In a discovery new to science, research from the University of Vermont shows that sexual conflict between two ant species can drive an evolutionary battle, leading to competing adaptations in which female ants of one species manhandle sperm away from the unwitting males of a different species.
Researchers have uncovered the first-ever field-based evidence for a biological mechanism called 'group selection' contributing to local adaptation in natural populations. Evolutionary theorists have been debating the existence and power of group selection for decades. Now two scientists have observed it in the wild -- as they report in the journal Nature.
With only 200-300,000 per year, ACL injuries are far less common than ankle ligament injuries, which number more than two million annually. But ACL injuries can end sports careers and are proven to lead to the early onset of osteoarthritis, putting young athletes on track for joint replacement as early as their 30s. Vermont research provides insight into the potential role of the knee's geometric characteristics in increasing injury risk.
One fundamental challenge of climate change forecasting is how to bridge the gap between global-scale models and local impacts. A new study—the first-of-its kind for the Lake Champlain region —bridges this gap and forecasts that northern Vermont and southern Quebec by 2100 will get eight degrees Fahrenheit hotter; Burlington, Vt., will experience 10 more days in July above 90; and ski resorts will see 50% less snowfall.
To date, the prevalence of women with high mammographic breast density -- a recognized risk factor for breast cancer -- in the U.S. has been largely unknown. Now a new study helps quantify the number of U.S. women with this condition, providing needed data for notification legislation under consideration in several states.
Over the past five years, several studies have focused on infertility treatment, partly because of the coincidental rise in both the diagnosis of autism and the use of assisted reproduction. A recent study in Infertility and Sterility examined a potential link.
To learn more about this outbreak and the creation of new human vaccines, Vermont Medicine, a publication of the University of Vermont College of Medicine, talked to infectious disease experts Beth Kirkpatrick, M.D., UVM Vaccine Testing Center director, and Kristen Pierce, M.D., who have led vaccine studies for such global pathogens as cholera, West Nile virus, dengue, typhoid fever and anthrax.
As the hashtag #Ferguson trends on Twitter more than a week following Michael Brown’s deadly shooting by a police officer in this suburb of St. Louis, Mo., University of Vermont professor @RashadShabazz was deeply engaged in the conversation. It’s a topic that Shabazz, UVM assistant professor of geography and protégé of renowned activist Angela Davis, understands well -- his current research looks at issues surrounding the policing of black communities, the projection of young black men as criminals and the geographies of race and racism. With persistent images suggestive of a war zone in a small American town, and a frenzy of both social and mainstream media reporting the story, Shabazz offers an academic perspective.
Neuroscientists leading the largest longitudinal adolescent brain imaging study to date have learned that a number of factors – genetics, brain function and about 40 different variables – can help scientists predict which teens will become binge drinkers.
The Vermont Climate Assessment is the nation’s first comprehensive state-level climate assessment. Partnered with the National Climate Assessment released by the White House, the new Vermont report forecasts climate impacts on the state— including fewer maple sugaring days and more snow for skiing. It is expected to be the first of many such efforts to combine global and national data with local knowledge to understand climate threats and opportunities in local landscapes and businesses.
Since Fall 2012, USDA regulations require students across the country to take a fruit or vegetable with their lunch, a good intention that might easily go to the garbage. To help assess what's really happening, UVM researchers have developed state-of-the-art digital imaging to measure healthy food consumption, a method just validated by a paper published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Scientists re-examined 100 world-wide monitoring studies and were surprised to discover that, over decades, the number of species in many places has not changed much—or has increased. But the researchers did discover that almost 80% of the communities showed changes in species composition. This shows that a rapid global turnover of species is happening, resulting in novel biological communities. The scientists conclude that biodiversity change may be as large a concern as biodiversity loss.
The alligator snapping turtle is the largest river turtle in North America, weighing in at up to 200 pounds and living almost a century. Now researchers from Florida and the University of Vermont have discovered that it is not one species — but three.
