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Policy/Ethics
Key: Meeting Journal Funder Dissertation
Public Release: 10-Feb-2012
TEDActive 2012
Sonic Cradle lands spot in TED exhibition
A Simon Fraser University graduate student project that melds music, meditation and modern technology has landed a rare spot as an exhibit at TEDActive 2012 in Palm Springs, Calif., this month. Jay Vidyarthi's project, Sonic Cradle, allows individuals to use their breathing to shape musical sounds while they sit suspended in a totally dark chamber. The experience is described as "meditation for the non-meditator."

Contact: Marianne Meadahl
Marianne_Meadahl@sfu.ca
778-782-9017
Simon Fraser University

Public Release: 10-Feb-2012
New drugs schedule makes horse racing a sure thing
QUT professor of biosciences, Martin Sillence, said the new research pinpointed the length of time it took for 18 of the most commonly used therapeutic drugs to work their way out of a horse's system, providing greater certainty for horse owners, trainers and vets. "Because horses are prohibited from racing with any trace of drugs in their system, the administration of therapeutic drugs to horses in need of care has been a risky business," professor Sillence said.
Rural Industry Research and Development Corporation

Contact: Rose Trapnell
rose.trapnell@qut.edu.au
61-073-138-2361
Queensland University of Technology

Public Release: 9-Feb-2012
Maryland Commission recommends 'common sense' immigration policy
Immigrants to Maryland contribute significantly to the state's economy, and were vital to its workforce expansion in both technical and less-skilled occupations from 2000 to 2010, concludes a new report by a Maryland state commission. During this period, immigrants mostly complemented rather than competed with US-born state residents for jobs, it adds. The Commission, a state panel coordinated by the University of Maryland, evaluated immigrants' economic contributions and the cost of government services for them.

Contact: Neil Tickner
ntickner@umd.edu
301-405-4622
University of Maryland

Public Release: 9-Feb-2012
International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics
Digital photos could put kids at risk
A study published in the International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics this month suggests that parents and carers could be putting children at risk if they upload digital photos that are automatically "geotagged" by their camera.

Contact: Joanne Kuzma
j.kuzma@worc.ac.uk
Inderscience Publishers

Public Release: 9-Feb-2012
PLoS Genetics
Potential for incorrect relationship identification in new forensic familial searching techniques
In familial searching, a partial genetic profile match between a database entrant and a crime scene sample is used to implicate genetic relatives of the database entrant as potential sources of the sample. Unlike traditional forensic DNA identification, where all genetic markers must match exactly, in familial searching a portion of genetic markers need to match to suggest a biological relationship. This method can help identify suspects not currently included in databases, but is also prone to error.
National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation

Contact: Dr. Rori Rohlfs
rrohlfs@berkeley.edu
206-288-3619
Public Library of Science

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012
Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A
Barriers to the use of fingerprint evidence in court is unlocked by statistical model
Fingerprints that are potential key pieces of evidence in court currently are not being considered due to shortcomings in the way this evidence is reported. Now, a statistical model has been developed that enables the weight of fingerprint evidence to be expressed in quantitative terms, paving the way for its full inclusion in the process of identifying criminals, according to a report that will be published in the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society.
Forensic Science Services in the United Kingdom, National Institute of Justice

Contact: Barbara Kennedy
science@psu.edu
814-863-4682
Penn State

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012
Health Affairs
Some physicians do not agree with, uphold standards on communication with patients
A significant minority of physicians responding to a national survey disagreed with or admitted not upholding accepted standards of professionalism for open and honest communication with patients.
Institute on Medicine as a Profession

Contact: Sue McGreevey
smcgreevey@partners.org
617-724-2764
Massachusetts General Hospital

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012
Significance
Statistical model unlocks barriers to use of fingerprint evidence in court
Potentially key fingerprint evidence is currently not being considered due to shortcomings in the way it is reported, according to a report published today in Significance, the magazine of the Royal Statistical Society and the American Statistical Association. Researchers involved in the study have devised a statistical model to enable the weight of fingerprint evidence to be quantified, paving the way for its full inclusion in the criminal identification process.

