Washington, U.S.A. — U.S. News & World Report, providers of service news and information, released on October 23, the fifth annual edition of the World’s Best Universities rankings. For the past two years, the United Kingdom’s University of Cambridge topped the list, but this year, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology jumped from third to first. The 2012 World’s Best rankings, which include colleges and universities in the United States and across the globe, are available online at www.usnews.com/worldsbest.

The World’s Best Universities rankings, updated annually by U.S. News, are based on the 2012 QS World University Rankings, developed by QS Quacquarelli Symonds, a leading global career and education network. Using a different methodology and ranking data than the well-known U.S. News Best Colleges rankings, the World’s Best Universities rates schools on factors such as academic reputation, the proportion of international faculty, and the proportion of international students.

“As the job market becomes more competitive, there’s a growing interest among prospective students to attend institutions abroad,” said U.S. News & World Report Editor and Chief Content Officer Brian Kelly. “The World’s Best Universities rankings help students compare and select the best schools worldwide. In addition, the rankings enable our readers to understand more fully how well American institutions perform when compared with other institutions of higher learning around the world.”

The World’s Best Universities rankings are among the most comprehensive of their kind and include the following lists: Top 400 Universities Worldwide, Top 100 Asian Universities, and Top 100 Latin American Universities. In addition to the regional rankings, there are also global rankings in 25 different subject disciplines, such as electrical engineering, accounting and finance, biological sciences, and the newly added communication and media studies.

An in-depth methodology was used to determine the 2012 rankings. For the Top 400 Universities, six distinct indicators of excellence were evaluated: academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, proportion of international faculty, proportion of international students, and citations per faculty. The two regional rankings each have distinct methodologies from the global Top 400 to better reflect the uniqueness of those regions, using indicators such as the specific region’s academic and employer reputations, citations per paper, and proportion of staff with Ph.D’s.

For additional information on the 2012 ranking of the World’s Best Universities, please visit www.usnews.com/worldsbest.

World’s Best Universities Rankings 2012

* For the full list of rankings, visit www.usnews.com/worldsbest

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On February 29 at Harvard University, Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, officially unveiled Born This Way Foundation (BTWF), a new non-profit charitable organization, before a crowd of policy makers, non-profit organizations, foundation leaders, students and youth at the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Ask with Forum.

The day opened with Oprah interviewing Lady Gaga about her commitment to empowering youth before a packed audience at Sanders Theatre. Lady Gaga then took the stand in a mock trial to testify before a panel of expert “judges” about what she hopes to accomplish with BTWF. Panelists included Deepak Chopra, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, sister of Jamey Rodemeyer Alyssa Rodemeyer, Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree, Psychologist Susan M. Swearer and E! News correspondent and LGBT parent and spouse David Burtka.

“The culture of love is not going to change overnight but youth are the answer to creating a braver, kinder world,” said Lady Gaga. “This might be one of the best days of my life.” BTWF will address issues like self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring and career development through research, education and advocacy.

BTWF will create an environment that allows youth to safely express their individuality and one that provides them with the skills needed to encourage self-expression and promote civic engagement, and the resources and opportunities needed to implement solutions whether it be “online, on-the-road, or down the street.” With a focus on digital mobilization to create positive change, BTWF will lead youth into a braver new society where each individual is accepted and loved as the person they were born to be.

The Born This Way Foundation also announced today that Lady Gaga has made a $1.2 million personal contribution to BTWF, dedicating $200,000 to cover the foundation’s overhead costs. Barneys New York has raised more than $750,000 for the foundation through product sales from Gaga’s 2011 Holiday Workshop, and has donated an additional $100,000.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is also committing $1 million in support, with $500,000 going to the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard to lead research efforts, and the remaining $500,000 directly allocated to BTWF to support online and on-the-road efforts to engage young people in civic life and deter bullying.

