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Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Nanotube defects equal better energy and storage systems Most people would like to be able to charge their cell phones and other personal electronics quickly and not too often. A recent discovery made by UC San Diego engineers could lead to carbon nanotube-based supercapacitors that could do just this. Contact: Andrea Siedsma Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Microorganism may provide key to combating giant salvinia throughout Louisiana A team of researchers at Louisiana Tech University has found that a naturally occurring microorganism acts as a natural herbicide against giant salvinia. Contact: Dave Guerin Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Highlighting racial disparities increases coverage and effectiveness of health news As media researchers search for better methods to reach audiences, a new University of Missouri study published in Public Relations Review has found that highlighting racial disparities in news releases increases coverage of health stories in black newspapers, which can improve health outcomes in populations at risk for disparities. Contact: Emily Martin Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Examining mathematical abilities in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) have a number of cognitive deficits. Mathematical ability seems particularly damaged in children with FASD. A new study supports the importance of the left parietal area for mathematical abilities in children with FASD. Contact: Catherine Lebel, B.Sc. Public Release: 18-Nov-2009
Creation of new school districts in US may cause a new form of segregation Although the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 overturned segregation within many US metropolitan communities and districts, school districts were slow to change and have remained segregated between districts. A recent study in Law & Social Inquiry examines how the political process of creating new school districts in Southern communities changed the nature of segregation and seriously affected municipalities and districts now divided along racial lines. Contact: Bethany Carland-Adams Public Release: 18-Nov-2009
At-risk college students reduce HBP, anxiety, depression through Transcendental Meditation The Transcendental Meditation technique, a widely used standardized program to reduce stress, was an effective method to reduce blood pressure, anxiety, depression and anger among at-risk college students, according to a new study to be published in the December issue of the American Journal of Hypertension. The study, conducted at American University in Washington, D.C., reported that students at risk for developing hypertension, showed significant improvements in blood pressure, psychological distress and coping. Contact: Ken Chawkin Public Release: 17-Nov-2009
Rice ties in race for atomic-scale breakthrough Everybody loves a race to the wire, even when the result is a tie. The great irony is the ultraprecise clocks that could result from this competition could probably break any tie. The Rice lab of physicist Tom Killian published a paper online this month demonstrating the long-sought creation of a Bose-Einstein condensate of strontium atoms. Contact: David Ruth Public Release: 17-Nov-2009
Coed college housing connected to frequent binge drinking A new study in the Journal of American College Health finds that students placed by their universities in coed housing are 2.5 times more likely to binge drink each week than students placed in all-male or all-female housing. Contact: Joe Hadfield Public Release: 16-Nov-2009
List makers take note: 10 technologies that made news in 2009 and warrant watching in 2010 A first-of-its kind inhalable measles vaccine for developing countries, where the disease remains a scourge. A "nanogenerator" that could recharge iPods and other electronic devices with a shake. And for Fido and Fluffy, a long-awaited once-a-month pill for both ticks and fleas. Those three advances are among hundreds publicized during 2009 by the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. Contact: Michael Bernstein Public Release: 16-Nov-2009
Simple test could offer cheap solution to detecting landmines Scientists have developed a simple, cheap, accurate test to find undetected landmines. Contact: Catriona Kelly Public Release: 15-Nov-2009
Today's children decide their school and career path early Children as young as 12 have a strong sense of their personal futures and can reflect thoughtfully on what life might hold for them, according to new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and led by Professor Paul Croll of Reading University and Professor Gaynor Attwood of the University of the West of England. Contact: Press Office Public Release: 13-Nov-2009
Shape perception in brain develops by itself African nomads and westerners show the same ability to discriminate between shapes, a new study in Psychological Science reports. Authors suggest that brain's shape perception develops without deliberate training. Contact: Carl Marziali Public Release: 13-Nov-2009
Does business education have a future in Iraq? Reflecting a new role for the US in the world, Drs. V. Scott Koerwer and Kendall Roth visited Iraq, and may have created a new partnership model for building education systems in other countries. Contact: Christopher Hardwick Public Release: 13-Nov-2009
