Welcome to Science Saturday, where the Overnight News Digest crew, consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors maggiejean, wader, Man Oh Man, side pocket, rfall, and JML9999, alumni editors palantir, Bentliberal, Oke, jlms qkw, Interceptor7, and ScottyUrb, guest editors annetteboardman and Doctor RJ, and current editor-in-chief Neon Vincent, along with anyone else who reads and comments, informs and entertains you with this week's news about science, space, health, energy, and the environment.
Between now and the end of the primary season, Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday will highlight the research stories from the public universities in each of the states having primary or special elections for federal or state office this year plus stories from all research universities in major cities having municipal elections as listed in the Green Papers or the 2014 Daily Kos Elections Calendar. Tonight's edition features the research and outreach stories from the states of Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas.
This week's featured story comes from Geobeats and Examiner.com.
Newly found 'Earth cousin' may support life
In a remarkable new finding, astronomers reviewing Kepler's images say they have discovered the most earth-like planet yet.
Officially called Kepler-186f, the astronomers don't know too much about it including if it has a protective atmosphere, but it orbits in the habitable zone of its star and is a similar size to Earth, which could mean water may very well exist.
They also don't know the mass and composition, but despite all that, the discovery is a very important one as it proves that there could be a slew of other planets in space similar to Earth and potentially suitable for life that have yet to be spotted.
U-M astronomer part of team that discovered Kepler-186f
by Vince Lamb, Detroit Science News Examiner
This past Thursday, NASA announced the discovery of Kepler-186f, which the agency's press release called "the first Earth-size planet orbiting a star in the 'habitable zone'--the range of distance from a star where liquid water might pool on the surface of an orbiting planet." The press release emphasized the significance of the find by noting that "the discovery of Kepler-186f confirms that planets the size of Earth exist in the habitable zone of stars other than our sun."
University of Michigan astronomer and physicist Fred C. Adams was one of the team of scientists that analyzed the data from the Kepler space telescope. In a press release, Adams said, "One of the most interesting questions in science is whether life can arise on other planets or, alternatively, if life on this planet is unique. The discovery of planets with Earth-like properties is one important link in the chain required to answer this question. And the discovery of the planet Kepler-186f is an important step toward finding a planet that is like our Earth."
In the team's paper, "An Earth-Sized Planet in the Habitable Zone of a Cool Star," which was published in the journal Science on Friday, April 18, 2014, reported that Kepler-186f most likely has a diameter eleven percent larger than Earth's. This makes it smaller than previous rocky planets discovered by Kepler in the habitable zones of their stars, all of which have had diameters more than forty percent larger than Earth's and thus less suitable candidates for life as humans know it.
In the NASA press release, the paper's lead author Elisa V. Quintana elaborated on the significance of the finding, saying, "We know of just one planet where life exists -- Earth. When we search for life outside our solar system we focus on finding planets with characteristics that mimic that of Earth. Finding a habitable zone planet comparable to Earth in size is a major step forward."
Yes, I'm the author. I'm not above featuring my work here.
More stories after the jump.
Recent Science Diaries and Stories
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This week in science: Kepler bags the Holy Grail
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Slideshows/Videos
NASA: The Dragon Takes Flight on This Week @NASA
SpaceX-3 launches to the International Space Station, Kepler finds a Earth-sized planet and LADEE ends its mission on the lunar surface. These stories and more on this week's, This Week @NASA.
NASA: A 'Go' To Build OSIRIS-REx on This Week @NASA
The team that will conduct NASA's first mission to collect samples from an asteroid was given the go-ahead to start building the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, flight instruments and ground launch support facilities, thanks to a successful Mission Critical Design Review. OSIRIS-REx (Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer) is scheduled to launch in 2016 to the asteroid Bennu and return to Earth with a sample of the asteroid in 2023. The mission seeks answers about the organic materials of the early solar system that made life possible here on Earth. Also, Budget and security hearing, From here to Mars, Low Density Supersonic Decelerator, Bolden visits JSC, New supplies for space station and 50 years of "It's a Small World."
NASA: Earth Day 2014 Promo
Enjoy the beautiful scenery on Earth as NASA takes part in a worldwide celebration of Earth Day.
Join us this year with the agency's #GlobalSelfie event.
Science at NASA: ScienceCasts: Unexpected Teleconnections in Noctilucent Clouds
NASA's AIM spacecraft is discovering unexpected "teleconnections" in Earth's atmosphere that link weather and climate across vast distances.
Science at NASA: ScienceCasts: Separated at Launch
Next year, with the assistance of the world's only twin astronauts, NASA will conduct an unprecedented experiment in human biology. While one twin remains on the ground, the other will circle Earth onboard the International Space Station for a full year. Will the twins still be identical when they are re-united? The answer could help NASA make space travel safer for generations of astronauts to come.
Astronomy/Space
Purdue University: Purdue study to measure gravity's effects on plant cells in space
April 10, 2014
UPDATE: The launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was scrubbed Monday (April 14) afternoon due to a helium leak. The rocket will launch no earlier than Friday (April 18) at 3:25 p.m.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A Purdue University experiment that will test how plant cells sense and respond to different levels of gravity is scheduled to launch aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Monday (April 14).
Understanding how gravity impacts plants is key for determining the conditions necessary to grow plants in space.
"Being able to grow plants for food in microgravity and space environments is crucial if we're going to reach this amazing future of long-term space exploration that we all imagine," said Jenna Rickus, associate professor in the departments of Agricultural and Biological Engineering and Biomedical Engineering. "We tend to think of propulsion and spacecraft technology as the main challenges to space exploration, but the true challenge is really the biology."
Climate/Environment
Examiner.com: 2013-2014 snowiest winter in Detroit history
This morning, the National Weather Service office in Detroit made it official. This has been the snowiest winter in Detroit history.
by Vince Lamb, Detroit Science News Examiner
As of 6:00 A.M., 3.1 inches of snow had fallen overnight, raising the total for the season to 94.8 inches. Only 1.9 inches had been required to break the previous record of 93.6 inches set in 1880-1881.
This record joins three others for the Motor City set this season, the snowiest January, snowiest month, and longest snow cover, which is now 78 days.
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After witnessing records like these, Detroiters can proudly say, "We survived the winter of 2013-2014."
Yes, I did it again. I'm not Britney Spears, so no "Oops."
Purdue University: A few 'problem wells' source of greenhouse gas at unexpected stage of natural gas production
April 14, 2014
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - High levels of the greenhouse gas methane were found above shale gas wells at a production point not thought to be an important emissions source, according to a study jointly led by Purdue and Cornell universities. The findings could have implications for the evaluation of the environmental impacts from natural gas production.
