Read the Results: UC Research Makes Real-World Impact

Research for the real world comes out of UC labs every day, every week and every month.

Just in June 2009 alone, the University of Cincinnati earned numerous headlines from around the globe, related to the university’s real-world research results.

No surprise in that, since UC ranks

No. 18 in the nation

among public research-intensive universities based on National Science Foundation data on federal research expenditures. This No. 18 ranking is an improvement over the 2006 ranking of No. 28 and is an important indicator of the amount and quality of UC research.

In addition, UC is designated a “very high research activity” university by the Carnegie Commission.

In the last month alone, UC earned headlines from the following national and international outlets

• Atlanta Journal Constitution
• Austin American-Statesman
• Boston Herald
• Conde Nast Portfolio
• eMaxHealth.com
• Examiner.com
• Food Consumer
• Forbes
• Health.com
• HealthDay News
• HealthNewsDigest.com
• Health Newstrack
• Huffington Post
• Innovations Report
• Medical News Today
• Medill Newspapers
• MedPage Today
• The Money Times
• Medscape.com
• MSN Health & Fitness
• News-Medical.net
• New Scientist
• Reuters
• ScienceBlog.com
• Science Centric
• Scientist Live
• SeniorJournal.com
• SmartAboutHealth
• United Press International
• U.S. News & World Report
• WebMD Health
  

The stories behind these headlines include

• Outlets the world over, including ABC7Chicago.com, AsiaOne, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Austin American-Statesman, the Boston Herald, Conde Nast Portfolio, HealthDay News, eMaxHealth.com, Food Consumer, Forbes.com, Health Newstrack, Medical News Today, Medill Newspapers, The Money Times, MSN Health & Fitness, Reuters, ScienceBlog.com, Science News, SmartAboutHealth, U.S. News & World Report and media as far away as Africa, Asia and Australia reported on UC research indicating that the chemical bisphenol A, found in clear plastic bottles (like baby bottles and sippy cups) and other everyday items, has potentially harmful health effects, including effects on heart health and fertility, especially in women.

• Forbes.com, MSN Health & Fitness, U.S. News & World Report, the Atlanta Journal Constitution and others reported on a new study by UC on teen girls’ experiences on the Internet. The study looked at how representations of girls they picked for themselves in avatars correlated to the likelihood that the girls would be pursued by potential predators. Also published in the journal Pediatrics, the study found that girls who created provocative avatars were more likely to receive sexual come-ons online and also more apt to agree to an in-person encounter with someone they met online.

• U.S. News & World Report, Forbes.com, Health.com, HealthDay News, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Austin American-Statesman, Medscape.com and WebMD Health all featured new UC research that shows that increasing obesity among young Americans is also leading to increasing risks for cardiovascular problems, specifically youth with obesity and diabetes having a higher incidence of carotid artery abnormalities. 

• Outlets throughout the United States, Europe and Asia featured new UC research that it’s actually fatty foods – not hunger – that triggers the hunger hormone ghrelin. The hormone is triggered so the body can optimize nutrient metabolism and to promote the body’s storage of body fat. Outlets covering this new finding included DigitalJournal.com, Health Newstrack, PhysOrg.com and ScienceBlog.com, as well as news media abroad.  

• Coverage from the medical news Web site MedPage Today and others like Innovations Report based in Europe, News-Medical.net based in Australia and ScienceBlog.com and Scientist Live reported on a new UC student showing that a needle biopsy used on brain tissue is proving to be equally safe no matter what area of the brain it is used in.

• Paleontology research by UC researchers related to the collapse of the Mayan civilization due to resource depletion was headlined by the Britain News, New Scientist, ScienceBlog.com and by outlets as far away as Asia.
  

• Researchers at UC discovered a protein in the lungs that can help in determining the presence and the progression of a rare lung disease called Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. The protein marker is superior to other IPF predictors and could lead to better decisions about treatment and timing of lung transplantation.  The new finding was headlined by eMaxHealth.com, PhysOrg.com, ScienceBlog.com, Science Centric and Scientist Live, as well as outlets as far as away as Australia, China and India.

• Medical News Today, News-Medical.net and ScienceBlog.com all covered UC research suggesting that inflammatory bowel disease, a chronic inflammatory condition of the digestive tract, is on the rise in specific populations.

• PhysOrg.com and others featured research at UC confirming that the antibiotic rifaximin can reduce hospitalizations of patients with a certain brain disorder caused by liver failure.

• UC-led research has found that in the U.S., boys learn early on that men should be strong, independent, tough and self reliant. The study also calls the contrast between men’s and women’s help-seeking behavior a “growing concern” because men don’t seek psychological or physical help as easily as women. The research was cited in coverage by SeniorJournal.com and HealthNewsDigest.com.

• A new UC study shows how chemical tags on DNA may lead to higher rates of prostate cancer in black men, and estrogen may play a role in that estrogen may be reprogramming the genome. The research was headlined in Science News.

• View headlines earned by UC research in May 2009.
• View UC’s research funding report released in November 2008, when the university announced an all-time high in terms of research funding at $353 million.
  
• Visit UC’s research page and news page.