USA TODAY articles from August 2008

USA TODAY archives from August 2008

"Politics of pain" demonized by DEA.(War on Drugs)(Drug Enforcement Administration )(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Millions of Americans live in chronic pain, without access to proper medications, because their doctors are too afraid of being harassed or even arrested by Drug Enforcement Administration agents to prescribe sufficient doses. To help address...

Instant messaging cuts workplace interruption.(Science & Technology)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Employers seeking to decrease interruptions may want to have their workers use instant messaging software, suggests a study by Ohio State University, Columbus, which challenges the widespread belief that instant messaging leads to an increase...

Passenger delays continue to worsen.(Airline Travel)
August 1, 2008... Approximately one out of four passengers experiences travel delays, according to a report by George Mason University's Center for Air Transportation Systems Research, Fairfax, Va., which shows that the delays endured by airline passengers...

Demand grows for "green" hotels.(Business Travel)
August 1, 2008... Business travelers are increasingly making daily choices to reduce their environmental impact, and they have specific expectations about the green practices hotels should be adopting today, indicates a survey commissioned by Deloitte & Touche...

Temperature is key to reducing risks.(Food Poisoning)
August 1, 2008... Ants and bad weather are not the only things that can ruin a picnic. When food gets too hot or cold, the chances of contamination and food-borne illness increase. Taking a few preventative measures when dining outdoors can reduce the risk of...

Pork produced with antibiotics safer.(Food-Borne Illness)
August 1, 2008... While consumers are increasing demand for pork produced without antibiotics, more of the pigs raised in such conditions carry bacteria and parasites associated with food-borne illnesses, reveals a study at Ohio State University, Columbus. A...

Three in four likely voters support offshore drilling for much-needed oil in U.S. coastal waters and 59% also favor drilling for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, a Zogby International poll shows.(NOTEWORTHY)
August 1, 2008... Three in four likely voters support offshore drilling for much-needed oil in U.S. coastal waters and 59% also favor drilling for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, a Zogby International poll shows. A majority of likely voters across...

Consumers could save fuel and money while reducing carbon emissions through greater use of low-weight aluminum in hybrid--and diesel-powered vehicles, according to a study released by The Aluminum Association, Inc., Arlington, Va.(NOTEWORTHY)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Consumers could save fuel and money while reducing carbon emissions through greater use of low-weight aluminum in hybrid--and diesel-powered vehicles, according to a study released by The Aluminum Association, Inc., Arlington, Va. It is well...

New technology to link cartridge cases to guns by engraving microscopic codes on the firing pin is feasible, but did not work equally well for all guns and ammunition tested in a pilot study by researchers from the forensic science program at the University of California, Davis.(NOTEWORTHY)
August 1, 2008... New technology to link cartridge cases to guns by engraving microscopic codes on the firing pin is feasible, but did not work equally well for all guns and ammunition tested in a pilot study by researchers from the forensic science program at...

Climate-related security impacts (sea-level rise, water scarcity, and temperature change, for instance) could be significant when they cause "a noticeable--even if temporary--degradation in one of the elements of national power.(NOTEWORTHY)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Climate-related security impacts (sea-level rise, water scarcity, and temperature change, for instance) could be significant when they cause "a noticeable--even if temporary--degradation in one of the elements of national power (geopolitical,...

Adding ultrasound to mammography finds more cancers than mammography alone, but substantially increases the number of false-positives, points out Etta Pisano, professor of radiology and biomedical engineering and director of the Biomedical Research Imaging Center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.(NOTEWORTHY)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Adding ultrasound to mammography finds more cancers than mammography alone, but substantially increases the number of false-positives, points out Etta Pisano, professor of radiology and biomedical engineering and director of the Biomedical...

Individuals are less likely to hold onto existing ideas about a brand if they are made to feel a sense of difficulty thinking about it, especially when time-pressured, maintains Kyoungmi Lee, assistant professor of marketing at Kansas State University, Manhattan.(NOTEWORTHY)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Individuals are less likely to hold onto existing ideas about a brand if they are made to feel a sense of difficulty thinking about it, especially when time-pressured, maintains Kyoungmi Lee, assistant professor of marketing at Kansas State...

Americans suffering "diet disconnect".(Nutrition)
August 1, 2008... More than three-quarters of Americans say they are confident in their ability to prepare food safely, yet many report not following simple procedures to reduce the spread of bacteria in their kitchen or ensure safe cooking temperatures. In...

Georgia on my mind: famous photographers capture Georgia O'Keeffe.(Museums Today)
August 1, 2008... GEORGIA O'KEEFFE (1887-1986) is best known for her paintings of large-scale flowers, New York cityscapes, animal bones, and the landscape of New Mexico. Her extraordinary career focused first on a highly innovative exploration of abstraction...

Shrinking ozone hole affecting climate.(Global Warming)
August 1, 2008... The closing of the ozone hole, which is projected to occur sometime in the second half of the 21st century, significantly may affect climate change in the Southern Hemisphere and, there fore, the global climate, according to a study by...

Environmentalism is not a good thing.(Climate Change)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Vaclav Klaus, president of the Czech Republic, has authored Blue Planet in Green Shackles--What Is Endangered: Climate or Freedom?, published by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Washington, D.C., in which he makes the case that policies...

