A popular marketing ploy with junk foods and other indulgent table fare can be an equally effective tool for promoting healthier eating in school cafeterias. "Nutritionists and school lunch planners can turn the tables on children's poor eating habits by adopting the same 'branding' tactic used by junk food marketers," said Brian Wansink, an expert on the subtle cues that affect people's eating habits and professor of marketing at the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. Food marketers have associated particular foods with mascots, ...

URBANA, Ill. — Like a melody that keeps playing in your head even after the music stops, researchers at the University of Illinois's Beckman Institute have shown that the beat goes on when it comes to the human visual system. In an experiment designed to test their theory about a brain mechanism involved in visual processing, the researchers used periodic visual stimuli and electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings and found, one, that they could precisely time the brain's natural oscillations to future repetitions of the event, and, two, that the effect occurred even after ...

Break apart a couple worm-like chromosomes and they may reconnect with mismatched tips and tails – such is the case of the EML4-ALK fusion gene that creates 2-7 percent of lung cancers. Almost exactly a year ago, the FDA approved the drug crizotinib to treat these ALK+ lung cancer patients, who were likely never smokers. Informed doctors use the test called a FISH assay to check for the EML4-ALK fusion gene, and then if the test is positive, ALK+ patients benefit greatly from crizotinib. A recent University of Colorado Cancer Center case study published in the Journal ...

CHAMPAIGN, lll. — The rhythm of life is driven by the cycles of day and night, and most organisms carry in their cells a common, (roughly) 24-hour beat. In animals, this rhythm emerges from a tiny brain structure called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the hypothalamus. Take it out of the brain and keep it alive in a lab dish and this "brain clock" will keep on ticking, ramping up or gearing down production of certain proteins at specific times of the day, day after day. A new study reveals that the brain clock itself is driven, in part, by metabolism, the production ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Numerous studies have shown the powerful effect that exercise can have on cancer care and recovery. For patients who have gone through breast or colon cancer treatment, regular exercise has been found to reduce recurrence of the disease by up to 50 percent. But many cancer patients are reluctant to exercise, and few discuss it with their oncologists, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. "As doctors, we often tell patients that exercise is important, but to this point, nobody had studied what patients ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---What if every U.S. worker got an automatic 10 percent pay raise at age 55? According to a new University of Michigan study, most people would work quite a bit longer to enjoy the extra income before they retired. By eliminating social security payroll taxes starting when workers are 55-years old, the study shows that take-home pay would jump by 10.6 percent and they would work 1.5 years longer on average, paying more income taxes and helping to reduce the Federal deficit. "People are living longer, healthier lives, and so far have opted to take most ...

CORAL GABLES, FL (August 28, 2012) -- As Hurricane Isaac nears the Gulf Coast, one may wonder what the impact of natural disasters are on children. Who is most at risk for persistent stress reactions? How can such youth be identified and assisted in the aftermath of a destructive storm? Dr. Annette M. La Greca, a professor of psychology and pediatrics at the University of Miami, and her colleagues, have been studying children's disaster reactions following Hurricanes Andrew (1992), Charley (2004) and Ike (2008). Recent findings from Hurricane Ike shed light on these questions ...

CORAL GABLES, FL (August 28, 2012)—Parents of young children hope for a successful kindergarten experience that will set their youngsters on the right path of their educational journey. Some worry about their kids not adapting to the school environment, particularly when the children are talkative and overactive. Yet, a new study by the University of Miami (UM) shows that overly shy preschool children are at greater academic risk than their chatty and boisterous peers. The study is one of the first to follow the social and academic progress of children throughout the preschool ...

Pretend play can be fun for preschool children, but a new University of Virginia study, published in a recent online edition of the journal Psychological Bulletin, finds that it is not as crucial to a child's development as currently believed. Pretend play is any play a child engages in, alone, with playmates, or with adults, that involves uses of the imagination to create a fantasy world or situation, such as making toy cars go "vrrooooom" or making dolls talk. Based on a number of key studies over four decades, pretend play is widely considered by psychologists – and ...

University of Rochester Medical Center scientists believe they are the first to identify genes that underlie the growth of primitive leukemia stem cells, and then to use the new genetic signature to identify currently available drugs that selectively target the rogue cells. Although it is too early to attach significance to the drug candidates, two possible matches popped up: A drug in development for breast cancer (not approved by the Food and Drug Administration), and another experimental agent that, coincidentally, had been identified earlier by a URMC laboratory as ...

This press release is available in Spanish.(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Hispanic children often have undiagnosed developmental delays and large numbers of both Hispanic and non-Hispanic children who first were thought to have developmental delay actually had autism, researchers affiliated with the UC Davis MIND Institute have found. The study, one of the largest to date to compare development in Hispanic and non-Hispanic children, is published in the journal Autism. The results lead the study authors to recommend increased public health efforts to improve awareness, especially ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (August 28, 2012) –The adult human circulatory system contains between 20 and 30 trillion red blood cells (RBCs), the precise size and number of which can vary from person to person. Some people may have fewer, but larger RBCs, while others may have a larger number of smaller RBCs. Although these differences in size and number may seem inconsequential, they raise an important question: Just what controls these characteristics of RBCs? This question is particularly relevant for the roughly one-quarter of the population that suffers from anemia, which ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio - If experts thought they knew anything about individual investors, it was this: their emotions lead them to sell winning stocks too soon and hold on to losers too long. But new research casts doubt on this widely held theory that individual investors' decisions are driven mainly by their feelings toward losses and gains. In an innovative study, researchers found evidence that individual investors' decisions are primarily motivated by their beliefs about a stock's future. "The story is not about whether an investor hates losing or loves gains – it's not ...

