Tomorrow in Brief

Sustainable Sources of Biofuels

Native prairie plants may provide an alternative source of fuel that does not cut into food supplies. As societies increasingly demand crop-based biofuels to reduce dependence on petroleum, the rapid diversion of corn from food to fuel has many people worried about feeding tomorrow’s hungry. Now, environmental science researchers led by Michigan Technological University’s David Flaspohler advocate the use of diverse native prairie plants for bioenergy instead of relying on agricultural crops such as corn. Native crops are also better for preserving the habitats of birds and other species, and maintaining biodiversity is good for the long-term health of the ecosystem, according to the researchers.

Source: Michigan Technological University, www.mtu.edu .

Pollution without Borders

Most of the world’s air-quality problems are local, but non-domestic sources of pollution are an increasing concern around the world, according to the U.S. National Research Council. As developing countries become more industrialized, they are emitting more ozone, particulates such as soot and dust, mercury, and organic pollutants such as DDT. All of these pollutants can travel across continents; for instance, satellite observations have attributed plumes in central Oregon to polluted air masses that took eight days to travel from East Asia, where man-made emissions are expected to rise in coming decades.

Source: “Global Sources of Local Pollution,” National Research Council, Committee on the Significance of International Transport of Air Pollutants. National Academies Press, www.nap.edu .

Long-Term Impacts of Bad Shoes

Whether it’s a sexy stiletto or a stylish sandal, cute but high-risk shoes could cost you long-term foot pain, warn researchers from Boston University School of Public Health. Women are more prone to make poor footwear choices than men are, and thus put themselves more at risk of sprains, muscle strains, fractures, and a variety of foot pains from toenail to heel. The researchers recommend choosing low-risk shoes, such as athletic and casual sneakers, and avoiding high-risk shoes—high heels, sandals, and slippers. Performing stretching exercises can also help reduce the effects of bad shoes.

Source: “Foot Pain: Is Current or Past Shoewear a Factor?” by Alyssa B. Dufour et al. Arthritis Care & Research (Wiley-Blackwell, October 2009).

Plagiarists Beware: Musical Detection Software

Popular music has frequently borrowed from classical composers such as Mozart and Rachmaninoff, but now when songwriters borrow even a sequence of chord changes from one of their contemporaries, cries of plagiarism can be expected. Melody detectives will soon have new software to help predict whether a specific plagiarism charge would hold up in court, thanks to tune algorithms developed by computer scientists at Goldsmiths, University of London. The program models court decisions for cases of alleged tune theft; when tested on U.S. court cases, the model predicted 90% of the decisions correctly. The benefit for songwriters and their publishers would be that they could test their tunes against any similar preexisting melodies, assuring themselves and their fans of the new songs’ originality.

Source: Goldsmiths, University of London, www.goldsmiths.ac.uk.

Can Happiness Be Acquired?

Are some people just born happy while others are doomed to despair? Psychiatrists have plied patients with psychotropic drugs and long-term therapy sessions without altering their happiness, says Robert Cloninger, professor of psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis. However, by redirecting clinical treatment toward enhancing patients’ character development, their overall life satisfaction and well-being can be improved. To achieve happiness, Cloninger prescribes a psychoeducational program for improving self-directedness (by becoming more calm, accepting one’s limitations, and letting go of fear and conflict), cooperativeness (by working in the service of others), and self-transcendence (awareness of the roots of negative emotions), all traits that are essential for well-being.

Source: Robert Cloninger, Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110; http://psychobiology.wustl.edu/cloninger.html .

Heartbeat Monitored by Phone
A new application for your smart phone will let you send your heart rate directly to your doctor’s office. The iStethoscope, developed by University College London computer scientist Peter Bentley, comprises an audio amplifier that filters sounds from the built-in microphone to transmit clear signals of your heartbeat to the cardiologist. Bentley foresees such devices becoming more powerful and cheaper than traditional medical equipment, eventually putting an array of monitoring and diagnostic instruments in everyone’s pockets.
Sources: University College London, www.ucl.ac.uk. Peter Bentley, iStethoscope Pro, www.peterjbentley.com.

