Culture | Page 2669 | Science Codex

The carbon footprint of early Native Americans much greater than previously thought

ATHENS, Ohio (April 15, 2010) – A new study suggests that early Native Americans left a bigger carbon footprint than previously thought, providing more evidence that humans impacted global climate long before the modern industrial era.

Chemical analysis of a stalagmite found in the mountainous Buckeye Creek basin of West Virginia suggests that native people contributed a significant level of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere through land use practices, such as burning trees to actively manage the forests and yield the nuts and fruit that were a large part of their diets.

Young working class females: The forgotten political generation

The election campaign may be under way but new research from The University of Nottingham shows that the parties are in danger of immediately writing off at least four million young working class female voters.

The lead author of the report: 'Lambrini Lady — the forgotten political generation' — is Professor Steven Fielding, Director of the University of Nottingham's Centre for British Politics.

Trying to eradicate a disease is a waste of money, says researcher

Eradicating smallpox was one of the greatest human accomplishments of the 20th century, but new research shows initiatives of this kind are not as good a use of health dollars as people might think. McGill University Biologist Dr. Jonathan Davies explains that reducing the prevalence of diseases in areas most affected by them is a far more effective and efficient strategy than trying to eradicate them altogether, which is extremely difficult and costs billions of dollars.

US church attendance steady, but makeup of churchgoers changes

U.S. church attendance rates have held relatively steady over the past three and a half decades, a new study shows. But the makeup of the nation's congregations has undergone significant changes during that same stretch.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln sociologist Philip Schwadel applied a new multi-level estimation method to uncover several original findings about how often Americans – and certain groups of Americans – worship.

'Communicative fathers' help reduce teenage smoking

Dr James White from Cardiff University's School of Medicine undertook a three-year-study, involving some 3,500 11 to 15 year-olds, as part of the British Youth Panel Survey – a self report survey of children in the British Household Panel survey.

Results indicated that one of the strongest protective factors for reducing the risk of experimenting with smoking in early adolescence was how often fathers talked with their children, both boys and girls, about 'things that mattered'.

Greater access to cell phones than toilets in India: UN

Far more people in India have access to a cell phone than to a toilet and improved sanitation, according to UN experts who published today a 9-point prescription for achieving the world's Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for sanitation by 2015.

They also urge the world community to set a new target beyond the MDG (which calls for a 50 percent improvement in access to adequate sanitation by 2015) to the achievement of 100 percent coverage by 2025.

Ginkgo herbal medicines may increase seizures in people with epilepsy

Restrictions should be placed on the use of Ginkgo biloba (G. biloba) — a top-selling herbal remedy — because of growing scientific evidence that Ginkgo may increase the risk of seizures in people with epilepsy and could reduce the effectiveness of anti-seizure drugs, a new report concludes. The article appears in ACS' monthly Journal of Natural Products. It also suggests that Ginkgo may have harmful effects in other people after eating raw or roasted Ginkgo seed or drinking tea prepared from Ginkgo leaves.

Classic Maya history is embedded in commoners' homes

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — They were illiterate farmers, builders and servants, but Maya commoners found a way to record their own history – by burying it within their homes. A new study of the objects embedded in the floors of homes occupied more than 1,000 years ago in central Belize begins to decode their story.

The study, from University of Illinois anthropology professor Lisa J. Lucero, appears in the Journal of Social Archaeology.

STI, HIV counseling inadequate in male teens

Despite national guidelines aimed at improving sexual health services for teenagers, most sexually active boys — even those who report high-risk sexual behaviors — still get too little counseling about HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) during their visits to the doctor, according to a study led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

Multimedia search without detours

This releases is available in German.

Finding a particular song or video is often no easy matter. Manually assigned metadata may be incorrect, and the unpacking of compressed data can slow up the search. DIVAS, a multimedia search engine, uses digital fingerprints to reliably locate what you are looking for.

Migraine: Aspirin and an antiemetic is a reasonable option

A single dose of 900-1000 mg aspirin can substantially reduce migraine headache pain within two hours, for more than half of people who take it. It also reduces any associated nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light or sound (photophobia or phonophobia). Formulations of aspirin 900 mg together with 10 mg of the antiemetic metoclopramide are better than placebo at reducing symptoms of nausea and vomiting. These were the findings of a Cochrane Systematic Review using data from 13 studies with 4,222 participants.

Study: Guillain-Barré Syndrome cases low after 2009 H1N1 vaccine

TORONTO – A new study finds that reports of a neurologic disease called Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) have been low after 2009 H1N1 vaccination, according to a research study that will be presented as part of the late-breaking science program at the American Academy of Neurology's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, April 10 – 17, 2010. The study is one of the first national reports of the occurrence of GBS after 2009 H1N1 vaccination.

Health care reform 'important' even to those who want new law repealed

INDIANAPOLIS – Fifty-eight percent of Americans (96 percent of Republicans, 10 percent of Democrats and 54 percent of Independents) support repealing the health care reform legislation that was signed into law by President Barack Obama in March, according to a new national survey conducted April 6 - 10 by researchers from Indiana University's Center for Health Policy and Professionalism Research (CHPPR).

Americans 18 to 34 years of age were most supportive of repealing the legislation with more than 70 percent supporting its repeal.

Traumatized trees: Bug them enough, they get fired up

Whether forests are dying back, or just drying out, projections for warming show the Pacific Northwest is becoming primed for more wildfires.

The area burned by fire each year is expected to double – or even triple – if temperatures increase by about 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit (2 C) in our region, according to University of Washington and USDA Forest Service research. Such temperature increases could occur in as little as 40 years, according to projections from the UW's Climate Impacts Group.

HPV vaccination more likely if mothers approve

College women were more likely to be vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV) if their mothers communicated with them about sex and if they thought their mothers would approve of their getting vaccinated, according to new Dartmouth research in the May issue of Pediatrics (published online April 12).