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In recent decades, the decline of living hard coral on reefs around the world has raised concerns among marine experts. For years, the presumption was that decline signaled that an entire reef’s future was threatened. A study by Florida State University researchers shows that might not always be the case. While a complement of healthy coral is still preferred, dead or dying coral might not be fatal for an entire reef.

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The U.S. Department of Energy awarded scientists at the Florida State University-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory $1.5 million to develop more efficient, robust superconductors that could lead to powerful particle accelerators and new discoveries about the universe.

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It was a surprising thing to see on the otherwise lifeless peak of a South American volcano — a mouse, specifically a yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse, or Phyllotis xanthopygus, scurrying among the rocks on the summit.The find was especially startling because the mouse was living at an elevation of 22,100 feet, a higher elevation than scientists had ever observed mammals living at previously.

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An international team of researchers has demonstrated how curium — element 96 in the periodic table and one of the last that can be seen with the naked eye — responds to the application of high pressure created by squeezing a sample between two diamonds.

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Chemists at the Florida State University-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory shows that asphalt binder, when exposed to sun and water, leaches thousands of potentially toxic compounds into the environment. The study was published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

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A new online exhibit from Florida State University’s Institute on World War II and the Human Experience highlights the lives of American women during the war.

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A genomic mapping technique developed in part at Florida State University has played a crucial role in a new study aimed at understanding growth in corn, a major U.S. crop.

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By: Bill Wellock | Published: July 1, 2020 | 1:25 pm | SHARE: More dust from the Sahara Desert is forecast to come to the United States this week. The massive dust plume known as the Saharan Air Layer has a myriad of effects on air quality, fertilizing ecosystems and more.Florida State University has experts available to comment on some of the surprising features related to the meteorological phenomenon.

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Social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic has not led to an overall increase in loneliness among Americans. That’s the takeaway from a comprehensive, nationwide study by Florida State University College of Medicine researchers who surveyed more than 2,000 people before and during the enactment of stay-at-home policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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By: Bill Wellock | Published: June 17, 2020 | 4:34 pm | SHARE: Many Americans may never have heard of “Black Wall Street” or the Tulsa race massacre until this month. In 1921, a mob attacked an African American neighborhood in the Oklahoma city. By the time the violence ended, hundreds of buildings had been destroyed and dozens of people were dead.

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Florida State researchers looked at memory replay in mouse models and found there was impaired functional interactions between the hippocampus and the parietal cortex.

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The demand for mental health services may be growing, but access to these facilities is still a challenge for many Floridians, Florida State University researchers found.

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There is a world of life on the backs of loggerhead sea turtles, and it’s more abundant and diverse than scientists knew. An international team led by Florida State University researchers found that more than double the number of organisms than previously observed live on the shells of these oceanic reptiles, raising important questions about loggerhead sea turtle ecology and conservation.

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A Florida State University researcher has used new detection methods to identify 85 previously unknown submarine landslides that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico between 2008 and 2015, leading to questions about the stability of oil rigs and other structures, such as pipelines built in the region.

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By: Mark Blackwell Thomas | Published: May 14, 2020 | 12:36 pm | SHARE: As the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. continues to increase, one Florida State University researcher said the number of people looking to profit from the misfortune by offering false, unproven cures is also on the rise. There is no known cure for COVID-19 but Chad Marzen, associate professor of law in the FSU College of Business, said that hasn’t stopped opportunists from looking to capitalize off people’s fears.

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You’ve probably seen the satellite images that show a hurricane developing: thick white clouds clumping together, arms spinning around a central eye as it heads for the coast. After decades of research, meteorologists still have questions about how hurricanes develop.

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By: Anna Prentiss | Published: May 8, 2020 | 2:45 pm | SHARE: As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the connection between nutrition and our overall health has never been more important to understand and nurture. Healthy eating is especially important for keeping the immune system in good shape to protect the body against disease.

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When FAMU-FSU Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Neda Yaghoobian looks at a termite mound, she sees more than a pile of dirt. She sees an engineered structure.

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A FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researcher has been awarded a National Science Foundation grant to examine waste-management system-related challenges in the pandemic environment across several states.

