Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation
by Steven Johnson
(Riverhead, October 2010, $26.95, 336 pages)
Reviewed by Dr. Fred Bortz
life
Poor start in life need not spell doom in adulthood
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Does the environment encountered early in life have permanent and predictable long-term effects in adulthood? Such effects have been reported in numerous organisms, including humans.
But now a biology graduate student …
Women fight the effects of chemotherapy long after treatment ends
COLUMBIA, Mo. — For some women, the effects of breast cancer, the most common cancer affecting women, do not end when they leave the hospital. Now, researchers in the University of Missouri School of Health Professions have studied the lives of…
New discoveries in North America’s Great Plains bring ammonites to life
Although ammonites have been extinct for 65 million years, newly published data based on 35 years of field work and analysis is providing invaluable insights into their paleobiology. Ammonites, shelled mollusks closely related to modern day na…
Medical researchers break down costs to care for heart failure patients at the end of life
As the population ages, health care epidemiologist Padma Kaul and cardiologist Paul Armstrong, researchers in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta, want health-care professionals to talk to their patients about their opti…
Virtual research institute needed to unlock RNA’s promise
Strasbourg, 11 October 2010 – A Europe-wide network of labs focusing on RNA research is needed to make the most of RNA’s high potential for treating a wide range of diseases. The recommendation for this virtual research institute comes from a panel …
Americans’ life expectancy continues to fall behind other countries’
New York, NY, October 7, 2010 — The United States continues to lag behind other nations when it comes to gains in life expectancy, and commonly cited causes for our poor performance — obesity, smoking, traffic fatalities, and homicide — are not…
Montana State team finds rare oasis of life on floor of Yellowstone Lake
BOZEMAN, Mont. — Montana State University researchers have discovered a rare oasis of life in the midst of hundreds of geothermal vents at the bottom of Yellowstone Lake.
A colony of moss, worms and various forms of shrimp flourishes in an area w…
New approach to underweight COPD patients
Malnutrition often goes hand in hand with COPD and is difficult to treat. In a recent study researchers at the University of Gothenburg, have come up with a new equation to calculate the energy requirement for underweight COPD patients. It is hoped …
Marine scientists unveil the mystery of life on undersea mountains
They challenge the mountain ranges of the Alps, the Andes and the Himalayas in size yet surprisingly little is known about seamounts, the vast mountains hidden under the world’s oceans. Now in a special issue of Marine Ecology scientists uncover t…