WASHINGTON -- If you are trying to achieve a goal, the more often that you monitor your progress, the greater the likelihood that you will succeed, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. Your chances of success are even more likely if you report your progress publicly or physically record it.
Tech
The electric eel may be one of the most remarkable predators in the entire animal kingdom.
That is the conclusion of Kenneth Catania, Stevenson Professor of Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University, who has spent the last three years studying the way this reclusive South American fish uses electric fields to navigate through the muddy waters of the Amazon and Orinoco basins where it lives, locate hidden prey and stun them into submission.
ITHACA, NY - Seaweed extracts are used widely in agriculture and horticulture production systems. Benefits of the extracts can include early seed germination and establishment, improved crop performance and yield, increased resistance to biotic and abiotic stress, and enhanced postharvest shelf life. A study in the August 2015 issue of HortTechnology determined the effects of rockweed extract, applied as a drench or foliar spray, on plant growth and drought tolerance of tomato and petunia transplants.
Instagram could offer a novel way of monitoring the drinking habits of teenagers.
Using photos and text from Instagram, a team of researchers from the University of Rochester has shown that this data can not only expose patterns of underage drinking more cheaply and faster than conventional surveys, but also find new patterns, such as what alcohol brands or types are favored by different demographic groups. The researchers say they hope exposing these patterns could help develop effective intervention.
Millions of residents across the U.S. rely on natural gas to heat their homes, stoves and showers. But leaks along the thousands of miles of pipeline that deliver the fuel are a costly -- and sometimes deadly -- problem. An article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) examines what's being done to fix it and which locales are lagging behind.
Consumers use the Internet for banking, emailing, shopping and much more nowadays. With so much personal and private information being transmitted over the Web, Internet users must be able to rely on and trust the sites they are accessing. For security purposes, websites use certificates to establish encrypted communications. When a site becomes compromised, its certificate should be revoked.
An analysis of one hundred coffees sold in Spain has confirmed the presence of mycotoxins -toxic metabolites produced by fungi. In addition, five of the samples that were tested were found to contain ochratoxin A, the only legislated mycotoxin, in amounts that exceeded maximum permitted levels. While the authors point out that these results are not alarming, they do recommend assessing the risk that exposure to mycotoxins from coffee poses to the general public. They also suggest reviewing production processes in order to reduce the levels of these natural contaminants in coffee.
Organic-inorganic perovskite materials are one of the biggest surprises in solar cell research. In just six years, the efficiency of perovskite solar cells has increased five-fold; moreover, perovskite solar cells can be manufactured from solution and be cost-effectively printed on large areas in the future.
Perovskite with silicon: good team but difficult to combine
Researchers working in the United States have demonstrated a technique that may enable real-time, in-flight detection of hypoxia in pilots.
The study, led by researchers at the Air Force Research Laboratory, 711th Human Performance Wing, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, replicated a fairly standard 'hypoxic' event. Volunteers were exposed to 5 minutes of reduced oxygen levels to simulate higher altitudes, followed by 5 minutes at 100% oxygen 'recovery' - a typical response protocol to in-flight hypoxia.
Sugar has an important role in the development of obesity and diabetes. In July, the UK Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition reduced its recommendations for sugars to no more than 5% of daily calories. And earlier this year, Public Health England proposed measures to reduce sugar consumption.
International team of researchers from Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Australian National University in Canberra created an ultrafast all-optical switch on silicon nanostructures. This device may become a platform for future computers and permit to transfer data at an ultrahigh speed.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- A federal grant of more than $919,000 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will fund one new course at the University of Illinois and support training for clinicians at area agencies in conducting early interventions with people who abuse substances.
The training will be accomplished using a computer simulation called the Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment protocol, an early intervention often used in hospital emergency rooms and other public health settings to screen people for substance abuse problems.
CORVALLIS, Ore. - A study by engineers at Oregon State University suggests that they have achieved the most realistic robotic implementation of human walking dynamics that has ever been done, which may ultimately allow human-like versatility and performance.
The system is based on a concept called "spring-mass" walking that was theorized less than a decade ago, and combines passive dynamics of a mechanical system with computer control. It provides the ability to blindly react to rough terrain, maintain balance, retain an efficiency of motion and essentially walk like humans do.
A British genetics company is calling for a Code of Conduct to ensure that direct-to-consumer DNA tests operate to ethical standards. The call comes as Google-backed genetics company 23andMe is being allowed to re-launch its consumer product after approval from the US Food and Drink Administration (FDA).
Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), working with colleagues from the USA and Germany, have developed a new optical detector from graphene which reacts very rapidly to incident light of all different wavelengths and even works at room temperature. It is the first time that a single detector has been able to monitor the spectral range from visible light to infrared radiation and right through to terahertz radiation. The HZDR scientists are already using the new graphene detector for the exact synchronization of laser systems.