Technology

Childhood Obesity Linked to Math Performance, MU Researcher Says

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Childhood obesity has increased dramatically throughout the past 40 years and has been tied to many health problems. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found that children’s weight is associated with their math performance.

“The findings illustrate the complex relationships among children’s weight, social and emotional well-being, academics and time,” said Sara Gable, associate professor in the MU Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, who led the study.

Gable looked at more than 6,250 children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort, a nationally representative sample. The children were followed from the time they started kindergarten through fifth grade. At five points in time, parents provided information about their families, teachers reported on the children’s interpersonal skills and emotional well-being, and children were weighed and measured; they also took academic tests. (more…)

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The Warrior-Scholar Project: Easing the Move from Combat to College

Having twice served in Afghanistan, where his platoon faced some of the most intense fighting of any American soldiers, U.S. Army sergeant Misha Pemble-Belkin felt a bit of a “culture shock” earlier this month when he first took a seat in a Yale classroom.

His combat team’s firefights with Taliban insurgents in eastern Afghanistan in 2007 — and the deaths of two members of his small unit — were captured in the Academy Award-nominated documentary “Restrepo” by Sebastian Junger and the late Tim Hetherington, as well as in Junger’s bestselling book “War.” Described by one film reviewer as “the conscience” of the documentary, Pemble-Belkin received major media attention for his part in the film.

During his stay on the Yale campus, however, Pemble-Belkin had to leap out of the role of soldier and into that of student as he participated in the newly inaugurated Warrior-Scholar Project, which helps war veterans and non-commissioned officers who are leaving the service make the transition to college life. (more…)

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Brave

Merida is a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor . Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin, surly Lord Macintosh and cantankerous Lord Dingwall. Merida’s actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric Witch for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to harness all of her skills and resources including her clever and mischievous triplet brothers to undo a beastly curse before it’s too late, discovering the meaning of true bravery. (more…)

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Ford Motor Company Earns Place in Computing History

Computer History Museum inducts Ford SYNC, powered by Microsoft, as part of permanent collection.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Situated in California’s Silicon Valley, the Computer History Museum has amassed an amazing collection of technology artifacts from the information age. Alongside the 2,000-year-old AntiKythera mechanism you’ll find the Atanasoff-Berry Computer, deemed the first electronic computer. You’ll also see Microsoft creations such as the Microsoft IntelliMouse, the Natural Keyboard and technology from a company you’d likely never expect: Ford Motor Company. (more…)

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Study Finds Ancient Warming Greened Antarctica

PASADENA, Calif. — A new university-led study with NASA participation finds ancient Antarctica was much warmer and wetter than previously suspected. The climate was suitable to support substantial vegetation — including stunted trees — along the edges of the frozen continent. (more…)

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Do Not Rely on Others

I know that you hope, when you get older, that your children will be there to help you out. That they will take care of you like you took care of them. But I want to warn you now- do not count on it. You cannot count on other people to take care of you. Friends, relatives, even children will not help you out. If they do help you then great but do not set your mind, heart, and financial future to that.

Let me give you an example. An elderly friend of the family got divorced after many, many years. Now on her own for the first time, she thought she could count on her kids to help her out. She moved in with her oldest son. After a few months, things of hers started disappearing. Eventually, she confronted him and he revealed he had been selling her stuff to pay for her ‘expenses’. (more…)

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