Move over, boy bands of America—there's a new group in town. Four middle-school students from Carmel Valley Middle School in San Diego, California, entered The Christopher Columbus Awards Competition, a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) program that challenges middle-school students to identify a community problem and solve it using science and technology. Taking a cue from the popular group the Backstreet Boys, the students call themselves the Back Straight Boys. The Boys took first place nationally and are presenting their study at the upcoming Human Factors ...

Los Angeles – July 6, 2011 – A new study now appearing in the peer-reviewed British Journal of Nutrition, finds that fat in pistachios may not be completely absorbed by the body. The randomized controlled-feeding study, which is the first-of-its-kind research with nuts, indicates that pistachios may actually contain fewer calories per serving than originally thought. Conducted by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the study shows pistachios to be one of the lowest calorie nuts with 160 calories per 30 gram serving ...

With the Women's World Cup in full swing in Germany, soccer fans can now rest assured that women are less likely than men to fake on-field injuries, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center published in the July issue of the journal Research in Sports Medicine. "Injuries are common in women's soccer and seem to be on the rise at the international level," said Daryl Rosenbaum, M.D., an assistant professor of Family and Community Medicine at Wake Forest Baptist. "The goals of our study were to determine the frequency of apparent injury ...

Hireacar.ie, a car hire website that is geared to helping customers with their car rental needs, is now offering free quotes and price comparisons for the world's finest car hire companies in over 22,000 locations worldwide. The website has also introduced a brand new sleek modern design offering a much more user friendly experience for cistomers. Often, when making travel plans, it can be very daunting for customers to determine where they should hire a car. With so many different companies promising cheap rental cars to satisfy almost any budget, researching the many ...

CHICAGO (July 6, 2011) – The type of primary insurance patients carry affects outcomes of cardiac valve operations in the United States according to a study in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. As a result, the type of primary insurance should be considered as an independent risk factor during preoperative risk stratification and planning, the researchers reported. They found that uninsured and Medicaid patients incur worse unadjusted and risk-adjusted outcomes following cardiac valve operations compared with those who carry private insurance. In ...

CHICAGO (July 6, 2011) – One consequence of the expanded access to health care facilitated by health care reform will be a shortfall in the necessary numbers of physicians and other advanced medical professionals. According to a study published in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, the United States will face serious shortages in the combined workforce of physicians, advance practice nurses, and physician assistants over the next two decades. The study concluded that, without an adequate supply of advanced medical professionals, the U.S. ...

Tel Aviv — We know that physical education teaches children about fitness and encourages them to live a healthy lifestyle. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher has statistical evidence that sports participation is also beneficial to a child's cognitive, emotional and behavioral well-being. Keren Shahar, a Ph.D. student at Tel Aviv University's Bob Shapell School of Social Work working under the supervision of Prof. Tammie Ronen and Prof. Michael Rosenbaum, says that over the course of her study, which included 649 children from low socioeconomic backgrounds, a continuous ...

Landsat 5 captured an image of flooding occurring along the Iowa/Nebraska border on June 30, 2011. Flooding is still occurring on July 6, and Flood Warnings are still in effect from the National Weather Service. The Landsat 5 image captured was an enlargement of the area just north of Omaha. The flood waters show up as very dark blue and, where the water is shallow, medium blue. In the image, the Interstate is cut off by flood waters, just south of Missouri Valley, Iowa, and about 20 miles north of Omaha. According to Omaha.com, officials from federal, state and local ...

Tower Legal Staffing, Inc., the growing NYC-based legal staffing company, announced the opening of its newest branch office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The office is located at One Oxford Centre, 301 Grant Street in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh. Tower Legal President and CEO, Leslie Firtell, Esq., selected Pittsburgh, one of the top US cities for finding employment, because it has a large corporate presence and it affords Tower Legal's clients another cost-effective, onshore alternative for their temporary legal staffing needs. "We have clients in the Pittsburgh ...

PHILADELPHIA — Improvements in colorectal cancer mortality rates are concentrated in the northern part of the United States, while southern states continue to fall behind, according to a report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Ahmedin Jemal, D.V.M., Ph.D., vice president for surveillance research at the American Cancer Society, said the decrease in death rates ranged from about 37 percent in Massachusetts to no reduction in Mississippi. "This was very surprising, because when you look at the ...

Progress in reducing colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality rates varies significantly across states, with rates in the Northeast showing the most progress and those in the South showing the least progress, according to a new study. As a result, the highest burden of CRC mortality shifted from the Northeast in the early 1990s to the southern states along the Appalachian corridor in the mid 2000s. The decrease in CRC mortality rates by state correlated strongly with uptake of screening. The study appears in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, and says improving screening ...

Boston, MA -- Researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), and Providence Health & Services have found that expanding low income adults' access to Medicaid substantially increases health care use, reduces financial strain on covered individuals, and improves their self-reported health and well-being. This is the first study to evaluate the impact of insuring the uninsured in the U.S. using a randomized controlled trial, the gold standard in medical and scientific studies. The ...

The philanthropic arm of global corporate giant, Walmart, has granted part of an $11.5 million investment in summer learning to Summer Advantage USA. Recognized by MSNBC, TIME Magazine, and the White House initiative United We Serve, Summer Advantage USA is one of the nation's few evidence based summer learning programs. In 2011, the nonprofit program will engage thousands of students (called "scholars") in learning and physical fitness. The monumental investment is part of a national partnership between the Walmart Foundation and the National Center ...

