Caloric moderation can reverse link between low birth weight and obesity, early study indicates

Caloric moderation can reverse link between low birth weight and obesity, early study indicates: Babies who are born small have a tendency to put on weight during childhood and adolescence if allowed free access to calories. However, a new animal model study found when small babies were placed on a diet of moderately regulated calories during infancy, the propensity of becoming obese decreased.

Confidentiality Expires For 1940 Census Records

Confidentiality Expires For 1940 Census Records:



Hugh Pickens writes writes "In spring of 1940, the Census Bureau sent out more than 120,000 fact-gatherers, known as 'enumerators,' to survey the nation's 33 million homes and 7 million farms. Now as the 72 years of confidentiality expires, the National Archives website buckled under the load as the 1940 census records were released and 1.9 million users hit the archives servers in the first four hours the data went public and at one point, the Archives said, its computers were receiving 100,000 requests per second. Data miners will have the opportunity to pick and chip through more than 3.8 million digital images of census schedules, maps and other sociological minutiae. What will we learn from this mother lode? The pivotal year 1940 'marked the beginnings of a shift from a depressed peacetime to a prosperous wartime,' says David E. Kyvig, author of Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1939. The vast data dump, Kyvig says, will allow historians 'to look closely at particular communities and how people within them were doing in terms of employment, income and material comforts.' The 1940 census was the first Census that looked deeper into the details of much of American life. 'As we see how the country evolved over the subsequent 20 years, where we have aggregate census data ... we ought to be able to see more clearly how government spending bettered everyday life, confirmed Keynesian economic theory and revealed that, before the war, the New Deal did too little, rather than too much, to stimulate the U.S. economy.""

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Bilingual children switch tasks faster than speakers of a single language

Bilingual children switch tasks faster than speakers of a single language: Children who grow up learning to speak two languages are better at switching between tasks than are children who learn to speak only one language, according to a study funded in part by the National Institutes of Health. However, the study also found that bilinguals are slower to acquire vocabulary than are monolinguals, because bilinguals must divide their time between two languages while monolinguals focus on only one.

Early-life exposure to BPA affects adult learning, animal study suggests

Early-life exposure to BPA affects adult learning, animal study suggests: A new study is the first to identify a neurobehavioral effect of BPA using a zebrafish model exposed to concentrations comparable to what humans might encounter in the environment.

Self-sculpting 'smart sand' can assume any shape, create instant prototypes (video)

Self-sculpting 'smart sand' can assume any shape, create instant prototypes (video):

A new algorithm developed by the Distributed Robotics Laboratory at MIT's Computer Science could lead to an exciting fast prototyping tool, being dubbed "smart sand." Immerse an object in the sand, tiny cubes that send simple proximity messages to each other, which relay through the swarm and determine which blocks are adjacent to the object to be modeled, and those that aren't. Using this data, it's possible to create a map of the subject to be replicated. Initial tests were performed using 2D models, but has also been shown to work reliably with 3D shapes also. While true smart sand would need "grains" much smaller than currently possible, it's said that this isn't an "insurmountable obstacle." The paper will be presented at the IEEE conference in May, or keep going past the break for the explanatory video.
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Potential method to control obesity: Red wine, fruit compound could help block fat cell formation

Potential method to control obesity: Red wine, fruit compound could help block fat cell formation: A compound found in red wine, grapes and other fruits, and similar in structure to resveratrol, is able to block cellular processes that allow fat cells to develop, opening a door to a potential method to control obesity, according to a new study.

Minecraft Maker's Next Game: Hard-Core Space Sim

Minecraft Maker's Next Game: Hard-Core Space Sim: The well-known creator of the PC hit Minecraft, Markus "Notch" Persson, announced today that his next game project will be an ambitious multiplayer space travel simulation game that sounds somewhat similar to EVE Online.

New options for nuclear waste? Crushing pressure surprisingly opens up nanopores in mineral

New options for nuclear waste? Crushing pressure surprisingly opens up nanopores in mineral: By squeezing a porous solid, scientists surprisingly made its cavities open wider, letting in -- and trapping -- europium ions. Given the similarities between europium and uranium ions, the team thinks the innovation could represent a promising new avenue for nuclear waste processing.

