ScienceDaily: Living Well News

Move over Mozart: Study shows cats prefer their own beat Posted: 10 Mar 2015 01:00 PM PDT As more animal shelters, primate centers and zoos start to play music for their charges, it's still not clear whether and how human music affects animals. Now, a study shows that while cats ignore our music, they are highly responsive to "music" written especially for them.

Salt affects organs, even in absence of high blood pressure Posted: 10 Mar 2015 01:00 PM PDT Physicians have provided evidence that even in the absence of an increase in blood pressure, excess dietary sodium can adversely affect target organs, including the blood vessels, heart, kidneys and brain.

UK skies set to dim in decade's deepest solar eclipse Posted: 10 Mar 2015 10:19 AM PDT On 20 March a total eclipse of the Sun will take place, visible from the North Atlantic Ocean. Observers in the UK and Ireland will see a partial solar eclipse, with up to 97% of the Sun blocked out. This will be the deepest eclipse in the UK since 1999 and until 2026.

Repeated exposure of children to secondhand smoke is child abuse, expert argues Posted: 10 Mar 2015 09:30 AM PDT Purposefully and repeatedly exposing children to secondhand smoke -- a known human carcinogen -- is child abuse, according to an opinion piece written by a physician expert.

High levels of vitamin D is suspected of increasing mortality rates Posted: 10 Mar 2015 07:52 AM PDT The level of vitamin D in our blood should neither be too high nor to low. Scientists have now shown that there is a connection between high levels of vitamin D and cardiovascular deaths.

Detecting deception online is not so easy Posted: 10 Mar 2015 06:13 AM PDT Phishing scams are such a problem that some businesses are sending out fake phishing emails to employees. A professor says the scams work in part because it's harder to detect deception online.

Real estate index examines whether it’s better to buy or rent a home Posted: 10 Mar 2015 06:13 AM PDT A new index attempts to answer one of the toughest questions American consumers face: Is it better to rent or buy a home in today’s housing market?

Find out what your apps are really doing Posted: 10 Mar 2015 04:41 AM PDT Apps, these tiny programs on Internet-connected mobile phones are increasingly becoming entryways for surveillance and fraud. Computer scientists have now developed a program that can show users whether the apps on their smartphone are accessing private information, and what they do with that data.

Content creators leave social networks when messaging gets too easy Posted: 09 Mar 2015 12:53 PM PDT It's not much harder or more expensive to send a tweet or a Facebook post to hundreds or even thousands of people than to just a handful. So you'd think that the ease of communicating with lots of people via social networks would result in more and more people sharing their thoughts, political views, and cat videos. But that's not the case, experts say.

Improving your fitness could improve fitness of your spouse Posted: 05 Mar 2015 05:57 PM PST Your exercise regimen isn’t just good for you; it may also be good for your spouse. New research finds that if one spouse improves his or her exercise regimen, the other spouse is significantly more likely to follow suit.

Hormone-blocking drug prevents ovarian failure, improves fertility in breast cancer patients Posted: 04 Mar 2015 04:01 PM PST Breast cancer patients who are given the hormone-blocking drug goserelin during chemotherapy are less likely to experience ovarian failure and more likely to have successful pregnancies, according to results from a recent study.

America's Next Top Model: How do fans contribute to the decline of their favorite TV shows? Posted: 04 Mar 2015 12:26 PM PST Popular TV shows can rapidly lose much of their audience. According to a new study, the most devoted fans of popular TV shows could actually be contributing to their decline.