The study, which is one of only a few to use a so-called "top down" approach that measures methane gas levels in the air above wells, identified seven individual well pads with high emission levels and established their stage in the shale-gas development process.
The high-emitting wells made up less than 1 percent of the total number of wells in the area and were all found to be in the drilling stage, a preproduction stage not previously associated with significant emissions.
University of Michigan: Moth study suggests hidden climate change impacts
April 15, 2014
ANN ARBOR—A 32-year study of subarctic forest moths in Finnish Lapland suggests that scientists may be underestimating the impacts of climate change on animals and plants because much of the harm is hidden from view.
The study analyzed populations of 80 moth species and found that 90 percent of them were either stable or increasing throughout the study period, from 1978 to 2009. During that time, average annual temperatures at the study site rose 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit, and winter precipitation increased as well.
"You see it getting warmer, you see it getting wetter and you see that the moth populations are either staying the same or going up. So you might think, 'Great. The moths like this warmer, wetter climate.' But that's not what's happening,'' said ecologist Mark Hunter of the University of Michigan.
Michigan State University: MSU study shows changes in farming practices could help environmental stability
April 18, 2014
By changing row-crop management practices in economically and environmentally stable ways, U.S. farms could contribute to improved water quality, biological diversity, and soil fertility while helping to stabilize the climate, according to an article in the May issue of BioScience.
The article, based on research conducted over 25 years at Michigan State University and the university’s Kellogg Biological Station in southwest Michigan, further reports that Midwest farmers, especially those with large farms, appear willing to change their farming practices to provide these ecosystem services in exchange for payments. And a previously published survey showed that citizens are willing to make such payments for environmental services such as cleaner lakes.
The article is by G. Philip Robertson and six coauthors associated with the MSU Kellogg Biological Station, which is part of the Long Term Ecological Research Network. The research analyzed by Robertson and colleagues investigated the yields and the environmental benefits achievable by growing corn, soybean, and winter wheat under regimes that use one third of the usual amount of fertilizer—or none at all—with “cover crops” fertilizing the fields in winter.
North Carolina State University: Expect Relatively Quiet Hurricane Season, NC State Researchers Say
April 16, 2014
The 2014 Atlantic hurricane season will be less active than in the past 20 years, but still in line with overall averages from 1950 to the present, according to researchers at North Carolina State University.
Eight to 11 named storms should form in 2014 in the Atlantic basin, which includes the entire Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, according to Dr. Lian Xie, professor of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences (MEAS), and collaborators Dr. Montserrat Fuentes, professor of statistics, Marcela Alfaro-Cordoba, graduate research assistant in statistics and Bin Liu, research assistant professor in MEAS. This number is slightly lower than – but within the margin of error for – the (1950-2013) 63-year average of 10.8 named storms.
Of those named storms, four to six may grow strong enough to become hurricanes, and one to three may become major hurricanes.
North Carolina State University: Strawberry Fields Forever
April 14, 2014
North Carolina is the nation’s No. 3 strawberry producer, but many of the state’s berries grow on small plots lacking the acreage to carry out sustainable growing practices like crop rotation. That, combined with constant concerns about soil pathogens and reliance on chemicals to rid plants of ubiquitous pests like spider mites, puts immense pressure on these farms’ long-term health.
Can North Carolina withstand this pressure and keep its top-three status behind fruit and veggie behemoths California and Florida, the top two U.S. strawberry producers?
NC State crop science Ph.D. student Amanda McWhirt is working with fellow university agroecologists, horticulture scientists and entomologists on a National Strawberry Sustainability Initiative research project to implement sustainable soil methods on strawberry farms – methods that won’t blow a hole in farmers’ budgets or overcomplicate their lives.
University of Texas: Shade Grown Coffee Shrinking as a Proportion of Global Coffee Production
April 16, 2014
AUSTIN, Texas —The proportion of land used to cultivate shade grown coffee, relative to the total land area of coffee cultivation, has fallen by nearly 20 percent globally since 1996, according to a new study by scientists from The University of Texas at Austin and five other institutions.
The study's authors say the global shift toward a more intensive style of coffee farming is probably having a negative effect on the environment, communities and individual farmers.
"The paradox is that there is greater public interest than ever in environmentally friendly coffee, but where coffee production is expanding across the globe, it tends to be very intensive," says Shalene Jha, assistant professor in The University of Texas at Austin's College of Natural Sciences and lead author of the study published April 16 in the journal BioScience.
Texas A&M: Food shortages could be most critical world issue by mid-century
April 18, 2014
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The world is less than 40 years away from a food shortage that will have serious implications for people and governments, according to a top scientist at the U.S. Agency for International Development.
“For the first time in human history, food production will be limited on a global scale by the availability of land, water and energy,” said Dr. Fred Davies, senior science adviser for the agency’s bureau of food security. “Food issues could become as politically destabilizing by 2050 as energy issues are today.”
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He said the world population will increase 30 percent to 9 billion people by mid-century. That would call for a 70 percent increase in food to meet demand.
“But resource limitations will constrain global food systems,” Davies added. “The increases currently projected for crop production from biotechnology, genetics, agronomics and horticulture will not be sufficient to meet food demand.”
Texas A&M: Air Pollution Over Asia Makes Pacific Storms More Intense
April 14, 2014
In the first study of its kind, scientists have compared air pollution rates from 1850 to 2000 and found that anthropogenic (man-made) particles from Asia impact the Pacific storm track that can influence weather over much of the world.
The team, which includes several researchers from Texas A&M University, has had its work published in the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
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The team used detailed pollution emission data compiled by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and looked at two scenarios: one for a rate in 1850 – the pre-Industrial era – and from 2000, termed present-day.
By comparing the results from an advanced global climate model, the team found that anthropogenic aerosols conclusively impact cloud formations and mid-latitude cyclones associated with the Pacific storm track.
Biodiversity
University of Florida: UF/IFAS research findings shed light on seagrass needs
April 17, 2014
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Seagrass beds represent critical and threatened coastal habitats around the world, and a new University of Florida study shows how much sunlight seagrass needs to stay healthy.
Loss of seagrass means fish, crabs and other animals lose their homes and manatees and sea turtles lose a source of food. Nutrients, such as phosphorous, may prevent seagrass from getting the sunlight it needs to thrive. Nutrients may come from many sources, among them fertilizers used in agriculture, golf courses and suburban lawns, pet waste and septic tank waste.
