science wire

Economic power of self-employment felt countywide
University Park, Pa. - People in rural counties who work for themselves may add a boost to local economies, improving income and job growth, according to economists.

Probing Question: What is mindfulness?
Ancient wisdom tells us to "stop and smell the roses" and to "live for the moment." Given our busy lives, it's no surprise that this advice is often easier said than done.

Vilsack: Ag research and education key to prosperity, security
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Investment in agricultural research doesn't benefit just the 2 percent of the population involved in farming.

Technology convergence may widen the digital divide
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Technology is helping communication companies merge telephone, television and Internet services, but a push to deregulate may leave some customers on the wrong side of the digital divide during this convergence, according to a Penn State tele researcher.

Inaugural personalized medicine symposium scheduled
The inaugural symposium of Penn State Hershey Institute for Personalized Medicine will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, June 8, at Penn State Hershey University Conference Center.

Reducing off-label use of antipsychotic medications may save money
HERSHEY, Pa. - Reducing the non-FDA-approved use of antipsychotic drugs may be a way to save money while having little effect on patient care, according to a Penn State College of Medicine study. Researchers say that 57.6 percent of patients prescribed antipsychotic medications in data from 2003 did not have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, the conditions for which the drugs were approved for use.

Carpet-time democracy: Carving out time for civics in the classroom
The ideal of democracy often is overlooked in early childhood classrooms, notes a researcher in Penn State's College of Education.

Penn State researcher receives Grand Challenges Explorations grant
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A Penn State researcher has been chosen to receive a grant through the Grand Challenges Explorations program, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Americans fall short of federal exercise recommendations
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Americans spend, on average, only about two hours each week participating in sports and fitness activities, according to researchers at Penn State and the University of Maryland who examined U.S. government data from the American Time Use Study.

Best websites balance self-expression and functionality
University Park, Pa. - Giving people the freedom - but not too much freedom - to express themselves may help designers build more interactive web portals and online communities, according to Penn State researchers.

Endangered species, languages linked at high biodiversity regions
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Biodiversity hot spots - the world's biologically richest and most threatened locations on Earth - and high biodiversity wilderness areas - biologically rich but less threatened - are some of the most linguistically diverse regions on our planet, according to a team of conservationists.

New center focuses on sport concussion research and community service
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.

Stay connected with Penn State research
Did you know that Penn State astronomers discovered three new planets last year? Or that a Penn State materials scientist just patented a new superabsorbent that will reduce the environmental damage

New assessment for diagnosing malnutrition
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A new systematic assessment of malnutrition, created by researchers at Penn State, will aid dietitians and other health care providers in diagnosis and treatment. Up to 50 percent of patients in hospitals and nursing facilities are estimated to be malnourished, according to Gordon Jensen, professor and head of nutritional sciences, Penn State.

It takes a village to keep teens substance free
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - During high school the parents of teenagers' friends can have as much effect on the teens' substance use as their own parents, according to prevention researchers.

Inexpensive, abundant starch fibers could lead to ouchless bandages
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A process that spins starch into fine strands could take the sting out of removing bandages, as well as produce less expensive and more environmentally-friendly toilet paper, napkins and other products, according to Penn State food scientists.

Probing Question: What is the jet stream?
If you've seen the movie Finding Nemo, you probably recall the depiction of the "EAC," a fast-moving ocean current that the film's surfer-dude sea turtles ride with flair.

Record-breaking radio waves from ultra-cool star
Penn State astronomers using the world's largest radio telescope, at Arecibo, Puerto Rico, have discovered flaring radio emissions from an ultra-cool star, not much warmer than the planet Jupiter, shattering the previous record for the lowest stellar temperature at which radio waves were detected.

Research project develops collaborative tool for water quality data
Scientists with federal and state agencies, academic researchers, environmental consultants, and watershed group volunteers have collected water-quality data for years as part of efforts to monitor the health of Pennsylvania's waterways.

Binge eating may lead to addiction-like behaviors
HERSHEY, Pa. - A history of binge eating - consuming large amounts of food in a short period of time - may make an individual more likely to show other addiction-like behaviors, including substance abuse, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

Finding ET may require giant robotic leap
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Autonomous, self-replicating robots - exobots - are the way to explore the universe, find and identify extraterrestrial life and perhaps clean up space debris in the process,

Researchers aim to lessen clash between raptors, wind turbines
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Golden eagles love Pennsylvania's ridge-and-valley region. The hunched-up topography, with its long linear corridors running southwest to northeast, makes a perfect thruway for their spring and fall migrations.

