The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS, is an instrument that flies on NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites and provides incredible views of tropical cyclones like Hurricane Igor, from its vantage point in space. Imagery from the MODIS instruments on these two satellites captured from Sept. 18 to 20 showed that powerful Hurricane Igor in the Atlantic Ocean is morphing from a rounded storm to more of a comma-shaped storm. The MODIS instrument on NASA's Terra satellite captured a visible image of Igor at 11:30 am on Sept. 18, while MODIS in the Aqua satellite ...

Ever wonder why it's such an effort to forget about work while on vacation or to silence that annoying song that's playing over and over in your head? Mathematicians at Case Western Reserve University may have part of the answer. They've found that just as thinking burns energy, stopping a thought burns energy - like stopping a truck on a downhill slope. "Maybe this explains why it is so tiring to relax and think about nothing," said Daniela Calvetti, professor of mathematics, and one of the authors of a new brain study. Their work is published in an advanced online ...

When it comes to estimating calorie counts, Americans aren't really on the ball. According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, this may be because of the order in which we encounter the food. "The sequence in which items are considered often influences our evaluations of these items," writes author Alexander Chernev (Northwestern University). "The focus on sequential estimation is important because many meals are ordered and consumed sequentially rather than at once. Moreover, to control their daily calorie intake, people often estimate not only the amount ...

LAS CRUCES, NM—While municipalities may mandate communitywide water conservation measures, individuals—particularly homeowners—can make significant contributions to water conservation in urban environments. Hoping to provide urban planners with more information about how residents' landscape preferences affect municipal water supplies, a team from New Mexico State University surveyed homeowners in Santa Fe about their attitudes toward high desert plants. Rolston St. Hilaire, Dawn M. VanLeeuwen, and Patrick Torres reported on their study of residents' preferences for urban ...

INDIANAPOLIS — The parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis requires a stress response system that helps it survive the move to infect new cells, Indiana University School of Medicine scientists have reported, a discovery that could lead to new treatments to control the disease. Parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii invade host cells, replicate and then must exit to find new host cells to invade. Traveling outside their host cell exposes the parasites to environmental stresses that limit how long they can remain viable while searching for new host cells. The researchers ...

Suggesting to consumers that they will use a product frequently can actually reduce their interest in purchasing the product, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "When consumers estimate the value of a durable product, they consider not only the absolute number of times they think they will use the product, but also the number of time they will use the product relative to other consumers," write authors Rebecca W. Hamilton, Rebecca K. Ratner (both University of Maryland, College Park), and Debora Viana Thompson (Georgetown University). The ...

When it comes to self-control, consumers in the United States are in trouble. But a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research says there's hope; we just need a little help to see self-regulation as fun. "Self-control failures depend on whether people see activities involving self-control (e.g., eating in moderate quantities) as an obligation to work or an opportunity to have fun," write authors Juliano Laran (University of Miami) and Chris Janiszewski (University of Florida, Gainesville). According to the authors, approximately one in five U.S. citizens over the ...

On spring winds, something wicked this way comes--at least for the mountains of the Colorado River Basin and their ecosystems, and for people who depend on snowmelt from these mountains as a regional source of water. "More than 80 percent of sunlight falling on fresh snow is reflected back to space," says scientist Tom Painter of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and the University of California at Los Angeles. "But sprinkle some dark particles on the snow and that number drops dramatically." The darker dust absorbs sunlight, reducing the amount of ...

A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research reveals a strange facet of consumer behavior: people behave differently when they encounter companies' brands than they do when they encounter their slogans. "Exposure to the retailer brand name Walmart, typically associated with saving money, reduces subsequent spending, whereas exposure to the Walmart slogan, (Save money. Live better.) increases spending," write authors Juliano Laran (University of Miami), Amy N. Dalton (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology), and Eduardo B. Andrade (University of California, ...

People who feel excluded will go to any length to try to become part of a group, even if it involves spending large sums of cash, eating something dicey, or doing illicit drugs, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "Social exclusion prompts people to use money and consumption in the service of affiliation," write authors Nicole L. Mead (Tilburg University), Roy F. Baumeister (Florida State University), Tyler F. Stillman (Southern Utah University), Catherine D. Rawn (University of British Columbia), and Kathleen D. Vohs (University of Minnesota). "An ...

Clues to consumer behavior may be lurking our genes, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "We examine a wide range of consumer judgment and decision-making phenomenon and discover that many—though not all of them—are in fact heritable or influenced by genetic factors," write authors Itamar Simonson (Stanford University) and Aner Sela (University of Florida, Gainesville). The authors studied twins' consumer preferences to determine whether or not certain behaviors or traits have a genetic basis. "A greater similarity in behavior or trait between ...

BURLINGTON, VT—A 2008 study found that organic apples represented 4.6% of total apple sales in the United States, up from 3.5% in 2007. In Vermont, apples have been the most important fruit crop for many years, playing an important role in the state's economy—so important, in fact, that apples were named the state's official fruit in 1999. Vermont apple growers, facing a host of challenges such as increasing production costs and intensifying competition from imported apples, are looking for ways to succeed in the emerging organic food market. Qingbin Wang and Robert Parsons ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Researchers have discovered that women, female monkeys and female mice have major similarities when it comes to how bisphenol A (BPA) is metabolized, and they have renewed their call for governmental regulation when it comes to the estrogen-like chemical found in many everyday products. A study published online in the Sept. 20 NIH journal Environmental Health Perspectives ties rodent data on the health effects of BPA to predictions of human health effects from BPA with the use of everyday household products. The study was authored by researchers at the ...

