UB in the News

An article on Discovery News about caffeine consumption in young children quotes Jennifer Temple, a UB behavioral neurobiologist, who said that when it comes to young people, there is almost no evidence to say how much caffeine is too much or what the health effects might be.

An article in Science magazine about the shift in researchers' thinking about the microbes and viruses in and on our bodies, and the role they play in keeping our bodies functioning, reports Steven Gill, associate professor of microbiology and immunology, and colleagues did a metagenomics study of the gut, and found metabolic genes that complemented the human genome, including ones that break down dietary fiber, amino acids or drugs, and others that produce methane or vitamins.

A story on North Country Public Radio about the debate over hydrofracking quotes Martin Casstevens, director of UB's Direct Energy and business formation and commercialization manager for the Office of Science, Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach.

An article on the Family Research Council blog reports UB scientists have engineered adult stem cells that can grow continuously in culture by genetically engineering mesenchymal stem cells, a type of adult stem cell from bone marrow that can form other cell types and repair various tissues.

An article in The Better World Report, an annual publication from the Association of University Technology Managers, reports on First Crush, a battery-operated pill crusher developed by UB's Jim Leahy, Jonathan Leahy and Robyn Washousky. The article appears on page 95.

An article in The New York Times reports on a talk Wednesday by the curators of the controversial exhibition "Hide/Seek" in the National Portrait Gallery, which two weeks ago decided to remove an AIDS-themed artwork from the show after it came under attack. The article quotes Jonathan Katz, associate professor of visual studies and co-curator of the exhibition, who called the decision to remove the video "abhorrent."

An article distributed by UPI reports on research conducted by Ash Levitt, a postdoctoral fellow at the Research Institute on Addictions, that showed that couples who drink together say they feel increased intimacy and decreased relationship problems the next day than those who drink apart.

An article on The Next Web about the role social media such as Facebook can play in locating missing children reports that UB graduate students have created a location-based app for Facebook called "AMBER Alert: Project Blue," which notifies users when an AMBER Alert goes out within 50 miles of the city listed on their profile as their current location.

An article in the Montreal Gazette about the hype surrounding a possible breakthrough in treating multiple sclerosis reports that not all researchers have corroborated the findings, including Robert Zivadinov, professor of neurology. An article also appeared in the Ottawa Citizen.

Leonard Epstein, professor of pediatrics and social and preventive medicine, is quoted in an article in The New York Times about research in the current issue of Science that showed the benefits of "imaginary eating," and found that when people imagined themselves eating M&Ms or pieces of cheese, they were less likely to gorge themselves on the real thing. The findings raise intriguing questions for further research, Epstein said.