Friday, May 3

Tag: using

Using Big Data To Unlock Genetic Secrets Scientists Are On A Path To Sequencing 1 Million Human Genomes
No Comments
SCIENCE

Using Big Data To Unlock Genetic Secrets Scientists Are On A Path To Sequencing 1 Million Human Genomes

The first draft of the human genome was published 20 years ago in 2001, took nearly three years and cost between US$500 million and $1 billion. A complete human genome, seen here in pairs of chromosomes, offers a wealth of information, but it is hard connect genetics to traits or disease. HYanWong/Wikimedia Comons The Human Genome Project has allowed scientists to read, almost end to end, the 3 billion pairs of DNA bases – or “letters” – that biologically define a human being. That project has allowed a new generation of researchers like me, currently a postdoctoral fellow at the National Cancer Institute, to identify novel targets for cancer treatments, engineer mice with human immune systems and even build a webpage where anyone can navigate the entire human genome with the same ease w...
Read More
Using Indoor Air Filters Near Busy Highways Can Reduce Blood Pressure
No Comments
HEALTH & WELLNESS

Using Indoor Air Filters Near Busy Highways Can Reduce Blood Pressure

The big idea For people living near busy highways, using air filters indoors results in short-term improvements to blood pressure, according to a new study I co-authored. Busy highways are large sources of air pollution. Larry D. Moore via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA Next to busy highways and major roadways, there are high concentrations of air pollution – including exceptionally tiny, invisible and odorless ultrafine particles from burning fuel. My colleagues Neelakshi Hudda, Misha Eliasziw and I tested how using air filters indoors near a highway can reduce exposure to ultrafine and other particulate pollutants – and what effect that has on blood pressure. Our team tested 77 participants over three two-hour sessions in a room next to a busy highway. We manipulated the level of air pollu...
Read More
Using Humor In Class Is Harder When Learning Is Remote, No Joke
No Comments
EDUCATION

Using Humor In Class Is Harder When Learning Is Remote, No Joke

Most discussions about the drawbacks of online education focus on the negative effects it has on learning. Less obvious – but also quite important – is how remote instruction can affect the teacher’s use of humor. Scholars have formulated various explanations for why people use humor. As someone who has helped prepare and provide professional development for prospective and veteran teachers for more than 30 years, I am often asked whether humor is an effective way to teach. Decades of research has left little doubt: The answer is yes. Among other benefits, humor can create a positive learning environment, increase learning and make students more motivated to learn. No laughing matter The pandemic hasn’t eliminated the benefits of humor in the classroom. Instructors, however, have told me ...
Read More
More Than Half Of People Using Medical Cannabis For Pain Experience Weed Withdrawal Symptoms
No Comments
HEALTH & WELLNESS

More Than Half Of People Using Medical Cannabis For Pain Experience Weed Withdrawal Symptoms

In stark contrast to the overblown fears portrayed during decades past, these days, most people think cannabis is relatively harmless. While weed is indeed less dangerous than some other drugs, it is not without risks.   CC BY-ND In a study published Jan. 5, my colleagues and I found that 59% percent of people using medical cannabis for chronic pain experienced moderate to severe withdrawal symptoms if they stopped ingesting weed for hours or days. Most states in the U.S. have legalized cannabis for medical purposes and 15 have legalized it for recreational use. More people are using cannabis, especially older adults, and the perceived harms from weed use are steadily decreasing. While many people report therapeutic benefits or enjoy recreational use of cannabis, it is important peo...
Read More
Using Data In Sports For These Students, Is About More Than Winning Games
No Comments
TECHNOLOGY

Using Data In Sports For These Students, Is About More Than Winning Games

When professional sports teams use big data and analytics, their objective is to improve player performance and win more games. That approach is paying off in a major way. For instance, after the Golden State Warriors became one of the first NBA teams to invest in analytics, the team subsequently won league championships in 2015, 2017 and 2018. Analytics is the science of looking for patterns in data to make more informed decisions. The Warriors also get regular assists from partners in Silicon Valley – the famed tech hub near where the team is based. For that reason, it’s a small wonder why, in 2016, the Warriors were recognized at a sports analytics conference as the “Best Analytics Organization.” National Football League teams rely heavily on data as well. For instance, the Philadelp...
Read More
Using The Science Of Memory, New DIY Contact Tracing App Expands The Fight Against COVID-19
No Comments
COVID-19, HEALTH & WELLNESS, TECHNOLOGY

