Latest science news in Psychology & Sociology
Study on effects of TV ad violence on kids has Super Bowl implications
The Super Bowl annually produces the year's largest TV audience, making it a prime event for advertisers to debut their flashy, new commercials. But ads with violent content aired during...
CRTC to review usage-based billing decision
The CRTC will review its decision to implement usage-based billing for smaller internet providers, chair Konrad von Finckenstein said Thursday.
Brain scans predict likely success when it comes to quitting smoking
New research from University of Michigan says brain scans showing neural reactions can predict behaviour change even better than the person whose brain is being scanned...
Computer-assisted diagnosis tools to aid pathologists
Researchers are leveraging powerful Ohio Supercomputer Center resources to develop computer-assisted diagnosis tools for diagnosing Follicular Lymphoma. Accurate grading of the pathological samples generally leads to a promising prognosis, but...
Revealing the wiring that allows us to adapt to the unexpected
Wouldn't life be easy if everything happened as we anticipated? In reality, our brains are able to adapt to the unexpected using an inbuilt network that makes predictions about the...
Navigating the spheres of assisted death
The issues of assisted death and palliative care in Canada should be discussed in the context of human rights, states a commentary published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal...
Researchers bust bat rabies stereotype
Bats tend to have a bad reputation. They sleep all day, party at night, and are commonly thought to be riddled with rabies. A study by University of Calgary researchers...
New study alters long-held beliefs about shingles
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- For decades, medical wisdom about shingles has been that it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The commonly-held belief is that patients are protected from a recurrence of the...
Explosive- and drug-sniffing dog performance is affected by their handlers' beliefs
Drug- and explosives-sniffing dog/handler teams' performance is affected by human handlers' beliefs, possibly in response to subtle, unintentional handler cues, a new study has found. The study found that detection-dog/handler...
Songbird's strategy for changing its tune could inform rehab efforts
Scientists have discovered that the male Bengalese finch uses a simple mental computation and an uncanny memory to create its near-perfect mate-catching melody.
Transgenic bacterium sparks row in French schools
Opponents fear that experiments will 'trivialize' genetic modification.
Really?: The Claim: Contraceptives Can Make You Gain Weight
Women who do end up gaining weight, experts say, may simply be misperceiving normal weight gain over time as an unwanted side effect of contraceptives.
Your dog's head can reveal how strong, fast it is
The size and width of a dog's head accurately predict the strength and running ability of the canine, according to a paper in the latest issue of the journal Behavioural...
Sex in pregnancy generally safe: MDs
Having sex during pregnancy is generally safe, especially for women with low-risk pregnancies, an obstetrician advises in a new primer for couples.
Chinese Astronomers Set Sights on Overseas Scopes
BEIJING—Chinese astronomers are about to gain a superior view of the heavens--at premier perches...
Improbable research: academics assist lions in their roaring contests
When a lion hears the roar of another lion, what happens?Lion-roaring competitions used to be private affairs, organised entirely by lions, without spectators. That changed in the early 1990s, when Karen McComb, Jon...
Video: Darian Leader: 'You can never define madness in terms of an external, visible manifestation'
Video: Psychoanalyst Darian Leader on certainty, madness, and what it means to be normalDavid ShariatmadariAlex HealeyKen Macfarlane
Why nerds rule the world
Ed Miliband may have once taken some stick for being good at the Rubik's Cube, but the tables turn once school days are overAt age 16 I was a member of my...
Brain pacemakers: A long-lasting solution in the fight against depression
Physicians from the University of Bonn, Germany, together with colleagues from the US, have suggested a new target structure for a very promising depression therapy, the so-called deep brain stimulation....
Help on the home front
“It’s important to understand the role child care plays in supporting Harvard’s mission,” said Sarah Bennett-Astesano, assistant director of the Office of Work/Life. “When I get a phone call from a researcher who...
Christianity: a faith for the simple | Nick Spencer
Christianity's founding ideals are anti-elitist – so should we be surprised if its followers are less educated than average?In The God Delusion Richard Dawkins makes great play of the fact that so few...
Facebook's Zuckerberg makes SNL appearance
Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his The Social Network doppelganger Jesse Eisenberg made friends on Saturday Night Live.
Does nature has a positive effect on ADHD children?
Children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can cope with complex tasks better in the open air, Wageningen research has shown. A natural environment made no difference to simple...
Get rid! Verbal barbarisms and cliches are a barrier to success for young footballers | Mind your language
A Dads' Army of coaches are treating children as mini-adults and bombarding them with nonsense"Just launch it!" went the cry – a kneejerk scream that can be heard up and down the...
3-D technology puts young athletes with ACL tears back in game
(PhysOrg.com) -- New technology has made it possible for surgeons to reconstruct Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tears in young athletes without disturbing the growth plate.
It *could* just be coincidence
Hypothesis: a decent knowledge of mathematics reveals that correlation is not causation, that most coincidences actually are the result of chance Today is my birthday, which means that there is...
To Negotiate or to Retaliate – Conflict Resolution in Russia
Many observers of the recent suicide bombing at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport were surprised that despite the carnage, the airport remained open for business. While some claimed that this response was...
Bias In Reporting: It's Not The Person; It's The Claims That Matter
Yesterday morning I peeked., just a small peek, at Age of Autism, and saw this: read more