Tag Archives: brown university

Questions for Robert Miranda Jr.: Parenting Cuts Genetic Risk of Teen Drinking

By Guest PostNovember 10, 2012Healtha118g snp, addiction researcher, adolescents, alcohol, alcohol use, alcohol use disorder, alcoholism, alcoholism risk, aud, aud diagnosis, behavior, brown university, child, david orenstein, disorder, environmental factor, european american, g allele, genetic predisposition, genetic risk factor, genomic dna, non aud youth, oprm1 gene, parenting, relationship, robert miranda, teens

In a new study, addiction researchers found that attentive parenting can overcome a genetic predisposition to alcohol use disorder among teens. Although further research is needed, says lead author Robert Miranda Jr., parents can have an impact if they “closely monitor their child’s behavior and peer group.”

In 2010 a team led by Robert Miranda Jr., associate professor (research) of psychiatry and human behavior in the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, found that teens with a single difference in their genes were more predisposed to alcohol use disorder. In a new study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research he found that the risk was largely overcome in teens whose parents are attentive to their behavior and peer group. Miranda, a researcher at Brown’s Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, answered questions from science writer David Orenstein about the new study.

What did we know about genetic risk associated with A118G and teenage alcohol use going into this study?

In 2010, we reported in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research the first evidence that the A118G SNP of the OPRM1 gene is associated with a greater number of alcohol-related problems as well as the development of an alcohol use disorder (AUD) among adolescents. Specifically, adolescents who met criteria for an AUD diagnosis had a higher prevalence of the G allele (51.9 percent) than non-AUD youth(16.3 percent), and the G allele accounted for 9 percent of the variance in alcohol-related problems experienced by youth in the past three months, with a moderate effect size. Although these findings are consistent with some adult studies in terms of the nature and magnitude of this association, other adult studies did not find this relationship. (more…)

How Silver Turns People Blue

By Guest PostOctober 27, 2012Scienceabsorb, acidic environment, agnes kane, antimicrobial, argyria, base membrane, bioavailable salt, bloodstream, brown researcher, brown university, charged ions, disorder, electron, environmental impact, exposure scenario, frances liu, germs, gi tract, grayish blue, health tonics, jingyu liu, medical treatment, nanoparticle, particle, photochemical reaction, protein, robert hurt, salt ion, silver, silver atom, silver salt, skin, toxic, toxicity, zhongying wang

Ingesting silver — in antimicrobial health tonics or for extensive medical treatments involving silver — can cause argyria, condition in which the skin turns grayish-blue. Brown researchers have discovered how that happens. The process is similar to developing black-and-white photographs, and it’s not just the silver.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Researchers from Brown University have shown for the first time how ingesting too much silver can cause argyria, a rare condition in which patients’ skin turns a striking shade of grayish blue.

“It’s the first conceptual model giving the whole picture of how one develops this condition,” said Robert Hurt, professor of engineering at Brown and part of the research team. “What’s interesting here is that the particles someone ingests aren’t the particles that ultimately cause the disorder.” (more…)

Taubman Center Survey: RI Voters Likely to Approve Casino Gambling

By Guest PostOctober 13, 2012Politicsabel collins, alfred taubman, angel taveras, Barack Obama, benjamin barrett hinckley, brown university, casino gaming, center, cicilline, congressional, david cicilline, district one, doherty, february, gender inclusive, independent candidate, jack reed, james langevin, lincoln chafee, mitt romney, newport, newport grand, policy, president, providence mayor, race, republican, rhode island, right direction, sheldon whitehouse, state operated, twin river, voter, whitehouse

A new Brown University poll of Rhode Island voters finds strong support for state-operated casino gaming at Twin River and Newport Grand. In the hotly contested Congressional District One race, Rep. David Cicilline retains a small lead. The survey, conducted Sept. 26 to Oct. 5 2012, is based on a sample of 496 registered voters in Rhode Island.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A new public opinion survey by Brown University researchers finds that Rhode Island voters appear poised to approve questions one and two on the state ballot, which would allow casino gaming in Lincoln and Newport. Despite an approval rating of just 29.7 percent, Rep. David Cicilline appears to have an edge over Republican challenger Brendan Doherty among voters in 1st Congressional District.

Researchers at the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions and the John Hazen White Public Opinion Laboratory at Brown University surveyed a random sample of 496 Rhode Island voters from Sept. 26 to Oct. 5, 2012. The poll has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percent. (more…)

Too Much Information? It Depends …

By Guest PostSeptember 18, 2012Economyadvertising, brown university, cognitive reflection test, colorado, crt, explanation fiends, explanation foes, hypothesis, illusion, julia shube, philip fernbach, psychologist, robert st louis, steven sloman, university

In a new study, psychologists at Brown University and the University of Colorado found that while some people require a detailed explanation of how a product works before they’ll be willing to pay more, others became less willing to pay when confronted with that additional detail. A simple, standard test predicted the desire for detail — who wants more, who wants less.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A study published online in the Journal of Consumer Research finds that people can differ widely on the level of detail makes them feel they understand something. In experiments, the very same explanations that some subjects required before they would pay top dollar seemed to drive down what others were willing to pay. The natural trick for a marketer would be to figure out which customers are which. The study does that, too.