Scientists often use seagrass to judge coastal ecosystems’ vitality, said Chuck Jacoby, a courtesy associate professor in the Department of Soil and Water Science and co-author of a new UF study that examines light and seagrass health.
Texas A&M: How to keep fishing in the Amazon: Texas A&M scientists study what keeps freshwater fish abundant
By: Olga Kuchment
Posted on April 17, 2014 by Angel Futrell
On a recent plane trip to Santarem, Brazil, Kirk Winemiller gazed at a vast mosaic of lakes and waterways of the Amazon region. One huge muddy river split into multiple channels, each as wide as the Mississippi river.
The waters house over a thousand species of fish, which Winemiller, a professor in the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, studies. The fish are an indispensable food resource and an essential part of the economy in this part of Brazil.
Each winter the rivers and lakes flood and water levels can rise by more than 30 feet, flooding forests and meadows. Researchers have known that fish migrate to flooded areas to feed on fruits, nuts, and seeds, but nobody has yet estimated how access to these resources influences fish production.
Wildlife Conservation Society via Science Daily: Declining catch rates in Caribbean Nicaragua green turtle fishery may be result of overfishing
April 16, 2014
A 20-year assessment of Nicaragua’s legal, artisanal green sea turtle fishery has uncovered a stark reality: greatly reduced overall catch rates of turtles in what may have become an unsustainable take, according to conservation scientists. Growing up to 400 pounds in weight, the green turtle is the second largest sea turtle species next to the leatherback turtle. In addition to the threat from overfishing, the green turtle is at risk from bycatch in various fisheries, poaching of eggs at nesting beaches, habitat deterioration and loss due to coastal development and climate change effects, and pollution.
Researchers from the University of Florida participated in this study.
Biotechnology/Health
University of Connecticut: New Approach to Protecting Heart Failure Patients
April 15, 2014
New research from UConn Health uncovers a mechanism that may protect men and women from heart failure, a chronic condition that can occur after a heart attack.
Published in the current issue of Circulation, the study discovers a specific ion channel in the heart that protects against heart failure. “The ion channel is also a receptor protein called the purinergic P2X4 receptor, which is present on the surface of a heart muscle cell. This receptor uses nitric oxide to achieve its beneficial effect,” said Dr. Bruce T. Liang, the lead author and director of UConn Health’s Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center.
“Nitric oxide has long been known to prevent heart failure. What’s unique here is that this receptor channel directly associates with the enzyme that makes nitric oxide with a localized increase at strategic sites within the muscle cell,” he said.
University of Florida: To kill a tumor: UF physicians target the genes of lung, colon cancers
April 15, 2014
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida physicians and researchers are collaborating to map the genes of different types of cancer, and then deliver medication to attack cancer at its source.
In late January, researchers in the new UF Health Precision Cancer Care Program began sequencing the genes of lung and colon cancer tumors, forming the first center in the state to perform this testing for solid tumors. Program members include researchers and physicians from multiple UF departments, encompassing the UF Health Cancer Center and UF Health Pathology Laboratories. By identifying particular gene mutations that drive lung and colon cancers, physicians can deliver better, more targeted treatments to those cancers.
When a patient receives traditional, intravenous chemotherapy, the chemotherapy targets all growing cells. It kills stomach cells, which is why some patients are nauseated. It attacks hair follicles, which is why patients often lose their hair. Pinning down what’s genetically distinct about a particular type of cancer allows physicians to deliver targeted therapy to the genes causing that cancer rather than target all living cells. This can reduce the side effects of what UF researcher Thomas George Jr., M.D., calls “indiscriminate” chemotherapy.
Florida State University via Science Daily: Obesity can amplify bone, muscle loss
April 16, 2014
A new syndrome called “osteosarcopenic obesity” that links the deterioration of bone density and muscle mass with obesity has been identified by researchers. The syndrome explains how many obese individuals experience a triad of problems that place them at a higher risk for falling and breaking bones. Researchers note that the work stands to remind people to consider the damage that can be done to all parts of the body if they are overweight.
University of South Florida via Science Daily: Novel stapled peptide nanoparticle combination prevents RSV infection, study finds
April 17, 2014
A combination of advanced technologies may lead to a therapy to prevent or treat respiratory syncytial virus, a potentially lethal respiratory infection affecting infants, young children and the elderly, new research suggests. Despite a wide range of anti-RSV efforts, there are no vaccines or drugs on the market to effectively prevent or treat the infection.
Indiana University: IU School of Optometry study: New technique detects microscopic diabetes-related eye damage
April 17, 2014
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University researchers have detected new early-warning signs of the potential loss of sight associated with diabetes. This discovery could have far-reaching implications for the diagnosis and treatment of diabetic retinopathy, potentially impacting the care of over 25 million Americans.
"We had not expected to see such striking changes to the retinas at such early stages," said Ann Elsner, professor and associate dean in the IU School of Optometry and lead author of the study. "We set out to study the early signs, in volunteer research subjects whose eyes were not thought to have very advanced disease. There was damage spread widely across the retina, including changes to blood vessels that were not thought to occur until the more advanced disease states."
These important early-warning signs were invisible to existing diagnostic techniques, requiring new technology based on adaptive optics. Stephen Burns, professor and associate dean at the IU School of Optometry, designed and built an instrument that used small mirrors with tiny moveable segments to reflect light into the eye to overcome the optical imperfections of each person's eye.
University of Michigan: Prolonged and heavy bleeding during menopause is common
April 15, 2014
ANN ARBOR—Women going through menopause most likely think of it as the time for an end to predictable monthly periods. Researchers at the University of Michigan say it's normal, however, for the majority of them to experience an increase in the amount and duration of bleeding episodes, which may occur at various times throughout the menopausal transition.
The researchers from the U-M School of Public Health and U-M Health System offer the first long-term study of bleeding patterns in women of multiple race/ethnicities who were going through menopause. They say the results could impact patient care and alleviate undue concern about what to expect during this life stage that can last anywhere from 2-to-10 years.
"For most women in their 30s, menstrual periods are highly predictable. With the onset of the menopausal transition in their 40s, women's menstrual periods can change dramatically. These dramatic changes can be disconcerting and often provoke questions about whether something is wrong," said Sioban Harlow, U-M professor of epidemiology.
University of Michigan: How a Silly Putty ingredient could advance stem cell therapies
April 13, 2014
ANN ARBOR—The sponginess of the environment where human embryonic stem cells are growing affects the type of specialized cells they eventually become, a University of Michigan study shows.
