Latest science news in Psychology & Sociology
Video: 23-Year Coma Confusion
After doctors thought a Belgium man was in a deep coma for 23 years, they found that he was conscious the whole time. Elizabeth Palmer has the story.
ET: Check your voicemail
(PhysOrg.com) -- Alien beings on faraway planets may not have noticed, but it`s been 35 years since human beings made the first deliberate effort to send them a message.
Chronic pain found to increase risk of falls in older adults
Chronic pain is experienced by as many as two out of three older adults. Now, a new study finds that pain may be more hazardous than previously thought, contributing to...
Genome-wide association studies in developing countries raise important new ethical issues
Typically conducted in richer, developed countries but now increasingly done in the developing world, genome wide association studies raise a host of ethical issues that must be addressed, experts argue.
Medical 'pay for performance' programs help improve care - but not always, study finds
Like everybody, health care professionals enjoy a pay raise for a job well done. But in some instances, financial incentives for health care performance may actually backfire...
Fatty food lowers old anxiety
A rat study has found that comfort eating can reduce the anxious behaviour and stress hormone levels caused by childhood trauma.
ISU psychologists offer parental advice on promoting kids' healthy video game play
(PhysOrg.com) -- Parents often find themselves in a holiday quandary when deciding on which video games to purchase for their kids. They know that their children want video games, but...
Evaluating eHealth: How to make evaluation more methodologically robust
eHealth—the organisation and delivery of health services and information using information technology (IT) systems—is playing an increasingly important role in shaping health care systems. This week PLoS Medicine publishes the...
Video: A Human Billboard
A 27-year-old Floridian makes a comfortable living by simply putting on a T-shirt. Jason Sadler gets paid to wear company logos and circulate pictures online. Steve Hartman his story on...
Feature: Behind the numbers
The thought of marrying the words forensic and accounting may seem like an odd coupling, but forensic accounting is real, in demand, and likely to reshape accounting as we know...
Basics: The Biology Behind the Milk of Human Kindness
New research suggests that oxytocin underlies the twin emotional pillars of civilized life, our capacity to feel empathy and trust.
Inside the mind of an actor (literally)
How does an actor engage with the part they are playing? Fiona Shaw undergoes a brain scan while reciting TS Eliot to help shed some light on the mystery'My bra! My bra!...
Vioxx risks evident earlier, researchers say
The red flags about the pain reliever Vioxx were present at least three years before the drug was taken off the market, U.S. researchers say.
Robots could help care for aged
A study of older people's attitudes towards robots is helping researchers develop inexpensive robotic assistants for aged care.
Friends go online at Foursquare to meet offline
(AP) -- Laura Fitton's ascent has been staggering: In less than a year, she's become mayor of nine different places in several different states, all without giving any speeches...
In the Brain, Seven Is A Magic Number
Having a tough time recalling a phone number someone spoke a few minutes ago or forgetting items from a mental grocery list is not a sign of mental decline; in...
Military Launching Preemptive Strikes Against Mental Illness
Genetic testing and brain scans for new recruits attempt to cut out PTSD-prone soldiers With nearly 1.8 million U.S. soldiers having rotated into Iraq and Afghanistan over the past six years and another...
Belgian says he was alert but mute for 23 years
BRUSSELS (AP) -- For 23 torturous years, Rom Houben says he lay trapped in his paralyzed body, aware of what was going on around him but...
Five Tips For Particle Physics Ph. D. Wannabes
Being a graduate student in particle physics is a tough, stressful job. I know it because I once was one, and I still remember the burden of giving exams, carrying...
The Jacuzzification Of Evolution
“Come on into the hot tub,” I told my three year old boy. But he wouldn’t budge. No way was he joining his older sister in there. “It’s warm, and...
Sounds During Sleep Aid Memory, Study Finds
People who heard specific sounds while sleeping had enhanced memories upon awakening, researchers said.
Measured -- The time it takes us to find the words we need
(PhysOrg.com) -- The time it takes for our brains to search for and retrieve the word we want to say has been measured for the first time. The discovery is...
Donate your text messages to science: Texto4Science project
A Université de Montréal researcher has a special request for Canadian texters: "Everyone young and old, students and workers, artists and business people, no matter who you are, send me...
Health reform: Is tax on 'Cadillac' plans fair?
Schoolteacher Kinzi Blair makes only $46,000 a year, but she has what many would consider a "Cadillac" health plan, now targeted for a big tax increase by health reformers....
AIDS research reveals a lack of family-planning programs in Uganda
University of Alberta graduate student Jennifer Heys wants to make her message clear: there needs to be more education in Ugandan communities about contraception.
A quantum leap forward?
The dusty boxes that line the walls of Jeff Barrett's UC Irvine office mark a high point in his academic career. Their contents: pages and pages of notes, most more...
Obama to honor young inventors at science fair
President Barack Obama says he will have a national science fair next year to honor young inventors with the same gusto that college and professional athletes celebrate their victories at...
African policymakers urged to speed seed to farmers
Action is needed from policymakers to speed up the supply of improved seeds to West African farmers, researchers say.