EurekAlert! - Business and Economics

NJIT Provost Priscilla P. Nelson honored at National Academy of Engineering

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(New Jersey Institute of Technology) NJIT Provost Priscilla P. Nelson, of West Orange, received the Kenneth R. Row Award from the American Association of Engineering Sciences on May 5 for promoting unity among engineering societies.

American Society for Microbiology supports 'One Health' initiative

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(American Society for Microbiology) The American Society for Microbiology has endorsed the One Health Initiative, which recognizes the inter-relationships among human, animal and environmental health, and seeks to enhance communication, cooperation, and collaboration in integrating these areas for the health and well-being of all species.

DNA fingerprinting simplified

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(American Society for Horticultural Science) Agarose gel electrophoresis? Most teenagers wouldn't have a clue what this scientific term means, but middle school student Andrew Trigiano knows the protocol inside and out. Setting out to compare differences in popular brands of Easter egg dyes, Trigiano's project grew into a full-blown scientific study and set of replicable classroom experiments.

Establishing faster-growing, durable football fields

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(American Society for Horticultural Science) A recent study offers new information that can help schools and contractors get outdoor athletic fields ready for fall sports more quickly.

Argonne scientists use lasers to align molecules

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(DOE/Argonne National Laboratory) Protein crystallographers have only scratched the surface of the human proteins important for drug interactions because of difficulties crystallizing the molecules for synchrotron x-ray diffraction.Scientists at the US Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have devised a way to eliminate the need for crystallization by using lasers to align large groups of molecules.

Depression and anger can plague recent university graduates: Study

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Alberta) The post-university years can start out tough. The good news: it gets better.A new University of Alberta study of almost 600 of its graduates (ages 20-29 years old) tracked mental health symptoms in participants for seven years post-graduation and looked at how key events like leaving home and becoming a parent were related to depression and anger. Graduates showed a significant decrease in depressive symptoms over the seven years. Expressed anger also declined over time after graduation, suggesting improved mental health.

£900,000 helps Queen's lead the way in next generation computing

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Queen's University Belfast) The Belfast e-Science Centre at Queen's has been awarded a grant of over £900,000 to continue its role in developing the successor to the World Wide Web.The revolutionary software work of the center could change the face of industry, commerce and academic research in the next few years.

Businesspeople who are too sure of their abilities are less savvy entrepreneurs: New study

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Leicester) Apprentice-style 'overconfidence' is cause of too many business start-ups and why many ventures fail in first few years.

Surviving breast cancer 'is not enough,' warns Breast Cancer Campaign

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(BioMed Central) Women are living longer after breast cancer but simply surviving is not enough, Pamela Goldberg, Chief Executive, Breast Cancer Campaign, said today.

Closing the productivity gap in Northern Ireland

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Economic & Social Research Council) The nature of Northern Ireland's productivity gap and some potential policymaking solutions are outlined in a new publication, 'Sub-sectoral Productivity in Northern Ireland.' The booklet, funded jointly by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment presents the views of two leading experts on productivity, Dr. Chiara Criscuolo and Professor Richard Harris.

Hospital pay for performance incentives may backfire among safety-net hospitals

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine) The same government-backed incentive programs aimed at improving the care all Americans receive in hospitals may be widening the gap between poor, underserved patients and those who are insured or can afford to pay for their own care, according to a new study led by a University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine physician. The findings are published this week in JAMA.

Chronic disease management: Does it improve health and save money?

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Indiana University) A study to determine whether chronic disease management of individuals with diabetes and/or congestive heart failure improves health outcome and lowers healthcare costs trial provides the first scientifically valid look at what one might expect from chronic disease management programs that serve low-income individuals.

Stanford research: Chatting with your car may be useful to you -- but also to corporations

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Stanford University) As cars become entertainment centers and data-gathering devices, the amount of information they're collecting about you is rapidly growing. And guess who might be interested? Insurance companies, advertisers, government agencies, your boss and perhaps your spouse. On the other hand, says researcher Chifford Nass, an intelligent car with a caring voice might persuade humans to drive more safely.