The researchers coaxed human embryonic stem cells to turn into working spinal cord cells more efficiently by growing the cells on a soft, utrafine carpet made of a key ingredient in Silly Putty. Their study is published online at Nature Materials on April 13.
This research is the first to directly link physical, as opposed to chemical, signals to human embryonic stem cell differentiation. Differentiation is the process of the source cells morphing into the body's more than 200 cell types that become muscle, bone, nerves and organs, for example.
Jianping Fu, U-M assistant professor of mechanical engineering, says the findings raise the possibility of a more efficient way to guide stem cells to differentiate and potentially provide therapies for diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), Huntington's or Alzheimer's.
Michigan State University: Unraveling the 'black ribbon' around lung cancer
April 17, 2014
It’s not uncommon these days to find a colored ribbon representing a disease. A pink ribbon is well known to signify breast cancer. But what color ribbon does one think of with lung cancer?
Although white has been identified as the designated color, for many suffering from the disease, black may be the only one they think fits.
A Michigan State University study consisting of lung cancer patients, primarily smokers between the ages of 51 to 79 years old, is shedding more light on the stigma often felt by these patients, the emotional toll it can have and how health providers can help.
North Carolina State University: Finding the Switch: Researchers Create Roadmap for Gene Expression
April 13, 2014
In a new study, researchers from North Carolina State University, UNC-Chapel Hill and other institutions have taken the first steps toward creating a roadmap that may help scientists narrow down the genetic cause of numerous diseases. Their work also sheds new light on how heredity and environment can affect gene expression.
Pinpointing the genetic causes of common diseases is not easy, as multiple genes may be involved with a disease. Moreover, disease-causing variants in DNA often do not act directly, but by activating nearby genes. To add to the complexity, genetic activation is not like a simple on/off switch on a light, but behaves more like a “dimmer switch” – some people may have a particular gene turned all the way up, while others have it only turned halfway on, completely off, or somewhere in between. And different factors, like DNA or the environment, play a role in the dimmer switch’s setting.
According to Fred Wright, NC State professor of statistics and biological sciences, director of NC State’s Bioinformatics Center and co-first author of the study, “Everyone has the same set of genes. It’s difficult to determine which genes are heritable, or controlled by your DNA, versus those that may be affected by the environment. Teasing out the difference between heredity and environment is key to narrowing the field when you’re looking for a genetic relationship to a particular disease.”
Texas A&M: More questions than answers with ‘vaping’ craze
April 15, 2014
It seems there’s an electronic cigarette out there for everyone. Some are housed in chic pen-shaped canisters to make refilling easy, with customizable kits and carrying cases. There are disposable varieties for those who don’t want the fuss of maintenance. The vapors they produce don’t smell, and the tip emits a blue LED light. The flavor choices are endless. Don’t like traditional tobacco flavor? Try black walnut or green tea menthol.
“The use of e-cigarettes has the potential to renormalize smoking,” says Dr. K. Vendrell Rankin, professor and associate chair in public health sciences, who is director of Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry’s Tobacco Treatment Services clinic. “You’re sort of an ostracized person, an outlier, if you’re a smoker. If you’re using e-cigarettes, you have TV commercials, you have celebrity endorsements; it’s the in thing.”
E-cigarette manufacturers are known for their bold advertising reminiscent of the tobacco industry’s glory days. Some even have celebrity backing — pop culture icons like Bruno Mars, Avicii and Jenny McCarthy are just a few to endorse select brands.
Texas A&M: Messy diapers help show nutrition needs for premature, full-term babies
April 14, 2014
COLLEGE STATION – A study that began with messy diapers is helping scientists understand how nutrition helps babies grow into healthy children, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Research nutritionist.
Because scientists cannot physically examine the infant intestines, a team of U.S. researchers analyzed fecal samples from several groups of infants – from premature to full-term babies – to get a molecular “fingerprint” on how they were developing in relation to breast milk or formula consumption.
“This study is a proof-of-principle that we can noninvasively monitor the biology of the intestine and the immune system in these highly premature infants and full-term infants in order to unravel the developmental processes that are just fine in the healthy babies, but in the premature babies, are not going along very well,” said Dr. Robert Chapkin, a principle in the study at AgriLife Research and a distinguished professor at Texas A&M University.
He said the purpose of such information would be to optimize treatments given to help babies.
Psychology/Behavior
University of Florida: Risky business: Research could improve understanding of risky behavior, addiction
April 17, 2014
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - It follows logically: If you are unable to predict how a decision might affect your life, your decisions may be more impulsive.
New research from the University of Florida in rats backs that up.
A study found that rats with impulsive tendencies tend to have poorer working memories. In humans, scientists define working memory as the ability to hold details like a name or phone number in mind.
On the other hand, rats that avoided risky situations tended to have poor cognitive flexibility, which in this case means they were unable to learn a new way to get a food pellet after they had been trained to expect it from a different lever. By studying the rats' behavior, the researchers are examining the ways impulsivity, working memory and cognitive flexibility may or may not interact.
Journal of Consumer Research via Science Daily: Chew on this: How does food texture impact its perceived calorie content?
April 14, 2014
Food is an intimately personal thing; we savor some tastes and despise others. But how does the way we chew and eat our food impact our overall consumption? According to a new study, people perceive foods that are either hard or have a rough texture to have fewer calories. "Understanding how the texture of food can influence calorie perceptions, food choice, and consumption amount can help nudge consumers towards making healthier choices," the authors conclude.
Researchers from the University of South Florida and the University of Michigan participated.
Indiana University: IU cognitive scientists use 'I spy' to show spoken language helps direct children's eyes
April 17, 2014
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- In a new study, Indiana University cognitive scientists Catarina Vales and Linda Smith demonstrate that children spot objects more quickly when prompted by words than if they are only prompted by images.
Language, the study suggests, is transformative: More so than images, spoken language taps into children's cognitive system, enhancing their ability to learn and to navigate cluttered environments. As such the study, published last week in the journal Developmental Science, opens up new avenues for research into the way language might shape the course of developmental disabilities such as ADHD, difficulties with school, and other attention-related problems.
In the experiment, children played a series of "I spy" games, widely used to study attention and memory in adults. Asked to look for one image in a crowded scene on a computer screen, the children were shown a picture of the object they needed to find -- a bed, for example, hidden in a group of couches.
"If the name of the target object was also said, the children were much faster at finding it and less distracted by the other objects in the scene," said Vales, a graduate student in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.
