When faced with a decision, people may know which choice gives them the best chance of success, but still take the other option, a new study suggests. People may choose based on a “gut feeling”, a habit, or what worked for them last time, rather than on what they have learned will work most often,...
When an earthquake or other natural disaster strikes, government relief agencies, insurers and other responders converge to take stock of fatalities and injuries, and to assess the extent and cost of damage to public infrastructure and personal property. But until now, such post-disaster assessment procedures have focused on the dollar value of damages to property...
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Experts have predicted that the COVID-19 pandemic will result in the worst financial crisis in the United States since the Great Depression. While the full scope of the financial fallout remains to be seen, furloughs, job losses and pay cuts resulting from the outbreak have already hit many people hard, and such financial challenges can...
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Scientists at Queen Mary University of London and the University of Roehampton, London, have discovered that patients suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) have increased levels of a protein called Immuno-moodulin (Imood) in their lymphocytes, a type of immune cell. Mice with high levels of this protein were also found to exhibit behaviours that are...
New research shows that a visitor’s garden designed and built by Iowa State University students and incarcerated individuals at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women is helping to strengthen connections between the women and their children. Researchers interviewed incarcerated women and their visitors in the visitor’s garden at the institution in Mitchellville. Ninety percent of...
Gender-based violence has been shown to increase during global emergencies. In a paper just published by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, researchers report that according to early evidence it is the same for the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings are online in the journal Bioethics. Early results from China suggest that domestic violence has dramatically...
Food insecurity in Vermont has increased by one-third during the coronavirus pandemic, from 18.3% to 24.3%, according to a statewide survey conducted by the University of Vermont at the end of March. The increase in food insecurity was strongly correlated with employment status. Among survey respondents overall, 45% had lost their jobs, been furloughed or...
A new study analyzing tweets about COVID-19 found that users with larger social networks tend to use fewer uncivil remarks when they have more positive responses from others. The study, which used computer-assisted content analysis, is published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. Bumsoo Kim, PhD, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is the author of “Effects...
An estimated 25,000 to 28,000 youth transition out of foster care each year in the United States. In a new study, interviews with hundreds of 17-year-olds in the California foster care system reveal not only elevated mental health counseling and medication use, but also that youth with indicated mental health needs feel less prepared to...
As droughts become more frequent and intense, the fragmentation of water service in the U.S. among tens of thousands of community systems, most of which are small and rely on local funding, leaves many households vulnerable to water contamination or loss of service, a new Duke University analysis finds. These vulnerabilities aren’t distributed equally, the...
