Recent Science Diaries and Stories
WATCH THIS SPACE!
On Mars: Curiosity Finds a Good Swimmin' Hole!
by LeftOfYou
China Lands Rover on Moon Safely.
by jpmassar
Green diary rescue: Foes of tar sands mining grow, FDA nixes livestock antibiotics, fighting ALEC
by Meteor Blades
This week in science: Fireballs and winged Suidae
by DarkSyde
Universities as an engine (or not) of the local technology economy
by infotech
Slideshows/Videos
New Tang Dynasty TV: Archeological Discovery of Pre-Hispanic Village Halts Colombia Construction
The text of the video is available at
Discovery Of 3,000-Year-Old Village Halts Colombia Construction.
Scores of archaeologists recover thousands of ancient remains at a 3,000-year-old site near Bogota that experts believe could reveal new insights into Colombia's pre-Hispanic people.
A team of archaeologists painstakingly shifted through earth at Colombia's largest excavation site on Friday (December 05) after construction workers uncovered pre-Hispanic ceramic pieces that experts believe could be nearly 3,000 years old.
Some 170 archaeologists are digging in the rural area of Soacha, just south of Bogota, looking to piece together the remains of an ancient village that could provide new insights into the country's pre-Hispanic Herrera culture.
UCSD: Research Team Enlists 'Citizen-Sensors' to Improve World Health
Enterprising researchers and students at UC San Diego are looking for funding to complete a "citizen-sensor" project that they hope will revolutionize global health and environmental monitoring -- especially in remote and undeveloped areas of the planet. They also hope to attract the faith and funding of people around the world through the open, global crowd-funding resource Indiegogo, the first partnership between UC San Diego and a funding platform.
Also read the associated article under Science is Cool, submitted by annetteboardman.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
KPBS: Public Transit Improvements Benefit Public Health
One thing that emerged at Wednesday's North County Transportation Business Summit is that improving public transit is one of the most effective ways to improve public health. Our car culture is dangerous in several ways, not least because it contributes to one of the nation's fastest-growing public health problems: obesity.
Also see the related story under Science, Health, and Environment Policy.
KPBS: What's Happening Now With San Diego Man's Arrest For Revenge Porn Website
A San Diego man was arrested Tuesday on charges related to operating a revenge porn website. It's the first bust of its kind since California criminalized revenge porn earlier this year.
Also read the related article under Science Crime Scenes.
KPBS: Report: California Skimping On Spending For Tobacco Prevention
In California, only 14 percent of the recommended $441.9 million of tobacco settlement dollars is being spent on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, report by Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids finds.
Also see the related story under Science and Health Policy.
University of Alabama at Birmingham: First mechanism-based drug design underway in kidney disease
Changes to a key protein amplified its natural ability to counter kidney disease, according to a study published today by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the journal Nature Medicine.
Also see the related article under Health.
NASA Television: Science News at AGU Fall meeting on This Week @NASA
Over twenty-two thousand Earth and space scientists, educators, students and leaders from around the world connected with each other and NASA at the American Geophysical Union's 46th annual fall meeting in San Francisco. Among the news from the event, NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has determined the age of a rock on Mars, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has detected additional liquid streaking down mountain slopes near the Martian equator and the Cassini space probe has photographed actual seas and lakes on Saturn's moon Titan. Also, New Juno Video, Energy Meeting at NASA Glenn, Morpheus Lander Tests, Too Cold to Breath and Cygnus Prepares for Launch.
Science at NASA: ScienceCasts: Geminid Meteors at Dawn
The Geminid meteor shower is underway. Forecasters say the best time to look is during the dark hours before sunrise on Saturday morning, Dec. 14th. Dark-sky observers could see dozens of bright shooting stars.
JPL: Soaring Over Titan: Extraterrestrial Land of Lakes
This colorized movie from NASA's Cassini mission takes viewers over the largest seas and lakes on Saturn's moon Titan. The movie is made from radar data received during multiple flyovers of Titan from 2004 to 2013.
More:
This colorized movie from NASA's Cassini mission shows the most complete view yet of Titan's northern land of lakes and seas. Saturn's moon Titan is the only world in our solar system other than Earth that has stable liquid on its surface. The liquid in Titan's lakes and seas is mostly methane and ethane.
JPL: Earth and Moon Seen by Passing Juno Spacecraft with Music by Vangelis
When NASA's Juno spacecraft flew past Earth on Oct. 9, 2013, it received a boost in speed of more than 8,800 mph (about 7.3 kilometer per second), which set it on course for a July 4, 2016, rendezvous with Jupiter.
One of Juno's sensors, a special kind of camera optimized to track faint stars, also had a unique view of the Earth-moon system. The result was an intriguing, low-resolution glimpse of what our world would look like to a visitor from afar.
JPL: Curiosity Rover Report (Dec. 9, 2013): Dating Younger Rocks
NASA's Curiosity has determined the age of a Martian rock and provided first readings of radiation on the surface of Mars.
University of Wisconsin: "Star Tracker" Tracks Comet ISON
In a 5-minute rocket flight, you need to point your telescope at your target ASAP. The University of Wisconsin-Madison team that perfected the Star Tracker just used it to grab data on Comet ISON. Space astronomy: It's not only about Hubble Space Telescope!
Astronomy/Space
University of New Hampshire: UNH Scientists Launch “CubeSats” into Radiation Belts
December 9, 2013
DURHAM, N.H. – Twin, pintsized satellites built in part at the University of New Hampshire’s Space Science Center by UNH graduate student Alex Crew were launched into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California just before midnight on December 5, 2013.
The two 4x4x6-inch Focused Investigations of Relativistic Electron Burst Intensity, Range, and Dynamics (FIREBIRD) satellites will now brave a region of space 400 miles above Earth, where they have begun probing a mysterious physical process within our planet's dangerous radiation belts.
That process, known as microbursts, involves electrons moving at nearly the speed of light during short-duration (100 milliseconds) events. Microbursts are thought to be one of the primary mechanisms by which the outer radiation belt loses energetic particles to Earth's atmosphere after the occurrence of powerful solar storms. Such storms can dramatically change the intensity of the radiation belts.
University of Massachusetts: Sunwheel and Sky-Watching Events Mark the Winter Solstice on Dec. 21
December 12, 2013
AMHERST, Mass. – The public is invited to witness sunrise and sunset associated with the winter solstice among the standing stones of the UMass Amherst Sunwheel on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Sunwheel events mark the astronomical change of seasons when nights are longest and days are shortest in the Northern Hemisphere and the sun rises and sets at its most southerly azimuth, or location along the horizon, over the southeasterly and southwesterly stones in the Sunwheel, respectively.
Climate/Environment
NPR: What Happened On Easter Island — A New (Even Scarier) Scenario
by Robert Krulwich
December 10, 2013 8:41 AM
We all know the story, or think we do.
Let me tell it the old way, then the new way. See which worries you most.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for this story.
University of Massachusetts: Jackson Named Conservationist of the Year by The Nature Conservancy
December 12, 2013
Scott Jackson, extension associate professor in the department of environmental conservation, has been named the 2013 Conservationist of the Year by The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts to recognize his efforts in conserving the Bay State’s lands and waters.
