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Researchers Show Prebiotic Can Reduce Severity of Colitis

By Guest PostMay 4, 2012Healthbacterial infection, cells, colitis, colon cancer, elizabeth gardner, fiber supplements, galacto oligosaccharide, good bacteria, gos, gut, inflammation, inflammatory bowel disease, intestinal ailments, jenifer fenton, michigan state university, natural killer, prebiotic, probiotics, synthetic compound

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Researchers at Michigan State University have shown a prebiotic may help the body’s own natural killer cells fight bacterial infection and reduce inflammation, greatly decreasing the risk of colon cancer.

Prebiotics are fiber supplements that serve as food for the trillions of tiny bacteria living in the gut. When taken, they can stimulate the growth of the “good” bacteria. The evolution of prebiotic supplements (as well as probiotics, which are actual bacteria ingested into the system) provide new therapeutic targets for researchers and physicians. (more…)

Brand Loyalty Increases When Other Customers Look, Act Like Us

By Guest PostApril 30, 2012Economyabercrombie, behavior, brand loyalty, clay voorhees, customer, dramatic, iowa state university, journal of retailing, marketing effort, marketing expert, michigan state university, mtv reality show, restaurant, texas christian university, the jersey shore, theme park

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The more other customers look and act like us, the more likely we are to stay loyal to a particular store or product, according to a groundbreaking study co-authored by a Michigan State University marketing expert.

Surprisingly, the presence and behavior of other customers is just as important to brand loyalty as customer service, said Clay Voorhees. As a real-world example, he noted the fact that Abercrombie & Fitch offered to pay troublemaking cast members of the MTV reality show “The Jersey Shore” to stop wearing its clothes. (more…)

Researchers Give Long Look at Who Benefits From Nature Tourism

By Guest PostApril 28, 2012Environment, Naturebeauty, change, China, christine vogt, governmental official, guangming he, habitat management, junyan luo, kenneth frank, michigan state university, Nature, nature based tourism, panda preserve, social connection, southwestern china, tourist, wei liu, wolong nature reserve

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Using nature’s beauty as a tourist draw can boost conservation in China’s valued panda preserves, but it isn’t an automatic ticket out of poverty for the human inhabitants, a long-term study at Michigan State University shows.

The policy hitch: Often those who benefit most from nature-based tourism endeavors are people who already have resources. The truly impoverished have a harder time breaking into the tourism business. (more…)

On-the-job Deaths Hold Steady; Number of Burn Injuries Underreported

By Guest PostApril 24, 2012Economycancer, construction industry, death certificate, deb chester, environmental medicine, illnesses, karla swift, kenneth rosenman, labor statistics, lung disease, martha yoder, michigan, michigan state university, miface report, norwood jewell, poison control center, program, public health, rate, surveillance, trauma, work related burns, worker, workers memorial day, workplace burn, workplace death

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The rate of workplace deaths in Michigan remained steady in 2011, as 141 workers died on the job compared with 145 in 2010, according to an annual report from Michigan State University.

The construction industry had the most deaths at 24, while the agriculture industry had the second most at 22, according to the Michigan Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation program, or MIFACE. (more…)

Plant Scientists Find Mechanism That Gives Plants ‘Balance’

By Guest PostApril 23, 2012Sciencearabidopsis, decision, defense mode, disease, gibberellins, growth mechanism, harsh weather, hormone, jasmonates, michigan state university, narrow leafed plant, phenomenon, plant, sheng yang he

EAST LANSING, Mich. — When a plant goes into defense mode in order to protect itself against harsh weather or disease, that’s good for the plant, but bad for the farmer growing the plant. Bad because when a plant acts to defend itself, it turns off its growth mechanism.

But now researchers at Michigan State University, as part of an international collaboration, have figured out how plants can make the “decision” between growth and defense, a finding that could help them strike a balance – keep safe from harm while continuing to grow. (more…)

U.S. Students Need New Way of Learning Science

By Guest PostApril 7, 2012Educationamerican students, atoms, cells, conservation of mass and energy, digital organisms, energy, forces, genomics, k 12 school, michigan state university, next generation, prom se, radiation, research project, Science, science standard, scientific fact, simon billinge, stephen pruitt, student assessment, synthetic biology, systems change, united states, variation, william schmidt

EAST LANSING, Mich. — American students need a dramatically new approach to improve how they learn science, says a noted group of scientists and educators led by Michigan State University professor William Schmidt.

After six years of work, the group has proposed a solution. The 8+1 Science concept calls for a radical overhaul in K-12 schools that moves away from memorizing scientific facts and focuses on helping students understand eight fundamental science concepts. The “plus one” is the importance of inquiry, the practice of asking why things happen around us – and a fundamental part of science. (more…)

Geologists Correct a Rift in Africa

By Guest PostMarch 26, 2012Scienceafrica today, australia, climate change, earth crust, east africa, east african rift, eric roberts, ethiopia, geological sciences, giant arc, great rift valley, human evolution, human species, james cook university, Kenya, malawi, michael gottfried, michigan state university, model, nancy stevens, nature geoscience, ohio university, plate boundary, rukwa rift, system, tectonic forces, uganda, vertebrate fossils, volcanic ash

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The huge changes in the Earth’s crust that influenced human evolution are being redefined, according to research published today in Nature Geoscience.

The Great Rift Valley of East Africa – the birthplace of the human species – may have taken much longer to develop than previously believed.

“We now believe that the western portion of the rift formed about 25 million years ago, and is approximately as old as the eastern part, instead of much younger as other studies have maintained,” said Michael Gottfried, Michigan State University associate professor of geological sciences. “The significance is that the Rift Valley is the setting for the most crucial steps in primate and ultimately human evolution, and our study has major implications for the environmental and landscape changes that form the backdrop for that evolutionary story.” (more…)

To Combat Identity Theft, Protect Computer

By Guest PostMarch 21, 2012Technologyanti adware, anti spyware, antivirus, computer, computer related deviance, identity theft, michael turner, michigan state university, online commerce, pirated music, pornographic images, software, thomas holt, triple threat combination

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Having a triple-threat combination of protective software on your computer greatly reduces your chances of identity theft, according to a study led by a Michigan State University criminologist.

In a survey of more than 600 people, the researchers found that computer users who were running antivirus, anti-adware and anti-spyware software were 50 percent less likely to have their credit card information stolen.

The study appears in the research journal Deviant Behavior. (more…)

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