public Release: 27-Nov-2012
East Asia faces unique challenges, opportunities for stem cell innovation A new consensus statement from the Hinxton Group focuses on stem cell innovation and intellectual property rights in Japan and China. Contact: Leah Ramsay Public Release: 27-Nov-2012
Most women who have double mastectomy don't need it, U-M study finds About 70 percent of women who have both breasts removed following a breast cancer diagnosis do so despite a very low risk of facing cancer in the healthy breast, new research from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center finds. Contact: Nicole Fawcett Public Release: 27-Nov-2012
Study finds heavily indebted med students choosing primary care face greater financial challenges Researchers at Boston University and the Association of American Medical Colleges have determined that heavily indebted medical students choosing primary care careers will experience difficulty paying their student debt unless they consider alternative strategies to support repayment. Contact: Jenny Eriksen |