Ancient malaria patients, the anthropologist will see you now.
A Yale University scientist has developed a promising new method to identify malaria in the bone marrow of ancient human remains. It is the first time researchers have been able to establish a diagnostic, human skeletal profile for the disease, which is transmitted by mosquitoes and continues to infect millions of people a year. (more…)
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Why does a mouse’s heart beat about the same number of times in its lifetime as an elephant’s, although the mouse lives about a year, while an elephant sees 70 winters come and go? Why do small plants and animals mature faster than large ones? Why has nature chosen such radically different forms as the loose-limbed beauty of a flowering tree and the fearful symmetry of a tiger?
These questions have puzzled life scientists since ancient times. Now an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Maryland and the University of Padua in Italy propose a thought-provoking answer based on a famous mathematical formula that has been accepted as true for generations, but never fully understood. In a paper published the week of Feb. 17, 2014 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team offers a re-thinking of the formula known as Kleiber’s Law. Seeing this formula as a mathematical expression of an evolutionary fact, the team suggests that plants’ and animals’ widely different forms evolved in parallel, as ideal ways to solve the problem of how to use energy efficiently. (more…)
The astonishing transformation of the German economy from the ‘sick man of Europe’ to a lean and highly competitive economy is predominantly due to the decentralisation of wage bargaining rather than government labour market reforms, according to new research led by UCL.
The resurgence of the German economy has often been attributed to government policy, notably the so-called ‘Hartz reforms’ implemented in 2003. But research, forthcoming in the Journal of Economic Perspectives, suggests that it is instead down to the inherent flexibility of the German system of industrial relations – most specifically, the autonomy of labour market institutions to set wage rates – that has led to a dramatic increase in the competitiveness of the German economy. (more…)
People have a distance at which they are best able to judge depth. That distance, it turns out, is dictated by how long people understand their arms to be. Researchers showed this in the Journal of Neuroscience by tricking subjects with virtual reality into thinking their reach was longer than it really was. The result? Their accurate perception of depth via sight moved outward and touch became more sensitive.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — We need to reach for things, so a connection between arm length and our ability to judge depth accurately may make sense. Given that we grow throughout childhood, it may also seem reasonable that such an optimal depth perception distance should be flexible enough to change with a lengthening arm. Recent research in the Journal of Neuroscience provides evidence for these ideas with surprising findings: Scientists showed that they could manipulate the distance at which adult volunteers accurately perceived depth, both through sight and touch, by tricking them into thinking they had a longer reach than they really do. (more…)
Research finds effects go beyond increase in aggression
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Playing violent video games not only increases aggression, it also leads to less self-control and more cheating, a new study finds.
Researchers found that teens who played violent video games ate more chocolate and were more likely to steal raffle tickets in a lab experiment than were teens who played nonviolent games. (more…)
Integration of vCE Provides Be On With Holistic View of Digital Campaign Performance
London, UK, September 17, 2013 – comScore, Inc., a global leader in digital measurement and analytics, today announced that 
branded entertainment platform Be On, a division of AOL Networks, has selected comScore validated Campaign Essentials (vCE) as its global campaign performance measurement platform. comScore vCE is a holistic ad and audience delivery validation solution that provides valuable campaign insights, such as audience verification, brand safety and ad viewability, whilst also offering in-flight campaign reporting and daily alerting for effective campaign management.
“We are delighted that Be On has selected comScore vCE as its digital campaign analytics platform, and look forward to working together to validate and optimise campaign performance on a global scale,” said Scott Joslin, VP International Advertising Effectiveness at comScore. “Our experience is based on analysing thousands of campaigns globally, and we are committed to providing our clients with the most advanced advertising solutions to deliver the campaign insights needed to maximise the value of their digital investments.” (more…)
In August, leaders from more than 50 schools from around the country will gather at Yale to hear a simple but profound message — emotions matter in the classroom.
The training session will be the largest ever held by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, which has built a sophisticated, science-based program that is anchored in the seminal work of now Yale University President Peter Salovey and fellow psychologist John D. Mayer. Less than a quarter century after publication of their paper, “Emotional Intelligence,” 75,000 educators in more than 500 schools in 30-plus states and countries including England, Spain, Italy, and Australia have learned about the key role of emotions in learning and behavior through a program called RULER. (more…)
VANCOUVER, Wash. – Scientists and technicians who work at volcano observatories in nine countries are visiting Mount St. Helens and the U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Science Center’s Cascades Volcano Observatory this week to learn techniques for monitoring active volcanoes. Organized by the Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes at the University of Hawaiʻi, Hilo, with support from the VSC-managed joint USGS-USAID Volcano Disaster Assistance Program, the annual program has been training foreign scientists for 22 years. This year’s class includes volcano scientists from Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Canada, Indonesia, Italy, and Papua New Guinea.
The International Training Program in Volcano Hazards Monitoring is designed to assist other nations in attaining self-sufficiency in monitoring volcanoes and reducing the risks from eruptions. Through in-class instruction at two USGS volcano observatories, and field exercises in Hawaiʻi and at Mount St. Helens, U.S. scientists are providing training on monitoring methods, data analysis and interpretation, and volcanic hazard assessment, and participants are taught about the use and maintenance of volcano monitoring instruments. Additionally, participants learn about focusing on forecasting and rapid response during volcanic crises, and how to work with governing officials and the news media to save lives and property. (more…)
