More than 15,000 adults of working age took part in the survey for Understanding Society, the world largest household panel study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and run by the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex. The survey which will follow 40,000 UK households over many years, asks people about a wide range of topics including their employment status, families, income levels and well-being. It found that people's employment status during the recession had a major impact on how they coped financially. Forty ...

How well our brain functions is largely based on our family's genetic makeup, according to a University of Melbourne led study. The study published in the international publication the Journal of Neuroscience provides the first evidence of a genetic effect on how 'cost-efficient' our brain network wiring is, shedding light on some of the brain's make up. Lead author Dr Alex Fornito from the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre at the University of Melbourne, Australia said the findings have important implications for understanding why some people are better able to perform ...

DURHAM, N.H. – People who feel more secure in receiving love and acceptance from others place less monetary value on their possessions, according to new research from the University of New Hampshire. The research was conducted by Edward Lemay, assistant professor of psychology at UNH, and colleagues at Yale University. The research is presented in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology in the article "Heightened interpersonal security diminishes the monetary value of possessions." Lemay and his colleagues found that people who had heightened feelings of interpersonal ...

According to a study conducted at the Department of Pedagogy of the University of Granada, about six out of ten male drug-abusers direct some type of violence against their intimate partners. Thus, the study revealed a high rate of domestic violence –both pysical and psychological– by male drug-abusers against women. The study also detailed the most recurrent forms of abuse, as well as the variables associated to them. The study revealed that between 6.5 and 72.4% of the population admits to having committed some form of violence against their partner. The less prevalent ...

Washington, DC, March 3, 2011 – Community gym surfaces do not appear to be reservoirs for MRSA transmission, according to a study published in the March issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of APIC – the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. The purpose of the study, conducted by researchers from the University of Florida College of Medicine, was to determine whether community gymnasium equipment surfaces could harbor staphylococcal colonies and to assess whether disinfection lowers the rate of bacterial ...

Researchers at Queen's University Belfast are taking the first step towards discovering the true effectiveness of brain training exercises with the release of their own app aimed at those over 50. The Brain Jog application is available to download free for iPhone, iPod or iPad. It is the product of 18 months of work by researchers at Queen's School of Music and Sonic Arts to find out what the over 50's are looking for in a brain training app. Queen's researchers are encouraging as many people as possible to download and use the application. During the process, users ...

Researchers determined that carotid artery stenting (CAS) with embolic protection is an economically attractive alternative to endarterectomy (END) for patients at increased surgical risk. The study, based on data from the Stenting and Angioplasty with Protection in Patients at High Risk for Endarterectomy (SAPPHIRE) trial, found that initial procedural cost was higher with CAS, but post-procedure hospital stay was shorter which significantly offset associated costs compared to END. Details of the study—the first to evaluate the long-term cost-effectiveness of CAS versus ...

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- As carbon dioxide levels have risen during the last 150 years, the density of pores that allow plants to breathe has dwindled by 34 percent, restricting the amount of water vapor the plants release to the atmosphere, report scientists from Indiana University Bloomington and Utrecht University in the Netherlands in an upcoming issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (now online). In a separate paper, also to be published by PNAS, many of the same scientists describe a model they devised that predicts doubling today's carbon dioxide ...

Our earliest ancestors preferred to settle in locations that have something in common with cities such as San Francisco, Naples and Istanbul -- they are often on active tectonic faults in areas that have an earthquake risk or volcanoes, or both. An international team of scientists has established a link between the shape of the landscape and the habitats preferred by our earliest ancestors. The research, by scientists at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, the University of York and the Institut de Physique du Globe Paris (IPGP), is published in the ...

Microsoft SharePoint experts have joined forces at www.sharepoint-blog.com to provide reviews, comparisons and opinions to assist clients in selecting the right collaboration software. Group blog sites combine resources of firms to create active blog sites that build trust, get attention and attract visitors. Following the model of successful group blog sites for Microsoft Dynamics Partners including www.erpsoftwareblog.com and www.crmsoftwareblog.com this blog site will provide objective articles from Microsoft SharePoint experts nationwide. Rather than being focused ...

People in marginalized groups, such as the disabled or racial minorities, feel stigmatized—condemned, feared, or excluded—when other people stigmatize them. That's obvious. But they can also feel stigma when nobody blatantly discriminates against them or says a negative word. These folks aren't paranoid, suggests a new study of HIV-positive people and their communities to be published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association of Psychological Science. Rather, they're picking up subtle clues from their communities. "Society is changing when it comes to ...

Escape the humdrum tedium of everyday life, and enter Next's magical world of fabulous fragrances and indulgent beauty treats. In this deliciously sweet-smelling universe, feminine allure is complemented by olfactory art. GET THE LOOK showcases on-trend additions to Next's RUNWAY COLLECTION colour cosmetics range including a volumising black mascara for truly luscious lashes... and oh-so-very-kissable cherry lip glosses that will certainly pump up a pout! While lush fashion lashes are wonderfully seductive, there's a terrific new dry shampoo kissed with OH MY GORGEOUS ...