Contact: Jennifer Beal
physicalsciencenews@wiley.com
44-012-437-70633
Wiley-Blackwell

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012
Video surveillance camera revolution revisited in 2-part special issue of Information Polity
A two-part special issue of the journal Information Polity (ISSN: 1570-1255) aims to revisit the 'surveillance camera revolution'. It presents contemporary thinking and research on the use of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV), and draws out issues relating to governance and public policy.

Contact: Suzan Goes
s.goes@iospress.nl
31-020-688-3355
IOS Press

Public Release: 8-Feb-2012
Tackling financial exploitation of elderly people
Professionals who are in close contact with elderly people could soon be in a better position to spot if they are being financially exploited, for example through a lottery scam or by a deceitful relative draining the bank account, thanks to a pioneering new study funded by the UK Research Councils' New Dynamics of Aging program.
Economic and Social Research Council

Contact: Press Office
Pressoffice@esrc.ac.uk
Economic & Social Research Council

Public Release: 7-Feb-2012
Hastings Center Report
Justifying insurance coverage for orphan drugs
Can insurers justify spending hundreds of thousands of dollars per patient per year on "orphan drugs" – extremely expensive medications for rare conditions that are mostly chronic and life-threatening -- when this money could provide greater overall health benefits to many other patients? Those spending decisions reflect the "rule of rescue," the value that our society places on saving lives in immediate danger at any expense. Will the rule of rescue become more difficult to support?

Contact: Michael Turton
turtonm@thehastingscenter.org
845-424-4040 x242
The Hastings Center

Public Release: 7-Feb-2012
SAGE Open
Teenage pregnancy is not a racial issue
While researchers have long set to determine if there is a tie between race and teenage pregnancy, according to a new study, equating black teenagers with the problem of teenage pregnancy is a misrepresentation of today's real­ity. This new study is detailed in the article, "Black Teenage Pregnancy: A Dynamic Social Problem," published in SAGE Open.

Contact: Ashley Loar
ashley.loar@sagepub.com
805-410-7111
SAGE Publications

Public Release: 7-Feb-2012
Journal of General Internal Medicine
Computer order entry systems reduce preventable adverse drug events
New research from Brigham and Women's Hospital examined the impact of a vendor-developed CPOE in five community hospitals in Massachusetts and found that these CPOE systems are effective at reducing drug-related injury and harm. This research is published online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Contact: Lori Shanks
ljshanks@partners.org
617-534-1604
Brigham and Women's Hospital

Public Release: 7-Feb-2012
18th International Symposium on High Performance Computer Architecture
Engineers boost computer processor performance by over 20 percent
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new technique that allows graphics processing units and central processing units on a single chip to collaborate -- boosting processor performance by an average of more than 20 percent.
National Science Foundation

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

Public Release: 6-Feb-2012
Big jolt to state economy with new tax on cigarettes
A new UCSF analysis has found that a state ballot initiative to increase the cigarette tax would create about 12,000 jobs and nearly $2 billion in new economic activity in California.

Contact: Elizabeth Fernandez
elizabeth.fernandez@ucsf.edu
415-502-6397
University of California - San Francisco

Public Release: 6-Feb-2012
PLoS ONE
Domestic cats, and wild bobcats and pumas, living in same area have same diseases
The joint National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases Program funded the study. Scientists at Colorado State University and other institutions conducted the research. It provides evidence that domestic cats and wild cats that share the same outdoor areas in urban environments also can share diseases such as Bartonellosis and Toxoplasmosis. Both can be spread from cats to people.
National Science Foundation

Contact: Cheryl Dybas
cdybas@nsf.gov
703-292-7734
National Science Foundation

Public Release: 6-Feb-2012
New Centre for Consumer Science report on Christmas gifts
The stereotypical Christmas gift shopper is a stressed-to-the-max individual with a filled-to-the-rim shopping cart in a busy shopping mall. The shopping hysteria during the weeks before Christmas is frequently debated in the media. Professor Helene Brembeck from the University of Gothenburg is moving the focus from the Christmas overflow as something entirely bad to questions about the origins of the overflow, who defines what's excessive and how the overflow is managed.

