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Released: 31-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Purdue Lab Helps Solve Mysteries, Aids Studies
Purdue University

Researchers across the country rely on PRIME Lab in a wide variety of investigations, from studying soil erosion and weather patterns to tracking aluminum absorption in humans to dating ancient glaciers, archaeological artifacts and meteorite falls.

Released: 31-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
UCSD Psychologists Tackle Ticklish Subject
University of California San Diego

Although the giddy laughter produced by "Tickle-Me-Elmo" can be traced to electronic gadgetry in the doll itself, little is known about why humans smil, laugh and otherwise squirm when tickled.

Released: 31-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
NASA University Research Centers' Conference
University of New Mexico

The latest in fuzzy logic, intelligent systems, remote sensing, global positioning systems, robotic space exploraton and other technologies developed for use in future space missions will be the focus of the 1997 NASA University Research Centers' Technical Conference on Education, Aeronautics, Space, Autonomy Earth and Environment scheduled for Feb. 16-19 at the Sheraton Uptown in Albuquerque, NM.

Released: 31-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Sandia to Test Law Enforcement Technologies
Sandia National Laboratories

The National Institute of Justice announced this week that it has signed an agreement with Sandia National Laboratories to research and develop security technologies. In the past 20 years, Sandia has developed state-of-the- art physical security technologies-- design, and implementation of detection, entry control, delay, and response technologies-- as well as explosives detection and bomb disablement.

Released: 31-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Adoptive parents favor opening sealed records
Cornell University

Parents of adopted children in New York are overwhelmingly in favor of laws that allow adult adoptees access to information in their birth certificates about their birth parents, according to a new Cornell University study.

Released: 31-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Upstate New Yorkers open to NYC watershed deal
Cornell University

The resentment public officials feared would prevent a watershed agreement between New York City and municipalities along the Hudson River watershed was not very deep, a Cornell University study has found.

Released: 31-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Foundation Reports On Business Schools: Damaging?
Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, Graduate School of Management

The 1959 Ford and Carnegie reports on business schools caused severe and probably permanent damage to business education, forcing it into a narrow and overly-theoretical mold, says dr. Carter Daniel, of Rutgers Graduate School of Management, in his forthcoming book "MBA: The First Century."

Released: 31-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Do Black Women Managers Have To Act White?
Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, Graduate School of Management

Black women managers exhibit characteristics that give them exceptional strength, says Assistant Professor DT Ogilvie of Rutgers Graduate School of Management. They are more likely to have male-associated traits as well as female ones, to sense gender inequality strongly, to be able to handle several roles at once, and to break down traditional constraints.

1-Feb-1997 12:00 AM EST
Major Changes in Mineral Chemistry and Properties at High Pressures Seen
National Science Foundation (NSF)

Changes in the magnetic structure of minerals at high pressures might have significant implications for the structure and evolution of the Earth, and may have a significant impact on the planetís magnetic field.

Released: 30-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Asthmatic Children not Helped by Allergy Shots
Johns Hopkins Medicine

Johns Hopkins researchers have resolved a longstanding controversy by showing that allergy shots add little or no benefit to standard drug treatment for children with year-round moderate to severe asthma.

Released: 30-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Latest Inpatient Data
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research today announced the availability of its Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) Release 3, containing 1994 data on hospital inpatient care, conditions, services and costs.

Released: 30-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Merger of U.S. and Russian Satellite GPS
University of Maine

A satellite-based positioning system used by hikers, farmers, pilots and scientists could double in size if Alfred Leick, University of Maine professor of spatial information science and engineering, can solve a problem stemming from the Cold War.

Released: 29-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Rates Of Ocean Nitrogen Uptake May Be Underestimated
University of Georgia

ATHENS, Ga. -- The Southern Ocean -- that vast expanse of water that surrounds the frozen continent of Antarctica -- has been reluctant to give up it wealth of scientific secrets. But new information gathered from a voyage to the bottom of the world could have a major impact on how scientists view the role oceans play in the global carbon and nitrogen cycle. Dr. Deborah Bronk, a biological oceanographer from the University of Georgia, undertook a six-week voyage to the Southern Ocean and to Antarctica's Ross Sea.

Released: 29-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Jungles of Borneo: Science CD-Rom for Children
National Science Foundation (NSF)

Students are becoming ëscientific consultantsí to the Indonesian government, working together to help track down rare plants that may hold a cure for cancer or discover why a vital cash crop is refusing to produce fruit.

