When asked, both consumers and advertisers agree that conspicuous white space around a word or image – epitomized by the design of Real Simple magazine – associate a product with refined taste and upscale qualities. However, in the first paper to trace the history of white space in advertising, researchers from University of Alberta and the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana argue that the meaning of this design element comes not from its inherent features, but from relatively recent art h
Study finds that people are more willing to lie to coworkers than to strangers
Though explicit talk of money may be considered gauche, we are frequently confronted with the dreaded query “How much did you pay for that?” Our response to being put on the spot? Lies. But a new study in the June issue of the Journal of Consumer Research found that we are more likely to muddle the truth with our coworkers than with perfect strangers.
Interestingly, the researchers also found
You know slathering on the SPF helps prevent skin cancer. So why don’t you do it? A new study from the June issue of the Journal of Consumer Research explains why many people don’t end up trying a new health regimen – like regularly wearing sunscreen or eliminating transfat– even if they believe the product or behavior is effective.
Punam A. Keller (Dartmouth University) argues that while some people focus on the effectiveness of the product or program when deciding whether to try it, ot
Environmental arsenic pollution is a serious and growing environmental problem, especially on the Indian subcontinent. Researchers at the University of Georgia had, several years ago, used genetic techniques to create “arsenic-eating” plants that could be planted on polluted sites.
There was a problem, however. The arsenic sequestered from soil remained largely in the roots of the plant, making it difficult to harvest for safe disposal. Now, the research team, led by geneticis
It looks so simple – catching a fly ball. But of all of the balls hit into the outfield, the straight shot is the most difficult to catch. And if it’s twilight, it’s even worse.
Ken Fuld, professor of psychology at the University of New Hampshire, studies visual psychophysics. A former assistant baseball coach at UNH with a son playing for one of the Chicago Cubs minor league teams, Fuld says there’s more than meets the eye to catching fly balls and hitting pitches for the boys o
A paper published today in the American Geophysical Union’s Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans shows a method to recover valuable data from the primary tool used for measuring global sea level – satellite radar altimetry. Altimeter data are used, among other benefits, to monitor and predict the occurrence of events such as El Niño and La Niña – a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomena that can alter global weather patterns.
Some six percent of global altimetry measurements are
Survival rates following the most common form of cardiac arrest increased three-fold when emergency medical personnel used a new form of CPR developed at The University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center. The new approach, called Cardiocerebral Resuscitation, is dramatically different from guideline-directed CPR procedures.
Because of its importance, the editors of the American Journal of Medicine chose to publish the report online in advance of the journal’s April print is
Bacteria gain resistance from only a handful of 120 possible five-step mutational paths in a key gene
Darwinian evolution follows very few of the available mutational pathways to attain fitter proteins, researchers at Harvard University have found in a study of a gene whose mutant form increases bacterial resistance to a widely prescribed antibiotic by a factor of roughly 100,000. Their work indicates that of 120 harrowing, five-step mutational paths that theoretically could gr
These insects, now dominant in terrestrial ecosystems, flourished with the rise of flowering plants
Ants are considerably older than previously believed, having originated 140 to 168 million years ago, according to new Harvard University research published in the journal Science. But these resilient insects, now found in terrestrial ecosystems the world over, apparently only began to diversify about 100 million years ago in concert with the flowering plants, the Harvard scienti
Northwestern researcher’s study points to active rather than passive process
Research to be published in the April 18 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology provides the first explanation of an active rather than passive process that leads to heart valve degeneration, furthering a Northwestern researcher’s effort to lead a paradigm shift in the medical community’s beliefs about the cause of valve disease.
Heart valve disease is caused not by a ’we
Torrential rain and melting snow caused Germany’s Elbe River to rise to a record high level in northern parts of the country over the weekend, flooding cities and damaging historic town centres. ESA’s ERS-2 satellite has been monitoring the situation from space.
The medieval city of Hitzacker, located in Lower Saxony about 100 kilometres from the Baltic Sea, was one of the hardest-hit areas with the Elbe reaching 7.63 metres – almost three times its normal level – on Sunday, threat
ESF Forward Look launched in order to keep Europe at the forefront of computational science.
Computational science in Europe is set to receive a boost from a new Forward Look to be launched this year by the European Science Foundation.
Europe still plays a leading role in the development of computational techniques and programs, particularly for the simulation of materials at the atomic scale, and researchers continuously utilise these programs and codes as tools. As
High-tech systems that will aid CCTV cameras in the identification of people carrying concealed guns are being developed at Loughborough University.
Gun crime is a growing problem in the UK, with almost 11,000 firearm offences recorded in England and Wales in 2004/2005 – an increase of six per cent from the previous year.
The aim of the MEDUSA (Multi Environment Deployable Universal Software Application) project is to try and reduce the occurrence of gun crime by developing
Scientists working with Vaccinia virus, the smallpox vaccine, have discovered a novel mechanism that allows poxviruses to enter cells and cause infection.
Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on 11 April describes how the Imperial College London team discovered the mechanism allowing Vaccinia virus to shed its outer lipid membrane and enter cells. The mechanism is unique in virology and paves the way for development of new antiviral drugs.
LGC, Europe’s leading independent analytical laboratory, has announced that it is launching a new generic DNA-based PT scheme for quantitative PCR, designed to provide the tools for cross-sectoral benchmarking of laboratory performance. Interested participants are invited to register now.
Developed by LGC as part of the DTI-funded Measurements for Biotechnology (MfB) programme 2004-2007, this innovative approach is the first DNA-based PT scheme able to provide test mater
For decades the study of fish bones was considered one of the most esoteric branches of archaeology, but now it is helping to reveal the massive significance of the fishing trade in the Middle Ages.
New research co-ordinated by archaeologists at the University of York will spotlight the earliest development of Europe’s sea fisheries and, given the continuous expansion of sea fishing since the Middle Ages, the ultimate origin of today’s fishing crisis.
The three-year p
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