Latest Science and Society News

New Study about Facebook and Romantic Relationships

A Western Illinois University faculty member who published a widely covered study about Facebook and narcissism last year has authored another study about Facebook and romantic relationships.

 

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Scientists create phantom sensations in non-amputees

The sensation of having a physical body is not as self-evident as one might think. Almost everyone who has had an arm or leg amputated experiences a phantom limb: a vivid sensation that the missing limb is still present. A new study by neuroscientists at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that it is possible to evoke the illusion of having a phantom hand in non-amputated individuals.

 

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Feelings of power can diffuse effects of negative stereotypes

New research from social psychologists at Indiana University Bloomington suggests that feeling powerful might protect against the debilitating effects of negative stereotypes.

 

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Laser Light Zaps Away Cocaine Addiction

By stimulating one part of the brain with laser light, researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at UC San Francisco (UCSF) have shown that they can wipe away addictive behavior in rats – or conversely turn non-addicted rats into compulsive cocaine seekers.

 

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Gaze following provides insight into the evolution of leadership

In the background of evolution, gaze following is one of the oldest manifestations of leadership. Three-month-old babies, for example, already follow the eye movements of their parents. Psychologists at VU University Amsterdam have discovered that in times of danger people follow the eye movements of individuals with a masculine and dominant appearance. When people feel safe, however, they follow the eye movements of both men and women. The results were published yesterday in the scientific journal PLoS One.

 

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Urinary tract infections 29 times more likely in schizophrenia relapse

Schizophrenia patients experiencing relapse are 29 times more likely than healthy individuals to have a urinary tract infection, researchers report.

 

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