Superiority complex?

People who claim superior beliefs exaggerate their own knowledge

University of Michigan

No one likes smug know- it-all friends, relatives or co-workers who believe their knowledge and beliefs are superior to others.

But now these discussions at the dinner table, bar or office might be less annoying. A new University of Michigan study indicates what many people suspect: these know-it-all people are especially prone to overestimating what they actually know.

Even after getting feedback showing them how much they didn't know relevant political facts, these people still claimed that their beliefs were objectively more correct than everyone else's. On top of that, they were more likely to seek out new information in biased ways that confirm their sense of superiority.

The study focused on people who profess "belief superiority" -- or thinking their views are superior to other viewpoints -- as it relates to political issues. 

How obesity dulls the sense of taste

Obese mice had about 25 percent fewer taste buds than lean mice in study

PLOS

Previous studies have indicated that weight gain can reduce one's sensitivity to the taste of food, and that this effect can be reversed when the weight is lost again, but it's been unclear as to how this phenomenon arises. 

Now a study published March 20 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Andrew Kaufman, Robin Dando, and colleagues at Cornell University shows that inflammation, driven by obesity, actually reduces the number of taste buds on the tongues of mice.

A taste bud comprises of approximately 50 to 100 cells of three major types, each with different roles in sensing the five primary tastes (salt, sweet, bitter, sour, and umami). 

Taste bud cells turn over quickly, with an average lifespan of just 10 days. To explore changes in taste buds in obesity, the authors fed mice either a normal diet made up of 14% fat, or an obesogenic diet containing 58% fat. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, after 8 weeks, the mice fed the obesogenic diet weigh about one-third more than those receiving normal chow. 

But strikingly, the obese mice had about 25% fewer taste buds than the lean mice, with no change in the average size or the distribution of the three cell types within individual buds.

How have we done since Columbine?

Rapid rise in mass school shootings in the United States, study shows

Researchers call for action to address worrying increase in the number of mass school shootings in past two decades

Springer

More people have died or been injured in mass school shootings in the US in the past 18 years than in the entire 20th century. In a new study published in Springer's Journal of Child and Family Studies, researchers have reviewed the history of mass school shootings in the US and found some alarming trends. 

Lead author Antonis Katsiyannis of Clemson University in the US, together with his colleagues, found the recent killing of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida is not an isolated occurrence, but part of a deadly epidemic that needs to be addressed.

Do we really need more natural gas?

Invenergy begins its final push to convince the state

By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff

Take away the bluster and the exaggerated proclamations in the Providence Journal’s latest endorsement of the proposed Burrillville, R.I., fossil-fuel power plant and it takes on one of the central arguments the state Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) must weigh as it begins its final stretch of hearings are scheduled to begin April 26.

The EFSB is required to decide whether the proposed Clear River Energy Center and its near 1,000 megawatts of electrical output are needed to keep the lights on across southern New England for the two-plus decades it will be operating.

The recent Providence Journal editorial clearly argues “yes,” citing the ISO New England report that notes power plants are retiring across New England and a less-polluting energy facility is available to fill the void.

However, it’s not known when those 10 power plants identified as candidates to retire will close. They must give three years' notice before shutting down. If approved by the EFSB, the Clear River Energy Center would be operational in 2021 at the earliest. The state of the regional power-plant market beyond that is mostly speculation.

Opponents of the Burrillville project say proven cleaner technologies are already picking up the slack for retired power plants like the 1,530-megawatt coal-fired Brayton Point power plant in Somerset, Mass., that closed last year.

Have you been injured?

For more cartoons by Ruben Bolling, CLICK HERE.

America supports teachers

Digital addiction increases loneliness, anxiety and depression

Study suggests ways to outsmart smart phones

San Francisco State University

Smartphones are an integral part of most people's lives, allowing us to stay connected and in-the-know at all times. 

The downside of that convenience is that many of us are also addicted to the constant pings, chimes, vibrations and other alerts from our devices, unable to ignore new emails, texts and images. 

In a new study published in NeuroRegulation, San Francisco State University Professor of Health Education Erik Peper and Associate Professor of Health Education Richard Harvey argue that overuse of smart phones is just like any other type of substance abuse.

"The behavioral addiction of smartphone use begins forming neurological connections in the brain in ways similar to how opioid addiction is experienced by people taking Oxycontin for pain relief -- gradually," Peper explained.

On top of that, addiction to social media technology may actually have a negative effect on social connection. In a survey of 135 San Francisco State students, Peper and Harvey found that students who used their phones the most reported higher levels of feeling isolated, lonely, depressed and anxious. 

