Futurity.org » Northwestern University

Sports stats show why lefties are rare

Megan Fellman-Northwestern — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:57:33 +0000

NORTHWESTERN (US) — Left-handed people are relatively rare because of the balance between cooperation and competition in human evolution, according to a new study of sports data.

Representing only 10 percent of the general human population, left-handers have been viewed with suspicion and persecuted across history. The word “sinister” even derives from “left or left-hand.”

Researchers at Northwestern University now report that a high degree of cooperation, not something odd or sinister, plays a key role in the rarity of left-handedness.

New blood test detects teen depression

Marla Paul-Northwestern — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:26:52 +0000

NORTHWESTERN (US) — A new blood test diagnoses major depression in teens—an approach that offers an objective diagnosis by measuring a specific set of genetic markers.

The current method of diagnosing depression is subjective. It relies on the patient’s ability to recount his or her symptoms and the physician’s ability and training to interpret them.

Diagnosing teens is an urgent concern because they are highly vulnerable to depression and difficult to accurately diagnose due to normal mood changes during this age period.

Brain signals move hand, but not via spine

Marla Paul-Northwestern — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:40:51 +0000

NORTHWESTERN (US) — A new device delivers messages from the brain directly to muscles—bypassing the spinal cord—to enable voluntary and complex movement of a paralyzed hand.

The device could eventually be tested on, and perhaps aid, paralyzed patients.

“We are eavesdropping on the natural electrical signals from the brain that tell the arm and hand how to move, and sending those signals directly to the muscles,” says Lee E. Miller, professor in neuroscience at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the lead investigator of the study, which was published in Nature.

To control a network, find the pattern

Megan Fellman-Northwestern — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:31:54 +0000

NORTHWESTERN (US) — A new article discusses how networks governing processes in nature and society are becoming increasingly amenable to modeling, forecast, and control.

The article, by a Northwestern University complex networks expert, establishes relationships between seemingly disparate topics such as the friendship paradox—by which our friends have on average more friends than we do—and why carbon can result in a hard diamond or the softer material graphite.

“Many broadly significant scientific questions, ranging from self-organization and information flow to systemic robustness, can now be properly formalized within the emerging theory of networks,” says Adilson E. Motter, professor of physics and astronomy. “I was thus humbled to be invited to write such a timely piece.”

Gold nanostars hitch a ride to attack cancer

Megan Fellman-Northwestern — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 18:24:53 +0000

NORTHWESTERN (US) — A simple but specialized nanoparticle delivers drugs directly to a cancer cell’s nucleus—offering new possibilities for effective, targeted therapies.

“Our drug-loaded gold nanostars are tiny hitchhikers,” says Teri W. Odom, professor of chemistry and of materials science and engineering at Northwestern University, who led the study of human cervical and ovarian cancer cells.

Is diet soda healthy? Depends on what you eat

Patric Lane-UNC — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 18:35:59 +0000

UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US) — New research sheds light on how zero-calorie sodas may affect health, especially in the context of a person’s overall dietary habits.

A number of studies have implicated drinking diet beverages as a cause of cardiovascular disease. Others have suggested such drinks may be a viable tactic for people who are trying to lose or control weight.

Stamp tool directs stem cell fate

Megan Fellman-Northwestern — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 15:49:42 +0000

NORTHWESTERN (US) — A new tool utilizes a technique called polymer pen lithography to direct stem cell differentiation.

Out of millions of possibilities, researchers used the tool to rapidly identify the chemical and physical structures that can cue stem cells to become osteocytes, cells found in mature bone.

As climate warmed, early horses shrank

Danielle Torrent-Florida — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:46:01 +0000

U. FLORIDA (US) — Past climate warming resulted in tiny horses, a finding that suggests mammals shrink when temperatures rise.

In a study appearing in the journal Science, researchers led by scientists from the University of Florida and the University of Nebraska found a correlation between temperature and body size in mammals by following the evolution of the earliest horses about 56 million years ago: As temperatures increased, their body size decreased.

New Alzheimer’s drugs botch brain’s wiring

Marla Paul-Northwestern — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:06:06 +0000

NORTHWESTERN (US) — Alzheimer’s drugs currently in clinical trials may have potentially adverse side effects, including memory damage.

A Northwestern University study with mice suggests the drugs could act like a bad electrician, and cause neurons to be miswired and interfere with their ability to send messages to the brain.

Tune graphene to rival silicon

Jasmine Rangel-Northwestern — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:57:06 +0000

NORTHWESTERN (US) — A new way to chemically alter graphene may lead to the creation of faster, thinner, flexible electronics.

Highly desired for its many promising attributes, graphene is a one-atom thick, honeycomb-shaped lattice of carbon atoms with exceptional strength and conductivity. Many experts believe it could rival silicon by transforming integrated circuits, leading to ultra-fast computers, cellphones, and related portable electronic devices.