Latest science news in Psychology & Sociology
Right-handers, but not left-handers, are biased to select their dominant hand
The vast majority of humans - over 90% - prefer to use their right hand for most skilled tasks. For decades, researchers have been trying to understand why this asymmetry...
Islam must engage with science, not deny it | Inayat Bunglawala
Pressure put on a London imam to retract statements supporting the theory of evolution does Muslims a disserviceNews that Usama Hasan – an imam at Masjid al-Tawhid in Leyton, east London, and contributor...
Alcohol consumption after age 75 associated with lower risk of developing dementia
A new study investigates prospectively the relationship between current alcohol consumption (quantity and type of alcohol) and incident overall dementia and Alzheimer dementia. The authors conclusions suggests that light-to-moderate alcohol...
Cooperating Elephants
Elephants naturally understand when to lend a helping trunk much as people know when to lend a helping hand, displaying a complex level of cooperation only confirmed in humans and...
New report helps inform decisions about how science should be funded
Clinical research has greater societal impact over a 15-20 year timescale, while basic research has greater academic impact, according to a new study from RAND Europe and the Health Economics...
Well: Less Talk, More Medicine
Psychiatrists are talking less and prescribing more. Many of the nation's 48,000 psychiatrists no longer provide talk therapy, the form of psychiatry popularized by Sigmund Freud that has been a...
Death and the scenery of life | Peter Preston
The passing of the cast of characters you grew up with can ravage the magic that once existedMy stepfather chose to define the seventh age with mordant precision. "It begins when the...
In Romance, Too Many Choices May Hurt
In New York City, you can easily date a different person within a mile of your home for the rest of your life and never come close to duplicating -...
Senators, Please Do Not Cut Science Research
I just became aware of a letter that is being sent to a couple of US Senators by a large and illustrious collection of scientists, and I decided to put...
Happy Hour linked to pub violence, UK study finds
A new study has established a link between pub violence and happy hour-style drinking promotions. The findings also show that pub staff themselves need to do more to stop heavily...
Hell: an excessive punishment
Do you think people should be tortured? Could you stand by and watch a person being tortured slowly by fire until they died? What crime would they have to commit, in your...
Sperm Injections, Anyone?
Squid sex is both discreet and discrete. Discreet, because usually the sexual organs remain hidden. The only visible activity looks more like a handshake than like intercourse, as the male uses...
Life expectancy: Take a positive look at our ageing population | Observer editorial
This is a chance to recalibrate society so that we invest more in family tiesWe have been told for years that we are experiencing the alarming rumblings of an "agequake". Life expectancy...
Interactive game helps autistic children recognize emotions, study suggests
Children with autism spectrum disorders are better able to recognize faces, facial expressions and emotions with the help of an interactive computer program called FaceSay, according to newly published research.
Virtual reality can improve design skills in younger generation
Rapidly improving technology is changing everyday life for all generations. This constantly changing environment can be a difficult adjustment for older generations. However, for the current generation known as 'Generation...
Certain parts of the brain activated in people who heard tailored health messages and quit smoking
People who demonstrated a stronger brain response to certain brain regions when receiving individually tailored smoking cessation messages were more likely to quit smoking four months after, a new study...
Robert Winston sawing a pig is fine – but give me a trained teacher any day
Jamie's Dream School is a vast insult to the teaching profession in that it assumes that subject expertise is enough to teachAs our faith in politicians declines, our faith in "experts" soars. Experts,...
The inhumanness of technology
We've gotten used to thumbs-up on Facebook and updates with a 140-character maximum. Social scientist Sherry Turkle explores our reliance on technology above human interactions.Ever get the feeling that a...
Cancer Research Before Activism, Billionaire Conservative Donor Says
In a brief and rare interview, David H. Koch discusses his conservative causes and his passion for cancer research.
Family under the microscope
Relatives with dementia retain emotional memories if not factsIn all your dealings with elderly relatives with dementia, it is vital to bear in mind that they retain memories of feelings, even though their capacity...
Thai Girl Sets World's Hairiest Child Record
An 11-year-old girl has set a new record as the world's hairiest child.
Loyola University Chicago and Trinity Health Sign Letter of Intent
Loyola University Chicago (LUC) and Trinity Health (Novi, Mich.) have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) that could lead to the consolidation of Trinity Health and the Loyola University Health...
Were Republicans Smart All Along? They Accept Climate Change But Not Global Warming
If we're being honest in retrospect, the first decade of the 2000s was bad for science journalism. Too many journalists decided they wanted to be cheerleaders for science or,...
New research from Psychological Science
Controlling the Unconscious: Attentional Task Sets Modulate Subliminal Semantic and Visuomotor Processes Differentially Ulla Martens, Ulrich Ansorge, and Markus Kiefer Unconscious processing can be...
Spanish researchers campaign to change science law
Draft bill is inadequate on career structures, say researchers.
Facebook cited in 20% of U.S. divorces
Facebook use has been cited in 20 per cent of U.S. divorce cases, according to a recent survey among American marriage lawyers.
How dogs make sense of size
(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Sussex psychologists have demonstrated an ability in domestic dogs to match acoustic and visual cues - a cognitive ability once thought to be found in primates...
The New Old Age: A Better Bank Account
The joint bank account is "everybody's default estate-planning tool," says one expert. But an alternative type of account, more useful to caregiving children and their parents, usually is available.