Culture

His design has earnt a spot on the first-round shortlist of one of the world's most prestigious design competitions - the Australian Design Award/James Dyson Award.

Twenty-four-year-old Ching-Hao (Howard) Hsu, who graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Industrial Design) at the end of 2010, designed the 'arthritis handle' after observing several sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis performing cooking tasks in their own kitchens.

WASHINGTON, DC, March 7, 2011 – The 2011 Sleep in America® poll released today by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) finds pervasive use of communications technology in the hour before bed. It also finds that a significant number of Americans aren't getting the sleep they say they need and are searching for ways to cope.

Many Americans report dissatisfaction with their sleep during the week.

Clinical research has greater societal impact over a 15-20 year timescale, while basic research has greater academic impact, according to a new study from RAND Europe and the Health Economics Research Group (HERG) at Brunel University.

A Cardiff University study - and they are not joking - has established a link between pub violence and happy hour drinking promotions.

The findings also claim to show that pub staff need to do more to stop heavily intoxicated customers from continuing to drink. Yep, that is worse less than minimum wage plus tips, for sure.

Scientists from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have identified the key immune cell population responsible for regulating the body's immune response.

The finding could have wide-ranging repercussions for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, organ transplantation and cancer, and change how the efficacy of newly developed drugs is measured.

The discovery was made by Dr Erika Cretney, Dr Axel Kallies and Dr Stephen Nutt from the institute's Molecular Immunology division. It centred on a population of immune cells called regulatory T cells.

Home energy retrofits tackle climate change and when done right they should make homes healthier, while aiding families struggling with utility bills.

Without adequate training and precaution, however, renovators, energy retrofitters and do-it-yourselfers who disturb lead-based paint, asbestos insulation and other toxic materials in older buildings put the health of all -- especially children -- living there at risk of serious health impacts.

Analysis of the early data from Understanding Society based on 14,000 UK households found that overall the best sleep was reported by people with higher levels of education and by married people. The type of work a person does also impacts on sleep, with those in routine occupations reporting worse sleep than those in professional occupations.

Evidence for a diversified sea-based economy among North American inhabitants dating from 12,200 to 11,400 years ago is emerging from three sites on California's Channel Islands.

Reporting in the March 4 issue of Science, a 15-member team led by University of Oregon and Smithsonian Institution scholars describes the discovery of scores of stemmed projectile points and crescents dating to that time period. The artifacts are associated with the remains of shellfish, seals, geese, cormorants and fish.

Scientists working in the remotest part of Antarctica have discovered that liquid water locked deep under the continent's coat of ice regularly thaws and refreezes to the bottom, creating as much as half the thickness of the ice in places, and actively modifying its structure. The finding, which turns common perceptions of glacial formation upside down, could reshape scientists' understanding of how the ice sheet expands and moves, and how it might react to warming climate, they say.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Maps are great for showing where things are. They're also good for showing where things aren't.

Two Michigan State University professors have developed interactive maps that offer a visual perspective of urban food deserts. By using GIS (geographic information systems) technology, they are showing, rather than simply telling, how urban residents are losing access to fresh produce and balanced nutrition.

Springtime may be just what the doctor orders for individuals suffering from dry eye condition, a disorder resulting from insufficient tear production or altered tear film composition. According to a study published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, a temperature less than 30 degrees Celsius on the eye and eyelid could be the cause for the onset or worsening of the disorder.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – When it comes to the federal budget, the public is on a different page than either the House of Representatives or the Obama Administration – with a different set of priorities and a greater willingness to cut spending and increase taxes – concludes a new analysis by the University of Maryland's Program for Public Consultation (PPC).

This new analysis compares the House and administration budget proposals with those produced by a representative sample of U.S. adults. These public budgets were part of an innovative study released last month.

Imagine the vast, empty tundra in Alaska and Canada giving way to trees, shrubs and plants typical of more southerly climates. Imagine similar changes in large parts of Eastern Europe, northern Asia and Scandinavia, as needle-leaf and broadleaf forests push northward into areas once unable to support them. Imagine part of Greenland's ice cover, once thought permanent, receding and leaving new tundra in its wake.

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– Simply by eating the leaves of an invasive tree that soaks up river water, an Asian beetle may help to slow down water loss in the Southwestern United States.

Two scientists from UC Santa Barbara, working with colleagues from the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, have published the first substantive data showing water savings that can result from using Asian beetles for the biological control of tamarisk, an invasive tree of western rivers. The study is now published online and in print in the journal Oecologia.

TechSolutions is a rapid-response program that accepts recommendations and suggestions from Navy and Marine Corps personnel on ways to improve mission effectiveness through the application of technology. TechSolutions works closely with customers to meet specific requirements that cannot be readily satisfied with commercial-off-the-shelf technologies. Typical turn-around time for a working prototype is 12-18 months.