HOUSTON -- (Sept. 16, 2008) -- Is America's red-blue divide based on voters' physiology? A new paper in the journal Science, titled "Political Attitudes Are Predicted by Physiological Traits," explores the link.
Rice University's John Alford, associate professor of political science, co-authored the paper in the Sept. 19 issue of Science.
A new iguana has been discovered in the central regions of Fiji. The colorful new species, named Brachylophus bulabula, joins only two other living Pacific iguana species, one of which is critically endangered. The scientific name bulabula is a doubling of bula, the Fijian word for 'hello,' offering an even more enthusiastic greeting.
ANN ARBOR, Mich.--- A new Bluetooth system designed primarily for blind people places a layer of information technology over the real world to tell pedestrians about points of interest along their path as they pass them.
The Talking Points urban orientation system was developed at the University of Michigan. Researchers will present their work at two conferences on Sept. 24.
The only scientific team to successfully brave Hurricane Ike's knock-down winds and swells in Galveston was the DOW, the Doppler on Wheels mobile weather radar operated by the Center for Severe Weather Research (CSWR) in Boulder, Colo.
"The DOW mission to Ike provided, for the first time, high-resolution radar data collected from the ground of the inside of a hurricane eye strengthening during landfall, and from a hurricane that directly impacted a large urban area," said scientist Josh Wurman of CWSR.
A groundbreaking new study into the mating and nesting practices of a common Australian frog has found they partner up to eight males sequentially – the highest recorded of any vertebrate.
Dr Phillip Byrne, from Monash University's School of Biological Sciences, has researched the frog species Bibron's toadlet (Pseudophryne bibronii) for six years and in this latest field trip, discovered a new behaviour undetected in a frog species until now.
AMES, Iowa – The five engines in Song-Charng Kong's Iowa State University laboratory have come a long way since Karl Benz patented a two-stroke internal combustion engine in 1879.
There are fuel injectors and turbochargers and electrical controls. There's more horsepower, better efficiency, cleaner burning and greater reliability.
But Kong – with the help of 15 graduate students and all kinds of sensors recording engine cylinder pressure, energy release and exhaust emissions – is looking for even more.
As climate change is credited as one of the main drivers behind soaring food prices, the Global Crop Diversity Trust is undertaking a major effort to search crop collections—from Azerbaijan to Nigeria—for the traits that could arm agriculture against the impact of future changes. Traits, such as drought resistance in wheat, or salinity tolerance in potato, will become essential as crops around the world have to adapt to new climate conditions.
Durham, N.C. – September 17, 2008 – In many retail industries, the most successful firms are the ones that offer the widest selection. For example, Home Depot and Staples offer a wide array of products at competitive prices. Maintaining this variety requires substantial firm-level investments.
Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC – (September 17, 2008) Mangled bodies, gunfire, high-speed chases and injured children are just a few events witnessed by police officers and soldiers serving in dangerous hot spots around the world. These traumas take a high toll on the police officers and soldiers, who suppress human emotions to get the job done and can be reluctant to share their experiences in an effort to spare others from their ordeals, according to a September Police Quarterly article (published by SAGE).
The earth will warm about 2.4° C (4.3° F) above pre-industrial levels even under extremely conservative greenhouse-gas emission scenarios and under the assumption that efforts to clean up particulate pollution continue to be successful, according to a new analysis by a pair of researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.
WASHINGTON -- The importance of research in solving many of our national challenges, including economic ones, was emphasized today in a new report titled SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR AMERICA'S PROGRESS: ENSURING THE BEST PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS IN THE NEW ADMINISTRATION. The report, sent to John McCain and Barack Obama with guidance for whomever is elected president in November, provides suggestions on filling key science appointments after the election.
Burnaby, British Columbia – September 17, 2008 – A new study in The Financial Review establishes a relationship between political beliefs of corporate stakeholders and the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of their firms. Companies with a high CSR rating tend to be located in Democratic states, while companies with a low CSR rating tend to be located in Republican states.
MADISON, WI, SEPTEMBER 15, 2008–Nitrate is the most common chemical contaminant in the world's ground water, including in aquifers used for drinking-water supply. Nitrate in drinking water of the United States is regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) because of concerns related to infant health and possible cancer risks. Use of man-made synthetic fertilizers has steadily increased since World War II, raising the potential for increased nitrate contamination of the nation's ground water, despite efforts in recent decades to improve land-management practices.
Bringing in a new coach rarely solves problems, regardless of when it is done. This is the conclusion of a study from Mid Sweden University about hiring and firing coaches in the Swedish Elite Series ice-hockey league during the period 1975/76-2005/06. Despite this fact, coaches are nevertheless very publicly fired. The study shows that it is a mistake to replace the coach.
The Swedish elite hockey season is getting underway, and people are already speculating about which coaches will be fired. Five were let go last season alone.
Microscopic coprophilous or dung-loving fungi help make our planet habitable by degrading the billions of tons of feces produced by herbivores. But the fungi have a problem: survival depends upon the consumption of their spores by herbivores and few animals will graze on grass next to their own dung. Evolution has overcome this obstacle by producing an array of mechanisms of spore discharge whose elegance transforms a cow pie into a circus of microscopic catapults, trampolines, and squirt guns.