Latest science news in Psychology & Sociology
Pregnancy doesn't make mum dopey
Despite mums' fears that pregnancy may make them forgetful, new research has found that motherhood does not turn brains into mush.
Ontario failing adults with autism spectrum disorders: report
An advocacy group for people with autism says the province has a "piecemeal approach" that leaves some of society's most vulnerable without the help they need.
Tobacco Smuggling Is Killing More People Than Illegal Drugs, Experts Claim
Tobacco smuggling causes around 4,000 premature deaths a year -- four times the number of deaths caused by the use of all smuggled illegal drugs put together -- but the...
Babies And Beethoven: Infants Can Tell Happy Songs From Sad
A new study shows that 5-month-old babies can distinguish an upbeat tune, such as "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, from a lineup of gloomier compositions. By age 9...
Numbers don’t add up for U.S. girls
Culture may turn potentially high achievers away from math
Transparency in politics can lead to greater corruption
Why are some countries more prone to political corruption? Viviana Stechina from Uppsala University, Sweden, has investigated why corruption among the political elite was more extensive in Argentina than in...
Scientists Adapt Economics Theory To Trace Brain's Information Flow
Scientists have used a technique originally developed for economic study to become the first to overcome a significant challenge in brain research: determining the flow of information from one part...
Creation Museum Claims Big Crowds
Year and a half after opening, Creation Museum claims to draw crowds.
Instant insight: Asbestos comes naturally
Martin Harper, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, US, points out a hazard in the natural environment
Girls Are Happier Than Boys At Primary School, Study Shows
Just over one quarter (26 per cent) of primary seven boys are completely happy coming to school, compared with 44 per cent of girls, according to a new survey.
Gene Hunt In Dyslexia
Letters are warped, syllables left out. Scientists seek to spot responsible genes and try to develop a genetic screening test to support affected children at an earlier age.
Stress and Suicide in Hard Times: How People Really React
Suicide does not go up in hard times. But people stress out and eat badly.
Word Sense: A new experiment from the Cognition & Language Lab
A new Cognition & Language Lab experiment testing your linguistic intuitions. read more
National Briefing | Midwest: Ohio: Obesity Fails to Stay an Execution
A federal appeals court and the Ohio Supreme Court have rejected arguments that a death row inmate is too obese to die by lethal injection.
Charles Arthur: The difficult decision that would change our son's life
Charles Arthur: Two years ago, at 14 months, our son Lachlan had an operation to give him a cochlear implant
Rebecca Atkinson: I wouldn't have minded if my baby had been born deaf, but the embryology bill suggests I should
Rebecca Atkinson: Deaf, like black, is not just a description of a physical attribute, but an expression of pride, belonging and cultural identity
Pushing child to 'clean his plate' can backfire, study warns
(PhysOrg.com) -- Telling preschoolers to "clean" their plate can backfire, resulting in the children asking for larger portions when they are away from home, concludes a new Cornell study.
Babies with Delayed Gross Motor Skills Need Specific Early Intervention
If babies are not achieving specific movement skills, such as rolling or sitting, by a certain age, it is a sign that something could be wrong. Currently, more emphasis is...
Brainy genes, not brawn, key to success on mussel beach
It's hard being a mussel: you have to worry about hungry starfish and even hungrier humans, not to mention an environment that can change your body temperature 50 degrees Fahrenheit...
Risk and reward compete in brain
That familiar pull between the promise of victory and the dread of defeat - whether in money, love or sport - is rooted in the brain's architecture, according...
'It's not science fiction — it's even cooler'
From medicine cabinets to the fermented beer in the fridge, Americans are surrounded by science all the time. The St. Louis Science Center is launching a festival this week to...
Gene-testing startup's study responds to critics
(AP) -- A Silicon Valley gene-testing startup is responding to criticism that the tests could spur bad health-care choices by teaming up for a broad study of how the...
Experts Conclude Pfizer Manipulated Studies
The drug maker manipulated the publication of studies to bolster use of its epilepsy drug Neurontin, according to expert witnesses in a lawsuit against the company.
Oscars will take movie ads, ending 50-year ban
The decision by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences comes as TV advertising budgets tighten and viewership falls. ...
Robot created to look like young girl
OSAKA , Japan, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Japanese scientists say they've created a life-like robot resembling a 5-year-old girl.
Psychologists Show Experience May Be The Best Teacher For Infants
There's a lot of truth in the old proverb "experience is the best teacher," and apparently it even applies to 10-month-old infants.
The pepperoni pizza hypothesis
What's the worst that could happen after eating a slice of pepperoni pizza? A little heartburn, for most people.
Mice overcome fear, depression with natural Prozac
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The brain can produce antidepressants with the right signal, a finding that suggests that meditating, or going to your "happy place," truly works, scientists reported on Wednesday.