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‘Chemical Compounds in Trees Can Fight Deadly Staph Infections in Humans’

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Most people would never suspect that a “trash tree,” one with little economic value and often removed by farmers due to its ability to destroy farmland, could be the key to fighting a deadly bacterium. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found an antibiotic in the Eastern Red Cedar tree that is effective against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a “superbug” that is resistant to most medications.

“I wanted to find a use for a tree species that is considered a nuisance,” said Chung-Ho Lin, research assistant professor in the MU Center for Agroforestry at the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. “This discovery could help people fight the bacteria as well as give farmers another cash crop.” (more…)

Even in a Crowd, You Remain Unique, UCLA Life Scientists Report

Science

“Am I just a face in the crowd? Is that all I’ll ever be? … Do you think I stand out?”

—The Kinks, “A Face in the Crowd”

It may seem paradoxical, but being part of a crowd is what makes you unique, according to UCLA life scientists.

Biologists Kimberly Pollard and Daniel Blumstein examined the evolution of individuality —personal uniqueness — by recording alarm-call vocalizations in eight species of rodents that live in social groups of various sizes. They found that the size of the groups strongly predicted the individual uniqueness in the animals’ voices: The bigger the group, the more unique each animal’s voice typically was and the easier it was to tell individuals apart. (more…)

How Nature’s Patterns Form

Nature

Alan Newell, a UA mathematics professor, studies patterns in nature, which he said have features that are universal

When people on airplanes ask Alan Newell what he works on, he tells them “flower arrangements.” (more…)

Greenland’s Glaciers Double in Speed

Environment

The contribution of Greenland to global sea level change and the mapping of previously unknown basins and mountains beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet are highlighted in a new film released by Cambridge University this morning.

The work of glaciologist Professor Julian Dowdeswell, Director of Cambridge University’s Scott Polar Research Institute, is the focus of This Icy World, the latest film in the University’s Cambridge Ideas series. (more…)

Amazon Prime Members Now Get Unlimited, Commercial-free, Instant Streaming of More Than 5,000 Movies and TV Shows at No Additional Cost

Technology

*Amazon Adds Instant Videos to Amazon Prime*

SEATTLE, Feb 22, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon.com, Inc. today announced the launch of a new benefit for Amazon Prime members: unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming of more than 5,000 movies and TV shows. This new benefit is being added at no additional cost — Prime membership will continue to be $79 per year. Amazon Prime’s all-you-can-eat free Two-Day Shipping has already attracted millions of members. Customers can learn more about an Amazon Prime one-month free trial and start watching instantly at www.amazon.com/primevideos.

“Millions of Amazon Prime members already enjoy the convenience of free Two-Day Shipping,” said Robbie Schwietzer, vice president of Amazon Prime. “Adding unlimited instant access to thousands of movies and TV shows at no additional cost is a great way to give members even more value for their $79 annual Amazon Prime membership.” (more…)

Users Worldwide Can Now Unite in Online Study Groups for Open Yale Courses

Education

Open Yale Courses, which will be releasing another set of undergraduate courses this spring, has added a new dimension to its offering by engaging in a social networking pilot project with the website OpenStudy.

OpenStudy is designed to connect users in a study group that allows them to collaborate in real time on open content regardless of their location. For example, if a person viewing Yale economist Robert Shiller’s lecture on behavioral finance in Beijing is unclear on an issue, he can post his question to the course’s study group and receive assistance from a fellow Open Yale Courses user in São Paulo. (more…)

To Increase Physical Activity, Focus on How, not Why

Health

*Behavior strategies, such as self-monitoring and goals, motivate best, MU study finds*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Most people know that exercise is important to maintain and improve health; however, sedentary lifestyles and obesity rates are at all-time highs and have become major national issues. In a new study, University of Missouri researchers found that healthy adults who received interventions focused on behavior-changing strategies significantly increased their physical activity levels. Conversely, interventions based on cognitive approaches, which try to change knowledge and attitudes, did not improve physical activity. (more…)