The award was presented Dec. 12 at the organization’s Boston office.
“Scott Jackson has been a tireless advocate for science-based conservation for more than 20 years,” said Wayne Klockner, executive director of The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts. “Honoring him as our 2013 Conservationist of the Year provides just a small portion of the recognition he deserves for his countless contributions to the health of Massachusetts’ natural environment.”
University of Wisconsin: Initiative reaches out to state residents on climate change
by Sean Kirkby
Dec. 12, 2013
As climate change impacts the diversity and distribution of species statewide, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers, wildlife officials and others are collaborating to inform the public about these changes and ways to adapt.
Dan Vimont, Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) co-chair, says the decentralized 250-member organization has moved into its second phase, emphasizing two-way communication focused on university research and its application in communities.
“From the university perspective we’re in a new paradigm in academia where there’s a new kind of problem that can’t be solved in isolation. A lot of these problems are at the boundaries of disciplines,” says Vimont, an associate professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at UW-Madison. “We’re lucky to be at UW where we have a long and rich history of having low walls that make it easy to work across disciplines and with the public.”
Biodiversity
University of Massachusetts, Boston: Quality of Species, Not Quantity, is the Key to a Healthy Ecosystem
Anna Pinkert
December 10, 2013
If you think your dog is good at digging up the backyard, you haven’t met the purple marsh crab. PhD student Marc Hensel mapped the crustacean’s burrows in a salt marsh in Georgia. “I poured plaster of Paris down one side,” he says, “and it popped up 15 feet away!”
In a new study out this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Hensel and Brian Silliman, the Rachel Carson associate professor of marine conservation and biology at Duke University, examined the role that key species play in the health of salt marshes. Their article “Consumer Diversity Across Kingdoms Supports Multiple Functions in a Coastal Ecosystem,” suggests that conserving all the species in an ecosystem is less important than protecting particular, divergent species that perform specific tasks.
The purple marsh crab (Sesarma reticulatum) is particularly important because it burrows beneath the marsh, creating a unique substructure that allows the marsh to absorb water. Hensel’s study also looked at the role that fungi and periwinkles play in salt marsh health. These “consumers” in the salt marsh ecosystem have been somewhat overlooked in previous studies.
Why is a healthy salt marsh important to humans?
University of Massachusetts: Bonefish Spawning Behavior in the Bahamas Surprises Researchers, Should Aid Conservation
December 12, 2013
AMHERST, Mass. – Bonefish, sometimes called the gray ghost, are among the most elusive and highly prized quarry of recreational anglers in the Florida Keys, the Bahamas and similar tropical habitats around the world. Now a research team including fish ecologist Andy Danylchuk of the University of Massachusetts Amherst has documented rarely seen pre-spawning behavior in bonefish, which should aid future conservation efforts.
Habitat degradation and overfishing by uncontrolled netting threaten the bonefish, yet recreational fishing for this group of fishes is worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually, say scientists. Danylchuk and Aaron Adams, director of operations for Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT) at the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) where Adams is also an assistant research professor, are scrambling to identify and protect critical habitats and identify other ways to conserve the fishery.
With others, Adams and Danylchuk recently tracked a school of more than 10,000 bonefish as they completed the final stages of spawning migrations in the Bahamas. This week Adams shared results with the Bahamas Ministry of the Environment and conservation collaborators Bahamas National Trust and The Nature Conservancy.
Auburn University: Auction of Auburn eagle jesses and lure brings $12,600 to Southeastern Raptor Center
December 11, 2013
AUBURN UNIVERSITY – An Auburn University alumnus had the winning bid in the online auction of War Eagle VII’s jesses and a lure used during the pregame eagle flight at the epic 2013 Iron Bowl.
Bill Nelson of Birmingham bid $12,600 to benefit the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Southeastern Raptor Center to own what he described as “certainly one of the best pieces of sports memorabilia Auburn has to offer.” The 1970 Auburn College of Engineering graduate said the eagle pregame flight is one of his favorite gameday traditions.
Auburn University: Auburn and Missouri students team up with ‘Tigers for Tigers’
December 5, 2013
AUBURN UNIVERSITY – Although rivals on the athletic field, students from Auburn University and the University of Missouri are working together to help save tigers in the wild through a conservation program called the National Tigers for Tigers Coalition. The coalition joins together academic institutions with tiger mascots to help spread awareness of the survival challenges tigers face, including habitat destruction, poaching and the pet trade.
“Tigers are such beautiful animals, and with it being our university’s mascot, and with Aubie being consistently ranked one of the best in the nation, it makes sense that Auburn students would work to help Aubie’s wild cousin, which is on the brink of extinction in its natural habitat,” said Ashley Newell, a senior in zoology/pre-veterinary medicine and a campus representative for Auburn’s Tigers for Tigers program.
The national coalition coordinator for Tigers for Tigers, Sean Carnell, said several states in the U.S., including Alabama, do not have regulations on the private ownership of big cats. He cites an estimated 5,000 big cats, such as tigers, are in private hands in Texas alone, and an estimated 13,000 are under private ownership nationwide. As a result, Tigers for Tigers supports the proposed Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act, according to Carnell.
Biotechnology/Health
The Guardian (UK): Online in 3D: the 'grotesque beauty' of medieval Britons' diseased bones
Digitised Diseases site makes 1,600 specimens available for doctors and members of the public to study for free
Maev Kennedy
The Guardian, Sunday 8 December 2013 11.26 EST
The bones of a young woman who died of syphilis more than 500 years ago, the reassembled jaw of a man whose corpse was sold to surgeons at the London hospital in the 19th century and the contorted bone of an 18th-century man who lived for many years after he was shot through the leg, are among the remains of hundreds of individuals which can now be studied in forensic detail on a new website.
The Digitised Diseases website, to be launched on Monday at the Royal College of Surgeons in London, brings together 1,600 specimens, many from people with excruciating conditions including leprosy and rickets, from stores scattered across various university and medical collections. The original crumbling bones of some specimens now available in 3D scans are too fragile to be handled. The database is intended for professionals, but is also available free to members of the public who may be fascinated by the macabre specimens.
"We believe this will be a unique resource both for archaeologists and medical historians to identify diseases in ancient specimens, but also for clinicians who can see extreme forms of chronic diseases which they would never see nowadays in their consulting rooms, left to progress unchecked before any medical treatment was available. These bones show conditions only available before either by travelling to see them, or in grainy black and white photographs in old textbooks," said Andrew Wilson, senior lecturer in forensic and archaeological sciences at the University of Bradford and the lead researcher on the project He added: "I do think members of the public will also find them gripping - they do have what one observer called 'a grotesque beauty'."
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for this story.
SDSU: SDSU Team Advances in Global Competition
SDSU’s X-Team is now one of 33 teams competing for the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE.
By Beth Downing Chee
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
By Beth Downing Chee
When San Diego State University's X-Team entered the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE competition in April, there were more than 300 teams intending to compete. Now just 33 teams remain in the 3.5-year global competition.
