tagged w/ Study
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President Obama and House Republicans may have narrowly averted a government shutdown last weekend, but as the two sides prepare to engage in another round of intra-party feuding over budget proposals, a new study suggests that basic brain science might stand in the way of bipartisanship.
Using data from MRI scans, researchers at the University College London found that self-described liberals have a larger anterior cingulate cortex--a gray matter of the brain associated with understanding complexity. Meanwhile, self-described conservatives are more likely to have a larger amygdala, an almond-shaped area that is associated with fear and anxiety.
"Previously, some psychological traits were known to be predictive of an individual's political orientation," lead researcher Ryota Kanai writes of the study in the latest issue of Current Biology. "Our study now links personality traits with specific brain structure."
Observers will notice a familiar name on the report: Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth, who commissioned the report while serving as a guest host of the BBC Radio 4's Today program in London last year. (Neurological sources of stammering don't come into play.)
The study, which was conducted with the help of 90 young adult volunteers, comes on the heels of other research that linked political beliefs to genetic differences between liberals and conservatives. Last year, a joint study by the Harvard and the University of California, San Diego, found there might actually be a so-called "liberal gene" that influences political leanings.
While the London study does find distinct differences between Democrats and Republicans, its authors caution that more research needs to be done on the subject. One unknown is whether people are simply born with their political beliefs or if our brains adjust to life experiences--which is a possibility, Kanai writes.
"It's very unlikely that actual political orientation is directly encoded in these brain regions," he said in a statement accompanying the study. "More work is needed to determine how these brain structures mediate the formation of political attitude."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theticket/20110411/pl_yblog_theticket/will-president-obama-and-the-house-gop-ever-agree-science-suggests-noPresident Obama and House Republicans may have narrowly averted a government shutdown... more
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It probably comes as little to no surprise that many institutes of higher learning in the United States offer more than a few opportunities for their English majors to soak up some learning abroad.These cities in particular are by no means the only great destinations for indulging the literary love, but they certainly make a great start when exploring the different opportunities available.
LINK : http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.com/blog/2011/10-best-study-abroad-cities-for-english-majors/It probably comes as little to no surprise that many institutes of higher learning in... more
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By Agence France-Presse
Thursday, April 7th, 2011 -- 3:55 pm
WASHINGTON — Everyone knows that liberals and conservatives butt heads when it comes to world views, but scientists have now shown that their brains are actually built differently.
Liberals have more gray matter in a part of the brain associated with understanding complexity, while the conservative brain is bigger in the section related to processing fear, said the study on Thursday in Current Biology.
"We found that greater liberalism was associated with increased gray matter volume in the anterior cingulate cortex, whereas greater conservatism was associated with increased volume of the right amygdala," the study said.
Other research has shown greater brain activity in those areas, according to which political views a person holds, but this is the first study to show a physical difference in size in the same regions.
"Previously, some psychological traits were known to be predictive of an individual's political orientation," said Ryota Kanai of the University College London, where the research took place.
"Our study now links such personality traits with specific brain structure."
The study was based on 90 "healthy young adults" who reported their political views on a scale of one to five from very liberal to very conservative, then agreed to have their brains scanned.
People with a large amygdala are "more sensitive to disgust" and tend to "respond to threatening situations with more aggression than do liberals and are more sensitive to threatening facial expressions," the study said.
Liberals are linked to larger anterior cingulate cortexes, a region that "monitor(s) uncertainty and conflicts," it said.
"Thus, it is conceivable that individuals with a larger ACC have a higher capacity to tolerate uncertainty and conflicts, allowing them to accept more liberal views."
It remains unclear whether the structural differences cause the divergence in political views, or are the effect of them.
But the central issue in determining political views appears to revolve around fear and how it affects a person.
"Our findings are consistent with the proposal that political orientation is associated with psychological processes for managing fear and uncertainty," the study said.By Agence France-Presse
Thursday, April 7th, 2011 -- 3:55 pm
WASHINGTON —... more
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When you look at the couch and the stomach-scratching blob lying there, do you occasionally wish you’d committed to sharing your life with someone else?
When it comes to regrets — particularly among women — romance is the most common source of that nagging anxiety, according to a new study by a professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Some 370 adults across the United States — ranging in age from 20 to 80 — were asked in a telephone survey to list their biggest regrets, and the most frequently mentioned issue had to do with romance, said the study’s author, Neil Roese, a professor of marketing at Northwestern.
About 44 percent of the women interviewed listed romance, while only 19 percent of the men mentioned it, Roese said.
Many of the romantic regrets were about “the one that got away, a missed opportunity or someone you knew in college [with whom] it didn’t quite work out,” Roese said.
The second-most common regret centered around family issues, such as a desire to have been kinder to a loved one. Others regretted not going to college or not divorcing sooner, or choosing money over a life’s passion, Roese said.
Roese said many of those who took part in the survey were eager to do so, and some even became tearful as they spoke.
