ScienceDaily: Science & Society News

Use of neuroscience in law may face political resistance Posted: 24 Feb 2015 11:31 AM PST Republicans and Independents disapprove of neuroscience-informed criminal justice reforms when the reforms are seen as being too lenient with criminal defendants. When framed differently, however, there is stronger support for neurolaw.

World's protected natural areas receive eight billion visits a year Posted: 24 Feb 2015 11:29 AM PST Researchers say that the first study to attempt to gauge global visitation figures for protected areas reveals nature-based tourism has an economic value of hundreds of billions of dollars annually, and call for much greater investment in the conservation of protected areas in line with the values they sustain – both economically and ecologically.

Unexpected outcomes for elderly couples who stop driving Posted: 24 Feb 2015 09:09 AM PST Even if just one member of a couple stops driving, negative consequences result for both the driver and non-driver, a study concludes. The researcher recommends that the elderly and their adult children carefully discuss and plan for the transition to driving cessation.

Decline in smoking rates may increase lung cancer mortality due to inadequate screening guidelines Posted: 24 Feb 2015 08:29 AM PST A decline in smoking rates may mean that many people who could have benefited from early detection of lung cancer are dying because they don’t qualify for low-dose CT scans, according to a group of researchers.

Cross-cultural communication: Much more than just a linguistic stretch Posted: 24 Feb 2015 07:28 AM PST Mandarin-speakers' rely more on tone of voice rather than on facial cues to understand emotion compared to English-language speakers. This may be due to the limited eye contact and more restrained facial expressions common in East Asian cultures.

24 hour news amnesia: How swiftly the public forgets murderers and their victims Posted: 24 Feb 2015 06:17 AM PST Almost eight out of ten people cannot recall the names of the UK’s most notorious serial killers, paedophiles or their victims, despite the wall-to-wall media coverage of these cases over the past decade.

Disparities in breast cancer care linked to net worth Posted: 24 Feb 2015 05:38 AM PST Household net worth is a major and overlooked factor in adherence to hormonal therapy among breast cancer patients and partially explains racial disparities in quality of care. Several studies have shown that disparities in income contribute to disparities in health care between racial and ethnic groups, but no one had specifically analyzed the effect of household net worth on quality of care in breast cancer patients until now.

UK 'fit note' linked to fewer people taking long-term sick leave Posted: 24 Feb 2015 05:38 AM PST There is some evidence that the UK 'fit note,' which replaced the 'sick note' in 2010 in the UK, is linked to fewer people taking long term sick leave of 12 or more weeks, reveals research.

Water fluoridation in England linked to higher rates of underactive thyroid Posted: 24 Feb 2015 05:38 AM PST Water fluoridation above a certain level is linked to 30 percent higher than expected rates of underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) in England, suggests research. Researchers point out that their findings echo those of previous research, and that while they were only able to look at diagnosed hypothyroidism, there might also be other cases of impaired thyroid function that have not yet been diagnosed--and treated.

'Massive' tobacco industry third party lobbying for revised European Directive Posted: 24 Feb 2015 05:38 AM PST The tobacco industry deployed 'massive' third party lobbying to subvert revised European regulations on tobacco products, helped by regulatory reforms that seem to have made it easier for corporate interests to influence public health legislation, reveals research.

Professional associations call for policies to reduce firearm injuries, deaths in US Posted: 24 Feb 2015 05:37 AM PST ACP and other national health organizations and the American Bar Association release key principles and consensus-based recommendations.

Pregnant women unmoved by maternity hospital ratings, English study suggests Posted: 24 Feb 2015 05:31 AM PST Media reports in 2008 naming the best and worst NHS trusts for maternity care did not lead to more women going to the top hospitals or avoiding the lowest, a study has found.

Asian tree rings explain historical plague outbreaks in Europe Posted: 24 Feb 2015 05:31 AM PST Climate-driven plague outbreaks in Asia were repeatedly transmitted over several centuries into southern European harbors, an international team of researchers has found. This finding contrasts the general belief that the second plague pandemic "Black Death" was a singular introduction of Yersinia pestis from Asia to Europe in 1347 AD.

Facebook in mourning: mediatization of death and RIP pages as virtual shrines Posted: 24 Feb 2015 05:29 AM PST In the wake of high a profile death, it is increasingly common to see mass public outpourings of grief on RIP Facebook pages. This article explores media coverage of death and its relation to public expression of grief via social media.

Great gaps persist in state safety nets, interactive policy tool shows Posted: 23 Feb 2015 01:45 PM PST The 50-State Policy Tracker, a unique online tool for comparing safety net policies that are critical to the economic security of working families, reveals striking variation among states. The tool shows that state of residence has a major impact on whether low-income working parents succeed in making ends meet.

Advocacy, race affect flu vaccination rates Posted: 23 Feb 2015 01:41 PM PST A doctor's recommendation and a patient's race may influence flu vaccination rates, according to researchers. Researchers found that 90 percent of patients received vaccination if their physician advocated for it compared to 58 percent of patients whose physician did not.

Competition among physicians and retail clinics drives higher antiobiotic prescribing rate, particularly in wealthy zip codes Posted: 23 Feb 2015 12:48 PM PST Competition among doctors’ offices, urgent care centers and retail medical clinics in wealthy areas of the U.S. often leads to an increase in the number of antibiotic prescriptions written per person, a team of researchers in the United States has found.

World must achieve international water goals to preempt looming conflicts born of desperation Posted: 23 Feb 2015 07:42 AM PST A UN report on water and the Sustainable Development Goals underscores the issue's forecast links with conflict, especially in many already-troubled world regions. It also underscores the need to crackdown severely on corruption in the water sector as 'a crime against humanity.'

Teaching students about National Socialism and the Holocaust does not foster tolerance and open-mindedness Posted: 20 Feb 2015 05:37 AM PST There appears to be a discrepancy between the desired and actual learning outcomes of National Socialism and Holocaust education at German schools. A new study has shown the need to rethink the teaching methods that might foster a positive, yet self-critical national identity among adolescents.