Sponsored by the Qualcomm Foundation, XPRIZE will award $10 million to teams that develop a consumer-friendly mobile device that could change the face of health care.
The SDSU X-Team aims to be one of them.
University of Alabama at Birmingham: First mechanism-based drug design underway in kidney disease
By Greg Williams
Monday, December 09, 2013
When healthy, the kidneys filter blood, divert waste into urine and return useful proteins to the bloodstream. Diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer damage the kidneys; but nothing hastens kidney failure like proteinuria, where proteins get past damaged filters, enter the urine and cause scarring in the tubules carrying it.
In the current study, researchers demonstrated for the first time that the body tries to counter proteinuria by making more of a protein called Angiopoietin-like 4 or Angptl4, but that a second pathway interferes. Specifically, Angptl4 takes part in two competing feedback loops: one in which worsening proteinuria triggers greater Angptl4 production, and a second where rising Angptl4 levels soon shut down Angptl4 production. The second loop restrains the first, which may explain why people with severe proteinuria make just three times as much Angptl4 as people with healthy kidneys, instead of 30 times as much.
Based on their new understanding, the team engineered a version of Angptl4 that still counters proteinuria, but can no longer engage the pathway where it slows its own production. When injected into rats bred to serve as models of human kidney diseases, the mutant protein, freed of its normal constraints, reduced proteinuria by 60 percent.
University of Massachusetts Medical School: Foreign Policy names Luzuriaga a ‘Leading Global Thinker of 2013’ for HIV research
By Lisa M. Larson
December 12, 2013
UMass Medical School immunologist Katherine Luzuriaga, MD, has been named to the list of Foreign Policy’s 100 Leading Global Thinkers of 2013 for “bringing the world closer to a cure for HIV.”
Dr. Luzuriaga, professor of molecular medicine, pediatrics and medicine, and an internationally recognized HIV scientist, shares the honor with colleagues Hannah Gay, MD, a pediatrician at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and Deborah Persaud, MD, a virologist at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. They are credited with the first documented “functional” cure of a Mississippi baby with HIV.
The breakthrough development, which has garnered global headlines since it was announced at a scientific conference in March, was reported in the Oct. 23 New England Journal of Medicine. The baby, born to an HIV-infected mother who did not have prenatal care, received therapeutic antiretroviral treatment beginning 30 hours after birth. That therapy continued until about 18 months of age, when the child was lost to follow-up and off the drugs. Months later, the child returned to the hospital and underwent repeated standard blood tests, none of which detected HIV presence in the blood. Tests for HIV-specific antibodies—the standard clinical indicator of HIV infection—have remained negative for 18 months.
University of Wisconsin: Intense human settlement and forest disruption linked to virus outbreak
by David Tenenbaum
Dec. 9, 2013
A new study in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene shows that the deadly Nipah virus in Bangladesh is infecting people only in areas with significant deforestation and high population density. Although the virus is spread by a common fruit bat, villages with fairly intact forest did not get Nipah virus infections.
Nipah virus kills more than 70 percent of cases, mainly due to convulsions and swelling in the brain, and there is neither cure nor vaccine. Since 2001, about 200 cases of the virus have appeared in villages within a section of Bangladesh scientists call the "Nipah Belt."
More than a decade ago, an outbreak in Malaysia was traced to fruit bats that defecated into pig pens. The infected pigs spread the virus to pig farmers and pigs throughout the country when they were transported to slaughterhouses. The outbreak ended with the culling of more than 1 million pigs.
Psychology/Behavior
UCSD: Brain Trauma Raises Risk of Later PTSD in Active-Duty Marines
Deployment-related injuries are biggest predictor, but not the only factor
By Scott LaFee
December 11, 2013
In a novel study of U.S. Marines investigating the association between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) over time, a team of scientists led by researchers from the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System and University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that TBIs suffered during active-duty deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan were the greatest predictor for subsequent PTSD, but found pre-deployment PTSD symptoms and high combat intensity were also significant factors.
The findings are published in the December 11 online issue of JAMA Psychiatry.
The team, headed by principal investigator Dewleen G. Baker, MD, research director at the VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego and a practicing psychiatrist in the VA San Diego Healthcare System, analyzed 1,648 active-duty Marines and Navy servicemen from four infantry battalions of the First Marine Division based at Camp Pendleton in north San Diego County. The servicemen were evaluated approximately one month before a scheduled 7-month deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan, one week after deployment had concluded, and again three and six months later.
University of Alabama at Birmingham: Problem-child behavior could result from early puberty in girls
By Nicole Wyatt
Monday, December 09, 2013
Findings from a University of Alabama at Birmingham study published Dec. 9 in the journal Pediatrics show that adolescent girls who experience their first menstrual cycle prior to age 11 reported more delinquent and physically aggressive behavior.
By age 16, the effect of early puberty on physical aggression disappeared, but these girls still reported more delinquent behavior than those who did not experience early puberty.
“Delinquency and aggression put adolescents at risk for many negative outcomes in the future, including lower educational achievement, substance abuse, depression and problems in relationships,” explained the study’s lead author Sylvie Mrug, Ph.D., associate professor in the UAB Department of Psychology. “Thus it is important to understand how these problem behaviors develop and how pubertal timing and friends’ behavior — among other variables — contribute to them.”
University of Wisconsin: Poverty influences children’s early brain development
by Chris Barncard
Dec. 11, 2013
Poverty may have direct implications for important, early steps in the development of the brain, saddling children of low-income families with slower rates of growth in two key brain structures, according to researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
By age 4, children in families living with incomes under 200 percent of the federal poverty line have less gray matter — brain tissue critical for processing of information and execution of actions — than kids growing up in families with higher incomes.
“This is an important link between poverty and biology. We’re watching how poverty gets under the skin,” says Barbara Wolfe, professor of economics, population health sciences and public affairs and one of the authors of the study, published today in the journal PLOS ONE.
University of Alabama at Birmingham: Skip the fat talk and go directly to model behavior to avoid fights
By Nicole Wyatt
Friday, December 06, 2013
Politics and religion are considered unsafe topics of conversation at holiday dinners and parties, and experts at the University of Alabama at Birmingham say avoiding another topic — weight — can help everyone be more merry and bright.
“People might gain weight during the five-to-six weeks of the holiday season, but the reality is most will not put on a substantial amount in that time period,” said Josh Klapow, Ph.D., associate professor in the UAB School of Public Health.
A clinical psychologist, Klapow says discussing weight should be avoided during the holidays, even if opinions are rooted in concerns for a loved one’s health. Bringing it up will likely only cause hurt feelings.
University of Alabama at Birmingham: Low-income minority patients with diabetes have low eye-care-usage rates
By Bob Shepard
Thursday, December 05, 2013
Low-income, mostly African-American patients with diabetes seen at a large, public safety-net hospital, have low rates of utilizing eye care, according to a study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham published online Dec. 5 in JAMA Ophthalmology.
Researchers sought to assess eye care among patients with diabetes seen at a county-owned health care facility, Cooper Green Hospital outpatient eye clinic, in 2007. Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of vision disability and the No. 1 cause of new cases of blindness among working-age adults in the United States.
