Latest science news in Psychology & Sociology
The Healing Power of Dogs
Dogs are helping people in Newtown, Connecticut, grapple with grief after the school shooting. What makes canines so comforting?
Study: We Can Spot Powerful Leaders In 2 Minutes
Warren Buffett And Barack Obama Wikimedia CommonsA new study suggests we can identify the leader of a group of strangers by sight. Thought experiment: What if you didn't know Barack Obama was president?...
Badger sleeping habits could help target TB control
Sleeping away from the family home is linked to health risks for badgers, new research has revealed. Scientists found that badgers which strayed away from the family burrow in favor...
The Eagle-Snatching-Baby Video Is Insane, But It's Also Fake
That video of a supposed golden eagle snatching a toddler in a Montreal park? Yeah, that's fake. From Motherboard: I knew we were all in for an epic display of virality (sorry)...
The last men on the Moon - picture of the day
A photographic highlight selected by the picture desk. Apollo 17 astronaut Jack Schmitt's photograph of Eugene CernanRanjit Dhaliwal
Why Are Mass Shooters Almost Always Men?
Evolutionary psychology suggests that a threat to status could be a trigger for extremely violent behavior.
The Psychology of Mass Shootings
While psychologists have a rough picture of why people commit mass shootings, predicting who will go on to kill is difficult
The Neediest Cases: After 3 Strokes, Woman in Wheelchair Focuses on the Here and Now
Fabienne Kirk, 60, was forced to give up social work and depends on home health aides to make it through the day.
Well: Live as Long as an Olympian
Olympic athletes live longer, on average, than most of us. But certain sports, two new studies suggest, may be better than others when it comes to extending lifespan.
Church Officials Call on Filipinos to Campaign Against Birth Control Law
Before passing Monday, the legislation to help the poor gain access to birth control had been stalled for more than a decade because of opposition from the Roman Catholic Church.
U.K. sets out social media prosecution guidelines
Government prosecutors set new guidelines to make it harder to sue people who send offensive updates on social media
With mental health issues rising on campuses, new student initiative to maintain balanced mental health is emerging
Rates of serious mental illness among university students are drastically rising, and universities are struggling with how to respond to students who show symptoms. Traumatic situations such as academics, financial...
Alan Alda: Scientists Should Learn to Talk to Kids
The actor pushes scientists to explain concepts so an 11-year-old will understand.
Professor examines the historic and contemporary proliferation of memes
It may seem that memes collectively represent a contemporary phenomenon born recently thanks to the advent of the Internet and social media. But this is not even close to being...
Perfecting sound quality in-ear
An audio pioneer who has worked with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Bon Jovi and Pink Floyd, Stephen Ambrose is on a quest to perfect sound quality. His most recent...
Genes, Cells and Brains by Hilary Rose and Steven Rose - review
Steven Poole praises a strong exposé of the hype surrounding genetics and neuroscienceWe have outsourced the job of interpreting ourselves to the modern life sciences. The decoding of the human genome will tell us...
Home Office to help student job seekers
Foreign PhD students will get a 12 month grace period to find a job after end of course
Instagram photos spark Swedish riot
GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Police in Sweden say arrests were made as angry Swedish teens protested an anonymous Instagram account that spread sexual rumors about local teenagers.
Birdsong bluster may dupe strange females, but it won't fool partners
Male birds use their song to dupe females they have just met by pretending they are in excellent physical condition. Just as some men try to cast themselves in a...
Research Beagles Released as Pets
Seventy beagle puppies originally intended for pharmacology research were released to adoptive families in India on Saturday, several weeks after activists alerted the Indian government that the animals had been...
Experts: Kids are resilient in coping with trauma
WASHINGTON (AP) -- They might not want to talk about the gunshots or the screams. But their toys might start getting into imaginary shootouts....
Oxytocin, social sharing and recovery from trauma
Therapists have long known that people who’ve had a traumatic experience feel the need to talk about what they’ve been through. This process is called ‘social sharing’ and can take...
China opens disaster research laboratory
BEIJING, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A Chinese government laboratory has been set up to research technologies to minimize the damage of nuclear and biochemical disasters, officials said.
Children's meetings offline with people met online examined in new study
Few parents feel entirely comfortable with their children meeting their online acquaintances in real life. But a new study sets out to put the risks and benefits of such meetings...
Sleeping pills owe half their benefits to placebo effect, study finds
Half of the benefit of taking sleeping pills comes from the placebo effect, according to a major new study.
"The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dragonborn" review: Worthy of your coin and time
Video game developers please take notice: Bethesda knows how to properly support a title post-launch
How To Work Off Your Holiday Dinner [Infographic]
Just how many hours of Wii Fit Bowling does it take to burn one (conservatively portioned) meal? Today's infographic is actually called, "How to work off your Christmas dinner," but, as we...
Dot Earth Blog: Two Video Views of Science as a 'Girl Thing'
A smackdown between two video efforts to excite girls about science.