BOSTON – (Feb. 17, 2013) – Researchers at Rice University in Houston have found a direct correlation between out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and levels of air pollution and ozone. Their work has prompted more CPR training in at-risk communities. Rice statisticians Katherine Ensor and Loren Raun announced their findings today at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) conference in Boston. Their research, based on a massive data set unique to Houston, is due to be published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. At the same AAAS ...

ATLANTA- Lance Waller, PhD, chair of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at Emory's Rollins School of Public Health, will present preliminary work that explores relationships between high-levels of air pollution exposure and health effects at a press briefing hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science on February 17, at 2 p.m. EST, in Boston. During the briefing, Waller will summarize his joint work with the Southeastern Center for Air Pollution Epidemiology (SCAPE), funded by the Environmental Protection Agency. SCAPE tests air pollution levels ...

In the blink of an eye, more attoseconds have expired than the age of Earth measured in – minutes. A lot more. To be precise, an attosecond is one billionth of a billionth of a second. The attosecond timescale is where you must go to study the electron action that is the starting point of all of chemistry. Not surprisingly, chemists are most eager to explore it with X-rays, the region of the electromagnetic spectrum that can probe the core electrons of atoms, the electrons that uniquely identify atomic species. Heralded as the science of the 21st century by Science and ...

You may have guzzled a half-liter bottle of water at lunchtime, but your food and clothes drank a lot more. The same half-liter that quenched your thirst also produces only about one square-inch of bread or one square-inch of cotton cloth. Agriculture is in fact one of the world's most insatiable consumers of water. And yet it's facing growing competition for water from cities, industry, and recreation at a time when demand for food is rising, and water is expected to become increasingly scarce. Take irrigation, for example, says Fred Vocasek, senior lab agronomist with ...

PRESENTATION TITLE: A Vision for Excelling in Mental Health and Well-Being We all know the importance of keeping healthy and are familiar with the refrains of 'exercise more', 'eat better' and 'get regular physicals'. But what about our mental health? Professor Barbara Sahakian, best known for her expertise on cognitive enhancers, challenges society (and government) to prioritise mental health in the same way as we do physical health. "As a society, we take our mental health for granted," said Prof Sahakian. "But just like our bodies, it is important to keep our brains ...

DURHAM, N.H. – As our climate changes, the way we engineer our cities must, too. That's the message that University of New Hampshire professor Paul Kirshen, an author of a recent report that assessed Boston's vulnerability to coastal flooding, will deliver at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting February 14-18, 2013, in Boston. Kirshen will speak about water infrastructure management under a changing climate at the "Effective Science for Community Adaptation to Climate Change" session Sunday morning, Feb. 17 (8:30 – 11:30 a.m., ...

Northwestern University's Chad A. Mirkin, a world-renowned leader in nanotechnology research and its application, has developed a completely new set of building blocks that is based on nanoparticles and DNA. Using these tools, scientists will be able to build -- from the bottom up, just as nature does -- new and useful structures. Mirkin will discuss his research in a session titled "Nucleic Acid-Modified Nanostructures as Programmable Atom Equivalents: Forging a New Periodic Table" at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting in Boston. ...

BOSTON – Given the huge investment and power of science and technology in the U.S. it is surprising that more attention isn't paid to the policy decisions that drive the enterprise, said Daniel Sarewitz, co-director of the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes (CSPO) at Arizona State University. What appears to be missing from the equation, he added, is a focus on outcomes. Sarewitz was speaking at the 2013 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting in Boston. "Given the power of science and technology to shape and even transform ...

BOSTON – It has been more than 50 years since Rachel Carson published her groundbreaking book Silent Spring. Regarded as a hero by some and a villain by others, Carson helped revolutionize the way the public views environmental science. One area of Carson's career that is often overlooked is her time as a government employee. This is where she got her true start in journalism and it is the area G. Pascal Zachary, professor of practice with the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes at Arizona State University, will be discussing at the 2013 American Association ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- While many people recognize that clean water and air are signs of a healthy ecosystem, most do not realize that a critical part of the environment is right beneath their feet, according to a Penn State hydrologist. The ground plays an important role in maintaining a clean environment by serving as a natural water filtration and purification system, said Henry Lin, professor of hydropedology and soil hydrology. Understanding the components that make up this integral part of the ecosystem can lead to better groundwater management and smarter environmental ...

February 17, 2013 – Boston, MA - As the National Football League braces for lawsuits by 4000 former players alleging the league failed to protect them from the long-term consequences of concussions, game-changing research by a leading Canadian researcher shows damage to the brain can persist for decades after the original head trauma. "Even when you are symptom-free, your brain may still not be back to normal," says Dr. Maryse Lassonde, a neuropsychologist and the scientific director of the Quebec Nature and Technologies Granting Agency. Lassonde, whose work is supported ...

February 17, 2013 - Boston, MA – Northern communities are in the midst of a period of intense and rapid change brought on by modernization, industrialization and the realities of climate change. From preserving the means to hunt caribou to protecting stocks of arctic char - balancing development with a respect and preservation of traditional means of sustainability may be key to improving standards of living in the North. With the help of the icebreaker Amundsen, Louis Fortier, Canada Research Chair on the Response of Arctic Marine Ecosystems to Climate Change and other ...

February 17, 2013 — Boston, MA — With nearly 20 percent of the United States experiencing an extreme drought, the damage from Hurricane Sandy estimated at $65 billion and farmers in Canada's Prairies struggling with the effects of 2011's devastating flooding, the importance of water security in North America is impossible to overstate. At the Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan, director Howard Wheater and his team use the Saskatchewan River Basin as a large-scale case study to generate the science underpinning the policies and practices ...

