Ascribe Higher Education News Service articles from December 2008

Ascribe Higher Education News Service archives from December 2008

Endangered Sawfish Focus of National Collection and Recovery Efforts.
December 1, 2008... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., Dec. 1 (AScribe Newswire) -- The University of Florida, keeper of the world's shark attack records, is also now overseeing a national records collection for another toothy marine predator:...

Clues About Controlling Cholesterol Rise From Yeast Studies.
December 2, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 2 (AScribe Newswire) -- Having discovered how a lowly, single-celled fungus regulates its version of cholesterol, Johns Hopkins researchers are gaining new insight about the target...

Disappearing Superconductivity Reappears -- in 2-D; 'Striped' Material Offers More Clues to High-Temperature Superconductivity.
December 2, 2008... Byline: Brookhaven National Laboratory UPTON, N.Y., Dec. 2 (AScribe Newswire) -- Scientists studying a material that appeared to lose its ability to carry current with no resistance say new measurements reveal that the material is indeed a...

New Holographic Method Could Be Used for Lab-on-a-Chip Technologies.
December 2, 2008... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Dec. 2 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at Purdue University have developed a technique that uses a laser and holograms to precisely position numerous tiny particles within seconds,...

Thrombosis Patients Face Greater Risks Than Previously Believed: Researchers; Long-Term Consequences of DVT Aren't Cured by Blood Thinners, Say McGill Scientists.
December 2, 2008... Byline: McGill University MONTREAL, Dec. 2 (AScribe Newswire) -- Deep venous thrombosis (DVT), the formation of blood clots in the lower limbs, is the third-most common vascular disease in North America after heart attack and stroke, and...

Dogs Chase Efficiently, But Cats Skulk Counterintuitively.
December 3, 2008... Byline: Duke University DURHAM, N.C., Dec. 3 (AScribe Newswire) -- A Duke University study suggests that evolution can behave as differently as dogs and cats. While the dogs depend on an energy-efficient style of four-footed running over...

Gene Packaging Tells Story of Cancer Development.
December 3, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 3 (AScribe Newswire) -- To decipher how cancer develops, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center investigators say researchers must take a closer look at the packaging. ...

Rooted Plants Move Mysteriously Down Greenways, Scientists Say.
December 3, 2008... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., Dec. 3 (AScribe Newswire) -- The wild pea pod is big and heavy, with seemingly little prayer of escaping the shade of its parent plant. And yet, like a grounded teenager who knows where...

Professional Development Key to Improving Math Achievement; Research Shows Instruction - Not Textbooks, Technology - Key to Raising Math Test Scores.
December 4, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins University BALTIMORE, Dec. 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- Teachers have a greater impact than new textbooks or computers when it comes to raising math scores, according to a comprehensive research review by the Johns Hopkins...

Payday Loan Problem: Financial 'Quick Fix' Leads to Personal Bankruptcy.
December 4, 2008... Byline: Vanderbilt University NASHVILLE, Tenn., Dec. 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- Some 10 million American households borrow money through payday loans each year, and payday lenders now have more storefronts than McDonald's and Starbucks...

Research Paves the Way to Future Widespread Use of Renewable Energy Sources.
December 5, 2008... Byline: Smith College NORTHAMPTON, Mass., Dec. 5 (AScribe Newswire) -- Integrating new clean and efficient energy sources into the existing electric system is not as simple as adding the sources to regional power grids. But it also is not...

Scientists Create Tough Ceramic That Mimics Mother of Pearl.
December 5, 2008... Byline: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory BERKELEY, Calif., Dec. 5 (AScribe Newswire) -- Biomimicry - technological innovation inspired by nature - is one of the hottest ideas in science but has yet to yield many practical advances....

Key To 'Curing' Obesity May Lie in Worms That Destroy Their Own Fat: McGill Researchers; Usual Metabolic Process Goes Awry in Recently Discovered Mutation, Burning Lipids Instead of Storing Them.
December 8, 2008... Byline: McGill University MONTREAL, Dec. 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- A previously unknown mutation discovered in a common roundworm holds the promise of new treatments for obesity in humans, McGill University researchers say. Their study was...

