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Mathematics/Statistics
Key: Meeting Journal Funder
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Academic Medicine
UT multimedia program increases middle school interest in science
Middle school students who were part of a unique science learning program developed by the University of Texas School of Public Health showed significant increases in interest and achievement scores compared to other students, a recent study found.

Contact: Jade Waddy
jade.waddy@uth.tmc.edu
713-500-3307
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Report calls for new initiative to improve math education for preschoolers
To ensure that all children enter elementary school with the foundation they need for success, a major national initiative is needed to improve early childhood mathematics education, says a new report from the National Research Council.

Contact: Sara Frueh
news@nas.edu
202-334-2138
National Academy of Sciences

Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
World Conference of Science Journalists
Research output in developing countries reveals 194 percent increase in five years
The partners of Research4Life announced today at the World Conference of Science Journalists 2009 that a new research impact analysis has demonstrated a dramatic rise in research output by scientists in the developing world since 2002. By comparing absolute growth in published research before (1996 – 2002) and after (2002 - 2008) the advent of the Research4Life programs, the analysis has revealed a 194 percent or 6.4-fold increase in articles published in peer reviewed journals.

Contact: Shira Tabachnikoff
s.tabachnikoff@elsevier.com
31-204-852-736
Elsevier

Public Release: 30-Jun-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
New statistical technique improves precision of nanotechnology data
A new statistical analysis technique that identifies and removes systematic bias, noise and equipment-based artifacts from experimental data could lead to more precise and reliable measurement of nanomaterials and nanostructures likely to have future industrial applications.
National Science Foundation

Contact: John Toon
jtoon@gatech.edu
404-894-6986
Georgia Institute of Technology Research News

Public Release: 29-Jun-2009
New England Journal of Medicine
ASU scientist: Study of first wave of swine flu requires revised public health strategies
Gerardo Chowell-Puente, a mathematical epidemiologist at Arizona State University, is co-author of a new study of the A(H1N1) influenza pandemic strain circulating around the world. The study's findings reveal an age shift in the proportion of cases toward a younger population when compared with historical patterns of seasonal influenza in Mexico. The findings are published June 29 online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Contact: Carol Hughes
carol.hughes@asu.edu
480-965-6375
Arizona State University

Public Release: 29-Jun-2009
Physical Review Letters
NuTeV anomaly helps shed light on physics of the nucleus
A new calculation clarifies the complicated relationship between protons and neutrons in the atomic nucleus and offers a fascinating resolution of the famous NuTeV Anomaly. The calculation, published in the journal Physical Review Letters on June 26, was carried out by a collaboration of researchers from the Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Tokai University and the University of Washington.
US Department of Energy

Contact: Kandice Carter
kcarter@jlab.org
757-269-7263
DOE/Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility

Public Release: 29-Jun-2009
Medical Decision Making
New tool finds best heart disease and stroke treatments for patients with diabetes
Researchers from North Carolina State University and Mayo Clinic have developed a computer model that medical doctors can use to determine the best time to begin using statin therapy in diabetes patients to help prevent heart disease and stroke.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, National Science Foundation

Contact: Matt Shipman
matt_shipman@ncsu.edu
919-515-6386
North Carolina State University

Public Release: 25-Jun-2009
Taxpayer Alliance applauds bill to broaden access to federal research results
Sens. Joseph Lieberman and John Cornyn today introduced the Federal Research Public Access Act, a bill to ensure free, timely, online access to the published results of research funded by 11 US federal agencies. The proposed bill is welcomed by the Alliance for Taxpayer Access, a coalition of research institutions, consumers, patients and others formed to support open public access to publicly funded research.

Contact: Jennifer McLennan
jennifer@arl.org
202-296-2296
SPARC

Public Release: 24-Jun-2009
INFORMS MSOM Conference and Special Interest Group Meetings
Study on keeping nuclear bombs from US ports shows misplaced fear over cargo scanning cost
A two-tiered scanning-protocol for inspecting all containers at international ports could be the most affordable approach to ensuring containers moving through the global transportation system are not carrying nuclear bombs, according to a paper being presented at a services special interest group meeting of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences.

Contact: Barry List
barry.list@informs.org
443-757-3560
Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences

Public Release: 24-Jun-2009
Genome Research
CSHL scientists harness logic of 'Sudoku' math puzzle to vastly enhance genome-sequencing capability
Combining a 2,000-year-old Chinese math theorem with concepts from cryptology, scientists from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have devised "DNA Sudoku" -- a pooling strategy that allows tens of thousands of DNA samples to be combined and sequenced all at once. The new strategy promises to reduce costs dramatically, with sequencing projects that cost $10 million in the past now estimated to cost less than $80,000.

Contact: Hema Bashyam
bashyam@cshl.edu
516-367-6822
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Public Release: 24-Jun-2009
Artificial noise saves energy
Against the background of climate change, how can xDSL systems function more energy-efficiently and cost-effectively? Scientists are providing a solution combining existing methods which network providers could implement immediately.

Contact: Dr. Erik Oswald
erik.oswald@esk.fraunhofer.de
49-895-470-88374
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

Public Release: 24-Jun-2009
Nature
Salty ocean in the depths of Enceladus
A new discovery could have implications for the search for extraterrestrial life.

