Science and Society

How to predict the progress of technology
03/06/2013 - 11:08

Researchers at MIT and the Santa Fe Institute have found that some widely used formulas for predicting how rapidly technology will advance — notably, Moore’s Law and Wright’s Law — offer superior approximations of the pace of technological progress. The new research is the first to directly compare the different approaches in a quantitative way, using an extensive database of past performance from many different industries.

 

more
Sequestration will be a devastating blow to the nation's research institutions and scientists
02/27/2013 - 14:31

The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) is once again calling on Congress and the President to work together to prevent sequestration, the automatic across-the-board budget cuts that are scheduled to go into effect on March 1st. "These automatic spending cuts will stop science advances in their tracks and cost highly trained researchers their jobs," said FASEB President, Judith S. Bond, PhD.

 

more
Social norms, behavior influence environmental policy
02/18/2013 - 11:32

A research team led by ASU senior sustainability scientist Ann Kinzig argues for a novel approach to climate change alleviation: target public values and behavior.

 

more
Study supports regulation of hospitals
02/14/2013 - 10:38

Hospital beds tend to get used because they’re available, not necessarily because they’re needed, according to a first-of-its-kind study that supports continued regulation of new hospitals.

 

more
Video tool could help active workers avoid injury
02/11/2013 - 18:05

Using just video of workers performing tasks such as assembling a manufactured part or packing boxes, a system developed by University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers might soon be able to automatically assess the likelihood that workers will develop common repetitive-motion injuries.

 

more
Physicians’ Belief about Obesity Causes Impacts Advice and Care
02/11/2013 - 11:07

How physicians view the causes of obesity may impact the advice they give their patients. The findings are from a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who compared the relationship between primary care physicians’ beliefs about the causes of obesity with the frequency of nutritional counseling. They found that physicians who believed overconsumption of food to be a major contributor to obesity were significantly more likely to counsel their patients to modify nutritional habits. The results are featured in the February 2013 issue of Preventive Medicine.

 

more