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COLUMBUS, Ohio – You've probably seen – or even participated in – promotional contests offered by retailers in which they say "no purchase required to win."

But if you're a loyal customer of that retailer, you don't necessarily believe that, a new study suggests. You figure you must have some secret advantage over other, less-devoted customers.

In fact, the new research finds that loyal customers of a company feel that they are more likely and more deserving than others to win perks from the business – even those that are randomly given out.

A Fortune 500 company is redesigning a popular product using materials that are friendlier to the environment. How will consumers respond to the newly redesigned, "greener" product? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, consumers are more likely to purchase a product if they think helping the environment is not the intended purpose of a product improvement.

As their moral perspectives change, disillusioned churchgoers find it increasingly difficult to remain associated with their church, yet many also find it difficult to leave. According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, former churchgoers experience deep identity crises as their most important relationships and beliefs are put at risk.

Health care workers in some of the world's poorest countries lack basic equipment to shield them from HIV and other bloodborne infections during surgical and other procedures, new research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests. The findings underscore the lack of adequate protective supplies in nations at the center of the current Ebola outbreak.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new analysis suggests the planet can produce much more land-plant biomass – the total material in leaves, stems, roots, fruits, grains and other terrestrial plant parts – than previously thought.

The study, reported in Environmental Science and Technology, recalculates the theoretical limit of terrestrial plant productivity, and finds that it is much higher than many current estimates allow.

Scientists have shown how to better identify and measure vital molecules that control cell behaviour – paving the way for improved tools for diagnosis, prediction and monitoring of cancer.

Researchers from the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute based at The University of Manchester – part of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre – and the Institute of Cancer Research, London, looked at protein kinases, molecules that control various aspects of cellular function.

For those affected, breast cancer is a dramatic diagnosis. Patients often have to endure chemotherapy and surgery, which, depending on the individual scenario, may mean breast conserving surgery or breast removal—mastectomy. In the aftermath, many women experience symptoms such as pain, fatigue/exhaustion, or sleep disturbances. However, the symptoms are highly individual, as Stefan Feiten and colleagues emphasize in a recent study reported in Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2014; 111: 537-44).

A lack of education, an unhealthy diet, and unemployment go straight to the heart—quite literally, because all three range among the risks that cause ischemic heart disease or contribute to its development. According to a recent study reported by epidemiologists Andreas und Maximilian Stang in Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2014; 111: 530-6), the risk factors for heart disease are higher in Saxony-Anhalt than in all other German states, and more persons die from heart disease in the state.

The world's fastest sprinters have unique gait features that account for their ability to achieve fast speeds, according to two new studies from Southern Methodist University, Dallas.

The new findings indicate that the secret to elite sprinting speeds lies in the distinct limb dynamics sprinters use to elevate ground forces upon foot-ground impact.

Genetic changes that occur in patients with the bowel condition Crohn's disease could hold clues to fighting the illness.

Scientists have identified chemical changes in the DNA of patients with Crohn's disease that could help to screen people for the disease.

These changes can be detected in blood samples, opening the door to a simple test for Crohn's disease.

The findings also offer clues to how the condition develops and reveal possible targets for new treatments.

A study from the University of Liverpool has recommended investing in dog owner education and facilities as a strategy to target physical inactivity and problems such as obesity in both people and their pets.

In a review of scientific papers published since 1990, the researchers found that access to dog-friendly walking environments and better education about dogs' physical needs, could all motivate people to get out and take more exercise with their pets.

A new study reveals that the US has experienced widespread adoption of robot-assisted prostate removal surgery to treat prostate cancer in recent years. The BJU International study also found that while such surgeries are more expensive than traditional surgeries, their costs are decreasing over time.

The predominant strain of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infecting people in Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa derived from a single sub-Saharan ancestor, a team of international researchers reported this week in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

PULLMAN, Wash.—Five years ago this month, one of the first U.S. outbreaks of the H1N1 virus swept through the Washington State University campus, striking some 2,000 people. A university math and biology professor has used a trove of data gathered at the time to gain insight into how only a few infected people could launch the virus's rapid spread across the university community.

Regardless of their stage or type, cancers appear to share a telltale signature of widespread changes to the so-called epigenome, according to a team of researchers. In a study published online in Genome Medicine on Aug. 26, the investigators say they have found widespread and distinctive changes in a broad variety of cancers to chemical marks known as methyl groups attached to DNA, which help govern whether genes are turned "on" or "off," and ultimately how the cell behaves. Such reversible chemical marks on DNA are known as epigenetic, and together they make up the epigenome.