But saying, “I wish I would have,” isn’t all bad.
“Regret is something that can push people into better success in the future,” Roese said. “It’s a motivator. ... It’s a benefit if you take a lesson and move on quickly. It’s a problem if you keep [re-living] that same regret over and over again.”
The study, “Regrets of the Typical American: Findings from a Nationally Representative Sample,” will be published in a future issue of “Social Psychological and Personality Science.”When you look at the couch and the stomach-scratching blob lying there, do you... more
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SNII_inspirale The evolution and nature of core-collapse-supernova explosions, pulsars, is a mystery, and one of the greatest unsolved problems in astrophysics. But a team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Tony Mezzacappa is getting closer to explaining the origins of CCSN explosions with the help of Jaguar, a Cray XT5 supercomputer located at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility.
http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2011/03/-magnetic-fields-of-supernovas-beyond-human-comprehension.htmlSNII_inspirale The evolution and nature of core-collapse-supernova explosions,... more
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A possible arrest for drug possession might have just as much to do with one's race as it does with potential illegal activity.
According to a report by the New York Civil Liberties Union and Harry Levine, a sociology professor at Queens College, black and Hispanic citizens are more likely to be pulled over for suspicion of illegal drugs by the New York Police Department than white or Asian citizens.
An ongoing federal lawsuit was filed in 2008 by the Center for Constitutional Rights after it analyzed six years of the NYPD's data and found that almost 150,000 stops were made without reported justification.
Columbia University's Jeffrey Fagan analyzed the NYPD's stop and frisk data and found that race is the strongest way of predicting NYPD activity.
According to Darius Charney, a staff attorney at CCR, the NYPD's attorneys are currently motioning for the case to be dismissed.
"Plaintiffs are very confident that we will survive this summary judgment motion, after which the case will move towards trial," he said.
David Greenberg, a sociology professor in NYU's College of Arts and Science, said racial profiling reports may be misleading.
"You have to think when they stop someone, they would usually have no way of knowing if that person has marijuana in his or her possession," he said. "If virtually all of the people who are found with marijuana on them are going to be arrested and charged, there's probably no room for the race of the individual for it to make a difference."
At NYU, the university attempts to keep its drug policy clear. The university's policy on drugs, according to NYU's Office of Public Safety, is that in any case of "finding evidence of the unlawful possession, use or distribution of drugs on its premises by any student, the University will take appropriate disciplinary action, including, but not limited to probation, suspension or expulsion."
"Since I've been at NYU, I've known two people who have been caught with weed by the NYPD, both of whom were arrested," said one Gallatin freshman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "I also know someone who was caught with marijuana in a dorm; they were put on housing probation and had to attend a three-hour marijuana class."
NYU students are also still reacting to an article in the New York Post, which said NYU students are more likely to get high than those at Columbia by a 5-to-1 margin. In 2009, according to NYU Public Safety, there were 610 total drug related incidents at NYU, while at Columbia, there were 121, according to the Post. The article did not, however, take into account the population of the universities — where Columbia has a population of 5,667 undergraduates, NYU has over 20,000 undergraduates.
http://nyunews.com/news/2011/02/09/09marijuana/A possible arrest for drug possession might have just as much to do with one's... more
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Walmart supercentres offer expanding waistlines and strained buttons along with inexpensive housewares, clothing and electronics, new research suggests.
Two economists tracked extensive health and population data between 1996 and 2005, a period in which 1,569 supercentres — which sell groceries along with household products — opened across the U.S.
Of Walmart's 323 stores in Canada, 119 are supercentres.
The researchers found that one new Walmart supercentre per 100,000 residents meant an average weight gain of 1.5 pounds per person sometime over a 10-year period dating from the store's opening. It also boosted the obesity rate by 2.3 percentage points, meaning that for every 100 people, two who weren't obese ended up in that category after a superstore opened.
"I think the most obvious story is that Walmart lowers the price of foods and a lot of the foods it has big price advantages on are the processed, inner-aisle types of food that aren't that good for you," said Charles Courtemanche, an assistant professor of economics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
"It's not just about Walmart underselling the competitor. It's about the competitors cutting their prices in response to competition from Walmart. Someone might never step foot in a Walmart, but they still might pay less for their food."
Women, low-income families and people living in less densely populated areas are those most likely to put on weight after the arrival of a supercentre, according to Courtemanche and his co-author, Art Carden at Rhodes College.
The researchers incorporated a variety of controls and tests in their study to ensure that other characteristics of the communities studied could have explained the weight gain.
While the most obvious explanation is that cheaper food leads to more eating, Courtemanche said further research is needed to determine the exact connection between Walmart supercentres and obesity. It could be a combination of diet and exercise, he said, noting that their previous research has shown Walmart's product offerings influence leisure activities — with people buying and watching more DVDs, for instance, after a Walmart moves into town and offers them cheaply.