Depression may lead mothers to wake babies
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Depressed mothers are more likely to needlessly wake up their infants at night than mothers who are not depressed, according to Penn State researchers.

Research Unplugged to conclude April 19 with Warhol talk
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Sarah Rich, associate professor of art history at Penn State, will be the final speaker in this spring's Research Unplugged series of six "town and gown" conversations with Penn State researchers.

Probing Question: What causes trees to be diseased?
From the delicate cherry blossoms of Washington, D.C. to the towering redwoods of northern California, many towns and institutions across the nation are known and loved for their iconic trees.

Exercise and attitude may be thermostat for hot flashes
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Attitude may play an important role in how exercise affects menopausal women, according to Penn State researchers, who identified two types of women - one experiences more hot flashes after physical activity, while the other experiences fewer.

Hate group formation associated with big-box stores
University Park, Pa. - The presence of big-box retailers, such as Wal-Mart, K-Mart and Target, may alter a community's social and economic fabric enough to promote the creation of hate groups, according to economists. The number of Wal-Mart stores in a county is significantly correlated with the number of hate groups in the area, said Stephan Goetz, professor of agricultural economics and regional economics, Penn State, and director of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development.

Undergraduate research journal online; reception April 16
The second issue of the Penn State New Kensington Undergraduate Research Journal, a compendium of research by campus undergraduates, is available online.

Breakthroughs may lead to more energy efficient transistors
Researchers at Penn State and the University of Notre Dame have announced breakthroughs in the development of tunneling field effect transistors (TFETs), a semiconductor technology that takes advantage of the quirky behavior of electrons at the quantum level.

Pediatric Research Day set for April 5
Alan Guttmacher will be the keynote speaker of Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital's Pediatric Research Day, which will take place from noon to 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 5, at Hershey Lodge and Convention Center.

Produce safety future focus of supermarkets, farmers and consumers
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Shoppers will continue to see the Fresh Local Produce sign in supermarkets, but stores will increasingly require growers to show proof of good agricultural practices, according to Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences researchers. Good agricultural practices - GAPs - are food-safety standards that reduce the risk of on-farm produce contamination, according to Daniel Tobin, a doctoral candidate in Agricultural and Extension Education and the principal investigator in the study.

Expert: 'Pink slime' may be unappetizing, but it's safe, genuine beef
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Whether you call it "pink slime" or lean, finely textured beef, you can call it a much-maligned product at the heart of an emotional controversy fueled by misinformation, according to a meat expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

PATHS study explores need for palliative care in heart failure cases
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.

Low-income mothers risk obesity to feed children
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Mothers who financially struggle to provide food for their families tend to put themselves at risk for obesity while trying to feed their children, according to Penn State sociologists.

Center for Innovative Metal Processing created
University Park, Pa. - Penn State's Applied Research Laboratory and Sciaky, Inc., a subsidiary of Phillips Service Industries will establish the Center for Innovative Metal Processing through Direct Digital Deposition as a Manufacturing Demonstration Facility under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Open Manufacturing Initiative.

Beliefs about genes, God, can change health communication strategies
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Beliefs about nature and nurture can affect how patients and their families respond to news about their diagnosis, according to Penn State health communication researchers. Understanding how people might respond to a health problem, especially when the recommendations for adapting to the condition may seem contradictory to their beliefs, is crucial to planning communication strategies, said Roxanne Parrott, Distinguished Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences and Health Policy and Administration.

Switch to daylight saving time leads to cyberloafing at the office
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The annual shift to daylight saving time and its accompanying loss of sleep cause employees to spend more time than normal surfing the Web for content unrelated to their work, resulting in potentially massive productivity losses, according to researchers.

'Fertilizer Forecaster' aimed at improving water quality
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A grant of $484,000 will support a joint Penn State/U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service project designed to help farmers improve water quality by making better decisions about when and where to apply fertilizer.

Violent relationships likely detrimental to good parenting
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Couples who are married or living together will probably have more trouble parenting as a team if they have been violent toward one another during pregnancy, according to a team of psychologists.

Marcellus Shale activity affecting county-level dairy production
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Natural-gas development appears to be associated with falling dairy production in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale region, but the exact reasons for the decline are unclear, according to researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

Unique salt allows energy production to move inland
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Production of energy from the difference between salt water and fresh water is most convenient near the oceans, but now, using an ammonium bicarbonate salt solution, Penn State researchers can combine bacterial degradation of waste water with energy extracted from the salt-water fresh-water gradient to produce power anywhere.

