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Black People Look Blacker In A Bad Economy, Say NYU Psychologists

Black People Look Blacker In A Bad Economy, Say NYU Psychologists

Jun 09 2014 | comment(s)

Is a person's race "fixed"? It seems not. Since race is a cultural construct, perceptions of race may shift as a result of changes to the perceiver's social goals and motivations, so it always seems a little silly for sociologists to do surveys or give Implicit Association tests and play with statistics and declare that X equals Y, but that is the state of the social sciences in the USA.

So psychologists have found, for example, that political ideology may influence the extent to which they see biracial individuals as being Black or White. Look for a lot more of this political ideology stuff since it is election season.

Goldilocks Education: To Get Better Test Scores For Your Kids, Home Spending Needs To Be Just Right

Goldilocks Education: To Get Better Test Scores For Your Kids, Home Spending Needs To Be Just Right

Jun 09 2014 | comment(s)

Banks have long expected that you should spend a third of your income on housing. Now humanities academics say that would help low-income families get optimal brain power for their children also. 

But don't overspend to try and get into a better neighborhood, they write, and we saw the disaster that 1960s subsidies brought to neighborhoods.

Common Mosquito Pesticides Don't Jeopardize Juvenile Oysters, Hard Clams

Common Mosquito Pesticides Don't Jeopardize Juvenile Oysters, Hard Clams

Jun 09 2014 | comment(s)

Four of the most common mosquito pesticides used along the east and Gulf coasts show little risk to juvenile hard clams and oysters, according to a NOAA study in Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology.

The paper also determined that lower oxygen levels in the water, known as hypoxia, and increased acidification increased how toxic some of the pesticides were. Such climate variables should be considered when using these pesticides in the coastal zone, the study concluded.

We Have A Breathable Atmosphere Because Nature Took Control Of The Carbon Cycle

We Have A Breathable Atmosphere Because Nature Took Control Of The Carbon Cycle

Jun 09 2014 | comment(s)

Like breathing? Thank water. And the continents.

One of the greatest mysteries of evolution involves oxygen levels in the atmosphere. At various points throughout 4.5 billion years of geological history, carbon levels have been 10X what they are today, yet life pushed on. Today, oxygen concentration is 21% of the atmosphere. One of the biggest puzzles in geochemistry is how it went from trace amounts to just the right one.

How Much Fertilizer Is Too Much?

How Much Fertilizer Is Too Much?

Jun 09 2014 | comment(s)

More is often not better. In the old days, naive corporations believed that a product that was not harmful when used according to guidance could be overused and it was just a waste of money. Once DDT got banned in America because more was not better, companies got a little smarter about stressing smart application.

But in different regions and climates, the optimal amount of something like fertilizer can fluctuate. Helping farmers around the globe apply more-precise amounts of nitrogen-based fertilizer can even help combat climate change.

Anthropogenic Cloud Impact: The Sky's The Limit

Anthropogenic Cloud Impact: The Sky's The Limit

Jun 09 2014 | comment(s)

Understanding how clouds affect climate is been a difficult proposition, even for a difficult to understand field like climate science.

What controls the makeup of the low clouds that cool the atmosphere or the high ones that trap heat underneath? How does human activity change patterns of cloud formation?

New research in Science suggests we may be nudging cloud formation in the direction of added area and height - and there may be even be a new type. It seems that, in pre-industrial times, there was less cloud cover over areas of pristine ocean than is found there today. 

'Hello, World!' NASA Beams Video From Space Station Via Laser

'Hello, World!' NASA Beams Video From Space Station Via Laser

Jun 09 2014 | comment(s)

"Hello, World!" came the message from the International Space Station as NASA successfully beamed high-definition video via laser from space to ground on Thursday, June 5. The 175-megabit video transmission was the first of its kind for the Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS) with the goal of improving the way we receive data from orbit and beyond. In fact, this emerging technology of optical communications--or lasercomm--is likened to an upgrade from dial-up to DSL.