“Because African-Americans are at twice the risk of Caucasians of being diagnosed with diabetes, and income is related to whether a person receives eye care, we investigated whether low-income persons with diabetes received recommended eye care,” said Paul McLennan, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Surgery and lead author of the study. “Our results show that, overall, frequency of eye care was low, just 33 percent within the first year, and only 45 percent within two years.”
University of Wisconsin: Making a better flip-flop to overcome illiteracy and disease
Dec. 13, 2013
In many parts of the world, a good share of the population wears flip-flops. In America, the candy-colored sandals are a ubiquitous herald of summer. In rural Uganda, kids wear them, adult men and moms wear them whether they're bopping around the compound, working in the fields or getting water.
For Professor Tony Goldberg and postdoctoral scholar Sarah Paige at UW-Madison, flip-flops present a challenge and an opportunity to overcome illiteracy and better combat helminths, the parasitic worms that can burrow into bare feet and cause gastrointestinal illness. Thanks to a recent $100,000 Grand Challenges Exploration grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, they're developing the holoflop™ that protects feet from soil-borne parasites and encourages people to wear them.
The holoflop is a flip-flop with a hologram attached that will show the benefits of wearing sandals to people who cannot read, says Goldberg, associate director for research at UW-Madison's Global Health Institute (GHI), professor of epidemiology in the School of Veterinary Medicine, and director of the Kibale EcoHealth Project. Paige, a medical geographer, works with Goldberg at the university and has been part of the Kibale project since its inception.
Archeology/Anthropology
The Independent (UK): Revealed: how prehistoric 'des res' gave Stone Age Brits a perfect diet
25-site survey shows that early humans chose predominantly to live on islands in the flood plains of major rivers
David Keys
Archaeology Correspondent
Tuesday 10 December 2013
Stone Age Brits were past masters at choosing the perfect ‘des res’, according to new research carried out by archaeologists.
Their investigations have revealed that, 300,000 years before the emergence of anatomically modern humans, prehistoric Britons were selecting their domestic real estate with tremendous care.
Nutritional and security considerations appear to have been the main criteria, according to the new research carried out by scholars at the University of Southampton and Queen's University, Belfast.
Western Digs: Oldest Human Footprints in North America Identified
Blake de Pastino
Dec 09,2013
A hunter-gatherer who trekked through a desert oasis a hundred centuries ago left the continent’s most lasting impression: the oldest known human footprints in North America.
There are only two of them — one left and one right — but the ancient traveler’s path through mineral-rich sediment in the Chihuahuan Desert allowed them to become enshrined in stone, and now dated, some 10,500 years later.
“To my knowledge the oldest human prints previously reported in North America are around 6,000 years old, so the … prints pre-date these by some 5,000 years,” said Dr. Nicholas Felstead, a geoarchaeologist at Durham University who led a new analysis of the prints.
University of Toronto (Canada) via PhysOrg: Archaeologists uncover Late Stone Age settlement on Cyprus
by Sean Bettam
Dec 09, 2013
Artifacts found at an archaeological site in Cyprus support a new theory that humans occupied the tiny Mediterranean island about 1,000 years earlier than previously believed – a discovery that fills an important gap in Cypriot history.
Excavations at Ayia Varvara-Asprokremnos (AVA) by archaeologists from the University of Toronto, Cornell University and the University of Cyprus have uncovered, among other objects, the earliest complete human figurine on the island. The site has been carbon-dated to between 8800-8600 BC, near the beginning of the Neolithic Period – also known as the Late Stone Age – when the transition from hunting to farming economies was occurring throughout the Middle East.
The Siberian Times (Russia): Couples still holding each other in loving embrace after 3,500 years
By Anna Liesowska
10 December 2013
Extraordinary Bronze Age graves unearthed in Siberia: but could there be a macabre explanation?
These compelling images show ancient burials near Staryi Tartas village, in Novosibirsk region where scientists have studied some 600 tombs. Dozens contain the bones of couples, facing each other, some with their hands clasped together seemingly for eternity.
One theory is that these ancient people who lived in Siberia - though not natives to this region - signified the beginnings of the nuclear family as a unit, and these couple burials indicate the important attached by the ancient people to this form of relationship.
LiveScience: Terracotta Warriors Inspired by Ancient Greek Art
By Owen Jarus, LiveScience Contributor
December 10, 2013 09:12am ET
The Terracotta Warriors, along with other life-size sculptures built for the First Emperor of China, were inspired by Greek art, new research indicates.
About 8,000 Terracotta Warriors, which are life-size statues of infantryman, cavalry, archers, charioteers and generals, were buried in three pits less than a mile to the northeast of the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor. He unified the country through conquest more than 2,200 years ago. Pits containing sculptures of acrobats, strongmen, dancers and civil servants have also been found near the mausoleum.
Now, new research points to ancient Greek sculpture as the inspiration for the emperor's afterlife army.
Xinhua (China) via The Global Post: Ancient dragon kiln unearthed in China
NANCHANG — Archaeologists have excavated a dragon kiln over 1,200 years old in Jingdezhen, once the center of China's ceramics industry, in the eastern province of Jiangxi.
The Tang Dynasty (618-907) kiln is 78.8 meters long and is the longest ever found from that period, according to Xu Changqing, head of Jiangxi cultural relics and archaeological institute.
The kiln, in the ruins of Nanyao Village, was unearthed by a team from Xiamen, Northwest and Nankai universities and Leping City, between March and November, Xu said at a press conference on Monday.
LiveScience: Ancient Estate and Garden Fountain Unearthed in Israel
By Jeanna Bryner, Managing Editor
December 08, 2013 11:38am ET
The remains of a wealthy estate, with a mosaic fountain in its garden, dating to between the late 10th and early 11th centuries have been unearthed in Ramla in central Israel.
The estate was discovered during excavations at a site where a bridge is slated for construction as part of the new Highway 44.
"It seems that a private building belonging to a wealthy family was located there and that the fountain was used for ornamentation," Hagit Torgë, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said in a statement. "This is the first time that a fountain has been discovered outside the known, more affluent quarters of Old Ramla."
Wales Online (UK): Wars of the Roses bodies found in hotel grounds near Harlech Castle
12 Dec 2013 13:25
Archaeologists believe three bodies found in the grounds of Harlech's old Queen's Hotel date from the days when the castle was almost permanently under siege
Workers building a new visitor centre next to Harlech Castle may have stumbled on the remains of three people who may have been caught up in the Wars of the Roses.
The bodies were found near the grounds of the Castle Hotel last Thursday.
National Geographic News: Have We Found the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island?
Remote-sensing techniques have unearthed clues to the fate of settlers who mysteriously disappeared.
Tanya Basu
National Geographic
Published December 6, 2013
It's a mystery that has intrigued Americans for centuries: What happened to the lost colonists of North Carolina's Roanoke Island? (See "America's Lost Colony.")
The settlers, who arrived in 1587, disappeared in 1590, leaving behind only two clues: the words "Croatoan" carved into a fort's gatepost and "Cro" etched into a tree.
