News Archive
Sunday, February 5 2012
News
ISU experts can discuss mild winters effect on prices, planting, moisture and more
The Midwest's mildest winter in memory has producers and economists talking about the effects on our crops, planting, water tables and prices. Iowa State University has experts who can discuss these topics and how -- or if -- they will affect yields, the economy, erosion and other topics.
Peter Martin (far right) has been conducting research on centenarians and the oldest of old for more than 20 years.
Iowa State gerontology researcher says six factors can help you lead a longer, better life
Peter Martin, director of Iowa State's gerontology program, is the lead author of a new article summarizing the keys to long life. The article appeared online last week in the Journal of Aging Research as the introduction to a special issue on the behavioral factors of longevity, which Martin edited. He also had three of his related studies published in the special issue, which supports the "Georgia adaption model" that he and a fellow researcher had constructed some time ago.
ISU photo by Bob Elbert
Gamers on 3-D mission to save world, just dont tell them they are learning cell biology
Eve Syrkin Wurtele decided the best way to get the attention of the science-deprived, gamer generation is to take the information out of a textbook and put it in a medium that kids crave - video games. So she and her team developed Meta!Blast, which won honorable mention in the 2011 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is featured in the Feb. 3 issue of the journal Science.
ISU family finance expert offers advice to help dig out from New Year's debt
Tim Griesdorn, an assistant professor and state extension specialist in family finance within Iowa State's Department of Human Development and Family Studies, recommends a two-pronged approach for people to become debt free and stay that way.
Iowa State engineer wants to sculpt more powerful electric motors and generators
Iowa State University's Dionysios Aliprantis is developing several technologies that could improve the performance of electric motors and generators. And that could make a real difference in building sustainable energy systems.
Intellectual property lawyer to discuss patenting plants at Iowa State on Feb. 16
Edmund Sease, a trial lawyer with more than 30 years of experience litigating intellectual property cases, will speak on "The Case for Patenting New Plants" at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, in the Memorial Union Great Hall. Sease's talk is part of Iowa State's all-day symposium, "Who Owns Life: Intellectual Property in Biotechnology and the Life Sciences." The symposium will present issues of intellectual property protection specific to the plant and life sciences.
Another honor for ISU's ROTC
Iowa State University's Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) has won a 2011 MacArthur Award from the U.S. Army Cadet Command and the Gen. Douglas MacArthur Foundation. One of eight awards presented to the top Army ROTC programs in the nation, it recognizes the ideals of duty, honor and country as advocated by MacArthur.
The MacArthur Award is based on a combination of the achievement of the school's commissioning mission, cadets' performance and standing on the Command's national Order of Merit List, and cadet retention rate. Cadet Command and the MacArthur Foundation have given the awards annually since 1989.
Iowa State's ROTC represents Cadet Command's 3rd Brigade, which consists of the 40 senior Army ROTC programs in the Midwest. Cadet Command is located in Fort Knox, Ky.
In December, the Cyclone Army ROTC Battalion at Iowa State was named the top program in the 3rd Brigade.
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Primaries show negative campaign ads work
The Sacramento Bee
Dianne Bystrom, director of ISU's Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, has conducted extensive research into negative political ads that she said shows their effectiveness. "Research from psychology shows that the most memorable ads always turned out to be the most negative ads," Bystrom said. "Negative ads connect more with voters whether they know it or not."