New research finds a decline in perceptual ability as infants get older. These new findings contrast with previous studies that have shown that perceptual abilities improve during childhood.
Each year, FAU selects faculty for outstanding scientific, scholarly and creative research. The 2006 award recipients represent research in science, medicine, nursing, education and the humanities.
Researchers at Florida Atlantic University are studying the relationship between the changes in brain structure and deterioration of cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease using a novel method of PET neuroimaging. These researchers will also be looking at the similarity demonstrated between the progression of Alzheimer's disease and diabetes mellitus, both in memory impairments and the regions of the brain that are affected.
Researchers from Florida Atlantic University and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire have been conducting a study on cyberbullying, which they define as willful and repeated harm inflicted through the medium of electronic text including websites, cell phone text messaging and e-mails. Results of their findings are reported in the latest issue of Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice.
Dr. David Kumar has received the 2006 Chemical Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Chemists for his exemplary contributions in the chemical sciences and profession. He has conducted pioneering research in user-computer interface chemistry problem-solving and hypermedia science learning environments that have laid a foundation for others seeking to develop computer-assisted science learning environments.
Florida Atlantic University Libraries has received a major collection of books, original documents and papers valued at an estimated $3.8 million from Marvin and Sybil Weiner of Boca Raton. It has been ranked as one of the top 10 such collections in the United States. Included in the collection are the first printing of the Declaration of Independence in the Pennsylvania Evening Post dated July 1776.
Researchers have serendipitously discovered a novel combination of agents that work synergistically and selectively to target and kill cancer cells while preserving normal cells. To examine whether this biological effect was a general phenomenon with cancer cells, these researchers conducted additional experiments with lung cancer cells, colon cancer cells, skin cancer cells and a melanoma cell line.
Fractal theory provided the basis for a unique software platform program that has been developed for use in conjunction with MRI, and is showing great promise in the early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Using this unique method, a study has shown that in over 30 percent of patients there were additional tumors in the same breast, and in almost 10 percent of the patients there were tumors in the opposite breast. These tumors were not previously found using mammography or ultrasound.
FAU's SeaTech has received a $2 million grant from the Office of Naval Research to investigate, design and build a prototype of a rapidly-deployable, multi-mission platform to be used as an enabling technology for seabasing. This innovative concept of a "base at sea" will enable and sustain operations equivalent to the size of a Navy unit or larger "“ a substantial expansion of today's amphibious operations capabilities.
The National Science Foundation, through its Scholarships for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics program (S-STEM), has awarded the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College at FAU's John D. McArthur Campus in Jupiter, Florida with a $500,000 grant for a project entitled "Wilkes Honors College Science Scholarship."
Florida Atlantic University's cutting-edge technology will provide a clean, reliable, and renewable source of energy that can be used to generate electricity, unlimited hydrogen and potable water, as well as provide alternative methods for residential cooling or A/C that are cost-competitive with existing power technologies such as fossil-fuel-based power generation.
IBM's LA Grid, a collection of computing resources in North America, Latin America and Spain woven together to act as one massive supercomputer, has become one of the world's largest university grid initiatives. Florida Atlantic University has become the 10th member of LA Grid to create professional IT opportunities for the Hispanic community and to advance research in areas such as life sciences, weather modeling and prediction.
Students and researchers from Florida Atlantic University are helping Motorola, Inc. to attain an ambitious goal of reducing the time to develop a new cell phone product from 24 months to 24 hours. "One Pass to Production" has the potential to help Motorola achieve a leading edge over its competitors on its global cell phone production, and at the same time it enables FAU students to conduct real-world work.
FAU researcher Dr. Yoshimi Shibata's project titled, "High-Speed Cell Isolation by FACS in FAU Cancer Research" was selected by the Florida Biomedical Research Advisory Council to receive $500,000 to establish a FACS (Floresence-Activated Cell Sorter) facility at the University for advanced cancer research.
Dr. Jie Wu, Florida Atlantic University professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and preeminent authority in the fields of wireless networks, sensor networks and parallel processing, has been selected by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as a program director for the Networking Technology and Systems (NeTS) program.
Florida Atlantic University will host The Enterprise Development Corporation of South Florida's (EDC) 6th annual bioscience conference in April. The theme of BioTech 2007 is "New Frontiers in South Florida Bioscience" and will focus on industry, clinical and academic collaborations and the region's 60-year life science history.
Treating the complexity of topics relating to the body-mind-culture connection requires reaching beyond the disciplines of the humanities, social sciences, and fine arts to embrace also the natural and health sciences. Ranging from philosophy and history, through social, communicational, and literary studies, to the performing and plastic arts, Florida Atlantic University's new Center for Body, Mind and Culture is an interdisciplinary initiative dedicated to promoting research.