Boldt co-edits Bank Street Occasional Papers Series on accountability
A Penn State researcher is co-editor of the latest issue of Bank Street's Occasional Papers Series, a prominent academic journal that serves as a forum for educators to discuss timely academic matters.

Probing Question: How much has dating changed in recent years?
By Melissa Beattie-Moss Research/Penn State The economy may be struggling, but these days Cupid has found some profitable new niches.

Gamma-ray bursts' highest power side unveiled by Fermi Telescope
Vancouver, Pa. - Detectable for only a few seconds but possessing enormous energy, gamma-ray bursts are difficult to capture because their energy does not penetrate the Earth's atmosphere.

New book helps bring evidence-based explanations to science classrooms
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The National Research Council's newly released Framework for K-12 Science Education captures contemporary thinking about the role of core ideas, cross-cutting themes, and scientific practices in science learning.

Best time for a coffee break? There's an app for that
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Caffeinated drinks such as coffee and soda are the pick-me-ups of choice for many people, but too much caffeine can cause nervousness and sleep problems. Caffeine Zone software app developed by Penn State researchers, can help people determine when caffeine may give them a mental boost and when it could hurt their sleep patterns.

Motivation to exercise affects behavior
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - For many people, the motivation to exercise fluctuates from week to week, and these fluctuations predict whether they will be physically active, according to researchers at Penn State.

Environment Canada cuts threaten science, international agreements
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.

Integrated weed management best response to herbicide resistance
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Over-reliance on glyphosate-type herbicides for weed control on U.S. farms has created a dramatic increase in the number of genetically-resistant weeds, according to a team of agricultural researchers, who say the solution lies in an integrated weed management program.

Physical activity yields feelings of excitement, enthusiasm
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - People who are more physically active report greater levels of excitement and enthusiasm than people who are less physically active, according to Penn State researchers.

Comparing yourself to others can have health impacts
University Park, Pa. - Comparing yourself to others with the same health problem can influence your physical and emotional health, according to researchers who conducted a qualitative synthesis of over 30 studies focusing on the relationship between social comparisons and health.

First materials developed for new high-speed-electronic optical fibers
For the first time, a group of chemists, physicists and engineers has developed crystalline materials that allow an optical fiber to have integrated, high-speed electronic functions. The potential applications of such optical fibers include improved tele and other hybrid optical and electronic technologies, improved laser technology, and more-accurate remote-sensing devices.

Tree rings may underestimate climate response to volcanic eruptions
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Some climate cooling caused by past volcanic eruptions may not be evident in tree-ring reconstructions of temperature change, because large enough temperature drops lead to greatly shortened or even absent growing seasons, according to climate researchers who compared tree-ring temperature reconstructions with model simulations of past temperature changes.

Gene related to fat preferences in humans found
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A preference for fatty foods has a genetic basis, according to researchers, who discovered that people with certain forms of the CD36 gene may like high-fat foods more than those who have other forms of this gene. The results help explain why some people struggle when placed on a low-fat diet and may one day assist people in selecting diets that are easier for them to follow.

Penn State scientists elected to American Geophysical Union
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Michael Mann and David Pollard, both scientists in Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, have been elected as Fellows of the American Geophysical Union for exceptional contributions in original research in climate change.

Online news portals get credibility boost from trusted sources
University Park, Pa. - People who read news on the Web tend to trust the gate even if there is no gatekeeper, according to Penn State researchers.

Probing Question: What is the sandwich generation?
By Melissa Beattie-Moss Research/Penn State If you didn't know better, you might think the Sandwich Generation was the name of a new show on the Food Network.

Early intervention may curb dangerous college drinking
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The first few weeks of college are a critical time in shaping students' drinking habits. Now Penn State researchers have a tailored approach that may help prevent students from becoming heavy drinkers. "Research shows there is a spike in alcohol-related consequences that occur in the first few weeks of the semester, especially with college freshmen," said Michael J. Cleveland, research associate at the Prevention Research Center and the Methodology Center.

LED lights point shoppers in the right direction
SAN FRANCISCO - Looking for an item in a large department store or mall can be like searching for a needle in a haystack, but that could change thanks to a hybrid location-identification system that

The History Channel will feature Penn State research on farm fields
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A Penn State Extension field demonstration of technology designed to reduce odors and nutrient losses from agricultural fields will be a featured segment on the History Channel's "Modern Marvels" program.

Abstracts wanted for Pediatric Research Day
Guidelines for reporting of child abuse, sexual assault Board chair and vice chair issue statement on questions about Paterno Alumni Town Hall meetings begin in Pittsburgh Panel discussion 'Responding to Child Sexual Abuse' set for Jan.

