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New Genetic Clues for Schizophrenia

By Guest PostJuly 16, 2011Healthgenetic errors, mutations in schizophrenia, schizophrenia, schizophrenic patients

De novo mutations – genetic errors that are present in patients but not in their parents – are more frequent in schizophrenic patients than in normal individuals, according to an international group of scientists led by Dr. Guy A. Rouleau of the University of Montreal and CHU Sainte-Justine Hospital. The discovery, published today in Nature Genetics, may enable researchers to define how the disease results from these mutations and eventually develop new treatments for it. (more…)

Dupont’s Imprelis Could be Turning Evergreens Brown

By Guest PostJuly 16, 2011Natureconifer insect, evergreen trees, herbicide exposure, herbicide imprelis, herbicide injury, imprelis damage, imprelis injuries

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Browning shoots and needles, twisting and stunted shoots – especially near the tops of evergreen trees and shrubs – are signs that plants may have injuries associated with the herbicide Imprelis, according to a Michigan State University researcher. (more…)

Is Meditation the Push-up for the Brain?

By Guest PostJuly 16, 2011Health, Scienceage related brain atrophy, amygdale, anterior corpus callosum, axonal demyelination, brain imaging, brain regions, brain stem, brains, bundles of neurons, cerebral cortex, corticospinal tract, diffusion tensor imaging, dti, eileen luders, electrical signals in the brain, frontal cortex, hippocampus, immune system, kristi clark, limbic system, meditation, meditators, mental exercise, micro anatomical level, occipital lobes, physical structure of the brain, shamatha, spinal cord, superior longitudinal fasciculus, uncinate fasciculus, vipassana, white matter, zazen

*Study shows practice may have potential to change brain’s physical structure*

Two years ago, researchers at UCLA found that specific regions in the brains of long-term meditators were larger and had more gray matter than the brains of individuals in a control group. This suggested that meditation may indeed be good for all of us since, alas, our brains shrink naturally with age.

Now, a follow-up study suggests that people who meditate also have stronger connections between brain regions and show less age-related brain atrophy. Having stronger connections influences the ability to rapidly relay electrical signals in the brain. And significantly, these effects are evident throughout the entire brain, not just in specific areas. (more…)

First Person: U.N. Climate Conference Sparked Passion, Inspiration

By Guest PostJuly 15, 2011Environmentclimate change, climate change dialogue, climate voices, human impacts, max webster

Max Webster, an undergraduate who founded and directs Climate Voices, a Yale-based NGO working to publicize the human rights impacts of climate change, recently attended the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany. He shared his experiences, frustrations and insights about the meeting and his own mission with the Yale Daily Bulletin. (more…)

MU Psychology Study Finds Key Early Skills for Later Math Learning

By Guest PostJuly 15, 2011Educationcomplex math, david geary, elementary school years, fractions and algebra, good foundation, good head start, growth in mathematics, low level arithmetic, math learning, math skills, mathematics, psychologists, understanding numbers and quantity, united states, university of missouri

*Long-term study shows students must know about numbers at beginning of first grade*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Psychologists at the University of Missouri have identified the beginning of first grade math skills that teachers and parents should target to effectively improve children’s later math learning.

A long-term psychology study indicates that beginning first graders that understand numbers, the quantities those numbers represent, and low-level arithmetic will have better success in learning mathematics through the end of fifth grade, and other studies suggest throughout the rest of their lives. (more…)

Decline in Species Shows Climate Change Warnings Not Exaggerated

By Guest PostJuly 15, 2011EnvironmentAntarctica, bering sea, birds, bivalve mollusks, boreal forests, climate change, effects of climate change on plant and animal species, Europe, extinction, extinction risk, fenno scandia, global biodiversity, global warming, human induced climate change, ilya maclean, Madagascar, marine mammals, nematode worm, pine grosbeak, population declines, robert wilson, species, spectacled eider, tenerife, tiger salamander populations, two barred crossbill, types of habitat, united states of america, university of exeter, yellowstone national park

One in 10 species could face extinction by the year 2100 if current climate change impacts continue.

This is the result of University of Exeter research, examining studies on the effects of recent climate change on plant and animal species and comparing this with predictions of future declines.

Published in leading journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study uses the well-established IUCN Red List for linking population declines to extinction risk. The research examines nearly 200 predictions of the future effects of climate change from studies conducted around the world, as well as 130 reports of changes which have already occurred. (more…)

Optimizing Eyesight: R&D Collaboration Focuses on New System for Measuring and Improving Human Vision

By Guest PostJuly 14, 2011Healthcorrective surgery, improving human vision, lens fabrication technology, optimizing eyesight, vision analyzer

With research and development assistance from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and seed funding from the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), an Atlanta-based company is developing what it hopes will be the next-generation instrument for optimizing eyesight for the hundreds of millions of people who wear glasses or contacts – or who are candidates for corrective surgery. (more…)

Astronomer Tom Gehrels, 1925-2011

By Guest PostJuly 14, 2011Scienceasteroids and comets, astronomer, astronomy, Britain, Chicago, dutch resistance, earth, England, gerard p kuiper, haarlemmermeer, harold masursky award, imaging photopolarimetry, jupiter, kitt peak, leiden university, nobel astrophysicist, saturn, saturn mysterious f ring, special operations executive, study of wavelength dependence of polarization of stars and planets, subrahmanyan chandrasekhar, the netherlands, tom gehrels, universal evolution, university of arizona, university of chicago

*In a career that spanned more than half a century, Gehrels fostered new research on asteroids and comets, including those that pose a threat to Earth.*

Tom Gehrels, an internationally noted planetary scientist and astronomer at the University of Arizona, as well as a hero of the Dutch Resistance during WWII, died Monday. He was 86.

Gehrels was among the first members of the fledgling Lunar and Planetary Laboratory when he joined the UA in 1961. During a long and distinguished career Gehrels pioneered new research on asteroids and comets, especially those that pose a collision threat to Earth. He also developed and taught introductory astronomy courses that were popular with non-science undergraduates. (more…)

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