FAU and Lockheed Martin have entered into an exclusive license agreement to develop and produce a rapidly-deployable and autonomous mooring buoy system for military and scientific uses. The new autonomous mooring buoy system will allow sensors mounted on a floating buoy to be more successfully deployed on a station after being launched from either aircraft, submarines or ships.
A research team at FAU has identified a cancer specific gene called SIM2. This gene is found on chromosome 21 and is normally associated with Down's syndrome. Researchers identified the SIM2 gene using an approach called bioinformatics, which uses the power of computers to understand biology and medicine.
The discovery of a new brain neurormarker may prove to be a sensitive probe of neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism and schizophrenia where the inability to have harmonious social interactions is problematic. This research also opens up untapped possibilities to identify the neural mechanisms of real-time social behavior between humans.
Florida Atlantic University recently announced the 2007 "Researchers of the Year." Each year, the University Research Committee selects faculty to be recognized for their outstanding research, scholarly and creative contributions. Awards are presented at the academic ranks of full professor, associate professor and assistant professor in two categories: sponsored and project-oriented research, and creative and scholarly activities research.
Researchers from Florida Atlantic University have received a $2.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation to improve science education and stimulate students' interest in potential careers in science. FAU graduate students will be paired with high school teachers in Palm Beach county to incorporate conceptually based, hands-on group activities and laboratory experiments and bring their research experience into the high school chemistry curriculum.
Florida Atlantic University is partnering with the League for Educational Awareness of the Holocaust (LEAH) and USC Shoah Foundation Institute's Archive of Holocaust Survivor and Witness Testimonies to provide students, faculty, staff and the general community access to more than 3,400 Florida Holocaust survivor and witness video testimonies and others from around the world.
A unique invention discovered by researchers at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) which induces and restores cardiac muscle function is showing great promise in repairing myocardial deficiencies in the human heart which are caused by either congential heart defects or heart attacks. Regenerating damaged cardiac tissue could be significant in the treatment of cardiovascular disease and FAU has received a U.S. patent for this invention.
While death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) has markedly declined in the U.S. during the past several decades, a commentary by a researcher at Florida Atlantic University published in the October 17 issue of JAMA shows that patients with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression lose an average of 25 years or more of life expectancy due largely to CVD and disparity in care.
Florida Atlantic University and the Université Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne signed a collaboration agreement to explore different teaching and research programs. Collaboration efforts will include joint research projects and teaching, and research staff and student exchanges. The primary focus of study will be in aesthetics, the fine arts, and the philosophy and criticism of the arts.
Günter Blobel, M.D., Ph.D.,1999 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, will present a lecture at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton entitled, "Nucleo-cytoplasmic Traffic," highlighting his groundbreaking research on the inner workings of the cell. His research has paved the way for major advances in fighting disease.
Selective COX-2 inhibitors were believed to cause large cardiovascular disease risks (CVD), including heart attacks, strokes and deaths. Florida Atlantic University researcher Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., renowned for his work in the treatment and prevention of CVD, most notably low-dose aspirin, examines the totality of evidence, including strengths and limitations of different types of data about CVD and COX-2 inhibitors and NSAIDs. Hennekens and his colleague conclude that the risks of COX-2 inhibitors (e.g. Vioxx, Celebrex, Bextra) are lower than previously suggested and no greater than most traditional NSAIDs.
Florida Atlantic University researchers have received gap funds to help commercialize unique inventions focused on early cancer detection, immunity against infectious agents, chemo-protective agents, and technologies to dramatically improve performance of mobile devices and personal computers.
Researchers at Florida Atlantic University have developed a unique robotic device to assist with the physical rehabilitation process of patients suffering from neurological damages to their upper extremities such as those due to stroke or Parkinson's disease. This device is the first-known cable driven robot to utilize a barrier between the operator and the moving mechanisms of the system.
Researchers at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University have developed a unique acoustic system to keep manatees from being injured or killed by flood gates and boat locks. The system is composed of an array of unique acoustic transmitters and receivers that provide non-contact detection of manatees as they pass through the gates of the lock in rivers and canals.
The tendency to become addicted to nicotine and other drugs involves an interplay of genetics and environmental factors. In a unique study looking at the chemistry underlying the propensity to develop nicotine craving, scientists are gaining insight into predicting individual addiction to nicotine, forecasting nicotine tumorigenesis, and developing individualized treatments for this disorder.
Controversies surrounding fixed-dose combination statins have drawn attention to Vytorin as well as issues in drug development and approval. In a lead article published in the American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs, Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., discusses the strengths, limitations, and clinical and regulatory considerations of fixed-dose combination therapy with statins.
The Gulf Stream"”a massive and highly energetic ocean current which holds great potential for electric power generation and other renewable power sources"”physically connects Florida with the United Kingdom. Researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Center for Ocean Energy Technology recently accompanied Florida Governor Charlie Crist to the UK to formalize agreements on ocean energy research and development.
