Culture | Science Codex

Vitamin D tied to muscle power in adolescent girls

Chevy Chase, MD—Vitamin D is significantly associated with muscle power and force in adolescent girls, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

Although vitamin D is naturally produced in the body through exposure to direct sunlight, vitamin D deficiency has become widely common in the United States. Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to have a significant negative impact on muscle and bone health, and can lead to conditions including osteoporosis and rickets.

10 new amphibian species discovered in Colombia

Bogotá, Colombia, February 2, 2009 -- Scientists today announced the discovery of 10 amphibians believed to be new to science, including a spiky-skinned, orange-legged rain frog, three poison dart frogs and three glass frogs, so called because their transparent skin can reveal internal organs.

Peru study shows restrictive law fails to limit number of abortions

Despite abortion being severely legally restricted – and potentially unsafe – in Peru, the incidence of abortion is as high as or higher than the incidence in many countries where it is legal and safe, found researchers from Peru, the United Kingdom and the United States in an article published in CMAJ http://www.cmaj.ca/press/pg298.pdf.

Teens who frequently go out with friends more likely to use marijuana

Marijuana use appears to have decreased among most European and North American adolescents between 2002 and 2006, and those who went out with friends on fewer evenings of the week were less likely to report using the drug, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

New evidence from excavations in Arcadia, Greece, supports theory of the 'Birth of Zeus'

JANUARY 2009—In the third century BCE, the Greek poet Callimachus wrote a 'Hymn to Zeus' asking the ancient, and most powerful, Greek god whether he was born in Arcadia on Mt. Lykaion or in Crete on Mt. Ida.

Ten new amphibian species discovered in Colombia

Bogotá, Colombia, February 2, 2009 -- Scientists today announced the discovery of 10 amphibians believed to be new to science, including a spiky-skinned, orange-legged rain frog, three poison dart frogs and three glass frogs, so called because their transparent skin can reveal internal organs.

Small male chimps use politics, rather than aggression, to lead the pack, U of Minnesota study says

With most mammals, the biggest and most aggressive male claims the alpha male role and gets his choice of food and females. But a new study from the University of Minnesota suggests that at least among chimpanzees, smaller, more mild-mannered males can also use political behavior to secure the top position.

Gender bias found in student ratings of high school science teachers

CLEMSON — A study of 18,000 biology, chemistry and physics students has uncovered notable gender bias in student ratings of high school science teachers.

Researchers at Clemson University, the University of Virginia and Harvard University have found that, on average, female high school science teachers received lower evaluations than their male counterparts even though male and female teachers are equally effective at preparing their students for college.

Diversity work should be considered in tenure and promotion decisions, MU professor says

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Many college campuses are striving to become more diverse in their faculty and student populations, but creating a diverse environment can be a challenging and demanding process for faculty members. In a new study, Jeni Hart, assistant professor in the College of Education at the University of Missouri, examined how placing diversity and service work in a category separate from other faculty roles, such as scholarship and teaching, can create false dichotomies.

De-multiplexing to the max: 640 Gbits/second

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2—Sliced light is how we communicate now. Millions of phone calls and cable television shows per second are dispatched through fibers in the form of digital zeros and ones formed by chopping laser pulses into bits. This slicing and dicing is generally done with an electro-optic modulator, a device for allowing an electric signal to switch a laser beam on and off at high speeds (the equivalent of putting your hand in front of a flashlight). Reading that fast data stream with a compact and reliable receiver is another matter.

Precise orbit determination for Jason-1 satellite using on-board GPS data with centimeter-level accuracy

As the on-board GPS has become one of the key POD approaches for LEO satellites and will be widely placed on the future LEO mission to support their orbit accuracy requirements, Shanghai Astronomical Observatory has developed the SHOEDEE-III procedure which may support zero-difference dynamic orbit determination as well as single-difference dynamic orbit determination using on-board GPS data by fixing GPS ephemeris and clock bias.

Results of the third school nutrition dietary assessment study published

St. Louis, MO, USA, February 1, 2009 – A special Supplement to the February 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association presents findings from the recently released Third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study (SNDA-III), conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., as well as research from other studies using SNDA-III data.

Ancient turtle migrated from Asia to America over a tropical Arctic

In Arctic Canada, a team of geologists from the University of Rochester has discovered a surprise fossil: a tropical, freshwater, Asian turtle.

The find strongly suggests that animals migrated from Asia to North America not around Alaska, as once thought, but directly across a freshwater sea floating atop the warm, salty Arctic Ocean.

Published today in the journal Geology, the finding also suggests that a rapid influx of carbon dioxide some 90 million years ago was the likely cause of a super-greenhouse effect that created extraordinary polar heat.

Sociologist says this month's family murder-suicides only 'the tip of the iceberg'

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A family sociologist at the University at Buffalo says this month's murder-suicides involving a family of four in Ohio and a family of five in California may be "just the tip of the iceberg."

Sampson Blair, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology at UB, says, "Family murder-suicide is still relatively uncommon, but I expect an increase in such incidents over the next few years because economic strain on families provokes depression and desperation."

Vaccines and autism: Many hypotheses, but no correlation

An extensive new review summarizes the many studies refuting the claim of a link between vaccines and autism. The review, in the February 15, 2009 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases and now available online, looks at the three main hypotheses and shows how epidemiological and biological studies refute these claims.