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When a hurricane is dangerous enough to prompt evacuations, thousands of people find themselves fleeing at once. Emergency planning officials want to know the best ways to safely and quickly evacuate their residents. That’s often meant focusing on a single objective, like moving people out of danger in the fastest way possible. But researchers at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and Florida State University’s Department of Psychology have developed models that account for multiple considerations in a crisis, including the physical and mental demands on evacuees, especially vulnerable populations.

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By: Mark Blackwell Thomas | Published: May 6, 2020 | 1:03 pm | SHARE: Editing and uploading those flattering selfies in the hopes of appearing your best actually leaves you feeling worse and increases the risk of an eating disorder, Florida State University researchers have found. Clinical psychology doctoral candidate Madeline Wick and Professor of Psychology Pamela Keel studied 80 college students’ responses to uploading photos of themselves to Instagram, the dominant photo sharing platform.

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Florida State University and partner universities investigated current baseline conditions in the southern Gulf of Mexico to create a series of maps and guides that detail the distribution of carbon, nitrogen and the carbon-14 isotope.

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By: Bill Wellock | Published: May 4, 2020 | 2:42 pm | SHARE: From prediction to insurance consideration to ecological aftermath, Florida State University experts are among the world leaders in the study of hurricanes and their impact on people, property and the environment. These experts are available to answer media questions and provide perspective for news stories throughout the 2020 hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through Nov.

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By: Bill Wellock | Published: April 27, 2020 | 3:44 pm | SHARE: Sometimes, too much time with the same people can make you long for a little social isolation.Families around the world are spending much more time together during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lots of time together in close quarters can leave people without a release valve for energy and stress.

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Florida State researchers have published a new study in the journal Science Advances that explains how they created a hollow nanostructure for metal halide perovskites that would allow the material to emit a highly efficient blue light.

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By: Anna Prentiss | Published: April 20, 2020 | 10:59 am | SHARE: While there is currently no hard data accessible to fully understand the effects COVID-19 has on young children, researchers from the Florida State University Department of Psychology feel that children seem to be coping, on average, quite well during this time.

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By: Kelsey Klopfenstein | Published: April 17, 2020 | 4:50 pm | SHARE: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, viewers worldwide have become captivated by the hit Netflix mini docuseries “Tiger King.”To help understand the sociological aspect of the series, an FSU professor of sociology is available to comment on the allure of the show and why a public interest fosters community during this time.

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By: Mark Blackwell Thomas | Published: April 9, 2020 | 2:35 pm | SHARE: As the impact of the COVID-19 grows, the U.S. labor market has been especially hard hit. With an estimated 15 million Americans filing for unemployment benefits in the past three weeks, the rate of job loss in the nation is unprecedented.   Unemployment claims are expected to surge as the pandemic continues and millions of laid-off Americans are wondering if their jobs are ever coming back.

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By: Bill Wellock | Published: April 8, 2020 | 1:43 pm | SHARE: As COVID-19 continues to sweep across the globe, the virus has infected Boris Johnson, prime minister of the United Kingdom. Johnson has delegated authority to other members of his administration while he is receiving care. Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth II addressed the nation in a rare public broadcast calling for optimism and resolve in the face of the pandemic.

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By: Anna Prentiss | Published: April 8, 2020 | 12:44 pm | SHARE: As people around the world isolate in their homes to prevent the spread of COVID-19, research indicates there may be some positive environmental outcomes.Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor Jeff Chanton from the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science (EOAS) said data show significant decreases in air pollution since January 2020.

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By: Mark Blackwell Thomas | Published: April 3, 2020 | 9:41 am | SHARE: As coronavirus continues to upend day-to-day life, the upcoming 2020 elections will also be affected. In Ohio, where the governor canceled that state’s primaries, we see one vivid example of how the global pandemic has already impacted elections here in America.

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By: Rob Nixon | Published: April 2, 2020 | 3:13 pm | SHARE: A Florida State University researcher and her colleagues have earned a grant from the National Science Foundation to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public support for the rule of law.  FSU Associate Professor of Political Science Amanda Driscoll, the project’s co-investigator, said the team will examine the challenge that the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus presents to long-standing norms that support democratic order.

