Culture | Page 2753 | Science Codex

A tale of two capitalisms

New research from Northumbria University claims that homicide rates are closely linked to the form of political economy that runs a nation.

Senior Lecturers, Dr Steve Hall and Dr Craig McLean, state in the latest Theoretical Criminology that homicide rates are significantly higher in nations with neo-liberal policies and where free market forces are dominant, such as the USA, but are significantly lower in nations governed by social-democratic policies which still characterize most Western European nations.

She's going back to school but can she read?

Five million students will return to Canadian schools this month. If nothing changes at least a million will fail to graduate high school.

The fact that children who do not read well by the end of Grade 3 are at risk of dropping out or failing to graduate is one of the grim conclusions made in a report released by the Canadian Education Statistics Council.

Pandemic panic: Was the public health response to H1N1 swine flu alarmist?

The public health measures taken in response to swine flu may be seen as alarmist, overly restrictive, or even unjustified, says a US expert in a paper published on bmj.com today.

Peter Doshi, a doctoral student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, argues that our plans for pandemics need to take into account more than the worst case scenarios, and calls for a new framework for thinking about epidemic disease.

The NHS has been helped by going more toward free market principles, say researchers

Recent NHS reforms, such as the introduction of patient choice and provider competition, have not had a deleterious impact on equity with respect to waiting times for elective surgery in England, concludes a study published on bmj.com today.

Carrots are better than sticks for building human cooperation

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Rewards go further than punishment in building human cooperation and benefiting the common good, according to research published this week in the journal Science by researchers at Harvard University and the Stockholm School of Economics. While previous studies have focused almost exclusively on punishment for promoting public cooperation, here rewards are shown to be much more successful.

Long-term cooling trend in Arctic abruptly reverses, signaling potential for sea rise

A new study led by Northern Arizona University and involving the University of Colorado at Boulder indicates Arctic temperatures have reversed from a long-term cooling trend and are now the warmest they have been in at least 2,000 years, bad news for the world's coastal cities facing rising seas in the coming decades.

In Europe, first farmers replaced their Stone Age hunter-gatherer forerunners

Analysis of ancient DNA from skeletons suggests that Europe's first farmers were not the descendants of the people who settled the area after the retreat of the ice sheets. Instead, the early farmers probably migrated into major areas of central and eastern Europe about 7,500 years ago, bringing domesticated plants and animals with them, says Barbara Bramanti from Mainz University in Germany and colleagues. The researchers analyzed DNA from hunter-gatherer and early farmer burials, and compared those to each other and to the DNA of modern Europeans.

Conscientious consumers: Is organic or local better?

ST. PAUL, MN—The emerging trend toward healthier, fresher foods that are also gentle on the environment presents new dilemmas for conscientious consumers. Marketers tout the attributes of "organic" food, while the "local foods movement" is gaining popularity throughout the world. The "organic-or-local" debate is particularly interesting when it comes to fruits and vegetables; proponents of each system offer strong evidence to support their cause. Consumers frequent local farmers' markets because they expect higher quality, freshness and taste, and lower prices.

How to improve scientific literacy

Society needs science, and scientists need an informed, thoughtful, and open-minded citizenry. Thus, the obvious dependence of American society on science is strikingly inconsistent with the low level of scientific literacy among U. S. citizens. By establishing 2009 as the "Year of Science," professional scientific organizations and grassroots, citizens-for-science groups hope to bring a renewed and invigorated focus on the importance of science now and in the future. As knowledge experts and educators,practicing scientists are key players in advancing the scientific literacy agenda.

Ancient connection: Shawnee lookout may be oldest continuously occupied Native American site

The discoveries continue to surprise for a team of UC students digging in Shawnee Lookout Park, with a major new mound being located and a rare kiln used to fire pottery excavated in recent weeks, along with even more evidence emerging to support the theory that the site could be the largest continuously occupied hilltop Native American site in the United States.

UNC study: Insecticide-treated bed nets reduce infant deaths in Democratic Republic of Congo

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Giving insecticide-treated bed nets to nearly 18,000 mothers at prenatal clinics in the Democratic Republic of Congo prevented an estimated 414 infant deaths from malaria, a study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers concludes.

Lamarckian scientist Paul Kammerer in a new light

A new study into the research of the renowned Lamarckian experimentalist Paul Kammerer may help to end the controversy which has engulfed his research for almost a century. The study, published in The Journal of Experimental Zoology, suggests that far from being a fraud Kammerer may have discovered the field of epigenetics, placing him decades ahead of his contemporaries.

Childhood obesity means rise in weight-loss drugs

Thousands of children and adolescents are using anti-obesity drugs that in the UK are only licensed for use by adults. The number of young people receiving prescriptions for these drugs has increased 15-fold since 1999, but most stop using them before they could expect to see any benefit, according to a new study.

Poll: 9 in 10 Iowa voters want stronger government influence in food industry

Ninety percent of voting Iowans believe the government should be given additional authority to ensure the food they eat does not make them sick, according to a new poll commissioned by The Pew Charitable Trusts and conducted by Hart Research and Public Opinion Strategies.

Girls' injuries more often severe, guys more often injured

High school football and wrestling athletes experienced the highest rate of severe injuries, according to a study that examined severe injuries. "Severe" was defined as injuries that caused high school athletes to miss more than 21 days of sport participation among a nationally representative sample of high school athletes. Severe injuries accounted for 15 percent of all high school sport-related injuries.