Teaneck, NJ – The Cornea and Laser Eye Institute, with Principal Investigator, Peter S. Hersh M.D., is conducting a research study to study the safety and effectiveness of corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) using Riboflavin/Dextran and Hypotonic Riboflavin in patients with progressive keratoconus and corneal ectasia. Keratoconus is a disease of the cornea, the clear front lens of the eye (like the crystal on a watch), that occurs in the overall population at a rate of about one in 2000. It usually begins in the teens and 20's and can worsen over time. It is often ...

The scientists who put an innovative tree of life online last year now have made that same resource available -- free -- for smartphones. The new "TimeTree" application lets anyone with an Apple iPhone harness a vast Internet storehouse of data about the diversity of life, from bacteria to humans. The intuitive interface is designed to answer a simple question, quickly and authoritatively: how long ago did species A and species B share a common ancestor? "Our new iPhone app can be fun for people who want to learn how long ago their cat and dog began evolving down different ...

Four East Tennessee homes completed this month showcase how scientific research can make dramatic changes in the cost of heating and cooling our homes. A ribbon-cutting ceremony held today celebrated the opening of all four homes as laboratories, a major milestone of the first ZEBRAlliance project. ZEBRAlliance, a public-private partnership founded by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Schaad Companies, is both a research project and a multi-faceted energy-efficiency education campaign. The four houses, located in the Wolf Creek subdivision ...

A landmark report on the Global Economic Impact of Dementia finds that Alzheimer's disease and other dementias are exacting a massive toll on the global economy, with the problem set to accelerate in coming years. The World Alzheimer Report 2010 – issued on World Alzheimer's Day by Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI) – provides the most current and comprehensive global picture of the economic and social costs of the illness. The Report was jointly authored by Professor Anders Wimo of the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; and Professor Martin Prince, Institute ...

BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, September 21, 2010 -- A new weight loss study conducted by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers reveals that dieters who consumed milk or milk products lost more weight on average than those who consumed little to no milk products. Regardless of diet, researchers also found participants with the highest dairy calcium intake, equal to 12 oz. of milk or other dairy products (580 mg of dairy calcium), lost about 12 pounds (6 kg.) at the end of the two years. In comparison, those with the lowest dairy calcium intake averaging about ...

Washington, DC – In a presentation today at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Annual Legislative Conference Health Braintrust meeting, Faina Shtern, M.D., president and CEO of AdMeTech Foundation, unveiled overwhelming support from Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) members and patient advocacy organizations for the Prostate Research, Imaging, and Men's Education Act of 2010 (PRIME Act). This support builds on the rapidly growing number of Congressional co-sponsors for the legislation, including 25 CBC members who are particularly concerned about the disproportionate ...

Los Angeles, CA (September 17, 2010) Playing a violent video game can increase aggression, and when a player keeps thinking about the game, the potential for aggression can last for as long as 24 hours, according to a study in the current Social Psychological and Personality Science (published by SAGE). Violent video game playing has long been known to increase aggression. This study, conducted by Brad Bushman of The Ohio State University and Bryan Gibson of Central Michigan University, shows that at least for men, ruminating about the game can increase the potency of ...

The large Nordic twin study investigating the heritability of subarachnothe role of genetic factors underlying the development of SAH suggests that the role of genetic factors underlying the development of SAH is less than previously believed. The prevalence of subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is almost three times as high in Finland and Japan as among other nationalities. In Finland, some 1,000 cases are diagnosed every year, with almost half of the cases ending in death. SAH predominantly affects the working age population. Haemorrhage occurs when an aneurysm, a balloon-like ...

A rare bronze signet ring with the impression of the face of the Greek sun god, Apollo, has been discovered at Tel Dor, in northern Israel, by University of Haifa diggers. "A piece of high-quality art such as this, doubtlessly created by a top-of-the-line artist, indicates that local elites developing a taste for fine art and the ability to afford it were also living in provincial towns, and not only in the capital cities of the Hellenistic kingdoms," explains Dr. Ayelet Gilboa, Head of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Haifa, who headed the excavations ...

Jerusalem, Sept. 19, 2010 -- A new type of nanoparticle resembling the six-pointed Star of David (Magen David) that is the symbol on the flag of Israel has been discovered by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. (One nanometer is a billionth of a meter.) The discovery, the researchers say, may lead to new ways for sensing of glucose in diagnosing diabetes or provide a catalyst to capture the sun's energy and turn it into clean fuel. Their work, they further believe, greatly contributes to understanding how hybrid nanoparticles form. Hybrid nanoparticles ...

The multi-welled microplate, long a standard tool in biomedical research and diagnostic laboratories, could become a thing of the past thanks to new electronic biosensing technology developed by a team of microelectronics engineers and biomedical scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Essentially arrays of tiny test tubes, microplates have been used for decades to simultaneously test multiple samples for their responses to chemicals, living organisms or antibodies. Fluorescence or color changes in labels associated with compounds on the plates can signal ...

MOSCOW and NEW YORK, 20 September – A group of Russian AIDS activists are charging that the Russian Ministry of Health is denying that there are drug stock-outs that prevent patients from starting or continuing treatment. "In this situation, people with HIV face a choice: to die quietly at home or try to attract the attention of the government and the media," said Alexey Yaskovich, a Russian activist from Novgorod. "Therefore, activists will continue to go to the streets of Moscow and hold public events dedicated to saving their lives." Activists continue to mount protests ...