English researchers have "found a new group of cells in the retina that directly affect the biological clock." It's a finding that could lead to eye medication to improve sleep patterns, providing solutions for jet-lag sufferers and drowsy, night-shift workers alike.
Mental Health & Society
Depression and anxiety, as well as severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia, have become more openly discussed. Yet, one aspect of mental health remains largely in the shadows: Nightmares. A new study builds on previous data and examines their relationship to suicide.
Is science political? Around climate change, yes it is. But regarding oxidative phosphorylation, not so much. A new paper uses the market to describe the politics of science.
Cats are independent, untrainable and don't really bond with people — at least that's their generally-accepted reputation. But a recent study suggests that cats actually like interacting with people — maybe even more than they like food. Who knew?
An interesting thing happened on the way to verifying claims that an emerging technology can assist in concussion prevention and recovery: a resulting phone call with the CEO of BrainHQ delivered clarity, transparency and admission of a PR misstep that served to cast his company in a better light than previously thought.
Politics makes utter fools out of otherwise rational people. The vitriol aimed at President George W. Bush by his political opponents caused psychiatrist and political commentator Charles Krauthammer to coin the tongue-in-cheek term "Bush Derangement Syndrome." It caught on. Pundits subsequently seized upon the terms "Obama Derangement Syndrome" and "Trump Derangement Syndrome."
If the average person is asked to assess their own driving skills, most will give themselves an above average rating. By definition, half of all drivers are below average, but most people lack the self-awareness to realize this due to a cognitive bias known as illusory superiority.
Every year since 2008, the American Automobile Association (AAA) has conducted a survey in which they determine drivers' attitudes and behaviors in regard to traffic safety. They have confirmed what most of us already suspected: You're a terrible, hypocritical driver.
The report summarizes its findings bluntly:
The Brookings Institute recently released a study on what it terms the "Privacy Paradox," in that officials believe that our concerns about privacy are not monolithic, but contextual. Privacy involves withholding information from others to protect a social image, either for a person or the community he/she inhabits.
Self-righteousness, gratitude, sympathy, sincerity, and guilt – what if these social behaviours are biologically influenced, encoded within our genes and shaped by the forces of evolution to promote the survival of the human species? Does free will truly exist if our genes are inherited and our environment is a series of events set in motion before we are born?
Dogs are versatile — they may be herders, guard dogs, guide dogs and even therapy dogs. But not all dogs are suitable for every task. One can test them, to be sure, but there may be another way to determine at least some of their personality characteristics — has a dog's muzzle become prematurely gray? If so, he or she may not be suitable for activities that require a calm outlook on life.
Even with the hot-button topic of abortion, there's one thing that nearly everyone can agree upon: having as few abortions as possible. And recent data from the Centers for Disease and Control states that the abortion rate in America has fallen by roughly one fifth from 2004 to 2013.