DALLAS – Aug. 18, 2008 – An infectious ocean-dwelling bacterium found in oysters and other shellfish kills its host's cells by causing them to burst, providing the invader with a nutrient-rich meal, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.
The bacterium, a relative of the one that causes cholera, co-opts and makes fatal a normal cell process that starving or stressed organisms use to disassemble and recycle expendable proteins into more vital metabolites.
Knowing the words for numbers is not necessary to be able to count, according to a new study of aboriginal children by UCL (University College London) and the University of Melbourne. The study of the aboriginal children – from two communities which do not have words or gestures for numbers – found that they were able to copy and perform number-related tasks. The findings, published in the journal PNAS, suggest that we possess an innate mechanism for counting, which may develop differently in children with dyscalculia.
CHAPEL HILL – Families with disabled children are struggling to keep food on the table, a roof over their heads, and to pay for needed health and dental care. But according to a new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, these challenges are now falling on middle-income households and not just on poor families as previous research has found.
Honey bees industriously bring pollen and nectar to the hive, but along with the bounty comes a wide variety of pesticides, according to Penn State researchers. Add the outside assault to the pesticides already in the waxy structure of the hive, and bee researchers see a problem difficult to evaluate and correct. However, an innovative approach may mitigate at least some beeswax contamination.
BOSTON – More than half of 26,000 students across 70 colleges and universities who completed a survey on suicidal experiences reported having at least one episode of suicidal thinking at some point in their lives. Furthermore, 15 percent of students surveyed reported having seriously considered attempting suicide and more than 5 percent reported making a suicide attempt at least once in their lifetime.
BOSTON – People taking prescription antidepressants appear to drive worse than people who aren't taking such drugs, and depressed people on antidepressants have even more trouble concentrating and reacting behind the wheel.
These were the conclusions of a study released Sunday at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association.
PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University researchers are urging companies to embrace new methods for following the trail of dangerous carbon emissions that are responsible for much of the world's global warming threats.
A new report from the National Research Council, ASSESSMENT OF THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION'S SECURITY PROGRAM, looks at the level of security preparedness at many of the nation's largest dams, including five national critical infrastructure sites: Hoover, Folsom, Grand Coulee, Glen Canyon, and Shasta dams. The report assesses security programs at these sites and suggests ways to improve the Bureau of Reclamation's ability to prevent, deter, respond to, and recover from malicious acts at its facilities, which provide water and power to millions.
Progress toward addressing the issues of bycatch and marine debris reduction will be featured at the MCA's booth at the upcoming annual meeting of the American Fisheries Society (AFS) in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
The 138th Annual Meeting of the AFS takes place at the Ottawa Congress Centre and Westin Hotel August 17-21, 2008. The theme of the meeting is "Fisheries in Flux: How Do We Ensure Our Sustainable Future."
Using a novel theoretical approach, researchers from NASA and other institutions have identified the common thread that determines how aerosols from human activity, like the particles from burning of vegetation and forests, influence cloud cover and ultimately affect climate. The study improves researchers' ability to predict whether aerosols will increase or decrease cloud cover.
East Lansing, MI – August 14, 2008 – One of the most pressing issues on the American political agenda is the influence of private dollars in public institutions. A new study in the American Journal of Political Science reveals that increased campaign spending significantly improves citizen participation in State Supreme Court elections.
Charlotte, N.C. – August 14, 2008 – Family businesses are very important to the U.S. economy. They comprise an estimated 80 percent of the 15 million businesses in the U.S., contribute to more than 50 percent of America's Gross Domestic Product, and generate 78 percent of new jobs in the economy. A new study in the Journal of Small Business Management shows that promoting the fact that the business is a "family" business positively influences customer purchasing decisions.
BOSTON – For some, spending in today's tumultuous economy is not a problem, especially for those who don't care what everyone else has. But for others, casino splurges, not saving enough or buying the latest iPhone on impulse can lead to emotional turmoil or financial troubles, according to several new studies on consumer behavior.
A quick stop at the supermarket: Balancing bananas, peppers and tomatoes in your arms, you rush from the vegetable counter to the self-service scales in order to print out the respective price label. But what was that number again, the one you had to enter for the tomatoes?
Amsterdam, August 14, 2008 – A recent article published in Virology (www.elsevier.com/locate/yviro), reports the identification of a bluetongue virus strain that caused the northern European Bluetongue outbreak in 2006. Comparison of the virus strain with the sequences of other previously isolated strains showed that it originated in sub-Saharan Africa, rather than from vaccine strains or strains circulating in southern Europe.