Academia, meet the press We live in a world of too much information and not enough knowledge. No one feels the strain of that digital-age truism more than journalists, who are asked to ferret out and process information with ever-increasing speed — and often at the expense of providing solid context for the news of the day. Journalist’s Resource, a new online tool developed at Harvard’s Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, aims to put that background knowledge at the fingertips of reporters, bloggers, or even concerned citizens by making the work of academics less opaque and easier to find. But the website, which curates scholarship on government, economics, society, and the environment, is more than just a reliable shortcut for deadline-driven journalists. It’s also the ever-evolving manifestation of two Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) professors’ mission to promote what they call “knowledge-based reporting” in the mainstream media. That’s where Journalist’s Resource comes in.
Study suggests breast cancer is clutch of 10 diseases Scientists who conducted a major international study into the genetics of breast cancer say they can now classify the disease into 10 subtypes - a finding that points to more accurate, tailored treatment for individual patients in future. In research published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, a team led by scientists at the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) charity also found several completely new genes that drive breast cancer, offering potential targets for new types of drugs. Carlos Caldas, who co-led the study at CRUK's Cambridge Research Institute and the University of Cambridge said the findings mean breast cancer should now be seen as an "umbrella term" for a larger number of diseases. "Essentially we've moved from knowing what a breast tumor looks like under a microscope to pinpointing its molecular anatomy," he said. "This research won't affect women diagnosed with breast cancer today. Molecular map
Newspapers in Education | NIEUtah.com Peer Pressure 462 pp. New York: The Free Press. $26. As I was writing this review, two friends called to ask me about ''that book that says parents don't matter.'' Judith Rich Harris was chucked out of graduate school at Harvard 38 years ago, on the grounds that she was unlikely to become a proper experimental psychologist. The public may be forgiven for saying, ''Here we go again.'' What makes Harris's book important is that it puts all these theories into larger perspective, showing what each contributes and where it's flawed. First, researchers have been unable to find any child-rearing practice that predicts children's personalities, achievements or problems outside the home. Second, even when parents do treat their children the same way, the children turn out differently. Third, there is no correlation -- zero -- between the personality traits of adopted children and their adoptive parents or other children in the home, as there should be if ''home environment'' had a strong influence.
Identical Twins' Genes Are Not Identical Identical twins are identical, right? After all, they derive from just one fertilized egg, which contains one set of genetic instructions, or genome, formed from combining the chromosomes of mother and father. But experience shows that identical twins are rarely completely the same. Until recently, any differences between twins had largely been attributed to environmental influences (otherwise known as "nurture"), but a recent study contradicts that belief. Geneticist Carl Bruder of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and his colleagues closely compared the genomes of 19 sets of adult identical twins. Normally people carry two copies of every gene, one inherited from each parent. Scientists have long used twins to study the roles of nature and nurture in human genetics and how each affects disease, behavior, and conditions, such as obesity. Bruder speculates that such variation is a natural occurrence that accumulates with age in everyone.
Understanding the Salem Witch Trials Activity 1. Life in Puritan New England Separate the class into four groups, and assign each group one section of the EDSITEment LaunchPad under the label Understanding Puritan New England. Offer them the following instructions, and suggest that they distribute the reading evenly and return to discuss the questions after 10–15 minutes of reading. Understanding Puritan New England Instructions for students: Just as the society around us shapes the way we think and act, so did it shape the people of Salem, Massachusetts in the 1600s. Group One: The Puritans The Puritan Idea of the Covenant New Groups: A Great Migration Working: "To 1 day work at my house" Beliefs: A City upon a Hill What values that we now consider 'American' were contributed by the Puritans? Group Two Gender Roles: Beliefs and Gender Roles Education: Print and Protestantism Customs: Possessions Reveal Social Standing Getting Things: Importing Status Child Life: Fleeting Mortality Group Three The Land 1680–1720 Activity 2. Activity 3.