Self-control is a key factor of behavior, which can vary depending on the importance of a decision, or when the decisionmaker is asked to make a choice, according to researchers from Arizona State University (ASU), who used neuroimaging to arrive at their conclusion. The researchers plan to use this insight to explore brain function and decision-making in people with neurological disorders. The study was led by Samuel M. McClure, associate professor of psychology at ASU, and researcher Ian Ballard. The research paper, “More is Meaningful: The Magnitude Effect in Intertemporal Choice Depends on Self-Control,” was recently published in the journal

Arizona State University Researchers Use Neuroimaging to Solve Mystery Behind Self-Control

By: Jackson Schroeder

The Student Association (SA) at The George Washington University (GW) has launched a campaign to save 1 million pieces of paper by next summer at the behest of Logan Malik, a senior and SA’s director of sustainability policy. The campaign kicked off on September 10, and will run through June 2018. The “Save a Million” campaign calls for students to limit their printing to what’s absolutely essential and also to print on both sides of the paper. Malik believes that the initiative would save about 60 percent of paper if students followed through with the restrictions. He predicts that an

George Washington University Student Creates ‘Save a Million’ Campaign

By: Susan Chu

Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) have installed smart traffic signals to monitor and conduct traffic lights at select intersections in a pilot area in Pittsburgh. The technology uses existing cameras and radar systems to track traffic in real time. Then, an artificial intelligence (AI) uses algorithms to determine the best way to move the cars through. The traffic plans are recalculated every few seconds by the computer installed at each intersection. What’s more, each computer feeds information about incoming traffic flows to its neighbors at surrounding intersections. Stephen Smith, professor of computer science at CMU, is the creator of

Tired of Traffic? Carnegie Mellon’s AI Traffic Tech Cuts Travel Times and Emissions

By: Cameron Carpenter

Each year, September 21 is observed as the International Day of Peace. Emory University too will be observing this special day as it wraps up “Emory 21 Days of Peace,” a program launched last year with the lofty goal of “building peace locally and globally.” The United Nations General Assembly established September 21 as the International Day of Peace in 1981. Twenty years later, the General Assembly designated the day as a day of non-violence and ceasefire. The UN urges nations and people to honor “the cessation of hostilities” on this designated day of peace and to commemorate it “through

Emory University’s Version of International Day of Peace: ‘Emory 21 Days of Peace’

By: Jackson Schroeder

Today marks the third anniversary of the launch of the HeForShe movement, which was created by UN Women, the UN entity for gender equality and empowerment of women. The movement takes a unique approach in that it specifically includes men and boys as partners in women’s fight for gender equality around the world, motivating them to become agents of change and acknowledge that they, too, have something to gain when gender equality is achieved. It is therefore fitting that the 30 global leaders who had embraced the movement — all men — should  meet today at the HeForShe IMPACT 10x10x10

University, Business and Government IMPACT Champions Gather At Third Annual UN Women HeForShe Event

By: Susan Chu

Current desalination processes are expensive, energy-intensive, and involve large-scale facilities. Now, however, researchers from Northeastern University have discovered a method that could make the process of removing salt from seawater easier, faster and cheaper. The new method will help alleviate concerns about viable water resource as the global population continues to grow. Meni Wanunu, associate professor of physics at Northeastern, and postdoctoral student Robert Henley collaborated with scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California on the research. The study is published in Science. Wanunu and Henley built their research on what scientists at Lawrence Livermore had discovered last

Northeastern University Researchers Remove Salt From Seawater Using Nanotubes

By: Kyley Warren

Two years ago, at the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, 193 member states adopted the Sustainable Development Goals—17 distinct goals designed to eradicate poverty, address climate change, and build peaceful, inclusive societies for all by 2030. With the U.S. pulling out of the Paris Agreement and the recent record-breaking hurricane damage this year, climate change and sustainability will be a hot topic this week at the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly. In July this year, the UN issued a report noting that progress to date “is insufficient to fully meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Universities Lead Battle to Reverse Climate Change

By: Peter Corrigan

AZLoop, Arizona’s SpaceX Hyperloop Competition Team, has made it to the top eight in the first competition it entered—SpaceX’s second Hyperloop Pod Competition. The team, which is made up of students from Arizona State University (ASU), Northern Arizona University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and Thunderbird School of Global Management, has demonstrated an impressive and inspiring performance. Hyperloop is a revolutionary high-speed form of transportation invented several years ago by SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. It works similarly to the high-speed railways in place in Japan and Europe, but is able to reach much higher speeds. While traditional high-speed train

New AZLoop Team Makes It to Top Eight In Its First SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition

By: Jackson Schroeder

A team of researchers at Northeastern University has developed a method to remove a carcinogenic contaminant from soil with the use of lasers, without the costly need of removing the contaminated soil. The research team studied their technique by removing Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) from soil. DDE is a breakdown byproduct of a popular pesticide Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) that was used throughout the world in agriculture for pest control during the mid-20th century. In 1972, the EPA banned the use of DDT in the U.S. due to its impact on the environment and human health, but some nations still use it to control

Northeastern University Researchers Use Laser to Remove Contaminant From Soil

By: Susan Chu

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