This week (and last week) in ASU research news:
Preventing underage drinking
Nancy Gonzales, foundation professor of psychology and associate dean of faculty at ASU, worked with researchers to develop a new program aimed at reducing teenage drinking. The program, called Bridges/Puentes consists of nine workshops in an 18-hour program. Mexican-American seventh graders and their parents went through the workshops, and the students answered questions about drinking from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children developed by the National Institute of Mental Health. The students then answered questions as seniors. The study found that participants were 2.5 less times likely to qualify for alcohol use disorder. The study also found a reduced rate of drinking among the seniors who had drank in seventh grade.
New degrees in regulatory science
The College of Nursing and Health Innovations announced a new master's degree in regulatory science. The course will be a hybrid degree, with both online and in-person classes. Regulatory science focuses on the health and safety, often of drugs or medical practices. It is the main science employed by governmental bodies like the EPA, FDA and Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which deals with worker safety. The program begins in the fall of 2018 and requires a bachelors degree and 3.0 GPA.
Frog future founded on flux
Professor James Collins, an evolutionary ecologist in the School of Life Sciences, wrote a Perspectives paper in the publication Science about the future of frog survival. The study found that despite the amphibian fungal pathogen (chytrid fungus), which wiped out an estimated two-thirds of 74 frog species in Panama a near decade and a half ago, nine of the species have returned to their population levels before the pathogen. These frogs survived because of changes in their trait, which gives researchers more ideas about how to save some frog species from extinction.
The last week from the Science and Tech desk:
March Mammal Madness adds sports summaries and non-mammals
Relevant quote: "This year marks the first year that non-mammals (#altmammals) were allowed into the tournament, with the Orinoco Crocodile as the one-seed in the ‘When the Kat’s Away’ bracket, where it has bested a praying mantis and goliath tarantula to advance to the round of 16."
Luna City exhibit showcases student research and future possibilites
Relevant quote: "It's one thing to ask people to think about the future, and it's another thing to attempt to immerse them in a future." – JP Nelson, senior in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society.
ASU teams up with Phoenix in competition to fight climate change
Relevant quote: "We had an ongoing relationship with the city on projects concerning heat. It was a very natural pairing for ASU to support the city’s application to this competition.” – David Hondula, assistant professor at the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning.
Couple who met at ASU opens 'one-stop shop' for Valley gamers
“One of the things we talked about when we were starting off with our friends ... was that they didn’t really have a one-stop shop. There were places that really focused on 'Magic' cards or that really focused on tabletop, but to find somewhere where they could go and say, 'I really like all of these things' was something that they couldn't find.” – Suzanne Hug, co-owner of Athoria Games.
Reach the reporter at maatenci@asu.edu or follow @mitchellatencio on Twitter.
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