Website: Fast Dark Matter Explains Cosmic Web, Accelerating Cosmos, Inflation, UHECRs, Big Bang.
December 8, 2008... Byline: The Drexler Foundation LOS ALTOS HILLS, Calif., Dec. 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- Scientists at UC Santa Cruz claim that about 85 percent of the mass of the universe is Cold Dark Matter (CDM), comprised of cold, uncharged, weakly...

Biologists Spy Close-Up View of Poliovirus Linked to Host Cell Receptor.
December 8, 2008... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Dec. 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers from Purdue and Stony Brook universities have determined the precise atomic-scale structure of the poliovirus attached to key receptor molecules in...

Stress Relief: Lab Mice That Exercise Control May Be More Normal.
December 8, 2008... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Dec. 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- Purdue University scientists found that mice raised in cages may relieve stress with behaviors associated with mice in the wild. And for researchers using lab...

CFO Survey: Historic Recession to Last Another Year; Earnings, Capital Spending, and Employment Expected to Drop in 2009.
December 10, 2008... Byline: Duke University DURHAM, N.C., Dec. 10 (AScribe Newswire) -- Chief financial officers in the United States and around the world are more pessimistic than at any time in the history of the Duke University/CFO Magazine Global Business...

New Book Provides Introduction to the Qur'an for Non-Muslims.
December 10, 2008... Byline: Moravian College BETHLEHEM, Pa., Dec. 10 (AScribe Newswire) -- Walter H. Wagner, adjunct professor at Moravian Theological Seminary, recently authored "Opening the Qur'an: Introducing Islam's Holy Book" (University of Notre Dame...

Team Led by Purdue Professor First to Record Key Event That Breaks Continents Apart.
December 10, 2008... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Dec. 10 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers have captured for the first time a geological event considered key in shaping the Earth's landscape. An international research team led by Eric...

Survey: Bay State Women CEOs Cultivate New and Current Customers in Down Economy; Profitability, Rising Business Costs Keep Them Up at Night.(Company overview)
December 11, 2008... Byline: Babson College WELLESLEY, Mass., Dec. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- In tough economic times, Bay State Women CEOs rely on solid business basics and strong leadership skills to steer their companies through turbulent times, a new survey...

University of Maryland Researchers Discover Gene Mutation That Appears to Reduce Risk of Cardiovascular Disease; Gene Variant Reduces Level of Triglycerides, Helps Produce Favorable Cholesterol Profile.
December 11, 2008... Byline: University of Maryland Medical System BALTIMORE, Dec. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore have discovered a novel gene mutation among the Old Order Amish population that...

Mars Orbiter Completes Prime Mission.
December 11, 2008... Byline: Jet Propulsion Laboratory PASADENA, Calif., Dec. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has completed its primary, two-year science phase. The spacecraft has found signs of a complex Martian history of climate...

Kansas State University Researcher Finds Correlation Between Childhood Obesity and Asthma.
December 12, 2008... Byline: Kansas State University MANHATTAN, Dec. 12 (AScribe Newswire) -- A Kansas State University graduate student has found a correlation between childhood obesity and asthma. Sara Rosenkranz, doctoral student in human nutrition,...

Mouse Studies Suggest 'Toxic' Carbon Monoxide May Prevent Brain Damage After Stroke.
December 14, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at Johns Hopkins have shown that brain damage was reduced by as much as 62.2 percent in mice who inhale low amounts of carbon monoxide after an...

Neighbors Offer Job Referrals, Study Says.
December 14, 2008... Byline: Duke University DURHAM, N.C., Dec. 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- The next time you are looking for a job, make sure to talk with your next-door neighbors. That tip comes from a new Duke University study, which found that neighbors on...

Unmarried Dad's Involvement With Child Secured During Pregnancy, Study Says.(Report)
December 15, 2008... Byline: University of Maryland, College Park COLLEGE PARK, Md., Dec. 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- The best chance of "reeling-in" an unmarried father and building the foundations for a stable family life are the critical months of pregnancy,...

