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Half of Texans Prefer Faith over Science, According to UT/Texas Tribune Poll

AUSTIN, Texas — About half of Texas voters believe faith is a better guide than scientific evidence on most important questions, according to a recent University of Texas at Austin/Texas Tribune poll.

According to the poll, which surveyed Texans on a wide range of attitudes related to science and public policy, a similar proportion of voters said that “instinct and gut reactions” are just as good as the advice of scientists in most cases.

However, 66 percent of voters said politicians, when faced with a difficult decision, should follow the advice of relevant experts, even if it means going against their ideology. (more…)

Who Else Wants to Hire the Best IT Specialists Available?

Jobs

Can anyone argue that are modern world is moving forward at warp speed? Every day, there seem to be major improvements introduced around the world in various technologies. Automobiles have certainly become far more complex in the last two decades, mostly thanks to the electronics that control the engine, as well as the additional consumer friendly-features such as DVD players, docking ports for iPods or iPhones, navigation systems etc. Airplanes have also become far more sophisticated, with engine designed to maximise fuel-efficiency, and overall designs that maximise lift while also providing creature comforts for the passengers. In just about any type of industry, computers are helping to either design new products or control robots that create them, and they even monitor the entire process from design to final shipment to a client. (more…)

Long-Term Sea Level Rise Could Cost Washington, D.C. Billions

Environment

College Park, MD – A University of Maryland study projects that Washington, D.C. city and federal property could suffer billions of dollars in damage if sea level rise from global warming increases over the next century. Potential for significant damage will be even greater in the event of extreme weather like Hurricane Sandy

The study by Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Bilal Ayyub, Haralamb Braileanu and Naeem Qureshi, of the Clark School of Engineering’s Center for Technology and Systems Management, looks at possible long term effects of projected sea level rise on Washington, D.C. real-estate property and government infrastructure. They conclude that over the next 100 years, continuing sea level rise could cause damages of more than $24.6 billion to Washington’s commercial property, museums, and government agencies. (more…)

Change in Chinese Culture and Values Could Open Chinese Sports Market for U.S., says MU Researcher

Economy

Large, untapped market could benefit U.S. economy

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Currently, China has a population of more than 1.3 billion people, and based on a new study from the University of Missouri, it appears that interest in American sports is growing in the country, which could open a large, untapped economic market for the U.S. (more…)

PTSD Consortium

Health

Researchers seek better ways to diagnose, treat disorder

Tania Roth studies what happens to the brain when stress occurs early in life, seeking to pinpoint how those kinds of bad experiences can cause molecular changes to DNA. (more…)

Asteroid Vesta Has Unique ‘Space Weathering’

Science

Space weathering — a darkening of lunar surfaces by solar wind and metal nanoparticles from vaporized meteorites — appears to happen differently on Vesta, the largest body in the asteroid belt. The discovery, from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, has planetary geologists returning to their lunar data for another look and further analysis

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — The surface of the giant asteroid Vesta is weathering in a way that appears to be completely different from any other asteroid yet visited, according to new data recorded by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft. This new type of space weathering suggests that there’s something about Vesta — perhaps its mineral composition or its position in the solar system — that makes its surface environment fundamentally different from other asteroids studied thus far. (more…)

The Fed and Interest Rates: Biased Toward the GOP?

Politics

ANN ARBOR — With the elections less than a week away, it’s worth considering that the party of the president influences the policy behavior of the Federal Reserve Bank, according to a new University of Michigan study.

The Federal Reserve Bank increases interest rates before the presidential elections when Democrats are in office, but lowers the rates when Republicans control the White House. The independent bank finds it easier to accomplish its policy goals when Republicans control the White House than when Democrats do, the researchers say. (more…)

The Relationship between Consumer Behavior and Facebook

Technology

We spend a lot of time on Facebook. No joke, right? So it should really come as no surprise that companies have turned to Facebook to appeal more directly to consumers. But how much does business marketing on Facebook affect us? Recently Chadwick Martin Bailey, a custom market research company, teamed up with Constant Contact to conduct a study on the relationship between Facebook and consumer behavior, polling 1,491individuals 18 and older.

According to some of the highlights from the study:

1. 52% of Americans over 18 spend at least an hour on Facebook each week. That 52% can be further broken down into 29% spend 1-5 hours on the site each week, 11% spend 6-10 hours there, 6% spend 11-20 hours perusing the site, and 6% log 21+hours on Facebook each week. That’s a lot of time on Facebook! (more…)