Tag Archives: research

Scholars take aim at false positives in research

UChicago professor argues for lowering key statistical benchmark

A single change to a century-old statistical standard would dramatically improve the quality of research in many scientific fields, shrinking the number of so-called false positives, according to a commentary published Sept. 1 in Nature Human Behaviour. (more…)

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Scientist Haifan Lin: From Mao’s China to Yale’s Stem Cell Center

Scientist’s journey includes moving research toward potential clinical advances

A significant turning point in the life of Haifan Lin, Ph.D., Eugene Higgins Professor of Cell Biology; professor of genetics and of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences; and founding director of Yale’s Stem Cell Center, may have come when he was just 15. Already a high achiever, as he has been ever since, he completed high school three years younger than his classmates. (more…)

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Meet ‘Adonis,’ Europe’s Oldest Known Living Tree

UA Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research scientists participated in an expedition that revealed its age: nearly 1,100 years.

A Bosnian pine living in the highlands of Greece has been shown to be more than 1,075 years, making it the oldest known living tree in Europe. (more…)

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Yale anthropologist’s research inspires modern art

The transformation of the Thu Thiem New Urban Area in Ho Chi Minh City is the focus of a new exhibition in Vietnam by renowned artist Tiffany Chung that is based on research conducted in collaboration with Yale anthropologist Erik Harms.

Titled “an archaeology project for future remembrance,” the exhibition is on view at Galerie Quynh in Ho Chi Minh City.  (more…)

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Invasion in the Desert: Why Some Plant Species are Survivors

Max Li’s research could inform policies to promote sustainable native environments and curb the invasion of alien plant species.

Max Li, a University of Arizona doctoral student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, is studying mechanisms that determine how competing desert plants can coexist with each other and what factors can cause the destruction of this stable coexistence.

His research could help inform policies to curb the spread of invasive species. (more…)

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Lesbian and gay young people twice as likely to smoke and drink alcohol

Young people who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual are twice as likely to have smoked than their heterosexual peers, according to new research published in BMJ Open. Lesbian and gay young people were also more likely to drink alcohol frequently and more hazardously.

The interdisciplinary research team comprised researchers from five UK Universities (UCL, University of Cambridge, London Metropolitan University, De Montfort University Leicester and Brunel University), a doctor working in General Practice and a consultant from Public Health England. (more…)

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New book explores evolution of human reproduction

Human beings would probably be known as pilosals rather than mammals if Carl Linnaeus had not been a proponent of breast-feeding. For social and political reasons, the famed taxonomist labeled the class of animals to which humans belong with a reference to their practice of suckling their young rather than to their evolutionarily older characteristic of having hair.

This is just one of the hundreds of surprising pieces of information that readers will glean from the far-reaching and fascinating How We Do It: The Evolution and Future of Human Reproduction, a new book by Robert Martin, a member of the University’s of Chicago’s Committee on Evolutionary Biology and curator of biological anthropology at the Field Museum. (more…)

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Researchers Track Facial Expressions To Improve Teaching Software

Research from North Carolina State University shows that software which tracks facial expressions can accurately assess the emotions of students engaged in interactive online learning and predict the effectiveness of online tutoring sessions.

“This work is part of a larger effort to develop artificial intelligence software to teach students computer science,” says Dr. Kristy Boyer, an assistant professor of computer science at NC State and co-author of a paper on the work. “The program, JavaTutor, will not only respond to what a student knows, but to each student’s feelings of frustration or engagement. This is important because research shows that student emotion plays an important role in the learning process.” (more…)

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