Applying brainstorming techniques to new product development works best when the collaboration employs participants from varied specialties gathering to develop a less complex product, according to the Management Insights feature in the current issue of Management Science, the flagship journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS®).
When new products will be highly technical, a better way to develop them is for specialists to do their work in private and collaborate through 'nominal' groups, the study says.
"The Effects of Problem Structure and Team Diversity on Brainstorming Effectiveness" is by Stylianos Kavadias of the Georgia Institute of Technology and Svenja C. Sommer of HEC Paris.
Health & Wellness
As the country awaits word from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on the safety of the controversial industrial chemical bisphenol A - BPA - the head of a key federal agency head warns that ingesting BPA be avoided, especially by women who are pregnant, infants, and children.
"There are plenty of reasonable alternatives," said Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Toxicology Program, in an interview with the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel (JSOnline). Birnbaum noted that she is not a physician, but that her involvement with BPA studies has her concerned about its adverse effects, said JSOnline. Birnbaum said consumers should be "absolutely" worried about BPA's effects quoted JSOnline.
Last week, Birnbaum gave testimony before a Senate panel, comparing the chemical to "lead, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls," said JSOnline. Those chemicals have been found to be extremely dangerous to human health at low doses. Meanwhile, the NIEHS will be investing $30 million over two years to research the toxin and its effects on what Birnbaum described as "all stages of development," said JSOnline.
Developed in the 1930s, the estrogenic mimicker - originally developed as a replacement for the hormone, said JSOnline - appears to wreak havoc on the body's' endocrine system. Today, in urine tests, BPA is found in the overwhelming majority of Americans, more than 93 percent and was recently found to be present in the vast majority of newborns.
BPA has been connected to increased risks of brain, reproductive, cardiac, and immune system diseases and disorders; problems with liver function testing; interruptions in chemotherapy treatment; and links with serious health problems.
"There are plenty of reasonable alternatives," said Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Toxicology Program, in an interview with the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel (JSOnline). Birnbaum noted that she is not a physician, but that her involvement with BPA studies has her concerned about its adverse effects, said JSOnline. Birnbaum said consumers should be "absolutely" worried about BPA's effects quoted JSOnline.
Last week, Birnbaum gave testimony before a Senate panel, comparing the chemical to "lead, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls," said JSOnline. Those chemicals have been found to be extremely dangerous to human health at low doses. Meanwhile, the NIEHS will be investing $30 million over two years to research the toxin and its effects on what Birnbaum described as "all stages of development," said JSOnline.
Developed in the 1930s, the estrogenic mimicker - originally developed as a replacement for the hormone, said JSOnline - appears to wreak havoc on the body's' endocrine system. Today, in urine tests, BPA is found in the overwhelming majority of Americans, more than 93 percent and was recently found to be present in the vast majority of newborns.
BPA has been connected to increased risks of brain, reproductive, cardiac, and immune system diseases and disorders; problems with liver function testing; interruptions in chemotherapy treatment; and links with serious health problems.
A new study presented on December 1 at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) verified that annual mammography screenings may be responsible for causing breast cancer in women who are predisposed to the disease. Epidemiologist Marijke C. Jansen-van der Weide from the University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands suggests that doctors should be very cautious when screening younger women, especially those under age 30.
There are many conflicting reports about the benefits of mammography screenings, particularly among younger women below the age of 40. Because there is a high risk among women with genetic or familial predispositions to breast cancer when getting mammograms, Dr. Jansen-van der Weide and her research team are suggesting that these women get an alternative screening. Ultrasounds, MRIs, and heat thermography screenings are some alternatives that do not expose patients to radiation.
The study evaluated women in the high-risk group and determined that low-dose mammography radiation increased these women's risk of developing breast cancer by 150 percent. Women under 20 who have had at least five mammograms are 2.5 times more likely to develop breast cancer than high-risk women who have never undergone low-dose mammography screenings.
