PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Redrawing our borders

Researchers follow the money to show complicated ways people connect

2010-11-19
(Press-News.org) What are borders these days? When travel was local, borders and communities were easy to define, but now our connectivity is more complex. It's time to think of borders differently, according to Northwestern University researchers.

To reflect today's reality, they have taken a look at human mobility and redrawn the borders within the United States, showing areas of the country that are most connected. Some of the borders in this new map are familiar, but many are not.

The research team, led by professor Dirk Brockmann, used the wealth of data generated by Wheres's George? (wheresgeorge.com), a popular website that tracks one dollar bills spent across the country. The many millions of bank notes, having been passed from one person to another, represent links between geographic places.

An award-winning video produced by Christian Thiemann and Daniel Grady, doctoral students and members of Brockmann's research group, illustrates the work: http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2010/02/money.html.

Some divisions were expected, but many were a surprise. Some of the most significant borders split states, such as Illinois, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. This initially puzzled the researchers, but people who have seen the research and live in those areas say the borders reflect cultural segmentation and the pull of certain large cities.

"We also thought that the strong, long-range relationships, such as between Los Angeles and New York, would overshadow the local, short-distance travel, but it did not," said Brockmann, associate professor of engineering sciences and applied mathematics at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. "The short distance travel has a stronger impact."

Some community divisions fall along more familiar lines, such as purely political boundaries (state lines), political boundaries that reflect geography (the Mississippi River) and others caused entirely by a geographical feature (the Appalachian Mountains cutting through West Virginia).

The study will be published Nov. 18 in the journal PLoS ONE.

The work already has attracted the attention of diverse individuals and groups wanting to know more about the "mobility neighborhoods." The Federal Reserve System is interested. Commuters to Chicago from northwest Indiana are interested. And a leading American linguist is interested.

"The well-defined geographic areas we found show us how people really interact and are connected," said Brockmann, who also studies how infectious disease spreads. "These results open up pathways for investigation in a variety of areas."

Where's George allows anyone to record a bill's serial number and then track its journeys as other people spend it across the country. Every time a dollar is spent in a new place, it means someone moved it there. Research has shown that this flux of money data is a good proxy for human mobility. The very large database is truly multiscale: links span thousands of miles, hundreds of miles and just a few miles.

"Think of these links as an attractive force connecting two places," said Brockmann, a member of the Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems. "The social and mobility ties represent a gravitational pull of sorts."

The information could be valuable to the Federal Reserve for optimizing the transportation of money among the 12 regional Reserve Banks across the United States. A professor of linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania wants to use the travel boundaries in his studies of regional dialect boundaries. The findings support those in northwest Indiana counties who feel more connected to Chicago and favor being in the same time zone. And anyone involved with planning large-scale infrastructure, such as high-speed rail, who needs to know where people want to go, can benefit from the human mobility map, Brockmann said.

Using supercomputers, Brockmann and his team applied a random algorithm to the Where's George? data, which collects counties into groups. The traffic within each group is very high -- very connected -- compared to the traffic between the groups. They ran the algorithm thousands of times, with each run producing a slightly different map. Then they took the results, overlaid all the maps and produced one single map, showing the strongest boundaries.

### The video, "Follow the Money: Human Mobility and Effective Communities," won first place in the 2009 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge, sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the journal Science.

The title of the PLoS ONE paper is "The Structure of Borders in a Small World." In addition to Brockmann, Thiemann and Grady, other authors of the paper are Fabian Theis and Rafael Brune.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Assessment tool predicts blood clot risk after plastic surgery

2010-11-19
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Patients undergoing plastic or reconstructive surgery should receive a risk assessment before their procedure to predict whether they'll develop potentially fatal blood clots in the legs or lungs, according to research at the University of Michigan Medical School. Researchers also found that 1 in 9 patients at highest risk based on that assessment will develop clots if not given clot-preventing medications after surgery. Published in the November 2010 Journal of the American College of Surgeons, the study evaluated the Caprini Risk Assessment Model, a ...

UGA researchers identify key enzyme that regulates the early growth of breast cancer cells

2010-11-19
Athens, Ga. ¬¬-- New University of Georgia research, published this week in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has found that blocking the action of an enzyme called GnT-V significantly delays the onset and spread of tumors in mice with cancer very similar to many cases of human breast cancer. When the GnT-V enzyme activity in the cells was increased in mammary gland cells, they increased proliferation and began to take on many characteristics of cancer cells. Using a mouse model of human breast cancer, tumors appeared ...

Study shows importance of exercise for those at special risk for Alzheimer's

2010-11-19
Physical activity promotes changes in the brain that may protect high-risk individuals against cognitive decline, including development of Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study done at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). J. Carson Smith, an assistant professor of health sciences, included in the study both people who carry a high-risk gene for Alzheimer's disease, and other healthy older adults without the gene. "Our study suggests that if you are at genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease, the benefits of exercise to your brain function might be even ...

Months of geologic unrest signaled reawakening of Icelandic volcano

Months of geologic unrest signaled reawakening of Icelandic volcano
2010-11-19
Months of volcanic restlessness preceded the eruptions this spring of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull, providing insight into what roused it from its centuries of slumber. An international team of researchers analyzed geophysical changes in the long-dormant volcano leading up to its eruptions in March and April 2010. In a study published in the Nov. 18 issue of the journal Nature, the scientists suggest that magma flowing beneath the volcano may have triggered its reawakening. "Several months of unrest preceded the eruptions, with magma moving around downstairs in ...

