USA Archives

Taxonomy of affective curriculum for gifted learners: A framework for providing social–emotional learning to gifted children

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Girl in a classroom: social skills are the basis of the affective curriculum.

As the demand for adequate social–emotional learning grows globally, in the United States there has been an emphasis on the power of affective education. Dr Derek Cavilla, from the University of Central Florida, has developed a framework called Cavilla’s Taxonomy of Affective Curriculum for Gifted Learners, which aims to help gifted learners achieve their potential through the power of social–emotional […]

Mitonucleons: A new chapter in the story of mitochondria?

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The mitonucleon consists of multiple mitochondria.

Mitonucleons are a newly recognised type of mitochondrial superstructure. Consisting of multiple mitochondria enveloping chromatin, mitonucleons appear to be responsible for the development of unusual structures called spheroids. Dr Honoree Fleming of Castleton State College, Vermont, USA, has identified mitonucleons in human endometrial cells in vitro. Using microscopy, Dr Fleming has also observed mysterious structures called tubules, which appear to […]

Design of Experiments: New research design could lead to better crops

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As the world’s population continues to grow, new ways to ensure the future food supply are needed. Many crops undergo genetic transformation – a process where new genes are introduced into a plant cell, which are then grown into a mature plant. One way to hasten crop improvement is to optimise the transformation process. With this aim, Uyen Cao Chu of […]

Home advantage in the NHL

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The NHL had previously relied on a "player's code": a player was allowed to punish an opponent with his fists as he saw fit.

Since his retirement in 2003, Dr Marshall Jones, a professor at Penn State’s College of Medicine, has focused his research efforts on trying to explain how the home advantage in team sports works. The home advantage is the tendency for the home team to win more often than it loses. In the National Hockey League (NHL) the home advantage had […]

Timely intervention helps protect the sexual health of adolescents

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Teenagers often take risks and make poor choices around their sexual health. In young people, particularly those living in deprived areas, HIV, sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancy remain major challenges. Dr Dianne Morrison-Beedy of The Ohio State University College of Nursing, Columbus, Ohio, USA, has developed an evidence-based sexual risk reduction intervention for adolescents called The Health Improvement Project […]

Stentor coeruleus: Do these tiny cells have out-of-body experiences?

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Female patient has an out-of-body experience.

Occasionally, a person who recovers from a medical crisis reports an “out-of-body experience”. In unique research, Dr Benjamin Scherlag of the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, USA, is using a single-celled organism called Stentor coeruleus to re-create the events that occur during an out-of-body experience. Dr Scherlag has shown that these cells can be revived from an apparently dead state […]

Who makes the decisions? Patient “compliance” in modern medicine

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Traditionally, the term “patient compliance” was used to define how closely a patient followed their doctor’s advice. Now, with the ever-expanding information and resources available to patients, the idea of “compliance” is in need of an update. Professor Karen Lutfey Spencer, of the University of Colorado Denver, USA, looked at the experiences of patients receiving end-of-life care to gain an […]

Using technology to improve needle procedures

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Inthis article: Dr Gabor Fichtinger and Dr Jan Fritz have been collaborating to create a computerised system that overlays 2D magnetic resonance images onto a patient during surgical procedures.

Dr Gabor Fichtinger is Chair of Cancer Care Ontario Research and Professor at Queen’s University School of Computing in Kingston, Ontario. His interests are in computer-assisted surgery and interventions. Dr Jan Fritz is the Director of Interventional MR Imaging and an Assistant Professor of Radiology and Radiological Science at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. The two have […]

Extinct giants, a new wolf and the key to understanding climate change

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In this research article: Dr Meachen hopes to uncover the secrets of the mass extinction of the last ice age by re-opennig excavations at Natural Trap Cave (NTC) in North America

After its last excavation in the 1970s, a group of palaeontologists, genetics experts and cavers led by vertebrate palaeontologist and mammalian carnivore specialist Dr Julie Meachen of Des Moines University, have re-opened excavations at Natural Trap Cave (NTC) in North America. During this project, Dr Meachen hopes to uncover the secrets of the mass extinction of the last ice age […]

CPHA: The heart of Canadian public health

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Health related issues, such as diabetes, heart disease or obesity, can often be hugely influenced by public health initiatives. In her role as Chair of the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA), Dr Suzanne Jackson champions a public health perspective on important public policy discussions that impact the health and well-being of Canadians. She spoke to us about CPHA’s influence since […]