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A team of researchers at Binghamton University, led by Assistant Professor of Psychology Sarah Laszlo and Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Zhanpeng Jin, recorded the brain activity of 50 people wearing an electroencephalogram headset while they looked at a series of 500 images designed specifically to elicit unique responses from person to person — e.g., a slice of pizza, a boat, Anne Hathaway, the word “conundrum.” They found that participants’ brains reacted differently to each image, enough that a computer system was able to identify each volunteer’s “brainprint” with 100 percent accuracy.

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An international team of physicists has directly observed some unique characteristics of a superconductor for the first time, according to a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Michael Lawler, a theoretical physicist at Binghamton University, contributed to the research, which he considers a great achievement for the experimentalists on the team.

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For the first time ever, researchers connected nine biological-solar (bio-solar) cells into a bio-solar panel. Then they continuously produced electricity from the panel and generated the most wattage of any existing small-scale bio-solar cells – 5.59 microwatts. “Once a functional bio-solar panel becomes available, it could become a permanent power source for supplying long-term power for small, wireless telemetry systems as well as wireless sensors used at remote sites where frequent battery replacement is impractical,” said Seokheun “Sean” Choi, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering in Binghamton University’s Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, and co-author of the paper.

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The combined effects of pesticides and parasites threaten wildlife populations worldwide (e.g. amphibians, honeybees). Pesticides are predicted to exacerbate the effects of parasites on their hosts by reducing the host’s ability to defend against parasite infection. Many studies have examined the effects of pesticides on the host organism, but not much attention has been paid to how pesticides directly affect parasites – until now. A recent study by Jessica Hua, assistant professor of biological sciences at Binghamton University, and colleagues, explored the effects of six commonly used pesticides on two different populations of a widespread parasite of amphibians. They found that a broad range of insecticides commonly used in the U.S. kill amphibian parasites, which could potentially decrease the number of parasites that amphibians must defend against. For the pyrethroid and neonicotinoid pesticides tested in this study, this pattern has not been documented before.

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Researchers at Binghamton University and pharmacy solutions provider Innovation Associates have developed an optimized approach for determining prescribed medication associations within a high-volume pharmacy environment that could save money and time.

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Volumes have been written about successful business, political and historical leaders. Angelo Mastrangelo, adjunct assistant professor of entrepreneurship and leadership at Binghamton University, dives deeper than any other into the characteristics, behaviors, values and attitudes that make great leaders in his new book “Entrepreneurial Leadership.” The book offers a practical guide to being the kind of leader that creates a new business, instead of rehashing an old one.

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Residents of the remote equatorial islands of Melanesia share fragments of genetic code with two extinct human species. That’s the key finding of a new study published March 17 in the journal Science. An international team contributed to the research, which compared the DNA sequences of 35 modern people living on islands off the coast of New Guinea with DNA drawn from two early human species: Denisovans, whose remains were found in Siberia, and Neandertals, first discovered in Germany. “Substantial amounts of Neandertal and Denisovan DNA can now be robustly identified in the genomes of present-day Melanesians, allowing new insights into human evolutionary history,” they wrote. “As genome-scale data from worldwide populations continues to accumulate, a nearly complete catalog of surviving archaic lineages may soon be within reach.”

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According to the study, the best way to keep consumers happy and interested with initial sequel movies or products is to balance familiarity, innovation and nostalgia and make small “iterated offerings,” instead of sweeping changes. The deeper into a franchise or product line, the more changes are accepted and expected. “Once you have introduced a new product [Star Wars], you want to create a series of minor innovations first, before you make the next big push. Increment, before you innovate, is our biggest finding,” Chatterjee said.

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Josh Reno, assistant professor of anthropology at Binghamton University, spent a year working as a paper picker at a large mega-landfill on the outskirts of Detroit, M.I., to explore the relationship North Americans have with garbage. His two big takeaways: a) People don’t think twice about what happens to the garbage they throw out and b) the American dream of two cars, a house and perfect commodities is made possible by creating tons of waste. Reno delivers the nitty-gritty details of his job and the impact of waste management on society in Waste Away: Working and Living with a North American Landfill, a new book published by the University of California Press.