Using The Science Of Memory, New DIY Contact Tracing App Expands The Fight Against COVID-19

Imagine you begin to feel ill on Thursday, a few days after returning from a trip. You’re afraid it’s COVID-19, so you get tested on Friday. Even under good circumstances, it will probably be at least Monday before a contact tracer calls from the health department. And then some phone tag may ensue before you speak with anyone – if you get a call at all. Once a contact tracer does reach you, you will be asked to remember all the people you were in close contact with, starting two days before you began feeling symptoms. That means recalling all the places you went and the people you saw over the past week. It isn’t easy. As time passes, memories fade. Unfortunately, your contacts, unaware they were exposed to the coronavirus, may have already infected others. Concerned about those delays...
Read More
A New Model Tells Astronomers Where To Look For More Exoplanets Using 4 Simple Variables – They Are Still Out There
No Comments
SCIENCE, VIDEO REELS

A New Model Tells Astronomers Where To Look For More Exoplanets Using 4 Simple Variables – They Are Still Out There

Only 12 light years from Earth, Tau Ceti is the closest single star similar to the Sun and an all-time favorite in sci-fi stories. Habitable worlds orbiting Tau Ceti were destinations of fictional starships like “The Expanse”‘s Nauvoo and “Barbarella”’s vessel. “Star Trek”’s Captain Picard also frequented an exotic bar in the system. Now, thanks to a new approach to analyzing nearby planetary systems, we have a deeper understanding of the actual worlds that orbit Tau Ceti and many other nearby stars. Exoplanets – worlds around other stars – have long been staples of science fiction but remained mostly inaccessible to scientific investigations. This all changed over the past decade, when NASA’s Kepler and TESS exoplanet hunter space telescopes added thousands of new planets to the previous...
Read More
Top Strategies When Using Facebook Live and Videos for Your Business
No Comments
SOCIAL MEDIA

Top Strategies When Using Facebook Live and Videos for Your Business

Are you tired of creating Facebook posts that nobody sees? (Painful isn't it!?) Then you NEED to be using video on Facebook - it's 'crackalackin'! Facebook Live is hot to trot! There is no doubt Facebook loves it. You may have even seen ads for Facebook Live around the place. Why do you want to use Facebook Live? Like I said, Facebook loves Facebook Live and they're going to reward you for going Live on Facebook by pushing your livestream out into people's newsfeeds. People are likely to watch your Live stream videos three times longer than just a normal video post. That's a very important metric to Facebook who sees that longer viewing means it is an engaging video therefore we're going to show it into more people's newsfeeds. That is going to improve your reach and your engagem...
Read More
Prosecutors are increasingly – and misleadingly – using rap lyrics as evidence in court
No Comments
IN OTHER NEWS, Journalism

Prosecutors are increasingly – and misleadingly – using rap lyrics as evidence in court

Rapper Darrell Caldwell, better known to fans as Drakeo the Ruler, was on his way to stardom. Hailed as one of the most original rappers to emerge from Los Angeles in a generation, he had garnered hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, tens of millions of views on YouTube and the attention of media outlets like SPIN, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times. Now he’s on trial for his life, and prosecutors are planning to do what they’ve done to hundreds of other accused hip-hop artists: Use his own lyrics as evidence against him. Because my research centers on African American literary and musical traditions – with a particular emphasis on hip-hop culture – I was asked by the defense to testify as an expert witness in Drakeo’s first trial. This is work I’m called to do qu...
Read More
No Comments
LIFESTYLE

Dallas Man Charged with Using Stolen Credit Card Information Obtained from the Dark Web

A 38-year-old man from Dallas was charged by a federal jury last week on allegations of making fraudulent credit cards using information obtained from the dark web. Carlos M. Garza Junior would purchase the card details on the darknet then use the information to reproduce similar copies of the cards using a magnetic encoder. Garza’s arrest came on May 15 after a complaint of theft was made by an employee of a local store. The employee worked at Lubbock’s Home Depot store that dealt with electric appliances, construction tools, and services. Soon after the complaint was made, Lubbock police met the employee at the store on 50th street to investigate the case. According to the police report, the employee said that Garza had been in the store just moments before and he had purchased ...
Read More