A mob of people quickly forms and it is leading to violence, thievery and property damage in both inner cities and the suburbs. These flash mobs are causing problems for citizens, store owners and public officials alike, and their age may be playing a role in this disturbing behavior, according to Frank Farley, a professor in Temple's College of Education. "The age range is interesting — in most of these riots, it tends to be in the teenage to early 20's, by and large," he said. "That's a big age for thrill seeking and risk taking."

The Moulder Center for Drug Discovery Research, at Temple's School of Pharmacy, has partnered with the University of Rochester Medical Center to develop new therapies to treat a wide array of illnesses. Magid Abou-Gharbia, director of the Moulder Center, said the two organizations bring complementary experience and skills to the table, and the combination will increase the chances of identifying new drugs for treating unmet medical needs.

Do parliamentary systems of generally sustain higher debt ratings than countries with presidential systems? "Madisonian presidential systems are more responsive to changing public opinion. That is, it may be that, in being more responsive to the public, these presidential systems are less responsive to the demands of financial authorities," said Temple political scientist Christopher Wlezien.

Researchers are regrowing cartilage in the lab, which could lead to better treatments for patients with knee injuries. Cartilage is composed of cells called chondrocytes. The team grows chondrocytes from bone-marrow-derived adult stem cells, embedded in a gel of hyaluronic acid — a growth-promoting molecule in natural cartilage. Eric Kropf, an orthopedic surgeon at Temple University Hospital, says this technique likely won't apply to pervasive cartilage damage, but he sees promise for contained injuries that can be plugged by the gel.