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When a mother drinks alcohol during pregnancy, even a small dose, she can increase the chances that the next three generations may develop alcoholism, according to a new study from Binghamton University. A research team led by Nicole Cameron, assistant professor of psychology at Binghamton University, was the first to investigate the effects of alcohol consumption during pregnancy on alcohol-related behavior (consumption and sensitivity to the effect of alcohol) on generations that were not directly exposed to alcohol in the uterus during the pregnancy.

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Analysis of artifacts found on the shores of Rapa Nui, Chile (Easter Island) originally thought to be used as spear points reveal that these objects were likely general purpose tools instead, providing evidence contrary to the widely held belief that the ancient civilization was destroyed by warfare. According to Carl Lipo, professor of anthropology at Binghamton University and lead on the study, the traditional story for Rapa Nui holds that the people, before Europeans arrived, ran out of resources and, as a result, engaged in massive in-fighting, which led to their collapse. One of the pieces of evidence used to support this theory is the thousands of obsidian, triangular objects found on the surface, known as mata’a. Because of their large numbers and because they’re made of sharp glass, many believe the mata’a to be the weapons of war that the ancient inhabitants of the island used for interpersonal violence

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Paul Chiarot, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Binghamton University, recently received a five-year, $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious program for early-career researchers, and he aims to redefine 3D printing at a very fine scale. His “electrospray” technique puts tiny particles into a solvent and applies them to a surface, creating electronics in a process not unlike an inkjet printer. “The normal way we make things is we put material everywhere and then etch away what we don’t want,” Chiarot says. “You might end up etching away 90 or even 95 percent of the material. If you’re printing, you can just put the material where you want it to be.”

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Researchers at Binghamton University have become the first to use an open-source graphics processor unit (GPU) for research. Binghamton University computer science assistant professor Timothy Miller, Aaron Carpenter and graduate student Philip Dexterm, along with co-author Jeff Bush, have developed Nyami, a synthesizable graphics processor unit (GPU) architectural model for general-purpose and graphics-specific workloads. This marks the first time a team has taken an open-source GPU design and run a series of experiments on it to see how different hardware and software configurations would affect the circuit’s performance.

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Researchers who developed an app that blocks third parties from identifying an individual’s location based on what they search for online received a “best paper” award at a recent conference. A research team led by Linke Guo, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Binghamton University, received a Best Paper Award at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) GLOBECOM Conference, Symposium on Communication & Information System Security, in San Diego on Dec. 7 for their paper titled “Privacy-preserving Verifiable Proximity Test for Location-based Services.” Globecom is one of two flagship conferences of IEEE communication society. Organizers received more than 3,000 submissions this year with only 949 paper accepted into competition. Just a single paper was honored in 12 different categories.

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Thousands bound together are still thinner than a single strand of human hair, but with research from Binghamton University, boron nitride nanotubes may help build better fighter planes and space shuttles. A team of scientists led by Changhong Ke, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Binghamton University’s Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, and researcher Xiaoming Chen were the first to determine the interface strength between boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) and epoxy and other polymers.

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Billions of dollars have been spent on developing drugs and supplying them around the world, but which companies’ drugs are actually making an impact? The Global Health Impact Index, headed by Binghamton University Associate Professor Nicole Hassoun and highlighted in a new article published Friday in PLOS ONE, addresses this issue by ranking pharmaceutical companies based on their drugs’ impact on global health.

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According to newly published research, a specialized psychotherapy has been linked to changes in activation patterns in certain areas of the brain in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), suggesting its impact may go deeper than symptom change.

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A team of researchers led by Celia Klin, associate professor of psychology and associate dean at Binghamton University’s Harpur College, recruited 126 Binghamton undergraduates, who read a series of exchanges that appeared either as text messages or as handwritten notes. Based on the participants’ responses, text messages that ended with a period were rated as less sincere than text messages that did not end with a period.

