Latest science news in Psychology & Sociology
Feature: Bird behaviour inspires fire-spotting plan
Unmanned fire-spotting planes could use algorithms based on the way birds share information in flocks - making the planes more independent when communication is difficult.
Web Less Dangerous For Kids Than Feared
A long awaited report from the Internet Safety Technical Task Force concludes that children and teens are less vulnerable to sexual predation than many have feared.
Game of two halves leads to brain asymmetry
A tug-of-war between the two sides of the brain causes it to become asymmetrical, according to research published today in the journal Neuron. Asymmetry in the brain is thought to...
Alcohol Exposure In The Womb Affects 'Teenage' Booze Behavior
Rats whose mothers were fed alcohol during pregnancy are more attracted to the smell of liquor during puberty. Researchers writing in Behavioral and Brain Functions have shown that rats exposed...
Early Childhood Diet May Influence Future Health
Surprising new research published in the Journal of Physiology, indicates a direct connection between an adult's propensity to put on weight and our early childhood diet.
Adam Rutherford: To stop embryonic and stem cell research would be immoral; it has enormous potential for alleviating human suffering
The question: Should we allow research using human-animal hybrid embryos?Zealots on both sides often overemphasise the dichoto
Fractured Consciousness
The modern scientific consensus is that the 'mind' is just a word we use to describe our experience of our own brains in action. This post contains a discussion of...
Violence and values in the Middle East: Lebanon survey
As fighting continues in Gaza, a University of Michigan survey of neighboring Lebanon illuminates some of the values underlying the use of violence in the Middle East. read more
Website Design Affects How Children Process Information
A new study in the journal Psychology & Marketing investigates the influence of website design on children’s information processing. Results show that the type of interface used can significantly affect...
Presumed Consent For Organ Donation Urged By Experts
Introducing presumed consent or opt-out system may increase organ donation rates, suggests a new systematic review.
Facebook, MySpace still mostly for the young
(AP) -- More people are embracing social networks like MySpace and Facebook, but use of these friend-gathering sites remains a much bigger phenomenon among the young, according to a...
Enderle, analyst extraordinaire, is everywhere in Silicon Valley
Rob Enderle answers the door at his house in the East San Jose foothills and he's on the phone. Of course he is. It's what he does. Talk. Talk. Talk.
Future of school textbooks written in cyberspace
Northwest Missouri State University students started spring semester classes Monday, but many aren't lugging thick textbooks around campus.
Doctors call for halt to Gaza assault
LONDON (AP) -- International doctors called for an end to the violence in Gaza, saying hospitals were scenes of "nightmarish havoc" in articles published Wednesday in...
Victorian novels helped us evolve into better people, say psychologists
The despicable acts of Count Dracula, the unending selflessness of Dorothea in Middlemarch and Mr Darcy's personal transformation in Pride and Prejudice helped t
Brain Mechanisms Of Social Conformity
New research reveals the brain activity that underlies our tendency to "follow the crowd." The study provides intriguing insight into how human behavior can be guided by the perceived behavior...
Genetic Variation Cues Social Anxiety In Monkeys And Humans
A genetic variation involving the brain chemical serotonin has been found to shape the social behavior of rhesus macaque monkeys, which could provide researchers with a new model for studying...
Bush's legacy: An unlikely champion
Was setting up PEPFAR #20; a massive HIV treatment programme #20; the best thing that President Bush ever did? Erika Check Hayden investigates.
Most Support Alzheimer's Research Based On Family Consent
By the time they have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, many patients' decision-making ability is so impaired that they cannot give informed consent to participate in research studies. A new...
Hormone drives sexy women to infidelity, says study
Women with high levels of a key sex hormone are judged more attractive by themselves and others, and may be more inclined to cheat on their partners, according to a...
Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States
Past inaugural addresses from Presidents Kennedy, Nixon, Johnson, Carter, Reagan and Bush.
Study Refutes Notion That Eating A Certain Cereal Will Result In More Male Babies
Could eating cereal really make it more likely for someone to have a boy baby than a girl baby? Not according to a new statistical analysis that refutes earlier findings.
Moves to make more prescription drugs available over the counter won't help patients or doctors
Government plans to make certain prescription-only drugs for common problems available over the counter have overwhelmingly been given the thumbs down by healthcare professionals, reveals a survey of readers of...
Gadget show shrinks, but organizers are pleased
(AP) -- The economy took its toll on the International Consumer Electronics Show, but its organizers found a bright side. They said the more modest attendance pleased exhibitors.
A Win-win: U-pick Pumpkin Farms Recycle Urban Leaves
The growing popularity of rural fall festivals, grade school farm tours, and "u-pick" pumpkin farms has resulted in an increase in consumer demand for pumpkins throughout the country. A critical...
Animated series helped children with autism recognize emotions: study
Some children with autism showed significant improvements in recognizing and understanding emotion after viewing an animated series created by British autism researchers, a new study indicates.
Feeling pretty? Hormones may lead to more..
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Women with high levels of estrogen not only look and feel prettier -- but they may act on those feelings by moving from man to man, U.S....
What is the link between autism and testosterone?
Controversial theory of autism makes headlines, but leaves scientific community unconvinced.