"Practice makes perfect" and "timing is everything" are cliches are for a reason; they are mostly correct.   According to the findings published in this month's issue of Psychological Science, proper spacing of lessons  can dramatically enhance learning and larger gaps between study sessions result in better recall of facts.

Conversely: Cramming – whether it's math for a midterm or a foreign language in anticipation of a trip abroad – is not effective in the long haul.   Hal Pashler and John Wixted, professors of psychology at UC San Diego who led the study, say this can change how we think about education.

Need excellent boots?  W. L. Gore&Associates is the way to go.   Guitar strings?   Yep, they make those too.   Medical devices, electronics and now researchers at Rush University Medical Center are even using a small, soft-patch device made of a Gore-tex-type material to close a common hole found in the heart called a patent foramen ovale (PFO) in order to prevent recurrent strokes and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) in adults. 

The randomized, multinational clinical research trial may determine if repairing a PFO using this device, also known as the GORE HELEX Septal Occluder, is more effective in preventing strokes than medical management alone. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted approval to use the device for PFO closures.

The American bison(buffalo) is in trouble, says a survey by the Wildlife Conservation Society, though there are many more of them now than there were a hundred years ago, and we love them - as a symbol of the old West and occasionally to eat, so something should be done to make sure we get more of them home on the range.

These sentiments were found in a public survey released today by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) at a national conference on restoring bison populations in the North America.

The survey is part of an effort spearheaded by the American Bison Society to lobby government agencies, conservation groups, ranchers, and others to do all they can to restore the bison's ecological role as an important species to North America.

When Ohio State glaciologists failed to find the expected radioactive signals in the latest core they drilled from a Himalayan ice field, they knew it meant trouble for their research.   Those missing markers of radiation, remnants from atomic bomb tests a half-century ago, could mean a much greater threat to the half-billion or more people living downstream of that vast mountain range.

It may mean that future water supplies could fall far short of what's needed to keep that population alive.

People are different, both physically and mentally, but genetically everyone is very similar, scientists have said for decades. But with population research becoming more and more common, the University of Alberta's Tim Caulfield is concerned that genetic research could awaken racist attitudes.

Just last year Nobel Prize winning geneticist James Watson claimed there are genes responsible for creating differences in human intelligence. These comments made international headlines, Watson was vilified and he later apologized.

Not much money this year?   Concerned that GM and Ford and all the big banks won't give out huge bonuses to CEOs if you spend too much?   Jan Brakefield, assistant professor of consumer sciences, offers a psychological tip sheet to follow during the holiday shopping season.

*Make a spending plan and stick to it.

*Shop early, before Thanksgiving. Eliminates last minute panic buying.

*Be prepared each time you leave home to shop. Carry a list of who you are buying for and how much you can spend. Be specific. Get agreements from family members.

*Pay cash. Credit card users typically spend twice as much money as others.