Latest science news in Psychology & Sociology
Did Olympic Athletes Peak in the 1980s?
As the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics draw to a close, future athletes will likely have to work harder than ever to beat any world records set during the games, says...
Internal Metronome: Brain implant reveals neural patterns of attention
A paralyzed patient implanted with a brain-computer interface device has allowed scientists to determine the relationship between brain waves and attention. Characteristic activity patterns known as beta and delta oscillations...
Concessions over science advice principles
Proposal that advisors should seek 'shared position' with government abandoned.
Midlife crisis: Unmarried older women twice as likely to lack health insurance
Older women who are divorced, separated or widowed or who have never married have twice the uninsured rate of their married peers, according to a new policy brief from the...
UCLA study finds genetic link between misery and death
In ongoing work to identify how genes interact with social environments to impact human health, UCLA researchers have discovered what they describe as a biochemical link between misery and death....
Was Jimi Hendrix's ambidexterity the key to his virtuosity?
Guitar hero's 'mixed-handedness' was secret to his genius, argues American psychologistWas Jimi Hendrix's ambidexterity the secret to his talent? This is the question explored in a new paper by psychologist Stephen Christman (via...
Interview: Something in the water
Bibudhendra Sarkar talks about metalloenzymes, helping sick children and hunting for toxic metals in the environment
Women gamblers on the rise
More Australian women are engaging in risky gambling behaviour, according to an investigation into gambling habits.
Watch How You Hold That Crayon
In affluent neighborhoods in and around New York, occupational therapists have taken their place next to academic tutors, psychologists, private coaches and personal trainers.
Preparing in Great Detail for a Health Debate, and for Its TV Audience
From the seating arrangements to the camera positions and buffet lunch — not to mention the talking points — Thursday’s health care session has been carefully orchestrated.
Technology and culture determine our view of the brain
What does the brain look like? What do we really know about our brains? For centuries, we’ve been telling ourselves time and again that we now have an objective view...
TV ads may be more effective if we pay less attention
Viewers pay less attention to creative television adverts, shows new research from the UK, but may make themselves more vulnerable to the advertiser's message.
Surprise! Neural mechanism may underlie an enhanced memory for the unexpected
The human brain excels at using past experiences to make predictions about the future. However, the world around us is constantly changing, and new events often violate our logical expectations....
Cognition Without Control
(PhysOrg.com) -- Kids' inability to filter out distractions is a good thing. In fact, it's precisely what makes them such prodigious learners of language.
Health care volunteers and disasters: First, be prepared
(PHILADELPHIA) -- A surge in volunteers following a major disaster can overwhelm a response system, and without overall coordination, can actually make a situation worse instead of better...
What is the 'Grand Challenge' Facing the Future of Agriculture?
What are the top research questions facing agriculture? Earlier this year, the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) sought out the opinions of its members and leadership to develop a Grand...
Panel asks dairy avoiders: Are you getting enough?
Lactose intolerance is a real and important clinical syndrome, but quantifying its public health burden is challenging. An NIH Consensus Development panel was convened this week to assess the...
Researcher Accused of Fraud Found Dead
A researcher accused of fraud last week for allegedly hiring actors to give false... [Read more]
National survey of colleges reveals importance of branding, creating community
A national survey of large and small colleges and universities aimed at identifying brand connection and affinity among alumni shows that while size may matter, large public universities can compete...
Liberals and atheists smarter? Intelligent people have values novel in human evolutionary history, study finds
Higher intelligence is associated with liberal political ideology, atheism, and men's (but not women's) preference for sexual exclusivity. More intelligent people are statistically more likely to exhibit social values and...
Scientists find first physiological evidence of brain's response to inequality
The human brain is a big believer in equality -- and a team of scientists has become the first to gather the images to prove it. Specifically, the team found...
Researchers Claim They Can Translate Infant Cries, But is it Just Noise?
Though it's highly uncertain that they would have anything interesting to say, for some reason we humans agonize over what our babies might be communicating with all those non-verbal cues. But though we've...
A land without Google?
A survey reveals how Chinese scientists could be affected by the stand-off between their government and the search-engine giant.
Dog bites research: UAB testing software to teach kids, dogs to interact safely
Psychologists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) are testing a software program designed to teach children to interact safely with dogs.
Sub-Saharan Africa news in brief: 11–24 February 2010
Weekly TB treatment closer to reality, livestock research to pursue biotechnology, e-health technologies prove successful, and more.
Brain's 'Fairness' Spot Found
Humans tend not to like unequal situations, and now scientists have found the first evidence that this behavior is reflected in the human brain.
Will Brain-Scanning Lie Detectors Free the Innocent or Jail Them?
Two companies say their brain-scanning technology can find the truth in criminal cases It was a courtroom first. Late last year, an Illinois judge allowed functional magnetic-resonance imaging (fMRI) as evidence during the...
Joan Bakewell: Happiness is being 74
The young have stress, ambition, unfulfilled dreams. The elderly have contentmentHappiness, it seems, peaks at the age of 74 – or so Austrian and German scientists have concluded after asking 21,000 people how...