Cholesterol contributes to atherosclerosis – a condition that greatly increases the risk of heart attack and stroke – by suppressing the activity of a key protein that protects the heart and blood vessels, researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine have found.

A pair of Beckman Institute researchers has discovered that by directing the eye movements of test subjects they were able to affect the participants’ ability to solve a problem, demonstrating that eye movement is not just a function of cognition but can actually affect our cognitive processes.

Previous research (Grant and Spivey, 2003) has shown a relationship between eye movements and problem-solving but Psychology Professor Alejandro Lleras, a member of the Human Perception and Performance group, and Ph.D. candidate Laura Thomas have taken that work in a groundbreaking direction.

Acid rain was one of the world’s worst pollution problems of the 1970s and 1980s, affecting large areas of upland Britain, as well as Europe and North America.

In Wales, more than 12,000 km of streams and rivers have been acidified, harming fish, stream insects and river birds such as the dipper.

Over the last 20 years, action has been taken across Europe to clean up acid pollutants from power generation and industry, which was widely expected to bring recovery. However, new research led by Cardiff University’s School of Biosciences shows that the expected improvements in rivers are far short of expectations.

Recent studies in Galloway, the Scottish Highlands and Wales reveal that many streams are still highly acidified.

Deluges of Biblical proportions were apparently not all that uncommon when glaciers were more prevalent in the Eurasian continent.

A glacier served as a natural dam for Siberian rivers and gigantic lakes were formed in northern Asia. In the mountains, glaciers formed dammed basins, which periodically burst and flooded vast territories, sending huge water and mud flows rushing out at the speed of 20 meters per second.

Researchers of the Irkutsk State University and Institutes of the Earth’s Crust and Geochemistry have recently discovered traces of a catastrophic hydrobreaking in the middle flow of the Onon river, in Tchasuchey deep (Transbaikalia).

Carnegie Mellon University’s Yang Cai is developing new technology that could revolutionize the way archeologists work. Cai, director of the Ambient Intelligence Lab at Carnegie Mellon CyLab, is developing new software to scan 200-year-old gravestones at Old St. Luke’s Church in nearby Carnegie to help its Episcopal pastor identify all the names on the cemetery’s tombstones.

“We are very excited and pleased that Professor Cai and his research team are helping us reclaim our past by identifying some of the 20 graves at our cemetery,” said Rev. Richard Davis, director of Old St. Luke’s Church at 330 Old Washington Pike.

A recent survey shows that only 12% of American consumers believe in the safety of the global food system and many believe that local foods are safer and better for their health than foods from afar.

These are the views of a representative, nationwide sample of 500 consumers who participated in a web-based survey conducted by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture in July 2007. Their responses are summarized in a new Leopold Center report, "Consumer perceptions of the safety, health, and environmental impact of various scales and geographic origin of food supply chains." The paper was written by Rich Pirog, who leads the Center's Marketing and Food Systems Initiative, and Iowa State University graduate student Andy Larson.