The last time you experienced worrisome medical symptoms, did you look for advice online before consulting a health-care professional? If so, you’re not alone. Consumers are increasingly turning to forums, video-sharing sites, and peer support groups to gather anecdotal information and advice, which may distract them from more reliable and trustworthy sources. New research to […]
MU researchers develop more accurate Twitter analysis tools
“Trending” topics on the social media platform Twitter show the quantity of tweets associated with a specific event. However, trends only show the highest volume keywords and hashtags, and may not give qualitative information about the tweets themselves. Now, using data associated with the Super Bowl and World Series, researchers at the University of Missouri […]
NASA sees massive Marie close enough to affect southern California coast
Two NASA satellites captured visible and infrared pictures that show the massive size of Hurricane Marie. Marie is so large that it is bringing rough surf to the southern coast of California while almost nine hundred miles west of Baja California. On August 26 at 19:05 UTC (3:05 p.m. EDT) NASA’s Terra satellite captured a […]
Scientists plug into a learning brain
Learning is easier when it only requires nerve cells to rearrange existing patterns of activity than when the nerve cells have to generate new patterns, a study of monkeys has found. The scientists explored the brain’s capacity to learn through recordings of electrical activity of brain cell networks. The study was partly funded by the […]
New study throws into question long-held belief about depression
New evidence puts into doubt the long-standing belief that a deficiency in serotonin — a chemical messenger in the brain — plays a central role in depression. In the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience, scientists report that mice lacking the ability to make serotonin in their brains (and thus should have been “depressed” by conventional wisdom) […]
Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center awarded $18 million grant
Outstanding basic research, a growing focus on translating discoveries into treatments, and a dedication to patient care have earned the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) of Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital an $18 million, five-year Cancer Center Support Grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The grant renews the center’s status […]
EuropeanPioneers: 4.5 million Euros of EU funds for startups
Berlin/Sankt Augustin, 27th August 2014 – Over the next two years, the EU funding pogramme “EuropeanPioneers” will support 25 startups and SMEs in the European Union with a total of 4.5 million Euros. The scheme targets businesses active in the fields of Smart City Services, Social Connected TV, Pervasive Gaming and E-Learning. The aim of […]
Happy Camp and July Fire Complexes in California
As of seven hours ago the Happy Camp Complex of fires had consumed 24,939 acres of land in Northern California, the July complex had consumed 35,530 as of eight hours ago. Lightning strikes started seventeen fires on the Happy Camp Ranger District of the Klamath National Forest when a thunderstorm passed through the area on […]
NOAA’s Marine Debris Program reports on the national issue of derelict fishing traps
Thousands of fishing traps are lost or abandoned each year in U.S. waters and become what are known as derelict traps, which continue to catch fish, crabs, and other species such as turtles. These traps result in losses to habitat, fisheries, and the watermen who depend on the resources–losses that are largely preventable, according to […]
The roots of human altruism
Scientists have long been searching for the factor that determines why humans often behave so selflessly. It was known that humans share this tendency with species of small Latin American primates of the family Callitrichidae (tamarins and marmosets), leading some to suggest that cooperative care for the young, which is ubiquitous in this family, was […]