Culture

WASHINGTON -- As part of its most comprehensive study of climate change to date, the National Research Council today issued three reports emphasizing why the U.S. should act now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop a national strategy to adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change. The reports by the Research Council, the operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering, are part of a congressionally requested suite of five studies known as AMERICA'S CLIMATE CHOICES.

Los Angeles, CA (May 18, 2010) Shyness can influence the quality of an ongoing relationship, even a marriage, according to a study in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

A key question in psychology and everyday life is the extent to which a person's personality determines the shape and quality of his or her social relationships. In two studies, the research explored the specific impact of shyness on marital quality.

Ridgefield, CT, May 18, 2010 – Data from pivotal Phase III clinical trials demonstrate that a higher proportion of pre-menopausal women with Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) receiving flibanserin 100mg reported both an improvement in their condition and a meaningful benefit from their treatment, compared to placebo. Flibanserin is an investigational compound being developed by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for the treatment of HSDD in pre-menopausal women.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- New England forests are at a turning point. A new study released today by the Harvard Forest reports that, following almost 200 years of natural reforestation, forest cover is declining in all six New England states. The authors of the Wildlands and Woodlands report call for conserving 70 percent of New England as forestland, a target that they say is critical to protecting vital natural benefits that would be costly, and in some cases impossible, to replace.

Potatoes come in all shapes, sizes and colors-including tubers with red, yellow, orange and purple flesh. This diversity also applies to phytonutrients, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Prosser, Wash., are discovering.

Researchers at the University of Malaga (UMA) have analysed the presence of voice disorders in male and female teachers, in order to obtain a representative statistic: 62.7% of the Early Childhood and Primary Education teaching body suffer from these complaints on a daily or weekly basis.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Even tiny patches of woods in urban areas seem to provide adequate food and protection for some species of migrating birds as they fly between wintering and breeding grounds, new research has found.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---When people are under chronic stress, they tend to smoke, drink, use drugs and overeat to help cope with stress. These behaviors trigger a biological cascade that helps prevent depression, but they also contribute to a host of physical problems that eventually contribute to early death.

People who become focused on how to achieve a goal may have a harder time achieving their aims than people who think abstractly about why they want to do something, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

Even when they are exposed to conflicting information about products, consumers are greatly affected by images attached to brands, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

Why do we feel confident about some choices while we question others? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, it's a combination of how easy the choice seems and whether we're thinking concretely or abstractly.

Food from fisheries, trade and transport through shipping, income from tourism and recreation – we rely on our seas. Managing this rich resource is a challenge that calls for reframing humans as integral parts of marine ecosystems, say scientists from three of Europe's leading marine organisations in a new report launching during EU Maritime Day 2010.

Focusing on the negative effects indoor tanning can have on appearance appears to reduce indoor tanning behavior, even among young women who report that they tan to relax or alleviate seasonal mood disorders, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Menopause. Normal pregnancy. Infertility. ADHD. Erectile dysfunction. Over the last several decades, these conditions have come to be defined and treated as medical problems. They've been "medicalized." In the first study of its kind in the current issue of Social Science and Medicine, Brandeis researchers used national data to estimate the costs of these and a handful of other common conditions on escalating U.S. healthcare spending.

Nurses in Belgium who administer life-ending drugs in euthanasia and in cases without explicit patient request often act outside of the law, according to a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/abstract/cmaj.091881v1?ijkey=0bc4785f6a054de8be0ac118ab1b0ac35e2c4de7&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha.