Latest science news in Psychology & Sociology
Canadian woman loses benefits over Facebook photo
(AP) -- A Canadian woman on long-term sick leave for depression says she lost her benefits because her insurance agent found photos of her on Facebook in which she...
Houston, we have a baby
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Shuttle Atlantis astronaut Randy Bresnik awoke early on Sunday to a much-anticipated call that his new daughter had been born.
Surgery not linked to memory problems in older patients
For years, it has been widely assumed that older adults may experience memory loss and other cognitive problems following surgery. But a new study from researchers at Washington University School...
Elsevier celebrates the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention for the Rights of the Child
Elsevier, the leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announced today the publication of a freely available Special Issue of Child Abuse and Neglect The International...
Researchers Begin to Decipher Metabolism of Sexual Assault Drug
4-HB is a naturally occurring brain chemical that can be abused or used as a date-rape drug if taken by mouth.
Intervention can reduce hostile perceptions in children with prenatal alcohol exposure
Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) has been linked to significant impairments in social skills. Researchers have found that a social- skills intervention called Children's Friendship Training can lead to a decrease...
Examining mathematical abilities in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) have a number of cognitive deficits. Mathematical ability seems particularly damaged in children with FASD. A new study supports the importance of the...
Sounds can penetrate deep sleep and enhance associated memories upon waking
They were in a deep sleep, yet sounds, such as a teakettle whistle, somehow penetrated their slumber. The 25 sounds were reminders of earlier spatial learning, though the research participants...
Mandatory evolution classes proposed
LONDON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The British government is moving toward mandating evolution be taught in all public primary schools as a science subject starting in September 2011.
Shifting blame is socially contagious
Merely observing someone publicly blame an individual in an organization for a problem – even when the target is innocent – greatly increases the odds that the practice of blaming...
New Tevatron Higgs Limits Got Worse, But The 115 GeV Excess Is Growing!
It happens in the best families, so they say. Two experiments work 24/7 to produce an improved result on the Higgs search, and the result is disappointing, to say the...
The Incoherence Of Free Will
I recently re-read a classic piece by J.L. Mackie (April 1955), entitled “Evil and Omnipotence,” a stupendous philosophical essay about why theologians like Richard Swinburne are forced by their belief...
Baby's sleep position is the major factor in 'flat-headedness'
A baby's sleep position is the best predictor of a misshapen skull condition known as deformational plagiocephaly -- or the development of flat spots on an infant's head -- according...
Study Shows Brain's Ability to Reorganize
Scientists from the UCLA Department of Neurology have confirmed that blindness causes structural changes in the brain, indicating that the brain may reorganize itself functionally in order to adapt to...
The developing child: Rating aggressive and delinquent behavior in pre-adolescence
In a study published in an upcoming issue of The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry researchers show that over reactive parenting, such as heavy criticism or yelling as a...
Reporting As Science
Call it contrarian stubborness, but I believe there remains that print journalism a critical aspect of American society. That said, what's journalism? Matt Bowden, in the October issue of The Atlantic, proposes...
Why can't some people give up cocaine?
Drug dependency is a recurrent but treatable kind of addiction. However, not all people who are drug dependent progress in the same way once they stop taking drugs. A new...
Sex and evolution to be on primary curriculum
Primary pupils in England will have to study evolution, British history and sex education, under a new curriculum for 5-11 year olds announced today.Ministers said they had moved to solidify the place of...
On The Difference Between Science And Philosophy
Attentive readers of this blog may have noticed that those who post comments to my entries often show two interesting and complementary attitudes: a fundamental distrust of (if not downright...
Looking for a good science book? This one isn't it!
The latest Science Shelf Newsletter is now online. It includes plenty of interesting titles, plus one I review negatively.
Academic Researchers’ Conflicts of Interest Go Unreported
A report finds that universities often do not disclose faculty members’ conflicts of interest in government-financed studies.
Easing needle anxiety
Needle! For some people, the word -- almost as much as the sight of one sliding into skin -- is enough for people to cringe, cry, even swoon if they're...
High-tech holiday gift ideas for $50 and $100
Picking a Christmas gift for the nerd in your life is never easy. In the holiday stampede, it's all too easy to end up with an outdated gadget or obsolete...
Net erupts over video of fish eaten alive
An internet video purportedly shot in an unidentified Chinese restaurant is firing up animal rights activists for showing patrons eating a live fish.
Switching cell phones takes emotional toll
She's gone. We were the best of friends, constant companions -- literally, because I carried her day and night in the left-front pocket of my jeans. For five years we...
Bosses exaggerate women's family-work conflict
(PhysOrg.com) -- Decades into the era of two-earner households, the virtues of family-friendly policies are all but universally assumed in the corporate world. But now new research suggests serious potential...
Teen sexual activity and gambling associated with taking nonprescribed medications to get high
(PhysOrg.com) -- Taking nonprescribed medication has become an emerging problem, especially among teens. When using these substances to get high, students are more likely to engage in bad behaviors than...
Activists, UN call attention to reproductive health
Activists challenged Stephen Harper to make women's reproductive health a priority issue at next year's G8 and G20 summits during a press conference Wednesday.