General Social and Behavioral Science News
(NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse) People with severe mental illness such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder have a higher risk for substance use, especially cigarette smoking, and protective factors usually associated with lower rates of substance use do not exist in severe mental...
(Emory Health Sciences) Many people can recall reading at least one cherished story that they say changed their life. Now researchers at Emory University have detected what may be biological traces related to this feeling: Actual changes in the brain that linger, at least for a few days,...
(University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine) Among Parkinson's disease patients, female, black, and Asian patients are substantially less likely to receive proven deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery to improve tremors and motor symptoms, according to a new report by a Perelman School of...
(Columbia University Medical Center) The ADEAGies Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the American Dental Education Association, has selected Columbia University's College of Dental Medicine (CDM) for a 2014 William J. Gies Award, for outstanding achievement by an academic dental...
(Joint Quantum Institute) Inequality in the way nations consume energy has been lessening in recent years. An underlying thermodynamic process seems to be at work.
(University of Eastern Finland) Expectant women with prenatally diagnosed fear of childbirth are at an increased risk of postpartum depression, according to a study of over 500,000 mothers in Finland. Women with a history of depression are at the highest risk of postpartum depression. The...
(Kessler Foundation) Kessler Foundation is conducting a three-year research study to improve the health and quality of life of military personnel and civilians with spinal cord injury. The study, "Systematic Assessment of Caregiving Skill Performance by Individuals with Tetraplegia and...
(Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) As most people resolve themselves to lose weight this New Year, here's why it seems to get easier and easier to pack on unwanted pounds: New research published in the Jan. 2014 issue of The FASEB Journal, shows that as we age, the...
(Ohio State University) Parents and other adults heap the highest praise on children who are most likely to be hurt by the compliments, a new study finds.
Survival rates similar for gunshot/stabbing victims whether brought to the hospital by police or EMS
(University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine) A new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has found no significant difference in adjusted overall survival rates between gunshot and stabbing (so-called penetrating trauma injuries) victims in...
(University of Nottingham) In the first study of its kind researchers are to examine life imprisonment on an international scale. The work will be led by Professor Dirk Van Zyl Smit -- an expert in penal law and life imprisonment at The University of Nottingham. Life imprisonment worldwide:...
(Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News) Minority women tend to be less aware of the increased risk of cardiovascular disease they face by being overweight or obese. The results of a study that compared Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women based on their knowledge of heart disease...
(Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences) Open collaboration -- which has brought the world Bitcoin, TEDx and Wikipedia -- is likely to expand into new domains and displace traditional organizations, according to a paper in a journal of the Institute for Operations...
(NORC at the University of Chicago) NORC Center for Public Affairs Research has released the results of a major new survey that reveals the American people's list of issues they believe should be the focus of government attention in 2014. The same survey also explores the complex blend of...
(Springer) In the long run, the majority of horseracing bettors will lose money at the track -- and there will always be more losers than winners. Serious punters will often keep track of how well they're doing, in the hope of identifying a "winning system." But researchers found that the...
(INSERM (Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale)) Two INSERM research teams recently discovered that pregnenolone, a molecule produced by the brain, acts as a natural defence mechanism against the harmful effects of cannabis in animals. Pregnenolone prevents THC, the main...
(Elhuyar Fundazioa) When the sports performance of elite men and women soccer players is compared using absolute criteria, the differences are significant. This is one of the conclusions of the study by the Faculty of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences, conducted in collaboration with...
(Royal Holloway, University of London) Thousands of pieces of plastic have been discovered, submerged along the river bed of the upper Thames Estuary by scientists at Royal Holloway, University of London and the Natural History Museum.
(University of Copenhagen) A new Ph.D. thesis that was recently defended at the University of Copenhagen questions the interpretation of the results from a large Danish population study on pregnancy and alcohol. The studies lack focus on important psychological factors, claims the researcher...
(University of Oregon) Search for "brain training" on the Web. You'll find online exercises, games, software, even apps, all designed to prepare your brain to do better on any number of tasks. Do they work? University of Oregon psychologists say, yes, but "there's a catch."
(University of California - Berkeley) A group of social scientists from across the United States say it is time for more stringent and transparent standards in social science research to improve the work's substance, impact and credibility.
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Adults who are covered by Medicaid use emergency rooms 40 percent more than those in similar circumstances who do not have health insurance, according to a unique new study, co-authored by an MIT economist, that sheds empirical light on the inner...
(Journal of Clinical Investigation) In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Yuan-Xiang Tao and colleagues from the New Jersey Medical School at Rutgers University report that the protein mTOR, which is a global regulator of translation, plays a major role in morphine...
(Journal of Clinical Investigation) This release contains summaries, links to PDFs, and contact information for the following newsworthy papers to be published online, January 2, 2014 in the JCI:Opioid tolerance and pain hypersensitivity associated with mTOR activation, Doxorubicin-...
(American Academy of Neurology) Having shingles may increase the risk of having a stroke years later, according to research published in the January 2, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
(American Psychological Association) People who tell themselves to get excited rather than trying to relax can improve their performance during anxiety-inducing activities such as public speaking and math tests, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association.