A new study provides fascinating insight into the genetic basis of bipolar disorder, a highly heritable mood disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of mania and depression. The research, published by Cell Press online February 24 in the American Journal of Human Genetics, identifies a previously unrecognized susceptibility factor for bipolar disorder. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) provide a way to systematically sort through all the DNA of many individuals in order to identify genetic variations associated with a particular disease. However, thus far these ...

Springtime may be just what the doctor orders for individuals suffering from dry eye condition, a disorder resulting from insufficient tear production or altered tear film composition. According to a study published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, a temperature less than 30 degrees Celsius on the eye and eyelid could be the cause for the onset or worsening of the disorder. The study, (Meibomian Lipid Films and the Impact of Temperature) showed that the cold temperature causes the meibum, the oily substance which helps to form the outermost layer of the ...

University Park, Pa. -- Just as the constant pressure soldiers face on the battlefield can follow them home in the form of debilitating stress, African Americans who face chronic exposure to racial discrimination may have an increased likelihood of suffering a race-based battle fatigue, according to Penn State researchers. African Americans who reported in a survey that they experienced more instances of racial discrimination had significantly higher odds of suffering generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) some time during their lives, according to Jose Soto, assistant professor, ...

Physicians have debated the relationship between a low APGAR score and cerebral palsy, especially in children with low birth weight. Although this relationship has previously been inconclusive, a new study by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) indicates a direct association between cerebral palsy and low APGAR scores in children with less than normal birth weights. What is an APGAR score? The APGAR test is a newborn assessment given directly after birth that measures five criteria to determine the child's health: Appearance/skin color -- pink, pale ...

TORONTO, On – March 3, 2011 – Men living in low-income neighbourhoods consume more than three times as many alcoholic drinks each week compared to women in these neighbourhoods, according to a study led by St. Michael's researcher Flora Matheson. The findings, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, suggest neighbourhood affluence affects men and women differently when it comes to alcohol consumption. Heavy drinking is associated with higher death rates and a greater risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer and liver cirrhosis. "While ...

A team of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists has given growers in the Piedmont guidance on how to restore degraded soils and make the land productive. Researchers with the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) found that if cattle are managed so that they graze moderately, soil quality can be restored and emissions of carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) can be reduced. ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency. The research, published in the Soil Science Society of America Journal, supports the USDA priority of responding to climate ...

Many people have heard about traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), but few realize how common these injuries are in the United States. Data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that an estimated 52,000 people die every year in the United States as a result of a TBI. Another 275,000 are hospitalized and 1.365 million more receive emergency services annually. In all, nearly 1.7 million people suffer a TBI each year. One Oxford University report estimates the combined direct and indirect costs of TBI to have reached $60 billion in 2000. CDC data indicates ...

Researchers already study how various species of plants and animals migrate in response to climate change. Now, Jason Samson, a PhD candidate in McGill University's Department of Natural Resource Sciences, has taken the innovative step of using the same analytic tools to measure the impact of climate change on human populations. Samson and fellow researchers combined climate change data with censuses covering close to 97 per-cent of the world's population in order to forecast potential changes in local populations for 2050. Samson's team found that if populations continue ...

Children who face criminal charges, along with their families, may have some concerns about the legal process. They may feel compelled to ask advice from a South Carolina juvenile defense lawyer about student alcohol and drug charges, an alleged assault, burglary or sexting. But the first thing they need to know is that juvenile crimes are prosecuted in the Family Court system involving different procedures than adult crimes, with important exceptions. Recent discussion about reforms of the South Carolina criminal justice system has advocated a holistic approach to the ...

LEBANON, NH - A clinical study of anti-HIV/AIDS medicines in the developing world is on the verge of turning "the whole treatment world on its head," according to Dartmouth pediatrician Paul Palumbo. Palumbo, a professor of pediatric medicine at Dartmouth Medical School and executive director of the Dartmouth-affiliated DarDar Pediatric program in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, unveiled the latest findings of the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Group (IMPAACT ) during the 2011 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in ...

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that lactate, a type of energy fuel in the brain, plays a critical role in the formation of long-term memory. These findings have important implications for common illnesses like Alzheimer's disease, other neurodegenerative disorders, aging-related memory impairment and diabetes. The research is published in the March 4th issue of the journal Cell. The study is the first to closely evaluate the role of lactate and the effect of its transport from astrocytes—a subtype of brain cells—to neurons in long-term memory ...

The White House has created a panel comprised of 18 members to consider changes to Social Security in order to keep it solvent. Among the changes being considered is raising the retirement age. One Republican representative has called for raising the retirement age as high as 70 over the next 20 years; some Democrats are endorsing similar steps. These considerations and discussions focus largely on employees who work sedentary or less demanding jobs at desks and computers. Lawmakers and those promoting raising the retirement age are comprised largely of those who spent ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Using recent advances in genomics, researchers have uncovered a genetic pathway that affects the development of breast cancer, work that could help predict which patients are at risk of relapse for the disease. By studying which genes are expressed – or "turned on" – in breast cancer, research led by Michigan State University's Eran Andrechek uncovered a role for several members of the E2F family of genes, which control cell division and growth. Specifically, Andrechek's team found the activation of the specific gene E2F2 was associated with a ...