Study: Online undergrads learn well without strong class bond

2010-11-19
College students participating in a new study on online courses said they felt less connected and had a smaller sense of classroom community than those who took the same classes in person – but that didnt keep online students from performing just as well as their in-person counterparts. The study by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln gauged students' perception and performance in three undergraduate science courses that had both online and face-to-face class versions. It found that online students did not feel a sense of cohesion, community spirit, trust or interaction, ...

Tougher rating system evaluates nine supercomputer capabilities

2010-11-19
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Nine supercomputers have been tested, validated and ranked by the new "Graph500" challenge, first introduced this week by an international team led by Sandia National Laboratories. The list of submitters and the order of their finish was released Nov. 17 at the supercomputing conference SC10 meeting in New Orleans. The machines were tested for their ability to solve complex problems involving random-appearing graphs, rather than for their speed in solving a basic numerical problem, today's popular method for ranking top systems. "Some, whose supercomputers ...

Reports claiming ALS caused by head trauma lacks scientific validation

2010-11-19
A recent study (1) suggesting that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may be attributed to "repetitive head trauma experienced in collision sports" lacks scientific epidemiological evidence to support this claim. In a review of the 12-patient study, several experts specializing in motor neuron diseases challenge the findings as entirely pathological and without clinical merit. Their editorial, which aims to dispel doubts of Lou Gehrig's ALS diagnosis, is now available online in the peer-reviewed journal Muscle & Nerve. ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive ...

E coli infection linked to long-term health problems

2010-11-19
People who contract gastroenteritis from drinking water contaminated with E coli are at an increased risk of developing high blood pressure, kidney problems and heart disease in later life, finds a study published online in the British Medical Journal. The findings underline the importance of ensuring a safe food and water supply and the need for regular monitoring for those affected. It is estimated that E coli O157:H7 infections cause up to 120,000 gastro-enteric illnesses annually in the US alone, resulting in over 2,000 hospitalizations and 60 deaths. However, ...

Skoolee Tools Went Live At Kuwait Bilingual School

2010-11-19
Kuwait Bilingual School was established in 1998 in Al-Jahra City, Kuwait, by Saleh Al Mekhlef, with the backing of Sheikh Ali Al Salem Al Ali Al Sabah. The first private bilingual school in the north of the country, Kuwait Bilingual School made quality education accessible to students from Al-Jahra City and its surrounding areas. Kuwait Bilingual School has been around for 12 years now, and clearly knows what they need. "There are many providers for such school software systems," says Mr. Ghassan Jilani, Director General, Kuwait Bilingual School. "But, from my long experience ...

New Site Gives Information On The Application Of Solar Powered Outdoor Lightings

2010-11-19
A new website aimed at home and garden lovers has just been launched with the aim of describing the many different types of solar powered outdoor lightings and why they would be a great way to light up their outdoor living areas. 'I created this website to help home and garden enthusiasts become aware of the variety of solar powered lights that are available' said Leo Bookham. 'If people knew just what types of solar lights do exist, they could easily enhance and light up their outdoor living areas and to also do this themselves without the need to hire professionals ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

‘Chronic lung-transplant rejection has been a black box.’ New study gives answers, drug targets.

Neutrino experiments in US and Japan join forces

Hunting for the chromosomal genes that break the heart

Trial enrollment and survival disparities among patients with advanced epithelial ovarian carcinoma

Adverse pregnancy outcomes and long-term risk of atrial fibrillation

Study: Dangerous E. coli strain blocks gut’s defense mechanism to spread infection

No benefit of ketamine for patients hospitalised with depression, clinical trial reports

Ants use a genetic 'bulldozer' to achieve a hyper-specific sense of smell

Scientists pinpoint a key gene behind heart defects in Down syndrome

$6.2M grant will launch UC San Diego REACH Center for Translational Science on Whole Person Health

Bay Area Lyme Foundation opens applications for 2026 Emerging Leader Awards and research grants

A new post-processing route to improve tensile strength and ductility in 3d-printed alloys

JMIR Publications’ Journal of Medical Internet Research invites submissions on Navigating AI-Enabled Uncertainty

Small changes in alcohol intake linked to blood pressure shifts

Natural Japanese and Taiwanese hinoki cypresses genetically differentiated 1 million years ago

GemPharmatech announces research collaboration with leading cancer center to advance antibody discovery

Deciding whether a breathing tube is best for a child

A ‘dead’ 1800s idea rises again... with clues to the mystery of the universe’s missing antimatter

Roboticists reverse engineer zebrafish navigation

FAU historian traces the transformation of U.S. nursing homes into big business

CABI study reveals major inequalities in global One Health research

Reptiles ‘pee’ crystals, and scientists are investigating what they’re made of

Drug prevents congenital heart block recurrence in a high-risk pregnancy

Wiley announces winners of Advanced Science Young Innovator Award

Towards new ionic liquid-modified zeolite membranes for efficient CO2 conversion

UK Capital's ULEZ quickly cut air pollution —high vehicle compliance may have left little room for further gains after expansion

Retreating glaciers may send fewer nutrients to the ocean

Scientists develop a way to track donor bacteria after fecal microbiota transplants

Telescope hack opens a sharper view into the universe

ASU’s new School of Medicine receives preliminary accreditation, gift and new name

[Press-News.org] Redrawing our borders
Researchers follow the money to show complicated ways people connect