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Examining The Changing Face of Christianity

By Guest PostNovember 28, 2011Cultureafrica, anthropologist, asia, chaplains in guatemala, charismatic christianity, China, christianity, christians, diversity, downtown toronto, Europe, faith, girish daswani, god, ju hui judy han, kevin o neill, korean missionaries, latin america, nigeria, North America, north korea, pamela klassen, pentecostal christianity, pentecostalism, politics of global christianity, rural villages, ruth marshall, simon coleman, social process, spiritual warriors, university of toronto, valentina napolitano

U of T leading centre for study of global Christianity

A century ago, 80 per cent of the world’s Christians lived in Europe and North America; today, nearly 70 per cent live in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, making Christianity a predominantly non-Western religion.

A critical mass of scholars who are looking into the implications of this shift has made the University of Toronto a leading centre for the study of global Christianity.

Christianity today has more than 2.2 billion adherents worldwide. The majority are overwhelmingly poor, displaced from rural villages into overcrowded cities in search of work, and adhere strictly to the word of Scripture, which can command their loyalty far more than state or society. (more…)

Chemistry Professor Links Faeces and Caffeine

By Guest PostNovember 28, 2011Environmentcaffeine sampling, fecal coliforms, fecal pollution, sanitary contamination, storm waters, traces of caffeine

Researchers led by Prof. Sébastien Sauvé of the University of Montreal’s Department of Chemistry have discovered that traces of caffeine are a useful indicator of the contamination of our water by sewers. (more…)

What Our Searches Tell Us About 2011: Bing Releases Most-Searched Terms of the Year

By Guest PostNovember 28, 2011Technologybing, most searched people, most searched terms, pr for bing

*From royal weddings and rising pop superstars to concerns for human tragedy and the global economy, Bing’s most-searched terms of the year capture America’s mood in 2011.*

REDMOND, Wash. – Nov. 28, 2011 – What do pop superstar Justin Bieber, new duchess Kate Middleton, and consumer electronics king Xbox have in common? No, they’re not all part of a wildly anticipated Hollywood sci-fi flick (at least not yet); they were some of the most popular search terms typed this past year on Bing. (more…)

New Study Finds That Even the Cleanest Wastewater Contains ‘Super Bacteria’

By Guest PostNovember 27, 2011Environmentantibiotic resistance genes, antibiotic resistant bacteria, antibiotic use in agriculture, antibiotics, bacterial infections, david tan, duluth, duluth superior harbor, environmental microbiology, global ecology, industrial wastewater discharge, jessica eichmiller, lake superior, mi yan, municipal wastewater, municipal wastewater treatment facility, northeastern minnesota, patrick mcnamara, st louis river, superbacteria, surface waters, timothy lapara, treated municipal wastewater, treatment facility in duluth, tucker burch, university of minnesota

*University of Minnesota research suggests that wastewater treated with standard technologies contains far greater quantities*

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL — A new University of Minnesota study reveals that the release of treated municipal wastewater – even wastewater treated by the highest-quality treatment technology – can have a significant effect on the quantities of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, often referred to as “superbacteria,” in surface waters.

The study also suggests that wastewater treated using standard technologies probably contains far greater quantities of antibiotic-resistant genes, but this likely goes unnoticed because background levels of bacteria are normally much higher than in the water studied in this research. (more…)

MU Researchers Find Synthetic RNA Lessens Severity of Fatal Disease

By Guest PostNovember 27, 2011Healthdisease severity, rare genetic disease, sma, spinal muscular atrophy, synthetic rna

*Spinal Muscular Atrophy affects one in 6,000 children; no known cure*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – A team of University of Missouri researchers have found that targeting a synthetic molecule to a specific gene could help the severity of the disease Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) – the leading genetic cause of infantile death in the world. (more…)

Earth’s Core Deprived of Oxygen

By Guest PostNovember 27, 2011Sciencecore materials, earth core, liquid outer core, seismic data, shock wave experiment

Washington, D.C. — The composition of the Earth’s core remains a mystery. Scientists know that the liquid outer core consists mainly of iron, but it is believed that small amounts of some other elements are present as well. Oxygen is the most abundant element in the planet, so it is not unreasonable to expect oxygen might be one of the dominant “light elements” in the core. (more…)

Tuning out: How Brains Benefit From Meditation

By Guest PostNovember 26, 2011Health, Sciencealzheimer's disease, anxiety, areas of brain, autism, beta amyloid plaques, brain imaging study, cope with cancer, daydreaming, default mode network, experienced meditators, functional magnetic resonance imaging scans, health problems, hedy kober, how meditation works, jeremy r gray, judson a brewer, medial prefrontal, meditation, meditation techniques, patrick d worhunsky, posterior cingulate cortex, prevent psoriasis, psychiatric disorders, schizophrenia, switch off

Experienced meditators seem to be able switch off areas of the brain associated with daydreaming as well as psychiatric disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, according to a new brain imaging study by Yale researchers.

Meditation’s ability to help people stay focused on the moment has been associated with increased happiness levels, said Judson A. Brewer, assistant professor of psychiatry and lead author of the study published the week of Nov. 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Understanding how meditation works will aid investigation into a host of diseases, he said. (more…)

Laborers of Love

By Guest PostNovember 26, 2011Sciencehominins, horned owl, injured birds, treatment

Three volunteers who make a difference

A murmur runs through the audience as Bob Kriel withdraws his gloved hand from a darkened cage in the front of a small lecture room. (more…)

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