Nov. 19 is this year's Great American Smokeout. Since the Surgeon General identified the dangers of smoking, Americans have gradually quit, yet about 1 in 5 Americans still smoke. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that about 4,000 young adolescents start smoking every day and 6 percent of middle school students are smokers. If ever there were a time to think about quitting smoking, it's now. (more)
College students who engage in binge drinking tend to earn lower grades than students who don't abuse alcohol, according to a newly released report. The Center for the Study of Collegiate Mental Health at Penn State conducted a study that shows a clear link between alcohol abuse, mental health symptoms, and academic performance. The study's data illustrate a strong inverse correlation between grade-point average and consumption of alcoholic beverages. (more)
The Rock Ethics Institute in Penn State's College of the Liberal Arts is seeking nominations for University students who have exhibited ethical leadership. Any faculty, staff, student or community member may nominate a student for the 2010 Stand Up Award. (more)
About 23.6 million Americans have diabetes and another 54 million are at risk to develop the disease. As these numbers continue to increase, Diabetes Awareness Month, observed throughout November, is more important than ever. Diabetes, a disease in which the body can't regulate the amount of sugar in the blood, currently affects about 8 percent of the population, a number that is increasing rapidly, according to this week's edition of The Medical Minute, a service of the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. (more)
On Nov. 9, USA Today -- the nation's top-selling newspaper -- in cooperation with Penn State launched a new e-Edition for Penn State students as part of the University's continuing mission to promote newspaper reading as a way of integrating real world with classroom study. Since 1997, Penn State has had a readership program in place -- the first of its kind in the nation and a model for more than 500 collegiate readership programs nationwide. (more)
A new article in The Penn Stater magazine tells the story of the unheralded 1946 and 1947 Nittany Lion football squads -- two teams that helped establish Penn State nationally as a top program and, more importantly, made the University a key factor in the nation's slow march to racial justice. The men who made up those two teams are widely thought to have inspired the University's iconic "We Are..." chant. Read more, and download a copy of the story from the magazine's November-December issue, at The Penn Stater blog: http://tinyurl.com/yzrp5ua online.
Earlier this year, Penn State Live also paid tribute to the teams. Watch the story of the "game that wasn't," when the entire Penn State football team refused to play at the segregated Orange Bowl in 1946, at http://live.psu.edu/youtube/OoCbPyPlfls online. Hear from Wally Triplett himself as he talks about being first African-American to play in the Cotton Bowl in 1947. (more)
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders marked by impaired social interactions, restricted interests, repetitive behaviors, and communication impairment, which persist throughout a person's lifetime. The ASD prevalence rate--the number of individuals diagnosed with autism--has been steadily increasing over time. A new report from the U.S. Department of Health's Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), based on a phone survey of over 78,000 families, set the prevalence rate at nearly one in 91 children. This is an increase from the prior statistic of one in 150 children reported in 2007 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says The Medical Minute, a service of the Penn State Hershey Medical Center. (more)
The control of spider mites, which damage tree leaves, reduce fruit quality and cost growers millions of dollars in the use of pesticide and oil spraying, is being biologically controlled in Pennsylvania apple orchards with two tiny insects known to be natural predators, according to Penn State researchers. (more)
Look in your wallet, purse, personal digital assistant or smart phone and you probably have a list of names, phone numbers and addresses. You might even have a file for your passwords or important account numbers, birthdays and anniversaries, bank account numbers and so many more bits of data from your life. Do you have your medication list there, too? (more)
Penn State coach Joe Paterno is featured in this week's issue of Sports Illustrated, which hits news stands Wednesday. Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Joe Posnanski takes an in-depth look at the life, family and career of Paterno in eight pages of the magazine's NBA Preview issue. Posnanski's profile on the legendary coach is an elongated thank-you note to Joe's father, Angelo, who allowed Joe to forgo a career as a lawyer and follow his passion -- for 60 years and counting. (more)