(European Synchrotron Radiation Facility) The Russian Federation has decided to become, as of early 2014, a full Member of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble.
(Max-Planck-Gesellschaft) Majority wants both punishment for tax evaders and things to go fine for themselves.
(GYMR) The Alzheimer's Prevention Initiative trial in cognitively healthy individuals has reached a significant milestone with the first participants in Colombia receiving doses of an experimental anti-amyloid antibody, crenezumab designed to delay or prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease.
(Canadian Medical Association Journal) Fewer than 1 in 10 adult Canadians is in ideal cardiovascular health, according to the new CANHEART health index developed to measure heart health published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
(Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary) Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) is the leading cause of dry eye disease, which affects tens of millions of Americans. However, there is no FDA-approved treatment for MGD. Researchers from the Schepens Eye Research Institute/Massachusetts Eye and Ear...
(American Friends of Tel Aviv University) About 3.5 million cases of child abuse are reported in the United States every year. Now a Tel Aviv University study has found that when parents are physically abusive, children tend to accommodate it -- but when the abuse is sexual, they tend to...
(University of Arizona) In the first study of human hunter-gatherer movement patterns, a team led by UA anthropologist David Raichlen has found that the tribe's movements while foraging can be described by a mathematical pattern called a Lévy walk -- a pattern that also is found in the...
(Brigham and Women's Hospital) In new findings from Brigham and Women's Hospital, researchers find that the most frequent reasons for readmission were often related, either directly or indirectly, to patients' underlying chronic medical conditions (comorbidities), providing a new opportunity...
(Wiley) New research shows mortality rates are two times higher in postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies. Findings published in the American College of Rheumatology journal Arthritis & Rheumatism, soon to be called Arthritis...
(Emory Health Sciences) New findings suggest the oxytocin receptor, a gene known to influence mother-infant bonding and pair bonding in monogamous species, also plays a special role in the ability to remember faces. This research has important implications for disorders in which social...
(The JAMA Network Journals) Children appear to be less at risk for developing peanut or tree nut allergies if their mothers are not allergic and ate more nuts during pregnancy, according to a study published by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication.
(Boston Children's Hospital) Women need not fear that eating peanuts during pregnancy could cause their child to develop a peanut allergy, according to a new study from Boston Children's Hospital published online Dec. 23 in JAMA Pediatrics. The studies shows increased peanut consumption by...
(Columbia University Medical Center) Using high-resolution fMRI imaging in patients with Alzheimer's disease and in mouse models of the disease, researchers have clarified three fundamental issues about Alzheimer's: where it starts, why it starts there, and how it spreads. In addition to...
(Kessler Foundation) Kessler Foundation scientists John O'Neill, Ph.D., CRC and Amanda Botticello, Ph.D., M.P.H., were awarded a subcontract on the University of New Hampshire's (UNH) Rehabilitation Research and Training Center grant on Disability Statistics and Demographics. The goal of the...
(MediaSource) New published research from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center shows two drugs help adolescents with ADHD and aggression. Prescribing both a stimulant and an antipsychotic drug to children with physical aggression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD...
(Association for Psychological Science) Thinking about time as a cycle of recurring experiences -- a reality Bill Murray's character knows all too well in the movie Groundhog Day -- may help us to put more money away into our savings, according to new research. The findings are published in...
(Edelman Public Relations) The Allen Institute for Brain Science announced major updates to their online public resources for the Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas, the BrainSpan Atlas of the Developing Human Brain, the Human Brain Atlas and the Mouse Brain Atlas.
(Brown University) As mice age, cells in tissues such as the liver and skeletal muscle lose control over rogue sequences of DNA called "retrotransposable elements," according to new research in the journal Aging. The elements, which may undermine health, were able to proliferate in old mice...
(Wiley) Smokers in England who want to stop smoking are three times more likely to succeed if they see a trained advisor than if they try by themselves, according to a new study published online today in the medical journal Addiction.
(Boston University Medical Center) Researchers from Boston University's School of Medicine and College of Arts and Sciences found that among HIV-infected Russian drinkers, depressive symptom severity alone was not significantly associated with lower rates of antiretroviral therapy (ART)...
(University of Wisconsin-Madison) Even scientists are fond of thinking of the human brain as a computer, following sets of rules to communicate, make decisions and find a meal. But if the brain is like a computer, why do brains make mistakes that computers don't?
(University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management) Those looking for honest companies to invest in might want to check out businesses based in more religious communities, suggests a new paper from the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management.The study found that businesses with...
(University of Iowa) University of Iowa researchers have developed a new vaccine that protects against lethal pneumonia caused by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, including drug-resistant strains like MRSA. The new vaccine, tested in animal models, works by targeting the toxins secreted by...
(The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine) The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is an inaugural member of the NIH's Stroke Trials Network. It will receive a 5-year, $1.3 million grant to build a collaborative research infrastructure for a NYC regional coordinating...