TasteHawaiiOnline.com wants to reward the "Invitation To Foodies" culinary event attendees by paying airfare, hotel and car rental to Hawaii in 2012. The attendees who purchase a "Seminar - a la carte" ticket will be eligible to enter a drawing during the "Private Special Event" for three-day registrants on September 4th. The "Invitation To Foodies" culinary event benefits two Maui non-profits: Friends of the Children's Justice Center of Maui and Ka Lima O Maui. Maui residents and visitors will enjoy cooking demonstrations, ...

In the past 16 months, Angie Wallace, a petite, 38 year-old blonde, has lost 96 pounds wearing her BodyMedia FIT (TM) Armband. By the end of next week, she wants to make it 100. As she and her husband drive to a local line-dance club, Angie checks her wireless wristband monitor to find that she has expended 1,915 calories so far today. She has consumed 1,629 - a total of 286 fewer calories into her body than out. As she dances, her body heats up. On the back of her armband, a pair of galvanic skin response sensors detects changes in the electrical conductivity of her ...

Sally Marks, co-author of the self-improvement book, Erase Negativity and Embrace the Magic Within is scheduling free workshops and seminars to organizations and businesses in the Phoenix area during the month of July. Interesting charities, businesses and organizations are asked to contact Marks Public Relations at 480-664-3004 or email MarksPR@cox.net for guidelines. "We all want to be happy but don't always realize how we sabotage ourselves," said Marks, an Arizona author and public relations expert. "By practicing a few simple tips we can bump up ...

Dr. David Snodgrass DDS has become the pediatric dentist of choice for many Hermitage residents. With each passing year, the Hermitage pediatric dentist' s practice continues to increase in size and in reputation. Because of this welcome growth, the Hermitage pediatric dentist has seen fit to recruit a business specialist to ensure that all of the Snodgrass-King offices stay ahead of the curve. To this end, the Hermitage pediatric dentist announces the hire of Mr. Jason Keen as Snodgrass-King's Chief Financial and Chief Operating Officer. "All of our middle Tennessee ...

Lemon Meringue is a moving, one-act rollercoaster ride through the therapeutic process of Rich, a typical guy from Long Island. As Rich struggles to overcome the devastating effects of childhood sexual abuse, we witness his anger and pain slowly giving way to happiness and forgiveness. This true story, told through music, dance and dialogue, illustrates one man's inspirational journey towards survival and finding, then healing, his inner child. Written by Rich Ryan, with original music by Athena Reich, Lemon Meringue is a compelling success story that should ...

Dawna Lee Heising, executive producer and host of "Eye on Entertainment," (EOE), has announced that Thom Michael Mulligan, multi-talented actor, writer, producer discusses his lengthy entertainment career and newest role as Director of Submissions for the New Hope Film Festival in a two-part interview with EOE. In the interviews, co-hosted by Heising and Stanley Goodrich, which will air on Time Warner Cable on the West Coast and through Cox, Comcast and Verizon on the East Coast, Mulligan talks about his early decision to forgo a promising career in sports ...

The next six months will determine the fortune of many Nigerians who aspire to own a house of their own as Nigeria's leading primary mortgage institution, ASO Savings & Loans Plc, has penultimate week, opened a vista of opportunities for Nigerians from all walks of life in its ASO Save & Win promotions. The Save & Win promo is a six month customers acquisition and account growing marketing campaign that promises to reward lucky winners with fabulous prizes that include: 20 Flat Screen Television Sets, 30 Refrigerators, 40 Deep Fryers and 50 Microwave Ovens, ...

This leg-pulling tale tells of a group of mis-guided, if slightly loony, scientists, of a lovely woman, a handsome athlete and  of two mischievous Greek gods who spill the beans on a scheme to privatize the USA and reduce the deficit by selling off the Western states.  So, what's the price of real estate in the fifth dimension? Born on the banks of the Detroit River in an orange crate house next to a pot-belly stove in the cold spring of 1930, Guerrino Amati worked his way through a BA English from Wayne State University and, later, after a stint in the US Army, an MA ...

A new artificial surface inspired by floating seeds, which could provide an alternative to the toxic paints currently used to prevent fouling on ship hulls, has been developed by German scientists. Scientists from the Biomimetics-Innovation-Centre have developed a new anti-fouling surface based on a seed from a species of palm tree. "These plants have seeds which are dispersed by the ocean currents. As it is an advantage for these seeds to remain free of fouling to allow them to disperse further, we guessed they might have specialised surfaces we could mimic," explains ...

English stated that there are over 200 churches in the Toledo area. Many of these churches are small, and don't have the resources to submit events or worship schedules to other local media, such as the Toledo Blade. He went on to state that this service will be absolutely free to any church, synagogue, temple, mosque, nursing home, funeral home, or other house of worship. They may submit any number of events to him for inclusion in the calendar at Wheresthecat.com, now or at any point in the future. Church listings will include not only the church name and phone number, ...

Seaweed may prove a viable future biofuel – especially if harvested in summer. The use of kelp (Laminaria digitata) could provide an important alternative to terrestrial grown biofuels; however the suitability of its chemical composition varies on a seasonal basis. Harvesting the kelp in July when carbohydrate levels are at their highest would ensure optimal sugar release for biofuel production. "The storage carbohydrate and soluble sugars get converted into ethanol in the fermentation process, so we need as much as possible," explains Dr. Jessica Adams, a lead researcher ...

INDIANAPOLIS – Scientists have deciphered the structure of an essential part of Mediator, a complex molecular machine that plays a vital role in regulating the transcription of DNA. The research adds an important link to discoveries that have enabled scientists to gain a deeper understanding of how cells translate genetic information into the proteins and processes of life. The findings, published in the July 3 advance online issue of the journal Nature, were reported by a research team led by Yuichiro Takagi, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology ...