Health in human beings is strongly affected by culture and societal influences. From the social value of food to the impact of economic hardship on families, and from the existence of ancient battle wounds to discovering the presence of diseases long ago, medical anthropologists seek to find the clues and connections behind the overall health of individuals today and throughout history.
Unlike its well-publicized and environmentally troubled neighbor, the Cahaba, Alabama’s Sipsey River doesn’t get much attention. But a pair of University of Alabama researchers, who recently studied portions of the Sipsey’s biodiversity, say waiting until environmental problems arise before appreciating the area’s richness would be a mistake.
It’s a tiny worm, so small you need a microscope to see it. But in the laboratory of Dr. Guy Caldwell, the worm may be poised to reveal some big secrets, giving scientists better insight into various neurological diseases.
A team of researchers at The University of Alabama thinks answers to traffic problems in Birmingham and other U.S. cities lie in today’s advanced technology, answers that will produce safer highways, less congestion, more efficient commuting, quicker emergency response, and fewer frayed nerves.
Computer games developed by a pair of University of Alabama psychology professors are giving researchers a clearer understanding of the learning problems children with autism face and could lead to development of the first performance-based test to diagnose the neurological disability.
You never know when they might come, but when severe weather events do occur, these devastating storms can rob families of their homes, their possessions, and sometimes their lives.
Neutrinos are among the most elusive particles known to man, yet these tiny elements have been giving scientists big headaches for many years. In fact the word neutrino, which even sounds small, is an Italian diminutive invented by the scientist Enrico Fermi.
It was hard to know which was hotter, the pepper sauce, the sweltering Louisiana temperatures or the secrets being unearthed.
What do handshakes tell you about people? Quite a bit, according to a study led by a University of Alabama associate professor of psychology.
Each day when Dr. Keith Jacobi goes to his office and into his nearby laboratories, human skeletal remains surround him. And while The University of Alabama assistant professor of anthropology said he understands why some would find such a work setting disturbing, he does not.