Teens and tweens have been bullying each other for generations. The bullies of today, however, have the advantage of utilizing technology such as computers, cell phones and other electronic devices to inflict harm on others. "Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard: Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying," due out this month, uncovers the types of youth most susceptible, how they felt, who they told, how they coped and how it affected their lives, and illustrates the gravity of cyberbullying and its real-world repercussions.
Florida Atlantic University and CHS Resources LLC received a major grant from the state of Florida to develop and commercialize a novel combination of agents that work to preferentially target and kill cancer cells, but not normal cells. The Florida Legislature established this grant program in 2007 to promote the commercialization of university research products to enhance the state's economy and its public universities.
Two six-year-old Loggerhead turtles have grown large enough to be released into the waters of Florida at the end of this month. Feebee and Milton were hatched in July 2002 from two separate nests, and conservation scientists will be monitoring them closely by using satellite tags to learn more about their behavior and movements.
In comparison with their peers in other countries, U.S. students on average do not perform as well in mathematics and science they longer they are in school. In a major effort to improve science education at the high school level and stimulate interest in science careers, Florida Atlantic University researchers are brining science to "life" in the classroom setting.
Florida Atlantic University is among the first institutions in the nation to receive funding for its accelerated baccalaureate nursing program. Ten scholarships have been provided to individuals with disadvantaged backgrounds and in underrepresented groups to support their full-time study in nursing. The scholarship program will help alleviate the nation's nursing shortage by dramatically expanding the pipeline of students in accelerated nursing programs.
FAU and the Port St. Lucie Police Department have received an international award for their innovative research partnership to improve police operations and public safety. This award is the result of five years of applied research and two federal grants to reduce and prevent crime using a problem solving approach, crime analysis, and an accountability structure into the day-to-day operations of the police department.
Currently, there are better maps of the surface of the moon and Mars than the sea bottom off Florida's coastline. A unique, deep-sea expedition using cutting-edge autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) will create high definition sonar maps of the coastline of Florida's rare and vulnerable deep sea coral reefs for the first time.
A new discovery challenges one of the strongest arguments in favor of the idea that animals with bilateral symmetry"”those, that like us have two halves that are roughly mirror images of each other"”existed before their obvious appearance in the fossil record during the early Cambrian, some 542 million years ago. Groove-like tracks on the ocean floor made by giant deep-sea single-celled organisms could lead to new insights into the evolutionary origin of animals.
Despite protection policies to slow down boats in manatee-protection habitats, the number of injuries and deaths associated with collisions has reached record highs. Researchers have laid the groundwork for a sensory explanation for why manatees and other animals, including great whales, are hit repeatedly by boats. They have developed a novel device that addresses the root causes of these collisions.
An inaugural expedition using state-of-the-art autonomous underwater vehicles to survey, map and identify large areas of the ocean bottom has uncovered three never-before identified Lophelia coral reefs. The seven day mission has revealed extraordinary data about the relatively unknown deep water reefs just off Florida's coast.
In an editorial published in the American Journal of Medicine, Dr. Charles H. Hennekens describes why statins cause low rates of muscle symptoms and explains the role of patient perception and consumer advertising in public opinion of statins.
A novel 4D colorimetric technique that simultaneously maps four dimensions of brain data in EEG signals is providing a much-needed framework to understand a variety of pathological conditions. Excess or lack of timely coordination between brain areas lies at the core of a number of psychiatric and neurological disorders such as epilepsy, schizophrenia, autism, Parkinson's disease and depression.
Florida Atlantic University and the Max Planck Florida Institute will present the 2009 Nobel Laureate Lecture on February 6. Bert Sakmann, M.D., Ph.D. is the 1991 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Medicine and director of the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology in Munich, Germany. Titled, "Decision Making in a Rodent Brain: Contributions of Cortical Columns," his talk will highlight his groundbreaking research in membrane physiology.
An international research team has discovered the first vertebrate with eyes that use mirrors rather than lenses to focus light. The spookfish, Dolichopteryx longipes, manages to focus light in the lower eye without using a lens. Light enters the lower portion of the eye and hits a mirror composed of stacks of crystals. This is the first time that this type of focusing mechanism has ever been found in a vertebrate.
The science community, and the world at large, will be able to peer into the deep ocean using the Eye-in-the-Sea (EITS) video platform for the Ocean Research and Conservation Association and on the MARS Observatory in Monteray Bay. EITS is the first-ever constant video presence in the deep sea streaming video 24/7 from 2,625 feet below the surface of the ocean.
An FAU professor served as a major investigator in two of the 57 studies just published in a worldwide collaborative analysis of body mass index (BMI) and increased death rates. Charles H. Hennekens, M.D. enrolled and followed nearly 144,000 of the 900,000 individuals studied worldwide.
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