Tech Support for Homeless
Homeless people may be placed in permanent housing more quickly, thanks to portable technologies that reduce the cumbersome paper-based inspection and matching processes of housing services.
New York City’s Department of Homeless Services (DHS) is teaming with IBM and global Bay Mobile Technologies to deploy handheld devices for field inspectors to file reports, photos, and other documentation on available apartments, providing DHS case workers real-time information on what repairs are needed before placing clients in their new homes.The devices have already increased the number of inspections that DHS performs every month by 57%, and in turn the number of leases signed increased by 25% in one year.

Sources: New York City Department of Homeless Services, www.nyc.gov/dhs. IBM, www.ibm.com/services. Global Bay Mobile, www.globalbay.com/public-sector.html.

Retirement Crisis among Hispanic Americans
The future hardships that many Americans are already bracing themselves for as they approach retirement will hit Hispanic Americans even harder, according to a new study by Americans for Secure Retirement and the Hispanic Institute. Reasons: Hispanic Americans have saved less for their futures, are less likely to be covered by employer-sponsored retirement plans, and have inadequate financial literacy. The retirement crisis that many foresee is due to increased longevity and inadequate financial planning. Some 60% of middle-class Americans will outlive their money, according to the study. These trends will become especially critical to the rapidly growing Hispanic American population, who are largely employed in service-related fields that do not provide retirement plans or enough income for workers to save on their own. The study recommends educational programs for the Hispanic American community emphasizing alternative retirement savings options, such as lifetime annuities, which can help build retirement savings and guarantee secure future incomes.

Source: Americans for Secure Retirement, www.paycheckforlife.org .

Kids Need More Places to Play
Two-thirds of American children now fall short of the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity, and one reason is that they lack a safe place to play within walking distance.
Building more safe places to play could reduce childhood obesity and improve juvenile health and well-being overall. U.S. child obesity rates have nearly tripled since 1980.
The nonprofit organization KaBOOM has launched a Playful City USA campaign to honor imaginative ways that local groups have promoted play. Among the programs showcased in KaBOOM’s “Play Matters” report:
• Boston, Massachusetts’s Schoolyard Initiative has transformed 70 schoolyards into colorful and engaging outdoor classrooms and places to play.
• Boulder, Colorado’s Freiker Program (for “frequent bikers”) uses incentives to increase the number of children biking or walking to school. Kids can use solar-powered “Freikometers” that count their bike trips, earning points for prizes.
• Cedar Rapids, Iowa’s Switch Program encourages kids to switch what they do (from nonphysical to physical activities), switch what they view (reducing television viewing time), and switch what they chew (to increase fruit and vegetable consumption).
Source: KaBOOM, http://kaboom.org.

Developing “Middle Skills”
The recession may have severely suppressed employment growth, but economic recovery will depend on a workforce that is prepared for the jobs that will open. And the recovery may be led by the middle, according to a study by the Workforce Alliance and the Skills2Compete campaign.
Middle-skill workers ranging from carpenters to radiology technicians will be needed in the key industries that are benefiting from federal funding, such as construction, health care, manufacturing, and transportation. In Rhode Island, more than 42% of job openings between 2006 and 2016 are projected to be middle-skill jobs, compared with 26% for low-skill and 32% for high-skill jobs.
To overcome the middle-skills gap, the study recommends that employers invest more in training of lower-skilled employees, that jurisdictions invest more in vocational and two-year college programs, and that individuals invest more in their own skills through post-secondary schooling, vocational training, or apprenticeships.
Source: The Workforce Alliance, www.workforcealliance.org.
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Wild Plants as Protein Source
Wild lupins growing in the mountains of Andalusia in Spain could come to be a useful source of protein and fiber, according to researchers at the Fat Institute (CSIS) and the University of Seville.
Lupins are legumes, a principal source of vegetable protein in the human diet, and they are rich in fiber and polyphenols. The researchers studied six wild species of lupins, focusing on their amino acids, digestibility, and other nutritional factors. Whether the plants are cultivated as food or not, their seeds offer rich nutritional properties, the researchers conclude.

Sources: Javier Vioque Peña, Fat Institute (CSIC), www.ig.csic.es. Platforma SINC, www.plataformasinc.es .