Brain

Washington D.C., December 1, 2015 - A study to be published in the December 2015 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP) reports that high-quality foster care can mitigate the development of callous-unemotional traits for adolescents who experienced parent deprivation in early life.

Many goals, from finding your dream job to finding a date to the movies, can feel completely out of your control. A common piece of advice to manage this uncertainty is: "Always have a backup plan." But is it actually wise to invest time and energy into backup plans, or is it better to focus all of your energies on trying one way to achieve a goal?

In developing or war-ravaged countries where government censuses are few and far between, gathering data for public services or policymaking can be difficult, dangerous or near-impossible. Big data is, after all, mainly a First World opportunity.

But cell towers are easier to install than telephone land lines, even in such challenged areas, and mobile or cellular phones are widely used among the poor and wealthy alike.

ARLINGTON, Texas --A new study led by psychology researchers with The University of Texas at Arlington sheds new light on why many heterosexual women develop close friendships with gay men.

It's a social pattern that has been a central theme of television shows such as "Modern Family," "The Office," "Sex & the City," "Will & Grace," and other pop culture movies and television programs for years. But the researchers say there has never been an empirical study of the circumstances that drive such relationships until now.

The amount of food consumed by fathers could have a direct impact on their unborn children's health and wellbeing, according to new RMIT University research.

The study suggested a dad's diet before they conceive could be genetically passed onto the next generation, with a subsequent impact on those childrens' mental health.

While mothers' diet and impact on children has been widely researched, this is believed to be the first time the behavioural and hormonal effects of the male diet on offspring has been studied.

People are less likely to drop litter if it has printed eyes on it, researchers at Newcastle University, UK, have found.

An image of watching eyes reduced the odds of littering by around two thirds.

In an experiment that could help tackle anti-social behaviour they printed two leaflets, one featuring a prominent image of watching eyes and the same leaflet with the eyes obscured. Even with no mention of littering, the simple image of the eyes deterred people from dropping the litter.

Experiencing a traumatic event can cause life-long anxiety problems, called posttraumatic stress disorder. Researchers from Uppsala University and the medical university Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm now show that people with posttraumatic stress disorder have an imbalance between two neurochemical systems in the brain, serotonin and substance P. The greater the imbalance, the more serious the symptoms patients have.

CHICAGO - Athletes who engage in the extreme sport of free diving, descending hundreds of feet below the surface of the ocean while holding their breath, undergo significant cardiovascular changes, according to a new study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). These changes can pose potential dangers, particularly to inexperienced or cardiac untrained divers.

Orlando, Florida - Tens of millions of Americans vow each year to lose weight in the New Year, and while their intentions are good, most of the time their results are not. It's estimated that only 8 percent of those who make New Year's resolutions actually keep them.

Even if weight is lost initially, it usually returns. Studies show nearly 2 out of 3 people who lose 5 percent of their total weight will gain it back, and the more weight you lose, the less your chances of keeping it off.

Engineering the Brain: Ethical Issues and the Introduction of Neural DevicesEran Klein, Tim Brown, Matthew Sample, Anjali R. Truitt, and Sara Goering

A fruit fly model of a rare, neurodegenerative disease is helping researchers trace the series of steps that lead to neuronal cell death. Damage to astrocytes - star-shaped cells found in the brain and spinal cord - is found in many neurodegenerative conditions, but it's been unclear exactly what role astrocyte dysfunction plays in the development of disease.

Many human gene variants have evolved specifically to protect older adults against neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, thus preserving their contributions to society, report University of California, San Diego School of Medicine researchers in the November 30 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), together with scientists from the universities of Stirling and Bristol (United Kingdom), have for the first time observed an increase in body temperature of between two and four degrees in zebrafish, when these are subjected to stressful situations. This phenomenon is known as emotional fever, as it is related to the emotions that animals feel in the face of an external stimulus and it has even been linked, not without some controversy, with their consciousness.

Researchers from North Carolina State University have discovered a new phase of solid carbon, called Q-carbon, which is distinct from the known phases of graphite and diamond. They have also developed a technique for using Q-carbon to make diamond-related structures at room temperature and at ambient atmospheric pressure in air.

Phases are distinct forms of the same material. Graphite is one of the solid phases of carbon; diamond is another.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty recognizing and interpreting how facial expressions convey various emotions - from joy to puzzlement, sadness to anger. This can make it difficult for an individual with ASD to successfully navigate social situations and empathize with others.