BOSTON, MA -- Rats can't usually see infrared light, but they have "touched" it in a Duke University lab. The rats sensed the light as a sensation of touch after Duke neurobiologist Miguel Nicolelis and his team fitted the animals with an infrared detector wired to electrodes implanted in the part of the mammalian brain that processes information related to the sense of touch. One of the main flaws of current human, brain-controlled prosthetics is that patients cannot sense the texture of what they touch, Nicolelis said. His goal is to give quadriplegics not only the ...

BOSTON, MASS.—When difficult biological questions are tackled by creative experts in physics, what can result? Images of great beauty, accessible for anyone to appreciate, that also offer rich information on fundamental life processes, and rewarding new paths for analysis and insight. This leading edge of interdisciplinary collaboration in microscopy will be explored in "Innovations in Imaging: Seeing is Believing," Saturday, February 16, 1:30-4:30 PM at the AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston. The panel will feature three physicists and three biologists, several of ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Exercise doesn't only strengthen your heart and muscles – it also beefs up your brain. Dozens of studies now show that aerobic exercise can increase the size of critical brain structures and improve cognition in children and older adults. University of Illinois psychology professor Art Kramer, a nationally recognized expert on the role of physical fitness on cognition, will discuss these brain-changing outcomes at a session of the 2013 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston on Feb. 16. Kramer is the director of the ...

In his Feb. 12 State of the Union address, President Obama singled out climate change as a top priority for his second administration. "We can choose to believe that Superstorm Sandy, and the most severe drought in decades, and the worst wildfires some states have ever seen were all just a freak coincidence," he said. "Or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science – and act before it's too late." Four years ago, the president addressed rising global temperatures by pledging a 17 percent cut in carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Hairless skin first evolved in humans as a way to keep cool -- and then turned into a canvas to help them look cool, according to a Penn State anthropologist. About 1.5 to 2 million years ago, early humans, who were regularly on the move as hunters and scavengers, evolved into nearly hairless creatures to more efficiently sweat away excess body heat, said Nina Jablonski, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology. Later, humans began to decorate skin to increase attractiveness to the opposite sex and to express, among other things, group identity. "We ...

BOSTON — Through research led by Michigan State University, crop yields have increased dramatically. The children of Ekwendi, Malawi, also have gained weight and are taller. These improvements bring smiles to Sieglinde Snapp, MSU ecologist, and other researchers who have worked in Malawi for many years. Snapp, a crop and soil scientist at MSU's Kellogg Biological Station, shared the secrets of the initiative's success at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Feb. 14-18 in Boston. One of the focal points of her research has been ...

The news sounds grim: mounting scientific evidence indicates climate change will lead to more frequent and intense extreme weather that affects larger areas and lasts longer. However, we can reduce the risk of weather-related disasters with a variety of measures, according to Stanford Woods Institute Senior Fellow Chris Field. Field will discuss how to prepare for and adapt to a new climate at the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting in Boston. Field's talk, "Weather Extremes: Coping With the Changing Risks," will be part of a symposium ...

Canine Colors, a subsidiary of True Colors International, features a unique new exhibit at the 4th annual Wisdom 2.0 conference on Feb. 21 through Feb. 24th at the Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco, Calif. where thought leaders from business and technology come together to share their insight on how to connect with our non-digital selves and using technology in ways enhance our well-being, making us effective and useful to the world. "This is a great corporate tool for employee engagement and team building. We want our employees to bring their whole self ...

Stanbridge College, a technical college that offers Masters, Bachelor and Associate of Science degrees and diploma programs in Allied Health and Information Technology, nursing student, Vanessa Gonzalez-Arroyo raised over $6,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The full-time nursing student, worked with in Team in Training, a non-profit organization that trains runners, walkers, triathletes, cyclists and hikers to support cancer research, to participate in two events: a marathon in San Diego and a hike in Yosemite where she raised $2,743 with over 40 donations and ...

Anita Bradfield is a determined single lady, with no car, no savings account, who has found herself in an unusual and difficult situation in life. She is struggling with brain swelling for several years, no health insurance, and in a job economy that makes staying employed longer than a year very difficult. Yes, with brain swelling Anita gets up and goes to work, when work is available. Her attendance at work is as good as her peers, who are healthy. That accomplishment is amazing to pull off, if you live with brain swelling. How do you get up and go to work every day like ...

Today EcoPlum, the green shopping rewards boutique, announces an e-gift cards program, the latest enhancement to its online shopping experience. The gift cards, sent electronically, are an environmentally friendly way to give eco friendly gifts and may be used to buy eco friendly products in the EcoPlum Online Boutique. Gia Machlin, CEO and Founder of EcoPlum, exclaims, "Holidays are great, but many of us are too busy to come up with the perfect eco friendly gifts for our loved ones on their birthdays, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day or any other occasion. Our new ...

My Little Salesman will exhibit and attend the Oregon Logging Conference February 21 - 23 at the Lane Convention Center in Eugene, OR. As the largest indoor/outdoor forestry show west of the Mississippi, the Oregon Logging Conference provides professional development opportunities for forestry professionals through seminars, competitions, and an exhibit hall featuring dealers and manufacturers from around the world. 2013 marks the 75th Oregon Logging Conference. My Little Salesman invites all Oregon Logging Conference attendees to booth #146 for demonstrations on new ...