Today's News: Friday, June 29, 2012
Featured
Supreme Court upholds health care reform
Several University of Minnesota experts were used as resources by local and national press to discuss Thursday's historic ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States to uphold the Affordable Care Act. Below is a sampling of the coverage:
Minnesota Public Radio
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/06/28/daily-circuit-supreme-court-health-care-ruling
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/06/23/politics/capitol-healthcare/
Minneapolis Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/politics/160698305.html
St. Paul Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/ci_20944273/supreme-court-decision-health-care-will-have-impact
MinnPost
http://www.minnpost.com/dc-dispatches/2012/06/supreme-courts-health-law-ruling-means-full-steam-ahead-gop-repeal-efforts
Minnesota Daily
http://www.mndaily.com/2012/06/28/supreme-court-upholds-healthcare-law-university-policy-remain-same
KARE-11 (watch)
http://www.kare11.com/news/article/981232/396/Health-reform-explained-Whats-next-for-consumers
FOX-9 (watch)
http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/18909128/a-look-at-the-federal-health-care-law-in-minnesota
CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/28/politics/supreme-court-health-obama/index.html
Research
Geckos evolved sticky feet many times
Geckos are superb wall-crawlers. These lizards can scuttle up sheer surfaces and cling to ceilings with effortless grace, thanks to toes that are covered in microscopic hairs. ...Tony Gamble from the University of Minnesota has traced the evolutionary relationships of almost all gecko groups, and shown that these lizards have evolved their wall-crawling acumen many times over.
Discover Magazine
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/06/27/geckos-evolved-sticky-feet-many-times/
International Science Times
http://www.isciencetimes.com/articles/3319/20120628/geckos-evolved-sticky-toe-pads-repeatedly.htm
redOrbit
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112647800/the-evolution-of-sticky-feet/
BioScholar News
http://news.bioscholar.com/2012/06/sticky-gecko-toepad-secrets-could-inspire-future-robots-to-run-up-walls.html
Minnesota Daily
http://www.mndaily.com/2012/06/27/new-u-research-traces-evolutionary-history-geckos’-sticky-toepads
Cape Times
http://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/geckos-sticky-toes-inspire-engineers-1.1330711#.T-4QExyLacM
Newstrack India
http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2012/06/28/183--Sticky-Gecko-toepads-could-inspire-better-adhesive-technologies.html
Carbon exchanges in the burbs
Do you want to slow climate change? Plant evergreens. Plants, especially trees, play an enormously important role in the regulating climate change by capturing the carbon released by the burning of fossil fuels. Some have described them as the earth's lungs. ...Now, researchers at the University of Minnesota and University of California Santa Barbara, have gone to great heights to try to answer that.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/blogs/160739555.html
Minnesota Public Radio
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/news_cut/archive/2012/06/the_suburbs_quiet_war_on_co2.shtml
KSTP.com
http://kstp.com/article/stories/s2672279.shtml
Scientists discover way to improve efficiencies in fuel, chemical and pharmaceutical industries
University of Minnesota engineering researchers are leading an international team that has made a major breakthrough in developing a catalyst used during chemical reactions in the production of gasoline, plastics, biofuels, pharmaceuticals, and other chemicals. The discovery could lead to major efficiencies and cost-savings in these multibillion-dollar industries.
redOrbit
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112648434/scientists-discover-way-to-improve-efficiencies-in-fuel-chemical-and-pharmaceutical-industries/
The Engineer
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/sectors/energy-and-environment/news/team-reveals-breakthrough-in-chemical-catalyst-development/1013045.article
Job worries for parents may mean poorer nutrition for kids
The more work-related stress parents experience, the more likely their children are to eat unhealthy meals, a new study shows. ...Bauer conducted the research while at the University of Minnesota.
U.S. News and World Report
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/06/28/job-worries-for-parents-may-mean-poorer-nutrition-for-kids
Business and Politics
Party of perfect dictatorship set for comeback in Mexico
Accused of every dirty trick in the book during its 71-year grip on power in the 20th century, Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party has bounced back and is on the verge of a dramatic victory in Sunday's presidential election. ..."That shows he is willing to break an old PRI taboo and it's the kind of thing that you need to do to get reforms going," said Timothy Kehoe, an economics professor at the University of Minnesota and an adviser to Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/28/us-mexico-election-idUSBRE85R12320120628
People and Lifestyle
'Amazing Spider-Man' algorithm created by a real scientist
In addition to adorable scenes between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy and lots of web slinging, “The Amazing Spider-Man,” which come outs next week, revolves a lot around the Oscorp lab and, subsequently, science. One of those science plot points is a math formula called the Decay Rate Algorithm. ...University of Minnesota physics professor Jim Kakalios, served as a consultant on the film and helped come up with the realistic looking formula.
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/amazing-spider-man-algorithm-created-by-a-real-scientist-video/2012/06/29/gJQAhYfgBW_blog.html
University of Minnesota Crookston prof not a 'Millionaire', but wins $13,500
John Loegering, a college professor in Crookston, earned $13,550 on the “Who Wants to be Millionaire” television show that aired Thursday. ...A wildlife ecologist at Minnesota-Crookston, Loegering was sworn to secrecy about how he fared since the taping in New York City on Nov. 2.
Detroit Lakes Online
http://www.dl-online.com/event/article/id/68476/
Commentary and Opinion
Land-grant system anniversary invites reflection on big discoveries, quiet successes
As you join together to celebrate American accomplishments this Fourth of July, take a few moments to remember the individuals who turned innovative ideas into a treasured part of the American experience. ...This year the University of Minnesota and the nation’s other 105 land-grant institutions will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Act. ...By Bev Durgan, University of Minnesota Extension
Minnesota Farm Guide
http://www.minnesotafarmguide.com/news/regional/land-grant-system-anniversary-invites-reflection-on-big-discoveries-quiet/article_ac2be226-c166-11e1-9e6e-0019bb2963f4.html