ScienceDaily: Science & Society News

Disease-carrying fleas abound on New York City's rats Posted: 02 Mar 2015 12:08 PM PST In the first study of its kind since the 1920s, rats in New York City were found to carry a flea species capable of transmitting plague pathogens. Among them: 500-plus Oriental rat fleas, notorious for their role in transmitting the bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death.

Perfect NCAA bracket? Near impossible: Mathematician says Posted: 02 Mar 2015 11:10 AM PST The odds of picking a perfect bracket for the NCAA men's basketball March Madness championship tournament are a staggering less than one in 9.2 quintillion (that's 9,223,372,036,854,775,808), according to a mathematics professor.

New assessment tool can predict successful teachers Posted: 02 Mar 2015 10:08 AM PST A new video assessment tool that can inform teacher selection and hiring has implications for education reform, a new study concludes. The researchers say there is a growing focus as part of education reform and accountability efforts to improve mechanisms for selecting individuals into teacher preparation and eventually into the field who will be successful.

Reducing animal testing for skin allergies Posted: 02 Mar 2015 10:06 AM PST The JRC has validated and recommended a new method which is not based on animal testing, to identify chemicals that can trigger skin allergies, estimated to affect already 20% of the population in Europe.

Survey of teen dating violence among US high school students Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:31 AM PST A survey of US high school students suggests that 1 in 5 female students and 1 in 10 male students who date have experienced some form of teen dating violence (TDV) during the past 12 months. "These results present broader implications for TDV prevention efforts. Although female students have a higher prevalence than male students, male and female students are both impacted by TDV, and prevention efforts may be more effective if they include content for both sexes," the study concludes.

Case study: Nebraska's Ebola isolation and decontamination approach Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:25 AM PST The Nebraska Biocontainment Unit (NBU), located at the Nebraska Medical Center, has shared its protocol for Ebola patient discharge, handling a patient's body after death and environmental disinfection in a new article.

Soft drink tax could improve health of the nation, Australian study says Posted: 02 Mar 2015 07:53 AM PST An excise tax on sugar-sweetened drinks would be an effective way to improve the health of heavy consumers, new research shows. Australian researchers compared the impact that a 20 per cent sales tax and a 20 cents per litre excise tax on beverages such as carbonated non-diet soft drinks, cordials and fruit drinks would have on moderate and high consumers.

Conservation organizations need to keep up with nature, experts say Posted: 02 Mar 2015 07:53 AM PST In order to cope, conservation organizations need to adapt like the organisms they seek to protect, a new paper suggests, arguing that conservation organizations need to be bolder in their adaptation efforts given the rate and extent of the ecological changes that are coming.

Infection control experts outline guidance for animal visitations in hospitals Posted: 02 Mar 2015 07:52 AM PST New expert guidance outlines recommendations for developing policies regarding the use of animals in healthcare facilities, including animal-assisted activities, service animals, research animals and personal pet visitation in acute care hospitals.

The failure of the Medicare principle of universality in Australia Posted: 02 Mar 2015 06:17 AM PST For the first time, researchers have revealed clear and detailed evidence of the inequitable delivery of mental health care services for disadvantaged Australians.

Protections, not money, can boost internal corporate whistleblowing Posted: 02 Mar 2015 06:17 AM PST Research finds that strong, reliable anti-retaliation policies can encourage employees to notify internal authorities of possible wrongdoing, but that offering monetary incentives does not necessarily influence whistleblowing behavior – or at least not right away.

Study identifies teens at-risk for synthetic marijuana use Posted: 02 Mar 2015 06:16 AM PST One of the first American national studies to examine risk factors for use of synthetic marijuana among a large, nationally representative sample of teens. Popular among teens, in 2011, synthetic marijuana was used by more than one out of ten (11.4%) high school seniors in the US, making it the most commonly used drug after real marijuana.

Pediatricians face increasing pressure to delay vaccinations, and more are giving in to parents' requests Posted: 02 Mar 2015 04:13 AM PST Pediatricians are facing increasing pressure from some parents who want to spread out the recommended vaccine schedule for their children by postponing vaccines, pointing to a need for improved programs that support timely vaccinations, according to a new study.

Improving inmate health can lead to better community health, safety Posted: 25 Feb 2015 01:40 PM PST If prisoners received better health care while behind bars and after release, both their health and the community's health would improve, new research has found. Offering treatment to prisoners or by linking them to community-based family physicians and psychiatrists after they are released leads to less substance abuse, mental health problems, chronic diseases and health service utilization, as well as a reduced spread of infectious diseases, according to the systematic review.