After numerous studies praise the health effects of a glass of wine a day, now this

Consuming more than five drinks a week could shorten your life

Even moderate alcohol drinking linked to heart and circulatory diseases, study finds

University of Cambridge

Regularly drinking more than the recommended UK guidelines for alcohol could take years off your life, according to new research from the University of Cambridge. 

Part-funded by the British Heart Foundation, the study shows that drinking more alcohol is associated with a higher risk of stroke, fatal aneurysm, heart failure and death.

The authors say their findings challenge the widely held belief that moderate drinking is beneficial to cardiovascular health, and support the UK's recently lowered guidelines.

It’s the bomb

URI chemical engineering professor creates prototype to detect bombs

Elizabeth Rau

Alyssa Kelly, of Millville, Mass., and Otto Gregory,
URI chemical engineering professor and
new sensor detector. Photo: by Michael Salerno

It’s the size of a toolbox, and just as sturdy. It’s lightweight and even has a handle so it can be carried—quickly, if necessary—to different locations.

If all goes as planned, “The Digital Dog Nose” created by Otto Gregory, chemical engineering professor at the University of Rhode Island, could soon be placed at subway stations, train stations, airports and ports to detect bombs.

“We’ve made great progress on the project, and now we’re ready to get the word out,” says Gregory. “We’ve turned a corner with these latest developments.”

Two years ago, Otto and his students created a sensor to detect explosives commonly used by terrorists. 

One of the explosives is triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, which was used by terrorists during the Paris and Brussels attacks several years ago.

Terrorists use TATP because it is easy to make with chemicals that can be bought at pharmacies and hardware stores, attracting little attention from authorities. Only small amounts are needed to cause large explosions.

Wood is good

Rhode Island’s Forests Generate Plenty of Green

By FRANK CARINI/ecoRI News staff

Forests, like this one that covers Dundery Brook Trail in Little Compton, R.I., play a significant role in Rhode Island’s economy. (ecoRI News)

Despite being the second-most densely populated state, with 1,022 people per square mile — only New Jersey is more crowded — Rhode Island is nearly 60 percent forested. That fact is further obscured by the Ocean State’s 400 miles of renowned coastline.

While Narragansett Bay and the rest of the state’s coastal waters play a celebrated role in the local economy, so too do Rhode Island’s 400,000 acres of forestland, of which about 70 percent is privately owned.

Forest products contribute more than $700 million annually to the Rhode Island economy and support some 3,300 jobs, according to Tee Jay Boudreau, deputy chief for the Rhode Island Department of Management’s (DEM) Division of Forest Environment.

There’s also the recreational value of these woodlands. For instance, DEM oversees 30 parks and management areas that host 6 million visitors every year (that number includes repeat visitors) and generate $1.7 billion annually.

Children and animals

They mess around but we pay for it

What makes someone believe or reject science?

Quality of recordings. Seriously.

Australian National University

Separating fact from fiction in the age of alternate facts is becoming increasingly difficult, and now a new study has helped reveal why. 

Research by Dr Eryn Newman of The Australian National University (ANU) has found that when people listen to recordings of a scientist presenting their work, the quality of audio had a significant impact on whether people believed what they were hearing, regardless of who the researcher was or what they were talking about.

Dr Newman, of the ANU Research School of Psychology, said the results showed when it comes to communicating science, style can triumph over substance.

May 5, get the best in plantings

URI Master Gardeners to host spring plant sale, May 5

Todd McLeish

The University of Rhode Island Master Gardener Program will hold a spring plant sale on May 5 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. featuring annuals, perennials, vegetables, herbs and a “plant of the year” chosen for its attractiveness to pollinators.

The event is free and open to the public and will take place at the URI Botanical Gardens on Upper College Road in Kingston.

“Our spring plant sale is replacing the spring festival we sponsored for many years in an effort to focus our energy on fundraising in support of the good work of the URI Master Gardener Program,” said Kate Venturini, program administrator for URI Cooperative Extension. 

We get what we pay for

Investing in public education earns high marks for greater upward mobility

Penn State

Investing in education may help boost economic opportunities for the next generation, according to a team of economists.

In a study, researchers suggest that investing in public education can lead to more upward economic mobility and lower teen pregnancy rates, as well as provide a way to ease income inequality.

"It's something we've long suspected, but this study really confirms that there's a strong link between the quality of the schools you go to and the opportunities you have later in life," said Stephan Goetz, professor of agricultural and regional economics, Penn State and director of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development. "The better your school, the better your economic opportunities."

The study, which focused on public spending in education and returns from education, as well as taxation, indicated that communities that invested more in education had lower drop-out rates and fewer teen pregnancies.