Smoking prevalence varies by socioeconomic status – particularly in terms of educational attainment – making smoking during pregnancy more common among economically-disadvantaged women, who face an increased risk of poor pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage, preterm birth, SIDS, and later adverse effects. Recent findings from the University of Vermont demonstrate that providing incentives more than doubled smoking abstinence rates during pregnancy and increased fetal growth.
Scientists were greatly surprised to discover an ancient tundra landscape preserved under the Greenland Ice Sheet, below two miles of ice. This finding, led by geologists at the University of Vermont, provides strong evidence that the ice sheet has persisted much longer than previously known, enduring through many past periods of global warming.
Not that she likes saying it, but “well played” is Michele Commercio’s assessment of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s suspiciously quick and successful takeover of the Crimean peninsula in late March. “He’s pulled off quite a stunt,” she says. Here she discusses his motivations, likely plans and how the West can respond.
The world’s growing fleet of plug-in cars will put strain on aging electrical distribution systems. Now research presents a solution: to prevent the electric grid from crashing, break-up requests for power from each car into packets. The new tool is efficient, fair, and protects drivers’ privacy and freedom.
In his latest book, "Pathways to the U.S. Supreme Court: From the Arena to the Monastery," University of Vermont Professor Garrison Nelson, places all 112 Supreme Court justices nominated since the court's inception in 1789 into four categories based on how they reached the nation’s highest court. The result is a fascinating look at how the court evolved from one occupied by individuals with life experience outside the judiciary to one with political ideologues vetted through a process that starts in law school and ends with an appointment to the Supreme Court via a federal judgeship, also known as the "judicial monastery."
Scientists have discovered that “crowdsourcing” — everyday people asking questions of each other — can zero-in on predictors of obesity, including ones that experts hadn’t considered, like whether parents pack their children’s lunch or talk to them about nutrition.
Researchers have identified a new tool that could help facilitate future stem cell therapy for the more than 700,000 Americans who suffer a heart attack each year.
The TACTIC (Trans-Agency Consortium for Trauma-Induced Coagulopathy) study is a cooperative effort funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute that establishes a unique collaboration between the NIH and the Department of Defense to study a deadly bleeding syndrome -- called coagulopathy -- that occurs without warning in some trauma patients.
At least sixteen species of earthworms are now found in Vermont and elsewhere in New England. All are exotic and many are invasive. As they spread, they devour organic matter, disrupting forests and releasing carbon dioxide. But they also store carbon deep in the soil. So, do the worms, on balance, slow or accelerate climate change? Vermont researchers are on the case.
A new book by a political science professor at the University of Vermont, based on a national survey of college students, reveals that readers of the Harry Potter series and viewers of the movie franchise -- primarily members of the Millennial Generation (1982-2002) -- tend be more open to diversity; politically tolerant; less authoritarian; less likely to support the use of deadly force or torture; more politically active; and are more likely to have a negative view of the Bush administration.
The day of the Boston Marathon was the saddest day in nearly 5 years of observations by a team of scientists from the University of Vermont and The MITRE Corporation. For the first time, results from their "hedonometer" are being made available to the public for free at a new website.
New research shows that many US marine mammal populations -- especially some seals and sea lions--have rebounded since 1972, because of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Some 200,000 people in Europe and a similar number in North America are "Vel-negative," a rare blood type, difficult for hospitals to identify, that can make blood transfusions turn deadly. For sixty years, researchers hunted -- unsuccessfully -- for the cause of Vel-negative blood. Now scientists from the University of Vermont and France have found the culprit -- a tiny protein called SMIM1 -- and created a fast and easy DNA test for it.
New observations of a pulsar challenge all proposed pulsar emissions theories, a study in Science reports. This re-opens a decades-old debate about the nature of these bizarre stars.
