Latest science news in Psychology & Sociology
Tracing a crime suspect through a relative
California's familial searching policy, the most extensive in the nation, looks for genetic ties between culprits and kin. Privacy advocates and legal experts are nervous. ...
Adult Brain Neurons Can Remodel Connections
Overturning a century of prevailing thought, scientists are finding that neurons in the adult brain can remodel their connections.
Social Amoeba Seek Kin Association
Starving "social amoebae" called Dictyostelium discoideum seek the support of "kin" when they form multi-cellular organisms made up of dead stalks and living spores, researchers report.
Miserable mid-lifers want love
There's a reason they call it a crisis - a new study has found that middle age is a low point for Australians, and people want love, not money, to...
System at breaking point, suspended N.L. nurse says
A central Newfoundland nurse who was disciplined amid a union campaign for higher wages has suggested that Premier Danny Williams's wealth may remove him from the plight of ordinary people...
Publication Bias Found Among Trials Submitted To FDA: New Study
A quarter of drug trials submitted in support of new drug applications to the US Food and Drug Administration remain unpublished five years after the fact, says new research.
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something... Green?
Balikpapan has decided to take its carbon footprint as seriously as " 'til death do you part". read more
Robo-lizards help prove long-standing signalling theory
Like teachers who rap a ruler before announcing homework in noisy classrooms, Puerto Rican anole lizards perform eye-catching pushups before beginning head-bobbing displays that advertise their territory and status, according...
Want to be happier? Be more grateful
Want to quickly improve your happiness and satisfaction with life? Then the pen may be a mighty weapon, according to research done by Kent State University's Dr Steven Toepfer...
Telephone counselling may be as effective as face-to-face counselling in weight loss maintenance
Face-to-face and telephone follow-up sessions appear to be more effective in the maintenance of weight loss for women from rural communities compared with weight loss education alone, according to a...
Peer-led sex education does not reduce abortions among teenagers
A trial of peer-led sex education in schools in England has found that it is not more effective at reducing teenage abortions than the sex education classes given by teachers....
Letters: Back-to-front child buggy research
Letters: I would be very interested to see results from a similar study on the 'front- v back-facing buggy' debate carried out in a Mediterranean country
Poll: Should cannabis be reclassified as a class B drug?
Should cannabis be upgraded from a class C drug to class B?
Bioinformatics lecturers enlist undergrads to tackle DNA annotation challenge
In this week's issue of PLoS Biology, a team of Marseilles University lecturers led by Pascal Hingamp, describe the Annotathon - an innovative bioinformatics teaching approach that appeals to...
Justin L Barrett: Do children believe because they're told to by adults? The evidence suggests otherwise
Justin L Barrett: Do children believe because they're told to by adults? The evidence suggests otherwise
Books of The Times: Polly Wanna Cracker? Squawk! Do Better, That’s So Bush League
In this volume Irene M. Pepperberg describes her three-decade-long relationship with Alex the African gray parrot and her struggle to win recognition from the scientific establishment.
New Clinical Study Will Help Doctors Assess Abnormal Bleeding
How do you know if you bleed normally? Scientists aim to answer that question more definitively with the launch of an assessment tool designed to help physicians and researchers more...
Predicting The Future For Patients With Severe Traumatic Brain Injury
"How will our loved one come out of this?" After an accident that results in severe traumatic brain injury, the answer to this simple question can change everything. A new...
Robots Created That Develop And Display Emotions And Become Attached To Certain People
New robots develop and display emotions as they interact with humans, and become attached to them.
How Is Our Left Brain Is Different From Our Right?
Scientists found that synaptic size and shape in the center of the spatial memory (i.e. hippocampus) were asymmetrical between synapses receiving input from the left and right hemisphere. Differences were...
A Soldier, Taking Orders From Its Ethical Judgment Center
Some scientists propose that fighting robots have benefits, but moral question linger.
Vital Signs: Patterns: Better Health for Religiously Observant
A new study found that women who attended religious services were one-fifth less likely to die than those who did not.
Research Center Tied to Drug Company
Documents reveal that a renowned child psychiatrist pushed Johnson & Johnson to fund a research center whose goal was “to move forward the commercial goals of J&J.”
The Evidence Gap: New Arena for Testing of Drugs: Real World
There is a growing movement to gather evidence to explore what treatment is best for typical patients with complex symptoms.
The Welllcome Collection: where science and art are encouraged to meet Stuart Jeffries profiles the work of the Wellcome Collection
On the wall of the Wellcome Collection in London is a colour pencil drawing of a man's crotch that makes me wince.
Jim Al-Khalili: Scientists must publicly defend rational, secular society
Jim Al-Khalili: While people still cling to beliefs from the dark ages, more scientists must publicly defend rational, secular society
U of C students risk arrest for anti-abortion displays
Some University of Calgary students say they will risk arrest and possibly even expulsion by holding an anti-abortion protest later this week.
Nap without guilt: It boosts sophisticated memory
(AP) -- Just in time for the holidays, some medical advice most people will like: Take a nap. Interrupting sleep seriously disrupts memory-making, compelling new research suggests. But on...