In decisions about where to eat, baboons don't all have an equal say, according to a report in the November 20th issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. Rather, most baboons in a group will follow their leader to a dining spot of his choosing, even if it means a considerably more meager meal for themselves than they could have had otherwise.
Culture
Preliminary results of the University of Minnesota's independent academic study of the I-35W bridge collapse suggest that lack of robustness in the bridge's original design, additional load from bridge improvements over the years, weight from construction materials and stresses induced by temperature changes contributed to the collapse of the I-35W bridge on Aug. 1, 2007.
Albuquerque, N.M. – November 20, 2008 – A new article in the journal Communication, Culture & Critique illustrates the ways some college students bear the costs of silence-mediated racialized communication in their everyday classroom activities. Specifically, the essay shows that White privilege enables racially laden communication that regenerates, albeit unintentionally, the social exclusion of American Indian students.
A virus that causes cold-like symptoms in humans originated in birds and may have crossed the species barrier around 200 years ago, according to an article published in the December issue of the Journal of General Virology. Scientists hope their findings will help us understand how potentially deadly viruses emerge in humans.
MANHATTAN, KAN. -- Programs that help low-income and minority individuals and families purchase a home may be doing more harm than good, according to a Kansas State University economist.
Planning on gobbling a few extra treats this holiday season? Soon, your cell phone may be able to help you maintain your exercise routine and keep the pounds off over winter months, without your having to lift a finger to keep track.
Researchers at the University of Washington and Intel have created two new cell phone applications, dubbed UbiFit and UbiGreen, to automatically track workouts and green transportation. The programs display motivational pictures on the phone's background screen that change the more the user works out or uses eco-friendly means of transportation.
No less than one quarter of second-generation immigrants in the Netherlands drops out of school. This is the most alarming result of a recent survey conducted among the second generation of Turkish and Moroccan descent in the two largest Dutch cities – Amsterdam and Rotterdam. However, this is only one side to the story as the survey report also shows that other second generation immigrants are doing extremely well, with a third continuing to higher education. How can these immense discrepancies in educational performance among second generation immigrants be explained?
In the last 10 years, e-mail has gone from a novelty to a necessity. What was once a pastime is now an essential form of communication, with many people opening their inboxes to find dozens of e-mails waiting.
But how do people respond to those e-mails? Do they act rationally, responding to the most important first, making sure the process is efficient? Or do they send e-mails randomly, when they are at their computers or when they have time, without any regard to efficiency?
Jerusalem, November 19, 2008 – Analysis of newly revealed items found at the site of the mausoleum of King Herod at Herodium (Herodion in Greek) have provided Hebrew University of Jerusalem archaeological researchers with further assurances that this was indeed the site of the famed ruler's 1st century B.C.E. grave.
WASHINGTON, DC, 19 NOVEMBER 2008 – The consumption of illicit or noncommercial alcohol is widespread in many countries worldwide and contributes significantly to the global burden of disease, according to a new report released today by the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP). The report focuses on the use of noncommercial alcohol, defined as traditional beverages produced for home consumption or limited local trade and counterfeit or unregistered products, in three regions: sub-Saharan Africa, southern Asia, and central and eastern Europe.
Three emerging technologies have the potential to significantly improve supplies of drugs to combat malaria, according to a report published today.
With renewed efforts to eradicate malaria – a disease which kills up to one million people every year, most of them young children – the global demand for antimalarials is set to increase dramatically over the next four years.
The report, launched at a special meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Malaria at Westminster, assesses a portfolio of new technologies, collectively known as The Artemisinin Enterprise:
Teens who have never done drugs, but engage in other risky behaviours such as drinking, smoking and being sexually active, are more likely to use crystal meth, medical researchers at the University of Alberta have concluded. Among teens already doing other drugs, those with unstable family environments are most likely to do crystal meth, found the research team led by Dr. Terry Klassen, a professor in the Department of Pediatrics in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry.
The United States needs to act swiftly and sufficiently under an Obama presidency to secure the government's technology infrastructure and to re-establish America's standing as a leader in technology advancements, according to Christopher Bronk, a fellow in technology, society and public policy at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.
A group of 10 prominent scientists says that the level of globe-warming carbon dioxide in the air has probably already reached a point where world climate will change disastrously unless the level can be reduced in coming decades. The study is a departure from recent estimates that truly dangerous levels would be reached only later in this century. The paper appears in the current edition of the Open Atmospheric Science Journal.
PITTSBURGH—Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have developed a simple and quick method for detecting mercury in fish and dental samples, two substances at the center of public concern about mercury contamination. The technique involves a fluorescent substance that glows bright green when it comes into contact with oxidized mercury, the researchers report in the current online edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The intensity of the glow indicates the amount of mercury present.