Theories about the disappearance have ranged from an annihilating disease to a violent rampage by local Native American tribes. Previous digs have turned up some information and artifacts from the original colonists but very little about what happened to them.
Until now.
Newham Recorder (UK): Archaeologists uncover layers of history at Stratford Broadway
Andrew Harrison
Thursday, December 12, 2013
The foundations of 17th century house thought to have been the home of King Charles I’s surgeon have been uncovered on site at a Stratford Broadway redevelopment.
The dig at the site of the old Empire Theatre has also revealed the remains of a Tudor building and part of a Roman road running along the line of the current Broadway.
The building site managed by East Thames housing association and contractor Wilmott Dixon has been home to archaeologists from Pre-Construct Archaeology in recent weeks.
PAP--Science and Scholarship in Poland: Archaeologists discovered 17th century water collection systems on the Holy Cross Mountain
09.12.2013 History&Culture
An extensive water collection, the oldest parts of which date back to the 17th century, uncovered archaeologists in the close of the monastery on the Holy Cross Mountain. According to scientists, the discovery sheds new light on ways the monks coped with water shortages in the past.
Yahoo! News Australia: Cannon found on NT beach 250 years old
By Barbara Barkhausen
December 13, 2013, 12:01 pm
An old swivel gun found on a remote Northern Territory beach in 2010 had been lying on the seabed for as long as 250 years, new dating tests show.
A Darwin boy discovered the bronze cannon at Dundee Beach, southwest of Darwin, in 2010.
Christopher Doukas found the 107cm-long gun, an anti-personnel light artillery piece, buried in the sand during an unusually low tide.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
Paleontology/Evolution
New York Institute of Technology via PhysOrg: Tooth structure and wear provide clues to ecology and evolution of ancient marine creatures
Dec 13, 2013
A trio of published studies have highlighted the importance of examining dental structure and wear in ancient creatures to better understand their ecology and evolution.
New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine Assistant Professor Brian Beatty, Ph.D., contributed to all three of the studies with his expertise in analyzing patterns of tooth wear and structure.
"Tooth wear is a permanent record – it shows the interaction of the animal and the world," says Beatty, a paleontologist who teaches anatomy to more than 300 medical and health professions students. "By examining the adult structure of teeth, we can learn how different vertebrate groups have been able to modify aspects of their tooth development so they can achieve structures that serve functional purposes."
Science World Report: Ancient Skeleton Reveals Ruggedly Built, Tree-Climbing Human Ancestor
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Dec 06, 2013 08:32 AM EST
Archaeologists have uncovered some old bones that may tell us a bit more about our own ancient ancestors. They've unearthed a partial skeleton that reveals our ancestors were muscular creatures with a gorilla-like upper body that were adaptive to their environment.
The skeleton includes arm, hand, leg and foot fragments that belong to Paranthropus boisei. Dating to about 1.34 million years ago, these remains were discovered in Tanzania.
"This is the first time we've found bones that suggest that this creature was more ruggedly built--combining terrestrial bipedal locomotion and some arboreal behaviors--than we previously thought," said Charles Musiba, one of the researchers, in a news release. "It seems to have more well-formed forearm muscles that were used for climbing, fine-manipulation and all sorts of behavior."
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
Geology
LiveScience: Earth's Greatest Killer Finally Caught
By Becky Oskin, Staff Writer
December 12, 2013 01:07pm ET
SAN FRANCISCO — Geology is partly detective work, and scientists now have enough evidence to book a suspect in the biggest environmental catastrophe in Earth's history.
Painstaking analysis of rocks from China and Russia prove the culprit is a series of massive volcanic eruptions, which flooded ancient Siberia with thick lava flows just before Earth's worst mass extinction almost 252 million years ago, researchers said here yesterday (Dec. 11) at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union. Thanks to new computer models of the eruption's devastating effects, and detailed mapping of rocks deposited around the time of the mass dying, researchers now have their best case ever for pinning the extinction on the enormous lava outpouring.
The eruptions — now called the Siberian Traps — lasted less than 1 million years but left behind Earth's biggest "large igneous province," a pile of lava and other volcanic rocks about 720,000 cubic miles (3 million cubic kilometers) in volume. More than 96 percent of marine creatures and 70 percent of land species perished at the end of the Permian Period, versus 85 percent of life in the later dinosaur-killer extinction. In the Permian, all trilobites died out, along with 97 percent of the gorgeous marine creatures called ammonites. Sharks, fish and reptiles were hard hit.
LiveScience: Undersea Cliff May Hold Clues to Dinosaur-Killing Cosmic Impact
By Megan Gannon, News Editor
December 10, 2013 02:54pm ET
Scientists have mapped a dramatic undersea cliff in the southern Gulf of Mexico that could hold clues to the ancient cosmic collision that wiped out the dinosaurs.
Stretching some 372 miles (600 kilometers) long with steep sides that rise about 13,100 feet (4,000 meters) above the seafloor, the so-called Campeche Escarpment might rival a wall of the Grand Canyon in its splendor were it not underwater.
Scientists are interested in studying the cliff in part because it is located near the site of a devastating asteroid or comet impact that occurred 65 million years ago. Researchers believe the crash sparked firestorms and sun-blocking dust clouds that led to a global extinction event, ending the dinosaurs' 150-million-year reign on Earth.
LiveScience: Giant Blob of Hot Rock Hidden Under Antarctic Ice
By Becky Oskin, Staff Writer
December 10, 2013 04:07pm ET
SAN FRANCISCO — A big, hot blob hiding beneath the bottom of the world could be evidence of a long-sought mantle plume under West Antarctica, researchers said Monday (Dec. 9) here at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
The possible hotspot — a plume of superheated rock rising from Earth's mantle — sits under Marie Byrd Land, a broad dome at West Antarctica's edge where many active volcanoes above and below the ice spit lava and ash. The hot zone was discovered with seismic imaging techniques that rely on earthquake waves to build pictures of Earth's inner layers, similar to how a CT scan works. Beneath Marie Byrd Land, earthquake waves slow down, suggesting the mantle here is warmer than surrounding rocks. The strongest low-velocity zone sits below Marie Byrd Land's Executive Committee Range, directly under the Mount Sidley volcano, said Andrew Lloyd, a graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis.
"The slow velocities suggest that it's a mantle hotspot," Lloyd said. The hot zone also matches up with Marie Byrd Land's high topography and active volcanoes, Lloyd said.
Energy
University of Wisconsin: Wisconsin engineer honored for ongoing innovation
by Renee Meiller
Dec. 10, 2013
Corn may be a dietary staple for humans and animals around the world, but in Jim Dumesic's eyes, the plant "waste" left after the harvest holds even more potential as a renewable bio-based source of fuels and important chemicals.
...
In 2003, he and colleagues founded Virent Energy Systems to commercialize their environmentally friendly method for turning plant waste into biofuel. Today, the company's suite of bio-derived products includes gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and chemicals used in the plastics and fiber industries.
