Tags: Human Nature


Findings suggest brain pathways to impulsive eating

Very interesting new research from the department of cell biology. The new work has identified the neural pathways in an insect brain tied to eating for pleasure, a discovery that sheds light on mirror impulsive eating pathways in the human brain. "We know when insects are hungry, they eat more, become aggressive and are willing to do more work to get the food," said Ping Shen, a UGA associate professor of cellular biology in the Franklin…


UGA scientists finds new technology in Ancient 'Egyptian blue'

They describe surprise in discovering that the calcium copper silicate in Egyptian blue breaks apart into nanosheets so thin that thousands would fit across the width of a human hair. The sheets produce invisible infrared (IR) radiation similar to the beams that communicate between remote controls and TVs, car door locks, and other telecommunications devices. “Calcium copper silicate provides a route to a new class of nanomaterials that are…


Origins of Biomolecules

The Origins Lecture Series continues this week, with the Origins of Biomolecules by Claiborme Glover of biochemistry and molecular biology: This lecture will explore the physical and chemical origins of biomolecules prior to the origin of life.  We will focus first on the "Bio" (the likely nature of the first living thing); second, on the "Molecules" (the organic compounds of which that first living thing was composed), and third, on the "…


Schaefer receives Chemical Pioneer Award

An outstanding honor will be presented to Henry "Fritz" Schaefer from the American Institute of Chemists: Schaefer, Graham Perdue Professor of Chemistry in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, will receive the Chemical Pioneer Award at the AIC's annual meeting in April. The award recognizes researchers whose work has had a major influence on advances in chemistry. Past recipients include Nobel laureates Linus Pauling and Glenn T. Seaborg,…


Collaborative research proposals bring together UGA and CDC

Two of the three research proposals selected for funding by the Centers for Disease Control in a recent competition are from Franklin College faculty: Funded by the UGA Research Foundation and the CDC, the awards provide pilot research project funding to promote collaboration in scientific innovation and technology development at the interface of human, veterinary and ecological health, increase quality and output of research, and…


Robots and live theatre

David Saltz, head of the department of theatre and film studies, and assistant professor Anthony Marotta are presenting a paper this weekend at the International Conference in Commedia dell'Arte at the University of Windsor, Ontario. Their paper, A 21st century huminoid robot, becomes a commedia performer, details a project that brings together several UGA units that we've written about previously when it was performed for the public back in…


Refining your research

Along with a couple of dozen colleagues from campus, I was involved in a day-long workshop back in the fall on the subject of communicating research: how to accurately condense descriptions of research for public consumption. It's not inevitable that we always can, but we do try. And now, Columns reports that workshops to assist faculty on this subject will soon be repeated:  A team of UGA faculty and staff is beginning a new program to…

Tan and Mohnen in the lab
New Plant structure may improve biofuel processing

Great new work from Debra Mohnen and Li Tan in the BioEnergy Science Center: When Li Tan approached his colleagues at the University of Georgia with some unusual data he had collected, they initially seemed convinced that his experiment had become contaminated; what he was seeing simply didn’t make any sense. Tan was examining some of the sugars, proteins and polymers that make up plant cell walls, which provide the structural support and…


Technology improves logistics - but not learning

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports on a new study authored by a UGA sociology PhD candidate with some interesting findings: the study, “Technological Change and Professional Control in the Professoriate,” includes interviews with more than 40 professors at three universities. It suggests that professors often use such technologies for logistical purposes rather than to improve learning. “There is little or no indication that innovative…


NASA DEVELOP at UGA

Students and faculty in the department of geography have pioneered a terrific new collaboration with NASA set to begin this summer: University of Georgia's department of geography will partner with NASA through DEVELOP, a national student internship program created to enhance training and development in Earth science. The UGA collaboration is only the second housed strictly at a university in the U.S. Initial UGA projects include analyzing the…


lasers detect emerging flu strains

UGA researchers have received significant NIH support for development of new tools to detect virus strains of influenza: researchers are refining a nanotechnology-based method that uses laser light beams to more accurately predict emerging influenza strains-particularly strains with a risk of high mortality. The work will be funded by the National Institutes of Health and will total $1,124,914 over the next four years. Influenza kills thousands…

Pan with colleagues and LED
Scientists unveil new LED material

It often seems as though major developments in energy efficiency or conservation are so elusive that the entire pursuit may appear to be futile. But we are surrounded by smaller steps forward, almost on a daily basis. UGA researchers report today on one small step with major implications: University of Georgia scientists have fabricated what is thought to be the world's first LED that emits warm white light using a single light emitting material…