Chevy Volt To Resume Production One Week Early Following Record Sales

Chevy Volt To Resume Production One Week Early Following Record Sales:



surewouldoutlaw writes "On the heels of the news that the Chevy Volt had a record month, selling 2,289 units in March, the Detroit-Hamtramck plant where the car is made will be resuming production of the car one week early, reducing a five-week shutdown to just four weeks, the United Auto Workers union said Tuesday. The shutdown had been put in place to re-align supply with demand. Volt workers have also begun to lash out at Republican presidential candidates' criticisms of the car: 'They're attacking our car to get at the President...But our car is going to change the way America does business. It's a breath of fresh air.'"

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New forage plant prepares farmers for climate changes

New forage plant prepares farmers for climate changes: Plant researchers have developed a new type of the corn-like crop sorghum, which may become very significant for food supplies in drought-prone areas. Unlike the conventional drought-resistant sorghum plant, which is an important crop in Africa, China and the USA, this new type does not form toxic cyanide when exposed to long-term drought.

Self-Sustaining Solar Reactor Creates Clean Hydrogen

Self-Sustaining Solar Reactor Creates Clean Hydrogen:



An anonymous reader writes "A mechanical engineer working out of the University of Delaware has come up with a way to produce hydrogen without any undesirable emissions such as carbon dioxide. The solar reactor is capable of using sunlight to increase the heat inside its cylindrical structure above 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Zinc oxide powder is then gravity fed through 15 hoppers into the ceramic interior where it converts to a zinc vapor. At that point the vapor is reacted with water separately, which in turn produces hydrogen. If the prototype gets through 6 weeks of testing at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology located in Zurich, we could see it scaled up to industrial size, producing emission-free hydrogen."

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Yoga shows psychological benefits for high-school students

Yoga shows psychological benefits for high-school students: Yoga classes have positive psychological effects for high-school students, according to a pilot study.

Older subjects who regularly practise Tai Chi found to have better arterial compliance and greater muscle strength

Older subjects who regularly practise Tai Chi found to have better arterial compliance and greater muscle strength: Older subjects who regularly practise Tai Chi found to have better arterial compliance and greater muscle strength than non-practitioners. Exercise which can achieve both cardiovascular function and muscle strength "would be a preferred mode of training for older persons", say investigators. Experienced practitioners of Tai Chi, the traditional Chinese mind-body exercise now enjoyed worldwide, have been shown in a study of older subjects to have improved expansion and contraction of arteries according to cardiac pulsation (arterial compliance) and improved knee muscle strength.

Do Tablets Help Children Learn?

Do Tablets Help Children Learn?:
hypnosec writes "With the wide array of electronic devices available in our everyday lives, it appears that children have formed an attachment to a different kind of toy. According to the latest survey, 77 per cent of polled US, UK parents believe that iPads and other tablets are good educational tools that boost kids' creativity. Meanwhile, researchers in this field explain that it is a matter of balance — and a child's access to tablets and other similar electronic devices should be monitored. Specialists warn that using tablets in excess could cause attention deficit disorder and even autism, particularly at a very young age."

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New isotope measurement could alter history of early solar system

New isotope measurement could alter history of early solar system: The early days of our solar system might look quite different than previously thought, according to new research. The study used more sensitive instruments to find a different half-life for samarium, one of the isotopes used to chart the evolution of the solar system.

Nearly half of cancer survivors died from conditions other than cancer

Nearly half of cancer survivors died from conditions other than cancer: Although cancer recurrence may be the overriding fear for many survivors, nearly half of survivors from a recently presented study died from other conditions.

‘Positive stress’ helps protect eye from glaucoma

‘Positive stress’ helps protect eye from glaucoma: Working in mice, scientists have devised a treatment that prevents the optic nerve injury that occurs in glaucoma, a neurodegenerative disease that is a leading cause of blindness.

Polish Government To Deliver Free Textbooks For All Kids Grades 4-6

Polish Government To Deliver Free Textbooks For All Kids Grades 4-6:



rekrutacja writes "Today the Polish government started a Digital School pilot program, which includes distributing e-textbooks. This came after a years-long effort by the Open Education Coalition and its members to persuade policy makers, that Open Educational Resources are the future of education. The last few months have been especially eventful, as the free textbooks part of the program was dropped by the Ministry of Education and reinstated again by the Prime Minister Office."

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Treadmill Spills