Research

Science and Technology

Study shows how machine learning could improve COVID-19 predictive models

December 1, 2021

With the help of an advanced machine learning technique, researchers from Brown University suggest strategies for improving the performance of epidemiological models used to predict the course of pandemics.

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Arts and Humanities

Were the ancient Maya an agricultural cautionary tale? Maybe not, new study suggests

November 16, 2021

Many believe climate change and environmental degradation caused the Maya civilization to fall — but a new survey shows that some Maya kingdoms had sustainable agricultural practices and high food yields for centuries.

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Science and Technology

Brown physics student earns Ph.D. at age 89

November 12, 2021

After a 30-year career in medicine, Manfred Steiner returned to the classroom to fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming a physicist.

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Health and Medicine

People of color, women and those with health conditions among veterans at high risk of food insecurity

November 11, 2021

New findings about military veterans at the highest risk for food insecurity can help connect them to food they need for good health and inform interventions to address the larger, long-term issue.

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Health and Medicine

Study offers insights on why the elderly are more susceptible to COVID-19

November 8, 2021

New research reveals the cellular mechanism behind why the elderly, as well as those with certain overlapping diseases, are at risk of infection and death from the virus — and how this mechanism can potentially be used to protect them.

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Science and Technology

Vast patches of glassy rock in Chilean desert likely created by ancient exploding comet

November 2, 2021

Heat from a comet exploding just above the ground fused the sandy soil into patches of glass stretching 75 kilometers, a study led by Brown University researchers found.

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Science and Technology

Researchers show new strategy for detecting non-conformist particles called anyons

October 26, 2021

By observing how strange particles called anyons dissipate heat, researchers have shown that they can probe the properties of these particles in systems that could be relevant for topological quantum computing.

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Health and Medicine

Brown researchers, local partners aim to reduce disparities in COVID-19 vaccination, testing

October 22, 2021

New federal grants totaling $1.4 million are supporting a partnership between Brown, Progreso Latino, the Rhode Island Quality Institute and others to address barriers to testing and vaccination among high-risk populations.

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Science and Technology

New material could pave way for better, safer batteries

October 21, 2021

A material derived from trees could potentially replace liquid electrolytes in next-generation batteries.

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Health and Medicine

Fewer patients sought treatment for kidney failure in early months of COVID-19 pandemic

October 13, 2021

Substantially fewer patients initiated treatment for kidney failure in the beginning of the pandemic, a new study found, with Black patients in particular initiating treatment at significantly worse levels of kidney function.

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Newly returned Moon rock samples chronicle the dying days of lunar volcanism

October 7, 2021

Jim Head, a planetary geologist at Brown, is working with colleagues from China to analyze rocks returned from the Chang’e 5 mission, which recently brought to Earth the first lunar samples retrieved in 45 years.

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Science and Technology

Computational biology researcher at Brown wins prestigious early-career NIH award

October 5, 2021

With a $1.9 million Genomic Innovator Award, Ritambhara Singh will apply machine learning to better understand the genetic underpinnings of disease.

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Health and Medicine

Depression rates tripled and symptoms intensified during first year of COVID-19

October 5, 2021

A new study found that people with lower incomes and who experienced multiple COVID-related stressors were more likely to feel the toll of the pandemic, as socioeconomic inequities in mental health continue to widen.

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Science and Technology

Pioneering computer science professor Andy van Dam honored as Computer History Museum fellow

October 5, 2021

A virtual event celebrated the legendary Brown University computer science professor for his foundational work in computer graphics and five decades of influential teaching.

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Science and Technology

Brown scientist wins NIH innovator award to illuminate undetected brain activity

October 5, 2021

A five-year, $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will support Ahmed Abdelfattah’s research to shed light on brain activity, which could ultimately benefit patients facing a range of disorders.

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Social Sciences

Making sense of the census: In 2021, America is less racially segregated, but no less unequal

October 4, 2021

Brown University sociologist John Logan said the 2020 census data released this summer show that race, not income, is still the driving factor behind who lives where in the United States.

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Science and Technology

NIH awards Brown $10.8M to expand data-informed research to fight human disease

September 29, 2021

The COBRE Center for Computational Biology of Human Disease is advancing the use of computational tools among biomedical scientists at Brown, helping them unlock new insights that could ultimately benefit patients.

