Optimism Cures Heart Diseases
Heart patients with an optimistic outlook are more likely to be healthier down the road and survive longer than those with less rosy views, new research suggests. (more…)
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MSU Researchers: China Needs More Protection of Farmer Land Rights
EAST LANSING, Mich. — China should protect land rights of all farm families and restrict corporate farming, argues a Michigan State University researcher whose team found that secure farm land rights will be key to closing the income gap between Chinese cities and countryside. (more…)
IBM Expands the Institute for Electronic Government in Washington to Focus on Advancements in Analytics and Cloud Computing
*Virtual Collaboratory to Connect Thousands of Government Leaders Globally*
WASHINGTON – 01 Mar 2011: IBM today announced a major expansion of its Institute for Electronic Government (IEG) in 
Washington, D.C., adding cloud computing and analytics capabilities for public sector organizations around the world.
IBM has moved and expanded the facility in order to meet the growing demand from Government, Health Care and Education leaders who recognize the potential of cloud computing environments and business analytics technologies to improve efficiencies, reduce costs and tackle energy and budget challenges. (more…)
New CU Study Shows Acupressure Effective in Helping to Treat Traumatic Brain Injury
A new University of Colorado Boulder study indicates an ancient form of complementary medicine may be effective in helping to treat people with mild traumatic brain injury, a finding that may have implications for some U.S. war veterans returning home.
The study involved a treatment known as acupressure in which one’s fingertips are used to stimulate particular points on a person’s body — points similar to those stimulated with needles in standard acupuncture treatments, said CU-Boulder Professor Theresa Hernandez, lead study author. The results indicate a link between the acupressure treatments and enhanced cognitive function in study subjects with mild traumatic brain injury, or TBI. (more…)
Language Patterns Are Roller-Coaster Ride During Childhood Development
Why, and when, do we learn to speak the way that we do? Research from North Carolina State University on African-American children presents an unexpected finding: language use can go on a roller-coaster ride during childhood as kids adopt and abandon vernacular language patterns.
“We found that there is a ‘roller-coaster effect,’ featuring an ebb and flow in a child’s use of vernacular English over the course of his or her language development,” says Dr. Walt Wolfram, William C. Friday Distinguished University Professor of English Linguistics at NC State and co-author of several recent papers describing the research. “This was totally unanticipated.” Vernacular English is defined here as culturally specific speech patterns that are distinct from standard English; in this case, the vernacular is African-American English (AAE). (more…)
Egypt Slaps Ban on Mubarak, His Family and Freezes His Assets
Egypt on Monday slapped a ban on ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his family travelling abroad, and also imposed a freeze on their assets, judicial officials said.
Besides Mubarak, who resigned on February 11 following weeks of protests, the decision also applied for his wife Suzanne, his two sons Ala and Gamal, and their wives, according to the same source, AFP reports. (more…)
Microsoft Announces Dream.Build.Play 2011 Challenge for Independent Game Developers
Developers from around the world compete for share of $75,000 (U.S.)
SAN FRANCISCO — Feb. 28, 2011 — Today Microsoft Corp. opened registration for the Dream.Build.Play 2011 Challenge, a contest sponsored by Microsoft to encourage independent game developers to create fun and innovative games using XNA Game Studio. Developers can register for the contest at https://www.dreambuildplay.com. Once registered, they have from May 17 to June 14, 2011, to submit their games to the contest. (more…)
Study Shows UMD Designed Fungi Can Combat Malaria, Lyme Disease & Other Bug-Borne Illnesses
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – New findings by a University of Maryland-led team of scientists indicate that a genetically engineered fungus carrying genes for a human anti-malarial antibody or a scorpion anti-malarial toxin could be a highly effective, specific and environmentally friendly tool for combating malaria, at a time when the effectiveness of current pesticides against malaria mosquitoes is declining. (more…)