Culture | Science Codex

Legislation restricting Internet access

Laws aimed at tackling illegal use of wireless internet connections are restricting attempts to increase broadband access, according to research published today.

Daithí Mac Síthigh, a lecturer in IT and internet law at the University of East Anglia (UEA), says current legislation may not be the most appropriate way to regulate 'wifi' sharing – where a network is used by more than one person - and needs clarifying so it does not discourage people from using wireless and hold back provision of community wifi schemes.

Founder Effect: the peopling of the Americas and its relation to genetic diseases

At one time or another most of us wonder where we came from, where our parents or grandparents and their parents came from. Did our ancestors come from Europe or Asia? As curious as we are about our ancestors, for practical purposes, we need to think about the ancestry of our genes, according to Cecil Lewis, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Oklahoma. Lewis says our genetic ancestry influences the genetic traits that predispose us to risk or resistance to disease.

Uk Recording industry going out with a whimper

A severe crisis in the music industry is seriously depleting the UK's recording studio sector, according to new research from The University of Nottingham.

Once synonymous with the creative talents of artists like The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Oasis and Coldplay; the UK recording studio sector is today becoming better known for closures and redundancies. A number of iconic London recording studios, including Olympic Studios, Townhouse Studios, Whitfield Street Studios (formerly Sony and, before that, CBS Studios) and Eden have closed in recent years.

Unique winter-hardy hibiscus has roots with AgriLife Research scientist in Vernon

VERNON – He may study grasses by profession, but Texas AgriLife Research forage agronomist Dr. Dariusz Malinowski has a passion for flowers, particularly winter hardy hibiscus.

And it is that passion that has created his latest research project – propagating unique winter-hardy hibiscus.

Malinowski said he's very much a grass and forage researcher, but this falls in line with his master's degree in horticulture.

Gays twice as likely to seek mental health treatment

Members of 'sexual minorities' are around twice as likely as heterosexuals to seek help for mental health issues or substance abuse treatment. A model of treatment-seeking behavior, described in the open access journal BMC Psychiatry supports the idea that lesbian, gay and bisexual people may have specific treatment needs.

Administrative blocks stifling research studies

A group of researchers whose planned leg ulceration study was hamstrung by a physician recruitment rate of 2% have published the reasons why so many doctors turned them down. The qualitative information, featured in the open access journal BMC Medical Research Methodology, should be of use to those designing trials of their own.

Imitation promotes social bonding in primates

Imitation, the old saying goes, is the sincerest form of flattery. It also appears to be an ancient interpersonal mechanism that promotes social bonding and, presumably, sets the stage for relative strangers to coalesce into groups of friends, according to a study by a team of scientists at the National Institutes of Health and two Italian research institutions.

Study: Financial windfalls hasten early retirement

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Older workers who get a jolt of cash out of the blue are more likely to cash in on early retirement, according to new research led by two University of Illinois finance professors.

Jeffrey R. Brown and Scott Weisbenner say the unique study shows that unexpected inheritances hasten retirement, lending new credence to widely held economic theory that people value leisure time and will parlay newfound wealth into less work.

New study shows that cocoa flavanols can be preserved during cooking and baking

In a study published this month in the Journal of Food Science, scientists from The Hershey Company and Brunswick Laboratories (Norton, MA) showed that over 85% of the cocoa flavanols were preserved in recipes for chocolate frosting, hot cocoa drink and chocolate cookies. In chocolate cakes, antioxidant activity and cocoa flavanols could be largely retained by using a combination of baking powder and baking soda.

Better product development is key to business success, says marketing professor

The development of new products and services is key to business success, but a new study from North Carolina State University shows that businesses could do a much better job of evaluating new ideas in order to identify products that will be winners in the marketplace.

"You need more critical screens upfront, so that good decisions get made earlier, bad ideas get eliminated, good ideas get moved forward, and you don't waste time or money on the wrong projects," says study co-author Dr. Mitzi Montoya, Zelnak Professor of Marketing Innovation at NC State.

K-State study finds 18- to 24-year-old group more politically active, but not more knowledgeable

A study by three Kansas State University graduate students finds that the 18- to 24-year-old demographic became more politically active during the 2008 U.S. election season through the use of new media, but that the young adults were not necessarily more knowledgeable about politics.

Car pooling - for freight companies

"Have you got a spare seat on the journey to Berlin?" Many weekend commuters use opportunities to travel together, instead of driving alone. It's more companionable and saves petrol, money and CO2. Something similar could also become reality for goods consignments from companies located close to one another: pooling of transport on rail and road reduces the environmental burden and saves costs – experts put the figure at around 15 percent.

Claim - British companies with female board members do worse in the stock market

Companies with female board members fare worse on the stock market, despite performing as well on all other measures as those with all-male boards. This is the finding of a new study by the University of Exeter, published today (13 August 2009) in the British Journal of Management.

The research suggests that shareholders respond negatively to women being appointed to their boards, causing share values to decline. This is consistent with other recent research that has examined responses to the appointment of female CEOs in the United States.

Lower Paleolithic people were not scavengers, say anthropologists

A University of Arizona anthropologist has discovered that humans living at a Paleolithic cave site in central Israel between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago were as successful at big-game hunting as were later stone-age hunters at the site, but that the earlier humans shared meat differently.

"The Lower Paleolithic (earlier) hunters were skilled hunters of large game animals, as were Upper Paleolithic (later) humans at this site," UA anthropology professor Mary C. Stiner said.

Conservation projects shouldn’t be a ‘green gym’ for misbehaving youth, scientist argues

The project, which was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), found that many young volunteers travelled long distances from cities to short-term projects in rural areas and felt they were being punished for being disruptive or naughty at school. They saw the conservation work as having no relevance to their future employment, or educating them on green issues.