Released: 29-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Calcium Supplements are Beneficial and Safe
Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN)

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), backed by medical experts, reaffirmed today that calcium products and supplements which meet current federal standards are a safe and highly beneficial source of calcium.

Released: 29-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
NC State News Tips
North Carolina State University

A roundup of NC State University research, teaching and outreach activities. For use by the media as briefs or as background for stories. Stories include: From Fish, Come Clues on Sexual Behavior; Paper From Cornstalks; Better Housing for Migrant Workers; Nanotubes May Pave Way for Space Elevator; Edible Film Fights Food-Borne Disease; and more.

Released: 29-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Scale-Model Test Plane May Help Save Lives, Money
North Carolina State University

Testing a new aircraft can be costly and risk. But a new scale-model, remote-piloted test plane developed at NC State University with funding from the U.S. Navy may help reduce those risks and costs by letting researchers identify potential problems before they occur in manned flights. The test plane, a 17.5 percent scale version of the U.S. Navy's newly updated F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet strike fighter, was developed by a team of NC State researchers led by Drs. Charles Hall and John Perkins.

Released: 29-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
January 28, 1997 Tipsheet
National Science Foundation (NSF)

Scientists are rethinking what they know about bacteria: it turns out that the organisms tell time. Scientists affiliated with the NSFís H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest Long-Term Ecological Research site in Oregon may have found part of the answer for how deforestation affects global carbon cycles. A Memorandum of Agreement between the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Defense (DOD) designates the Air National Guard to provide air logistics support to the U.S. Antarctic Program, which is run by NSF.

Released: 29-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Multiple Births Multiply During Past Two Decades
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS, CDC)

There has been a remarkable rise in the number of triplet and other higher-order multiple births over the past two decades.Yet, babies born in triplet and other higher-order multiple deliveries arrive smaller and earlier than single births and are at greater risk of infant death and life-long health problems.

Released: 29-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Americans Use Less Nursing Home Care Today
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS, CDC)

Dramatic changes in the nursing home industry have taken place over the past decade, especially because of growth in home health care, according to findings from the latest survey of nursing homes in A merica.

Released: 29-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Phone Calls Improve Results For Heart Failure
Stanford Medicine

Frequent phone calls from specially trained nurses significantly improved the health of heart failure patients in a study reported this month in the American Journal of Cardiology.

24-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Nutritionally-Balanced Meals Improve Heart Health
JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association

A nutritionally-balanced diet benefits people at risk for cardiovascular disease and also improves quality of life, according to an article in the January 27 issue of The AMA's Archives of Internal Medicine. EMBARGOED: 3 p.m. (CT) 1-26-1997

24-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
More Is Better When It Comes To Exercise
JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association

Exercising beyond current minimum guidelines (30 minutes a day most days of the week) can provide substantial health benefits, according to an article in the January 27 issue of the AMA's Archives of Internal Medicine. EMBARGOED: 3 p.m. (CT) 1-26-1997

Released: 28-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
APA Tips-Feb.97
American Psychiatric Association (APA)

APA Online Tipsheet for Feb. 97: 1.) Psychotherapy cost-effective in treatmnt of severe mental illness; 2.) High intelligence resists Alzheimer's; 3.) Near-death terminally ill no more likely to become depressed than other terminally ill; 4.) Irrational fears of being watched/humiliated linked to brain abnormality; 5.) Managed care and mental hlth; 6.) States' definitions of parity for mental hlth vary widely; 7.) APA annual mtg, 5/17-22, San Diego; 8.) '97 APA media award winners, and deadline for '98 awards; 9.) New, controv.

Released: 28-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Cutting Hospital Admissions And Costs For Pneumonia Patients
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

The federal Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) today announced a simple and accurate method to predict which patients with pneumonia may be treated at home rather than in a hospital. The prediction method--a clinical model used to help doctors assess the need for hospitalization--also could help reduce the over $4 billion spent annually for inpatient care. This model is described in the January 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Released: 28-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
AHCPR Report On Colorectal Cancer Screening
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) today released the first evidence report under its new Evidence-based Practice Initiative. The report indicates that screening has been shown to be effective in detecting early-stage colorectal cancers and their precursors. Early detection and treatment are the primary means of preventing deaths from colorectal cancer.

