ScienceDaily: Mind & Brain News

Screen name matters with online dating: One starting with a letter in top half of alphabet makes a difference Posted: 12 Feb 2015 06:21 PM PST Choosing a screen name with a letter starting in the top half of the alphabet is as important as an attractive photo and a fluent headline in the online dating game, reveals an analysis of the best ways of finding love in the digital world.

Middle-aged men at highest risk of suicide after breathing poor air Posted: 12 Feb 2015 03:33 PM PST Scientists have found an increased risk of suicide associated with short-term air pollution exposure.

A brain system that appears to compensate for autism, OCD, and dyslexia Posted: 12 Feb 2015 12:46 PM PST Individuals with five neurodevelopmental disorders -- autism spectrum disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette syndrome, dyslexia, and Specific Language Impairment -- appear to compensate for dysfunction by relying on a single powerful and nimble system in the brain known as declarative memory.

Curious monkeys share our thirst for knowledge Posted: 12 Feb 2015 12:46 PM PST Monkeys are notoriously curious, and new research has quantified just how eager they are to gain new information, even if there are not immediate benefits. The findings offer insights into how a certain part of the brain shared by monkeys and humans plays a role in decision making, and perhaps even in some disorders and addictions in humans.

Research defines more behaviors that reveal romantic attraction Posted: 12 Feb 2015 12:46 PM PST Jeffrey Hall coded 36 verbal flirting behaviors -- such as making compliments, asking questions and revealing information -- and nonverbal flirting behaviors --such as leg-crossing, palming, leaning forward, playing with objects and nodding. The research team found different verbal and nonverbal cues indicated underlying physical attraction for each style.

Common biomarkers of sleep debt found in humans, rats Posted: 12 Feb 2015 11:14 AM PST Researchers found common molecules signifying perturbed metabolism in response to sleep restriction in a comprehensive metabolic profiling of blood from both rats and humans. Their findings point to an overall shift in how lipids are metabolized and evidence of systemic oxidative stress.

New fluorescent protein permanently marks neurons that fire Posted: 12 Feb 2015 11:14 AM PST A new tool lets scientists shine a light on an animal's brain to permanently mark neurons that are active at a particular time. The tool -- a fluorescent protein called CaMPARI -- converts from green to red when calcium floods a nerve cell after the cell fires. The permanent mark frees scientists from the need to focus a microscope on the right cells at the right time to observe neuronal activity.

People value resources more consistently when they are scarce Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:18 AM PST We tend to be economically irrational when it comes to choosing how we use resources like money and time but scarcity can convert us into economically rational decision makers, according to new research.

Juvenile gang members in US top 1 million, new study finds Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:18 AM PST There are over one million juvenile gang members in the US, more than three times the number estimated by law enforcement, according to a recent study.

Dogs know that smile on your face Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:16 AM PST Dogs can tell the difference between happy and angry human faces, according to a new study. The discovery represents the first solid evidence that an animal other than humans can discriminate between emotional expressions in another species, the researchers say.

Reality is distorted in brain's maps Posted: 12 Feb 2015 06:25 AM PST The brain's GPS would be worthless if it simply contained maps of our surroundings that were not aligned to the real world. But we now know how this is done.

Looking for love? Some use Reddit to give Cupid tech support Posted: 12 Feb 2015 06:24 AM PST A new study finds that users on OKCupid and mobile-based Tinder aren’t able to determine social norms or effective match-making techniques on the services, so they use Reddit to learn tips about online dating. Once there, they also find ways that allow them to “cheat the system” to interact with more potential dates.

Cerebral palsy: It can be in your genes Posted: 12 Feb 2015 06:24 AM PST Medical researchers have made what they believe could be the biggest discovery into cerebral palsy in 20 years.

Caution concerning the possible health benefits of alcohol: Beneficial only for women over 65? Posted: 10 Feb 2015 06:20 PM PST Any health benefits from alcohol may be limited to women aged 65 and over -- and even then may have been exaggerated by existing studies. High alcohol consumption has been associated with more than 200 acute and chronic conditions. Globally, more than three million deaths each year are attributed to alcohol.

Protein linked to longevity and enhanced cognition protects against Alzheimer's symptoms in mice Posted: 10 Feb 2015 06:20 PM PST Scientists report that raising levels of the life-extending protein klotho can protect against learning and memory deficits in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

One in five suicides is associated with unemployment Posted: 10 Feb 2015 06:18 PM PST Every year, around 45,000 people take their own lives because they are out of work or someone close to them is affected by unemployment, as a new study reveals. It includes data of 63 countries and demonstrates that during the 2008 economic crisis the number of all suicides associated with unemployment was nine times higher than previously believed.

The benefits of voluntary work for the working population Posted: 10 Feb 2015 02:06 AM PST Gainfully employed people who volunteer in their spare time are healthier and more satisfied with their work-life balance than people who do not engage in voluntary work.

Molecular tag explains differences in brain's response to anger, fear Posted: 09 Feb 2015 01:14 PM PST Researchers have identified the relationship between a biomarker and activity in parts of the brain responsible for processing emotional responses.