South is not the fattest of the U.S. according to recent studies
Posted on 26. Apr, 2013 in Opinion, Science
A recent study UAB shows that the southern region of the United States is not the fattest part of the country.
“The obesity epidemic is overwhelming the U.S., and there’s this strong perception that Mississippi and Alabama are number one and number two in obesity—fighting for last place,” said George Howard, Dr.P.H., professor in the Department of Biostatistics in the UAB School of Public Health.
Howard said that according to data from the long-running REGARDS (R… Read More
Black Warrior River gains national spotlight
Posted on 24. Apr, 2013 in Opinion, Science
For the past seven years, the Black Warrior Riverkeeper (BWR) has waged war against the baseless destruction of public property and health at the hands of private institutions.
Bolstered by the efforts of local citizens, scientists, civic groups, and businesses across the southeast, this Birmingham-based organization has worked to prevent the mass pollution threatened by proposed coal mining near a Birmingham drinking water intake alongside the river. Today, the st… Read More
Astronomers image exoplanet atmospheres
Posted on 01. Apr, 2013 in Opinion, Science
In the search for extrasolar planets, a diverse group of astronomers have reached a milestone by simultaneously analyzing the atmospheres of four exoplanets. Using the 5-meter Hale Telescope at the Palomar Observatory, the team imaged the atmospheres of the four planets orbiting the star HD 8799, located about 130 light years away from the sun.
At only about 30 million years old, HD 8799 is a very young star. Orbiting it is a vast debris disk, punctuated by a series of voids th… Read More
Technology changes the medical field
Posted on 26. Mar, 2013 in Opinion, Science
Technology is changing the dynamic of the medical field. Information about every disease or injury imaginable is available to anyone with access to the internet. In many ways, this availability makes the job of a physician easier, being able to access volumes of medical literature at their fingertips. Doctors are not capable of remembering every disease he studied in medical school. Additionally, patients are far better educated about various conditions and their diff… Read More
Entanglement puts light speed to shame
Posted on 18. Mar, 2013 in Opinion, Science
To his death, Einstein could not reconcile himself with quantum mechanics. Entanglement, which Einstein dismissively termed “spooky action at a distance,” is one of the key tenants of quantum mechanics, and directly violates Einstein’s universal speed limit that says nothing can move faster than the speed of light. Now, Chinese physicists at the University of Science and Technology of China in Shanghai have placed a lower limit on the speed of entanglement—at… Read More
UAB researches the plight of giant leatherback turtles
Posted on 13. Mar, 2013 in Opinion, Science
The leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest turtle and one of the largest reptiles in the world, growing up to seven feet and exceeding 2,000 pounds. Once predominant in every major ocean except the Arctic and Antarctic, the leatherback population has been declining all over the world. According to a recent study led by a team from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, however, there has been a 78 percent decline in the turtle’s nests at their last majo… Read More
Direct link between two rat brains allows communication
Posted on 05. Mar, 2013 in Opinion, Science
In a spectacularly unprecedented feat, scientists have created a direct link between the brains of two animals. Led by researchers at Duke University, Dr. Miguel Nicolelis—who had previously pioneered brain-mind interfaces to give a monkey the use of a robotic arm—and their colleagues in Brazil and China. By connecting rats’ brains, they could transmit neural activity across the globe.
In this landmark experiment, rats were trained to press a lever in response t… Read More
Surfing the web while crossing the street can lead to wipeout
Posted on 05. Mar, 2013 in Opinion, Science
UAB research found that college students crossing the street while surfing the Internet on a cell phone are more than twice as likely to be hit or have a close-call as students who cross the street undistracted. These findings were published online in the journal “Accident Analysis & Prevention”.
The research, co-authored by Katherine Byington, Ph.D., and David Schwebel, Ph.D., associate dean in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences, also reveals that the student… Read More
UAB study explores binge eating
Posted on 05. Mar, 2013 in Opinion, Science
A study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) suggests food concocting — the making of strange food mixtures like mashed potatoes and Oreo cookies, frozen vegetables mixed with mayonnaise, and chips with lemon, pork rinds, Italian dressing and salt — is common among binge eaters. The findings, available online and to be published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, reveal that 1 in 4 survey participants secretly create concoctions.
Inves… Read More
Our obligations to the planet
Posted on 26. Feb, 2013 in Opinion, Science
Climate change has been blamed for stronger and more frequent natural disasters over the past few decades. Several scientists have claimed that the temperature of the earth has been increasing gradually, warming the planet, melting glaciers, and hence raising the levels of the oceans. These changes coupled with the effects on the ecosystem have caused widespread worry across the scientific community. Scientists have coined the term global warming to describe the chan… Read More