Contact: Professor Nikolai Brilliantov
nb144@leicester.ac.uk
44-116-252-2521
University of Leicester

Public Release: 23-Jun-2009
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers 2009 Annual Conference
HVAC&R Research
Energy-saving method checks refrigerant level in air conditioners
Engineers have developed a technique that saves energy and servicing costs by indicating when air conditioners are low on refrigerant, preventing the units from working overtime.
California Energy Commission

Contact: Emil Venere
venere@purdue.edu
765-494-4709
Purdue University

Public Release: 23-Jun-2009
Physical Review Letters
Molecular typesetting -- proofreading without a proofreader
Researchers at the Universities of Leeds and Bristol have developed a model of how errors are corrected while proteins are being built.
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

Contact: Dr. Netta Cohen
n.cohen@leeds.ac.uk
44-113-343-6789
University of Leeds

Public Release: 21-Jun-2009
Journal of Zoology
Dino-not-so-soaring
The largest animals ever to have walked the face of the Earth may not have been as big as previously thought, reveals a paper published today in the Zoological Society of London's Journal of Zoology.

Contact: Victoria Picknell
victoria.picknell@zsl.org
44-207-449-6361
Wiley-Blackwell

Public Release: 18-Jun-2009
Proceedings of the Royal Society B
Mate selection: How does she know he'll take care of the kids?
Throughout the animal kingdom brilliant colors or elaborate behavioral displays serve as "advertisements" for attracting mates. But, what do the ads promise, and is there truth in advertising? Researchers at Yale theorize that when males must provide care for the survival of their offspring, the males' signals will consistently be honest -- and they may devote more of their energy to caring for their offspring than to being attractive.
National Science Foundation, Yale University

Contact: Janet Rettig Emanuel
janet.emanuel@yale.edu
203-432-2157
Yale University

Public Release: 18-Jun-2009
PLoS Computational Biology
Using math to take the lag out of jet lag
Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the University of Michigan have developed a software program that prescribes a regimen for avoiding jet lag using timed light exposure. The method is described in an article published June 19 in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology.

Contact: Lori J. Shanks
ljshanks@partners.org
617-534-1604
Public Library of Science

Public Release: 18-Jun-2009
IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition 2009
Human eye inspires advance in computer vision from Boston College researchers
Novel algorithms developed by a pair of Boston College professors allow computer visualization software to see moving objects faster and with greater accuracy.

Contact: Ed Hayward
ed.hayward@bc.edu
617-552-4826
Boston College

Public Release: 17-Jun-2009
PLoS Computational Biology
Computer scientists develop model for studying arrangements of tissue networks by cell division
Computer scientists at Harvard have developed a framework for studying the arrangement of tissue networks created by cell division across a diverse set of organisms, including fruit flies, tadpoles and plants.

Contact: Michael Patrick Rutter
mrutter@seas.harvard.edu
617-496-3815
Harvard University

Public Release: 17-Jun-2009
Epidemiology and Infection
Vaccinating children may be effective at helping control spread of influenza, experts say
Targeting children may be an effective use of limited supplies of flu vaccine, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust and the EU. The study suggests that, used to support other control measures, this could help control the spread of pandemics such as the current swine flu.
Wellcome Trust

Contact: Craig Brierley
c.brierley@wellcome.ac.uk
44-207-611-7329
Wellcome Trust

Public Release: 16-Jun-2009
PLoS Computational Biology
Rare disorder gives modelers first glimpse at immune system development
Children born without thymus glands have given Duke University Medical Center researchers a rare opportunity to watch as a new immune system develops its population of infection-fighting T cells. Researchers led by Thomas Kepler, Ph.D., division chief of computational biology, tracked three young patients after thymus tissue transplantation to measure the growth of a T cell population -- with all of its diversity -- and learn about regulation mechanisms.
National Institutes of Health

Contact: Mary Jane Gore
mary.gore@duke.edu
919-660-1309
Duke University Medical Center

Public Release: 15-Jun-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
MIT: Peeling stickers may lead to stretchable electronics
A study of stickers peeling from windows could lead to a new way to precisely control the fabrication of stretchable electronics, according to a team of researchers including one at MIT.
European Union, French National Research Agency

Contact: Jen Hirsch
jfhirsch@mit.edu
617-253-1682
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Public Release: 15-Jun-2009
Interfaces
Decision tool for prostate cancer patients helps men customize treatment in anxious time
An online decision tool created in part by a graduate student at the University of California Irvine helps men diagnosed with prostate cancer sort through an intimidating flurry of possible treatments and customize treatment plans of their own, according to a study in the current issue of Interfaces, a journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences.

Contact: Barry List
barry.list@informs.org
443-794-5182
Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences

Public Release: 12-Jun-2009
Management Science
INFORMS Management Insight contrasts online highbrow and lowbrow movie rentals
Comparing the characteristics of "highbrow" and "lowbrow" films, online DVD rental services like Netflix can project the length of time that customers will rent films, according to the Management Insights feature in the current issue of Management Science, the flagship journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences.

Contact: Barry List
barry.list@informs.org
443-757-3560
Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences

Public Release: 11-Jun-2009
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
A new computer modeling program can help hospitals prepare for the worst
A new and novel computer modeling platform developed through intensive, multidisciplinary collaboration at New York University can help hospitals and cities to be more prepared for catastrophic public health scenarios, according to a newly published journal article.

Contact: Robert Polner
robert.polner@nyu.edu
212-998-2337
New York University