science wire

Huts, artifacts in Jordanian excavation offer new perspectives on life 20,000 years ago
Excavation underway at Kharaneh IV site in eastern Jordan reveals 20,000-year-old huts and artifacts shedding new light on hunter-gatherers' lives. (Photo © by Lisa A. Maher) A  joint team of American, British, Danish and Jordanian archaeologists working in eastern Jordan has announced its discovery of 20,000-year-old hut structures, the earliest yet found in that country.

Desert footprints reveal ancient origins of elephants’ social lives
A cluster of ancient footprints in the Arabian desert offers the clearest evidence yet for the early origins of modern elephants' social structure, according to a Yale-led research team. Roughly seven million years old, the prints represent the movements of at least 14 prehistoric elephants through the inland desert of the Arab Emirate of Abu Dhabi, anthropologists report in a paper published on Feb.

Conference Marks Honorary Professorship for W.E.B. Du Bois
The posthumous recognition of W.E.B. Du Bois as Honorary Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania will be celebrated at a Feb.

ISS fellowships free some of Cornell’s top social scientists to pursue research
The Institute for the Social Sciences (ISS) at Cornell will sponsor 12 of the university's most promising social scientists for one semester, enabling them to pursue their research, free from teaching and most departmental duties.

Friday webcast to feature UChicago Crime Lab forum with key city leaders, experts
The challenge of reducing youth violence in Chicago will be the subject of a Friday, Feb. 10 forum featuring city officials and scholars from the University of Chicago Crime Lab and the Urban Education Lab.

University of Chicago Medicine, CeaseFire partner to address violence
In an effort to address urban violence on the South Side, the University of Chicago Medicine is partnering with CeaseFire Chicago to sponsor a “Violence Interrupter,” who will focus on monitoring, mediating and defusing disputes in neighborhoods that the medical campus serves.

Expert Insight on Kim Jong Un and North Korea’s Future
Fourteen years ago, North Korea's calendar was changed so that time officially began in 1912—the birth year of Kim Il Sung, who ruled the communist nation from its founding in 1948.

Adolescents from Unstable Families Lose Ground in Rigorous High Schools
AUSTIN, Texas — The type of school a child attends may exacerbate the negative effect that family instability has on academic performance, according to a new study in the January issue of Sociology of Education .

Consumer confidence improves in January due to job gains
ANN ARBOR, Mich - Consumer confidence continued to improve in January due to positive news about potential job gains, according to University of Michigan economist Richard Curtin, director of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.

Penn Anthropologists Clarify Link Between Asians and Early Native Americans
A tiny mountainous region in southern Siberia may have been the genetic source of the earliest Native Americans, according to new research by a University of Pennsylvania-led team of anthropologists. Lying at the intersection of what is today Russia, Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan, the region known as the Altai "is a key area because it's a place that people have been coming and going for thousands and thousands of years," said Theodore Schurr , an associate professor in Penn's Department of Anthropology.

Penn Launches Center for the Study of Contemporary China
University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann , Provost Vincent Price and Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Rebecca Bushnell are pleased to announce the launch of the Center for the Study of Contemporary China.

Rare Posters, Drawings From the Spanish Civil War on View at Geisel Library Through May 11, 2012
All images from the Southworth Spanish Civil War Collection in the UC San Diego Mandeville Special Collections Library "So There Will Be No Forgetting: Images from the Spanish Civil War," an exhib

Expert on the Arab Spring on the 1st anniversary of the Egyptian revolution
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - As the first anniversary of the Egyptian revolution approaches on Jan. 25, sociologist Mansoor Moaddel is available to discuss trends in religious, political and cultural values in Egypt and other Arab countries.

Fred Conrad to direct U-M Program in Survey Methodology
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Cognitive psychologist Frederick Conrad has been appointed director of the University of Michigan Program in Survey Methodology, based at the Institute for Social Research.

’The Social Network’: Charles Dickens wrote the script
He looked at the technological revolution unfolding around him and recognized the possibility for new kinds of social networks, and the insight catapulted him to the pinnacle of his field and changed popular culture forever.

U-M experts available to discuss developments in U.S.-Myanmar relations
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - A senior U.S. senator and France's foreign minister are visiting Myanmar as Washington moves toward restoring full diplomatic ties after scores of high-profile political prisoners are freed in the Southeast Asian nation.