25-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Trends In Engineering Research
ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers)

Today at Energy Week π97, in Houston, Dr. Richard J. Goldstein, president of ASME International, posited how government and industry ≥can radically alter the status quo and influence the worldπs future.≤

28-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Major Asthma Reserach Program Starts At Yale
Yale School of Medicine

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Jan. 26, 1997--The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has selected Yale University School of Medicine as one of seven locations in the United States to establish a Specialized Center of Research to understand the causes of asthma. To conduct this research the NHLBI, a component of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded $8.6 million to Yale over the next five years. "Asthma is so common now that it has become a major health-care issue," points out Jack A. Elias, M.D., director of this new Yale medical research center. "Approximately 15 million children and adults in the United States suffer from asthma, a chronic condition in which their airways become chronically inflamed. The frequency of asthma appears to be particularly prominent in inner-city areas. In the last 15 years, asthma has become an increasingly severe health problem, even reaching epidemic proportions," he adds. Since the early 1980s, national statistics show that the prevalence (fr

Released: 26-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Child Support Better Than Welfare For Children
Cornell University

Children who benefit from child support payments seem to fare better in cognitive development and educational attainment than those who obtain the same amount of money from welfare, according to a Cornell University study. And when child support stems from an agreement between parents rather than a court-ordered one, the children do even better, according to Elizabeth Peters, Cornell professor of consumer economics and housing.

Released: 25-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
World'S 1st In New Cardiac Surgery
Temple University Health System

Cardiac surgeons at Temple University Hospital have performed the first-ever combined coronary artery bypass graft and heart valve replacement surgery without cutting open the patient's chest.

Released: 25-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Test Identifies Potential Heart Attack Victims
InterScience Communications

By measuring levels of the hormone renin, which is produced in the kidney, physicians can identify hypertensive patients at risk of heart attacks, leading hypertension experts found in a study published in the January issue of the American Journal of Hypertension.

Released: 25-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Appeal of 'Star Wars' Examined
North Carolina State University

When the 20th anniversity edition of Star Wars opens in theaters Jan. 31, will Generation X, raised on the murky paranoia of The X-Files and state-of-the-art special effects of blockbusters like Independence Day, embrace a sweet-tempered film about a hero in white, a plucky princess and a mystical power called The Force? It's a good bet they will, says Dr. John Kessel, an award-winning science fiction writer at NC State University. "Star Wars is a larger-than- life, quasi-medieval, Errol Flynn swashbuckler with non-stop action and special effects, and a core message that good always triumphs over evil. You couldn't ask for anything more."

Released: 25-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
'Diamond' Drill Demolishes Methane
University of Minnesota

Researchers at the University of Minnesota and Carnegie-Mellon University have identified a diamond-shaped structure at the active site of bacterial methane monooxygenase. Understanding how the iron-based structure works could help in developing new processes to make plastics and other chemicals, as well as in making methanol.

Released: 25-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Student Engineering Project Serves Community
Purdue University

A Purdue University engineering program that could become a national model is helping community agencies track and assist the homeless and others who need services. Working through an engineering course, a team of undergraduate engineering students is developing a data base for the Homelessness Prevention Network. Color photo available.

Released: 24-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Managing for Many Species Crucial
University of Georgia

ATHENS, Ga. -- Managing for a single endangered species may put other species at risk and is no longer a reasonable policy option, according to a paper published today in the journal Science. Knowing which species are most vulnerable and which human activities threaten them is crucial to saving species, according to an article by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and Dr. Ron Pulliam, director of the National Biological Service and science advisor to Secretary Babbitt.

Released: 24-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Fourth Warmest Northeast December In 102 Years
Cornell University

Throughout the 12-state Northeast region, temperatures were well above normal during December. The region reported an average temperature departure of 6 degrees above normal, which was warm enough to make it the fourth warmest December on record, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University. The normal average temperature for the region is 27.5 degrees, while weather observers measured 33.5 degrees this year.

Released: 24-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Logging Issues Not So Clear Cut, Say Conservationists
Wildlife Conservation Society

An unlikely tool to save tropical forest biodiversity may be the chainsaw, according to conservationists attending a forest diversity workshop, organized by the Wildlife Conservation Society, headquartered at the Bronx Zoo. With worldwide logging regimes owning more forest land than all national parks combined, conservationists are looking toward forest departments and their production forests to complement existing reserves. PHOTOS AVAILABLE

Released: 24-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
ACR Continues Support of Mammography Screening
American College of Radiology (ACR)

The American College of Radiology (ACR) today reaffirmed its strong support for mammography screening for women in their 40s and said that a National Institutes of Heath Panel failed to recognize and incorporate into its report important new follow-up data from clinical trials that confirms the benefits of this test.