Awareness of racism affects how children do socially and academically A study of more than 120 ethnically and socioeconomically diverse US elementary school children shows that children develop an awareness about racial stereotypes early and that those biases can be damaging. Specifically, the study illustrates that when children become aware of bias about their own racial or ethnic group, it can affect how they respond to everyday situations, ranging from interacting with others to taking tests. Contact: Sarah Hutcheon Public Release: 13-Nov-2009
Does modernization affect children's cognitive development? Using data from the late 1970s, researchers have looked at almost 200 children ages 3 to 9 in Belize, Kenya, Nepal and American Samoa to determine whether modernization changes have had an effect on the thinking skills that are learned over the course of childhood. Results show that children in communities with more modern resources performed better in some areas of cognitive functioning and that they took part in more complex sequences of play. Contact: Sarah Hutcheon Public Release: 12-Nov-2009
Teens' mental health affects how long they stay in school, new study shows Queen's University researcher Steven Lehrer has won a prestigious international award in recognition of his contributions to health economics. A professor in Queen's School of Policy Studies and Department of Economics, Dr. Lehrer shares the RAND Corporation's Victor R. Fuchs Research Award with Jason Fletcher of Yale University. Their prize-winning paper, recently published in the journal Forum for Health Economics & Policy, examines the effects of adolescent health on educational outcomes. Contact: Nancy Dorrance Public Release: 11-Nov-2009
Texas Children's discharges first pediatric patient with implanted mechanical heart device Texas Children's Hospital is the nation's first pediatric hospital to discharge a child while on an intracorporeal ventricular assist device, a feat previously accomplished only at adult institutions. The patient, 16-year-old Francisco "Frank" De Santiago, who was implanted with a mechanical heart pump called the HeartMate II on May 19, 2009, was discharged on Oct. 29, 2009. Contact: Carol Wittman Public Release: 11-Nov-2009
Iowa State engineers develop 3-D software to give doctors, students a view inside the body Iowa State's Eliot Winer and James Oliver have developed technology that turns flat medical scans into vibrant 3-D images that can be shifted, adjusted, zoomed and replayed at will. The technology is now being marketed and sold by a start-up company called BodyViz.com based at Iowa State's CyberInnovation Institute. Contact: James Oliver Public Release: 11-Nov-2009
Athletes on performance enhancers more likely to abuse alcohol, other drugs College athletes who use performance-enhancing substances may be at heightened risk of misusing alcohol and using recreational drugs as well, according to new research in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Contact: Stephanie Smith Peeters Public Release: 11-Nov-2009
NOAA deploys new 'smart buoy' off Annapolis NOAA deployed the seventh in a series of "smart buoys" to monitor weather conditions and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay today. The buoy, located at the mouth of Severn River near Annapolis, Md., will be used by commercial and recreational boaters to navigate safely and provide data for educators and scientists to monitor the Bay's changing conditions. Contact: John Ewald Public Release: 11-Nov-2009
New brain findings on dyslexic children The vast majority of school-aged children can focus on the voice of a teacher amid the cacophony of the typical classroom thanks to a brain that automatically focuses on relevant, predictable and repeating auditory information, according to new research from Northwestern University. But for children with developmental dyslexia, the teacher's voice may get lost in the background noise of banging lockers, whispering children, playground screams and scraping chairs, the researchers say. Contact: Wendy Leopold Public Release: 10-Nov-2009
People with less education could be more susceptible to the flu People who did not earn a high school diploma could be more likely to get H1N1 and the vaccine might be less effective in them compared to those who earned a diploma, new research shows. Contact: Laura Bailey Public Release: 10-Nov-2009
University of Colorado butterfly payload to launch Nov. 16 on space shuttle When NASA's space shuttle Atlantis launches for the International Space Station on Nov. 16 it will carry a University of Colorado at Boulder butterfly experiment that will be monitored by thousands of K-12 students across the nation. Contact: Stefanie Countryman Public Release: 10-Nov-2009
Telling an old book by its smell: Aroma hints at ways of preserving treasured documents Scientists are reporting development of a new test that can measure the degradation of old books and precious historical documents from their smell. The nondestructive "sniff" test could help libraries and museums preserve a range of prized paper-based objects, some of which are degrading rapidly. Contact: Michael Bernstein Public Release: 10-Nov-2009
Gender-based pay gaps among US faculty Before the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was signed into law by President Kennedy, women earned about fifty percent less than men. Nationally, women still earn an average of thirty percent less than men regardless of education, choice of industry, or professional standing. Even some of the most highly educated and qualified women are subject to salary discrimination. Contact: Bethany Carland-Adams |