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In 2003, he and colleagues founded Virent Energy Systems to commercialize their environmentally friendly method for turning plant waste into biofuel. Today, the company's suite of bio-derived products includes gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and chemicals used in the plastics and fiber industries.
Physics
University of Alabama: IceCube Collaboration, Involving UA Scientists, Awarded Breakthrough of the Year
Dec 13, 2013
MADISON, Wisc. — The IceCube project has been awarded the 2013 Breakthrough of the Year by the British magazine Physics World. The Antarctic observatory, a massive, collaborative effort including University of Alabama researchers, was selected for making the first observation of cosmic neutrinos but also for overcoming the many challenges of creating and operating a colossal detector deep under the ice at the South Pole.
“The ability to detect cosmic neutrinos is a remarkable achievement that gives astronomers a completely new way of studying the cosmos,” said Hamish Johnston, editor of physicsworld.com. “The judges of the 2013 award were also impressed with the IceCube collaboration’s ability to build and operate a huge and extremely sensitive detector in the most remote and inhospitable place on Earth.”
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory was completed in December 2010, after seven years of construction at the South Pole. But the idea of a huge detector buried in the ice was conceived a long time ago. Back in the 1990s, the AMANDA detector was built as a proof of concept for IceCube. By January 2005, the first sensors of IceCube had already reached 2,450 meters below the Antarctic ice sheet. It was only a few weeks ago that the IceCube Collaboration published in Science the first evidence for a very high-energy astrophysical neutrino flux, opening a new era in astronomy.
The University of Wisconsin has a similar story:
IceCube named 2013 Breakthrough of the Year for neutrino discovery.
Chemistry
Auburn University: Auburn University receives $50,000 gift from RSC Chemical Solutions for new minor
December 12, 2013
AUBURN UNIVERSITY – Auburn University’s tribology and lubrication science minor, the first of its kind in the nation, recently received a gift from North Carolina-based RSC Chemical Solutions to provide scholarship and programmatic support.
Housed in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, the program provides Auburn students the opportunity to earn a minor in tribology, the multidisciplinary study of contact, friction, wear and lubrication of surfaces. The applications of tribology and lubrication science range widely to include bearings, tires and engines in automobiles; human joint replacement; manufacturing; nanotechnology; oil product chemistry; power generation; hard-drive technology; and electrical contacts.
RSC’s commitment, which totals $50,000, will provide funds to support six scholarships for students majoring in chemistry in the College of Sciences and Mathematics or chemical engineering in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering and who also are pursuing a minor in tribology. The gift from RSC also includes an investment in an endowed fund for excellence, which will provide additional funds for faculty, student and operational support.
Science Crime Scenes
N.Y. Times: Disputed Statue to Be Returned to Cambodia
By TOM MASHBERG and RALPH BLUMENTHAL
Published: December 12, 2013
An ancient statue of a Hindu warrior, pulled from auction two years ago because of assertions that it had been looted from a temple deep in the jungles of Cambodia, will be returned to that country under an agreement signed on Thursday by Sotheby’s, its client and federal officials.
The accord ends a long bare-knuckled court battle over the Khmer treasure, a 10th-century statue valued at more than $2 million. The Belgian woman who had consigned it for sale in 2011 will receive no compensation for the statue from Cambodia, and Sotheby’s has expressed a willingness to pick up the cost of shipping the 500-pound sandstone antiquity to that country within the next 90 days.
At the same time, lawyers from the United States Attorney’s Office in Manhattan who had been pursuing the statue on Cambodia’s behalf agreed to withdraw allegations that the auction house and the consignor knew of the statue’s disputed provenance before importing it for sale.
BBC: Buyer to return Hopi artefacts to Native Americans
December 11, 2013
A charity which bought 24 sacred Native American masks at a controversial Paris auction is to return them to the Hopi and Apache tribes in the US.
The US-based Annenberg Foundation said it had spent a total of $530,000 (£322,000; 385,000 euros) at the auction of masks and other artefacts.
Of the 24 masks, 21 will be given to the Hopi Nation in Arizona and three to the San Carlos Apache.
CBS 2 New York: 3,200-Year-Old Gold Artifact Transferred From L.I. Estate To German Museum
Holocaust Survivor Had Possessed Tablet; Court Said It Wasn't A 'Spoil Of War'
December 4, 2013 5:39 PM
MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) — A 3,200-year-old Ishtar Temple gold artifact has been returned to a German museum that lost it during World War II.
The Assyrian gold tablet is a little more than an inch long.
Haaretz (Israel): UNESCO sounds alarm about illicit Syria archaeology digs
In addition to the loss of life and destruction of property caused by Syria's 2 1/2-year civil war, UNESCO says Syria's cultural heritage is increasingly under threat.
The head of UNESCO sounded an alarm about widespread illegal archaeological excavations across war-ravaged Syria on Friday, saying the UN cultural, education and science arm has warned auction houses, museums and collections about the problem.
More than 100,000 people have died in Syria's 2 1/2-year civil war, which has forced millions to flee their homes and created a massive humanitarian crisis. In addition to the loss of life and destruction of property, UNESCO says Syria's cultural heritage - and reporters trying to the cover the war - are increasingly under threat.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
NPR via KPBS: Orc And Dagger: U.S. Reportedly Spied On Gamers Online
Bill Chappell / NPR
Monday, December 9, 2013
U.S. and British intelligence agencies have worked to infiltrate networks of violence-prone individuals who might unite for a common cause. And in some cases, the spies are also targeting networks that aren't regional terrorist cells -- they're online gaming communities, according to the latest revelation from documents given to the media by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
"Exploiting Terrorist Use of Games & Virtual Environments" is the name of a 2008 NSA document being cited in coordinated reports out Monday from The Guardian, ProPublica and The New York Times.
The reports describe spy agencies' push to infiltrate systems that allow millions of people to closely collaborate and even exchange money -- all through a veil of alternate identities.
The project involved spies creating identities in networks that include Second Life and World of Warcraft, according to the reports. Another arm of the work is said to have collected massive amounts of data from Microsoft's Xbox Live network and elsewhere.
KPBS: San Diego Man Arrested In Connection With Revenge Porn Website
By David Wagner
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
A San Diego man was arrested Tuesday on charges related to operating a revenge porn website. It's the first bust of its kind since California criminalized revenge porn earlier this year.
Kevin Bollaert, 27, allegedly owned and operated ugotposted.com, one of the most notorious examples of revenge porn. It allowed users — often vindictive ex-boyfriends — to anonymously upload nude photos of women without their consent.
The site connected photos with identifying information about the women pictured, including their names, ages and Facebook profiles. Victims reported being harassed and intimidated by the site's visitors.
University of Alabama at Birmingham: Jaywalking not worth the risk, expert says
By Nicole Wyatt
Friday, December 13, 2013
The hectic holidays may have many looking to save a few extra minutes wherever they can be found, but a University of Alabama at Birmingham expert says one seemingly small action — jaywalking — should be avoided at all times.
