Scientists use creativity and models in problem solving

September 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Simians may outsmart spotted hyenas but when it comes to cooperation and problem solving, hyenas easily beat chimps hands down, says a new study. Captive pairs of spotted hyenas that needed to tug two ropes in unison to earn a food reward, cooperated successfully and learned the manoeuvres quickly with no training.

September 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Spotted hyenas have been found to outperform chimpanzees in cooperative problem-solving tests in a new study. Christine Drea, an evolutionary anthropologist at Duke University, says that captive pairs of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) that needed to tug two ropes in unison to earn a food reward cooperated successfully, and learnt the manoeuvres quickly with no training.

September 29th, 2009 LONDON - History is teeming with examples of great artists and men who acted in peculiar ways, signifying either madness or sheer brilliance. In an attempt to understand whether psychosis and creativity are two sides of the same coin, a Hungarian psychiatrist has examined the link between the two.

September 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists, in a new research, have found that about 34 million years ago, Antarctica had more room for ice than previously thought. Scientists from the University of California, Santa Barbara, US, carried out the research.

September 2nd, 2009 LONDON - Parrots that are strongly right- or left-footed are better at problem-solving tasks than their ambidextrous counterparts, according to a new study. Lead researchers Maria Magat and Culum Brown at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, worked with eight species of Australian parrot, some of which are primarily left-biased - gang-gang cockatoos, for instance, are 100 per cent left-footed - others right-biased and the rest "ambidextrous".

August 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Climate models have confirmed that as a result of human-induced global warming, the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere is increasing. The research was done by scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and a group of international researchers.

August 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have determined that depletion in the ozone layer is reducing the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake of the Southern Ocean. Most current models predict that the strength of the Southern Ocean CO2 sink should increase as atmospheric CO2 rises, but observations show that this has not been the case.

August 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have analyzed seven different climate models to come to the conclusion that human-induced land cover changes (LCCs), such as the clearing of forests for farming, can affect climate. To study the regional and global effects of LCC, A.

August 5th, 2009 LONDON - Early relatives of spiders that lived around 300 million years ago now stand revealed in detailed three-dimensional models, says a study. Scientists at Imperial College London (ICL) have created detailed 3D computer models of two fossilized specimens of ancient creatures called Cryptomartus Hindi and Eophrynus Prestvicii, closely related to modern-day spiders.

July 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new study, scientists at University of California Irvine (UCI) have discovered a previously unknown chemical reaction that could account for up to 40 parts per billion of ozone. This reaction is not included in computer models used to predict air pollution levels and the effectiveness of ozone control strategies that can cost billions of dollars.

June 30th, 2009 Obama to salute US problem-solving TuesdayWASHINGTON — So what's working when it comes to innovative problem solving around the country? President Barack Obama on Tuesday will be highlighting nonprofit programs that are making a difference. The White House says the president will salute creative approaches and will discuss the importance of looking outside Washington for solutions.

June 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A leading expert on the positive benefits of napping says that Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep enhances creative problem-solving. Dr. Sara Mednick, assistant professor of psychiatry at UC San Diego and the VA San Diego Healthcare System, says that these findings may have important implications for how sleep, specifically REM sleep, fosters the formation of associative networks in the brain.

June 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists with NASA's Cassini mission, studying Saturn's moon Titan say its clouds are still noticeable in the southern hemisphere while fall is approaching. They monitored Titan's atmosphere for three-and-a-half years, between July 2004 and December 2007, and observed more than 200 clouds.

May 29th, 2009 EDINBURGH - Scientists have warned that climate change poses as great a threat as the nuclear arms race, and have called on world leaders to take action to tackle the problem. According to a report in The Scotsman, the statement was made by scientists and Nobel laureates attending a three-day conference hosted by St James's Palace that drew up a memorandum calling for global greenhouse gas emissions to peak by 2015.

April 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Teaching basic concepts behind maths problems is more beneficial for students than the exact procedures to solve the problems, according to a new study by Vanderbilt University researchers The results may offer teachers new insights on how best to shape maths instruction to have the greatest impact on student learning. "Teaching children the basic concept behind math problems was more useful than teaching children a procedure for solving the problems - these children gave better explanations and learned more," said Bethany Rittle-Johnson, assistant professor of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College.