Volume IV Issue 11
November 2008 |
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 Number
Sense: Easy as 1, 2, 3
 Knowing
how precisely a high school freshman can estimate the number of objects
in a group gives you a good idea how well he has done in math as far
back as kindergarten, researchers at The Johns Hopkins University found.
Some intuition about numbers, counting and mathematical ability is basic
to almost all animals. For example, creatures that gather or hunt for
food keep track of the approximate number of food items they procure.
The Johns Hopkins team wondered whether this basic, seemingly innate
number sense had any bearing on the formal mathematics that people learn
in school.
Good "number sense" at age 14 correlates with higher scores on
standardized math tests throughout a child's life and weaker "number
sense" at 14 predicts lower scores on standardized tests, says Justin
Halberda, assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences in the
university's Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. "We discovered that a
child's ability to quickly estimate how many things are in a group
significantly correlates with that child's performance in school math
for every single year, reaching all the way back to when he or she was
in kindergarten," Halberda said.
 Find
out more about careers in mathematics...
Scientists
Unmask Brain's Hidden Potential
 Previous
research has found that when vision is lost, a person's senses of touch
and hearing become enhanced. But exactly how this happens has been
unclear. Now a long-term study from the Berenson-Allen Center for
Noninvasive Brain Stimulation at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC)
demonstrates that sudden and complete loss of vision leads to profound –
but rapidly reversible -- changes in the visual cortex. These findings
not only provide new insights into how the brain compensates for the
loss of sight, but also suggest that the brain is more adaptable than
originally thought.
The studies showed that even in an
adult, the normally developed visual system quickly becomes engaged to
process touch in response to complete loss of sight. The speed and
dynamic nature of the changes we observed suggest that rather than
establishing new nerve connections – which would take a long time – the
visual cortex is unveiling abilities that are normally concealed when
sight is intact. The scientists had previously shown that study subjects
with normal vision who are blindfolded for a five-day period performed
better than non-blindfolded control subjects on Braille tests.
Subsequent brain scans found that blindfolded subjects also experienced
dramatic changes in the brain's visual cortex.
Find
out more about career paths in
biological engineering and
biology...
Average
Salary to New Grads Up 7.6%
 Despite
negative trends in many parts of the economy, the college Class of 2008
ended the year on a positive note, according to results of a new survey
conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Survey
responses revealed that 94 percent of all disciplines had increases to
their average starting salary offers. In fact, the average starting
salary offer to all college graduates in the Fall 2008 Salary Survey is
up 7.6 percent to $49,224. For example, the average salary offer made to
this year's group of computer and information sciences graduates is up
from $51,992 to $58,677 -- a healthy 12.9 percent increase. In addition
to demand for these graduates, the offers made by computer and
electronics products manufacturers may have contributed to the large
increase; these employers made a fair number of salary offers that
exceeded $70,000.
Falling in line with computer and information sciences graduates are
engineering graduates, another collection of highly sought-after
candidates. The average salary offer to these graduates rose 6.6
percent, from $53,710 to $57,250. The average salary offer to chemical
engineering graduates grew by 7.7 percent to $63,773. The news was also
good for computer engineering graduates, whose average salary offer
topped out at $60,280, a 7.8 percent increase.
Find
out more about salary levels in over
200 fields....
Degree
Profile: Podiatrist
 The
human foot is a complex structure. It contains 26 bones -- plus muscles,
nerves, ligaments, and blood vessels -- and is designed for balance and
mobility. The 52 bones in the feet make up about one-fourth of all the
bones in the human body. Podiatrists, also known as doctors of podiatric
medicine (DPMs), diagnose and treat disorders, diseases, and injuries of
the foot and lower leg. Podiatrists treat corns, calluses, ingrown
toenails, bunions, heel spurs, and arch problems; ankle and foot
injuries, deformities, and infections; and foot complaints associated
with diabetes and other diseases. To treat these problems, podiatrists
prescribe drugs and physical therapy, set fractures, and perform
surgery. They also fit corrective shoe inserts called orthotics, design
plaster casts and strappings to correct deformities, and design
custom-made shoes. Podiatrists may use a force plate or scanner to help
design the orthotics: patients walk across a plate connected to a
computer that "reads" their feet, picking up pressure points and weight
distribution. From the computer readout, podiatrists order the correct
design or recommend another kind of treatment.