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Arts and Humanities

In Guatemala, archaeologist from Brown helps to uncover hidden neighborhood in ancient Maya city

September 28, 2021

The newly discovered structures provide game-changing evidence that the imperial power of Teotihuacan exerted considerable influence on Tikal, an ancient Maya capital, as part of a campaign of conquest.

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Science and Technology

Asteroid sample brought back to Earth gets a close-up look at Brown

September 27, 2021

Brown scientists are analyzing a tiny chunk of the asteroid Ryugu in an effort to better understand the early history of the solar system.

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Health and Medicine

Novel cellular mechanism sheds light on causes of childhood developmental disorder

September 22, 2021

New findings from a Brown research team about Christianson syndrome could eventually be used to inform therapeutic interventions for that disorder as well as for neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.

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Health and Medicine

Men, jobless and people with mental health diagnoses most vulnerable in 2020 overdose spike

September 17, 2021

New findings about the causes and characteristics of overdose deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic may be used to inform policies that could lower death rates even after COVID-19 is under control.

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News and Events

Lawrence Larson to step down as Brown’s inaugural School of Engineering dean

September 16, 2021

The accomplished dean and professor of engineering, who has led the school since its inception in 2011 and oversaw a decade of growth, will return to teaching and research after the 2021-22 academic year.

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Social Sciences

Database led by Brown economist reveals school-level look at COVID-19’s impact on K-12 education

September 15, 2021

The COVID-19 School Data Hub, the brainchild of Brown Professor of Economics Emily Oster, could help families, researchers and policymakers better understand the pandemic’s impact on learning.

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Health and Medicine

With $4.9M from the CDC, Brown researchers to study COVID vaccine effectiveness in seniors

September 8, 2021

The urgently needed research will be used to inform recommendations about vaccine booster shots for nursing home residents.

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Social Sciences

Costs of the 20-year war on terror: $8 trillion and 900,000 deaths

September 1, 2021

A report from the Costs of War project at Brown University revealed that 20 years of post-9/11 wars have cost the U.S. an estimated $8 trillion and have killed more than 900,000 people.

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Science and Technology

New $19.9M grant will expand hub for translational science, biomedical research in Rhode Island

August 19, 2021

With five years of renewed federal funding, Advance-CTR will support researchers in taking their work from bench to bedside to the broader community, ultimately making a direct and positive impact on the people of Rhode Island.

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Health and Medicine

Parisa Afsharian: Translating research into actionable health advice

August 18, 2021

As a Hassenfeld Summer Scholar, Afsharian is researching the connection between language and health outcomes – and using her multilingualism to improve the health of families.

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Science and Technology

Beware the ‘molecular parasites’ involved in aging and disease

August 17, 2021

Brown researcher John Sedivy, lead author of a sweeping review article about transposons, explains what these mobile genetic elements are, how they are more harmful than benign and where their weaknesses may lie.

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Science and Technology

Researchers take step toward next-generation brain-computer interface system

August 12, 2021

A new kind of neural interface system that coordinates the activity of hundreds of tiny brain sensors could one day deepen understanding of the brain and lead to new medical therapies.

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Science and Technology

50 years after historic Moon mission, Brown geologist shares stories from Mission Control

August 9, 2021

Jim Head, a planetary geologist at Brown, worked closely with the Apollo 15 astronauts on “the first true scientific expedition to the Moon” in 1971.

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Science and Technology

Brown professor who worked on massive climate change report shares key takeaways

August 9, 2021

Brown professor Baylor Fox-Kemper discusses a landmark report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, for which he served as a coordinating lead author.

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Science and Technology

Nathan Brown: Toward a better, more versatile wheelchair

August 5, 2021

With the help of a Royce Fellowship from the Swearer Center, Nathan Brown is developing a wheelchair design with the aim of increasing mobility for users on both indoor and outdoor terrain.

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Social Sciences

To advance human rights, consult neuroscience

August 5, 2021

Scholars at Brown found that brain science bolsters long-held notions that people thrive when they enjoy basic human rights such as agency, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

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Health and Medicine

Study shows how U.S. immigration policy can have domestic health effects

July 30, 2021

Researchers designed an innovative way to measure the impact of the 2017 executive order suspending travel from seven Muslim-majority countries on the health of U.S. residents from those nations.

