A&S in the News: May 5-11, 2019

Coal Industry

Wyonics poised to change the face of the Wyoming coal industry: Coal Zoom – May 5

Wyonics is an emerging company based at the University of Wyoming and has developed a method of processing coal products that can be accomplished with no burning, no corrosive chemicals, low to no waste, and has the potential to develop a brand-new “coal economy” in not just the Cowboy State, but worldwide … The two other co-founders of the Wyonics team are Gabriela Gurau, Ph.D. COO, and Robin Rogers, Ph.D. CSO. Rogers is a research professor at The University of Alabama.

Munchausen by Internet

The Internet has a cancer-faking problem: The Atlantic – May 5

When Stephany Angelacos was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer in 2016, she immediately turned to the internet for support. Online, there are numerous groups and forums where people dealing with cancer can share their experiences … According to Marc Feldman, the psychiatrist at The University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa who coined the term MBI back in 2000, people with the condition are often motivated to lie by a need to control the reactions of others, particularly if they feel out of control in their own lives.
KFI-AM (Los Angeles, California) – May 6

Adam Lankford
Dr. Adam Lankford

Risk of Violence

Special teams at U.S. universities try to identify students at risk of violence: Huffington Post – May 6

Last week’s shooting at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte that killed two students and wounded four was just the kind of tragedy a team of officials at the school was trying to prevent … Adam Lankford, a criminologist at The University of Alabama whose research has found mass shooters are often depressed and motivated to die in a spectacular attack, said compiling data on the prevention of mass shootings was all but impossible. In some cases, he said, police arrest a person with weapons who has posted a threatening message online.
KQAM (Wichita, Kansas) – May 6
KFGO (Fargo, North Dakota) – May 6
Yahoo! – May 6
Euro News – May 5
The Star Online – May 6
CompuServe – May 5
Channel News Asia – May 5
This is Money – May 6

Fulbright Scholarship

Geary receives Fulbright Scholarship: Daily American (Somerset, Pennsylvania) – May 7

Ten University of Alabama students and graduates were chosen as Fulbright Student Award Winners for 2019-2020. Among them is Courtney Geary of Somerset.

Karl Marx

They can never bury Karl Marx’s great ideas: Irish Examiner – May 8

The pioneering political theorist’s warnings about the inequities of capitalism are still relevant and will not be erased by the defacing of his tomb, writes T P O’Mahony … Marx’s argument was never with religion per se. What angered him was that he saw, as Professor Russell McCutcheon, of The University of Alabama, has explained, religion being used as a “pacifier that both deadened oppressed people’s sense of pain and alienation while, simultaneously, preventing them from doing anything about their lot in life, since ultimate responsibility was thought to reside with a being who existed outside of history.”

Female Shooters

Why female shooters are rare: CNN – May 8

Two suspects believed to be students used handguns and opened fire in two classrooms at the STEM School Highlands Ranch near Denver on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said. One was an 18-year-old male, the other a female juvenile, according to Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock … But in general, there are fewer female shooters when it comes to firearm homicides, Adam Lankford, a criminal justice professor at The University of Alabama, told CNN in 2018. FBI data from 2016 showed that 7.6% of offenders who committed murder were female.
Fox 59 (Indianapolis) – May 8
CBS 4 (Indianapolis) – May 8
Fox 10 (Mobile) – May 8
CBS 46 (Atlanta) – May 8
Western Mass News – May 8
Eyewitness News 3 (Rocky Hill, Connecticut) – May 8
CBS 5 (Saginaw, Michigan) – May 8
MSN – May 8
NBC 4 (Nashville, Tennessee) – May 8
KPAX 8 (Missoula, Montana) – May 8

Zombie-Like Cells

Researchers quicken drug discovery method via zombie-like cells: Phys.org – May 10

Researchers are using zombie-like cells that behave normally on the outside, but are filled with magnetic particles inside, to screen potential drugs from natural products. Discovered at The University of Alabama, the method could quicken a laborious task that slows drug discovery, according to findings in a paper published in the journal Nanoscale.
Nano Magazine – May 10
Technology Times – May 13