News Articles

BETHLEHEM, PA (October 31, 2008)—A new study published in the September/October issue of the journal Marketing Science reveals the world's most innovative countries, with Japan and the Nordic countries earning top spots and the United States finishing in sixth.
The study, which evaluates 31 countries based on the time it takes for new products to takeoff, is among the most comprehensive research of its kind. Wherever applicable, researchers analyzed 16 different product categories over a time span of 50 years.
Findings of the study, titled, "The Global Takeoff of New Products: Culture, Wealth, or Vanishing Differences," include:

While it certainly can't hurt for Barack Obama to get millions of hits on YouTube with an 'Obama Girl' does it really help, or is John McCain's "Joe The Plumber" in traditional media just as good?  Dr. Paul Haridakis, associate professor of Communication Studies at Kent State University and a long-time scholar in the area of the impact of media on the political landscape in the U.S., is investigating the impact of hugely popular social media's impact on the upcoming presidential contest.

Ever wonder where all that food your teenager devoured was going? Not only does the food go into the teen's daily activities--running, doing homework, breathing and playing video games, but food converted to energy also fuels growth of new tissues--bones, vessels, cartilage, muscle.  In poorer areas of the world, part of the energy yielded by food might be deflected for the body's defense system in fighting disease. Children and teens in such conditions will not grow as tall or big as their healthy counterparts who were able to allocate more of their energy stores directly to growth.

In 2006, Al Gore alleged that Hurricane Katrina had been caused, or at least made worse, by global warming.    Bill Gray, one of the foremost hurricane experts in the world, disagreed.    Who was right?   Weather, and especially hurricanes, are not among things that are easy to predict but global warming is certain to have an impact.   What impact is all depending on what you want to believe.

Don't start feeling too secure about the so-called McEliece encryption system - a candidate for the security of Internet traffic in the age of the quantum computer, the predicted superpowerful computer of the future.Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in The Netherlands have managed to crack it.

Halloween is a holiday with lots of creepy wildlife associated with it, but are they really so creepy? From toads to bats to owls, the National Wildlife Federation shares the facts about these animals and what they are up to at this time of year, which might dispel a few myths. Bats - are they out for my blood?

The 2008 presidential campaign, as reflected in candidates' television spots, has been one of the most negative campaigns in history. A University of Missouri professor analyzed this year's candidates' television spots, including last night's 30-minute ad by Sen. Barack Obama and found that only one other campaign matched this level of negativity.
William Benoit, professor of communication in the College of Arts and Science, found that in television spots from 1952-2004, candidates averaged 40 percent attacks in their ad statements. In this year's race, the statements in Obama's ads were 68 percent negative compared to 62 percent for Sen. John McCain.

According to new research from the Monell Center, the degree of change in blood triglyceride levels following a fatty meal may indicate susceptibility to diet-induced obesity. The findings open doors to new methods of identifying people, including children, who are at risk for becoming obese. Triglycerides are a form of fat that is transported in the blood and stored in the body's fat tissues. They are found in foods and also are manufactured by the body. 

The largest such study ever published finds that while about 40 percent of women surveyed report having sexual problems only 12 percent indicate that those issues are a source of significant personal distress. The report led by a Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) physician appears in the November issue of Obstetrics&Gynecology. 

You have a burning chest pain and a doctor looks at a squiggly-lined graph to determine the cause. That graph, an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), can help the doctor decide whether you're having a heart attack or an acid attack from last night's spaghetti. Correct interpretation may prompt life-saving, emergency measures; incorrect interpretation may delay care with life-threatening consequences. Currently, there is no uniform way to teach doctors in training how to interpret an ECG or assess their competence in the interpretation.

The 5,300 year old human mummy dubbed Öetzi (or ‘the Tyrolean Iceman’)  is highly unlikely to have modern day relatives, according to new research published today by a team of scientists from Italy and the UK. They have sequenced Öetzi’s entire mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genome, which is passed down through the maternal line, and found that he belonged to a genetic lineage that is either extremely rare or has died out.The research has generated the oldest complete Homo sapiens mtDNA genome to date, and overturns previous research conducted in 1994 on a small section of Öetzi’s mtDNA, which suggested that relatives of Öetzi may still exist in Europe.

Can't get enough of The Beatles?   Two days ago we disclosed that a mathematician using Fourier transform had unlocked the secret of the 'mystery' chord in "A Hard Day's Night" and now The Beatles are back again - in a video game.
Apple Corps, along with EMI Music, Harrisongs Ltd, and Sony/ATV Music Publishing, have agreed to present The Beatles music in an interactive video game format, to be published by MTV Games and developed by Harmonix.