"It's incredible to see this magnificent beam of light arriving from our tiny payload on the space station," said Matt Abrahamson, OPALS mission manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

Synthetic Bone Regeneration - Now With More Beer

Synthetic Bone Regeneration - Now With More Beer

Jun 09 2014 | comment(s)

Researchers have developed biomaterials for bone regeneration from beer brewing waste.
Haem02 Project: Artificial Blood Gets Third Generation Technology

Haem02 Project: Artificial Blood Gets Third Generation Technology

Jun 09 2014 | comment(s)

Every day thousands of people around the world have their lives saved or improved thanks to someone giving blood but it has limitations. It's shelf life can be limited, blood types need to match and the public needs to be willing to do it. That's without the safety concerns of donated blood. All of these things add to the cost.

The system works - over 85 million units of donated blood are given to people worldwide for use in hospitals - but there are worries about its use in routine operations, and the number of potential and active blood donors decreasing worldwide. 
Take That, Peaceniks: Facial Shape Evolved For Violence, Not Chewing

Take That, Peaceniks: Facial Shape Evolved For Violence, Not Chewing

Jun 09 2014 | comment(s)

Like with many things, a lot of variables go into evolution. Some is luck, some is necessity, some is circumstance. Over time, for example, a region of blacksmiths will grow bigger arms. It isn't an epigenetic or Lamarckian evolution event but it will happen over generations because holding a hammer becomes important in that circumstance.

Almost anything can claim an evolutionary basis, if you try hard enough. In the run up to the last American presidential election, there were even claims that people were born liberal or conservative. Yes, social psychologists and the political pundits who take them seriously believed the American left and right were evolving differently than the rest of the world.

Without Subtitles, Her Words Make Noise And Then Vanish

Without Subtitles, Her Words Make Noise And Then Vanish

Jun 09 2014 | comment(s)

Imagine a world where the tedious moments of life, cleaning or driving a car or whatever, could be spent visiting the Louvre or meeting new people or learning history. 

The whole universe of information is at your fingertips. The only evidence of intelligence is how well you utilize the system, multitasking and parsing information while chatting and even letting someone ride shotgun in your experiences. Genius itself would be redefined.

Then imagine it all disappeared. Could you remember what people told you without a digital archive of the conversation? How they look? Could you find your way home?
For Poor People, The Most Important Label Remains The One With The Price

For Poor People, The Most Important Label Remains The One With The Price

Jun 09 2014 | comment(s)

It's not surprising that in a trial, mothers participating in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) who received subsidized vouchers for fruits and vegetables at area farmers markets used them - and chose fruits or vegetables more often then they would at supermarkets. 

But prices at local supermarkets are lower, notes a new University of Illinois study, so the question becomes how much should taxpayers spend in hopes that families will eat more vegetables, if they don't buy them at supermarkets. Should we mandate their behavior by giving them vouchers for farmer's markets rather than grocery stores?
World Map Of Research Created Using 15 Million Articles

World Map Of Research Created Using 15 Million Articles

Jun 09 2014 | comment(s)

An analysis of the scientific production of more than 80 countries from 1996 to 2006 found that there are three major ‘clusters’ of countries, defined by the thematic areas they investigate and that their governments invest in most.

Using this data, researchers from the University of Granada and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), belonging to the SCImago research group have designed the most comprehensive 'world map of research' to date. Using statistical techniques and multivariate analysis, they included over 15 million documents and scientific articles.
Almost Human? Rats Show Regret, Says Study

Almost Human? Rats Show Regret, Says Study

Jun 09 2014 | comment(s)

Can rats show regret and, if so, how would we know?

Neuroscientists at the University of Minnesota say they do and it's intriguing because regret is a cognitive behavior thought to be uniquely and fundamentally human.    

"Regret is the recognition that you made a mistake, that if you had done something else, you would have been better off," said A. David Redish, Ph.D., a professor of neuroscience in the University of Minnesota. "The difficult part of this study was separating regret from disappointment, which is when things aren't as good as you would have hoped. The key to distinguishing between the two was letting the rats choose what to do."

