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ADHD Kids Linked To Higher Divorce Rate

ADHD Kids Linked To Higher Divorce Rate

Oct 21 2008 | comment(s)

You know how people always tell kids it's not their fault when parents get divorced?  It may be partly their fault when it comes to kids with ADHD kids, according to results of a new study in the October issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 

Parents of a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are nearly twice as likely to divorce by the time the child is 8 years old than parents of children without ADHD, the researchers say.  Moreover, among couples in the study who were divorced, marriages involving children with ADHD ended sooner than marriages with no ADHD-diagnosed children. 
Desperate Nanoparticles - The Secret Lives Of Catalysts

Desperate Nanoparticles - The Secret Lives Of Catalysts

Oct 21 2008 | comment(s)

The first-ever glimpse of nanoscale catalysts in action could lead to improved pollution control and fuel cell technologies. Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory observed catalysts restructuring themselves in response to various gases swirling around them, like a chameleon changing its color to match its surroundings.

Using a state-of-the-art spectroscopy system at Berkeley Lab's Advanced Light Source, the team watched, for the first time, as nanoparticles composed of two catalytic metals changed their composition in the presence of different reactants. Until now, scientists have had to rely on snapshots of catalysts taken before and after a reaction, never during.
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) People More Likely To Be Addicted To Cigarettes

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) People More Likely To Be Addicted To Cigarettes

Oct 21 2008 | comment(s)

Young people with Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are not only at increased risk of starting to smoke cigarettes, they also tend to become more seriously addicted to tobacco and more vulnerable to environmental factors such as having friends or parents who smoke, according to a study from Massachusetts General Hospital reseachers. The report in the Journal of Pediatrics also found that individuals with more ADHD-related symptoms, even those who don't have the full syndrome, are at greater risk of becoming dependent on nicotine than those with fewer symptoms. 
The Nutrient Exchange Impact Of Climate Change On Lakes

The Nutrient Exchange Impact Of Climate Change On Lakes

Oct 21 2008 | comment(s)

Climate change will have different effects on lakes in warmer and colder regions of the globe, according to Japanese and German researchers following studies of very deep caldera lakes in Japan.

Scientists from Hokkaido University, the Hokkaido Institute of Environmental Sciences, Kagoshima University and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) compared current measurements with measurements taken 70 years ago. This confirmed a rise in temperatures in the deep water layers of lakes in the south of Japan, while the deep water temperatures of lakes in the north remained the same.
More Fertilizers Creating A Nitrogen Threat To Sea Life

More Fertilizers Creating A Nitrogen Threat To Sea Life

Oct 21 2008 | comment(s)

A rise in carbon emissions is not the only threat to the planet. Changes to the nitrogen cycle, caused in large part by the widespread use of fertilizers, are also damaging both water quality and aquatic life. These concerns are highlighted by Professor Grace Brush, from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA, in her historical review (1) of landscape changes around Chesapeake Bay, a large estuary on the Atlantic coast of the USA. Her findings are published online this week in Springer's journal Estuaries and Coasts.
Gamma Wave 'Glue' Of Memory And Learning In Children

Gamma Wave 'Glue' Of Memory And Learning In Children

Oct 21 2008 | comment(s)

New studies conducted by April Benasich, professor of neuroscience at Rutgers University in Newark, and her colleagues reveal that gamma wave activity in the brains of children provide a window into their cognitive development, and could open the way for more effective intervention for those likely to experience language problems.

"Research into the adult brain has shown that gamma activity is the 'glue' that binds together perceptions, thoughts and memories," notes Benasich. "Little research, however, has been conducted into the development of gamma activity in the infant brain and its possible connection to cognitive and language skills."
Astronomy Discoveries Sometimes Mean Looking In The Right Place At The Right Time

Astronomy Discoveries Sometimes Mean Looking In The Right Place At The Right Time

Oct 21 2008 | comment(s)

A bit of serendipity has given astronomers a surprise view of a never-before-observed event in the birth of a galaxy.