Michigan State University: Internet use can help ward off depression among elderly
April 17, 2014
It’s estimated that as many as 10 million older Americans suffer from depression, often brought on by feelings of loneliness and isolation.
However, new research – a project that followed the lives of thousands of retired older Americans for six years – found that Internet use among the elderly can reduce the chances of depression by more than 30 percent.
“That’s a very strong effect,” said Shelia Cotten, a Michigan State University professor of telecommunication, information studies and media who led the project. “And it all has to do with older persons being able to communicate, to stay in contact with their social networks, and just not feel lonely.”
Ohio State University: Lashing Out at Your Spouse? Check Your Blood Sugar
Study finds that ‘hangry’ husbands and wives get more aggressive
April 14, 2014
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Lower levels of blood sugar may make married people angrier at their spouses and even more likely to lash out aggressively, new research reveals.
In a 21-day study, researchers found that levels of blood glucose in married people, measured each night, predicted how angry they would be with their spouse that evening.
At the end of the 21 days, people who had generally lower levels of glucose were willing to blast their spouses with unpleasant noises at a higher volume and for a longer time than those who had higher glucose levels.
The study shows how one simple, often overlooked factor – hunger caused by low levels of blood glucose - may play a role in marital arguments, confrontations and possibly even some domestic violence, said Brad Bushman, lead author of the study and professor of communication and psychology at The Ohio State University.
Ohio State University: Irrational Health Beliefs Linked to Skipping Cardiac Rehab Sessions
Education about medical evidence could help patients stick to the program
April 14, 2014
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Heart patients with beliefs about health that aren’t based on medical evidence are more likely to skip sessions of cardiac rehabilitation, new research suggests.
In the Ohio State University study, a higher number of these beliefs – referred to as “irrational health beliefs” on a standard measure of these thoughts – was associated with lower adherence to a prescribed cardiac rehab program.
Among the irrational beliefs assessed: Doubting the preventive power of the flu vaccine or believing, based on family history alone, that it’s safe to smoke cigarettes and carry excess weight after a doctor’s warning about health risks linked to these behaviors.
Beyond these beliefs, a few demographic factors influenced adherence to a rehabilitation program. On average, older participants and those with higher incomes attended a higher percentage of sessions, while African Americans, on average, attended a smaller percentage of sessions than did whites.
University of Cincinnati: UC Research Illuminates 'Touchy' Subject
April 16, 2014
By solving a long standing scientific mystery, the common saying "you just hit a nerve” might need to be updated to "you just hit a Merkel cell,” jokes Jianguo Gu, PhD, a pain researcher at the University of Cincinnati (UC).
That’s because Gu and his research colleagues have proved that Merkel cells— which contact many sensory nerve endings in the skin—are the initial sites for sensing touch.
"Scientists have spent over a century trying to understand the function of this specialized skin cell and now we are the first to know … we’ve proved the Merkel cell to be a primary point of tactile detection,” Gu, principal investigator and a professor in UC’s department of anesthesiology, says of their research study published in the April 15 edition of Cell, a leading scientific journal.
Of all the five senses, touch, Gu says, has been the least understood by science—especially in relation to the Merkel cell, discovered by Friedrich Sigmund Merkel in 1875.
University of Texas: Neurons in the Brain Tune into Different Frequencies for Different Spatial Memory Tasks
April 17, 2014
AUSTIN, Texas — Your brain transmits information about your current location and memories of past locations over the same neural pathways using different frequencies of a rhythmic electrical activity called gamma waves, report neuroscientists at The University of Texas at Austin.
The research, published in the journal Neuron on April 17, may provide insight into the cognitive and memory disruptions seen in diseases such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s, in which gamma waves are disturbed.
Previous research has shown that the same brain region is activated whether we're storing memories of a new place or recalling past places we've been.
“Many of us leave our cars in a parking garage on a daily basis. Every morning, we create a memory of where we parked our car, which we retrieve in the evening when we pick it up,” said Laura Colgin, assistant professor of neuroscience and member of the Center for Learning and Memory in The University of Texas at Austin's College of Natural Sciences. “How then do our brains distinguish between current location and the memory of a location? Our new findings suggest a mechanism for distinguishing these different representations.”
Archeology/Anthropology
Michigan Tech: Engineering on Alcatraz: Alumna Involved in Restoration and Stabilization
April 15, 2014
Certain names bring forth visceral associations. Alcatraz is one, but the notorious prison of the past is also a place for a Michigan Technological University alumna to use some of her civil engineering skills in the present.
Debra Campbell, a 1976 graduate, works for the National Park Service on Alcatraz, perched on an island in San Francisco Bay. She has been involved in four recent projects on the iconic island.
The most significant is the restoration of the cell house, to the tune of $17 million.
North Carolina State University: Study: The Trials of the Cherokee Were Reflected In Their Skulls
April 16, 2014
Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of Tennessee have found that environmental stressors – from the Trail of Tears to the Civil War – led to significant changes in the shape of skulls in the eastern and western bands of the Cherokee people. The findings highlight the role of environmental factors in shaping our physical characteristics.
Forensic logo 200“We wanted to look at these historically important events and further our understanding of the tangible human impacts they had on the Cherokee people,” says Dr. Ann Ross, a professor of anthropology at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the work. “This work also adds to the body of literature on environmental effects on skull growth.”
The researchers drew on historical data collected by Franz Boas in the late 19th century. Boas collected measurements of the length (front-to-back) and breadth of skulls for many Native American tribes, including hundreds of members of the eastern and western bands of Cherokee.
annetteboardman is taking a well-deserved Easter weekend off.
Paleontology/Evolution
LiveScience: 500-Million-Year-Old Embryos Fossilized in Rare Find
By Stephanie Pappas, Senior Writer
April 14, 2014 05:57pm ET
Tiny, spherical fossils found in southern China appear to be the embryos of a previously unknown animal.
The fossils come from the Cambrian, a period dating from 540 million to 485 million years ago and known for an explosion of diversity. Some of the organisms that appeared during the Cambrian, such as the bug-like trilobite, had exoskeletons and other hard parts that fossilized nicely. Others, including sponges and worms, were made of soft tissue that rarely preserves.
Researchers Jesse Broce of Virginia Tech, James Schiffbauer of the University of Missouri and their colleagues were searching for these rare soft-tissue fossils in limestone from the Hubei province of southern China when they found something even more rare: tiny spheres, including some with polygonal patterns on their surfaces. These itsy-bitsy fossils are most likely fossilized embryos, the researchers report in the March issue of the Journal of Paleontology. The fossils come from the third stage of the Cambrian, dating back to around 521 million to 541 million years ago.