Retracing Early Cultivation Steps: Lessons From Comparing Citrus Genomes

Retracing Early Cultivation Steps: Lessons From Comparing Citrus Genomes

Jun 08 2014 | comment(s)

Citrus is the world's most widely cultivated fruit crop. In the U.S. alone, the citrus crop was valued at over $3.1 billion in 2013. Originally domesticated in Southeast Asia thousands of years ago before spreading throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas via trade, citrus is now under attack from citrus greening, an insidious emerging infectious disease that is destroying entire orchards. To help defend citrus against this disease and other threats, researchers worldwide are mobilizing to apply genomic tools and approaches to understand how citrus varieties arose and how they respond to disease and other stresses.

Small Molecule May Help Battle Depression - And Antidepressants Change It

Small Molecule May Help Battle Depression - And Antidepressants Change It

Jun 08 2014 | comment(s)

Antidepressant drugs are common in the developed world and are among the most prescribed medications in North America. Though antidepressants are effective for some, there is a lot of variability in how individuals respond to antidepressant treatment.  

A recent study found that levels of a small molecule found only in primates are lower in the brains of depressed individuals, a discovery that may hold a key to improving treatment options for those who suffer from depression.

Democrats Are Losing The War To Claim The Anti-Vaccination Movement Is Bipartisan

Democrats Are Losing The War To Claim The Anti-Vaccination Movement Is Bipartisan

Jun 08 2014 | comment(s)

You may not know this, but there are Democrats who don't accept climate change. Quite a lot of them. Even elites in Congress.

You wouldn't know it from reading most science blogs, of course. They are firmly trapped in 2004 - and missed the 1990s, when Democrats were the anti-science party, killing the SSC and America's green energy program - and think that global warming and evolution are the only two science denial things happening in the country. Since it is election season, the first wave of 'Republicans are anti-science' articles has already hit and there will be a lull now that primary season is over, but efforts to insist that vaccine denial is not primarily Democrats are out in force.
Concerned About Increasing Levels Of Doubt Over Climate Science? Thank Journalists

Concerned About Increasing Levels Of Doubt Over Climate Science? Thank Journalists

Jun 08 2014 | comment(s)

Once the public loses confidence in the ability of journalists to be trusted guides for the public, it is hard to regain it. Scientists don't trust journalists because they get a lot of science wrong. The public doesn't trust journalists because they don't ask the awkward questions of people whose work they admire.

And then there is the framing they engage in.
Why Crows Are Intelligent - Working Memory Neurons

Why Crows Are Intelligent - Working Memory Neurons

Jun 08 2014 | comment(s)

An important prerequisite for intelligence is a good short-term memory which can store and process the information needed for ongoing processes. This 'working memory' is a kind of mental notepad – without it, we could not follow a conversation, do mental arithmetic or play any simple game.

A new study has discovered neurons allowing crows to remember short-term. In the animal kingdom, the group of birds including crows and ravens, the corvids, are known for their intelligence because they have just such a working memory, but their endbrain – which is highly-developed but has a fundamentally different structure from that of mammals – has no cerebral cortex; and that is the part of the brain which in mammals produces the working memory.
The Role Of Social Media And Internet Sites In Suicide Clusters

The Role Of Social Media And Internet Sites In Suicide Clusters

Jun 08 2014 | comment(s)

700 people under the age of 25 die by suicide in the UK per year. 160 young people under the age of 20 die by suicide in England each year and there are higher rates of suicide in young people in Scotland and Northern Ireland than in England and Wales.

Why? Is it economics? Copycat culture? 

The National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness (Inquiry), led by Professor Louis Appleby of the University of Manchester, is carrying out an investigation to examine causes and recommend prevention strategies. The investigation will look at the role of social media and Internet sites in suicides as well as suicides which appear to occur in clusters or follow a copy-cat pattern.