Interdisciplinary science building opens doors to researchers
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - When Penn State's Millennium Science Complex opened its doors to researchers this fall, it inaugurated a new era of scientific discovery at the intersection of materials science, engineering, nanoscience and the life sciences at Penn State.

Climate balancing: sea-level rise vs. surface temperature change rates
Guidelines for reporting of child abuse, sexual assault Board chair and vice chair issue statement on questions about Paterno Alumni Town Hall meetings begin in Pittsburgh Panel discussion 'Responding to Child Sexual Abuse' set for Jan.

Probing Question: Are invasive plants always a threat?
Board chair and vice chair issue statement on questions about Paterno Alumni Town Hall meetings begin in Pittsburgh Panel discussion 'Responding to Child Sexual Abuse' set for Jan.

Memoir gives personal look at the journey of a Buddhist scholar
Board chair and vice chair issue statement on questions about Paterno Alumni Town Hall meetings begin in Pittsburgh Panel discussion 'Responding to Child Sexual Abuse' set for Jan.

Milky Way stars that wander but are not lost
Panel discussion 'Responding to Child Sexual Abuse' set for Jan. 24 Penn State President Erickson signs employment contract New York Alumni Town Hall meeting to be streamed Website consolidates sexual assault resource information Affirmative Action vice provost presents sexual harassment workshop New evidence that will help to answer long-standing questions about the history of stars in the disk of our galaxy is being released this week at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society by a team that includes a Penn State astronomer.

Women with celiac disease suffer from depression, disordered eating
University pledges continued cooperation with NCAA inquiry Hotels to support RAINN over commencement weekend A message from President Rodney Erickson As lawmakers review child abuse laws, Erickson expresses support Blue out, canning efforts raise $47,000 to fight child abuse, rape UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.

Disease-causing fungi prevalent in sink drains, study finds
University pledges continued cooperation with NCAA inquiry Hotels to support RAINN over commencement weekend A message from President Rodney Erickson As lawmakers review child abuse laws, Erickson expresses support Blue out, canning efforts raise $47,000 to fight child abuse, rape UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's illness deciphered after 150 years
University pledges continued cooperation with NCAA inquiry Hotels to support RAINN over commencement weekend A message from President Rodney Erickson As lawmakers review child abuse laws, Er

Kolb authors new book on facilitation of small groups
Berks students hold fundraiser to benefit Children's Alliance Center Penn State to create Center for the Protection of Children A message from President Rodney Erickson: The days ahead... Campus community and friends attend candlelight vigil Town Hall Forum video posted Judith A. Kolb, associate professor of workforce education, is the author of a newly released book that offers research, insights and suggestions on ways to improve the functioning of groups and teams.

Peculiar cosmic explosion on Christmas Day 2010 remains a mystery
Town Hall Forum video posted Board executive committee reaffirms, ratifies earlier decisions Students host fundraiser to benefit abused children Penn State, PA Coalition Against Rape join to

Design could help Facebook members limit security leaks
Town Hall Forum video posted Board executive committee reaffirms, ratifies earlier decisions Students host fundraiser to benefit abused children Penn State, PA Coalition Against Rape join to

Rise of Atmospheric Oxygen More Complicated Than Previously Thought
Penn State, PA Coalition Against Rape join to fight child sexual abuse Penn State Town Hall Forum provides open discussion Football head coach search committee formed University launches hot

Innovative approaches help sleep apnea sufferers benefit from CPAP
Penn State, PA Coalition Against Rape join to fight child sexual abuse Penn State Town Hall Forum provides open discussion Football head coach search committee formed University launches hot

HIV uncertainty uushes Malawians to want children earlier
Football head coach search committee formed University launches hotline for reporting abuse Student government leaders to host forum for students, administrators Penn State faculty offer tea

Penn State science is among the best in the U.S., national study shows
Football head coach search committee formed University launches hotline for reporting abuse Student government leaders to host forum for students, administrators Penn State faculty offer tea

Researcher improves needle-tip geometry For better biopsies
Student government leaders to host forum for students, administrators Penn State faculty offer teachable moments from difficult events Three forums planned for students who wish to discuss recent events University prepares for Clery Act review President gives thanks for Penn State community's support UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.

Humans And Climate Both Contributed To Large Ice-Age Mammal Extinction
Football head coach search committee formed University launches hotline for reporting abuse Student government leaders to host forum for students, administrators Penn State faculty offer tea