University of Florida and University of California-Santa Cruz astronomers are the first to discover the onset of a huge flow of gas from a quasar, or the super-bright core of an extremely remote young galaxy still being formed. The gas was expelled from the quasar and its enormous black hole sometime in the space of four years around 10 billion years ago – an extremely brief and ancient blip noticed only by a sharp-eyed undergraduate and the unlikely convergence of two separate observational efforts.
Sex, Lies And TV: Talk Shows Get Some Respect In Contemporary Democracy?

Sex, Lies And TV: Talk Shows Get Some Respect In Contemporary Democracy?

Oct 21 2008 | comment(s)

New research on the manner in which people reveal their most intimate secrets on national TV talk shows will be presented at the University of Leicester on Wednesday October 22.

Professor Ian Hutchby, Professor of Sociology at the University of Leicester, will present his paper: Revealing revelations: 'Performed retellings' of significant announcements on a TV talk show.

In his talk, Professor Hutchby will discuss his findings on the way the revelation of personal information is managed by the protagonist.

He said: "There is now an established tradition of television talk shows in which secrets, affairs and other private things are 'revealed' for the watching audience. Sometimes, such things are also revealed for co-guests in the studio.

Bioethanol: Termites And Symbionts May Save Our Energy Future

Bioethanol: Termites And Symbionts May Save Our Energy Future

Oct 21 2008 | comment(s)

If bioethanol is going to make a major contribution to our fuel supplies, we will require using biomatter a lot more efficiently than we do now - but we may be able to get some assistance from tiny insect helpers, says Michael Scharf, an assistant professor of entomology at the University of Florida, Gainesville. 

In Biofuels, Bioproducts&Biorefining, Scharf and his colleague Aurélien Tartar describe how the enzymes produced by both termites and the micro-organisms that inhabit their gut – known as symbionts – could help to produce ethanol from non-edible plant material such as straw and wood. 
Were Polar Dinosaurs The First Nomads?

Were Polar Dinosaurs The First Nomads?

Oct 21 2008 | comment(s)

Contrary to popular belief, polar dinosaurs may not have traveled nearly as far as originally thought when making their bi-annual migration.

University of Alberta researchers Phil Bell and Eric Snively have suggested that while some dinosaurs may have migrated during the winter season, their range was significantly less than previously thought, which means their treks were shorter. Bell and Snively's findings were recently published in Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Paleontology. 

Phil Bell holding a vertebra of a 70-million-year-old Saurolophus.
Dark Energy? No, Phantom Energy, Say These Cosmologists

Dark Energy? No, Phantom Energy, Say These Cosmologists

Oct 21 2008 | comment(s)

We believe we know a lot about the universe but there's a lot left to be explained, especially about its origins. A team of cosmologists from the University of the Basque Country are searching for a model that best explains how the universe evolved - mathematically.

One of the phenomena that standard models of physics have not yet been able to explain is that of the accelerated expansion of the universe. Although Einstein proposed a static model to describe the Cosmos, phenomena like supernovas tell us the universe is expanding.
Advertise Or Donate

Advertise Or Donate

Oct 20 2008 | comment(s)

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International Conference on Hydrogen Production in Oshawa, Canada (May 3-6, 2009)

International Conference on Hydrogen Production in Oshawa, Canada (May 3-6, 2009)

Oct 20 2008 | comment(s)

Are you interested in Hydrogen Energy? Here is an opportunity to participate in a conference with your contributions on the subject. Scientists, engineers, decision makers, and policy experts are invited to attend the International Conference on Hydrogen Production ((ICH2P-09).

Would you let an astrologer evaluate your child's 6th grade earth science curriculum?

Would you let an astrologer evaluate your child's 6th grade earth science curriculum?