Stanford expert discusses Kim Jong Il’s death and what’s next for North Korea
People read an extra edition of a newspaper reporting the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Seoul.

Japanese quake survivors tell their story with photos
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The overripe cucumber dangles from a vine in a photo snapped by a woman who survived the earthquake and tsunami that ravaged northeastern Japan.

China’s economic stability depends on more education, Stanford economist says
The playground outside a Beijing school for migrant students is overlooked by the cooling towers and smokestacks of a power plant.

Examining the changing face of Christianity
A century ago, 80 per cent of the world's Christians lived in Europe and North America; today, nearly 70 per cent live in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, making Christianity a predominantly non-Western religion.

War’s lasting legacy is a culture of violence -- see video
The civil wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia ended 10 years ago but these West African nations continue to struggle, partly because the wars created an economy based on warfare.

Syrian government, Hezbollah websites hosted in Canada, U.S., says Citizen Lab
The University of Toronto's Citizen Lab has found Canadian web servers are hosting websites connected to the Syrian government – including the website for Addounia TV, a television station accused of inciting violence against Syrian people.

Talk at the Brink
In October 1962, following the discovery of Soviet nuclear missile sites in Cuba, U.S. President John F. Kennedy called his top advisors together to determine America's response.

Welcome or not, the season of hospitality is coming
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - As the holidays approach, a University of Michigan anthropologist explains why entertaining others and being entertained can both be so nerve-wracking.

Rating Scale Successfully Predicts Suicide Attempts and Guides Intervention
Kelly Posner is trying to save lives. As director of the Center for Suicide Risk Assessment, she led a team from Columbia's Department of Psychiatry in developing a tool that successfully predicts suicidal intent.

Promise for teen suicide prevention
Roughly 1 million people die by suicide each year. In the U.S., where nearly 36,000 people take their own lives annually, more than 4,600 victims are between the ages of 10 and 24, making suicide the third leading cause of death in this age group. Youths treated at hospital emergency rooms for suicidal behavior remain at very high risk for future suicide attempts.

Political scientist Harold Wilensky dies at age 88
Harold L. Wilensky, professor emeritus of political science at the University of California, Berkeley, died at his Berkeley, Calif., home on Sunday, Oct.

Probing Question: How important is coming out of the closet?
By Melissa Beattie-Moss Research/Penn State What is life like for young gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered people in our nation today? Your impression might depend on which news report you happen to catch.

The Generation X Report: U-M survey paints a surprisingly positive portrait
Oct. 25, 2011 The Generation X Report: U-M survey paints a surprisingly positive portrait Listen to podcast ANN ARBOR, Mich.—They've been stereotyped as a bunch of insecure, angst-ridden, underachievers.

Lieberthal discusses U-M’s China ties, Chinese challenges
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Kenneth Lieberthal, a professor emeritus and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, returned to the University of Michigan to join ongoing celebrations for the Center for Chinese Studies' 50th anniversary.

Study Links Pollutants to a 450 Percent Increase in Risk of Birth Defects
AUSTIN, Texas — Pesticides and pollutants are related to a 450 percent increase in the risk of spina bifida and anencephaly in rural China, according to scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and Peking University.

Aung San Suu Kyi to receive U-M’s Wallenberg Medal, deliver lecture
Oct. 14, 2011 Aung San Suu Kyi to receive U-M's Wallenberg Medal, deliver lecture ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Aung San Suu Kyi, a Burmese human rights activist and Nobel Peace laureate, is the recipient of the 21st University of Michigan Wallenberg Medal.

Stanford wins National Poverty Research Center grant
A new web portal will make it possible for anyone – scholars, the general public and journalists – to track trends in hundreds of key measures of poverty and inequality and to gain access to the most important research on those trends.

Stanford helps bring human rights to community college classrooms
The "Stanford Human Rights Education Initiative" hopes to bring a gritty subject to every college curriculum.

Advance directives related to use of palliative care, lower Medicare end-of-life spending in many U.S. regions
Oct. 4, 2011 Advance directives related to use of palliative care, lower Medicare end-of-life spending in many U.S. regions ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Advance directives do have an impact on health care at the end of life, especially in regions of the country with high spending on end-of-life care, according to a University of Michigan study.

