Researchers discover microDNA
Contrary to popular belief, recent research conducted by University Medical School researchers found DNA can exist outside of cell chromosomes. The University research team, led by Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics Prof. Anindya Dutta, discovered the presence of small, circular microDNA in both mouse and human tissue. These microDNAs are about the same size as the [...]
Read moreProf. of the week: Matthew Bowen
Matthew Bowen started teaching at the University this semester with Introduction to Child Psychology. At first, Bowen was wary of teaching such a large lecture class at the University since he said he prefers more intimate class sizes. But the opportunity of teaching at the University was a major incentive. Before he came to Charlottesville, [...]
Read moreObama applauds manufacturing partnership
President Obama visited the Rolls-Royce’s disc-manufacturing facility at Crosspointe in Prince George County earlier this month, praising it for its partnership with Virginia universities to incorporate faculty and students into workforce development and research. The University has been collaborating with the facility since 2007, and will now participate in a $1 billion project created by [...]
Read moreApple, Blackberry…and Raspberry?
The Raspberry Pi, an extremely thin, bare-bones computer, launched at the end of last month to the delight of tens of thousands of people. Consumers around the world had been anxiously waiting for its release for six years, and the computer sold out within hours. So what’s all the hype? The main appeal is the price: [...]
Read moreGroup finds new ancestor
Researchers at the Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology in Kunming, China this month recovered the remains of what could be another species of prehistoric human. Lead researchers Ji Xueping and Darren Curnoe found the remains in a collection of relics which other researchers had previously discovered in 1979 and 1989, but Xueping and [...]
Read moreU.Va. physicists seek Higgs boson particle
University physicists working with colleagues from the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory made significant advancements last week in their search for the Higgs boson particle, which scientists believe attracts all other particles, causing them to accumulate mass. This particle, first introduced by English physicist Peter Higgs, may prove pivotal in understanding the reasons behind the existence [...]
Read moreStudents discuss ACA
The University hosted a series of Flash Seminars last month about health care reform and the Affordable Care Act organized by Melissa Rickman, a third-year College and first-year Batten School student. Health care reform is important to both the individual and the nation, Rickman said, and is particularly relevant for students, who will be faced [...]
Read moreiHospital
Apple, post-Jobs, unveiled the iPad 3 and will release it this Friday. Anyone who knows me knows I’m vehemently opposed to Apple products. Why? If you can remember back to the turn of the millennium — pre-iPod days— Apple unleashed the iBook: a poorly designed, pre-Intel core, white doorstop. My school district, in all its infinite [...]
Read moreQuigg proposes epilepsy trial
University Medical School neurologist Mark Quigg is working to establish a clinical trial examining the use of Gamma Knife radiosurgery, a method which effectively treats people who suffer from mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. The Gamma Knife surgery uses radiation beams to nullify the lesion in the brain which causes epileptic seizures, and provides patients with [...]
Read moreGestures help kids learn
Studies suggest hand gestures have powerful implications for children’s cognitive capabilities. When children watch their elders pointing or making hand gestures, they will often respond by gesticulating as well. This establishes a neural connection which increases their capacity for learning. One study required children to solve a math problem by describing aloud each step, performing [...]
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