EurekAlert! - Education

Evolution of evolution: An NSF-sponsored webcast featuring Mohamed Noor

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(National Science Foundation) Please join the National Science Foundation on Monday, Nov. 23, at 10 a.m. ET for a live webcast featuring Darwin-Wallace Medal recipient Mohamed Noor of Duke University, who will answer media questions about current evidence for evolution and modern evolution theory.

Nanotube defects equal better energy and storage systems

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of California - San Diego) 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.

Microorganism may provide key to combating giant salvinia throughout Louisiana

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Louisiana Tech University) A team of researchers at Louisiana Tech University has found that a naturally occurring microorganism acts as a natural herbicide against giant salvinia.

Highlighting racial disparities increases coverage and effectiveness of health news

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Missouri-Columbia) 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.

Dana Foundation and Johns Hopkins release neuroeducation book

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(DANA Foundation) Today, the Dana Foundation released Neuroeducation: Learning, Arts, and the Brain, its newest free education resource. The book, the culmination of a summit sponsored by the Johns Hopkins University School of Education's Neuro-Education Initiative, focuses on the convergence of neuroscientific research and teaching and learning, with an emphasis on the arts.

Examining mathematical abilities in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research) 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.

Nanyang Technological University professor wins 8th Feng Kang Prize in Scientific Computing in China

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Nanyang Technological University) Associate Professor Tai Xue-Cheng, from Nanyang Technological University's School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, has been awarded the 8th Feng Kang Prize in Scientific Computing. The Feng Kang Prize in Scientific Computing honors Chinese scientists in China and abroad for significant contributions in scientific computing. The award is presented biennially and recognizes Chinese mathematicians for their achievements in numerical linear algebra, computer aided geometric design, and numerical partial differential equations and scientific computing.

Girls 'disengage' from high school science

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Northern Illinois University) High school girls are bored, disengaged and stressed in science classes when compared to boys, Northern Illinois University researchers say. And teachers might not be doing enough to change the situation. Funded by a three-year, $476,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, Jennifer Schmidt and M. Cecil Smith expect their research eventually will help high school science teachers design and deliver lesson plans that best engage and electrify girls as well as boys.

NSF supports Case Western Reserve University's IDEAL

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Case Western Reserve University) A program at Case Western Reserve University to encourage career advancement of women and underrepresented minority men in sciences and engineering is expanding to five public institutions of higher education through a three-year, nearly $1 million National Science Foundation grant.

AGU Fall Meeting: Press room update, book hotels by Nov. 19

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(American Geophysical Union) This updates for the AGU 2009 Fall Meeting contains a press room update, reminder to book hotels by Nov. 19, how tosearch abstracts by affiliation, the blog roll and more.

Creation of new school districts in US may cause a new form of segregation

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Wiley-Blackwell) 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.

At-risk college students reduce HBP, anxiety, depression through Transcendental Meditation

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Maharishi University of Management) 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.

Rice ties in race for atomic-scale breakthrough

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Rice University) 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.

New funds for Rice, M.D. Anderson program

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Rice University) The Howard Hughes Medical Institute today committed to a four-year renewal of funds for an innovative biomedical training program between Rice University and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. The unique translational medicine program, which was founded with an HHMI grant in 2006, capitalizes on the strengths of Rice's top 10-ranked bioengineering program and M.D. Anderson's internationally acclaimed clinical programs.

Members of Congress, university leaders, scientists launch ScienceWorksForUS

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(The Science Coalition) Representatives of the nation's leading public and private research universities, joined by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Members of Congress, today announced the launch of ScienceWorksForUS, an initiative that will highlight the scientific research and related activities that have been made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as the stimulus.

NTU ramps up international research -- inks deals with 4 leading Turkish universities

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Nanyang Technological University) Nanyang Technological University -- Singapore's leading science and technology university -- is ramping up its efforts in promoting international collaboration in top-level research and in student and faculty/staff exchanges with new tie-ups with four top universities in Turkey. This first-ever partnership between NTU and Turkish universities will also see collaboration in joint research activities, including organizing joint workshops, the supervision of Ph.D. students and the exchange of information, including research publications and library materials.

Engaging established leaders to strengthen Singapore-China ties

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Nanyang Technological University) Four senior officials from China have been awarded the prestigious Lien Ying Chow Legacy Fellowship, a joint initiative by the Nanyang Technological University and the Lien Foundation to groom established and emerging leaders in Singapore and China. They are the second batch of Lien Fellows from China since the launch of the program in 2007. Drawing on their insights into Singapore's economic and social policies and governance, they will formulate policy recommendations to address issues and concerns and foster positive change in China.

Coed college housing connected to frequent binge drinking

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Brigham Young University) 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.

Explore the science of familiar things -- and discover the 'Joy of Chemistry'

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Prometheus Books) If you're like most people, you probably think chemistry is too difficult to bother with outside of school and too clinical to be fun. But chemistry offers a magic to behold -- from fall foliage to the fundamentals of digestion -- as explained by educators Cathy Cobb and Monty L. Fetterolf in "The Joy of Chemistry: The Amazing Science of Familiar Things."

Indiana University receives NIH grant to improve health care in East Africa

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Indiana University School of Medicine) A $1.3 million NIH grant connects expertise of one of world's foremost informatics programs at IU and the Regenstrief Institute with one of leading academic medical centers in East Africa at Moi University and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital to increase the capacity for electronic health records in one of the worlds' poorest regions.

List makers take note: 10 technologies that made news in 2009 and warrant watching in 2010

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(American Chemical Society) 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.

7th International Chronic Total Occlusion Summit in New York City

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Cardiovascular Research Foundation) The 7th International Chronic Total Occlusion Summit is a two-day conference featuring state-of-the-art technologies, research findings and new developments in therapeutic procedures essential for interventional cardiologists to optimize success in chronic total coronary occlusions.

Elsevier selected as new publisher of Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Elsevier) Elsevier is pleased to announce that beginning with Volume 104 it will assume publication of the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the official journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

AMIA 2009 Signature Awards presented to America's leaders in biomedical, health informatics

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(American Medical Informatics Association) The professional association for biomedical and health informatics, the American Medical Informatics Association, honored leading informaticians working in the country today at ceremonies that opened the Annual Symposium 2009 on Biomedical and Health Informatics. The AMIA Signature Awards recognize individuals who have performed outstanding leadership in the field of biomedical and health informatics.

Biomedical Informatics Symposium opens with address from Calif. health care leader

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(American Medical Informatics Association) The American Medical Informatics Association opened its Annual Symposium on Biomedical and Health Informatics with more than 2,000 members and registrants gathered at the Hilton San Francisco to exchange new information, best practices and cutting-edge thinking on an array of topics in this burgeoning health care field.