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Exercise and Healthy Eating Make a Difference Even Later in Life

By Guest PostJune 8, 2012Health, Sportsaging studies, american geriatrics society, blood samples, cardiovascular disease, carotenoids, emily nicklett, exercise, fruits, healthy diet, inflammation, jared wadley, johns hopkins university, life expectancy, mortality risk, physical activity, university of michigan, vegetables, women

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Women in their 70s had a longer life expectancy when they exercised and regularly ate fruits and vegetables, a new University of Michigan study found.

“This is the first study to show that the combination of a healthy diet and greater physical activity predict greater survival and that the combination of both positive factors confers lower mortality risk than either factor alone,” said Emily Nicklett, U-M assistant professor of social work.

Nicklett and researchers at The Johns Hopkins University studied the results from 713 women ages 70 to 79 years who participated in the Women’s Health and Aging Studies. (more…)

American Teens Are Less Likely Than European Teens to Use Cigarettes and Alcohol, but More Likely to Use Illicit Drugs

By Guest PostJune 5, 2012Culture, Generaladolescent behaviour, alcohol, american adolescents, american students, american surveys, american teens, anabolic steroids, cigarettes, cocaine, crack, eastern, Europe, european teens, france, future surveys, Germany, hashish, heroin, illicit drugs, inhalants, italy, jared wadley, lloyd johnston, marijuana, monaco, smoking cigarettes, university of michigan, western europe

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— The U.S. had the second-lowest proportion of students who used tobacco and alcohol compared to their counterparts in 36 European countries, a new report indicates.

The results originate from coordinated school surveys about substance use from more than 100,000 students in some of the largest countries in Europe like Germany, France and Italy, as well as many smaller ones from both Eastern and Western Europe.

Because the methods and measures are largely modeled after the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future surveys in this country, comparisons are possible between the U.S. and European results. The 15- and 16-year-old students, who were drawn in nationally representative samples in almost all of the 36 countries, were surveyed last spring. American 10th graders in the 2011 Monitoring the Future studies are of the same age, so comparisons are possible. (more…)

Homing in on Higgs: Michigan Researchers Predict Summer Discovery

By Guest PostJune 4, 2012Scienceaaron armbruster, algorithms, atlas, atoms, bing zhou, CERN, Chicago, electromagnetic radiation, electrons, fermilab, forces, function, geneva, gordon kane, higgs, higgs boson, higgs field particles, homer neal, jianming qian, junjie zhu, Large Hadron Collider, laws, laws of nature, lhc, missing piece, Nature, neutrons, newton, particle physics, physics theory, protons, quarks, rudolf thun, standard model, stephen hawking, summer, switzerland, tevatron particle accelerator, university of michigan, vacuum like state

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Whether the Higgs boson exists could be settled by the end of summer, say University of Michigan physicists involved in the search for the missing piece of particle physics’ Standard Model.

“We’re zooming in,” said Jianming Qian, physics professor in the College of Literature, Science & the Arts. “We are increasing the data set and improving our search algorithms. With certain luck, we may be able to discover it this summer, but it depends on nature.”

Qian is one of the 28 U-M researchers involved in experiments at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland. He’ll spend most of his time through August in Geneva, where more than 1,000 scientists from around the world have been looking for Higgs since the collider turned on about four years ago. (more…)

Cell Network Security Holes Revealed, With an App to Test Your Carrier

By Guest PostMay 22, 2012Technologyandroid app, android smartphones, cellular network, Facebook, firewall technology, http, ieee symposium, middleboxs, nicole casal moore, san francisco, sandboxing, security, sequence numbers, smartphone malware, tcp internet connection, Twitter, university of michigan, z morley mao, zhiyun qian

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Popular firewall technology designed to boost security on cellular networks can backfire, unwittingly revealing data that could help a hacker break into Facebook and Twitter accounts, a new study from the University of Michigan shows.

The researchers also developed an Android app that tells phone users when they’re on a vulnerable network. They will present their work May 22 at the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy in San Francisco. (more…)

OMG! Texting Ups Truthfulness, New Iphone Study Suggests

By Guest PostMay 19, 2012TechnologyAmazon, craigslist, diane swanbrow, distracting environment, fred conrad, google ads, iPhone, iphone users, itunes store, mechanical turk, michael schober, numerical response, satisficing, text messaging, united states, university of michigan, us households, visual record

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Text messaging is a surprisingly good way to get candid responses to sensitive questions, according to a new study to be presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Association for Public Opinion Research.

“The preliminary results of our study suggest that people are more likely to disclose sensitive information via text messages than in voice interviews,” said Fred Conrad, a cognitive psychologist and director of the Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research. (more…)

New Twist on Ancient Math Problem Could Improve Medicine, Microelectronics

By Guest PostMay 15, 2012Scienceancient math problem, carolyn phillips, filling problem, hidden facet, medicine, microelectronics, microprocessor, Nanotechnology, pentagon, protein, radiation beam, sanskrit manuscript, sharon glotzer, silicon chip, solution, starfish, three dimensions, traps, treating tumor, two dimensions, university of connecticut, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— A hidden facet of a math problem that goes back to timeworn Sanskrit manuscripts has just been exposed by nanotechnology researchers at the University of Michigan and the University of Connecticut.

It turns out we’ve been missing a version of the famous “packing problem,” and its new guise could have implications for cancer treatment, secure wireless networks, microelectronics and demolitions, the researchers say.

Called the “filling problem,” it seeks the best way to cover the inside of an object with a particular shape, such as filling a triangle with discs of varying sizes. Unlike the traditional packing problem, the discs can overlap. It also differs from the “covering problem” because the discs can’t extend beyond the triangle’s boundaries. (more…)

Ecosystem Effects of Biodiversity Loss Could Rival Impacts of Climate Change, Pollution

By Guest PostMay 10, 2012Environment, Natureacid deposition, air pollution, algae, bacteria, biodiversity loss, biological diversity, bradley cardinale, california, canada, climate change, david hooper, ecosystem, environmental change, environmental stress, environmental stressors, extinction, forests, fungi, global warming, henry gholz, impact, leslie gonzalez, nutrient pollution, oxygen, ozone pollution, pollution, san josé, serpentine grasslands, Sweden, united states, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Loss of biodiversity appears to impact ecosystems as much as climate change, pollution and other major forms of environmental stress, according to a new study from an international research team.

The study is the first comprehensive effort to directly compare the impacts of biological diversity loss to the anticipated effects of a host of other human-caused environmental changes.

The results highlight the need for stronger local, national and international efforts to protect biodiversity and the benefits it provides, according to the researchers, who are based at nine institutions in the United States, Canada and Sweden. (more…)

Job Slowdown in April Halts Growth in Overall Confidence

By Guest PostApril 28, 2012Economyapril, consumer attitude, consumer confidence, economic optimism, economist, financial situation, growth, household, richard curtin, sentiment index, thomson reuters, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Consumer confidence remained largely unchanged at improved levels in April as consumers were still hopeful about future job gains despite disappointing recent developments, according to economist Richard Curtin, director of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.

The Surveys, conducted by the U-M Institute for Social Research, have been monitoring consumer attitudes and expectations for over 60 years. (more…)

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