Tag Archives: united states

Most Low Birth Weight Babies Become Productive Adults

By Guest PostDecember 2, 2010Economy, Generalbabies, canada, education, john goddeeris, long-term economic impact, low birth weight, neonatal care, productive adults, salary levels, saroj saigal, survival rates, survivors, united states

John Goddeeris, professor of economics. Image credit: Michigan State University

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Most survivors of extremely low birth weight grow up to become productive adults, according to a study led by a Michigan State University economist.

Extremely low birth weight is defined as less than about 2.2 pounds. About one in 200 babies is born at that size. But because relatively few survived prior to the 1980s, few studies have examined their adult outcomes.

The study led by MSU’s John Goddeeris found that while these survivors were somewhat less productive as adults, on average, than normal-weight subjects, the productivity deficits were not very large. The study, which appears in the journal Pediatrics, measured education and salary levels.

“Our findings suggest that the long-term economic impact of being born at extremely low birth weight is pretty modest for typical survivors,” said Goddeeris, professor of economics. (more…)

Mammals Grew 1,000 Times Larger After the Demise of the Dinosaurs

By Guest PostNovember 27, 2010Scienceafrican elephant, body size patterns, deinotherium, dinosaurs, early pleistocene, eocene, Epoch, evolution of body size, extinction of dinosaurs, felisa smith, indricotherium, late-miocene, mammals, oligocene, saran twombly, united states, university of new mexico

*NSF enabled the assembly of an international, interdisciplinary team that was the first to quantitatively document body size patterns over the past 100 million years*

Researchers have demonstrated that the extinction of dinosaurs some 65 million years ago paved the way for mammals to get bigger, about a thousand times larger than they had been when dinosaurs roamed the earth. The study, released in the journal Science, is the first to quantitatively document the patterns of body size of mammals after the existence of dinosaurs.

About the Image: The largest land mammals that ever lived, Indricotherium and Deinotherium, would have towered over the living African Elephant. Indricotherium lived during the Eocene to the Oligocene Epoch (37 to 23 million years ago) and reached a mass of 15,000 kg, while Deinotherium was around from the late-Miocene until the early Pleistocene (8.5 to 2.7 million years ago) and weighed as much as 17,000 kg. Image credit: NSF RCN IMPPS (more…)

World Politics: Balance of Power Between the U.S. and China

By Guest PostNovember 25, 20101 commentEconomy, Politicsamericans, China, chinese, chinese education system, college graduates, edward stern, Facebook, hubei province, industrial power, jobless, middle east, super power, united states, world war, YouTube

For the first time since establishing itself as a world super power following World War I, the United States appears like it may be losing its footing. The prosperous nation’s economy is tanking. Thousands of Americans are jobless, with houses being foreclosed left and right. Americans have little confidence in their beleaguered government, which is in serious debt. There is little consensus amongst politicians or citizens regarding important issues, which has led to great party-based divisions in the country. The country is fighting a losing battle in the Middle East, and has been at war continuously since World War II. (more…)

‘Al Jazeera Helps Shape Political Identity of Arabs’

By Guest PostNovember 18, 2010Culture, Politicsal arabiya, al jazeera, arab identity, education, erik nisbet, muslims, news networks, shibley telhami, teresa myers, united states

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Residents of the Middle East who are heavy viewers of Arab television news networks like Al Jazeera are more likely to view their primary identity as that of Muslims, rather than as citizens of their own country, a new study suggests.

Because networks like Al Jazeera are transnational – focusing on events of interest across the region rather than those in any one country – they may encourage viewers to see themselves in broader terms than simply residents of a particular nation, the researchers said.

“The goal of these relatively new networks is not to represent specific national interests, but to appeal to audiences across the region,” said Erik Nisbet, lead author of the study and assistant professor of communication at Ohio State University. (more…)

Rare Earth Elements in U.S. Not So Rare

By Guest PostNovember 18, 2010Economy, Environment, Scienceaustralia, bear lodge mountains, bokan mountain, China, department of defense, deposits, geochemical properties, marcia mcnutt, mountain pass, rare earth elements, ree, united states

*Significant Deposits Found in 14 States*

Rare Earth Elements. Image credit: USGS

Approximately 13 million metric tons of rare earth elements (REE) exist within known deposits in the United States, according to the first-ever nationwide estimate of these elements by the U.S. Geological Survey.

This estimate of domestic rare earth deposits is part of a larger report that includes a review of global sources for REE, information on known deposits that might provide domestic sources of REE in the future, and geologic information crucial for studies of the availability of REE to U.S. industry.

The report describes significant deposits of REE in 14 states, with the largest known REE deposits at Mountain Pass, Calif.; Bokan Mountain, Alaska; and the Bear Lodge Mountains, Wyo. The Mountain Pass mine produced REE until it closed in 2002. Additional states with known REE deposits include Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, and South Carolina. (more…)

West Nile Virus More Prevalent in Low-income Neighborhoods, Study Finds

By Guest PostNovember 16, 2010Health, Sciencebird populations, coma, convulsions, disorientation, economic conditions, henri thomassen, low income neighborhoods, mosquito transmitted disease, mosquitoe, muscle, neck stiffness, North America, orange county, ryan harrigan, thomas smith, united states, west nile virus

Image credit: University of California

Low-income neighborhoods appear to be the most susceptible to West Nile virus, a mosquito-transmitted disease that is linked to more than 1,000 deaths since in the United States since 1999, according to new UCLA-lead research.

Using data on infected humans and mosquitoes from the West Nile virus hotspot of Orange County, Calif., from 2005-08, scientists found that per-capita income and other economic conditions were the single greatest predictor of occurrence, explaining 85-95 percent of the variation. While economic conditions have previously been linked to disease, the study is the first to use a rigorous statistical model. (more…)

‘Nightmare’ Economy Still a Source of Restless Nights, says Krugman

By Guest PostNovember 11, 2010Economyben bernacke, China, columnist, economist, Economy, federal reserve, global markets, Great depression, japan worriers, japanese economy, martin luther king, microeconomic, new york times, nobel prize, obama administration, paul krugman, richard c levin, sprague hall, united states

Paul Krugman. Image credit: Yale University

Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman had some generally dismal news for the near capacity audience that came to Sprague Hall on Tuesday for his Jackson Institute-sponsored town hall meeting.

The gathering, aimed at undergraduates, was held in conjunction with Krugman’s visit to Yale to receive the Henry E. Howland Memorial Prize, one of the highest honors that the University bestows.

Krugman was introduced by President Richard C. Levin; the two were briefly colleagues in Yale’s Department of Economics in the 1970s. He kicked off the Q&A with background on the current economic situation. (more…)

Windows Phone 7 Takes Aim at Bad Phone Design

By Guest PostNovember 8, 2010Technologyadvertising, at&t, bad mobile, harris interactive, katy asher, katy perry, maroon 5, Microsoft, minka kelly, mobile phone, samsung focus, smartphones, t-mobile, todd peters, united states, windows phone 7, YouTube

*Windows Phone 7 goes on sale today at AT&T and T-Mobile stores throughout the United States. The phone takes a new approach to smartphone design, hopefully addressing some of the “Bad Mobile Phone Behavior” called out in a new survey released today.*

REDMOND, Wash. – Nov. 8, 2010 – The mobile phone, like the craftiest of invasive species, knows no boundaries. It has crept into every inch of our lives, and spotting one in the bathroom or the bedroom can only elicit a weary response: “Really?”

According to a new survey released today, the answer across the country is a resounding – if resigned – “Yes.” (more…)