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Ancient Popcorn Discovered in Peru

By Guest PostJanuary 26, 2012Scienceacademia nacional de la historia, andean region, ceramic pottery, coast of peru, corn microfossils, corncobs, dolores piperno, duccio bonavia, grains, huaca prieta, human welfare, husks, kernels, maize, male flowers, Mexico, panama, panama city, paredones, phytoliths, popcorn, smithsonian tropical research institute, south america, stalks, tassels, teosinte, tom dillehay, tropical ecosystem, tropical forests, tropical nature, vanderbilt university, wild grass

People living along the coast of Peru were eating popcorn 2,000 years earlier than previously reported and before ceramic pottery was used there, according to a new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences co-authored by Dolores Piperno, curator of New World archaeology at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and emeritus staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

Some of the oldest known corncobs, husks, stalks and tassels (male flowers), dating from 6,700 to 3,000 years ago were found at Paredones and Huaca Prieta, two mound sites on Peru’s arid northern coast. The research group, led by Tom Dillehay from Vanderbilt University and Duccio Bonavia from Peru’s Academia Nacional de la Historia, also found corn microfossils: starch grains and phytoliths. Characteristics of the cobs—the earliest ever discovered in South America—indicate that the sites’ ancient inhabitants ate corn several ways, including popcorn and flour corn. However, corn was still not an important part of their diet. (more…)

Babies Are Born With “Intuitive Physics” Knowledge, Says MU Researcher

By Guest PostJanuary 26, 2012Scienceevolution, glass of milk, hidden objects, infants, intuitive physics, knowledge, kristy vanmarle, natural interaction, northwestern university, predict the future, skill, susan hespos, university of missouri, unsupported objects

*Numerous infant studies indicate environmental knowledge is present soon after birth*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – While it may appear that infants are helpless creatures that only blink, eat, cry and sleep, one University of Missouri researcher says that studies indicate infant brains come equipped with knowledge of “intuitive physics.”

“In the MU Developmental Cognition Lab, we study infant knowledge of the world by measuring a child’s gaze when presented with different scenarios,” said Kristy vanMarle, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences in the College of Arts and Science. “We believe that infants are born with expectations about the objects around them, even though that knowledge is a skill that’s never been taught. As the child develops, this knowledge is refined and eventually leads to the abilities we use as adults.” (more…)

How the Big Three forgot Accounting 101

By Guest PostJanuary 26, 2012Economyalexander bruggen, balance sheet, brand image, customer concessions, domestic automaker, harbour report, karen sedatole, ranjani krishnan, stockholders, the big three, turnover

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The Big Three were so driven by short-term profits that they forgot – or ignored – basic accounting practices that could have guarded against production decisions with long-term damage, according to an award-winning study by Michigan State University and Maastricht University in the Netherlands. (more…)

Young Breast Cancer Survivors Face Serious Quality-of-Life Challenges

By Guest PostJanuary 26, 2012Healthbreast cancer survivors, effects of treatment, quality of life, younger patients

Researchers seek ways to address long-term effects of treatment

Quality of life in younger patients treated for breast cancer is seriously compromised, and these women face more physical and mental health issues than women their age who haven’t had cancer and women over 50 who have, according to a study by researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. (more…)

Researchers Find Unprecedented, Man-Made Trends in Oceans Acidity

By Guest PostJanuary 26, 2012Environment21st century, acidity, anthropogenic co2 emission, aragonite, aragonite saturation, axel timmermann, bishop museum, calcification rate, calcium carbonate, caribbean, climate, climate modeler, co2 emission, computer modeling, coral, coral reef, earth system model, ecosystem, fossil fuel, global scale, hawaiian islands, honolulu, jamstec, jhamandas watumull planetarium, last glacial maximum, level of acidity, marine ecosystem, marine organism, mollusk, observation, ocean, ocean acidification, ocean chemist, ocean condition, parts per million, ppm, saturation level, tobias friedrich, western equatorial pacific, yellow tangs

Nearly one-third of CO2 emissions due to human activities enters the world’s oceans. By reacting with seawater, CO2 increases the water’s acidity, which may significantly reduce the calcification rate of such marine organisms as corals and mollusks, resulting in the potential loss of ecosystems. The extent to which human activities have raised the surface level of acidity, however, has been difficult to detect on regional scales because it varies naturally from one season and one year to the next, and between regions, and direct observations go back only 30 years.

By combining computer modeling with observations, an international team of scientists concluded that anthropogenic CO2 emissions, resulting from the influence of human beings, over the last 100 to 200 years have already raised ocean acidity far beyond the range of natural variations. The study is published in the January 22, 2012 online issue of Nature Climate Change. (more…)

MLK Speaker Geoffrey Canada Cautions Against Neglecting Young Americans

By Guest PostJanuary 25, 2012Politicsamerican children, american crisis, fight for justice, harlem childrens zone, martin luther king, poverty in harlem, rockefeller chapel

Welcoming the guests filling Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, President Robert J. Zimmer began the University’s Jan. 12 Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration Celebration by reflecting on King’s first major address in Chicago. It was in Rockefeller Chapel that King spoke 56 years earlier. (more…)

Study: Off-Campus College Party Hosts Drink More Than Attendees

By Guest PostJanuary 25, 2012Culture, Generalalcohol, atika khurana, behavior, college gathering, cynthia buettner, drinks, emily caldwell, flashing, greek organization, information, mooning, natasha slesnick, off campus party, party, potential sanction, problem, public urination, random sample, students, vandalism

COLUMBUS, Ohio – On any given weekend, at least 10 percent of students at a single college could be hosting a party, and on average, party hosts who live off campus are drinking more and engaging in more alcohol-related problem behaviors than are the students attending their bashes, research suggests.

In contrast, hosts of parties held on campus tend to drink less than do the students attending their gatherings, according to the study. (more…)

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