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Blame, Responsibility and Demand for Change Following Floods

By Guest PostNovember 27, 2012Environmentclimate change, conor murphy, cumbria, economic disruption, England, events, exeter, extreme weather, galway, governmental failure, heavy flooding, irene lorenzoni, mega storms, Nature, neil adger, north west england, political demand, turbulent weather, tyndall centre, university, western ireland

New research shows concerns about governmental failure to act effectively and fairly in the aftermath of extreme weather events can affect the degree to which residents are willing to protect themselves.

Published in the journal Nature Climate Change, the findings of a team led by scientists at the University could prove key to establishing how society should evolve to cope with more turbulent weather and more frequent mega storms.

The team examined attitudes in Cumbria in north west England and Galway in western Ireland, which were both hit by heavy flooding in November 2009. Record rainfall was recorded in both countries, resulting in a number of deaths, properties being severely damaged and economic disruption. (more…)

Female ‘Halo’ Player Takes Her World-Class Gaming to Microsoft

By Guest PostNovember 26, 2012Technologyalex crushed, alex hebert ruiz, barbie, chris charla, christmas, crystal hot sauce, def jam rapstar, halo 4, halo player, kinect star wars, Microsoft, microsoft game studios, microsoft studios, nintendo, play xbla, the frag dolls, video games, xbla tart, xbox headquarters, xbox live arcade

A onetime top 10-ranked “Halo” player, Alex Hebert-Ruiz is now at Microsoft, where she advocates for Xbox LIVE Arcade games when she’s not playing “Halo 4.”

REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 26, 2012 — Alex Hebert-Ruiz remembers the day she got her start as a gamer.

It was the Christmas she got a Barbie house and her brother got a Nintendo. She was 6, and she was hooked – on her brother’s gift.

“Don’t get me wrong, I loved my Barbie house,” she says, “but beating him at Duck Hunt was one of the great challenges of my young life.” (more…)

Hearty Organisms Discovered in Bitter-Cold Antarctic Brine

By Guest PostNovember 26, 2012Environmentammonia, anoxic brine, antarctic ice, aquatic environment, brine, cryo environment, earth, east antarctica, ecosystem, europa, extreme environment, frozen environment, hearty microbes, jupiter, lake vida, life, mcmurdo dry valleys, michigan state university, microbial life, microbial metabolism, model, moon, nathaniel ostrom, nitrogen, nitrous oxide, permanent darkness, subzero temperature, sulfur, supersaturated, vacation destination, water, zoologist

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Where there’s water there’s life – even in brine beneath 60 feet of Antarctic ice, in permanent darkness and subzero temperatures.

While Lake Vida, located in the northernmost of the McMurdo Dry Valleys of East Antarctica, will never be a vacation destination, it is home to some newly discovered hearty microbes. In the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Nathaniel Ostrom, Michigan State University zoologist, has co-authored “Microbial Life at -13ºC in the Brine of an Ice-Sealed Antarctic Lake.” (more…)

Old Habits Die Hard: Helping Cancer Patients Stop Smoking

By Guest PostNovember 26, 2012Healthann arbor, cancer diagnosis, death, familiar scene, hospital gowned patients, iv poles, lung cancer, medical campuses, nicotine addiction, program, quit smoking, smoking cigarettes, sonia duffy, treatment, university of michigan, va center

ANN ARBOR — It’s a sad but familiar scene near the grounds of many medical campuses: hospital-gowned patients, some toting rolling IV poles, huddled in clumps under bus shelters or warming areas, smoking cigarettes.

Smoking causes 30 percent of all cancer deaths and 87 percent of all lung cancer deaths. Yet, roughly 50 percent to 83 percent of cancer patients keep smoking after a cancer diagnosis, through treatment and beyond, says Sonia Duffy, University of Michigan School of Nursing researcher. For patients who quit on their own, relapse rates (as in the general population) are as high as 85 percent. (more…)

Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 Commands Moviegoer Social Sentiment During Record Breaking Thanksgiving Weekend

By Guest PostNovember 26, 2012Entertainment, Technologybreaking dawn, ibm film forecaster, social sentiment index, twilight, twilight breaking dawn, usc annenberg

USC Annenberg and IBM Film Forecaster Reveals Box Office Winners

LOS ANGELES – 26 Nov 2012: Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 continued to infiltrate the Twitterverse during Thanksgiving weekend, with competition from Box Office leaders Skyfall and the newly released, Rise of the Guardians – according to the University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg Innovation Lab and the IBM Film Forecaster, a Social Sentiment Index. (more…)

Diabetes Study: ‘Mindful Eating’ Equals Traditional Education In Lowering Weight and Blood Sugar

By Guest PostNovember 25, 2012Healthdiabetes education, mindful awareness, mindful eating, nutrition based guidelines, nutrition therapy, type 2 diabetes

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Eating mindfully, or consuming food in response to physical cues of hunger and fullness, is just as effective as adhering to nutrition-based guidelines in reducing weight and blood sugar levels in adults with Type 2 diabetes, a new study suggests. (more…)

Anti-Hypertensive Drugs Linked to Increased Risk of Hip Fracture

By Guest PostNovember 25, 2012Healthanti hypertensive drugs, chronic disease, data, debra butt, elderly canadian patients, elderly people, heart attack, high blood pressure, hip fracture, hypertension, risk, scarborough hospital, stroke

TORONTO, ON – Elderly people taking anti-hypertensive drugs are at a 43 per cent increased risk of having a hip fracture in the first 45 days of treatment, according to research conducted by family medicine Assistant Professor Dr. Debra Butt. A member of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto and a family physician affiliated with The Scarborough Hospital, Dr. Butt’s study was published on November 19, 2012 in Archives of Internal Medicine. The study examined data from health care administrative databases in Ontario, looking at records from 2000 to 2009 for community-dwelling hypertensive patients with a mean age of 80.8 years.

There are serious consequences to a hip fracture for the elderly. In the first year of a hip fracture there is a higher mortality rate than is seen for many chronic diseases. Those who recover often lose their independence due to reduced mobility, which can result in depression and overall decreased quality of life. (more…)

Support for Gay Marriage Grows in Michigan

By Guest PostNovember 25, 2012Culture, General2012 survey, american, ballot, catholics, charles ballard, district of columbia, election, gallup organization, gay marriage, grow, income level, maine, maryland, michigan, michigan residents, michigan state university, michiganders, pew research center, protestants, religious preference, state survey, support, united states, Washington

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Support for gay marriage is growing in Michigan, mirroring changing attitudes in many parts of the United States, according to Michigan State University’s State of the State Survey.

A recent survey found that 56 percent of the state’s residents support gay marriage while 39 percent oppose it. Two years ago, 48 percent supported gay marriage and 51 percent were opposed. (more…)

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