There are many conflicting reports about the benefits of mammography screenings, particularly among younger women below the age of 40. Because there is a high risk among women with genetic or familial predispositions to breast cancer when getting mammograms, Dr. Jansen-van der Weide and her research team are suggesting that these women get an alternative screening. Ultrasounds, MRIs, and heat thermography screenings are some alternatives that do not expose patients to radiation.
The study evaluated women in the high-risk group and determined that low-dose mammography radiation increased these women's risk of developing breast cancer by 150 percent. Women under 20 who have had at least five mammograms are 2.5 times more likely to develop breast cancer than high-risk women who have never undergone low-dose mammography screenings.
© T. Dube
Vision tests done in the 1970s on volunteers and repeated on a separate group of people from 1999 to 2004 found more nearsightedness in the recent years.
Vision tests done in the 1970s on volunteers and repeated on a separate group of people from 1999 to 2004 found more nearsightedness in the recent years.
It looks like nearsightedness is on the rise in the United States.
Researchers tapped into a wide-ranging health survey to rate vision in the population in the early 1970s and roughly 30 years later. They compared eyesight information for more than 4,400 people tested in 1971 and 1972 with data from another set of 8,300 people tested from 1999 to 2004.
This broad survey showed that 25 percent of those examined in the early 1970s were deemed to be nearsighted, compared with 42 percent examined three decades later, the researchers report in the December Archives of Ophthalmology. That's an increase of 66 percent.
Myopia severity also increased, with moderate nearsightedness doubling between the two time periods and severe cases, although uncommon, also rising sharply. Mild myopia cases increased slightly, from about 13 percent to 18 percent.
© Stewart Williams
Fructose syrup is increasingly being used as a substitute for more expensive types of sugar
Fructose syrup is increasingly being used as a substitute for more expensive types of sugar
Fructose, a sweetener derived from corn, can cause dangerous growths of fat cells around vital organs and is able to trigger the early stages of diabetes and heart disease.
It has increasingly been used as a substitute for more expensive types of sugar in yoghurts, cakes, salad dressing and cereals. Even some fruit drinks that sound healthy contain fructose.
According to headlines trumpeted around the world, cell phones are safe. This reassuring conclusion rests on an analysis of trends in brain cancer in Scandinavian countries up to 2003 which did NOT tie these trends in any way to actual patterns of use of cell phones.
However, Devra Davis, PhD, lead author of the recent white paper, "Cellphones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern" points out the dangers of believing this most recent media spin job.
"In Sweden, Norway and Finland, about half of all persons had cell phones in 2000," she says.
However, Devra Davis, PhD, lead author of the recent white paper, "Cellphones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern" points out the dangers of believing this most recent media spin job.
"In Sweden, Norway and Finland, about half of all persons had cell phones in 2000," she says.
"It would be unreasonable to expect to see any general population effect from such phone use in such a short period of time. Scientists know that brain cancer can take a decade or longer to develop in adults.
In the case of the Hiroshima bombing that ended World War Two, brain cancers associated with that one time massive exposure to radiation did not become evident until forty years later."
A new study criticizes the nation's food and beverage industry for failing to shift their marketing efforts aimed at children. The report said television advertising continues to contribute to epidemic levels of obesity, despite industry promises of reform.
Children Now, a California-based public policy group that advocates for children, commissioned the study, conducted by Dale Kunkel, a professor of communication at the University of Arizona, and UA graduate students Christopher McKinley and Paul Wright. The study can be seen on the Children Now Web site.
The study -- "The Impact of Industry Self-Regulation on the Nutritional Quality of Foods Advertised on Television to Children" -- analyzes the impact of the 2007 Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative. It is the first ever independent, comprehensive evaluation of industry self-regulation on advertising food to children. Kunkel also will present his findings on December 15 at a Federal Trade Commission hearing in Washington.
Children Now, a California-based public policy group that advocates for children, commissioned the study, conducted by Dale Kunkel, a professor of communication at the University of Arizona, and UA graduate students Christopher McKinley and Paul Wright. The study can be seen on the Children Now Web site.
