Tag Archives: university of missouri

Government Secrecy Claims Too Broad, MU Study Finds

By Guest PostNovember 4, 2011Politicscharles davis, democracy, foia, freedom of information act, global war on terror, government information, journalism, mosaic theory, national security, secrecy and transparency, september 11, terrorist threats, terrorists, university of missouri

*Mosaic theory interferes with public’s right to know, MU expert says*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Since September 11, 2001, the global war on terror has changed the way the U.S. government regards secrecy and transparency. Journalism researchers from the University of Missouri are concerned about the impact this may have on information freedom in the future. Charles Davis, an associate professor of journalism studies at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, has found that more and more government agencies are using the “mosaic theory” to rationalize keeping government information secret. Mosaic theory is a legal theory used to uphold the classification of information, saying that a collection of unclassified information might add up into a classified whole. Davis finds this trend disturbing. (more…)

Babies Understand Thought Process of Others at Ten Months Old, MU Research Finds

By Guest PostNovember 1, 2011Sciencebabies, common psychological test, false belief, how communication develops, how humans acquire knowledge, infants, key factor in successful communication, thought process, truth, university of missouri, yuyan luo

COLUMBIA, Mo. – New research from the University of Missouri indicates that at 10 months, babies start to understand another person’s thought process, providing new insights on how humans acquire knowledge and how communication develops.

“Understanding other people is a key factor in successful communication, and humans start to understand this at a very young age,” said Yuyan Luo, associate professor of developmental psychology in the MU College of Arts and Science. “Our study indicates that infants, even before they can verbally communicate, can understand the thought processes of other people – even if the thoughts diverge from what the infants know as truth, a term psychologists call false belief.” (more…)

Prehistoric Greenhouse Data from Ocean Floor Could Predict Earth’s Future, MU Study Finds

By Guest PostOctober 29, 2011Environmenta jimenez berrocoso, atlantic ocean temperatures, atmosphere, atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, biosphere, c basak, circulation in the deep ocean, circulation patterns, climate, e e martin, element, fish teeth and bones, geological climate cycles, greenhouse climate, greenhouse climate on earth, isaza londono, kenneth macleod, late cretaceous epoch, late cretaceous greenhouse interval, modern increases in greenhouse gases, natural tracking system for water masses, neodymium, ocean floor, oceans, salty water mass, south atlantic, tropical atlantic, university of missouri

*Evidence of water mass moving south 70 million years ago shows how warmth was distributed*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – New research from the University of Missouri indicates that Atlantic Ocean temperatures during the greenhouse climate of the Late Cretaceous Epoch were influenced by circulation in the deep ocean. These changes in circulation patterns 70 million years ago could help scientists understand the consequences of modern increases in greenhouse gases.

“We are examining ocean conditions from several past greenhouse climate intervals so that we can understand better the interactions among the atmosphere, the oceans, the biosphere, and climate,” said Kenneth MacLeod, professor of geological sciences in the College of Arts and Science. “The Late Cretaceous Epoch is a textbook example of a greenhouse climate on earth, and we have evidence that a northern water mass expanded southwards while the climate was cooling. At the same time, a warm, salty water mass that had been present throughout the greenhouse interval disappeared from the tropical Atlantic.” (more…)

Relationships More Important than Genetic Ties When Deciding Who Cares for Aging Family Members, MU Researchers Say

By Guest PostOctober 22, 2011Scienceamerica, americans, divorce and remarriage, elderly population, genetic ties, hypothetical caregiving scenarios, Japan, kyoto, lawrence ganong, marilyn coleman, pew research report, university of missouri

*Divorce and remarriage affect beliefs about who should care for elder relatives*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – America’s elderly population will nearly double by 2050, according to a Pew Research report. As baby boomers enter retirement, concern exists as to who will care for them as they age. Traditionally, children have accepted the caregiving responsibilities, but those caregiving roles are becoming blurred as more families are affected by divorce and remarriage than in previous decades. Now, University of Missouri researchers have found that relationship quality trumps genetic ties when determining caregiving obligations.

