A controversy has arisen at Bowling Green State University, Ohio, after a sculpture titled “The Middle School Science Teacher Makes a Decision He’ll Live to Regret” was removed from an exhibit without the curator’s consent. The removal, initiated by the Interim Dean and approved by the University Provost, came after a request to the gallery director to remove the sculpture, which depicts a girl performing oral sex on a male teacher, citing the proximity of a children’s theater.
According to polling company Rasmussen Reports, satirical news shows, such as the Colbert Report and the Daily Show, may be replacing conventional news sources. In a recent survey of U.S. residents, 30 percent of respondents aged 18 to 29 believed that these programs were taking precedence. While the nature and quality of coverage provided by such satire-oriented programs is a matter of debate, satirical news shows appear to be strongly established, with 28 percent of adults saying they found these programs somewhat or very influential.
A study by University of Plymouth in England faculty suggests that doodling in class may improve academic performance. In this study, participants who doodled while listening to a “boring telephone message” retained 29 percent more information than those who did not. The researchers cautioned that if a task becomes too engaging or complex, the effect could be reversed, which appeared to be a common experience for students at the University of Plymouth.
The University of Minnesota recently gained position of the so-called Nun Study: a research project tracking the cognitive and motor abilities of 600 nuns using their posthumously donated brains. The nuns saw the contribution of their brains as continuing their life mission as educators, and the brains provide an extremely valuable sample, as there is very little variation in environmental and lifestyle factors. Research performed using these brains has provided information on brain dementia and on factors contributing Alzheimer’s disease.
Using a new method under development by Princeton faculty and researchers, it may soon be to possible to identify complete genetic sequences for as little as $100. This new technology, called nanofluidics, uses intricate, finely structured metal chips to draw out and isolate single strands of DNA, and preserves whole strands of DNA during the sequencing process, something other techniques are unable to do.
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