Futurity.org » Iowa State University

Why parents can’t rely on video game ratings

Mike Ferlazzo-Iowa State — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:25:19 +0000

IOWA STATE (US) —Not all E-rated video games are created equal. New research indicates content matters more than ratings when it comes to effects on kids.

The findings come from three studies, one of which is the first experimental study on children (ages 9-14) comparing the short-term behavioral effects of playing prosocial, neutral, and violent video games.

One plant yields 3 clues to biofuel crops

Mike Krapfl-Iowa State — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:50:57 +0000

IOWA STATE (US) — Knowing the function of three plant proteins could help scientists raise seed oil yield in crops, a potential windfall for the bioeconomy.

The analysis of gene activity by researchers at Iowa State University and determination of protein structures by scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences independently identified three related proteins that appear to be involved in fatty-acid metabolism. The researchers used thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) as the model plant.

The research groups then joined forces to test this hypothesis, demonstrating a role of these proteins in regulating the amounts and types of fatty acids accumulated in plants.

To compete with Wal-Mart, local stores find niche

Mike Ferlazzo-Iowa State — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:20:35 +0000

IOWA STATE (US) — In the 15 years after Wal-Mart’s arrival, small towns in Iowa showed moderate increases in total retail sales, according to a new study.

Control communities in the study—those without Wal-Mart stores—didn’t match the retail sales growth of the Wal-Mart host towns, but their sales also largely stabilized during the same 15-year period. The study, which will be published in a future issue of Economic Development Quarterly, looked at town with between 3,000 and 20,000 people.

Ken Stone, an Iowa State University emeritus economics professor and Georgeanne Artz, a visiting assistant professor of economics in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, have been studying the economic impact of Wal-Mart stores dotting the Iowa landscape since 1988.

Customer ‘tribes’ foster brand loyalty

Andy Henion-Michigan State — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 19:43:46 +0000

MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Customers are more likely to be loyal to a brand when other customers look and act like they do, new research finds.

Surprisingly, the presence and behavior of other customers is just as important to brand loyalty as customer service, says marketing expert Clay Voorhees of Michigan State University.

Hostility on screen may lead to real aggression

Mike Ferlazzo-Iowa State — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:56:48 +0000

IOWA STATE (US) — Watching video clips of hostile behavior—such as gossip and emotional bullying—may prime the brain for aggression, a new study finds.

“What this study shows is that relational aggression actually can cause a change in the way you think,” says Douglas Gentile, associate professor of psychology at Iowa State University who runs the Media Research Lab. “And that matters because of course, how you think can change your behavior.”

Spider silk conducts heat better than silicon

Mike Krapfl-Iowa State — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 15:18:50 +0000

IOWA STATE (US) — In the search for organic heat conductors, researchers have discovered spider silks transfer heat better than silicon, aluminum, and pure iron.

Spider silks—particularly the draglines that anchor webs in place—also conduct heat 1,000 times better than woven silkworm silk and 800 times better than other organic tissues.

Mutant cellulose yields biofuel more easily

Mike Krapfl-Iowa State — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:07:32 +0000

IOWA STATE (US) — Genetic mutations to cellulose in plants could improve the conversion of cellulosic biomass into biofuels.

Researchers at Iowa State University and seven other institutions studied Arabidopsis thaliana, a common model plant in research studies, and its cellulose synthase membrane complex, which produces the microfibrils of cellulose that surround all plant cells and form the basic structure of plant cell walls.

Are videogames good or bad … or both?

Mike Ferlazzo-Iowa State — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:57:20 +0000

IOWA STATE (US) —Videogames are powerful learning tools but the lessons—positive or negative—depend on the game, according to a new study.

To parents who just purchased new videogames for their kids this holiday season, associate professor of psychology at Iowa State University Douglas Gentile says that it’s not simply a “black and white” issue when it comes to how video games affect the brain.

Two new planets survive red-giant blast

Mike Krapfl-Iowa State — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:30:13 +0000

IOWA STATE (US) — Astronomers have discovered two Earth-sized planets that survived getting caught in the red-giant expansion of their host star.

Steve Kawaler, professor of physics and astronomy at Iowa State University and a leader of the Kepler Asteroseismic Investigation, helped the research team study data from the Kepler space telescope to confirm that tiny variations of light from a star were actually caused by two planets of that star.