Clark Science Center Intranet

Trials of the Cherokee were reflected in their skulls
Researchers have found that environmental stressors -- from the Trail of Tears to the Civil War -- led to significant changes in the shape of skulls in the eastern and western bands of the Cherokee people. The findings highlight the role of environmental factors in shaping our physical characteristi...

Making new materials an atomic layer at a time
Researchers have shown the ability to grow high quality, single-layer materials one on top of the other using chemical vapor deposition. This highly scalable technique, often used in the semiconductor industry, can produce new materials with unique properties that could be applied to solar cells, ul...

Irrigated agriculture: precious habitat for the long-billed curlew
Despite the recent rainfall, California is still in a drought, so not only are water supplies limited, but demand for water is increasing from a variety of uses. In a recent study, scientists document the importance of irrigated agricultural crops in California's Central Valley to a conspicuous shor...

Using video surveillance to measure peoples' hand washing habits
Use of video surveillance to better understand essential hygiene behavior has been pioneered by researchers. Still, despite years of global public awareness campaigns, hand washing rates remain low. Caregivers of young children in low-income, developing world settings are found to wash their hands o...

Ant colonies help evacuees in disaster zones
An escape route mapping system based on the behavior of ant colonies could give evacuees a better chance of reaching safe harbor after a natural disaster or terrorist attack by building a map showing the shortest routes to shelters and providing regular updates of current situations such as fires, b...

How toddlers learn verbs: New insight
Parents can help toddlers' language skills by showing them a variety of examples of different actions, according to new research. Previous research has shown that verbs pose particular difficulties to toddlers as they refer to actions rather than objects, and actions are often different each time a ...

Researchers propose network-based evaluation tool to assess relief operations...
The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction reported that disasters have affected around 2.9 billion people worldwide from 2000-2012- killing more than a million, and damaging around 1.7 trillion US dollars in estimates. Moreover, natural disasters and their damages have been documented to...

Global scientific team 'visualizes' a new crystallization process
By combining a synchrotron's bright X-ray beam with high speed X-ray cameras, scientists shot a 'movie' showing how organic molecules form into crystals. This is a first. Their new techniques will improve our understanding of crystal packing and should help lead to better electronic devices as well ...

Augmented Reality: Bringing History and the Future to Life
Have you ever wished you had a virtual time machine that could show you how your street looked last century? Or have you wanted to see how your new furniture might look, before you?ve even bought it? Thanks to new research you can now do just that.

Progress in understanding immune response in severe schistosomiasis
A mechanism that may help explain the severe forms of schistosomiasis, or snail fever, has been discovered by researchers. Schistosomiasis is one of the most prevalent parasitic diseases in the world. The study in mice may also offer targets for intervention and amelioration of the disease. Although...

Fighting neuroblastomas by blocking DNA replication, repair
PCNA is a protein essential to DNA repair and replication, and researchers are targeting it in neuroblastoma cells in order to halt tumor growth and induce cell death. Neuroblastoma is one of the deadliest childhood cancers, accounting for 15 percent of pediatric cancer deaths. For patients with hig...

Relieving electric vehicle range anxiety with improved batteries
A new nanomaterial called a metal organic framework could extend the lifespan of lithium-sulfur batteries, which could be used to increase the driving range of electric vehicles. Researchers added the powder, a kind of nanomaterial called a metal organic framework, to the battery's cathode to captur...

Computer software analyzing facial expressions accurately predicts student te...
Real-time engagement detection technology that processes facial expressions can perform with accuracy comparable to that of human observers, according to new research. The study used automatic expression recognition technology to analyze students' facial expressions on a frame-by-frame basis and est...

Diverse gene pool critical for tigers' survival, say experts
Increasing tigers' genetic diversity -- via interbreeding and other methods -- and not just their population numbers may be the best solution to saving this endangered species, according to research. Iconic symbols of power and beauty, wild tigers may roam only in stories someday soon. Their histori...

Body mass index associated with breast cancer, regardless of body shape
A larger waist circumference is associated with higher risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, but not beyond its contribution to BMI, a new study of predominantly white women finds. The study fails to confirm previous findings that body shape itself is an independent risk factor for breast cancer.

Scientists achieve first direct observations of excitons in motion
A quasiparticle called an exciton -- responsible for the transfer of energy within devices such as solar cells, LEDs, and semiconductor circuits -- has been understood theoretically for decades. But exciton movement within materials has never been directly observed. Now scientists have achieved that...

A small connection with big implications: Wiring up carbon-based electronics
Carbon-based nanostructures such as nanotubes, graphene sheets, and nanoribbons are unique building blocks showing versatile nanomechanical and nanoelectronic properties. These materials which are ordered in the nanoscale, that is, in the dimension of a millionth of millimeter, are promising candida...

Potential use of Google Glass in surgical settings
A new article shows the potential applications for Google Glass in the surgical setting, particularly in relation to training. Personal portable information technology is advancing at a breathtaking speed. Google has recently introduced Glass, a device that is worn like conventional glasses, but tha...

A study in scarlet: Hot newborn stars formed out of the clouds
An area of the southern sky, in the constellation of Centaurus (The Centaur), is home to many bright nebulae, each associated with hot newborn stars that formed out of the clouds of hydrogen gas. The intense radiation from the stellar newborns excites the remaining hydrogen around them, making the g...

Masculine boys, feminine girls more likely to engage in cancer risk behaviors
The most ?feminine? girls and ?masculine? boys are more likely than their peers to engage in behaviors that pose cancer risks, according to a new study. The most feminine teenage girls use tanning beds more frequently and are more likely to be physically inactive, while the most masculine teenage bo...