pennsylvania state university
String blossom thinner proves effective across stages of bloom development
BIGLERVILLE, PA — Blossom or fruitlet thinning is a labor-intensive part of commercial peach and nectarine production. The use of mechanical string blossom thinners has been shown to reduce labor requirements and improve fruit size in peach c…
New math theories reveal the nature of numbers
For centuries, some of the greatest names in math have tried to make sense of partition numbers, the basis for adding and counting. Many mathematicians added major pieces to the puzzle, but all of them fell short of a full theory to explain pa…
Hybrid string blossom thinner tested in peach orchards
GETTYSBURG, PA — Peach producers have traditionally relied heavily on hand thinning, a necessary but costly and labor-intensive field practice. Impacted by increasing labor costs and a limited workforce, peach and other stone fruit growers are…
How does your green roof garden grow?
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA — Growing plants on rooftops is an old concept that has evolved from simple sod roofing to roof gardens and new, lightweight “extensive green roofs”. Modern green roofs have environmental and social benefits; they can reduce sto…
Use the right metaphor to get patients to enroll in clinical trials
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The language that doctors use with low-income, rural patients can help determine whether these patients agree to participate in clinical trials testing new cancer treatments, a new study found.
Researchers found that the metap…
Motion sickness reality in virtual world, too
CLEMSON — Clemson University psychologist Eric Muth sees motion sickness as potential fallout from high-end technology that once was limited to the commercial marketplace moving to consumer use in gaming devices.
Microsoft’s Kinect is the lates…
Highlighting gender promotes stereotyped views in preschoolers
In many preschool classrooms, gender is very noticeable — think of the greeting, “Good morning, boys and girls” or the instruction, “Girls line up on this side, boys on that.” A new study has found that when teachers call attention to gender in the…
Study Reconsiders Formation of Antarctic Ice Sheet
A new study posits an alternative theory regarding why Antarctica suddenly became glaciated 34 million years ago. The study challenges previous thinking about why the ice sheet formed and holds ramifications for the next several hundred years as greenhouse gases continue to rise. “Scientists have long known that Antarctica was not always covered in a sheet of ice. Rather, the continent was once highly vegetated and populated with dinosaurs, with perhaps just a few Alpine glaciers and small ice caps in the continental interior,” the study’s lead researcher said.
First Virtual Stomach Explores Drug Delivery
Researchers have developed the first virtual stomach, a computer-generated model that is providing unique insights into the way medicines are released from pills and capsules. “There’s no other technique to allow you to see flow patterns in a real stomach, animal or human,” said lead researcher James G. Brasseur, Ph.D., a professor of mechanical engineering and bioengineering at The Pennsylvania State University. Although pills and tablets have become a ubiquitous part of our society, the detail of how the stomach breaks them down to help release their medicine remains unclear. “You can give someone a drug and measure its uptake in tissue,” he said, “but the process between administering the drug and the uptake is largely guesswork.”