UPTON,NY -- The evolution of digital electronics is a story of miniaturization - each generation of circuitry requires less space and energy to perform the same tasks. But even as high-speed processors move into handheld smart phones, current data storage technology has a functional limit: magnetically stored digital information becomes unstable when too tightly packed. The answer to maintaining the breath-taking pace of our ongoing computer revolution may be the denser, faster, and smarter technology of spintronics. Spintronic devices use electron spin, a subtle quantum ...

Pity the male of the marine whelk, Solenosteira macrospira. He does all the work of raising the young, from egg-laying to hatching — even though few of the baby snails are his own. The surprising new finding by researchers at the University of California, Davis, puts S. macrospira in a small club of reproductive outliers characterized by male-only child care. Throw in extensive promiscuity and sibling cannibalism, and the species has one of the most extreme life histories in the animal kingdom. The family secrets of the snail, which lives in tidal mudflats off Baja ...

On July 8, 2011 the Space Shuttle Atlantis launched for the very last time. On that historic day, as the world watched its last ascent up into orbit and commentators discussed the program's contributions to space flight and scientific research over 20 years, the shuttle helped spawn one last experiment. As the shuttle reached a height of about 70 miles over the east coast of the U.S., it released – as it always did shortly after launch – 350 tons of water vapor exhaust. As the plume of vapor spread and floated on air currents high in Earth's atmosphere, it crossed through ...

NASA and NOAA satellites continue to provide detailed information on Hurricane Isaac as the storm bears down on the U.S. Gulf coast. NASA's TRMM and Terra satellites captured imagery, and NOAA's GOES-13 satellite provided animations of Isaac's march toward the coast today, Aug. 28. Residents along the northern Gulf coast are bracing for the arrival of Isaac, which was recently upgraded to a hurricane by the National Hurricane Center as of 1:00 p.m. CDT. At that time, the center of Isaac was located about 55 miles (~85 km) south-southeast of the Mississippi and was moving ...

Tropical Storm Bolaven weakened as it moved north through the cooler waters of the Yellow Sea in the last day, which is good news for North Korea and southeastern China where it is making landfall today, Aug. 28. On Aug. 27, NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite monitored the rainfall rates within Tropical Storm Bolaven. At the time TRMM passed over, Bolaven was still a typhoon. TRMM captured rainfall data at 0917 UTC (about 5:17 p.m. Korea local time/5:17 a.m. EDT) and at 12:33 UTC (8:33 p.m. Korea local time/8:33 a.m. EDT). Bolaven has been generating ...

DALLAS – Aug. 28, 2012 – Men who have been treated for prostate cancer, either with surgery or radiation, could benefit from taking aspirin regularly, says a new study that includes a researcher at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Taking aspirin is associated with a lower risk of death from prostate cancer, especially in men with high risk disease, according to a multicenter study published in today's issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Dr. Kevin Choe, assistant professor of radiation oncology at UT Southwestern, is first author of the paper. Preclinical studies ...

Imaginet International Inc, the leading systems integrator and managed network hosting and content security services provider in the Philippines, will take part in the Mining Philippines 2012 Conference and Exhibition on September 18-20, 2012 at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel. Hosted by the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, this year's theme will center on "Shaping the Future of Philippine Mining" as the esteemed speakers will discuss the current global and local mining opportunities and prospects. Imaginet has worked closely with the country's top ...

Using the geo-location capabilities of most smart phones today, the travelMAINE mobile application offers users directions, descriptions, maps, links, videos and deals on thousands of businesses and attractions from across Maine and can be accessed at m.gotravelmaine.com from any mobile device. The mobile application offers great benefits to state visitors but more importantly drives more people to Maine businesses thereby helping to boost the local economy. travelMAINE is partnering with Maine Chambers of Commerce to help local businesses get a listing on the mobile application ...

AccuProcess, a provider of innovative business process modeling software, today announced the release and availability of its next generation Version 3.0 of the AccuProcess Business Process Modeler product. Business Process Modeling, one of the fastest growing areas of enterprise technology, enables businesses to increase efficiency and stay competitive through an enhanced understanding of day-to-day business processes and the ways they can be improved. AccuProcess provides an affordable and powerful business process modeling software designed specifically to be easy ...

Representation for child prodigy, Biana Pinchuk have announced dates for her upcoming River of Musical Dreams Tour. The tour kicks off this fall with a performance in Hollywood, FL at the Performing Arts Center. Biana began singing at the age of 3 and play the violin at age 5 and now performs at the college level. In addition to singing and playing the violin, she composed her first song at six years old and has since performed over 200 pieces. She also made it to the final auditions of the Broadway musical, Annie in 2011. Besides being blessed with her talents ...

The Preiss Company is pleased to announce that University Village at Southern was awarded top housing honors by Connect Statesboro readers for the third consecutive year. Based on total votes received, the off-campus student housing community won 2012 Boro Awards in the categories of Best Apartment Amenities, Best Apartment Pool, and Best Apartment Staff in Statesboro. Connect Statesboro is a weekly entertainment and alternative news weekly that focuses on issues surrounding young adults. The publication caters to 18- to 30-year olds—from students to young professionals ...

"The Woodbridge home will make an excellent primary residence, starter home or investment property and is close to many Northern VA commuter destinations while the Bumpass property offers country living with all the modern amenities. Both properties offer new owners a great opportunity to own or invest in property that will meet their current or future needs," said John Nicholls, president of the company. "Make plans now to purchase these great residential/investment properties." "The Woodbridge property will sell at 11 am on September 7th. It ...