Released: 24-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
New combination vaccine for Hib and Hepatitis B may reduce number of childhood shots needed
Merck & Company

Newly revised government recommendations for immunizing infants against serious childhood diseases create new options and decisions for many parents and physicians. Now, a newly-available combination vaccine from Merck & Co., Inc., COMVAX, offers a unique choice that may reduce the number of total injections required in the first 18 months of life from as many as 15 to as few as 11.

Released: 24-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Schizophrenia Gene Is Nicotine Receptor
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

A team of researchers, led by a University of Colorado Health Sciences Center/Denver Veteran's Affairs Medical Center professor, has pinpointed a gene that carries significant risk for schizophrenia, a devastating mental illness that affects some 4 million Americans. The new findings also may explain why 80 percent of schizophrenics are heavy smokers.

23-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
RESEARCHERS FIND PATHWAY FOR NITROGEN FIXATION IN PLANTS
N/A

COLLEGE STATION -- The pathway in legumes -- such as soybeans and alfalfa -- that controls the formation of nitrogen-packed nodules on roots has been identified by researchers at Texas A&M University. The finding, reported in today's issue of Science magazine, could help scientists better understand how to manipulate the growth of such unique plant organs which are vital to the Earth's ecological health.

Released: 23-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Community Impact of Proposed Dam in Thailand Investigated
Resources for the Future (RFF)

Researchers from Resources for the Future in the United States and Chulalongkorn University in Thailand today announce the start of their collaborative investigation of a proposed dam's impact on local forest communities -- an impact that is often not accounted for in development planning in Southeast Asia.

   
Released: 23-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Model for 'Super-rotation' of Earth's Core
 Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins geophysicists have developed a model that may explain recent findings suggesting that the Earth's solid inner core rotates faster than the rest of the planet.

Released: 22-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Drug Reactions Harming Hospital Patients
Intermountain Healthcare

In a new three-year study published in Wednesday's issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers from Intermountain Health Care's LDS Hospital found that adverse drug reactions - on average - prolong hospitalizations by nearly two days, cost $2,262 each to treat, and almost double the risk of death for patients.

Released: 22-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Waste Plastics Can Be A Cheap Fuel Source
American Chemical Society (ACS)

The plastic bottle you throw in the recycling bin today may be in your gas tank tomorrow. That type of reclamation of waste material is now possible, according to Dr. Joseph Shabtai of the University of Utah. The results of his work appear in the January/February issue of Energy & Fuels, a bimonthly publication of the American Chemical Society.

Released: 22-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Smoke Clears In Medical Mystery--Beta-Carotene
American Chemical Society (ACS)

Like beta-carotene, antioxidants such as vitamins C and E are thought to prevent cancer and other diseases. But researchers have been puzzled by the apparent link between beta-carotene and an increased risk of lung cancer in heavy smokers, as reported recently in the New England Journal of Medicine. Research to be published in the Jan. 22 issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society appears to clear up this mystery.

Released: 22-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Better Than Estrogen
American Chemical Society (ACS)

Women who take estrogen-replacement therapy after menopause often also take progestin to avoid an increased risk of endometrial cancer. But progestin itself has a number of side-effects, including resumption of menses and central nervous system disturbances. And estrogen replacement therapy is also associated with increased breast cancer risk, according to Dr. Timothy Grese of Eli Lilly and Co. in Indianapolis.

Released: 22-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Where has All the Iron Gone?
American Chemical Society (ACS)

Americans who avoid red meat may not be getting enough iron in their diet, according to research reported in the January issue of the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry, due to be published on Jan. 20.

Released: 22-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Lasers, Pure Hydrogen, Metallic Glass, CO
Los Alamos National Laboratory

Four tips from Los Alamos: * four-color laser * a membrane reactor for ultrapure hydrogen * new method for forming metallic glasses * high-precision carbon monoxide sensor

Released: 22-Jan-1997 12:00 AM EST
Pinatubo Validates Climate Model
Los Alamos National Laboratory

The Pinatubo eruption has helped validate a Los Alamos 3-d computer model of Earth's atmosphere, which accurately modeled the cooling and impact on Arctic ozone and the polar vortex caused by the volcano's infusion of aersols into the upper atmosphere.



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