Lawrence Ganong, a professor and co-chair in the MU Department of Human Development and Family Studies in the College of Human Environmental Sciences (HES), studied how divorce and remarriage affect beliefs about who should care for aging relatives. He found that relationship quality, a history of mutual help, and resource availability influence decisions about who cares for parents and stepparents. (more…)

“Drunkorexia:” A Recipe for Disaster

By Guest PostOctober 17, 2011Healthaddiction, alcohol consumption, cheers, college students, drunkorexia, eating disorders, heavy alcohol consumption, kenneth sher, kim dude, metabolize alcohol, motivations for drunkorexia, mu wellness resource center, public health, rachel winograd, save them for drinking, teens, university of missouri, victoria osborne

*MU study finds disordered eating combined with heavy drinking is common among college students*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – It is well known that eating disorders are common among teens and college students. Heavy alcohol consumption is another well-known unhealthy habit of this age group. A new study from the University of Missouri shows that when college students combine these two unhealthy habits, their long-term health may be affected. “Drunkorexia” is a new term coined by the media to describe the combination of disordered eating and heavy alcohol consumption.

Victoria Osborne, assistant professor of social work and public health, examined the relationship between alcohol misuse and disordered eating, including calorie restriction and purging. Researchers found that 16 percent of those surveyed reported restricting calories to “save them” for drinking. Of the respondents, about three times as many women reported engaging in the behavior than men. Motivations for “drunkorexia” include preventing weight gain, getting intoxicated faster and saving money that would be spent on food to buy alcohol. (more…)

MU Researchers Find New Insight into Fatal Spinal Disease

By Guest PostOctober 2, 2011Health, Scienceamyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cells, degeneration of skeletal muscles, duchenne muscular dystrophy, dysfunctions of the synapses, global neurofilament alterations, human disease, jeffrey m dale, michael garcia, motor neurons, protein deficiency, sma, spinal muscular atrophy, system, treatments for muscular dystrophy, university of missouri, virginia garcia

*Discovery could lead to treatments for muscular dystrophy and ALS*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Researchers at the University of Missouri have identified a communication breakdown between nerves and muscles in mice that may provide new insight into the debilitating and fatal human disease known as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

“Critical communication occurs at the point where nerves and muscles ‘talk’ to each other. When this communication between nerves and muscles is disrupted, muscles do not work properly,” said Michael Garcia, associate professor of biological sciences in the College of Arts and Science and the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center. “In this study, we found that delivery of ‘the words’ a nerve uses to communicate with muscles was disrupted before they arrived at the nerve ending.” (more…)

MU Study Finds Quitting Smoking Enhances Personality Change

By Guest PostSeptember 19, 2011Healthandrew littlefield, anti smoking efforts, kenneth j sher, key elements of smoking, neuroticism, over long term negative consequences, personality, relationship of genetic and environmental factors, smoking, tobacco use, university of missouri

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri researchers have found evidence that shows those who quit smoking show improvements in their overall personality.

“The data indicate that for some young adults smoking is impulsive,” said Andrew Littlefield, a doctoral student in the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Science. “That means that 18-year-olds are acting without a lot of forethought and favor immediate rewards over long term negative consequences. They might say, ‘I know smoking is bad for me, but I’m going to do it anyway.’ However, we find individuals who show the most decreases in impulsivity also are more likely quit smoking. If we can target anti-smoking efforts at that impulsivity, it may help the young people stop smoking.” (more…)

Trust in Your Neighbors Could Benefit Your Health, MU Study Shows

By Guest PostSeptember 4, 2011Culture, Healtheileen bjornstrom, Health, human beings, local community, los angeles, relative position, stress and negative emotions, trust of neighbors, trust your neighbors, university of missouri

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Here’s an easy way to improve your health: trust your neighbors. A new study from the University of Missouri shows that increasing trust in neighbors is associated with better self-reported health.

“I examined the idea of ‘relative position,’ or where one fits into the income distribution in their local community, as it applies to both trust of neighbors and self-rated health,” said Eileen Bjornstrom, an assistant professor of sociology in the MU College of Arts and Science. “Because human beings engage in interpersonal comparisons in order to gauge individual characteristics, it has been suggested that a low relative position, or feeling that you are below another person financially, leads to stress and negative emotions such as shame, hostility and distrust, and that health suffers as a consequence. While most people aren’t aware of how trust impacts them, results indicated that trust was a factor in a person’s overall health.” (more…)