study

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More Students Get Fix From Study Drugs

Adderall, Ritalin used to boost concentration despite health risks

(Newser) - Attention-deficit disorder drugs such as Adderall and Ritalin are gaining popularity on college campuses as an easy way for students to knuckle down, NPR reports. The drugs offer a “perfect kind of transition into a study mentality,” says one student, and can make work more pleasurable. But they’...

Men Smell Like Cheese, Women Like Onion

Find an animal that smells like tomato and voila—pizza!

(Newser) - Working out at the gym may stimulate your appetite—or maybe it's the enticing scent of the person next to you. Sweaty men smell of cheese, and sweaty women smell like onion or grapefruit, New Scientist reports. Body chemistry accounts for the difference, say Swiss researchers who based their conclusions...

Teen Sex: Everybody Else Isn't Doing It

Teen sex is on a downswing

(Newser) - Kids these days, with their sex, their sex, and all their sex. Just look at Jamie Lynn Spears and Bristol Palin—it’s getting worse all the time, right? Nope. The portion of high-schoolers who’d had sex in 2007 was 47.8%, reports the New York Times—down from...

Babies Ready to Rock at Birth

Infants can perceive rhythmic regularity

(Newser) - Babies are born ready to get in the groove, a new study suggests. Researchers played repetitive rock beats for infants, and when “metrically-unimportant” aspects of the music were absent, the babies’ auditory activity didn’t change much. But if there was a shift in the rhythm—for instance, if...

As Temperatures Rise, West's Trees Dying Faster

New study paints dire picture for US forests which are releasing carbon dioxide—not storing it

(Newser) - America’s trees are dying at an alarming rate in the nation's western forests, a new study says. Death rates have more than doubled over the last two to three decades, Time reports, even in seemingly healthy locales. All types and sizes of trees, and at all elevations, have been...

Want a Traffic Ticket? Buy a Hummer

Drivers of burly SUV 4.63 times more likely than average to get in trouble with law

(Newser) - Hummers and Scion’s tC top a list of cars most likely to receive moving violations, the Los Angeles Times reports. A study links tickets to size and power—the Hummer is one of the biggest “cars” on the road—and driver age, which applies to the Scion, marketed...

Cute Dog Craze Yields Dumber, Weaker Breeds

Shift from function to fashion impairs dog brains: study

(Newser) - Humans' quest for beautiful, quirky "leash candy" is making man's best friend dumber, weaker, and more introverted, reports the Times of London. Bred less and less to be hunters, guard dogs, and herders, current breeds can do little more than look pretty, a Swedish study of dog behavior has...

Abstinence Vows Don't Work: Study
Abstinence Vows Don't Work: Study

Abstinence Vows Don't Work: Study

Teens who pledge purity still do it, and they use protection less

(Newser) - Taking an abstinence pledge made teenagers no less likely to have sex before marriage but significantly less likely to use contraceptives when they did have sex, the Washington Post reports. “Previous studies would compare a mixture of apples and oranges,” said Janet Rosenbaum, the author of a new...

Blind Man Walks Obstacle Course Using 'Blindsight'

(Newser) - A blind man has surprised scientists by walking an obstacle course with the strange power of "blindsight," the Times of London reports. The man, blinded by brain-damaging strokes, cleanly walked the course without using a cane. He had already baffled experts by reacting to people's facial expressions. “...

Racial Identity Shifts With Social Status

Who is seen as black or white can change over time, study finds

(Newser) - Racial identity isn't set at birth—it's a malleable perception that changes with one's social status, a university study has found. Over 23 years, 12,700 people were asked to identify themselves and others as black or white. One-fifth switched their answers over time, often deeming people black if they...

Transit Ridership Soars—for Now

Plummeting gas prices haven't driven us back to cars ... but now fewer have jobs to commute to

(Newser) - Dramatic increases in public transportation ridership have outlived sky-high gas prices, but the souring economy could reverse the trend, USA Today reports. Nationwide, third-quarter ridership was up 7% compared to last year, spurred by $4-a-gallon gas in July. Some municipalities saw almost 20% more commuters on their trains and buses....

A Smarty Pants Has Better Sperm: Study

(Newser) - Men of higher intelligence are likely to produce better sperm, and not because they make smarter lifestyle choices, a new study says. British researchers have found a link between the sperm quality and intelligence of 425 ex-US soldiers, regardless of their age and lifestyle. "This does not mean that...

Unhappiest Watch Boob Tube the Most

Happy people socialize, pray, in free time: study

(Newser) - Unhappy Americans watch more TV, or TV-watching makes Americans unhappier—a new study isn't sure which. But the survey of nearly 40,000 people shows that those who watch 30% more television are less happy than those who pass their time in other ways. Sex, sports, and playing or reading...

Forward-Facing Strollers Have Backward Effect

Heart rates, stress levels rise in infants who can't see parents

(Newser) - Parents who place babies in forward-facing strollers could be harming their child’s development, a study suggests. Infants in carriages who were not turned toward their caregivers were less likely to sleep, laugh, or interact with them, the Telegraph reports. The study also found that babies in away-facing carriages have...

Big Brother Is ... Stealing Your Fertility

Having an older bro reduces your odds of having kids, study finds

(Newser) - If you have an older brother, odds are slightly greater you won’t be having kids, especially if you live in pre-industrial Finland. According to a new study, which examined the birth, marriage, and death records of three generations of pre-industrial Finlanders, found that those with older brothers were 5%...

You Heard? Headphones, Pacemakers Don't Jibe

Headsets may interfere with heart devices

(Newser) - Headphones used with digital music players may interfere with pacemakers and internal defibrillators, scientists discovered in research contradicting reports from the US government. “Exposure of a defibrillator to the headphones can temporarily deactivate the defibrillator,” the lead researcher said. Draping the headphones over the chest caused hindrance in...

Teen Pregnancy Tied to Steamy TV

Kids who watched most sex content twice as likely to face issue

(Newser) - Teenagers who watch more sexual content on TV are far more likely to face pregnancy, a new study suggests. Of 700 teens interviewed over 3 years, those who watched the most sexual material—on shows such as Friends and Sex and the City—were about twice as likely to get...

You Can't Afford to Read the Fine Print

Actually reading online privacy policies would cost $365B per year

(Newser) - No one bothers to read websites' online privacy policies. But if Americans did—just once a year for each site they visit—it would take 200 hours per person, amounting to $365 billion worth of lost time, Ars Technica reports. That may all be theoretical, but the researchers behind the...

Lack of Control Breeds Superstition

(Newser) - Superstitions and conspiracy theories all boil down to control issues, a new study says. When subjects in a University of Texas test were made to feel out of control, they saw more patterns that did not exist—whether images in a fuzzy picture or links between unconnected actions. Which is...

Honeybees Do Puzzling 'Wave' to Scare Enemies

(Newser) - Honeybees flip over en masse and reflect light with their bellies for a reason, scientists have found: It's to scare off enemies. Bee experts knew that giant honeybees in Southeast Asia flipped over by the hundreds or even thousands but only recently discovered they were warding off predatory wasps. What...

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