American students need a dramatically new approach to improve how they learn science, says a noted group of scientists and educators led by Michigan State University professor William Schmidt. After six years of work, the [...]
Tag Archives | United States
U.S. students need new way of learning science
Fall of Communism changed mathematics in US
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992 brought an influx of Soviet mathematicians to U.S. institutions, and those scholars’ differing areas of specialization have changed the way math is studied and taught in this [...]
How's your gross domestic happiness?
The gross domestic product of the United States — that oft-cited measure of economic health — has been ticking upward for the last two years, but what would you see if you could see a [...]
At Senate Aging Committee’s 50th anniversary, experts ponder future legislative concerns
Fifty years after its inception, the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging will have a more important role than ever as America’s senior population continues to grow, according to the newest issue of the Public Policy and Aging Report (PPAR).
For fiv…
‘Inertia to change’delays zero carbon homes
Tackling rising CO2 emissions from the residential sector could make a vital contribution towards mitigating climate change, according to a new report from the UCL Bartlett School of Planning.
Setting out the best strategies for achieving this goal b…
Small reactors could figure into US energy future
A newly released study from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) concludes that small modular reactors may hold the key to the future of U.S. nuclear power generation.
“Clearly, a robust commercial SMR industry is highly adv…
High-Energy Physicists Set Record for Network Data Transfer
Researchers have set a new world record for data transfer, helping to usher in the next generation of high-speed network technology. At the SuperComputing 2011 (SC11) conference in Seattle during mid-November, the international team transferred [...]
New model fosters drug development for pain, epilepsy
Drawing on X-ray crystallography and experimental data, as well as a software suite for predicting and designing protein structures, a UC Davis School of Medicine researcher has developed an algorithm that predicts what has been…
Researchers identify genetic mutation responsible for rare cancer
Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified a gene mutation that underlies the vast majority of cases of Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia, a rare form of lymphoma that has eluded all previous efforts to find a genetic cause.
…
Growing US violent extremism by the numbers: UMD database
Over the past decade, attacks and plots by homegrown terrorists in the United States have increased, the work of extremists from across the political spectrum – roughly 40 percent of it by so-called ‘lone wolf,’ non-aligned actors -…
Biker’s warning! EPO hits blood vessels to raise blood pressure in the brain
Erythropoietin or EPO might be considered a “performance enhancing” substance for athletes, but new research published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) shows that these enhancements come at a high cost–increased ris…
Novel way to improve outcomes from umbilical cord blood transplants
A new method to boost the number of immune cells in umbilical cord blood prior to cord blood transplants for cancer patients appears to lead to a quicker rebuilding of a new immune system in [...]
World’s tiniest preemies are growing up and doing fine
In 1989, Madeline Mann became the world’s smallest surviving baby after she was born at Loyola University Medical Center. She weighed 280 g. (9.9 oz.) — about the size of an iPhone. In 2004. Rumaisa [...]
More than 9 million U.S. adults lost health coverage during recession
An estimated 9.3 million American adults lost health insurance coverage as a result of increased unemployment during the recession of 2007-09, according to a newly published study by researchers at Cornell, Indiana and Carnegie Mellon [...]
Researchers identify a novel therapeutic approach for liver cancer
BOSTON — Cancer of the liver — rare in the United States but the third-leading cause of cancer death worldwide — can result from environmental exposures or infections like chronic hepatitis, but the link is poorly understood.
Now, researchers…
Breast cancer patients face increasing number of imaging visits before surgery
Breast cancer patients frequently undergo imaging like mammograms or ultrasounds between their first breast cancer-related doctor visit and surgery to remove the tumor. Evaluations of these scans help physicians understand a person’s…
New disinfection technique could revolutionize hospital room cleaning
A Queen’s University infectious disease expert has collaborated in the development of a disinfection system that may change the way hospital rooms all over the world are cleaned as well as stop bed bug outbreaks in hotels and apartments.
“This is the…
Blood pressure medicines reduce stroke risk in people with prehypertension
People with prehypertension had a lower risk of stroke when they took blood pressure-lowering medicines, according to research reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Prehypertension, which affects more than 50 million adults in…
Backpacks, not the bombs inside, key to finding DNA
Catching terrorists who detonate bombs may be easier by testing the containers that hide the bombs rather than the actual explosives, according to pioneering research led by Michigan State University.
To keep nurses, improve their work environments
Nurses working in hospitals around the world are reporting they are burned out and dissatisfied with their jobs, reported researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research in a study of 100…
Study could lead to drug therapies for preventing atherosclerosis
By changing the behavior of certain cells within human blood vessels, Cornell University researchers have discovered important clues as to the underlying causes of atherosclerosis — a discovery researchers hope can lead to more targeted drug therapi…
Research offers new pathway of multiple sclerosis
Working together, researchers at Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic have for the first time examined early multiple sclerosis (MS) brain lesions in the cerebral cortex. These lesions are thought to be critical to MS progressi…
US believers favor international action on climate change, nuclear risk: UMD poll
A majority of Americans professing belief in God favor cooperative international efforts to combat climate change and the spread of nuclear weapons – branding it a moral obligation – says a new public opinion poll conducted jointly …
Dead man’s heart: Reusing pacemakers safe, effective
Many heart patients in India are too poor to afford pacemakers. But a study has found that removing pacemakers from deceased Americans, resterilizing the devices and implanting them in Indian patients “is very safe and [...]
Wrong way: Global carbon emmissions jump 6%
Global carbon dioxide emissions increased by a record 5.9 per cent in 2010 following the dampening effect of the 2008-2009 Global Financial Crisis (GFC), according to scientists working with the Global Carbon Project.
The Global Carbon Project (GCP) p…
Inbreeding bed bugs key to massive infestations
New research on the bed bug’s ability to withstand the genetic bottleneck of inbreeding, announced today at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) annual meeting, provides new clues …
Study finds nursing shortage may be easing
The number of young people becoming registered nurses has grown sharply since 2002, a trend that should ease some of the concern about a looming nursing shortage in the United States, according to a new study.
The number of people aged 23 to 26 — pri…
Ecstasy drug produces lasting toxicity in the brain
Recreational use of Ecstasy — the illegal “rave” drug that produces feelings of euphoria and emotional warmth — is associated with chronic changes in the human brain, Vanderbilt University investigators have discovered.
The findings, reported onl…
Why do some Mexican parents discourage teens’ physical activity?
Imagine this scene: A teen who is about to enter college goes for a run or heads off for a game of soccer. But Mom and Dad complain about it, and the more physically active the teen is, the more the parents push back against it.
“This scen…
Most snakebite victims consult traditional healers
Fatal snakebites are a bigger-than-acknowledged global health problem that has been vastly under-reported, according to research presented today at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene’s (ASTMH) annual meeting.
A …