Indiana University

A digital archaeologist to unveil ancient Roman emperor's villa, virtually

 Indiana University’s first archaeo-informaticist, Bernie Frischer, will bring to life one of the Roman Empire’s best-known and best-preserved imperial villas -- Hadrian’s Villa -- during a public launch of the Digital Hadrian’s Villa Project on Friday, Nov. 22, in Washington, D.C.

Frischer, a digital archaeologist and one of the first academics to use 3-D computer modeling to reconstruct cultural heritage sites, spent five years leading the development of a 3-D virtual world modeling the Roman emperor Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli, Italy. The virtual simulation interprets the entire 250 acres and the more than 30 buildings of the second-century site.

Using a live 3-D multi-user online learning environment, visitors can interactively explore the entire villa complex. Arelated website documents the state of the site today and gives the scholarly background needed to understand the virtual simulation.

See more at http://news.iu.edu/releases/iu/2013/11/hadrians-villa.shtml

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University of Cambridge

Fruit bat population covering central Africa is carrier of two deadly viruses

A population of fruit bats which is found across much of continental Africa is widely infected with two deadly viruses that could spread to humans, new research reveals.

The study, conducted jointly by the University of Cambridge and the Zoological Society of London’s Institute of Zoology and published today in the journal Nature Communications, found that the “gregarious” bats span over 4 500 km of central Africa (around the distance from California to New York). The researchers also discovered that thirty-four per cent of the bats had been infected with Lagos bat virus, a disease similar to rabies, and 42 per cent had been infected with henipaviruses.

See more at : http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/fruit-bat-population-covering-central-africa-is-carrier-of-two-deadly-viruses

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University of Cambridge

Anti-fraud lasers and inks for transparent electronics

Two prototypes – a detection device which users lasers to fight fraud, and a piano which demonstrates the potential of printed electronics – have been unveiled by Cambridge researchers.

 A detection device which uses printed lasers to identify counterfeit goods has been developed by researchers, who say that it could help to make products more resistant to fraud.

The detector is one of a number of innovations covered in a new report by the Cambridge Innovation and Knowledge Centre (CIKC), which has been developing advanced manufacturing technologies for photonics and electronics.

The same document also outlines a new method for printing graphene, showing how the one atom-thick material could be used to make cheap, printed electronics. Using a graphene-based ink, researchers have demonstrated this by creating a transparent, flexible piano.

See more at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/anti-fraud-lasers-and-inks-for-transparent-electronics

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University of Washington, Seattle

A first step in learning by imitation, baby brains respond to another’s actions

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery for adults, but for babies it’s their foremost tool for learning. As renowned people-watchers, babies often observe others demonstrate how to do things and then copy those body movements. It’s how little ones know, usually without explicit instructions, to hold a toy phone to the ear or guide a spoon to the mouth.

Now researchers from the University of Washington and Temple University have found the first evidence revealing a key aspect of the brain processing that occurs in babies to allow this learning by observation

See more at: http://www.washington.edu/news/2013/10/30/a-first-step-in-learning-by-imitation-baby-brains-respond-to-anothers-actions/

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 Le Point du I, précis d'érudition pointilleuse,

Le premier livre au monde jamais réalisé sur le sujet — le point sur la lettre i — nous entraîne ainsi dans des domaines aussi divers que l'histoire, la symbolique, la graphologie, la typographie, la linguistique, la publicité, les beaux-arts, la littérature, l'humour…vient d'être publié aux éditions Imago

Pierre-Michel Bertrand, l'auteur de ce livre, est le spécialiste français de la question gauchère sous ses aspects historique et sociétal. Il a déjà publié, aux Éditions Imago, Histoire des gauchers (2001, 2008) (traduit en sept langues) et Dictionnaire des gauchers (épuisé, 2004).

Présentation du livre :

http://www.editions-imago.fr/listeauteur.php?recordID=379&categorie=Litt%E9rature,%20essais%20critiques%20sur%20un%20th%E8me

A propos de ce livre, sur France Culture  et la possibilité d'écouter une chronique :

http://www.franceculture.fr/emission-l-essai-et-la-revue-du-jour-l-essai-du-jour-par-jacques-munier-2013-10-25

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University of Cambridge

Scientists discover genetic disease which causes recurrent respiratory infections

Cambridge scientists have discovered a rare genetic disease which predisposes patients to severe respiratory infections and lung damage. Because the scientists also identified how the genetic mutation affects the immune system, they are hopeful that new drugs that are currently undergoing clinical trials to treat leukaemia may also be effective in helping individuals with this debilitating disease.

See more at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/scientists-discover-genetic-disease-which-causes-recurrent-respiratory-infections

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Harvard University

Mindfulness over matters

Using meditation techniques in classrooms can boost clarity and learning, Kabat-Zinn saysProfessor Jon Kabat-Zinn, a renowned proponent of applying the practice of mindfulness in schools, addressed the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) Wednesday evening in Longfellow Hall about the effectiveness of such training in countering the pressures and effects of anxiety, stress, chronic pain, and illness on the body, mind, and brain.

The practice of mindfulness, a systematic way of paying attention and cultivating well-being, is becoming an increasingly important tool in education, from top-level leaders to elementary schoolchildren.

See more at: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2013/10/mindfulness-over-matters/

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Utah State University

« My Years at USU were Very Important to my Development as a Scholar »

Utah State University alum Lars Peter Hansen is one of three Americans named a recipient of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Economics.

Hansen is internationally known for his specialization in economic dynamics, using statistical methods applied to study linkages between financial markets and the macroeconomy. Since joining the University of Chicago in 1981, Hansen is now the David Rockefeller Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and Statistics and is the inaugural research director for the Becker-Friedman Institute. He was named a Nobel Economics Laureate alongside Eugene Fama, also of the University of Chicago, and Robert Shiller of Yale University.

See more at http://www.usu.edu/ust/index.cfm?article=52739

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University of Cambridge

Testing the water

A new online tool enables users to assess not only how much water we use and for what, but also how we can mitigate future scarcity.

Water, like many other natural resources,is in both high demand and limited supply. In any one region, this precious substance is needed to sustain the domestic requirements of the population, irrigate crops, maintain ecosystems and assist in manufacturing and energy production.

Focusing on the state of California, a multidisciplinary group of Cambridge researchers has developed a model to calculate monthly and annual water demand. Moreover, because the model calculates future scenarios, it provides a means of assessing what can be done to mitigate water scarcity.

See more at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/features/testing-the-water

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University of Alabama

Stimulate my brain

For every day one has entered a classroom or office and aced a test or presentation, there are other days when grogginess and a lack of focus lead to poor performance.

In the absence of a reliable, safe way to ensure optimal focus each day, a wall of sugar and caffeine-packed energy drinks in every convenience store have become, for some, the go-to “pick-me-up” potion.

Two education professors at The University of Alabama hope transcranial direct current stimulation, or tDCS, can be an answer for students who struggle to learn, recall or retain information.

Drs. Rick Houser and Steve Thoma are searching for a link between low-current brain stimulation, the correct brain cortexes and academic performance. Students enrolled in a junior-level statistics class at UA serve as willing test subjects.

See more at

http://research.ua.edu/2013/10/stimulate-my-brain/

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