Oct 20 2008 | comment(s)

Of course not. Then why do we have advocates of intelligent design pseudoscience evaluating the Texas state science standards for evolution? Among the intelligent design proponents evaluating the Texas science curriculum is Stephen Meyer, an armchair non-scientist who has proven over and over that he doesn't grasp even the basics of the theory he claims to be so astutely criticizing.

From the Dallas Morning News:
Social conservatives on the State Board of Education have appointed three evolution critics to a six-member committee that will review proposed curriculum standards for science courses in Texas schools.
Spatial Learning, Striatum And The 'Dry Cleaning Effect'

Spatial Learning, Striatum And The 'Dry Cleaning Effect'

Oct 20 2008 | comment(s)

Yale researchers have described how dueling brain systems may explain why you forget to drop off the dry cleaning and may point to ways that substance abusers and people with obsessive compulsive disorder can overcome bad habits.
 
In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Christopher J. Pittenger, M.D., and colleagues describe a sort of competition between areas of the brain involved in learning that results in what Pittenger calls the “dry cleaning effect.”
 
One area of the brain called the striatum helps record cues or landmarks that lead to a familiar destination. It is the area of the commuter’s brain that goes on autopilot and allows people to get to work, often with little memory of the trip.
 
Mystery of Tonnes of He (Large Hadron Collider)

Mystery of Tonnes of He (Large Hadron Collider)

Oct 20 2008 | comment(s)

Mystery is unfolding at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Six tonnes of helium, not one as told before in the LHC news, were released accidentally into the tunnel. That is 40 percent of the helium inventory at the sector 3-4 as documented in an interim summary report* dated 15 October 2008.

Accident investigation is ongoing. Many magnets appear to be damaged: 5 quadrupoles and 24 dipoles, for now. Also, the detection system requires work. This is not the whole story. I will write more once I digest the interim summary report.

* CERN/AT/PhL Document EDMS 973073 dated 15 October 2008.










 
Satisfy your voyeuristic desires...

Satisfy your voyeuristic desires...

Oct 20 2008 | comment(s)

Your desires for genome voyeurism, that is. Harvard geneticist George Church has managed to get 10 people to fork over a big chunk of change to have their entire genomes sequenced - that is, the entire thing, not just the SNPs that you get from 23andMe for $400.  Not only did those people pay to have their genomes sequenced, but they agreed to sign away their privacy and expose their naked genomes to the world. Go check it out at www.personalgenomes.org.

The NY Times has the backstory.
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Check out Scientific Blogging's Makeover

Check out Scientific Blogging's Makeover

Oct 20 2008 | comment(s)

If you've been reading this blog via feed, it's time to come pay the home page a visit. Scientific Blogging has received its long-awaited makeover, and the place looks great. And if you're been thinking of starting a science blog, now is a great time to come over and start writing.
Bye Bye Botox - LEDs May Help Reduce Skin Wrinkles

Bye Bye Botox - LEDs May Help Reduce Skin Wrinkles

Oct 20 2008 | comment(s)

Researchers in Germany are describing a potential alternative to Botox and cosmetic surgery for easing facial wrinkles. Their study, scheduled for the November 5 issue of ACS' Crystal Growth&Design,  reports that high intensity visible light from light emitting diodes (LEDs) applied daily for several weeks resulted in "rejuvenated skin, reduced wrinkle levels, juvenile complexion and lasting resilience."

LEDs, if you're not a regular reader here (though you should be) are the miniature lights used in an array of products, from TV remote controls to traffic lights.
Natural Protein 'Fabric' Means Biocompatible Bandages

Natural Protein 'Fabric' Means Biocompatible Bandages

Oct 20 2008 | comment(s)

Scientists in Israel are reporting the first successful spinning of a key natural protein into strong nano-sized fibers about 1/50,000th the width of a human hair. The advance could lead to a new generation of stronger, longer-lasting biocompatible sutures and bandages to treat wounds. The study is scheduled for the November 10 issue of Biomacromolecules.