Culture | Page 2068 | Science Codex

Gender and genes play an important role in delayed language development

Boys are at greater risk for delayed language development than girls, according to a new study using data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study. The researchers also found that reading and writing difficulties in the family gave an increased risk.

"We show for the first time that reading and writing difficulties in the family can be the main reason why a child has a speech delay that first begins between three to five years of age," says Eivind Ystrøm, senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

Northwestern Medicine researchers discover new way to prevent some strokes

CHICAGO – Larry Ambrose woke up one night, wandered into his kitchen but couldn't completely read the time on his microwave. A few days later when he noticed his blood pressure was unusually high, he went to the hospital and was diagnosed as having a stroke. Ambrose, like 25 percent of all stroke patients, experienced a cryptogenic stroke, meaning despite numerous tests, physicians were unable to determine a cause.

"There were no warning signs and I felt there was nothing I could do to stop it from happening again," said Ambrose, who is 75 years old. "It's a scary feeling."

New technology from CWRU links patient records between hospitals, medical flight crews

Although trauma, heart and stroke patients benefit from being transferred from a local hospital to a higher-level care facility, it's unclear why patients transferred with non-urgent medical conditions show at least a 30 percent higher death rate than had they stayed put, according to researchers from Case Western Reserve University's nursing school.

Something's wrong in Washington: Is American democracy in crisis?

The Federal shutdown may be the most striking evidence to support claims that America's political system is broken, but it is far from the only example. Writing in Governance, acclaimed political scientists Norman Ornstein and Jared Diamond explore if tribalism is at the heart of the problem, or if the U.S. is facing a far greater political crisis.

Mothers with children on ventilators suffer physical distress

Many mothers with children on life-sustaining medical devices, such as ventilators and breathing or feeding tubes, suffer physical and psychological distress from the stress of juggling treatments, appointments, therapies and daily family pressures.

But researchers from the Case Western Reserve University nursing school found that an intervention, called "Resourcefulness," which teaches moms how to better cope, bolsters the mother's wellbeing and, in turn, benefits the whole family.

Ancient herring catch nets fisheries weakness

Archaeological data indicate modern herring management needs to take a longer look into the past to manage fisheries for the future says a new study involving Simon Fraser University researchers.

That is one of the key findings in the study, just published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). SFU researchers Iain McKechnie, Dana Lepofsky and Ken Lertzman, and scientists in Ontario, Alberta and the United States are its co-authors.

Religious and scientific communities may be less combative than commonly portrayed

One of the largest surveys of American views on religion and science suggests that the religious and scientific communities may be less combative than is commonly portrayed in the media and in politics.

Global perspectives on human biology and health

CHICAGO --- Three anthropology professors from the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University will highlight recent research in biological anthropology Sunday, Feb. 16 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Chicago.

The presentations, part of the symposium "Comparative Advantage: Global Perspectives on Human Biology and Health" will be held from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. in Crystal Ballroom A at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

Researchers rejuvenate stem cell population from elderly mice, enabling muscle recovery

STANFORD, Calif. — Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have pinpointed why normal aging is accompanied by a diminished ability to regain strength and mobility after muscle injury: Over time, stem cells within muscle tissues dedicated to repairing damage become less able to generate new muscle fibers and struggle to self-renew.

Misconceptions of science and religion found in new study

The public's view that science and religion can't work in collaboration is a misconception that stunts progress, according to a new survey of more than 10,000 Americans, scientists and evangelical Protestants. The study by Rice University also found that scientists and the general public are surprisingly similar in their religious practices.

Top-down and bottom-up approach needed to conserve potato agrobiodiversity

Mashed, smashed and fried, Americans love potatoes, but only a few varieties are grown in much of North American agriculture. In South America, where potatoes originated, more than 5,000 varieties continue to exist. A Penn State geographer is gathering all the information he can about the agrobiodiversity of these uniquely adapted tubers with an eye toward sustainability of this fourth largest food crop worldwide.

Contemplating the workplace of tomorrow

CHICAGO --- Robert Gordon, the Stanley G. Harris Professor in the department of economics in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University, will present "Long-Term Unemployment, Shrinking Participation and Future Economic Growth" at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Chicago.

His presentation is part of the symposium "Will the Workplace of Tomorrow Have Any Workers? Computing, Productivity and Jobs" to be held from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15 in the Water Tower room at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

Repeal of Missouri's background check law associated with increase in state's murders

Missouri's 2007 repeal of its permit-to-purchase (PTP) handgun law, which required all handgun purchasers to obtain a license verifying that they have passed a background check, contributed to a sixteen percent increase in Missouri's murder rate, according to a new study from researchers with the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research.

MLB largely responsible for players' steroid abuse, UTA researcher says

The widespread use of illegal steroids among Major League Baseball players has been fueled by an "economy of bodily management," the free agent market and exploding television revenues, a UT Arlington assistant professor argues in a newly published research paper.

Sarah Rose, a labor and disability historian, says by attacking individual ballplayers' morality, commentators have obscured the more salient issue.

How effective is pandemic emergency response?

When a pandemic spreads, health officials must quickly formulate a strategy to limit infections and deaths. That requires sifting through massive amounts of data in a short amount of time and organizing medical personnel who may have little information on the pandemic.