Science & Research

Lab unveils environmental studies research

Consumer behavior study provides marketing insight

"The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know," Albert Einstein once said. For some people, learning increases motivation, but for others, confronting lack of knowledge only begets frustration.  

First clinical trial offers hope for progeria patients

The first clinical study of a drug to treat progeria, a fatal disease that causes early-onset aging in children, was published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study was led by Leslie Gordon MA'91 MD/PhD'98, associate professor of pediatrics at Alpert Medical School.  ...

Scientific art reaches new heights at interdisciplinary talk

On the surface, a geology professor, a museum collection manager and a conceptual artist do not seem to have much in common. But last Thursday all three individuals came together to speak about the combination of art and science present in their work, as part of the first Brown Rhode Island School of ...

Econ study finds more genetic diversity does not lead to success

More genetic diversity does not lead to higher levels of economic development, according to research conducted by Oded Galor, professor of economics. Through the study of the relationship between genetic diversity and economic output, Galor and fellow researchers showed that the effect on developmental ...

Lecture stresses art's impact on medicine

The kickoff lecture of the third annual Creative Medicine lecture series was greeted Wednesday night with a packed room of students, doctors, artists and educators. The diverse audience - speckled with teal scrubs, backpacks and tortoise-shell glasses - captured the interdisciplinary appeal of the lecture ...

Talk highlights lack of minorities in sciences, math

Amy Slaton, associate professor of history at Drexel University, spoke to about a dozen faculty members in the Science Center yesterday about the underrepresentation of minorities in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. Slaton emphasized the need for skills-based education and ...

Biomarkers predict patient outcomes

Software recognizes subjects of sketches

If there is one thing people have learned from programs like Draw Something, it's that artistic ability varies greatly from one person to another. 

Times science writer stresses clarity of ideas

The ignorance that we exhibit is astonishing," Cornelia Dean '69, guest lecturer in environmental studies and writer-in-residence, told a crowd  that nearly filled an auditorium in the Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts Monday night. Dean was referring to the public's lack of ...

Biology prof finds methods of identifying usable stem cells

As a potential method for producing cells to repair failing systems in human bodies, many scientists are looking to stem cells ­- cells that have the power to differentiate or transform into many different cell types. Scientists already know how to extract stem cells from adult human fat and hope they ...

U. forgoes action against prof after study fraud

The University will not take action against former Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Martin Keller, despite acknowledgment by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline that Keller co-authored a fraudulent study advocating adolescent use of the antidepressant Paxil. In a record-breaking $3 billion ...

Archaeology profs present summer dig findings

From measuring fragments of monasteries in Paris to performing some of the first archaeological explorations of the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat, professors in Brown's archaeology department have had a busy summer. Speaking to a packed audience in Rhode Island Hall Wednesday, six archaeologists ...

U. engineers accurately detect flu virus with biochip prototype

Detection of the influenza virus - more widely known as the flu - has been a slow and laborious process to date. But biomedical engineers at Brown recently developed a prototype for a biochip that can rapidly and reliably detect influenza in patients. This chip would allow scientists to track the spread ...

Genetics influences political views, prof reports

U. archaeologists uncover Maya stucco masks

Sixteen hundred years ago, the inhabitants of the powerful ancient Maya kingdom of Tikal looked to the west and saw red. On a hilltop, in their direct line of sight, stood the Temple of the Night Sun. This temple, covered in fourteen five-foot tall stucco masks of the Maya sun god and painted blood ...

Higgs boson breakthrough fueled by U. professors

In the decades leading up to the European Organization for Nuclear Research's (CERN) July 4 announcement of the probable discovery of the Higgs boson, five Brown professors were hard at work theorizing the particle's existence and collecting and organizing the data that made possible this leap forward ...

BrainGate seeks to empower disabled

Prof adjusts to life on Mars time

While most professors and students are adjusting to the schedule of the new year, one professor is adjusting to Mars time, a day 40 minutes longer than our own. Ralph Milliken, assistant professor of geological sciences, is spending most of fall semester as a member of the science team on the NASA Mars ...

Senator meets geologists on climate change

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., met with members of the Department of Geological Sciences Friday, May 11 to discuss the importance of informing federal policymakers about climate change and to learn about steps Brown is taking in climate science. Whitehouse described the challenges he faces in convincing ...