The study -- "The Impact of Industry Self-Regulation on the Nutritional Quality of Foods Advertised on Television to Children" -- analyzes the impact of the 2007 Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative. It is the first ever independent, comprehensive evaluation of industry self-regulation on advertising food to children. Kunkel also will present his findings on December 15 at a Federal Trade Commission hearing in Washington.
Scientists at the University of Cambridge have discovered that the brains of individuals with autism are less active when engaged in self-reflective thought. The study published in the journal Brain provides new evidence for the neural correlates of self-awareness and a new window into understanding social difficulties in autism spectrum conditions.
In the new study, Michael Lombardo, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen and colleagues from the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge used functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) imaging to measure brain activity of 66 male volunteers, half of whom have a diagnosis of an autism spectrum condition.
Lombardo asked the volunteers to make judgments either about their own thoughts, opinions, preferences, or physical characteristics, or about someone else's, in this case the Queen. By scanning the volunteers' brains as they responded to these questions, the researchers were able to visualise differences in brain activity between those with and without autism.
They were particularly interested in part of the brain called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vMPFC), known to be active when people think about themselves. "This area is like a self-relevance detector, since it typically responds most to information that is self-relevant," Lombardo says.
In the new study, Michael Lombardo, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen and colleagues from the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge used functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) imaging to measure brain activity of 66 male volunteers, half of whom have a diagnosis of an autism spectrum condition.
Lombardo asked the volunteers to make judgments either about their own thoughts, opinions, preferences, or physical characteristics, or about someone else's, in this case the Queen. By scanning the volunteers' brains as they responded to these questions, the researchers were able to visualise differences in brain activity between those with and without autism.
They were particularly interested in part of the brain called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vMPFC), known to be active when people think about themselves. "This area is like a self-relevance detector, since it typically responds most to information that is self-relevant," Lombardo says.
Getting plenty of sleep not only helps keep truck drivers safe and alert on the road, it also seems to fuel healthy eating habits, new research hints.
In surveys of truckers working at U.S. trucking terminals, those who felt they regularly got adequate sleep tended to consume more fruits and vegetables and fewer sugary drinks and snacks, Dr. Orfeu M. Buxton, at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, and colleagues found.
These real-world findings are consistent with laboratory studies showing that insufficient sleep increases hunger and "induces greater eating, especially unnecessary snacking," Buxton noted in an email to Reuters Health.
In surveys of truckers working at U.S. trucking terminals, those who felt they regularly got adequate sleep tended to consume more fruits and vegetables and fewer sugary drinks and snacks, Dr. Orfeu M. Buxton, at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, and colleagues found.
These real-world findings are consistent with laboratory studies showing that insufficient sleep increases hunger and "induces greater eating, especially unnecessary snacking," Buxton noted in an email to Reuters Health.
Selenium-based antioxidant supplements may prevent the development of new colon polyps in people with a history of polyp formation, says a new study.
Over 400 people participated in the study, which saw them receive either placebo or a antioxidant-rich supplement containing selenomethionnine, zinc, and vitamins A, C, and E. At the end of the study people in the antioxidant group experienced a 40 per cent reduction in the incidence of new polyps of the large bowel.
"Our study is the first intervention trial specifically designed to evaluate the efficacy of the selenium-based antioxidant compound on the risk of developing metachronous adenomas," said lead researcher Luigina Bonelli, MD, from Italy's National Institute for Cancer Research in Genoa.
Over 400 people participated in the study, which saw them receive either placebo or a antioxidant-rich supplement containing selenomethionnine, zinc, and vitamins A, C, and E. At the end of the study people in the antioxidant group experienced a 40 per cent reduction in the incidence of new polyps of the large bowel.
"Our study is the first intervention trial specifically designed to evaluate the efficacy of the selenium-based antioxidant compound on the risk of developing metachronous adenomas," said lead researcher Luigina Bonelli, MD, from Italy's National Institute for Cancer Research in Genoa.