Aerial portraits of the American West: photographs by John Shelton.(Focus)
August 1, 2008... A GEOLOGIST FILLED with a love for music and machines, John Shelton is best known for his pioneering aerial photography. Unlike most aerial photographers, however Shelton mostly flew alone and never had the luxury of using a viewfinder. He...

Is global warming natural or manmade?(Climate)
August 1, 2008... A vast array of physical and biological systems across the Earth are being affected by warming temperatures caused by humans, says an analysis of information not previously assembled all in one spot. The effects on living things include earlier...

Mind may be MVP of the diamond.(Sports Psychology)(most valuable player)
August 1, 2008... "Hope springs eternal" in the heart of every baseball fan and nothing trumps the feeling of emerging from the turnstiles to absorb the comforting vision of lush, green grass, a meticulously manicured infield, and crisp, white foul lines. The...

Discovering greatness in the Negro Leagues.(Athletic Arena)(Discover Greatness: An Illustrated History of Negro Baseball Leagues)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Discover Greatness: An Illustrated History of Negro Baseball Leagues". provides a broad national overview of a historic sports movement. A timeline accompanied by images and artifacts offers a contextual perspective...

Media Trojan horses skewing coverage.(War in Iraq)(military analyst ethics)
August 1, 2008... The nation's media should hold its military analysts to the same ethical standards journalists are required to meet concerning potential conflicts of interest such as financial ties and relationships with government agencies, urge leaders of...

Bush Administration abusing "secret law".(Law & Justice)(Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel's legal interpretations)
August 1, 2008... The Bush Administration's excessive reliance on "secret law" threatens the effective functioning of American democracy, stated Dawn E. Johnsen, professor of law at Indiana University, Bloomington, in testimony to a Senate subcommittee. Johnsen...

Reality TV begets "promiscuous friending".(Mass Media)
August 1, 2008... A relationship between reality television viewing and "promiscuous friending" on popular social networking sites (SNS), such as Facebook, has been found in a study of television viewing and communication patterns among young adults by...

Republicans better at picking a president.(Political Landscape)(The American Voter Revisited)(Critical essay)
August 1, 2008... It's the candidate, stupid. A book analyzing the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections provides some insight about why George W. Bush captured the White House and the Democratic candidates failed. While Bill Clinton's campaign in 1992 famously...

Can "voter gene" influence elections?(Heredity)
August 1, 2008... The decision to vote partly is genetic, according to a study that is the first to show that genes influence participation in elections and in a wide range of political activities. Researchers Christopher T. Dawes and James H. Fowler of the...

Dynamic wind action discovered on Mars.(Astronomy)(University of Arizona's High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE))
August 1, 2008... Mars has an ethereal, tenuous atmosphere at less than one percent of the surface pressure of Earth, so scientists working on the University of Arizona's High Resolution Imaging Experiment, or HiRISE, are challenged to explain the complex,...

Sculpting the baroque world of Fernando Botero.(Worldview)
August 1, 2008... FERNANDO BOTERO born in 1932 is a sculptor, painter, and draftsman who depicts the comedy of human life--moving or wry, baroque in expression, sometimes with a mocking observation, sometimes with a deep, elementary emotion. Working in a broad...

Reactor construction continues to lag.(Nuclear Energy)
August 1, 2008... Global nuclear power capacity grew by less than 2,000 megawatts in 2007, a figure equivalent to just one-tenth of the new wind power installed globally last year, reports the Worldwatch Institute, Washington, D.C. Global nuclear capacity stands...

Gasoline and corn prices are linked.(Alternate Energy)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The prices of corn and vegetable oils have become linked to the cost of petroleum through biofuels, according to HighQuest Partners, Topsfield, Mass., a strategic advisory and management consulting firm. Traditional thinking is that the...

Dollar goes down as oil prices go up.(Economics)
August 1, 2008... America's working families have been squeezed for most of this decade by stagnant wages and diminishing health and retirement benefits, maintains the Center for American Progress, Washington, D.C. Now, they face new economic pressures from...

Are you coming on to me?(Sociology)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... College-age males confuse friendly nonverbal cues with cues for sexual interest because men have a less discerning eye than women--but their female peers are not far behind, suggests research from Indiana University, Bloomington, and Yale...

Young problem gamblers losing their shirts.(Social Trends)
August 1, 2008... Gambling activity is widespread among U.S. adolescents and young adults, according to a study conducted by the Research Institute on Addictions at the University at Buffalo (N.Y.). Results of the first national survey of its kind show problem...

Fertile ground for uncertainty.(World Population)
August 1, 2008... Growth in human population continues to abound despite falling fertility rates, and where it heads in the future will continue to confound demographers, states a report from the Worldwatch Institute, Washington, D.C. With the number of women of...

Users ringing up more risks.(Cell Phones)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Carrying a cell phone may cause some college students--especially females--to take risks with their safety, suggests a study from Temple University, Philadelphia. A survey reveals that 40% of cell phone users say they walked somewhere after...

It's okay to keep feelings inside.(Collective Trauma)
August 1, 2008... Contrary to popular notions about what is normal or healthy, new research has found that it is okay not to express one's thoughts and feelings after experiencing a collective trauma, such as a school shooting or terrorist attack. In fact,...

Redesigning urban transport.(Traffic Congestion)
August 1, 2008... THE WORLD'S CITIES are facing unprecedented problems. In Mexico City, Tehran, Kolkata, Bangkok, Shanghai, and hundreds of other metropolises, the air no longer is safe to breathe, and respiratory illnesses are rampant. In the U.S., the number...