Contact: Helene Brembeck
Helene.Brembeck@cfk.gu.se
46-031-786-5828
University of Gothenburg

Public Release: 3-Feb-2012
PLoS ONE
Combined approach to global health has benefits
A new analysis published this week in the open-access journal PLoS ONE demonstrates that confronting several diseases at once is a viable way to make the most of thinly stretched donor dollars and national health care budgets, and help save more lives.

Contact: Jason Socrates Bardi
jason.bardi@ucsf.edu
415-502-6397
University of California - San Francisco

Public Release: 2-Feb-2012
Science
UAHuntsville business faculty investigate research ethics; Results are published in Science magazine
Two UAHuntsville faculty members from the College of Business were published today in the prestigious journal Science for their investigation of an important issue in research ethics.

Contact: Chrystal Morgan
chrystal.morgan@uah.edu
256-824-6644
University of Alabama in Huntsville

Public Release: 2-Feb-2012
AIDS and Behavior
Lecture or listen: When patients waver on meds
According to a new analysis of hundreds of recorded office visits, doctors and nurse practitioners typically issued orders and asked closed or leading questions when talking to their HIV-positive patients about adherence to antiretroviral therapy. Attempts at problem-solving with patients who had lapsed occurred in less than a quarter of visits.
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, NIH/National Institute of Drug Abuse, Department of Veterals Affairs, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Contact: David Orenstein
david_orenstein@brown.edu
401-863-1862
Brown University

Public Release: 2-Feb-2012
Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy
Hand counts of votes may cause errors, says new Rice University study
Hand counting of votes in postelection audit or recount procedures can result in error rates of up to two percent, according to a new study from Rice University and Clemson University.
National Science Foundation

Contact: David Ruth
david@rice.edu
713-348-6327
Rice University

Public Release: 1-Feb-2012
Science
TGen-NAU professor leads national panel in precedent-setting policy published in Science and Nature
The US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity today published a precedent-setting policy statement warning about the "unusually high magnitude" risk from unrestricted publication of avian flu research.

Contact: Steve Yozwiak
syozwiak@tgen.org
602-343-8704
The Translational Genomics Research Institute

Public Release: 1-Feb-2012
Analytical Methods
Forensic research extends detection of cyanide poisoning
Researchers have found a new biomarker for cyanide poisoning, which may extend its detection window in death investigations by weeks if not months.

Contact: Beth Kuhles
kuhles@shsu.edu
936-294-4425
Sam Houston State University

Public Release: 1-Feb-2012
British Journal of Surgery
Mumbai hospital review highlights challenges posed by a major terrorist attack
Meticulous forward planning, effective casualty assessment by a senior surgeon and efficient teamwork by medical and administrative staff are essential when handling injuries sustained in major terrorist incidents. Those are some of the key findings of a paper on the 2008 Mumbai attack, which lasted more than 60 hours and resulted in nearly 300 casualties and over a hundred deaths.

Contact: Annette Whibley
annette.wizard@gmail.com
Wiley-Blackwell

Public Release: 1-Feb-2012
Canadian Journal of Law and Society
Canadian police agencies suppressing data on race, says criminology study
While only 20 percent of Canada's police forces have an explicit policy against reporting the race of victims and accused persons, University of Toronto and Nipissing criminologists show that the majority of police departments do not report race in practice.

Contact: Kim Luke
kim.luke@utoronto.ca
416-978-4352
University of Toronto