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Teaching Autistic Teens to Cope

By Guest PostJune 17, 2012Healthalexander gantman, asd, autism spectrum disorder, catherine mogil, elizabeth laugeson, fred frankel, help group, knowledge, social functioning, teenagers, united states

Unique UCLA program that teaches social skills proves effective over long term

Teenagers with autism spectrum disorder are in a bind. The disorder is characterized by impairments in communication and social interaction, but it’s a continuum, so some teens diagnosed with ASD are considered high functioning and healthy enough to be “mainstreamed” in school.

But without the proper social skills, even mainstreamed teens don’t quite fit into the general social milieu of middle school or high school. As a result, they suffer from all the slings and arrows of that world.

Since 2006, however, the UCLA PEERS (Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills) clinic has assisted high-functioning teens with ASD by literally teaching them the strategies they need to fit in better with their peers. And while previous research demonstrated that the program was effective, it wasn’t known whether the new skills “stuck” with these teens after they completed the PEERS classes. (more…)

Offspring of Older Fathers May Live Longer

By Guest PostJune 17, 2012Healthadaptive strategy, evolution of aging, offspring, older fathers, pace of aging

If your father and grandfather waited until they were older before having children, you might experience life-extending benefits. Biologists assume that a slow pace of aging requires that the body invest more resources in repairing cells and tissues. (more…)

Measuring the “Other” Greenhouse Gases: Higher Than Expected Levels of Methane in California

By Guest PostJune 16, 2012Environmentanthropogenic, atmospheric lifetime, berkeley lab, black carbon, california, carb, carbon dioxide, central valley, ch4 emissions, climate pollutant, CO2, coal mines, decomposition, environment policy, fossil fuel, fraction, global warming, greenhouse gas, halocarbon gases, landfills, livestock ranches, man made source, map, marc l fischer, methane, methane emissions, methane signals, natural sources, nitrous oxide, noaa, organic matter, refrigerants, sacramento, seongeun jeong, soot, sound energy, spatial, temporal resolution, united states, walnut grove

Berkeley Lab scientists develop new method for evaluating short-lived pollutants.

New research from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has found that levels of methane—a potent greenhouse gas emitted from many man-made sources, such as coal mines, landfills and livestock ranches—are at least one-and-a-half times higher in California than previously estimated.

Working with scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Berkeley Lab scientists Marc L. Fischer and Seongeun Jeong combined highly accurate methane measurements from a tower with model predictions of expected methane signals to revise estimated methane emissions from central California. They found that annually averaged methane emissions in California were 1.5 to 1.8 times greater than previous estimates, depending on the spatial distribution of the methane emissions. (more…)

Sexual Orientation Fluctuation Correlated to Alcohol Misuse, MU Researcher Finds

By Guest PostJune 16, 2012Culture, Healthalcohol use, amelia talley, anxiety, bisexuals, depression, heterosexual, homosexual, risky behaviors, sexual behavior, sexual identity, sexual minorities, sexual orientation, sexual self definition, stress, university of missouri

Understanding this phenomenon could improve psychological support systems for sexual minorities and help young people avoid alcohol problems.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Many young adults explore and define their sexual identity in college, but that process can be stressful and lead to risky behaviors. In a new study, students whose sexual self-definition didn’t fall into exclusively heterosexual or homosexual categories tended to misuse alcohol more frequently than people who had a firmly defined sexual orientation for a particular gender, according to University of Missouri researchers. These findings could be used to improve support programs for sexual minorities.

“Bisexuals and students whose sexual orientation was in flux reported the heaviest drinking and most negative consequences from alcohol use, such as uncontrolled drinking and withdrawal symptoms,” said Amelia Talley, MU assistant professor of psychological sciences in the College of Arts and Science. “Those groups reported drinking to relieve anxiety and depression at higher rates than strictly heterosexual or homosexual individuals. One possible explanation is that people who aren’t either completely heterosexual or homosexual may feel stigmatized by both groups.” (more…)

Ancient Story of Dartmoor Tors Has an Ice-Cold Twist

By Guest PostJune 16, 2012Environmentaerial photography, ancient story, Britain, british isles, dartmoor, dartmoor tors, david evans, drumlins, durham, exeter, glacial features, glacier ice, hummocky landforms, ice age, ice cap, ice cold twist, landscape, moraines, mounds, national parks, periods of glaciation, quaternary science, south west england, stephan harrison, stockton riverside college, stone outcrops, ten tors, tors, uk, valley glaciers, weathered rock, weathering

Ice extended further across the UK than previously thought and played a part in sculpting the rocky landscape of Dartmoor in South West England during the last Ice Age, according to new research which challenges previously held theories.

A study of the National Park area of Dartmoor, UK, shows for the first time that an ice cap and valley glaciers were present in its centre and that the naturally castellated stone outcrops, known as tors, were survivors.

The new research by the Universities of Durham and Exeter, and Stockton Riverside College, is published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.

Researchers, who carried out detailed observations on the ground and using aerial photography, say the evidence includes glacial features such as elongated rounded mounds or drumlins and hummocky landforms or moraines. Similar features may also exist in other upland areas of southwest England, indicating that small upland glaciers were regularly hosted in the region during periods of glaciation. (more…)

How to Effectively Compare Auto Insurance Quotes

By Guest PostJune 16, 2012Economyautomobile, automobile insurance, car insurance, data, Economy, high volume traffic, home insurance, industry, insurance packages, jordan ruth, luxury, notion, plan, times of emergency, unemployment rate, website

As the economy of the world continues to fluctuate and the unemployment rates remain high even in the most stable first world economies, people everywhere are looking for ways to cut back their monthly budgets. One of the first things that is usually on the chopping block are the various insurance packages that people consider a luxury.

Although this is perhaps the least advisable way to lower monthly liabilities, many people think that it is their only option. They believe that prices on things like car insurance and home insurance are set in stone, and that they cannot be negotiated down. This notion is far from the truth. (more…)

Crocodilian Evolution

By Guest PostJune 15, 2012Nature, Scienceadam thomas, alligators, birds, canr, carl schmidt, colin kern, crocodile, crocodilian evolution, crocodilian family, crocodilian native, danielle quigley, david ray, dna sequence, evolution research, extinction, gene, genetic evolution, genome, genomic change, gharials, indian subcontinent, university of delaware, wetlands

UD’s Schmidt studies genome of crocodile family in evolution research

University of Delaware scientist Carl Schmidt is working to identify genes in crocodiles, alligators and gharials as he searches for links between the creatures that could give clues as to how they evolved over the years in relation to one another.

Schmidt’s effort is part of a National Science Foundation-funded project being conducted by a team of researchers assembled by David Ray, an evolutionary biologist at Mississippi State University. (more…)

Student Documentary Explores Facebook- and Fast-Food-Free Life

By Guest PostJune 15, 2012Medialiving with less, materialistic society, minimal living, research project, thrive with less

EAST LANSING, Mich. — In a society where people text rather than talk and eat out more than cook, community has been lost and necessities replaced by wants, says a group of Michigan State University students who recently released a documentary of their monthlong experiment in living with less. (more…)

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