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Babies brainier than many imagine

EVANSTON, Ill. --- A new study from Northwestern University shows what many mothers already know: their babies are a lot smarter than others may realize.

Though only five months old, the study's cuties indicated through their curious stares that they could differentiate water in a glass from solid blue material that looked very much like water in a similar glass.

Whiter laundry and a surprising new treatment for kids' eczema

CHICAGO--- It's best known for whitening a load of laundry. But now simple household bleach has a surprising new role: an effective treatment for kids' chronic eczema.

Living outside the box: New evidence shows going abroad linked to creativity

WASHINGTON - Living in another country can be a cherished experience, but new research suggests it might also help expand minds. This research, published by the American Psychological Association, is the first of its kind to look at the link between living abroad and creativity.

Grouping muscles to make controlling limbs easier

With more than 30 muscles in your arm, controlling movement -- whether it's grasping a glass or throwing a baseball -- is a complex task that potentially takes into account thousands of variables.

'Instant on' computing

The ferroelectric materials found in today's "smart cards" used in subway, ATM and fuel cards soon may eliminate the time-consuming booting and rebooting of computer operating systems by providing an "instant-on" capability as well as preventing losses from power outages.

I feel like a different person

Scientists have long been interested in the interplay of emotions and identity, and some have recently focused on cultural identity. One's heritage would seem to be especially stable and impervious to change, simply because it's been passed down generation after generation and is deeply ingrained in the collective psyche. But how deeply, exactly?

Bridging the gap between wireless sensor networks and the scientists who use them

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---A new, simpler programming language for wireless sensor networks is designed for easy use by geologists who might use them to monitor volcanoes and biologists who rely on them to understand birds' nesting behaviors, for example. Researchers at the University of Michigan and Northwestern University have written the language with the novice programmer in mind.

Researchers peer into nanowires to measure dopant properties

Semiconductor nanowires -- tiny wires with a diameter as small as a few billionths of a meter -- hold promise for devices of the future, both in technology like light-emitting diodes and in new versions of transistors and circuits for next generation of electronics.

Study finds surprisingly high rate of patients readmitted to hospital within a month

CHICAGO--When a patient is discharged from the hospital, just about the last thing he or she wants is to be back in again within the next month. But a new national study has found that's exactly what happens to one out of five Medicare patients, costing billions in health care and suffering for patients.

Focus on the future: Long-term goals help us resist unhealthy urges

Imagine a delicious pile of French fries next to a low-fat green salad. After resisting the fries, can you really be expected to go to the gym instead of watching TV? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, consumers who focus on long-term goals are more likely to resist unhealthy urges.

Review of probiotic trial research finds only Bifantis able to claim efficacy for IBS symptoms

CINCINNATI - March 23, 2009 - A review by researchers at Northwestern University (Chicago, IL.) and University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) of the utility of probiotics in the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) found that Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 was the only probiotic strain out of 13 different individual strains or preparations reviewed to significantly improve symptoms o

Zinc oxide gives green shine to new photoconductors

Photodetectors -- devices found in cell phones, digital cameras and other consumer gadgets that utilize photoconducting materials -- are a green technology in performance (converting light into electricity), but the manufacture of very powerful photodetectors needs to be improved before they can qualify for solid green status.

Prion discovery gives clue to control of mass gene expression

The discovery in common brewer's yeast of a new, infectious, misfolded protein -- or prion -- by University of Illinois at Chicago molecular biologists raises new questions about the roles played by these curious molecules, often associated with degenerative brain diseases like "mad cow" and its human counterpart, Creutzfeldt-Jakob.

Power and the illusion of control

Power holders often seem misguided in their actions. Leaders and commanders of warring nations regularly underestimate the costs in time, money, and human lives required for bringing home a victory.



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