Most children -- even those exposed to trauma -- are quite resilient. However, by creating an open environment where they feel free to ask questions, adults can help them cope with stressful events and experiences, and reduce the risk of lasting emotional difficulties.
University of Vermont child psychiatrist David Fassler, M.D., provides suggestions for talking to children about the recent devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy.
A new program at the University of Vermont allows the university to collect compostable material from the university's many smaller academic and administrative buildings by using a low cost bicycle composting service.
Even as land-grant universities celebrate the sesquicentennial of the act that democratized higher education in the U.S., concern about their future mounts. A new book of essays, Precipice or Crossroads?, illuminates how the Morrill Act created the public education system and the forces that threaten to unravel it.
The Vermont legislature passed a bill that directs researchers at the University of Vermont to develop a new way of measuring the health of the state economy. Policymakers will use the Vermont Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) to account for factors like environmental impact, human rights, and volunteer work that are not measured in traditional GDP. Governor Shumlin has indicated he will sign the bill, making it the first such law in the United States.
In the largest imaging study of the human brain ever conducted—involving 1,896 14-year-olds—scientists have discovered networks that go a long way toward explaining why some teenagers start experimenting with drugs and alcohol.
Published the day the plant was to be shuttered, a new book examines the debate between the federal government, Entergy and the state of Vermont in the case of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear power plant. It is also a readable account of the plant's history in the state.
People in the US may be at higher risk for Chagas disease than previously understood. A new study finds that 38% of kissing bugs collected in Arizona and California contained human blood and that more than 50% of the bugs also carried the parasite that causes this life-threatening disease. This upends the view that US kissing bug species don’t regularly feed on people and suggests that Chagas could spread, driven north by climate change.
The University of Vermont will become one of the first colleges nationwide to end the sale of bottled water and mandate healthy beverages on campus.
Research shows that English is strongly biased toward being positive. This new study complements another study published Dec. 7 by the same University of Vermont scientists that attracted wide media attention showing that average global happiness, based on Twitter data, has been dropping for the past two years. Combined, the two studies show that short-term average happiness has dropped -- against the backdrop of the long-term fundamental positivity of the English language.
Happiness has dropped over the last two years, University of Vermont research shows.
A new study that examined responses to stimulants is the first to demonstrate that caffeine reinforcement prospectively predicts the positive effects of another drug.
When does abstinence trump getting high? Daily call-in study aims to determine what makes users of the most commonly consumed illicit drug -- marijuana -- stop or cut back.
Vermont child and adolescent psychiatrist David Fassler, M.D., suggests that parents, teachers and other adults help children understand natural disasters like Vermont's recent flooding by listening and responding in an honest, consistent and supportive manner and creating an open environment where they feel free to ask questions.
Two Vermont geologists have created the first-ever standardized view of pre-human erosion rates for the whole planet. Their study is part of an effort to create a model that can predict global patterns of erosion—and how these patterns will respond to climate change.
The jobs picture is slightly better for this year's crop of college graduates, but competition has increased, too. Finding an internship, and taking advantage of the services offered by college career offices, can help students get a leg up.
Bachmann is not the only public figure known to suffer from migraine. U.S. president Ulysses Grant experienced severe migraine attacks during his term in office. Her public disclosure brings much-needed attention to migraine, a condition afflicting millions of American and costing an estimated $31 billion annually.
Though proven effective at preventing contagious diseases, childhood vaccines are controversial, causing dropped immunization rates across the U.S. due to parents refusing to vaccinate their children. A study conducted by University of Vermont medical students found safety concerns topped the list.
In a new book, biologist Joe Roman traces the four-decade history of the Endangered Species Act--while describing his cross-the-nation tour following the tales (and sometime tails) of the many creatures (and a few plants) that have been at the center of the ESA’s contested place in American life.
Judith Shaw of the University of Vermont's Vermont Child Health Improvement Program shares how Improvement Partnerships can support Quality Improvement activities and provide Maintenance of Certification for pediatricians.
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