Computer games and science learning

Our flawed understanding of how decisions in the present restrict our options in the future means that we may underestimate the risk associated with investment decisions, according to new research by Dr Ole Peters from Imperial College London. The research, published today in the journal Quantitative Finance, suggests how policy makers might reshape financial risk controls to reduce market instability and the risk of market collapse. Investors know that there are myriad possibilities for how a financial market might develop. Before making an investment, they try to capture ...

Rapid turnover and remodelling of lipid membranes could help phytoplankton cope with nutrient scarcity in the open ocean. A team led by Patrick Martin of the National Oceanography Centre has shown that a species of planktonic marine alga can rapidly change the chemical composition of its cell membranes in response to changes in nutrient supply. The findings indicate that the process may be important for nutrient cycling and the population dynamics of phytoplankton in the open ocean. Tiny free-floating algae called phytoplankton exist in vast numbers in the upper ocean. ...

Sociologists have long known that a college education improves the chances that an individual will volunteer as an adult. Less clear is whether everyone who goes to college gets the same boost in civic engagement from the experience. In an innovative study that compared the volunteering rates of college graduates with those of non–college graduates with similar social backgrounds and high school achievement levels, UCLA sociologist Jennie Brand found something striking: A college education has a much greater impact on volunteering rates among individuals from underprivileged ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- University at Buffalo neuroscience researchers conducting basic research on ion channels have demonstrated a process that could have a profound therapeutic impact on pain. Targeting these ion channels pharmacologically would offer effective pain relief without generating the side effects of typical painkilling drugs, according to their paper, published in a recent issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. "Pain is the most common symptom of injuries and diseases, and pain remains the primary reason a person visits the doctor," says Arin Bhattacharjee, PhD, ...

With frigid temperatures already blanketing much of the United States, the arrival of the winter solstice on December 21 may not be an occasion many people feel like celebrating. But a dazzling total lunar eclipse to start the day might just raise a few chilled spirits. Early in the morning on December 21 a total lunar eclipse will be visible to sky watchers across North America (for observers in western states the eclipse actually begins late in the evening of December 20), Greenland and Iceland. Viewers in Western Europe will be able to see the beginning stages of ...

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is allowing researchers to create the most precise and complete map to date of the moon's complex, heavily cratered landscape. "This dataset is being used to make digital elevation and terrain maps that will be a fundamental reference for future scientific and human exploration missions to the moon," said Dr. Gregory Neumann of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "After about one year taking data, we already have nearly 3 billion data points from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter on board the LRO spacecraft, with near-uniform ...

NASA's Aqua satellite captured a series of images from its Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument over the last two days and saw the low pressure area known as System 91S make landfall in Australia. System 91S may not have become a tropical depression, but it's dropping heavy rainfall in Western Australia. NASA's AIRS infrared instrument showed System 91S's center making landfall on Dec. 16 at 0647 UTC (1:47 a.m. EST) near the town of Carnavon in Western Australia. At that time, there was a large area of strong thunderstorms around the center of circulation, ...

The controversy surrounding whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks along with its creator Julian Assange continues to gain momentum as liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans have joined together in one voice to condemn the most recent leaks that Senator Diane Feinstein has described as "a serious breach of national security and could be used to severely harm the United States and its worldwide interests." If you're looking to score popularity points in Washington now is the time to jump on the anti-Assange bandwagon and condemn the Aussie for his complicity in weakening ...

The Louisiana plastic surgeons of The Wall Center for Plastic Surgery (www.wallcenter.com) note a surge in the number of patients who have turned to them for corrective surgery after undergoing laser liposuction from plastic surgeons and unqualified physicians alike. While liposuction has gained acceptance and popularity with a constant stream of technological advances since its inception in the late 1970s, not all treatments and providers will be able to deliver the results patients seek. "Many doctors are expanding into services they were never trained to perform, ...

Park West Gallery, now in its 42nd year as a leading fine art dealer, recently curated a landmark retrospective featuring never-before-seen artwork by four world-renowned artists -- Yaacov Agam, Robert Kipniss, Csaba Markus and Igor Medvedev. The retrospective was unveiled before one hundred Park West Gallery VIP collectors aboard the Norwegian EPIC cruise ship, during its December 4-11, 2010 sailing. Original paintings, one-of-a-kind drawings and limited-edition graphic works were released from the archives and offered for sale. Hosted aboard Norwegian Cruise Line's ...