Writing Study Ties Autism To Motor-Skill Problems

NPR Morning Edition aired this story by Jon Hamilton this morning, observing that severe problems with handwriting is "indicative of a much larger problem with motor skills." Amy Bastian, a neuroscientist who directs the Motion Analysis Laboratory at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, found that many children with some degree of autism "have trouble holding a fork, buttoning a shirt, or tying their shoelaces."

"And these problems with motor skills may carry over into social interactions," Bastian says. "These are the kids that are going to get picked last for kickball... who are clumsy, who already have difficulty relating to other kids. And the motor component probably makes things worse."

From Jon Hamilton's story: Bastian says a lack of motor skills can also make it harder to communicate through subtle gestures and facial expressions. And people who can't make these gestures and expressions themselves often have trouble understanding what they mean when other people use them. The inability to read faces and gestures is a hallmark of autism.

The research findings were published in yesterday's edition of Neurology. Read the authors' abstract at the publisher's web site:
Christina T. Fuentes, Stewart H. Mostofsky, and Amy J. Bastian
Children with autism show specific handwriting impairments.
Neurology 2009 73: 1532-1537.

The full-text of this article will be available for open access in one year, archived at PubMedCentral. For quicker access, request it on interlibrary loan.

Access a recent review of autism research at the OhioLINK Electronic Book Center:

Title	Autism : current theories and evidence / Andrew W. Zimmerman, editor
Publish Info	Totowa, NJ : Humana Press, c2008

Carbon Capture and Storage: Essential or Insane?

The Geology Department is hosting Dr. Beverly Saylor, Associate Professor, Department of Geological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, on Wednesday evening at 7 pm (Severance Hall, 1st floor lecture room). Dr. Saylor will present a talk entitled Carbon Capture and Storage: Essential or Insane?

Dr. Saylor researches the feasibility of carbon capture both in Ohio and beyond. Her research has been funded by many agencies including the NSF, the EPA, the DOE, the Ohio Coal Research Consortium, and the Lake Erie Protection Fund. [more about Dr. Saylor's research interests]

Find transcripts of U.S. Senate hearings regarding carbon capture with a keyword search in OBIS. The most recent hearing listed in OBIS took place before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on May 14, 2009, and can be borrowed from the Main Library government documents collection: SuDocs number Y 4.EN 2:S.HRG.111-50.

A Fact Sheet by Eric Sundquist from the U.S. Geological Survey gives an overview of carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change [access online]. GeoRef gives access to hundreds of more papers and abstracts of presentations on carbon capture and storage; search carbon sequestration as a subject in GeoRef.

Bioethics and Stem Cells Considered Tonight

One of the many events this Parents Weekend in Oberlin is a presentation tonight with Dr. Andrew Trew, Lecturer in the Philosophy Department, John Carroll University on "Stem Cells: Promises and Pitfalls"
King Hall, Room 106, 7-8:30 p.m.

This presentation focuses on clarifying the issues raised in the current ethical and scientific debates surrounding stem cell research and its commercial potential [from the OC Events calendar].

Gain some background information with any number of books in the library's collection, found with a subject search on Stem Cells - Research - Moral and Ethical Aspects, including these titles:

The human embryo research debates : bioethics in the vortex of controversy / Ronald M. Green
The human embryonic stem cell debate : science, ethics, and public policy / edited by Suzanne Holland, Karen Lebacqz, and Laurie Zoloth [also available online]
Monitoring stem cell research [electronic resource] : a report of the President's Council on Bioethics
Sex, science, and stem cells : inside the right wing assault on reason / Diana DeGette, with Daniel Paisner
Stem cell research : new frontiers in science and ethics / edited by Nancy E. Snow

Chemistry's Turn to Shine: Year of Science Theme for November

The Periodic Table is featured prominently on the Year of Science web site this month, to kick off November's celebration of chemistry. For what is life without chemistry? Not life, that's for certain. As just about any introductory chemistry text will tell you, the six most abundant elements in living systems are oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur. How can just 6 elements do so much of the work in the human body? Ah, that's part of the fascination of molecular science. [Encyclopedia Britannica overview]

Interdisciplinary research at the molecular level has led to the creation of a great number of specialized journals, many of which can be found in the OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center by browsing Molecular... or Journal of molecular... as the first part of journal titles. Browse other chemistry related journals in OhioLINK EJC.

Whether you sailed through p-chem with flying colors and completely understand the relationship between Gibbs free energy and entropy, or barely made it through high school chemistry and have forgotten the difference between moles and grams, you can have fun with chemistry. Have fun with science in the lab of Dr. Shakahsiri.

Ohio Voters! Be Informed on Issue 2

in brief: This Chicken Urges Ohio to Vote NO on Issue 2 [George Jones Farm video]

Issue 2 on the Ohio state ballot would amend our state constitution to create a Livestock Care Standards Board, with very specific language regarding the appointment, membership and oversight responsibilities of the board. The proposal came about, in part, to forestall a ballot initiative from the Humane Society of the United States, which would have given voters the ability to consider issues such as the size of cages for egg-laying chickens and standards for "gestation confinement crates" for pregnant sows on large pig farms. The League of Women Voters of Ohio and Ohio Supreme Court Justice Maureen O’Connor agree that Issue 2 is inappropriate for the constitution, inserting language that is too specific for such a pivotal document, which should be a broad, clear statement of principles. The amendment attempts to control agriculture in a manner more appropriate for legislative action.

Other groups opposing this constitutional amendment include:

• Ohio Against Constitutional Takeover
• The Ohio Farmers Union
• Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association
• Public Animal Welfare Society

View the Ohio State Constitution here.

YouTube offers another testimonial: This Chicken Urges Ohio to Vote No on Issue 2

Issue 2 proponent's viewpoint: Ohioans for Livestock Care.

Brains and Bodies on the New Book Shelf

We received a big shipment of new books yesterday (hurray!) and there are now many glossy covered books on display illustrated with organisms of various kinds: elephants, snakes, very large rodents, chimps, turtles, fish, lizards, mollusks, flies, liverworts (very cool), the cuckoo, and the human animal (The Naked Man / Desmond Morris). The human form is considered from a different perspective in

• The Body in Bioethics.

Human cognition is explored in a number of different titles, including

• The Actor's Brain
• The New Executive Brain
• Seeing Through Illusions
• Genetics of Cognitive Neuroscience.

There are plenty of other titles, just as appealing, for those interested in physics, geology, history of science, chemical biology, and more. Browse the title list online or stroll by our window display - it's right on the way from Craig Auditorium to West Lecture Hall, facing the Science Center Commons.

First US Book on Psychiatry Published 197 Years Ago

On this date in 1812, Medical inquiries and observations upon the diseases of the mind, by Benjamin Rush, M.D., was copyrighted. Published by Kimber and Richardson of Philadelphia, it was the first U.S. book on psychiatry. Oberlin College Library owns three editions in print, all shelved in Special Collections. We also link to digital versions of the book from records in OBIS [1812 digital version].

Works of Benjamin Rush are covered in a guide from Greenwood Press: Benjamin Rush, M.D. : a bibliographic guide / compiled by Claire G. Fox, Gordon L. Miller, and Jacquelyn C. Miller.

This tidbit of publishing history was taken from The Illustrated almanac of science, technology, and invention: day by day; facts, figures, and the fanciful / Raymond L. Francis. Shelved behind our reference desk [OBIS record], it is great fun to browse through. Also on this date in history the Erie Canal opened in upstate New York, connecting the Hudson River with Lake Erie; the washing machine was patented; and the mule first arrived in the United States (shipped from King Charles III of Spain to George Washington).