Discovery about little-studied protein holds promise for drug treatments

More evidence that the front lines of research on life-threatening diseases are right here on the UGA campus and in the Franklin College. Insightful new work from a research group lead by faculty member Natarajan Kannan of the Institute for Bioinformatics and the department of biochemistry and molecular biology: Enter protein kinases. Like specialized traffic signals, this huge class of proteins is critical for many aspects of cell communication…


Exploring early modern Spanish writing

Terrific story in this week's Columns about one of our romance language faculty members, her research and its impact. What is research in language studies? You might be surprised: the average American's knowledge of Spain's imperial expansion probably ranges from a few names of conquistadors to practically nothing. For Elizabeth Wright, an associate professor of Spanish in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, developing a broader…

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Faculty in the News, December 2012 - January 2013

December was a short month on campus but there was no shortage of news stories featuring the work and expertise of Franklin College faculty. A sampling:   Linguistics professor Bill Kretzschmar was quoted in a Fox News article on Google Books study on how language changes over time. Kretzschmar was also quoted in a Florida Times-Union story about Jacksonville’s disappearing Southern accent.   Professor and senior associate dean Hugh…


Happy New Year

It's still quiet around campus but our offices are open as faculty and staff get ready to welcome the students back next week. Between now and then we'll have much to share about performances, research, exhibitions, awards and distinguished visitors to campus. So... welcome back. Image: UGA photo of the main library facade by Peter Frey.


2012 on the Franklin Chronicles

As the year winds down, I would like to thank everyone for a wonderful 2012 on the Chronicles. We launched the blog right before the new year and brought it into full operation as the year progressed. The Franklin College has wonderful IT professionals, and it is because of them that this idea of a college-specific media site has come to fruition. I am indebted to them, particularly Sean Hendrix and Lauren Blais. My thanks and appreciation for…


Tool-using Orangutans and improving cotton at the genome level

A ScienceNow article in Wired.com features the work of a faculty member from psychology: Primatologist Dorothy Fragaszy of the University of Georgia in Athens says orangutans might have ideas of the sort that Gruber describes, but that’s not the most plausible explanation. Fragaszy cautions that Gruber cites only one study that discusses orangutans developing stick skills in the wild — and she says that work isn’t conclusive about when…


The biofuels equation: public opinion

From time to time we've mentioned the long-term investments at UGA in people and research on the issue of developing renewable energy sources. The university has cultivated a wide range of expertise on the subject that goes back decades. And all of that research on everything from fermentation of sugars in plant lignin to biodiesel and drought resistant strains of switchgrass would not be complete without also looking at public support for…


Scientists to speak at SEC renewable energy symposium

A three-day SEC-sponsored event in February to discuss the future of renewable energy will feature two Franklin researchers with wide experience in our region's quest for renewable fuels: The SEC Symposium theme, “Impact of the Southeast in the World’s Renewable Energy Future,” will explore the spectrum of renewable energy technologies, including bioenergy, solar, wind, wave/flow and nuclear.  ... Researchers from all 14 member schools will…

two people in a lab
Researchers find ancient mechanisms propel modern parasites

Finding cures and new treatments for diseases seems to be a unique eschelon of highly-informed scientific detective work, as this new finding published by Franklin College researchers demonstrates: Long ago, when life on Earth was in its infancy, a group of small single-celled algae propelled themselves through the vast prehistoric ocean by beating whip like tails called flagella. It's a relatively unremarkable tale, except that now, more than…


NSF renews coastal research grant

The UGA Marine Institute on Sapelo Island was founded in 1953 and has been at the center of ecological research on salt-marsh coastal ecoystems ever since. That work, lead by our department of marine sciences, continues apace with the renewal of an important NSF grant: A consortium of universities headed by the University of Georgia will continue ecological field research on the marshes and estuaries of the Georgia coast following the renewal of…


Dave Brubeck at UGA

The Red & Black had a nice rembrance of jazz great Dave Brubeck, who died wednesday at the age of 91. The article recalls that Brubeck was a guest artist in residence at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music in Feb. 2008. We are lucky to have shared our campus and opened our stages and classrooms to this visionary pianist and composer. The UGA students who can say they learned from and performed alongside Brubeck will carry something all their…


ARCS Foundation funds global health research abroad for doctoral students

The Atlanta Chapter of the ARCS - Achievement Rewards for College Students - Foundation awarded $70,000 to nine doctoral students in the biomedical and health sciences at the University of Georgia, one of whom received a special $10,000 grant to study global health research abroad: The ARCS Foundation was founded in Los Angeles in 1958 and is dedicated to helping meet the country's needs for scientists and engineers by providing…


Commedia Robotica

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