Latest Ohio State University Stories

New research suggests that pre-school students may gain more language and literacy skills if they have teachers with higher levels of confidence in their abilities.However, in some cases students only saw gains when their teachers also had classrooms that emphasized emotional support for the children."Emotionally responsive relationships between teachers and children may be the way by which the self-efficacy of teachers can have a positive influence on children's literacy," said Ying Guo,...

Less ice covers the Arctic today than at any time in recent geologic history.That's the conclusion of an international group of researchers, who have compiled the first comprehensive history of Arctic ice.For decades, scientists have strived to collect sediment cores from the difficult-to-access Arctic Ocean floor, to discover what the Arctic was like in the past. Their most recent goal: to bring a long-term perspective to the ice loss we see today.Now, in an upcoming issue of Quarternary...

While some Latino immigrants to the United States may be accepted as "white" by the wider society, a new study finds that many of them face discrimination based on skin color.In fact, the research showed that relatively darker-skinned Latinos earned less than their lighter-skinned counterparts.The results suggest that the rapid influx of Latino immigrants will shift the boundaries of race in the United States, but will not end skin-color-based discrimination."It is likely we will see change...

A study examining the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and illness suggests that a BMI of 30 or above, a signal of obesity according to federal health standards, does not translate into current illness among adults under age 40.In addition, researchers found that across all age groups studied, from 25 to 70 years, there was little difference in the current health status in normal-weight vs. overweight people based on the medications they took.Body mass index is a common health...

Scientists have caught male topi antelopes in the act of faking fear in front of females in heat as a way to improve their chances of having sex.The male antelopes, observed in southwest Kenya, send a false signal that a predator is nearby only when females in heat are in their territories. When the females react to the signal, they remain in the territory long enough for some males to fit in a quick mating opportunity.The signal in this case, an alarm snort, is not a warning to other...

Even tiny patches of woods in urban areas seem to provide adequate food and protection for some species of migrating birds as they fly between wintering and breeding grounds, new research has found.The results are important because, with the expansion of cities worldwide, migrating landbirds increasingly must pass through vast urban areas which offer very little of the forest habitats on which many species rely."The good news is that the birds in our study seemed to be finding enough food in...

Local ordinances in Appalachian states with weak statewide smoking regulations do not offer most residents adequate protection against second-hand smoke, according to a new study.Researchers examined smoking-related ordinances at the community level in six Appalachian states. Based on their analysis, they said that efforts should be focused on enacting strong statewide clean indoor air laws rather than relying on local ordinances to make public places smoke-free in some of these states.The...

Moderate to severely depressed clients showed greater improvement in cognitive therapy when therapists emphasized changing how they think rather than how they behave, new research has found.The results suggest cognitive therapists should concentrate, at least during the first few sessions, on using cognitive techniques to help those with more severe depression to break out of negative thought patterns and to see events in their lives more realistically.The study found that a concentration on...

Scientists have used quantum mechanics to reveal that the most common mineral on Earth is relatively uncommon deep within the planet.Using several of the largest supercomputers in the nation, a team of physicists led by Ohio State University has been able to simulate the behavior of silica in a high-temperature, high-pressure form that is particularly difficult to study firsthand in the lab.The resulting discovery -- reported in this week's early online edition of the Proceedings of the...

A tiny gene mutation in human liver cells could one day influence how high or low a dose patients need of about half of the clinically used drugs on the market, new research suggests.Scientists at Ohio State University and their colleagues have identified this mutation, and have shown that it alters the level of a protein in the liver responsible for processing between 45 percent and 60 percent of medications used to treat a wide range of conditions.Each gene contains two alternative forms...