Culture

Rising individualism in the United States over the last 150 years is mainly associated with a societal shift toward more white-collar occupations, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

According to researchers at Brandeis University, the University of North Florida and Johns Hopkins University, policymakers must look beyond painkiller abuse, also called non-medical use, in their efforts to reduce opioid overdose deaths. In a comprehensive investigation, the scientists show that since 2002, new cases of non-medical abuse have declined, yet painkiller overdose deaths have soared; evidence, they say, that recreational use of painkillers is not a key driver of the opioid crisis.

Men on lower incomes are more likely to help their partners with housework than higher-earners, although women are still by far doing the most around the home, no matter how many hours they work or how much they are paid.

While the burden of keeping the home clean is starting to be shared more equally between couples, signs of a class divide are beginning to emerge, a researcher from the University of Warwick has found.

A landmark study on gender equality among religious minorities in Canada sharply disputes the stereotype Muslim women are more repressed by men than other groups of immigrants.

Sharia law, burqas, honour killings and overseas terrorism directed at girls and women grab headlines and shape public opinion, but workforce participation rates among immigrants suggests a trend toward high levels of equality for Muslim females living in Canada.

College women who have been sexually victimized not only fear their attackers -- or those similar to them -- but often have trouble trusting anyone after being assaulted. But religion can help them cope and overcome the emotional damage, according to Baylor University research.

The study -- "Religious Coping: The Role of Religion in Attenuating the Effect of Sexual Victimization of College Women on Trust" -- is published in the journal Review of Religious Research.

Kalorama Information expects the market for plasma collection to grow, and to outpace overall blood collection through 2018. The primary market driver will be plasma-derived immunoglobulins (Ig) used to produce intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapies. The growth of mature markets associated with the collection, processing and therapeutic use of whole blood and derived products are by and large endangered without the robustness of the global plasma market.

There is no time to waste when it comes to stroke. The more time that passes between stroke onset and treatment, the worse the outcome is for the patient. A study designed to test the benefits of early administration of magnesium sulfate suggests that stroke patients may not have to wait until they get to the hospital for treatment -- paramedics may be able to start therapy as soon as stroke is suspected. Although the drug did not improve outcome in stroke patients, the study demonstrated the feasibility of early therapy in the ambulance.

More than 180 million people in the world have hepatitis C, compared with the 34 million with HIV/AIDS and 30,000 who have had Ebola. Yet very little is heard about the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the way of awareness campaigns, research funding or celebrity fundraisers. In the United States, HIV gets an alarming amount of funding compared to hep c, far more per person than heart disease and other illnesses.

Archaeologists from the University of York and Queens College, City University New York (CUNY) have discovered the first use of pottery in north-eastern North America was largely due to the cooking, storage and social feasting of fish by hunter-gatherers.

Studying how pottery production in north-eastern North America developed 3000 years ago, researchers found that the increasing use of pottery was not simply an adaptive response to increased reliance on specific kinds of wild foodstuffs, as previously thought.

Suicides in Greece reached a 30 year all-time high in 2012, with a sustained upward trend starting in June 2011, the month that the government introduced further austerity measures to help pay down the country's debts, reveals a 30 year study, published in the online journal BMJ Open.

Browsing Facebook has become a daily activity for hundreds of millions of people. Because so many people engage with the website daily, researchers are interested in how emotionally involved Facebook users can be with the social networking site and how regular use can affect their mental health. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that Facebook use can lead to symptoms of depression if the social networking site triggers feelings of envy among its users.

Jogging may be best in small quantities according to a study published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Researchers looked at 5,048 healthy participants in the Copenhagen City Heart Study and questioned them about their activity. They identified and tracked 1,098 healthy joggers and 413 healthy but sedentary non-joggers for 12 years.

15 years ago, the name "Aidan" was hardly on the radar of Americans with new babies. It ranked a lowly 324th on the Social Security Administration's list of popular baby names. But less than a decade later, the name became a favorite, soaring into the top 20 for five years and counting.

Kidney function can affect the potency and metabolism of drugs that are eliminated by the kidneys or other pathways, but little information is available on how to interpret the effects of kidney function on the benefits and risks of drugs in development.

A new review highlights important considerations when designing clinical studies in individuals with kidney disease, and it highlights techniques such as mathematical modeling tools that will help provide optimal dosing recommendations in these patients.

New research shows a pattern of underreporting of on-campus sexual assaults by universities and colleges across the nation, and some schools have continued to underreport even after being fined for violations of federal law, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association.