Clark Science Center Intranet

You are what you eat: Why do male consumers avoid vegetarian options?
Why are men generally more reluctant to try vegetarian products? According to a new study consumers are influenced by a strong association of meat with masculinity.

Trusting Tiger Woods: How do facial cues affect preference and trust?
People respond to facial cues and this affects their level of trust, according to a new study that looks at the way consumers react to morphed photo images.

Listening to chickens could improve poultry production
Listening to squawks and other chicken "vocalizations" using digital signal processing techniques may help farmers better manage growing conditions, contributing to both healthier birds and more productive poultry operations.

Want to avoid erectile dysfunction following prostate cancer surgery? Find an...
A new study suggests that men undergoing robotic-assisted surgery for prostate cancer should look for a doctor who has performed at least 1,000 surgeries and who actively seeks to improve and enhance his surgical skills to help ensure a successful post-surgery recovery of erectile function.

NASA lends Galaxy Evolution Explorer to Caltech
NASA is lending the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, where the spacecraft will continue its exploration of the cosmos. In a first-of-a-kind move for NASA, a Space Act Agreement was signed May 14 so the university soon can resume space...

Sumatra faces yet another risk: Major volcanic eruptions
The early April earthquake of magnitude 8.6 that shook Sumatra was a grim reminder of the devastating earthquakes and tsunami that killed tens of thousands of people in 2004 and 2005. Now a new study shows that the residents of that region are at risk from yet another potentially deadly natural phen...

Human genes transplanted into zebrafish: Helps identify genes related to auti...
Researchers have transplanted a set of human genes into a zebrafish and then used it to identify genes responsible for head size at birth. This finding also is related to some cases of autism and possibly schizophrenia and childhood obesity.

Colorful butterflies increase their odds of survival by sharing traits
Bright black-and-red butterflies that flit across the sunlit edges of Amazonian rain forests are natural hedonists, and it does them good, according to new genetic data.

Alzheimer's gene causes brain's blood vessels to leak toxins and die
ApoE4, a well-known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease triggers a cascade of signaling that ultimately results in leaky blood vessels in the brain, allowing toxic substances to pour into brain tissue in large amounts, scientists report.

Graphite enters different states of matter in ultrafast experiment
For the first time, scientists have seen an X-ray-irradiated mineral go to two different states of matter in about 40 femtoseconds. Scientists heated graphite to induce a transition from solid to liquid and to warm-dense plasma.

People with paralysis control robotic arms to reach and grasp using brain com...
Two people with tetraplegia were able to reach for and grasp objects in three-dimensional space with robotic arms that they controlled directly with brain activity. They used the BrainGate neural interface system, an investigational device currently being studied under an IDE. One participant used t...

Paralyzed individuals use thought-controlled robotic arm to reach and grasp
In an ongoing clinical trial, a paralyzed woman was able to reach for and sip from a drink on her own -- for the first time in nearly 15 years -- by using her thoughts to direct a robotic arm. The trial, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, is evaluating the safety and feasibility of...

Humanmade pollutants may be driving Earth's tropical belt expansion: May impa...
Black carbon aerosols and tropospheric ozone, both humanmade pollutants emitted predominantly in the Northern Hemisphere's low- to mid-latitudes, are most likely pushing the boundary of the tropics further poleward in that hemisphere, new research shows. While stratospheric ozone depletion has alrea...

New clues on how ApoE4 affects Alzheimer's risk
Common variants of the ApoE gene are strongly associated with the risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease, but the gene's role in the disease has been unclear. Now, researchers have found that in mice, having the most risky variant of ApoE damages the blood vessels that feed the brain.

Genome research reveals key behind one butterfly?s ability to mimic another
Scientists have discovered promiscuous sharing of large regions of DNA code among species by sequencing the genome of a South American butterfly.

Ancient tree-ring records from southwest U.S. suggest today's megafires are t...
Today's mega forest fires of the southwestern U.S. are truly unusual and exceptional in the long-term record, suggests an unprecedented study that examined 1,500 years of ancient tree ring and fire data from two distinct climate periods. Researchers constructed and analyzed a statistical model and f...

OMG! Texting ups truthfulness, new iPhone study suggests
Text messaging is a surprisingly good way to get candid responses to sensitive questions, according to a new study.

Baby galaxies grew up quickly
Baby galaxies from the young universe more than 12 billion years ago evolved faster than previously thought, shows new research. This means that already in the early history of the universe, there was potential for planet formation and life.

Common fungicide wreaks havoc on freshwater ecosystems
A new study on chlorothalonil, one of the world's most common fungicides, shows it was lethal to a wide variety of freshwater organisms.

Let's get moving: Unraveling how locomotion starts
Scientists have shed new light on one of the great unanswered questions of neuroscience: How the brain initiates rhythmic movements like walking, running and swimming.