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Ancient climates on Earth may have been more sensitive to carbon dioxide than was previously thought, according to new research from Binghamton University. A team of Binghamton University researchers including geology PhD student Elliot A. Jagniecki and professors Tim Lowenstein, David Jenkins and Robert Demicco examined nahcolite crystals found in Colorado’s Green River Formation, formed 50 million years old during a hothouse climate. They found that CO2 levels during this time may have been as low as 680 parts per million (ppm), nearly half the 1,125 ppm predicted by previous experiments. The new data suggests that past predictions significantly underestimate the impact of greenhouse warming and that Earth’s climate may be more sensitive to increased carbon dioxide than was once thought, said Lowenstein.

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A framework co-developed by a Binghamton University researcher could help future scientists improve their understanding of all types of networks, from social media channels to beehives. Hiroki Sayama, director of the Center for Collective Dynamics of Complex Systems and associate professor of systems science and industrial engineering at Binghamton University, co-led a team of over 30 network science researchers, educators, teachers and students to set up a framework that any school can adapt to teach students the concept of a network from the ground up.

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Binghamton University’s Department of Public Administration is now participating in the Peace Corps Master's International (PCMI) program. The program allows individuals interested in serving in the Peace Corps to combine their overseas experience with graduate studies. The Department of Public Administration at Binghamton University is one of only two PCMI programs in public administration in New York State.

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Binghamton University announced Wednesday a gift of $1 million from prominent local physician and Binghamton University Foundation Board of Directors member Dr. Bai Lee to benefit the Department of Athletics. This gift will support facility enhancements that will positively impact students, athletes and coaching, including benefits to the strength and conditioning program, the sports medicine team, the Student Success Center and more. It is the largest gift the Binghamton University Athletics Department has received to date.

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Binghamton University researchers have demonstrated an eco-friendly process that enables unprecedented spatial control over the electrical properties of graphene oxide. This two-dimensional nanomaterial has the potential to revolutionize flexible electronics, solar cells and biomedical instruments. By using the probe of an atomic force microscope to trigger a local chemical reaction, Jeffrey Mativetsky, assistant professor of physics at Binghamton University, and PhD student Austin Faucett showed that electrically conductive features as small as four nanometers can be patterned into individual graphene oxide sheets. One nanometer is about one hundred thousand times smaller than the width of a human hair.

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A Binghamton University biochemist has discovered a new way to fight cancer, one that attacks only the cancer cells and promises fewer side effects. He hunts hedgehogs. Hedgehogs are proteins that help govern how cells develop. Normally, once a person reaches maturation, the hedgehogs turn off. But in some cancers — prostate, pancreatic, ovarian and lung in particular — the hedgehogs somehow turn back on, and force uncontrolled cell growth: cancer.

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Binghamton University’s Integrated Electronics Engineering Center’s (IEEC) designation as a New York State Center for Advanced Technology (CAT) was extended for an additional 10-year term by Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (ESD/NYSTAR). The IEEC, founded in 1991, has been classified as a CAT since the mid-1990s. As a result of the re-designation, the Center will receive nearly $10 million in NYSTAR funding over the next decade.

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Research into human fossils dating back to approximately two million years ago reveals that the hearing pattern resembles chimpanzees, but with some slight differences in the direction of humans. Rolf Quam, assistant professor of anthropology at Binghamton University, led an international research team in reconstructing an aspect of sensory perception in several fossil hominin individuals from the sites of Sterkfontein and Swartkrans in South Africa. The study relied on the use of CT scans and virtual computer reconstructions to study the internal anatomy of the ear. The results suggest that the early hominin species Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus, both of which lived around 2 million years ago, had hearing abilities similar to a chimpanzee, but with some slight differences in the direction of humans.

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Binghamton University, together with joint intellectual property owner Crysta-Lyn Chemical Company, of Binghamton, opted to license a novel platform technology to startup ChromaNanoTech for further development and introduction to the marketplace. ChromaNanoTech is designing pigments that can be tuned in a polymer hardcoat film and applied to glass, to keep out the heat out, while still allowing the visible light to shine through.