Glypican-3 gene function in regulating body size helps inform novel cancer treatments

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre) In a leading study that has implications for the development of novel therapies for a number of breast, lung and ovarian cancers that have lost the expression of a gene called glypican-3, Sunnybrook researchers have discovered how the loss of the GPC3 gene induces overgrowth through certain growth factors such as Sonic Hedgehog which stimulate cancer growth.

Memory lane: Older persons with more schooling spend fewer years with cognitive loss

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Southern California) Those with at least a high school education spend more of their older years without cognitive loss -- including the effects of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and dementia -- but die sooner after the loss becomes apparent, reveals a new study appearing in the June 2008 issue of the Journal of Aging and Health.

Borrowers who complete homeownership education programs make better refinancing decisions

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Wiley-Blackwell) In light of the subprime mortgage crisis that has resulted in extraordinarily high default rates on home mortgages, one might wonder what the government can do to better educate new potential homeowners.

Texting costs are 'out of this world'

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Leicester) University of Leicester space scientist says texting is at least four times more expensive than receiving scientific data from space.

Study finds economics helping to change early childhood policy debate

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(RAND Corporation) A new RAND Corporation study finds that a growing body of economic research suggests that public investment in early childhood programs may be able to lower public costs for social services by improving children's long-term welfare. Such work is helping to promote a reorientation of child and human services toward investment and prevention, moving away from the current system that seeks to "treat" problems.

Homeless youth need more than treatment for substance abuse, study says

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Ohio State University) A new study of homeless youth suggests that treating substance abuse and mental health problems may not be enough to help get teens off the streets. Instead, researchers found that creating more opportunities for work, education and medical care were the most important factors in reducing homelessness.

New agreement works to balance Belize's cruise ship tourism and conservation

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Conservation International) Members of Belize's cruise tourism industry today signed a Declaration of Commitment, in which key industry stakeholders commit to create sustainable cruise tourism practices, such as protecting coral reefs. The commitment is the second such environmental agreement developed for Caribbean passenger cruise line destinations by Conservation International's Mesoamerican Reef Tourism Initiative. It is also the first to address considerations by an established nature tourism destination.

Federal government taps NC State experts to explain nanotech risks

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(North Carolina State University) The arm of the federal government responsible for coordinating nanotechnology research and regulations across the country has called on experts from North Carolina State University to craft a white paper that will lay out how government and industry officials should communicate potential risks associated with nanotechnology to the media and the public. NC State communication expert Dr. David Berube has been negotiating this project for nearly 18 months.

Face-to-face or Facebook?

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Leicester) Can online networking sites help new students settle into university?

Maths plus 'geeky' images equals deterred students

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Economic & Social Research Council) Images of maths 'geeks' stop people from studying mathematics or using it in later life, shows research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.Many students and undergraduates seem to think of mathematicians as old, white, middle-class men who are obsessed with their subject, lack social skills and have no personal life outside maths. The student's views of maths itself included narrow and inaccurate images that are often limited to numbers and basic arithmetic.

Can feces save the species?

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Conservation International) It's a tough job, but somebody, or at least some dogs, have to do it.In the Cerrado region of Brazil, four dogs trained to detect animal feces by scent are helping researchers monitor rare and threatened wildlife such as jaguar, tapir, giant anteater and maned wolf in and around Emas National Park, a protected area with the largest concentration of threatened species in Brazil.

3 million pound investment for future of science and mathematics education

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Economic & Social Research Council) Ever increasingly, the future of the UK relies on a knowledge-based economy with career opportunities in new technologies and innovative businesses rapidly replacing our more traditional industries. Yet, less and less young people are taking up places on degree courses in Mathematics and Science based subjects that will be vital to them if they want to work in these new industries.