Culture

KALIMANTAN, INDONESIA-- Borneo (Kalimantan) is the third largest island in the world. It is rich with a variety of indigenous orchid species that grow in the forests. Borneo's rain forests are also home to some extremely rare species of orchids, all highly valued for their exotic aromas and aesthetic beauty. It has been estimated that 2500 to 3000 orchid species grow in the forests of Borneo.

Everyone knows they should have a budget. But there's precious little research on how to go about it and what works best.

A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research found that people who made annual budgets were more accurate than those who made monthly ones. They also found that peoples' perception of their budget-making abilities affected the accuracy of the budgets.

Even 60 milliseconds of exposure to a brand name such as Wal-Mart or Tiffany can alter consumers' subconscious goals, according to new research in the Journal of Consumer Research.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Recent research by Michigan State University doctoral student Jennifer Smith has shed new light on the way spotted hyenas live together and – more importantly – hunt for their food alone.

In a paper recently published in the journal Animal Behaviour, Smith, a student in MSU's Department of Zoology, shows that while spotted hyenas know the value of living together in large, cooperative societies, they also realize that venturing on their own now and then to hunt for food is often the key to their survival.

Most teenagers who smoke cigarettes make repeated attempts to quit but most are unsuccessful, according to new research from the Université de Montréal and funded by the Canadian Cancer Society.

The use of iodinated contrast material may be less damaging to the kidneys than previously recorded, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, NY.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A system of checks and balances in government is usually regarded as a good thing, except when it comes to the probability that a nation will stop its use of government-sanctioned torture, according to a Florida State University study.

Educating the public about nanotechnology and other complex but emerging technologies causes people to become more "worried and cautious" about the new technologies' prospective benefits, according to a recent study by researchers at North Carolina State University.

A new study by researchers at North Carolina State University on public attitudes towards nanotechnology, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies shows that educating people about the new technologies results in those people becoming more concerned about the potential impact of the technologies.

People with asthma who regularly use salmeterol are at a greater risk of non-fatal serious adverse events than those using placebos. This conclusion was arrived at by a team of Cochrane Researchers who drew together data from 26 trials involving 62,630 patients.

The researchers found that over a four to six month period, for every thousand people treated for asthma there were 45 who suffered a serious adverse event on regular salmeterol, compared to only 40 if a placebo inhaler was given.

Despite strong evidence that type 2 diabetes can be prevented or at least delayed by a combination of lifestyle changes and good dietary advice, a team of Cochrane Researchers found that there is no indication whether dietary advice alone can prevent the disease.

Insert your key in the ignition of a luxury car and the seat and steering wheel will automatically adjust to preprogrammed body proportions. Stroll through the rooms of Bill Gates' mansion and each room will adjust its lighting, temperature and music to accommodate your personal preference. But open any computer program and you're largely subject to a design team's ideas about button sizes, fonts and layouts.

Athens, Ga. – Older adults can decrease their risk of disability and increase their likelihood of maintaining independence by 41 percent by participating in a walking exercise program, according to a new University of Georgia study.

The study, which appears in the current issue of the Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy, also found that walking program participants increased their peak aerobic capacity by 19 percent when compared to a control group and increased their physical function by 25 percent.

BACKGROUND:Every cell contains a tiny clock called a telomere, which shortens each time the cell divides. Short telomeres are linked to a range of human diseases, including HIV, osteoporosis, heart disease and aging. Previous studies show that an enzyme within the cell, called telomerase, keeps immune cells young by preserving their telomere length and ability to continue dividing.

As news reports focus on the shaky footing of the national economy, a researcher from North Carolina State University has released a study laying out several best practices that can be implemented by state governments to prevent or mitigate fiscal distress at the local government level. In his paper, Dr. Charles Coe urges state governments to adopt these best practices in order to avoid the long-term problems – including high taxes, declining public services and an inability to pay local government employees – caused by fiscal distress at the local level.