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When the Federal Reserve raises interest rates to slow down a speeding economy — effectively raising the price of money — banks often sell down their stockpile of securities to keep the financial assembly lines going. That’s much like a widget-building company might rely on a warehouse of raw materials when prices rise. But according to newly published research from Binghamton University, federal accounting rules can padlock those warehouses, particularly hurting small banks and their customers.

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Research into 430,000-year-old fossils collected in northern Spain found that the evolution of the human body’s size and shape has gone through four main stages, according to a paper published this week.

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The Amorphophallus titanum (corpse flower) is getting ready to open and unleash its stinky odor at Binghamton University’s E.W. Heier Teaching Greenhouse for the third time in just five years. Watch a live stream of the corpse flower at http://bit.ly/1EQIFvF.

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While most hackathons and programming contests encourage participants to develop usable software, a contest hosted by Binghamton University’s Scott Craver asks users to develop code that is “subtly evil.”

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Small cities and rural areas lag behind in environmental protection policymaking because they often lack the financial or technical resources needed. According to newly published research at Binghamton University, places that have municipal utilities have the capacity to pursue sustainability — and are more likely to leverage that capacity to adopt more green energy policies.

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Women experience more emotional pain following a breakup, but they also more fully recover, according to new research from Binghamton University.

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A team of Binghamton researchers are creating a 3-D printing process to build implantable tissues and organs to treat otherwise incurable diseases. Binghamton researchers are focusing on potential diabetes treatment options by trying to “grow” a functioning three-dimensional model of a pancreas and creating new cells that produce insulin.

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A team of Binghamton University students placed first in a national competition addressing airport needs by creating an automated system that addresses trees and other vegetative runway obstructions.

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How much a child’s pupil dilates in response to seeing an emotional image can predict his or her risk of depression over the next two years, according to new research from Binghamton University.

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Binghamton University is one of 18 universities to be named an Innovation & Economic Prosperity University by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), in recognition of its strong commitment to economic engagement.

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Researchers at Binghamton University are focusing on printed electronics: using inkjet technology to print electronic nanomaterials onto flexible substrates. When compared to traditional methods used in microelectronics fabrication, the new technology conserves material and is more environmentally friendly.

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Up to 80 percent of individuals with a past history of depression will get depressed again in the future. However, little is known about the specific factors that put these people at risk. New research suggests that it may be due to the things you pay attention to in your life.

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Origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, can be used to create beautiful birds, frogs and other small sculptures. Now a Binghamton University engineer says the technique can be applied to building batteries, too.

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Researchers at Binghamton University believe understanding nanoparticles’ ability to influence our metabolic processing may be integral to mediating metabolic disorders and obesity, both of which are on the rise and have been linked to processed foods.

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You might not need to remember those complicated e-mail and bank account passwords for much longer. According to a new study, the way your brain responds to certain words could be used to replace passwords.

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Research into lethal wounds found on a human skull may indicate one of the first cases of murder in human history—some 430,000 years ago—and offers evidence of the earliest funerary practices in the archaeological record.

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Data centers — large clusters of servers that power cloud computing operations, e-commerce and more — are one of the largest and fastest-growing consumers of electricity in the United States.

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Don Greenberg was thrilled to be announced as one of this year’s student Commencement speakers for Binghamton University’s Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science. However, when he learned that his Commencement ceremony was on Shabbat, it appeared as if all hope was lost. Growing up as an Orthodox Jew, Shabbat had always been a time for Greenberg to spend with friends and family, while also resting. For many Jews, Shabbat is a time to disregard many of the typical demands of modernity, such as driving, using electronics, writing, cooking and other forms of “work.”

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French fry casserole is just one of the many food options made available to the hungry in the Binghamton area thanks to the Food Recovery Network (FRN) at Binghamton University. The program, launched in spring 2014, takes unused food from the dining halls and distributes it to non-profits, where it is consumed — with gratitude — by hungry people in the community.

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According to new research co-authored by Binghamton University’s Seth Spain, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to the impact of Saturday morning cartoons. Spain's research research examines how fantasy-based stories, in particular the popular 1980s cartoon series The Transformers, can shape children’s perceptions of what behaviors are associated with effective leadership. It also could provide a basis for workplace-training programs.