LiveScience: Modern Sharks Aren't So Primitive, Ancient Fossil Suggests
By Tanya Lewis, Staff Writer
April 16, 2014 01:00pm ET
Sharks are usually thought of as primitive creatures, sometimes called "living fossils." But a new study of a 325-million-year-old shark fossil — the most complete of its kind — suggests modern sharks have evolved significantly from their bony ancestors.
The ancient fossil has characteristics of both bony fishes and modern sharks. But its gill structures more closely resemble those of bony fishes, challenging the notion that modern sharks have remained unchanged over evolutionary time.
"Standard anatomical textbooks say that the shark is a model of a primitive jawed vertebrate, [but] that’s all wrong," said John Maisey, curator of paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and a co-author of the study detailed today (April 16) in the journal Nature.
LiveScience: Tiny, Prehistoric Animal Hints at Herbivore Origins
By Stephanie Pappas, Senior Writer
April 16, 2014 05:00pm ET
A newly discovered 300-million-year-old meat-eating mammal ancestor is the oldest known member of a line that gave rise to rhinoceros-size herbivores.
The lizardlike animal, dubbed Eocasea martini, was a caseid. Caseids were a primitive group of synapsids, an umbrella term that includes mammals and their close relatives. Ancient nonmammalian synapsids, including caseids, looked reptilian — the famous fin-backed Dimetrodon was a synapsid — but were an entirely different branch of life from reptiles and birds.
"It's within this side of vertebrate evolution that we have the first plant-eating animals," said study leader Robert Reisz, a paleontologist at the University of Toronto.
LiveScience: Near-Complete T. Rex Skeleton Arrives at Smithsonian
By Megan Gannon, News Editor
April 15, 2014 10:41am ET
Joining a diverse roster of iconic American objects from Judy Garland's ruby slippers to the space shuttle Discovery, a nearly complete T. rex skeleton was welcomed to the Smithsonian this morning (April 15).
The dinosaur is on loan to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History for at least the next 50 years. Split up into many crates, the bones arrived in Washington, D.C., this week after a road trip from the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Mont., the fossil's former home near the badlands where the skeletal remains were found.
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, which opened more than a century ago, has 46 million fossils in its collection, but this new addition is its first near-complete T. rex.
Geology
Texas A&M: World’s Largest Volcano Now Named Tamu Plateau
April 17, 2014
The world’s largest volcano – all 120,000 square miles of it – is now officially named for Texas A&M University and is called Tamu Plateau, the U.S. Board of Geographic Names (BGN) has announced.
Last year, former Texas A&M oceanographer Will Sager revealed his discovery of an underwater volcano about 1,000 miles off the coast of Japan in a mountain range known as the Shatsky Rise. He nicknamed the volcano Tamu Massif – Tamu for the abbreviation of Texas A&M while Massif is a French world frequently used to describe a large mountain mass. The name has been used informally for many years, but last year Sager applied to the BGN for formal acceptance.
In a letter to Sager, now at the University of Houston, the BGN has informed Sager that the area will now be known officially as Tamu Plateau. Its exact coordinates are 32° 34? 01.3”N, 158° 25’00”E.
The Houston Chronicle picked up this story in
It’s official — the largest volcano in the world is named after the Aggies.
Energy
Michigan Tech: Lifting the Brakes on Fuel Efficiency
April 17, 2014
The work of a research leader at Michigan Technological University is attracting attention from Michigan’s Governor as well as automotive companies around the world. Xiaodi “Scott” Huang of Michigan Tech’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering helped Governor Rick Snyder promote Michigan’s automotive industry at China’s 2013 international auto parts expos. Huang’s research is the basis for his MTEC SmartZone company, LiteBrake Tech, which was one of eight companies chosen to represent Michigan automotive technology overseas.
Huang had the opportunity to network with many high level executives from large companies at the conference. Governor Snyder spoke to the audience about “Pure Michigan” and the business development opportunities the state has to offer. “He introduced us to the entire audience and spoke with the media about our work. Overall, the trip went better than I expected,” Huang said. The researcher pointed out that it may take time to develop relationships with some of these companies, but overall, he said, it was a good start. “I am really thankful for the Governor’s effort,” he added.
Huang’s braking technology allows vehicles to operate more efficiently than with conventional disc braking systems. This is due to an innovative reinvention of brake rotor design.
Physics
University of Central Florida via Science Daily: 'Dressed' laser aimed at clouds may be key to inducing rain, lightning
April 18, 2014
The adage "Everyone complains about the weather but nobody does anything about it" may one day be obsolete if researchers further develop a new technique to aim a high-energy laser beam into clouds to make it rain or trigger lightning. Other possible uses of this technique could be used in long-distance sensors and spectrometers to identify chemical makeup.
Chemistry
Purdue University: High-temperature plasmonics eyed for solar, computer innovation
April 17, 2014
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - New "plasmonic metamaterials" that operate at high temperatures could radically improve solar cell performance and bring advanced computer data storage technology that uses heat to record information on a magnetic disk.
The materials could make it possible to harness clouds of electrons called surface plasmons to manipulate and control light. However, some of the plasmonic components under development rely on the use of metals such as gold and silver, which cannot withstand high temperatures. They also are not compatible with the complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) manufacturing process used to construct integrated circuits.
Purdue University researchers are working to replace silver and gold with titanium nitride and zirconium nitride.
North Carolina State University: Impurity Size Affects Performance of Emerging Superconductive Material
April 18, 2014
Research from North Carolina State University finds that impurities can hurt performance – or possibly provide benefits – in a key superconductive material that is expected to find use in a host of applications, including future particle colliders. The size of the impurities determines whether they help or hinder the material’s performance.
At issue is a superconductive material called bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide (Bi2212). A superconductor is a material that can carry electricity without any loss – none of the energy is dissipated as heat, for example. Superconductive materials are currently used in medical MRI technology, and are expected to play a prominent role in emerging power technologies.
“Bi2212 is the only high-temperature superconductor that can be made as a round wire, and is expected to have applications in magnets for use in everything from magnetic resonance imaging technologies to the next generation of super colliders – almost anything that falls under the category of high-energy physics or requires a very high magnetic field,” says Golsa Naderi, a Ph.D. student at NC State and lead author of a paper describing the work.