It's also possible that prices drop more steeply on processed foods than they do on fresh fruit and vegetables after Walmart's arrival, he suggested. Previous research has estimated that Walmart causes prices to drop by between eight and 27 per cent across the board, he said.
"We don't want people to look at this and immediately say Walmart is evil. We want people to realize this is one of many things that are going on, and maybe some are good and some are bad," he said. "Certainly our results should not be taken as, 'Ban all Walmarts.' It's part of a very broad debate."
Courtemanche said he believes Walmart supercentres in Canada would follow similar trends, and it's possible the effects would be heightened because Canada has a lower population density: the study found that people in more sparsely populated places are more likely to gain weight when a supercentre arrives.
"These weight gains seem to be concentrated among people at the highest risk of being obese, so you're kind of maximizing the impact on obesity you could get from such modest increases in weight," he said. "It might be only one out of five people who is gaining any weight, but that one person is gaining 10 pounds."
The research will be published in the March issue of the Journal of Urban Economics. Walmart did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/Packing+pounds+blamed+weight+Walmart/4129042/story.html#ixzz1BVyGjUC4Walmart supercentres offer expanding waistlines and strained buttons along with... more
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ScienceDaily (Jan. 12, 2011) — Marketing efforts that encourage mixing caffeinated "energy" drinks with alcohol often try to sway young people to believe that caffeine will offset the sedating effects of alcohol and increase alertness and stamina.
But a new study led by researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health and the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University has found that the addition of caffeine to alcohol -- mixing an energy drink with vodka, for example -- has no effect on enhancing performance on a driving test or improving sustained attention or reaction times.
"There appears to be little or no protective benefit from the addition of caffeine to alcohol, with respect to the safe execution of activities that require sustained attention with rapid, accurate decisions," says the study, published in the February edition of the journal Addiction.
"The results of this study suggest that public education, via media and warning labels, should be considered regarding the safety of CABs [caffeinated alcoholic beverages], and that regulators should scrutinize energy drink and CAB advertising as it relates to promoting safety-related expectancies."
The study, headed by Jonathan Howland, professor of community health sciences at BUSPH, comes amid increased government scrutiny of energy drinks, particularly when mixed with alcohol. Denmark has banned the sale of energy drinks, and the governments of Canada and Sweden have issued warnings about mixing energy drinks with alcohol.
In 2009, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a statement expressing concern about a lack of safety data on CABs, after survey results showed that the consumption of such beverages correlated with risky behavior among college students.
Howland and his co-authors note that while energy drink companies do not explicitly advertise that their products should be mixed with alcohol, "non-traditional youth-oriented marketing strategies" include claims that such drinks will "enhance attention, endurance, performance, weight loss, and fun, while reducing performance decrements from fatigue from alcohol."
In the new study, the research team randomized 129 participants, ages 21 to 30, into four groups: one group that consumed caffeinated beer; a second that consumed non-caffeinated beer; a third that consumed caffeinated non-alcoholic beer; and a fourth that consumed non-caffeinated, non-alcoholic beer. Those receiving alcohol attained an average blood alcohol level of .12 grams percent -- somewhat higher than 0.8 grams percent, the legal per se level for driving under the influence.
Thirty minutes after drinking, the participants were tested on a driving simulator and on a sustained attention/reaction time test.
The results indicate that caffeine does not mitigate the impairment effects of alcohol. On the driving test, the effect of alcohol on performance was significant -- but the addition of caffeine did not make a noticeable difference. On the test for sustained attention and reaction times, the addition of caffeine made only a slight difference that the study deemed "borderline significant."
Howland summed up the study results: "It is important that drinkers understand that adding caffeine to alcohol does not enhance safety."
Consumption of energy drinks mixed with alcohol has mushroomed since 2001, with some surveys showing that one in four college students report mixing the two. Some studies have found that caffeine reverses alcohol-related performance impairment on tests of reaction time, attention and psychomotor speed, but not on error rates. Other studies have found that caffeine does not significantly impact alcohol-induced impairment of motor coordination.
Howland said the new study was one of the first to provide "a controlled evaluation of the acute effects of caffeine on driving impairment" after drinking to intoxication levels. The institutional review boards of Boston Medical Center, Brown University and the University of Michigan approved the study.
In addition to Howland, researchers on the study include: Damaris J. Rohsenow of the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University; J. Todd Arnedt of the Sleep and Chronophysiology Laboratory of the University of Michigan Medical School; Daniel J. Gottleib of the Boston University School of Medicine; and Caleb A. Bliss, Sarah K. Hunt, Tamara Vehige Calise, Timothy Heeren, Michael Winter and Caroline Littlefield, all of BUSPH.ScienceDaily (Jan. 12, 2011) — Marketing efforts that encourage mixing... more
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According to a latest study, people who are suffering from alcoholism are prone to Obesity. It was revealed by the researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
:http://www.breakingnewsonline.net/health/6023-alcoholism-may-develop-obesity-risk.htmlAccording to a latest study, people who are suffering from alcoholism are prone to... more
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