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New research from a team of anthropologists has found that a species widely accepted to be an ancestor to humans had a brain with characteristics of apes.

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By: Mark Blackwell Thomas | Published: April 1, 2020 | 11:22 am | SHARE: For as long as there have been news media, there have been allegations that journalists are biased and slant stories to fit their views. While many studies have explored this issue, there has been little research into how political ideology influences which stories get covered.

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By: Bill Wellock | Published: March 30, 2020 | 3:36 pm | SHARE: Millions of Americans are staying home to “flatten the curve” of coronavirus cases.Among those avoiding other people are many older Americans, whose age puts them at a greater risk of serious complications from a COVID-19 infection. That isolation — for seniors and for everyone else — can bring loneliness and frustration.

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By: Bill Wellock | Published: March 26, 2020 | 2:45 pm | SHARE: In the fight against this new coronavirus, some of the most effective tools are a couch and a television in your own home.Public health officials are asking people to avoid socializing with others to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. That means people often have to make tough decisions about how to respond.

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In a new study published by a Florida State University team, researchers found that male Trinidadian guppies observe a form of nepotism when it comes to pursuing the opposite sex. These tiny tropical fish often help their brothers in the mating process by darting in front of other males to block access to a female.

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By: Bill Wellock | Published: March 26, 2020 | 10:58 am | SHARE: The Black Death looms large in the history of infectious disease.The pandemic — an outbreak of bubonic plague which was probably spread predominantly by rats and fleas — struck Italy in 1347. Recent evidence on mortality suggests that in just a few years, the disease killed around 60 percent of the population in Europe, the part of the world from which historians have the most information.

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Men are more prone to competitive risk taking and violent behavior, so what happens when the number of men is greater than the number of women in a population?  According to research by Florida State University Professor of Psychology Jon Maner, the answers might not be what you expect.

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By: Mark Blackwell Thomas | Published: March 23, 2020 | 2:43 pm | SHARE: The coronavirus pandemic has left the state of Florida’s disease experts facing an event with no modern precedent. Officials working to track the spread of COVID-19 are stretched thin and faced with the inevitable prospect of more diagnoses, prompting them to reach out to public health experts and students at Florida’s universities for help.

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A previously unknown and significant source of carbon just discovered in the Arctic has scientists both marveling at a once overlooked contributor to local coastal ecosystems and concerned about what it may mean in an era of climate change. FSU researcher Robert Spencer co-authored a study that showed evidence of undetected concentrations and flows of dissolved organic matter entering Arctic coastal waters, coming from groundwater flows on top of frozen permafrost.

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Parkinson’s disease takes a lot from its victims.Patients often notice its onset as a tremor in one of their hands. As it progresses, it can impair balance, change speech patterns, alter thinking and dramatically affect movement.There is no cure, but there are ways to improve symptoms.

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Florida State University researchers working in an international collaboration have identified new genetic variants that cause heart disease in infants, and their research has led to novel insights into the role of a protein that affects how the heart pumps blood.

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As the coronavirus disease 2019 —or COVID-19— continues to spread, it disrupts world markets, supply chains and entire economies. As of March 5, nearly 100,000 people were confirmed infected and more than 3,000 deaths attributed to the disease.The spread of coronavirus continues to create instability on a global scale.

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As the ice sheet covering most of Greenland retreats, Florida State University researchers are studying the newly revealed landscape to understand its role in the carbon cycle.

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By: Bill Wellock | Published: February 14, 2020 | 3:35 pm | SHARE: As an outbreak of a new coronavirus makes headlines across the world, another more common infectious disease is spreading across the United States and beyond — the flu.About 8 percent of the U.S. population gets sick from the flu each season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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A team of Florida State University researchers from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry found that a natural product from the fungus Fusicoccum amygdali stabilizes a family of proteins in the cell that mediate important signaling pathways involved in the pathology of cancer and neurological diseases.

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Published: January 30, 2020 | 12:39 pm | SHARE: A new strain of coronavirus that was first identified in Wuhan, China, has prompted a massive public health effort to contain the pathogen and treat patients.These Florida State University experts are available to comment on coronavirus and the public health challenges it presents.