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Carnegie Mellon Researcher says China's export trade impacts climate

PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University's Christopher L. Weber argues that China's new title as the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter is at least partly due to consumption of Chinese goods in the West.

As the world's greatest athletes prepare to participate in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, there is increasing concern from some athletes about the growing pollution caused by smoke and smog from coal-fired plants that helped boost Chinese exports 21 percent last quarter to a whopping $666.6 billion in trade.

'Chicken and chips' theory of Pacific migration

A new study of DNA from ancient and modern chickens has shed light on the controversy about the extent of pre-historic Polynesian contact with the Americas.

The study questions recent claims that chickens were first introduced into South America by Polynesians, before the arrival of Spanish chickens in the 15th century following Christopher Columbus.

If you can't measure the heat...

Accurate measurement of thermal performance is crucial if new government legislation aimed at producing dramatic reductions in CO2 emissions is to be successful. The UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is offering construction companies a way of meeting this mandate.

Argonne scientists discover new class of glassy material

ARGONNE, Ill. (July 28, 2008) – Scientists at U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory are dealing with an entirely new type of frustration, but it's not stressing them out.

Dynamic frustration has been found to be the cause of glassy behavior in materials that previously had none of the features of a normal glass.

"This has been a puzzle for 10 years now," Argonne physicist Raymond Osborn said.

Newly discovered monkey is threatened with extinction

NEW YORK (JULY 28, 2008) – Just three years after it was discovered, a new species of monkey is threatened with extinction according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, which recently published the first-ever census of the endangered primate. Known as the "kipunji," the large, forest-dwelling primate hovers at 1,117 individuals, according to a study released in the July issue of the journal Oryx.

Fungus foot baths could save bees

One of the biggest world wide threats to honey bees, the varroa mite, could soon be about to meet its nemesis. Researchers at the University of Warwick are examining naturally occurring fungi that kill the varroa mite. They are also exploring a range of ways to deliver the killer fungus throughout the hives from bee fungal foot baths to powder sprays.

University of Minnesota researchers map out America's deadliest roads

Would you be surprised to learn that nine people died last year on the highway you take to work everyday? Or would you be shocked to see that six teenagers died within five miles of your home in fatal car accidents? With the help of the interactive maps on www.saferoadmaps.org developed by University of Minnesota researchers - you can learn those facts and more by simply typing in your address.

Colonial heritage metaphors used in US military conflicts

Boston, MA – July 24, 2008 – The historical reference to "Indian Country" presents a complex metaphor. For many Native Americans it signifies home, family, and territory; however, for others the term can refer to colonialism and Native American land under siege. Through the years the term has evolved to apply to contemporary events and has taken on additional and often contradictory meanings. In the latest issue of American Anthropologist, Stephen W. Silliman explores the reinterpretation of "Indian Country" in the 21st-century U.S.

Confidence a key to recent economic initiatives, U. of I. expert says

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Restoring confidence in the sputtering U.S. economy is at the heart of recent moves to shore up the nation's lagging financial and housing markets, a University of Illinois economist says.

Anne Villamil says propping up faith in an economy teetering on the brink of recession is as important as more tangible initiatives such as financial lifelines for cash-strapped mortgage lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Penn researchers demonstrate a flexible, 1-step assembly of nanoscale structures

PHILADELPHIA –- Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have created a one-step, repeatable method for the production of functional nanoscale patterns or motifs with adjustable features, size and shape using a single master "plate."

Limits on futures trading could boost gas prices, expert says

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Proposals to reign in wallet-draining gasoline prices by curbing speculation in oil markets would likely increase costs at the pump instead of trimming them, a University of Illinois economist says.

Scott Irwin argues congressional efforts to curb trading by speculators is a "misguided witch hunt" that ignores the root of America's energy problem – a finite global oil supply that has been stretched thin by surging demand in China, India and other developing countries.

Women's access to credit affects efficiency in rural households

Seattle, WA – July 24, 2008 – Rural strategies designed to induce economic growth often emphasize the need to improve access to capital for poor households. However, this approach implicitly assumes that family members pool all their resources and allocate them to their most efficient use. Men and women may differ in their access to credit and may choose not to alleviate their partners' constraints.

Wealth does not dictate concern for the environment

Stillwater, OK – July 24, 2008 – It has been a long-held assumption that poor nations will not support efforts to protect the environment since their citizens are too preoccupied with meeting basic needs, such as food and housing. However, a new study in The Sociological Quarterly reveals that citizens of poorer nations are just as concerned about environmental quality as their counterparts in rich nations.

Accretion discs show their true colors

Quasars are the brilliant cores of remote galaxies, at the hearts of which lie supermassive black holes that can generate enough power to outshine the Sun a trillion times. These mighty power sources are fuelled by interstellar gas, thought to be sucked into the hole from a surrounding 'accretion disc'. A paper in this week's issue of the journal Nature, partly based on observations collected with ESO's Very Large Telescope, verifies a long-standing prediction about the intensely luminous radiation emitted by these accretion discs.

You're more likely to do sport if you are white, middle class, and middle-aged

The comfortably off, white, and middle aged are the most likely to participate in sporting activities, reveals a 10 year study published ahead of print in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Furthermore, the gap between rich and poor, and black and white, appears to have widened, rather than narrowed in a decade, as overall participation in sports has actually increased, the research suggests.

The findings are based on data from several of the annual Health Surveys for England between 1997 and 2006. These draw on a nationally representative sample of households.