Tag Archives: ohio state university

Statistical Analysis Projects Future Temperatures in North America

COLUMBUS, Ohio – For the first time, researchers have been able to combine different climate models using spatial statistics – to project future seasonal temperature changes in regions across North America.

They performed advanced statistical analysis on two different North American regional climate models and were able to estimate projections of temperature changes for the years 2041 to 2070, as well as the certainty of those projections.

The analysis, developed by statisticians at Ohio State University, examines groups of regional climate models, finds the commonalities between them, and determines how much weight each individual climate projection should get in a consensus climate estimate. (more…)

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Study Shows Link Between Prepregnancy Obesity and Lower Child Test Scores

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Women who are obese before they become pregnant are at higher risk of having children with lower cognitive function – as measured by math and reading tests taken between ages 5 to 7 years – than are mothers with a healthy prepregnancy weight, new research suggests.

In this large observational study, prepregnancy obesity was associated, on average, with a three-point drop in reading scores and a two-point reduction in math scores on a commonly used test of children’s cognitive function. (more…)

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“Losing Yourself” in A Fictional Character Can Affect Your Real Life

COLUMBUS, Ohio – When you “lose yourself” inside the world of a fictional character while reading a story, you may actually end up changing your own behavior and thoughts to match that of the character, a new study suggests.

Researchers at Ohio State University examined what happened to people who, while reading a fictional story, found themselves feeling the emotions, thoughts, beliefs and internal responses of one of the characters as if they were their own – a phenomenon the researchers call “experience-taking.” (more…)

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Researchers Find Potential ‘Dark Side’ To Diets High In Beta-Carotene

COLUMBUS, Ohio – New research suggests that there could be health hazards associated with consuming excessive amounts of beta-carotene.

This antioxidant is a naturally occurring pigment that gives color to foods such as carrots, sweet potatoes and certain greens. It also converts to vitamin A, and foods and supplements are the only sources for this essential nutrient.

But scientists at Ohio State University have found that certain molecules that derive from beta-carotene have an opposite effect in the body: They actually block some actions of vitamin A, which is critical to human vision, bone and skin health, metabolism and immune function. (more…)

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Research Shows Why One Bacterial Infection is So Deadly in Cystic Fibrosis

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists have found why a certain type of bacteria, harmless in healthy people, is so deadly to patients with cystic fibrosis.

The bacterium, Burkholderia cenocepacia, causes a severe and persistent lung infection in patients with CF and is resistant to nearly all known antibiotics. Cystic fibrosis is a chronic disorder characterized by a buildup of mucus in the lungs and other parts of the body, and various types of lung infection are responsible for about 85 percent of deaths in these patients. (more…)

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Stress About Wife’s Breast Cancer Can Harm A Man’s Health

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Caring for a wife with breast cancer can have a measurable negative effect on men’s health, even years after the cancer diagnosis and completion of treatment, according to recent research.

Men who reported the highest levels of stress in relation to their wives’ cancer were at the highest risk for physical symptoms and weaker immune responses, the study showed. (more…)

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Internet Use Promotes Democracy Best in Countries That Are Already Partially Free

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Although use of the internet has been credited with helping spur democratic revolutions in the Arab world and elsewhere, a new multinational study suggests the internet is most likely to play a role only in specific situations.

Researchers at Ohio State University found that the internet spurs pro-democratic attitudes most in countries that already have introduced some reforms in that direction. (more…)

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Researchers Capture First-Ever Images of Atoms Moving in a Molecule

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Using a new ultrafast camera, researchers have recorded the first real-time image of two atoms vibrating in a molecule.

Key to the experiment, which appears in this week’s issue of the journal Nature, is the researchers’ use of the energy of a molecule’s own electron as a kind of “flash bulb” to illuminate the molecular motion. (more…)

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