Clark Science Center Intranet

Creative genius driven by distraction
The literary great Marcel Proust wore ear-stoppers because he was unable to filter out irrelevant noise -- and lined his bedroom with cork to attenuate sound. Now new research suggests why the inability to shut out competing sensory information while focusing on the creative project at hand might ha...

Far from home: Wayward star cluster is both tiny and distant
Like the lost little puppy that wanders too far from home, astronomers have found an unusually small and distant group of stars that seems oddly out of place. The cluster, made of only a handful of stars, is located far away, in the Milky Way's 'suburbs.' It is located where astronomers have never s...

Air pollution linked to slower cognitive development in children
Attendance at schools exposed to high levels of traffic-related air pollution is linked to slower cognitive development among 7- to 10-year-old children in Barcelona, according to a new study.

Highly sensitive detection of malaria parasites
New assays can detect malaria parasites in human blood at very low levels and might be helpful in the campaign to eradicate malaria, reports a new study. An international team led by Ingrid Felger, took advantage of genes that have multiple copies in the parasite genome to reveal parasites present a...

Real estate bidding wars aren't going away, experts say
Frenzy, frustration and disappointment are what home buyers have come to dread about real estate bidding wars. They'd better get used to it, suggests a new study. Once a rarity -- representing between 3 and 4 per cent -- homes sold through bidding wars tripled their market share during the real esta...

ADHD plus childhood trauma heightens risk for self-harm, suicide
Young women with ADHD who have been exposed to abuse, neglect or other traumas in childhood and adolescence are at greater risk for self-injury, eating disorders and suicide than those with ADHD who were not mistreated in early youth, according to new research.

Lasting severe weather impact found in feathers of young birds
While studying a ground-nesting bird population near El Reno, Okla., a research team found that stress during a severe weather outbreak of May 31, 2013, had manifested itself into malformations in the growing feathers of the young birds. The team witnessed a phenomenon termed 'pallid bands' in a lar...

Adults only really catch flu about twice a decade, suggests study
Adults over the age of 30 only catch flu about twice a decade, a new study suggests. So, while it may feel like more, flu-like illness can be caused by many pathogens, making it difficult to assess how often people are infected by influenza.

Bans don't help smokers quit, researchers say
No significant change in home habits of smokers have been observed in the aftermath of a ban on smoking in public spaces, researchers report. Greater inspiration to kick the habit likely comes from having friends or family who set an example by giving up cigarettes themselves, the authors write.

Poor heart function could be major risk for Alzheimer's disease
Heart function has been associated with the development of dementia and Alzheimer's disease through a new study. Participants with decreased heart function, measured by cardiac index, were two to three times more likely to develop significant memory loss over the follow-up period.

A new level of earthquake understanding: Surprise findings from San Andreas F...
Researchers studied quartz from the San Andreas Fault at the microscopic scale, the scale at which earthquake-triggering stresses originate. The results could one day lead to a better understanding of earthquakes.

Understanding electric car 'range anxiety' could be key to wider acceptance
Drivers have been slow to adopt electric vehicles due to 'range anxiety,' the fear of becoming stranded with an empty battery. This phenomenon was recently addressed in a study that aims to explain range anxiety and determine whether hands-on experience can reduce drivers' stress.

3-D printed parts provide low-cost, custom alternatives for lab equipment
The 3-D printing scene, a growing favorite of do-it-yourselfers, has spread to the study of plasma physics. With a series of experiments, researchers have found that 3-D printers can be an important tool in laboratory environments.

Divorce fuels kids' sugary beverage consumption, study finds
Children of recently separated or divorced families are likelier to drink sugar-sweetened beverages than children in families where the parents are married, putting them at higher risk for obesity later in life, according to a new study. Maintaining family routines such as eating a regular dinner or...

Tools can identify nations vulnerable to Ebola and aid response, analysis finds
Ebola remains a serious problem in parts of West Africa and the experiences in affected areas may provide lessons for future public health emergencies. A set of tools newly created may help identify nations that are vulnerable to future outbreaks of Ebola or other emergencies. The tools evaluate a n...

Researchers investigate possible colon cancer risk for new generation of weig...
Gastric bypass and similar stomach-shrinking surgeries are a popular option for obese patients looking to lose weight or treat type 2 diabetes. While the surgeries have been linked to a decreased risk in many cancers, the single outlier is colon cancer. Scientists now present work in mice that could...

High-salt diet could protect against invading microbes
Most people consume more salt than they need and therefore have a higher risk of heart disease and stroke, which are the two leading causes of death worldwide. But a new study reveals that dietary salt could have a biological advantage: Defending the body against invading microbes. A high-salt diet ...

Marijuana: The allergen you never knew existed
As marijuana?s legal status throughout the country continues to change, people should know it can cause allergic reactions.

Pregnant women with asthma need to curb urge to ask for antibiotics
Twice as many children born to mothers who took antibiotics during pregnancy were diagnosed with asthma by age 3 than children born to mothers who didn?t take prenatal antibiotics, a new study has shown.

Outcomes of lung transplantations since implementation of need-based allocati...
Since implementation of a medical need-based allocation system of donor lungs in 2005, double-lung transplantation has been associated with better graft survival than single-lung transplantation in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF); at 5 years, there has been no survival difference b...