Growing up in bad neighborhoods has a ’devastating’ impact
Oct. 4, 2011 Growing up in bad neighborhoods has a 'devastating' impact Listen to podcast ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Growing up in a poor neighborhood significantly reduces the chances that a child will graduate from high school, according to a study published in the current (October) issue of the American Sociological Review.

Community effort brings lasting drop in smoking, delinquency, drug use
UW's Social Development Research Group UW School of Social Work Facebook page for Communities That Care Delaying the age when kids try alcohol or smoking decreases the likelihood that they will become dependent later in life. Effective interventions exist, but community disagreements about which programs to try can stymie decisions.

Science and humanities wed to explore origins and consequences of domesticated rice
At Cornell, studying the origins and spread of domesticated rice doesn't just involve plant geneticists; but a new course also includes insights from archaeology, geography, plant genetics, anthropology and linguistics.

U of M conference to address human rights writing
What: Conference on narrative writing and human rights Who: Emin Milli, James Dawes, Annette Kobak, and Vesna Goldsworthy When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Oct.

Historian mixes policy and personal stories in history of U.S. immigration
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - It's not one border, one time, that makes an immigrant, says Dorothee Schneider. It's not a matter of crossing over and you're done.

New online learning module gives children of domestic violence a voice
Media Note: For the Honor Our Voices electronic press kit, see www.honorourvoices.org/press.html. MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (09/27/2011) —Over half of the residents of battered women's shelters in the United States are children (National Network to End Domestic Violence, 2010).

Famed Chinese producer among participants at UCLA-USC media and culture conference
We're all familiar with the cartoon mouse made famous by Walt Disney more than 80 years ago. With his prominent black ears, white gloves, big yellow shoes and red shorts, Mickey Mouse is a worldwide icon.

Trappings of Parenthood Leads to Long-Term Weight Gain, New Study Shows
Sept. 22, 2011 AUSTIN, Texas — Parenthood accelerates weight gain over the life course according to a new study from The University of Texas at Austin. In a study to appear in Social Science and Medicine , Debra Umberson, professor of sociology at the university, found that adults with children gain significantly more weight over time than those without.

Abusive men likely to repeat violence if attraction to women is superficial
Sept. 22, 2011 Abusive men likely to repeat violence if attraction to women is superficial ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Abusive men who select partners mainly based on appearance are likely to be violent again after completing an abuser intervention program, according to a new University of Michigan study.

Book gives the skinny on wide-ranging obesity research
Along with a sharp rise in recent decades in worldwide obesity rates has come a flood of research on the subject - more than 66,000 papers in the past 10 years, according to one estimate.

Journalism School Announces 2011 Winners of Cabot Prizes for Latin American and Caribbean Reporting
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism has announced the 2011 winners of the Maria Moors Cabot Prizes for outstanding reporting on Latin America and the Caribbean.

The waning of American apartheid Residential segregation declines in U.S. metros
Sept. 1, 2011 The waning of American apartheid? Residential segregation declines in U.S. metros ANN ARBOR, Mich.—The ideal of equal housing opportunities is closer to becoming a reality in most major U.S. metro areas, according to a University of Michigan researcher.

Two 2011 graduates receive awards for papers based on their doctoral research
Sharon H. Kim, Ph.D. '11, and Christopher Yenkey, Ph.D. '11, received the Academy of Management's (AOM) William H. Newman Awards at the academy's annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, in early August.

Advertising in Violent Video Games Results in Poor Recall, Negative Brand Perception
Aug. 30, 2011 AUSTIN, Texas — Embedding advertisements in violent video games leads to lower brand recall and negative brand attitudes suggesting advertisers should think twice about including such ads in a media campaign, according to researchers at The University of Texas at Austin. Women in particular responded negatively to ads placed in violent video games.

Double damage: Partner violence impacts mental health of over half-million Californians
Victims who suffer violence at the hands of a spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend, or other intimate partner aren't only brutalized physically; they also suffer disproportionately higher rates of mental health distress, according to a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

When the Towers Fell: An Oral History of 9/11 and Its Aftermath
In the aftermath of 9/11, Mary Marshall Clark began noticing that a deep stillness had fallen over New York City.