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Should I spend money on a vacation or a new computer? Will an experience or an object make me happier? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research says it depends on different factors, including how materialistic you are.

Even though conventional wisdom says choose the vacation, authors Leonardo Nicolao, Julie R. Irwin (both University of Texas at Austin), and Joseph K. Goodman (Washington University, St. Louis) say the answer is more complicated than previously thought.

Hybrid products are ubiquitous in today's marketplace: phones with cameras, watch/cameras, MP3 players with GPS systems. How can consumers understand the functions and features of these new products? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research discovered a technique for helping consumers make sense of the ever-changing product landscape.

That fancy iPod or car with a sunroof might seem appealing when you're about to buy it, but chances are the enjoyment will be short-lived. According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, enjoyment of products decreases over time, but people are not often aware of this process.

Sometimes a high price tag, a label, or an ingredient can lead us to believe that we're purchasing a high-quality item. But what happens if the attribute that attracted us to the product is false or meaningless? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research examines consumer responses to "biasing cues," features that consumers assume are related to the quality of the item.

Why would women give more to the victims of Hurricane Katrina than to the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research sheds light onto the way gender and moral identity affect donations.

Authors Karen Page Winterich (Texas A&M University), Vikas Mittal (Rice University), and William T. Ross, Jr. (Pennsylvania State University) focused their research on how people choose among charities. With so many worthy charities soliciting donations, the researchers wanted to understand how people make these critical decisions.

Some people overindulge on junk foods or needless shopping sprees when they feel depressed. Others lose control the minute they feel happy. Is there a way to avoid such extreme actions? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research demonstrates simple techniques that can help people act in their long-term interests rather than indulging in immediate pleasures.

Troy, N.Y. — Proteins are widely viewed as a promising alternative to synthetic chemicals in everything from medications to hand lotion. The naturally occurring molecules have been shown to be more efficient and effective than many of the most sophisticated chemical compounds on the market. But outside the controlled confines of the lab bench, proteins quickly change structure, causing irreversible damage to their functionality and often safety.

Do consumers respond more positively to advertisements that mention time ("Miller Time") or money ("Perfection Has Its Price")? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research found that mentioning time makes consumers more likely to purchase and enjoy products.

When consumers are primed to think about time, they are more likely to feel personal connections with products, explain authors Cassie Mogilner and Jennifer Aaker (both Stanford University).

PASADENA, Calif.--Researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) have brought together UCSD theoretical modeling and Caltech experimental data to show just how amino-acid chains might fold up into unique, three-dimensional functional proteins.

Their insights were recently published in the February 10 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Wash away your gray? Maybe. A team of European scientists have finally solved a mystery that has perplexed humans throughout the ages: why we turn gray. Despite the notion that gray hair is a sign of wisdom, these researchers show in a research report published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) that wisdom has nothing to do with it. Going gray is caused by a massive build up of hydrogen peroxide due to wear and tear of our hair follicles.

Since the sequencing of the human genome eight years ago, enormous progress has been made in analyzing and understanding it. Nevertheless, the function of most human genes is still barely understood. An important first step in determining the function of a gene or protein is to compare its sequence with the sequences of hundreds of other organisms that are experimentally easier to investigate. From the functions of related genes or proteins identified in these database searches, the researchers can often infer the unknown functions of human or animal genes.

Boston, MA — Current research suggests that lowering cholesterol may block the growth of prostate tumors. The related report by Solomon et al, "Ezetimibe Is an Inhibitor of Tumor Angiogenesis," appears in the March 2009 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

Graz, Austria — Current research suggests that a new technique to determine tumor methylation status can be used in archived tissue samples. The related report by Balic et al, "High quality assessment of DNA methylation in archival tissues from colorectal cancer patients using quantitative high-resolution melting analysis," appears in the March 2009 issue of The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.

New research involving medical experts at The University of Nottingham has found that steroid tablets do not reduce the symptoms of virus-induced wheezing in pre-school children.

Researchers from the universities of Nottingham, Leicester and Bart's in London have been at the centre of a leading study to find out whether steroid medicine will relieve wheezing symptoms in children under five years of age.

MADISON, WI, FEBRUARY 23, 2009 – The legacy of nuclear weapons and nuclear energy development has left ground water and sediment at dozens of sites across the United States and many more around the world contaminated with uranium. The uranium is transported through ground water as uranyl (U6+). In one bioremediation strategy, uranium immobilization in contaminated ground water and sediment may be achieved by the addition of organic molecules known as electron donors to stimulate microbial activity.