“The fact is that people differ,” said Steven Sloman, professor of cognitive, linguistic, and psychological sciences at Brown University and an author on the paper. “Your advertising, your marketing, and your understanding of people has to be guided by an appreciation of who you are talking to.” (more…)

Beacons Light up Stem Cell Transformation

By Guest PostSeptember 12, 2012Sciencealpl, bglap, biotechnology, bone cell, bone specific, brown university, chathuraka jayasuriya, differentiation, DNA, eric darling, fluorescence, gene, gene col1a1, gene expression, glowing, green spot, hetal desai, indu voruganti, medicine treatment, messenger rna, mg 63, milestone, molecular beacon, mrna, qian chen, regenerative, stem cell, tissue

In a new study, Brown University researchers demonstrate a new tool for visually tracking in real-time the transformation of a living population of stem cells into cells of a specific tissue. The “molecular beacons,” which could advance tissue engineering research, light up when certain genes are expressed and don’t interfere with the development or operation of the stem cells.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A novel set of custom-designed “molecular beacons” allows scientists to monitor gene expression in living populations of stem cells as they turn into a specific tissue in real-time. The technology, which Brown University researchers describe in a new study, provides tissue engineers with a potentially powerful tool to discover what it may take to make stem cells transform into desired tissue cells more often and more quickly. That’s a key goal in improving regenerative medicine treatments. (more…)

September 11 and The Cost of War

By Guest PostSeptember 11, 2012Politicsafghanistan, attack, brown university, catherine lutz, combat, conflict, connecticut, cost, death, democracy, domestic, environmental degradation, ethnicity, federal government, fiscal year, human lives. economic term, human right, international, international studies, Iraq, oregon, Pakistan, pentagon, september 11, united states, US, violation, war, war project, watson institute, yemen

The Costs of War project is assessing the total cost of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan in the wake of the 9-11 attacks. Findings thus far put the cost at more than 300,000 lives and $4 trillion. The project’s findings are continually updated. (more…)

Teens Tell Different Tales about Themselves Depending on Gender, Says MU Researcher

By Guest PostSeptember 6, 2012Culture, General, Healthadolescence, autobiographical narrative, brown university, emory university, emotional state, gender, jennifer bohanek, missouri, negative stories, parent, personal identity, reflect, robyn fivush, sally grapin, self, sense, transition, university, widaad zaman, young people

Parents can use knowledge to help steer teens through life changes

COLUMBIA, Mo. — During adolescence, the stories young people tell about themselves reflects their development of a personal identity and sense of self, and those autobiographical narratives vary depending on the teens’ gender, according to a University of Missouri psychologist and her colleagues. Parents can use this knowledge of how teens talk about themselves to help understand the tumultuous transitions of their children into adults.

“Autobiographical stories tell us details about adolescent psychology that questionnaires and observations of behavior cannot,” said Jennifer Bohanek, assistant professor of psychological sciences in the College of Arts and Science. “Narratives provide information about how adolescents interpret memories as well as how they come to know themselves. Other people then come to know the teens by the stories they tell about themselves. The differences between study participants’ stories suggest there may be differences in the way male and female teens understand themselves and present themselves to the world.” (more…)

Chemists Advance Clear Conductive Films

By Guest PostAugust 8, 2012Sciencebisacetylacetonatedichloride, brown university, chemist, conductive films, conductivity, conductivity performance, cross section, david paine, electron microscopy, guanglai li, indium acetylacetonate, indium tin oxide, ito, ito crystals, jonghun lee, melissa petruska, nanocrystal solution, polyimide, shouheng sun, solar cells, spinning, sunghwan lee

Thin, conductive films are useful in displays and solar cells. A new solution-based chemistry developed at Brown University for making indium tin oxide films could allow engineers to employ a much simpler and cheaper manufacturing process.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — In a touch-screen display or a solar panel, any conductive overlay had better be clear. Engineers employ transparent thin films of indium tin oxide (ITO) for the job, but a high-tech material’s properties are only half its resume. They must also be as cheap and easy to manufacture as possible. In a new study, researchers from Brown University and ATMI Inc. report the best-ever transparency and conductivity performance for an ITO made using a chemical solution, which is potentially the facile, low-cost method manufacturers want.

“Our technology is already at the performance level for application in resistive touch screens,” said Jonghun Lee, a Brown chemistry graduate student and lead author of the paper posted online Aug. 1 by the Journal of the American Chemical Society. (more…)