Science Crime Scenes
Indiana University: Complex networks researcher at IU fighting crime with mobile phone data
Emilio Ferrara has worked with Italian authorities on murder, robbery cases
April 16, 2014
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Emilio Ferrara, a post-doctoral researcher at Indiana University’s School of Informatics and Computing, is using network science and a connected society to fight crime.
Ferrara and collaborators from the University of Messina, Italy, have already assisted police in Italy with investigations into murder, bribery, robbery, drug trafficking and prostitution by using social network modeling to conduct criminal network analysis using phone call data obtained by police.
Unlike the broad, dragnet-style searches of phone call records the U.S. National Security Agency has been criticized for, the four computer scientists are conducting large-scale analysis of digital phone traces obtained by Italian police through court warrants.
University of North Carolina: Study: loud talking, horseplay in car results in more serious incidents for teen drivers
April 17, 2014
Adolescent drivers are often distracted by technology while they are driving, but loud conversations and horseplay between passengers appear more likely to result in a dangerous incident, according to a new study from the UNC Highway Safety Research Center.
The work, which appears online today in the Journal of Adolescent Health, not only reinforces the importance of North Carolina’s licensing system for newly minted drivers but also provides an interesting perspective on the role that technology plays in distracted driving.
“Forty three states currently restrict newly licensed drivers from having more than one young passenger in their vehicle,” said Robert Foss, senior research scientist at the UNC Highway Safety Research Center, and director of the Center for the Study of Young Drivers. “The results of this study illustrate the importance of such restrictions, which increase the safety of drivers, their passengers and others on the road by reducing the potential chaos that novice drivers experience.”
North Carolina State University: Study Suggests Dan River Water is Suitable for Irrigation and As Drinking Water for Livestock
April 18, 2014
Using projections of water-quality trends based on hundreds of water analyses made during a 40-day period following the release of approximately 39,000 tons of coal ash into the Dan River on Feb. 2, 2014, North Carolina State University soil scientists conclude that the river water is suitable for use as irrigation water on crops and as drinking water for livestock.
The study is available online.
Researchers caution, however, that flooding, drought conditions or other episodic events in or around the river could change the conditions measurably.
North Carolina State University: Study Links Domestic Abuse to Mental Health Problems in New Mothers
April 14, 2014
A new study shows that domestic abuse is closely linked to postpartum mental health problems, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in mothers. The research also found that specific types of abuse are associated with specific mental health problems. The work was done by researchers at North Carolina State University, Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia.
“We wanted to see whether and how intimate partner abuse – physical, psychological and sexual – influenced postpartum mental health in women, including problems such as depression, stress, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and PTSD,” says Dr. Sarah Desmarais, an assistant professor of psychology at NC State and lead author of a paper on the work.
...
“We found that women who had experienced abuse were more likely to suffer from postpartum mental health problems, and were much more likely to suffer from those problems if the abuse occurred during pregnancy,” Desmarais says. “In addition, the more types of abuse they experienced, the more severe the mental health symptoms they reported. We also found that specific types of abuse were associated with specific problems.”
The researchers found that psychological abuse – verbal and emotional abuse – was associated with stress and PTSD. Physical abuse was associated with depression, OCD and PTSD. Sexual abuse was associated with stress, depression and PTSD.
Science, Space, Health, Environment, and Energy Policy
University of Michigan: Pollution top concern for U.S. and Canadian citizens around Great Lakes
April 17, 2014
ANN ARBOR—With Earth Day approaching, a new Great Lakes survey by U.S. and Canadian researchers represents one of the largest attempts in recent decades to assess public views on a wide range of issues in the Great Lakes basin.
The survey of more than 1,000 Americans and Canadians in the region revealed:
- The vast majority of residents believe the lakes are in at least fair condition, but not necessarily improving.
- Residents expressed the most overall support for policies that directly reduce pollution, including rebuilding sewers and regulating the release of pharmaceuticals. Policies with the least support include enforcing restrictions on out-of-basin water diversions and increasing the cost of water to encourage conservation.
- Residents of Ontario are less supportive of additional wind development and more concerned about the potential negative impacts of wind energy than U.S. residents.
- Ontarians are about two times more likely than Americans to say they are unsure about whether oil or gas drilling via hydraulic fracturing should increase.
Great Lakes residents from the U.S. and Canada overwhelmingly prefer the development of wind energy and other renewable sources to hydraulic fracturing, according to the survey conducted by three universities under the Great Lakes Policy Research Network.
Michigan State University: Leonard Fleck: Using a medical ethicsope
April 16, 2014
A woman died Dec. 23, 2013 at age 53. The immediate cause of death was a fatal heart arrhythmia. The ultimate cause of her death was lack of health insurance. Her cardiologist had told her two months earlier that he had detected a dangerous rhythm in her heart. He strongly recommended that she receive an Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator. But she had no way to pay the $40,000 cost of that device and the surgery.
Did the cardiologist do everything possible to address this woman’s heart problems? We should assume this cardiologist was completely competent and caring. But his ability to effectively meet her health care needs (and prevent a premature death) was limited by the policy environment outside his office door that increasingly intrudes into the examining room.
The woman lived in Texas, a state that has refused to expand Medicaid to 138 percent of the poverty level, which is where her financial circumstances placed her.
Michigan State University: More should be done for female parolees
April 15, 2014
As the female prison population grows, a new study funded partly by the National Science Foundation says more should be done to help women probationers and parolees in poor urban areas remain crime-free.
A team of Michigan State University criminologists found black women on probation and parole feel they have little choice but to isolate themselves in their homes or risk getting caught up in the type of criminal activity that got them in trouble in the first place.
Probation and parole officers, case managers and others should help the women find housing in safer areas and provide access to resources to help them stay clean, sober and stable. That could be something as simple as transportation to a mental health or substance abuse treatment meeting, said Jennifer Cobbina, lead author on the study and assistant professor of criminal justice.
On a larger scale, it means reinvesting in low-income communities and confronting discriminatory housing policies and other barriers to living in positive environments faced by racial minorities, she said.
Wayne State University: Wayne Law alumni use environmental law to shape future in many areas
April 14, 2014
Studying environmental law at Wayne State University Law School has prepared alumni to make an impact locally and beyond in a broad range of areas – from small companies to huge utilities to government agencies.
Francis Grunow, a 2010 alumnus, works in a small company to help with issues of land use in Detroit, 2007 alumna Cara McCarthy McNab works with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help farmers and 2009 alumnus James Roush works with a utility on regulatory issues. All three of these Wayne Law graduates studied environmental law.
