Studies and Analyses

Studies and Analyses

Ad Repetition Fails to Boost Brand Recall, U of T Study Finds

Contrary to popular belief, repetition does not always improve one’s memory for brand claims

Everybody remembers the pink bunny promoting batteries that keep going and going but is it Energizer or Duracell?

Contrary to popular belief in marketing, repetition in advertising does not always improve consumers’ memory for brand claims, says a U of T study. “Consumers often do not absorb the information from ads, so repeating the ads doesn’t necessarily lead to be

Studies and Analyses

Internet successful in educating doctors on herbal and dietary supplements

A pediatrician at Brenner Children’s Hospital has developed an efficient way to help educate health care professionals on herbal and dietary supplements via the Internet, according to a study published in the September issue of Academic Medicine.

Kathi Kemper, M.D., a pediatrician at Brenner Children’s Hospital, worked with physicians from the Longwood Herbal Task Force to develop a series of e-mails containing information and questions about various herbal and dietary supplements.

Studies and Analyses

Cipro Websites Surge After Anthrax Outbreak, Study Reveals

Web sites selling the prescription-only medication ciprofloxacin (also known by its brand name Cipro®) sprang up quickly following an anthrax outbreak in October 2001, according to a new study by researchers from the Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Medicine. The study, published today in the American Journal of Medicine, also found that these Web sites provided poor quality information, had inadequate consumer safeguards, and charged high prices.

On Oct. 4, 2001, the U.S. C

Studies and Analyses

Engaging Young Voters: The Power of Online Politics

Politicians and pressure groups are much more likely to engage young people in politics through the Internet than more traditional methods, according to new ESRC-funded research. The research, which was carried out by NOP as part of the ESRC`s Democracy and Participation Research Programme, showed that 15-24 year olds are three times more likely to be politically active through the Internet than traditional political activities.

There has been much concern that only 40 per cent of 18-24 year

Studies and Analyses

Tomorrow’s super robots may owe their mobility to a cockroach’s legs today

The marriage of machine and biology requires adopting the pliability and strength from the legs of this despised insect

The cockroach is an insect despised for its ubiquitousness, among other reasons. Yet, it may hold a key to the next evolutionary step in the “life” of robots.
Background

For years, serious futurists could only imagine that robots, such as the television model, would always be stiff, clumsy, and prone to breakdown. This was before the advent of “Biomimet

Studies and Analyses

Obesity Linked to Rising Breast Cancer Rates in Hispanic Women

Study links body fat, cancer risk

Hispanic women have been known to run a lower risk of developing breast cancer than most other women, but their breast cancer rates are climbing—and increasing obesity is one factor that might be to blame.

The weight that Hispanic women gain during adulthood and their body fat may put them at greater risk for breast cancer both before and after menopause, according to researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the University of New

Studies and Analyses

Adolescent Steroid Use Linked to Reduced Serotonin Levels

Study hypothesizes that adolescent steroid exposure may permanently alter the production of the ’feel good’ receptor

“With more than one in ten boys admitting to using steroids, muscle- and strength-enhancing drug use among teenagers has caused considerable concern among parents and researchers over the past decade, but until now, the longer-term physiological and neurological effects of its use on the developing brain have not been fully examined. Now, new research from Nor

Studies and Analyses

Want innovative CEO’s? Keep looking to young techies

R&D strongest in companies that hire CEO’s who are young, have background in marketing, science, R&D, says O.R. study

Research and Development spending to generate innovative new products is strongest at corporations whose CEO’s are younger, invest heavily in their own firms’ stock, and have experience in marketing, engineering, or R&D, according to a study in a journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS®).

In contras

Studies and Analyses

Research Probes Soy – Prostate Cancer Link

Researchers at the University of Ulster and Belfast City Hospital are set to launch a groundbreaking study that could offer a new insight into the prevention of prostate cancer.

The study will focus on a significant link between low levels of serious prostate cancer and the presence of soy products in the diet.

Professor Ian Rowland, from the University of Ulster said: “The incidence and mortality rate of certain cancers such as colorectal and prostate cancers, is much higher in W

Studies and Analyses

Support for Rural Businesses: Insights from New Foot and Mouth Report

A new report urges politicians not to forget rural businesses as they consider the lessons learnt from the devastating foot and mouth crisis. The study (1), by Newcastle University’s Centre for Rural Economy, highlights that many small firms are still struggling from the effects of the 2001 foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak and will take several years to fully recover. It recommends small businesses receive consistent and lasting support – both financial and advisory – from the Governmen

Studies and Analyses

Boosting Innovation: Call for More Non-Animal Research Alternatives

A Lords report published today by the Select Committee on Animals in Scientific Procedures found that animal experiments are currently necessary to develop human and veterinary medicine, and to protect humans and the environment. However, the report says that more should be done to fund and promote “alternative” methods known as the Three Rs – reduction, refinement and replacement. This is important for both human health and animal welfare. The Committee recommends setting up research units on the Th

Studies and Analyses

Prenatal Zinc Supplementation May Affect Child Development

Authors of a study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET caution that the provision of zinc supplementation to pregnant women in developing countries could impair the early mental development of their children. Zinc deficiency is common in developing countries due to a diet that is low in animal protein and high in fibre. Supplements given to Bangladeshi pregnant women have previously been shown to improve infant growth and to reduce susceptibility to infectious diseases. In a follow-up study, Sally Gra

Studies and Analyses

Mouse Model for Rett Syndrome Enhances Understanding of Disease

Studies might improve understanding of leading cause of mental retardation in girls By studying gene mutations in patients with the complex set of behavioral and neurological symptoms that accompany Rett syndrome, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Huda Zoghbi and her colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine have designed a mouse model that faithfully recapitulates the disease down to its distinctive hand-wringing behavior. The development of the mouse, reported in the July

Studies and Analyses

Cloud Ice Crystal Studies Could Enhance Climate Change Predictions

Studies of cirrus clouds by some 450 scientists may lead to improved forecasts of future climate change. During July in southern Florida, scientists from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. will join others to investigate high tropical cirrus clouds composed of tiny ice crystals.The researchers hope to determine how the clouds form, how they limit the amount of sunlight reaching the surface of the Earth and how they trap heat rising from the surface and lower atmos

Studies and Analyses

Antioxidant Diets Boost Mental Function in Aging Rats

Popeye was right — eat your spinach. In fact, add some fresh-cut apples to that spinach salad.

Two new animal studies by researchers at the University of South Florida Center for Aging and Brain Repair and James A. Haley Veterans Hospital bolster a growing body of evidence that certain fruits and vegetables may protect the brain against the ravages of age. The complementary research papers appear in today’s issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

“If these pre-clinical fin

Studies and Analyses

Moderate Drinking Can Increase Blood Pressure in Men

One or two drinks a day can raise the risk of developing hypertension in some men, according to two Japanese studies. The studies, published in the July issue of Alcohol: Clinical Experience and Research, found that men who had as few as one or two glasses of alcohol on a regular basis had a much higher incidence of hypertension than those who did not drink at all. Several U.S. studies have found that moderate drinking habits can actually decrease the risk of heart disease. A

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