In 2010, 4,280 pedestrians were killed, and an estimated 70,000 were injured in traffic crashes in the United States, according to the National Highway Transit Safety Association. Seventy-nine percent of these pedestrian fatalities occurred at non-intersections versus at intersections. Jaywalking is the illegal crossing of a roadway at a point other than an intersection or marked crosswalk, as well as walking against a pedestrian walk signal.
David Schwebel, Ph.D., associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of Psychology, studies pedestrian behavior. Schwebel explains that walking is just like driving — laws need to be followed for safety reasons.
Science, Space, Health, Environment, and Energy Policy
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
UCSD: New NIH Network Revolutionizes Stroke Clinical Research
UC San Diego Health System fights stroke as key center for nationwide effort
By Jackie Carr
December 13, 2013
A network of 25 nationally recognized stroke centers has been created to rapidly address the three core features of stroke research and care: prevention, treatment and recovery. The regional coordinating centers (RCCs), working with nearby satellite facilities, will span the country and have teams of researchers representing every stroke-related medical specialty, with the primary goal of bringing new therapies and strategies to the stroke community more rapidly. The centers, which include UC San Diego Health System as a grant recipient, were announced yesterday by the National Institutes of Health.
“The new system is intended to streamline stroke research, by centralizing approval and review, lessening time and costs of clinical trials, and assembling a comprehensive data sharing system,” said Petra Kaufmann, MD, associate director for clinical research at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
NINDS, which will fund and manage the NIH Stroke Trials Network, or NIH StrokeNet, has a strong history of successful stroke clinical trials over the past 40 years, leading to critical advances in treatment and prevention of the disease, including the first treatment for acute stroke in 1995, the rt-PA clot-buster.
UCSD: UC San Diego Anthropology Professor Becomes Chair-Elect of ASOR Committee on Archaeological Policy
By Tiffany Fox
December 11, 2013
Thomas E. Levy, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, San Diego, has been unanimously elected to as Chair-Elect of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) Committee on Archaeological Policy (CAP).
CAP supports excavations and related research in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean regions by encouraging high standards for excavations and fostering deliberate and ethical practices for research. Levy, who is the associate director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Science for Art, Architecture and Archaeology (CISA3) at the UC San Diego Qualcomm Institute, was elected to the position by ASOR’s Board of Trustees at its international meeting in Baltimore late last month.
According to Oystein S. LaBianca, professor at Andrews University and current chair of CAP, “Levy was nominated to this position because of his state-of-the art fieldwork in Wadi Faynan (Jordan) and beause of his inspired teaching and mentorship of future generations of Levantine archaeologists.” The Levant is a geographic and cultural region along the Eastern Mediterranean.
KPBS: Public Transit Improvements Benefit Public Health
By Alison St John
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Nick Macchione, director of the county’s Health and Human Services department, is a strong advocate of finding ways to get people out of their cars and moving, whether it’s walking, bicycling or catching a trolley.
“We need to invest in good healthy transit systems and get people to be more active and walk more,” he said.
Macchione pointed out to the business leaders and policy makers at the summit that poor public health is one of the largest drags on our whole economy. Currently, it eats up 18 percent of our gross domestic product. In San Diego, he said, it costs $4 billion in direct expenditures and that doesn’t even take into account lost productivity.
KPBS: California Lawmakers Call For Drought Emergency Declaration
By Susan Murphy
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
With reservoirs depleting and forecasters predicting another dry winter, California lawmakers are calling on President Barack Obama and Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a drought emergency and federal disaster in the state.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) sent a letter Monday urging the governor to take immediate action. Dozens of other California lawmakers sent a separate letter that called for the same declaration.
Costa and Feinstein stressed that low storage levels will leave the state with fewer options to adapt to next year’s dry conditions and that drought declarations in previous years have helped ease the pain.
KPBS: San Diego Wind Farms Get Extended Legal Protection On Eagle Deaths
By Susan Murphy
Monday, December 9, 2013
Wind farms in San Diego County and across the nation can now get a 30-year permit to unintentionally kill bald or golden eagles with their spinning turbine blades. It's an effort by the U.S. Interior Department to spur green energy growth while balancing its environmental consequences.
The previous permit was issued every five years.
The new rule requires wind farms to increase safety measures if eagle populations are being affected or if they kill or injure more eagles than estimated. Without the permit, companies could receive large fines.
KPBS: Report: California Skimping On Spending For Tobacco Prevention
By Megan Burke, Maureen Cavanaugh, Peggy Pico
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
It's been 15 years since most U.S. states agreed to a more than $264 billion settlement with the big tobacco companies to recover health care costs.
Many people figured that would be enough to help smokers who wanted to quit, and deter the next generation from picking up a smoking habit. But a group of public health organizations finds that in California, tobacco prevention programs are getting a very small cut of that large pot of money.
A report published Monday by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids found only 14 percent of the amount recommended by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is spent on the state's tobacco prevention and cessation programs; Only $64.8 million of the CDC-recommended $441.9 million will be spent this year in California.
Science Education
BBC: Hengistbury Head visitor centre officially opened
December 14, 2013
A new £1m visitor centre, built with a grass roof and walls insulated with straw, has been opened at a Dorset coastal nature reserve later.
The centre at Hengistbury Head near Christchurch has been built on to an existing thatched barn.
An exhibition about the area's Stone Age past and a wildlife garden have been added.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for this story.
University of Alabama: UA Students Bring Home Top Prize in National Analytics Competition
Dec 10, 2013
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Business students from the Culverhouse College of Commerce at The University of Alabama landed the top spot in the seventh annual national 2013 SAS Analytics and Data Mining Shootout in Orlando.
The six-member team made of graduate students from Culverhouse won the top prize for their research into disease prevention. Their strategy for treatment and costs revealed potential savings of nearly $180 million.
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In order to assess potential prevention programs, Culverhouse business students used SAS Analytics to predict the total cost and frequency of medical and pharmaceutical expenses for five primary diseases in New Hampshire for the years 2012-2020. In addition to easing pain and suffering associated with these five diseases, the team predicted that approximately $180 million in health care savings would result from implementing six prevention programs, with the greatest impacts coming from accident reduction and drug rehabilitation programs.
Science Writing and Reporting
University of Kentucky: CCTS Rewards Researchers With Free UK Basketball Tickets
By Mallory Powell
December 12, 2013
Two University of Kentucky researchers have recently been rewarded with a high-value commodity: free UK basketball tickets. Researchers Guoqiang Yu and Michael Spencer each won a pair UK basketball tickets in a drawing associated with the "CitE!" campaign by Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS).
CCTS is funded by a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Researchers who receive any support from CCTS, either in the form of funding or programmatic services like biostatistics or participant recruitment support, are asked to cite the CTSA grant number in papers submitted for publication. Citation is a critical productivity metric for all CTSA recipients because the NIH captures publication citations electronically for annual progress reporting.
In an effort to increase awareness about citation and incentivize UK researchers to cite the CTSA grant number, the CCTS leadership launched the "CitE!" campaign. Requirements for grant citation, including gray areas where CTSA citation was encouraged but not mandatory, were developed and distributed to researchers. In addition to informational and marketing efforts, the campaign included a one-time incentive scheme wherein researchers would be entered into a drawing for basketball tickets if they submitted papers with citation of the CTSA grant.
