Author Archives: Guest Post

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

*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…)

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How the Big Three forgot Accounting 101

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…)

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

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…)

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Researchers Find Unprecedented, Man-Made Trends in Oceans Acidity

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…)

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MLK Speaker Geoffrey Canada Cautions Against Neglecting Young Americans

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…)

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echoecho: Solving the ‘Where Are You?’ Problem

Startup makes meeting in the real world simple, safer and hassle-free with the help of Microsoft BizSpark.

REDMOND, Wash. — Jan. 25, 2012 — “Where are you?” is one of the most ubiquitous phrases in text messages and phone calls. A number of location-based apps have tried to help mobile users address the question, but only Microsoft BizSpark startup echoecho has created an easy, intuitive solution that works anywhere in the world, using any leading smartphone. The mobile app helps users find their friends simply and easily, while helping protect their privacy as well as their device battery life — and without having to join yet another social network. (more…)

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

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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Photo from NASA Mars Orbiter Shows Wind’s Handiwork

Some images of stark Martian landscapes provide visual appeal beyond their science value, including a recent scene of wind-sculpted features from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The scene shows dunes and sand ripples of various shapes and sizes inside an impact crater in the Noachis Terra region of southern Mars. Patterns of dune erosion and deposition provide insight into the sedimentary history of the area. (more…)

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