Newly Discovered Esophagus Stem Cells Grow Into Transplantable Tissue, Penn Study Finds; Implications for GERD, Esophageal Cancer.(Clinical report)
December 15, 2008... Byline: University of Pennsylvania Health System PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered stem cells in the esophagus of mice that were able to grow into...

Hopkins-Led Team Solves Failed Vaccine Mystery.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- Research led by Johns Hopkins Children's Center (http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/) scientists has figured out why a respiratory syncytial virus vaccine...

Firms Survive by Recognizing Fundamental Industry Changes, According to Stanford Business School Research.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Stanford Graduate School of Business STANFORD, Calif., Dec. 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- Enduring companies survive because employees throughout the firm, not just those in the executive suite, learn to keep an eye on how related...

University of Virginia to Probe Milky Way History in Sloan Digital Sky Survey III.
December 15, 2008... Byline: University of Virginia CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Dec. 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- Astronomy is a science of origins. "It's the ultimate exercise in archeology," said Steven Majewski, a University of Virginia professor of astronomy and...

Charities Should Ask for Time Before Money, According to Stanford Business School Research.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Stanford Graduate School of Business STANFORD, Calif., Dec. 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- Charitable giving may be a $300 billion industry in the United States, but for nearly all nonprofits, encouraging donations is the number one...

Titan's Volcanoes Give NASA Spacecraft Chilly Reception.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Jet Propulsion Laboratory PASADENA, Calif., Dec. 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- Data collected during several recent flybys of Titan by NASA's Cassini spacecraft have put another arrow in the quiver of scientists who think the Saturnian...

New Study Names 2008's 'Five Best States to Be an Animal Abuser'; Animal Legal Defense Fund Report Ranks State Anti-Cruelty Laws.(Report)
December 16, 2008... Byline: Animal Legal Defense Fund SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi and North Dakota are the five best states in the country to be an animal abuser, according to a new report released today...

Purdue Study Suggests Warmer Temperatures Could Lead to a Boom in Corn Pests.
December 16, 2008... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Dec. 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- Climate change could provide the warmer weather pests prefer, leading to an increase in populations that feed on corn and other crops, according to a new study....

Magma Discovered In Situ for First Time; Johns Hopkins' 'Magma PI' Serving as Advisor.
December 16, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins University BALTIMORE, Dec. 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- A crew drilling on the Big Island of Hawaii has discovered magma, the molten rock material -- never before found in its natural habit underground -- that is the...

Big-3 Bankruptcy: Job Loss Less Than Half Oft-Cited Figure, Says University of Maryland Study.
December 16, 2008... Byline: University of Maryland, College Park COLLEGE PARK, Md., Dec. 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- The impact of a Big-3 bankruptcy and restructuring would be severe, but frequently-quoted job loss figures are misleading and overstated,...

Simple Soybean Anything But - Genetically, Researcher Says.
December 16, 2008... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Dec. 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- Think humans are complex creatures? Consider the lowly soybean, said a Purdue University researcher. When it comes to genetics, the soybean plant is far more...

Researchers Find Nature's Shut-Off Switch for Cellulose Production.
December 17, 2008... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Dec. 17 (AScribe Newswire) -- Purdue University researchers found a mechanism that naturally shuts down cellulose production in plants, and learning how to keep that switch turned on may be...

Trends From National Congregations Study: Drums, Diversity, Technology and Aging Clergy.
December 17, 2008... Byline: Duke University DURHAM, N.C., Dec. 17 (AScribe Newswire) -- A second snapshot of U.S. religious congregations reveals four trends in American worship: a growing informality in worship practices, a graying of congregations and...

Cold Dark Matter (WIMP) Doubters Are Publishing More Scientific Papers.
December 19, 2008... Byline: The Drexler Foundation SILICON VALLEY, Calif., Dec. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- This month, two dark-matter researchers at University of California, Irvine raised additional doubts about the existence of Cold Dark Matter's weakly...

NASA Study Links Severe Storm Increases, Global Warming.
December 19, 2008... Byline: Jet Propulsion Laboratory PASADENA, Calif., Dec. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- The frequency of extremely high clouds in Earth's tropics -- the type associated with severe storms and rainfall -- is increasing as a result of global...