“Environmental law is far more than pollution and endangered species, as the field includes urban land use, food and agriculture, and energy,” said Wayne Law Associate Professor Noah Hall, an expert on environmental and water law. “Environmental law also challenges students to think about the future of their community and how to shape it for the better. These lessons and abilities transfer to many other areas of law and policy, whether local, national or global.”
Grunow, McNab and Roush work in different fields, but all three alumni use their background in environmental law to find solutions for people.
Texas A&M: Texas A&M Galveston Researchers Seeking To Improve Life In Coastal Regions
April 14, 2014
Their names are Alicia, Rita and Ike. There’s even one known by the number 1900. These and other hurricanes have killed thousands of people, destroyed scores of buildings and wreaked havoc on Texas and the nation.
The Texas Gulf coast is increasingly vulnerable to storms due to population growth and development. But, Dr. Samuel Brody, director of the Center for Texas Beaches and Shores at Texas A&M University at Galveston and his colleagues offer solutions to improve how coastal communities protect lives and prevent losses related to natural disasters.
Coastal planners Brody and Dr. Philip Berke say that people should be more aware of risks related to living near the coast. “On the local level haphazard expansion and settlement patterns disrupted by disasters impact both local and national economy,” Berke said. “Increasingly, we’ll see rebuilding costs after disasters shift from the federal to state and local governments due to national budgetary pressures.”
Science Education
University of Michigan: New MOOC aims to turn students into computer programming teachers
April 16, 2014
ANN ARBOR—The student becomes the teacher.
That's the concept of a new mass open online course (MOOC) on computer programming led by a University of Michigan professor.
Programming for Everybody is an introductory class offered on Coursera and taught by Charles (Chuck) Severance, an associate professor in the School of Information. It's designed to allow its participants to turn around and teach the material in their own communities. All course materials, including Severance's textbook "Python for Informatics," the syllabus, videos and software, are open source via Creative Commons licenses and available for students to reuse.
"Teaching Programming for Everybody as a MOOC lets me interact with students in high school, college, and adults who want to come back to school and learn technology," Severance said. "One of my concerns with [open] materials is that potential faculty adopters around the world often think of them as somehow 'not as good.' I want to use the MOOC to give teachers who experience the MOOC a reason to make use of the open materials in their own classes."
University of North Carolina: Pearl Hacks promotes a precious commodity: female coders
April 18, 2014
Hackathons – mini conferences where programmers converge to show off their coding skills and learn new ones – are the hot new way to network, but mostly for males. “Girls don’t come because girls won’t be there, and girls won’t be there because girls don’t come,” Maegan Clawges summed up the vicious cycle.
So Clawges, a junior majoring in computer science and graphic design, created Pearl Hacks, the first all-female hackathon held at UNC on March 22-23. The free weekend event at Sitterson and Carroll halls, a joint project of the computer science department in the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, was specifically designed to attract female high school and college students.
Like pearls, Clawges said, female programmers are “beautiful, rare and eminently valuable” and also created over a long, painstaking process. At universities across the country, only 18 percent of undergraduates receiving degrees in computer and information sciences in 2010 were female, according to statistics compiled by the National Center for Women and Information Technology. That’s why Pearl Hacks, with its 200 female coders, marked “[t]he first time there will ever be a line for the women’s bathroom in the CS building,” as one attendee tweeted.
Science Writing and Reporting
Michigan State University: How your government is ignoring you
April 14, 2014
If it seems the federal government has largely ignored the public’s biggest concerns for the past 70 years, it’s because it has, contends a new book by a Michigan State University political scientist.
In “Artists of the Possible: Governing Networks and American Policy Change Since 1945,” Matt Grossmann argues the president, Congress and Supreme Court have failed to respond to popular opinion when passing laws or issuing executive orders and decisions that lead to new policy.
More often than not, attempts at policymaking get bogged down with political infighting and fail to produce results. And when new policy is successful, it’s most often driven by interest groups and behind-the-scenes deals among elite powerbrokers, with little public input.
Two examples are gun control and student loan reform.
Science is Cool
Purdue University: Purdue researcher plans Global Soundscapes Day to record sounds of the Earth
April 16, 2014
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A Purdue University researcher is collaborating with partners across the globe for a special Earth Day experience on Tuesday (April 22) designed to capture up to 1 million natural sound recordings and upload them for preservation.
Global Soundscapes Day, led by Purdue ecologist Bryan Pijanowski, will shine the spotlight on the importance of natural soundscapes and the potential for growing research and encouraging middle school and high school students about the career potentials in this field.
"Our aim is to get people from all walks of life and from across the world to record their soundscapes and to answer questions related to how they relate to them," said Pijanowski, a Purdue professor of forestry and natural resources.
"We hope to use these collected soundscapes from Earth Day 2014 to change the sound of public spaces, hospitals and other venues, replacing them with sounds that make us feel good, sounds that are peaceful and restful."
Purdue University: Purdue innovation to help children, families affected by severe, non-verbal autism is adopted by leading clinical institutions in Florida, California
April 16, 2014
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - SPEAKall!!, an iPad application developed at Purdue University that facilitates communication and language development for children and families affected by severe, non-verbal autism, has been adopted for use at speech and language clinics at San Jose State University in California and the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
The app helps children communicate by using photos and graphic symbols that represent what a child wishes to say and helps the child construct sentences. The app works by speaking the word or sentence, which allows a child to communicate a thought and encourages natural speech and language production.
"The SpeakAll! app is a major technological advancement in the available Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) tool kit for use with children with autism and other communication disorders," said Chad Nye, professor emeritus and executive director of the University of Central Florida Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. "The system is easy to understand, learn, adapt and deliver and should be in the professional tool kit of anyone working in the field of autism or other language interventions. The transparency of the actions make the stimulus and response items a practical application that can be individualized for each child. "
The app can be customized for the child's developmental level, and the pre-recorded speech within the program can use the parent's or primary caregiver's voice.
University of Cincinnati: Double the PharmD(NA) in 2014 Pharmacy School Class
April 17, 2014
To the best of recollections, there’s never been a set of twins graduate from the James L. College of Pharmacy, so it’s a pretty safe bet that 2014 is the first year the college will graduate two sets: identical twins Kayla and Michelle McWilliams and fraternal twins Ameera and Jameela Aladimi— all of whom will receive their PharmD degrees on April 27.
"We make independent decisions, but a lot of times we still wind up in the same place,” Kayla McWilliams says of their choice to carry on a family tradition and attend pharmacy school at UC.
