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British Indian children have better mental health than Whites - Study

British Indian children have substantially better mental health than British Whites, new research from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine shows.

Anna Goodman, the report's lead author from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine says: "Most research into ethnic differences focuses on issues where minority ethnic groups are doing worse than average. We believe it is also important to investigate areas where minority groups have an advantage, and use this understanding as a way to improve the health of the whole population".

Automobile traffic and obesity linked

It's a good day for obese people. One study linked minimum wage to weight gain and a University of Alberta study correlates weight gain to increased automobile traffic.

Exploring gender differences in colorectal cancer screenings

Among African Americans, colorectal cancer is the third most common cause of cancer-related death. With the proper screening, it has a 90 percent cure rate, yet screening rates are much lower among this group than other ethnic groups.

Many researchers have tried to figure out why, but most have only looked at African Americans as one group, and therefore haven't explored the differences in what keeps African American men and women from getting this potentially life-saving test.

Twitter sentiments yields results similar to public opinion polls

PITTSBURGH—Computer analysis of sentiments expressed in a billion Twitter messages during 2008-2009 yielded measures of consumer confidence and of presidential job approval similar to those of well-established public opinion polls, Carnegie Mellon University researchers report.

Federal investment in science fosters economic growth, scientists say

How can the United States foster long-term economic growth? A new report suggests that one of the best ways is through investment in the basic research that leads to innovation and job creation. "Sparking Economic Growth: How federally funded university research creates innovation, new companies and jobs" released today by The Science Coalition identifies 100 "success stories" – examples of companies that are the result of federal investments in basic research. Collectively, these 100 companies employ well over 100,000 people and have annual revenues approaching $100 billion.

GSU professor finds link between obesity and federal school nutrition programs

ATLANTA – With obesity becoming an epidemic among school-aged children in this country, a Georgia State University professor has found a link between overweight children and federal school nutrition programs.

As monarch butterflies journey north, gardeners can help protect species, researcher says

LAWRENCE, Kan. — It has been a hard winter for Monarch butterflies, according to Chip Taylor, director of Monarch Watch at the University of Kansas. Taylor said that low temperatures, storms and habitat destruction have all threatened the butterflies' overwintering population in Mexico.

"I spend a lot of time fretting over the status of the monarch population and I'm always searching for factors or data that will help me understand the past as a way of predicting the future trends in monarch numbers," Taylor said.

Telephone therapy for depression? Study says yes

Treating clinical depression on the telephone is nearly as effective as face-to-face consultations, a new Brigham Young University study finds.

The trial run included 30 people newly diagnosed with major depression. Instead of eight scheduled visits to the clinic, the participants covered the same material during a series of phone calls with the therapist. Calls varied in length, ranging from 21 to 52 minutes. The patients did not receive antidepressant medication.

US food safety system needs to integrate human health, animal and plant pathogen data

WASHINGTON – The Produce Safety Project today issued a report that examines the steps taken by select European Union (EU) countries to reform their food safety data collection and analysis systems since the 1990s. Authored by Michael Batz, head of Food Safety Programs, Emerging Pathogens Institute at the University of Florida, and J.

Hookahs grow more popular: Anti-cigarette campaigns work, sort of

Montreal, May 10, 2010 – As fewer people smoke cigarettes, a new trend is gaining popularity among North American youth, says a study published in the journal Pediatrics, which found that almost one-quarter of young adults in Montreal had used waterpipes (also called shishas or hookahs) in the past year.

Zero tolerance policy in schools - the media write about enforcement but kids feel no safer, study finds

Zero tolerance policy in schools - the media write about enforcement but kids feel no safer, study finds

Not anthropocentric? Human-centered reasoning not universal in kids

EVANSTON, Ill. --- How do children reason about the natural world? How do they understand the relation between human and non-human animals?

For decades, the consensus was that as young children begin reasoning about the biological world, they adopt an "anthropocentric" stance, favoring humans over non-human animals when it comes to learning about properties of animals.

But Northwestern University researchers have taken another look at the way children reason about biology.

NSF grants to require data sharing plans in proposals

During the May 5th meeting of the National Science Board, National Science Foundation (NSF) officials announced a change in the implementation of the existing policy on sharing research data. In particular, on or around October, 2010, NSF is planning to require that all proposals include a data management plan in the form of a two-page supplementary document. The research community will be informed of the specifics of the anticipated changes and the agency's expectations for the data management plans.

Life cycle of materials and greener airplane travel

Life cycle of materials and greener airplane travel

Flying can become considerably more environmentally friendly, say aviation experts from the "Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe" (ACARE) in the guidelines they compiled for the European aviation industry.

Policy makers are calling for a 50 percent reduction in carbon dioxide and noise emissions by 2020; nitrogen oxide output should be reduced by 80 percent.

Sleep disorders common among professional drivers

Sleep disorders are common among bus and tram drivers in Gothenburg: a quarter say that they have problems with daytime sleepiness, which could affect safety. Such are the results of a new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, presented at the annual Swedish Sleep Medicine Congress in Gothenburg on 21-23 April.