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Social Sciences

$3.4 million NIH grant to bolster population science at Brown

July 28, 2021

A five-year award from the National Institutes of Health will advance research at the Population Studies and Training Center, which confronts health inequities, economic divides and other major societal problems.

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Social Sciences

Education expert joins $2 million grant project to transform high school civics

July 28, 2021

An education policy expert at Brown is part of a research team that will boost high school civics lessons by connecting students directly with members of Congress.

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Arts and Humanities

With new awards, humanities, social sciences faculty to advance scholarship on freedom, sexuality

July 26, 2021

Prestigious awards from the Institute for Citizens and Scholars will allow assistant professors Elena Shih and Emily Owens to finish book projects on contemporary sex trafficking, and enslaved women in antebellum New Orleans.

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Health and Medicine

New guidelines intended to help health providers prevent gun injuries and deaths

July 26, 2021

A team of clinicians, researchers and educators, including Brown physician-scientist Dr. Megan Ranney, established new guidelines on educating health care professionals about how to help prevent firearm injuries.

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Science and Technology

Leading xenon researchers unite to build next-generation dark matter detector

July 19, 2021

Even as two powerful dark matter detectors are set to switch on later this year, scientists including a Brown professor are already planning a new experiment aimed at mysterious dark matter particles.

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Science and Technology

Initiative to expand Ph.D. student diversity in STEM graduate programs has lasting positive effects

July 8, 2021

A study that looked at 10-year outcomes of the Initiative to Maximize Student Development showed that it increased diversity within academic programs and prepared underrepresented students for successful careers in STEM.

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Health and Medicine

Brown to fund four biomedical technologies with potential for patient benefit, commercial viability

July 6, 2021

Now in its third funding cycle, Brown Biomedical Innovations to Impact will award four faculty projects to accelerate promising medical solutions into commercial technologies.

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Science and Technology

New data science platform speeds up Python queries

July 1, 2021

Data queries written in Python, a commonly used programming language, can grind data analytics platforms to a crawl, but a new platform developed by researchers from Brown and MIT may finally solve the Python efficiency problem.

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Social Sciences

Political ‘couples therapy’ could heal a divided America, study finds

July 1, 2021

People were less politically polarized after taking part in workshops modeled on the principles of couples therapy, showed a study conducted by a political scientist at Brown, the nonprofit Braver Angels and other researchers.

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Science and Technology

Grant will support gravity research that could update Einstein’s theory of gravity

June 30, 2021

With a $1 million grant from the Simons Foundation, Brown physicist Stephon Alexander will look to expand Einstein’s theory of gravity to explain cosmic mysteries like dark matter and black hole singularities.

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Social Sciences

Partisanship guided Americans’ personal safety decisions early in the pandemic, study finds

June 22, 2021

Results from a new study show that many Americans remain fiercely loyal to their like-minded communities, even when their health is on the line — an important lesson for future pandemics.

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Science and Technology

Brown professor wins prestigious computing award named for his late predecessor

June 15, 2021

Eli Upfal, a professor of computer science, is the winner of this year’s ACM Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award, which is named for a beloved Brown professor who died in 1995.

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Health and Medicine

Deaths of assisted living residents spiked during COVID-19 pandemic, study reveals

June 14, 2021

A new study led by Brown researchers shows the crucial need for specific attention to be paid to assisted living residences in response to pandemics and other emergencies.

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Health and Medicine

After the FDA’s approval, what to know about the new Alzheimer’s drug

June 11, 2021

Dr. Stephen Salloway, associate director of Brown’s new Center for Alzheimer’s Research who led clinical trials for the recently approved aducanumab, explained the key takeaways from the FDA’s headline-making decision.

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Health and Medicine

Top-rated Medicare Advantage plans perform worse for minority, low-income enrollees, study finds

June 11, 2021

A new analysis by researchers at Brown University shows the association of Medicare Advantage star ratings with racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in quality of care.

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Science and Technology

New model accounts for the effect of behavior changes to predict COVID-19 cases

June 10, 2021

A new infectious disease model that accounts for people’s ‘level of caution’ or ‘sense of safety’ accurately captures surges and declines in COVID-19 cases since March 2020 — and could help predict how the pandemic will eventually end.

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