Channel 42
Science is the answer to everything.

Sagging college enrollments may be the next symptom of the sub-prime mortgage mess, according to a University of Michigan economist.

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The United States needs to act swiftly and sufficiently under an Obama presidency to secure the government’s technology infrastructure and to re-establish America’s standing as a leader in technology advancements, according to Christopher Bronk, a fellow in technology, society and public policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

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A home-based program to improve exercise and diet led to significant, clinically meaningful improvement in body weight and physical function among older long-term cancer survivors in preliminary findings from the RENEW trial, according to Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, Ph.D., from the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center’s Department of Behavioral Science. The data are being presented at the seventh annual American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Conference.

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A nontoxic nanoparticle developed by Penn State researchers is proving to be an all-around effective delivery system for both therapeutic drugs and the fluorescent dyes that can track their delivery.

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Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have reported that two common cancer drugs have been used to block and reverse type 1 diabetes in mice. The JDRF-funded study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was led by Jeffrey Bluestone, Ph.D., director of the Diabetes Center at UCSF and an expert in the field of autoimmunity.

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A team of astronomers from Penn State and Nicolaus Copernicus University in Poland has discovered a new planet that is closely orbiting a red-giant star, HD 102272, which is much older than our own Sun. The research sheds light on the ways in which aging stars can influence nearby planets.. The team includes Alexander Wolszczan, the discoverer of the first planets ever found outside our solar system.

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The first trench-to-bench field guide for tracking wild primate infectious diseases provides integrated information that could help scientists identify infection patterns and prevent epidemics, says Emory University scientist and lead author. The work was published Nov. 17 in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology’s Yearbook of Physical Anthropology.

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Combine the aphorisms that “practice makes perfect” and “timing is everything” into one and you might get something resembling findings published in this month’s issue of Psychological Science. Proper spacing of lessons, the researchers report, can dramatically enhance learning. And larger gaps between study sessions result in better recall of facts. Conversely: Cramming is ineffective in the long haul.

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Reducing friction in industrial machinery can save substantial amounts of energy and researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory are working to develop nanoscale coatings for machine parts that not only reduce friction but extend tool life as well. Estimated energy savings from the innovation could reach 31 trillion BTUs annually by the year 2030.

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Raging wildfires that engulfed Southern California earlier this decade not only destroyed neighborhoods laying in their path, they also caused significant health problems for many who lived outside the fires’ reach.

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