news from the lab

Life Sciences - History/Philosophy - 26.01
Survey suggests family history of psychiatric disorders shapes intellectual interests
by Morgan Kelly A hallmark of the individual is the cultivation of personal interests, but for some people, their intellectual pursuits might actually be genetically predetermined. Survey results published by Princeton University researchers in the journal PLoS ONE suggest that a family history of psychiatric conditions such as autism and depression could influence the subjects a person finds engaging.

History/Philosophy - 14.11.2011
Killing one to save many has psychopathic component, but may have value
Promoting actions that lead to the most good for the most people seems like a good strategy. But those who are likely to endorse this utilitarian approach to ethics, in fact, are more likely to possess psychopathic or Machiavellian (cunning and duplicitous) personality traits and view life as less meaningful, reports a Cornell study.

History/Philosophy - 18.07.2011
Oldest known Eucalyptus fossils found in South America
Fossils of leaves, flowers, fruits and buds found in Patagonia, Argentina, have been identified as Eucalyptus and date to 51.9 million years ago, making them the oldest scientifically validated Eucalyptus macrofossils and the only ones conclusively identified as naturally occurring outside of Australasia.

Medicine/Pharmacology - History/Philosophy - 29.06.2011
CT scans significantly more effective than chest X-rays in reducing lung cancer deaths
Current and former heavy smokers screened with low-dose spiral computed tomography (CT) scanning had a 20 percent greater reduction in lung cancer deaths than those screened with conventional chest X-rays, according to the results of a large, decade-long clinical trial involving more than 53,000 people.

Medicine/Pharmacology - History/Philosophy - 22.06.2011
Slowing the spread of drug-resistant diseases Is goal of new research
In the war between drugs and drug-resistant diseases, is the current strategy for medicating patients giving many drug-resistant diseases a big competitive advantage? That is the question being asked in a research paper that will be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Earth Sciences - History/Philosophy - 25.05.2011
End of Snowball Earth Ice Age
Finds that rocks used as key geologic evidence were formed deep within Earth millions of years after the ice age ended PASADENA, Calif.—There's a theory about how the Marinoan ice age—also known as the "Snowball Earth" ice age because of its extreme low temperatures—came to an abrupt end some 600 million years ago.

Earth Sciences - History/Philosophy - 4.04.2011
Did dinosaurs have lice Researchers say it’s possible
CHAMPAIGN, lll. - A new study louses up a popular theory of animal evolution and opens up the possibility that dinosaurs were early - perhaps even the first - animal hosts of lice. The study, in Biology Letters, uses fossils and molecular data to track the evolution of lice and their hosts.

History/Philosophy - 16.03.2011
Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies to host French journalist Meir Waintrater
The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota is hosting Meïr Waintrater, French journalist and editor-in-chief of L'Arche, the premier magazine of the Jewish community in France.

Psychology - History/Philosophy - 1.03.2011
African American Teenagers More Supportive of Affirmative Action, School Desegregation Than White Youth, Study Finds
AUSTIN, Texas — African American teenagers are significantly more supportive than whites of affirmative action and school desegregation, according to a new psychology study from The University of Texas at Austin.

History/Philosophy - Physics/Astronomy - 23.02.2011
Columbia Professor Investigates History on Popular PBS Show
When a British television producer called Gwendolyn Wright a decade ago to ask if she would be interested in hosting a new TV show, she quipped, “You do realize I'm a 55-year-old woman?” Age, it turns out, did not matter.

History/Philosophy - Agronomy/Food Science - 14.02.2011
Ancient Mesoamerican sculpture uncovered in southern Mexico
With one arm raised and a determined scowl, the figure looks ready to march right off his carved tablet and into the history books. If only we knew who he was — corn god? Tribal chief? Sacred priest? "It's beautiful and was obviously very important," says University of Wisconsin-Madison archaeologist John Hodgson of the newly discovered stone monument.

History/Philosophy - Official Event - 17.11.2010
Probing Question: Was Christopher Columbus Jewish?
By Solmaz Barazesh Research/Penn State Five centuries after his death, Christopher Columbus remains a mysterious and controversial figure. Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece all claim the celebrated navigator and explorer as one of their own, yet there are few accurate records pertaining to Columbus' personal life and identity.

Earth Sciences - History/Philosophy - 16.11.2010
Study rewrites the evolutionary history of C4 grasses
CHAMPAIGN, lll. - According to a popular hypothesis, grasses such as maize, sugar cane, millet and sorghum got their evolutionary start as a result of a steep drop in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels during the Oligocene epoch, more than 23 million years ago.

History/Philosophy - Medicine/Pharmacology - 25.10.2010
Common anxiety disorders make it tougher to quit cigarettes
Researchers may have pinpointed a reason many smokers struggle to quit. According to new research published in the journal Addiction, smokers with a history of anxiety disorders are less likely to quit smoking.

History/Philosophy - 7.10.2010
Moral of the story: Study finds we invoke ethical principles to justify our actions
Is it morally appropriate to sacrifice the life of an innocent person to save the lives of several others? David Pizarro, Cornell assistant professor of psychology, put a fresh spin on this classic question from philosophy.