Eureka!

[ new fIndIngs and researcH ]

Team Spirit Sweating trumps smoking.

>>> Tweens who participate in a coached sport are less likely to smoke, says Anna Adachi-Mejia ’92, professor of pediatrics at the Geisel School. Her study of 6,522 students aged 10 to 14 found that “a team sport with a coach was the only extracurricular associated with lower risk of trying smoking.” Adachi-Mejia published her findings in Academic Pediatrics.

Power Play Prof hopes to smarten phones.

>>> Google has awarded computer science profes- sor Xia Zhou a faculty award of $64,000 to explore ways to extend a smartphone’s battery life. Phones use central processors to maintain wi-fi connections, but Zhou believes a phone’s radio circuits can do it using less power. “We’ll change the software that drives the wi-fi radio chipset and system framework,” she says. Zhou, who is buying smart devices and hir- ing a student assistant with the grant, expects results later this year.

Brain Saver Helmets cut concussions.

>>> More than 1,800 college football players smacked heads more than 1 million times in practice and at games, providing 15 researchers, including Richard Greenwald, Th’88, of Thayer and Arthur Maerlender of the Geisel School, with evidence that helmet de- sign can reduce concussions. Players wearing Riddell’s Revolution helmet were better protected than players wearing Riddell’s VSR4 model.