University of New Hampshire: Renowned UNH Researcher on Corporal Punishment Makes Definitive Case Against Spanking in New Book
‘The Primordial Violence’ is Culmination of Four Decades of Research
December 11, 2013
DURHAM, N.H. – A new book by Murray Straus, founder and co-director of the Family Research Lab and professor emeritus of sociology at the University of New Hampshire, brings together more than four decades of research that makes the definitive case against spanking, including how it slows cognitive development and increases antisocial and criminal behavior.
“The Primordial Violence” (Routledge, 2013) shows that the reasons parents hit those they love includes a lot more than just correcting misbehavior. It provides evidence on the effect spanking has on children, and what can be done to end it. The book features longitudinal data from more than 7,000 U.S. families as well as results from a 32-nation study and presents the latest research on the extent to which spanking is used in different cultures and the subsequent effects of its use on children and on society.
“Research shows that spanking corrects misbehavior. But it also shows that spanking does not work better than other modes of correction, such as time out, explaining, and depriving a child of privileges.
Moreover, the research clearly shows that the gains from spanking come at a big cost. These include weakening the tie between children and parents and increasing the probability that the child will hit other children and their parents, and as adults, hit a dating or marital partner. Spanking also slows down mental development and lowers the probability of a child doing well in school,” Straus says.
Science is Cool
UCSD via University of California: Using 'citizen-sensors' to improve world health
Date: 2013-12-12
“What if you could hold the power of modern medical equipment in the palm of your hand?” they ask. The device the students call “a cool gizmo” can also monitor your environment’s health by sampling the air, soil, and water for pollutants, then analyze and report the findings.
For non-Star Trek fans, the gizmo is much like the “tricorder” of the popular sci-fi series — a nifty hand-held device used for scanning, analyzing, and recording data. Less evocatively named, but nearly as high-tech, the UC San Diego device is called the Open Health Stack.
It would beneficially alter the landscape of the medical economy, researchers say, first by changing how people sense and perceive their own health, and then by collecting enough data to enable changes to environmental practices or policies.
Making those ambitious goals a reality is the role of their Distributed Health Lab, a collaboration between UC San Diego’s School of Medicine and the Qualcomm Institute, the UC San Diego division of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2).
MTV: Need A New Indiana Jones? Let's Try Jennifer Lawrence
With more movies likely to come from Disney, why not take the unexpected route?
By Kevin P. Sullivan (@KPSull)
Dec 9 2013 12:45 PM EST 9,431
When Disney announced on Friday that they had secured the distribution and marketing rights for the "Indiana Jones" series from Paramount, clearing the way for new installments, many speculated on the form these sequels might take. Some rumors claimed a fifth "Indy" movie may be integral in Harrison Ford's negotiations with Disney so that he could appear in "Star Wars: Episode VII," suggesting that we could see at least one more movie with the 71-year-old star cracking the whip.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
UCSD: New WAVE Display Technology Rises at UC San Diego
By Tiffany Fox
December 11, 2013
The next phase in the evolution of high-tech displays is here, and this time, the term ‘leading edge’ isn’t just a catchy slogan, but an evocative description of the technology’s look and feel.
The University of California, San Diego’s new WAVE display, true to its name, is shaped like an ocean wave, with a curved wall array of 35 55” LG commercial LCD monitors that end in a ‘crest’ above the viewer’s head and a ‘trough’ at his or her feet. An acronym for Wide-Angle Virtual Environment, it was designed and built in-house by QI’s Director of Visualization Tom DeFanti, QI Professor of Visualization and Virtual Reality Falko Kuester and Senior Design Engineer Greg Dawe. The WAVE, a 5x7 array of HDTVs, is now 20’ long by nearly 12’ high.
Under the leadership of researchers at the UC San Diego division of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) – known as the Qualcomm Institute (QI) – high-resolution computerized displays have evolved over the past decade from 2D to 3D panels and from one monitor to arrays of many monitors. They’ve transitioned from stationary structures to structures on wheels, and from thick bezels (the rim that holds the glass display) to ultra-narrow bezels. Such technology is now widely used in television newsrooms, airports and even retail stores, but not in 3D like the WAVE.
UCSD: Hipster, Surfer or Biker? Computers May Soon Be Able to Tell the Difference
Researchers develop algorithm that uses computer vision to identify social groups
By Ioana Patringenaru
December 10, 2013
Are you a hipster, surfer or biker? What is your urban tribe? Your computer may soon be able to tell. Computer scientists at the University of California, San Diego, are developing an algorithm that uses group pictures to determine to which of these groups, or urban tribes, you belong. So far, the algorithm is 48 percent accurate on average. That’s better than chance--which gets answers right only nine percent of the time--but researchers would like the algorithm perform at least as well as humans would.
An algorithm able to identify people’s urban tribes would have a wide range of applications, from generating more relevant search results and ads, to allowing social networks to provide better recommendations and content. There also is a growing interest in analyzing footage from cameras installed in public spaces to identify groups rather than individuals.
Computer scientists presented their findings at the British Machine Vision Conference in the United Kingdom this fall.
SDSU: Stars Offer Incentive to Quit
SDSU research finds people are more likely to want to quit smoking when celebrities with cancer make headlines.
By Michael Price
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Millions of people will make a resolution to quit smoking around Jan. 1, but a new study suggests an even more powerful motivator than New Year’s resolutions: celebrity cancer diagnoses.
In a study published this week in Preventive Medicine, researchers from San Diego State University, the Santa Fe Institute, the University of North Carolina and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that when celebrities publicly discuss their struggles with cancer diagnoses, the resulting media coverage prompts more smokers to search for information on quitting than events like New Year’s Day or World No Tobacco Day.
Public health experts have long known these discussions spur others to get screened for cancer or consider the same treatments, but it was unclear whether these discussions also promoted cancer prevention behaviors, like quitting smoking. This question has evaded study because the method most commonly used to assess cancer-related behaviors—annual telephone surveys—isn’t fine-grained enough to tell researchers which events are influencing respondents’ answers.
KPBS: Following Up: Can Twitter Predict Elections?
By Brad Racino
Monday, December 9, 2013
This past October, professor Ming-Hsiang Tsou of SDSU’s geography department, along with colleagues and research students, created an interactive online tool called “ElectionPath.” Tsou believed, based on his previous work, that Twitter buzz could successfully predict San Diego’s next mayor.
So did it work?
Yes. And no.
It depends on how you look at the data.
University of Wisconsin: Documentary connects multiple sclerosis, Vikings and Nordic skiing
by Nik Hawkins
Dec. 12, 2013
Multiple sclerosis (MS), a neurological disease that affects more than 400,000 Americans, attacks the nervous system and causes many symptoms, including difficulty moving. But many who suffer from the disease defy its effects by maintaining an active lifestyle.
A new documentary titled "Multiple Sclerosis, the Vikings, and Nordic Skiing," which will air on Wisconsin Public Television on Dec. 19 at 9 p.m., looks at the benefits of exercise for MS patients.
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