“Like everything my daughter has done, this is a grassroots initiative asking for the response of the community to help build this movement and shape it,” said Cynthia Germanotta. “Therefore a safe and trusted online community will allow users to share stories about themselves and their lives. Supporters can draw courage from the words of others as they explore Born This Way Foundation’s online community.”

The John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The California Endowment and Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society are partnering with BTWF to explore the best ways to reach youth and create a new culture of kindness, bravery, acceptance and empowerment.

“MacArthur’s partnership with the Born This Way Foundation will apply what we have learned about the power and potential of digital media to reach and engage millions of young people,” said Connie Yowell, MacArthur’s Director of Education. “In classrooms and communities, online and even on-the-road, this effort will enable teachers, parents, students, and communities each do their part to promote positive civic and online participation.”

To engage youth on-the-road, the Born Brave Bus, with design assistance provided by the innovative youth from YOUmedia’s teen library space, will travel the country to serve as a place where kids can go to feel connected and learn about civic engagement opportunities. The bus, along with onsite mentors, will also accompany Lady Gaga’s next North American concert tour, providing additional resources and a safe space to convene.

“A thorough review of decades of academic research has inspired this strategy and over the next several months, we will be rolling out programs based on that data,” said Dr. David Washington, Sr. Advisor to Lady Gaga & BTWF for Philanthropy & Policy. “BTWF has brought together renowned researchers, practitioners and youth organizations and is committed to leveraging this brain trust in order to make a significant difference.”

Visit www.bornthiswayfoundation.org and join the youth-powered movement to build a braver, kinder world.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/10363713@N08/

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According to a group of American researchers from the Brigham Hospital in Boston and Harvard University, Ibuprofen is able to effect the onset of Parkinson Disease. The study was lead by Dr. Xiang Gao, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and a research scientist at Harvard School of Public Health, and it found a link between the use of ibuprofen and a reduction of the risk of Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson’s is a well-known illness that affects people around the world. It affects the five biggest countries in western Europe – France, Spain, Germany, United Kingdom and Italy – as well as the ten most populated nations of the world – China, India, Indonesia, United States, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Japan and Russia. In total, more than four million people suffer Parkinson’s.

Dr. Gao has so far proved through research that ibuprofen, a commonly used anti-inflammatory pill, helps to reduce the risk of the degenerative disorder.  As he stated recently to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, this study is able to contribute substantially to a field that has been researched for two decades. Inflammation plays an important role in the breakdown of the central nervous system. What remains unknown is whether the inflammation causes the degeneration or if it is merely a consequence.

Scientist analyzed 98.892 cases of nurses who used ibuprofen. The case study had the nurses describe the frequency and consumption of analgesics such as aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen. They also informed scientist about their eating habits, body mass index, tobacco consumption, alcohol, caffeine, lactose and age – factors that could have an affect on the result.

After six years of study, Dr. Gao and his team had gathered information about 291 Parkinson’s cases. They found that those who consumed ibuprofen twice or more per week have a 40% less risk of suffering from Parkinson’s.

However, as published in the Neurology magazine, the same type of risk reduction was not found through the use of aspirin or acetaminophen. Since relation between illness and medicine was only found in the case of ibuprofan, the research team concluded that the two other analgesics could not be linked to Parkinson’s.

Researchers suggest that “inflammation mechanisms can contribute to the progressive loss of the black brain substance from the dopaminergic neurons”. And they add that there exist plenty of scientific literature, based on postmortem analyzes and experimental studies, that confirm this.

As a result, they insist that “ibuprofen can play a very important neuroprotective role.” Other evidence also suggest that this medicine can help sufferers of Alzheimer’s disease because of its believe effect towards preventing dementia.

In light of these findings, scientists are saying that the result needs to be verified through testings involving precocious Parkinson’s patients.

However, this study should be taken with caution. In the editorial that accompanied the Neurology magazine in which the study was published, James Bower and Beate Ritz suggest that prolonged consumption of ibuprofen has “a long list of secondary effects.” Additionally, one professor adds that “they should do more researches before recommending ibuprofen to prevent the illness”.

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