The effect of media violence on behavior is not as straightforward as you might think. Although many studies have been conducted examining the link between violence on TV and aggressive behavior, most of these studies have overlooked several other potentially significant factors, including the dramatic context of the violence and the type of violence depicted as well as the race and ethnicity of the viewers.

In a new study appearing in the September issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science, psychologists Seymour Feshbach from the University of California, Los Angeles and June Tangney from George Mason University investigated the effect that exposure to violent TV programs has on negative behavior in children from different ethnic backgrounds.

When a cell's chromosomes lose their ends, the cell usually kills itself to stem the genetic damage - University of Utah biologists say their discovery about how those cells evade suicide and start down the path to cancer may lead to new treatments.

A new study of fruit flies is the first to show in animals that losing just one telomere, the end of a chromosome, can lead to many abnormalities in a cell's chromosomes, which are strands of DNA that carry genes.

"The essential point is that loss of a single telomere may be a primary event that puts a cell on the road to cancer," says Kent Golic, a professor of biology at the University of Utah and senior author of the study, published in the journal Genetics.

A new study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry says that women who smoke are at greater risk of developing major depressive disorder. Australian researchers from the University of Melbourne and Geelng's Barwon Health assessed a group of 1043 Australian women, whose health had been monitored for a decade as part of the Geelong Osteoporosis Study.

On their ten year follow up participants were given an additional test of a psychiatric assessment.

Results revealed that women with depression were more likely to have been smokers than those without depression. Compared with non-smokers, the likelihood for developing depression more than doubled for heavy smokers (those who smoked more than 20 cigarettes a day).

Clear air turbulence (CAT) is energy associated with gravity waves — phenomena in the atmosphere that look like ocean waves but which can occur in clear air. They can be created by air flow over mountains, frontal boundaries or other causes.

The type of gravity wave that John Knox, an assistant professor in the department of geography at the University of Georgia, and his colleagues identified as a possible source of airplane flight bumpiness comes from a different source; these waves are spontaneously generated and associated with jet streams at high altitudes, near cruising levels for airplanes.

Their new method outlined in the Journal of Atmospheric Sciences could help pilots chart new courses around these patches of rough but clear air that can turn an otherwise unremarkable flight into a nightmare.

A gravity model of the Earth constructed with data from GRACE. Credit: University of Texas Center for Space Research and NASA



It is all about gravity these days. First came GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) and then we'll have GOCE (Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer). I'll reveal the difference right away: GRACE measures time variations while GOCE measures the static gravity field. Both are equally important for a number of societal application and both are hot on the satellite scene this fall. Well, actually amazing science results have come out based on data from GRACE ever since it was launched in 2002. In particular the increased resolution is stunning and continue to enthuse the scientists. One of my colleagues, Srinivas Bettanpur at the University of Texas, has increased the spatial resolution beyond our wildest dreams and provides now researchers with an instrument that can estimate mass changes with a spatial resolution of less than 322 km (200 miles) – a lot better than first anticipated.

Wind farms pose less of a threat to farmland birds than previously feared, new research has found. The study, published this week in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Applied Ecology, helps resolve a potentially major environmental conflict: how to meet renewable energy targets at the same time as reversing dramatic declines in biodiversity on European farmland.

Dr Mark Whittingham and colleagues from Newcastle University conducted bird surveys on arable farmland around two wind farms in the East Anglian fens. They recorded almost 3,000 birds from 23 different species, including five red-listed species of high conservation concern – the yellowhammer, the Eurasian tree sparrow, the corn bunting, Eurasian skylark and the common reed bunting.

In case you haven’t noticed, election season is upon us! Ok, it has been upon us for almost two years, but never mind that. Pollsters are busy trying to determine why people might be voting for one candidate or another, with special attention being paid to the so-called undecided voters, on whose last-minute whim the fate of the nation -- and the world -- seems to hinge.

Two recent studies, however, provide much food for thought about why people vote one way or the other, and about the reasons they give to themselves and others.

GAITHERSBURG, Maryland. and BERN, Switzerland, September 30 /PRNewswire/ --

- The high-precision clock in SmartNode(TM) digital VoIP IADs preserves DECT, PBX, and FAX functionality when converting ISDN telephony systems to Voice-over-IP.

- SmartNode(TM) VoIP...more than just talk.

Patton -- the leader in business-class network access, connectivity, and VoIP equipment -- together with Patton-Inalp Networks AG -- creator of SmartNode(TM) industry-leading VoIP technology -- announces new BRI and PRI VoIP product lines that ensure seamless inter-operation with Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) and PBX systems.

LONDON, September 30 /PRNewswire/ --

Business is responsible for more than 40% of the UK's carbon emissions. Visit Working Buildings Week 2008, to find out how companies are tackling this issue and making their places of work more efficient and environmentally friendly. Bringing together 1000s of professionals, 400 built environment solution providers and over 300 hours of educational content, Working Buildings 2008 aims to empower those responsible for the UK's workplaces. Highlights of this year's show include:

PHILADELPHIA, September 30 /PRNewswire/ --

- Joint solution provides rapid test configuration and root cause analysis of application defects without physical access to hardware or far reaching branch offices.

Shunra Software (www.shunra.com), the world's leading provider of network emulation and application performance testing solutions, and VMware Technology Alliance Partner (TAP) program member, today announced it has released Shunra VE for VMware Infrastructure 3. VMware provides TAP program members with tools to develop products that are complementary to VMware virtualization software and help deliver high-value solutions to our joint customers.