Mapping Volunteer Work Around the World: World's Labor Statisticians Adopt New Guidelines for Measuring Volunteering.
December 19, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins University BALTIMORE, Dec. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- The International Labour Organization announced today that the world's labor statisticians have for the first time adopted guidelines for measuring the work of...

Michael T. Stevens, Jim Youngblom Author Science Education Research Articles in High Profile Journal Science; Biology Professors' Research Shows How to Improve Science Teaching to Meet Growing Need for Science Education.
December 22, 2008... Byline: California State University, Stanislaus TURLOCK, Calif., Dec. 22 (AScribe Newswire) -- Dr. Michael T. Stevens and Dr. Jim Youngblom of the Department of Biological Sciences at California State University, Stanislaus are...

Researchers Create Smaller, Brighter Probe, Tailored for Clinical Molecular Imaging and Tumor Targeting.
December 22, 2008... Byline: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center NEW YORK, Dec. 22 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers have developed a new generation of microscopic particles for molecular imaging, constituting one of the first promising nanoparticle...

Scientists Reveal Structure of New Botulism Nerve Toxin Subtype; Findings May Explain Faster Action With Implications for Toxicity and Therapeutic Use.
December 22, 2008... Byline: Brookhaven National Laboratory UPTON, N.Y., Dec. 22 (AScribe Newswire) -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have determined the atomic-level structure of a third subtype of botulinum...

Engineers: Efficient Organic LEDs a Step Toward Better Lights.
December 23, 2008... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., Dec. 23 (AScribe Newswire) -- For those who love "green" compact fluorescent bulbs but hate their cold light, here's some good news: Researchers are closer to flipping the switch on cheaper,...

UC Santa Barbara Scientists Show How Certain Vegetables Combat Cancer.
December 23, 2008... Byline: University of California, Santa Barbara SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Dec. 23 (AScribe Newswire) -- Women should go for the broccoli when the relish tray comes around during holiday celebrations this season. While it has been known...

Editing Errors: Penn Study Finds Reduction in Antibody Gene Rearrangement in B Cells Related to Type 1 Diabetes, Lupus; Implications for New Tests and More Personalized Treatments for Autoimmune Diseases.
December 23, 2008... Byline: University of Pennsylvania Health System PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 23 (AScribe Newswire) -- More drafts usually mean a better product and so it also seems to go with the human immune system. As B cells develop, genes rearrange to allow...

Little Progress Made in Patient Safety in Spite of Institute of Medicine Call to Action; Physician Autonomy Must Be Balanced With Team-Based Standardization.
December 23, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 23 (AScribe Newswire) -- Despite increased emphasis on patient safety, little progress has been made in making hospitals safer, says Johns Hopkins critical care specialist Peter...

Biologists Learn Structure, Mechanism of Powerful 'Molecular Motor' in Virus.
December 24, 2008... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Dec. 24 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers have discovered the atomic structure of a powerful "molecular motor" that packages DNA into the head segment of some viruses during their assembly,...

University of Maryland School of Medicine Researchers Identify Common Gene Variant Linked to High Blood Pressure; STK39 Gene Produces Protein Involved in Regulating How the Kidneys Process Salt.
December 30, 2008... Byline: University of Maryland Medical System BALTIMORE, Dec. 30 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have identified a common gene variant that appears to influence people's risk of developing...

Johns Hopkins Scientists Pull Protein's Tail to Curtail Cancer.
December 30, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 30 (AScribe Newswire) -- When researchers look inside human cancer cells for the whereabouts of an important tumor-suppressor, they often catch the protein playing hooky, lolling...

Why Prostate Cancer Patients Fail Hormone Deprivation Therapy; Johns Hopkins Scientists Identify Receptor Type That Makes Cancer Cells Resistant to Therapy, More Aggressive.(Clinical report)
December 30, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 31 (AScribe Newswire) -- The hormone deprivation therapy that prostate cancer patients often take gives them only a temporary fix, with tumors usually regaining their hold within a...

Bright Lights, Not-So-Big Pupils.
December 31, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 31 (AScribe Newswire) -- A team of Johns Hopkins neuroscientists has worked out how some newly discovered light sensors in the eye detect light and communicate with the brain. The...