 Podiatrists
must be licensed, requiring 3 to 4 years of undergraduate education, the
completion of a 4-year podiatric college program, and passing scores on
national and State examinations. Podiatrists enjoy very high earnings.
Median annual earnings of salaried podiatrists are about $108,220.
Find
out more about a career as a
podiatrist...
Center
Brings Together Biologists & Mathematicians
 Biologists
and mathematicians from around the world will take part in a new
institute dedicated to bringing top researchers together to find
creative solutions to pressing problems in both scientific fields. Known
as the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, or
NIMBioS, the center is funded by a $16 million award from the National
Science Foundation (NSF) and is located at the University of Tennessee
Knoxville. Mathematical biology is a growing field that applies the
power of mathematics and modeling to the questions at multiple scales of
space and time faced by biologists. Whether developing better strategies
to control the spread of invasive species or determining the best way to
combat wildfires, the techniques allow researchers to take a larger,
more systematic approach to finding the best possible solutions.
Other challenges NIMBioS scientists will address include fundamental
science questions such as the way in which the components of cells work
together to create a fully functional system, and developing new
paradigms in mathematics. NIMBioS will bring together small groups of
researchers from mathematics, biology and other fields to approach very
specific issues that face the country. In addition to small working
groups, the institute will host larger gatherings on biological topics
and on how to apply the tools of computational biology in general.
Find
out more about careers in
mathematics and biology...
Student
Develops Hurricane Evacuation System
 Hundreds
of lives and hundreds of millions of dollars could potentially be saved
if emergency managers could make better and more timely critical
decisions when faced with an approaching hurricane. Now, an MIT graduate
student has developed a computer model that could help do just that.
Michael Metzger's software tool, created as part of the research for his
PhD dissertation, could allow emergency managers to better decide early
on whether and when to order evacuations -- and, crucially, to do so
more efficiently by clearing out people in stages. The tool could also
help planners optimize the location of relief supplies before a
hurricane hits.
By analyzing data from 50 years of hurricanes and detailed information
on several major ones, and by comparing the information available at
various times as a hurricane approached with data from the actual
storm's passage, Metzger said he was able to produce software that
provides a scientifically consistent framework to plan for an oncoming
hurricane. The concept of evacuating an area in stages -- focusing on
different categories of people rather than different geographical
locations -- is one of the major innovations to come out of Metzger's
work, since congestion on evacuation routes has been a significant
problem in some cases, such as hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Metzger
suggests that, for example, the elderly might be evacuated first,
followed by tourists, families with children, and then the remaining
population. The determination of the specific categories and their
sequence could be determined based on the demographics of the particular
area.
Metzger is a research assistant in the MIT Engineering Systems
Division's Center for Engineering Systems Fundamentals, and a PhD
student in the Operations Research Center.
Find
out more about careers in engineering
and computing...
NSF
STEM Program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities
 The
Historically Black College and Universities Program (HBCU-UP) of the
National Science Foundation provides awards to enhance the quality of
undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)
education and research at Historically Black Colleges and Universities
as a means to broaden participation in the nation's STEM workforce. HBCU-UP
is committed to increasing the number of students participating in STEM
programs and research at HBCUs. HBCU-UP recognizes and supports the
important role that HBCUs play in increasing the numbers of
underrepresented ethnic minorities that are well prepared for
participation and leadership at every level of education and research in
STEM. HBCU-UP currently impacts access and the quality of STEM education
for more than 30,000 students majoring in STEM at HBCUs through a
diverse set of programs. More than 16,000 STEM students have graduated
from HBCU-UP supported institutions since 1998.
Find
out more...
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