Brain

Everyone has moments when they feel more in control of their lives than at other times. New research from North Carolina State University shows that this sense of control fluctuates more often, and more quickly, than previously thought – and that this sense of control may actively affect cognitive abilities.

"This is the first time we've been able to see how the day-to-day changes in our sense of being in control may actually influence the way we think," says Dr. Shevaun Neupert, an associate professor of psychology at NC State and lead author of a paper on the research.

Starting with the premise that emotions are key elements in human behavior, this study investigates their importance in software engineering. Specifically, the study focuses on the engineering of requirements, a crucial phase in software development that includes tasks related to determining the needs and conditions that the system must satisfy. Good requirements must be measurable, testable and they must have no ambiguities or contradictions... but things aren't always that way.

DURHAM, N.H. – Teen victims of dating violence are overwhelmingly more likely to have been victims of other forms of violence, such as sexual violence and child abuse, according to new research from the University of New Hampshire Crimes Against Children Research Center.

New research into the different ways that English and Polish people use language in everyday family situations can help members of each community to understand each other better and avoid cultural misunderstandings.

The study from the University of Portsmouth and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) shows how ordinary ways of expressing needs in Polish could sound rude or ill mannered when Polish speakers use them to construct sentences in English.

ITHACA, NY: As part of her "Let's Move! Initiative," First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled a new web resource highlighting new changes in the Chefs Move to Schools, during a CMST gathering in Dallas, TX today. CMTS advocates got together to celebrate Healthy Kids & Healthy Foods in schools by throwing a Top Chef inspired event. By enlisting the help of volunteer chefs around the country, the intent is for chefs to bring taste, excitement and education into the classroom and lunchroom.

A Simon Fraser University graduate student project that melds music, meditation and modern technology has landed a rare spot as an exhibit at TEDActive 2012 in Palm Springs, California this month.

Jay Vidyarthi's project, Sonic Cradle, allows individuals to use their breathing to shape musical sounds while they sit suspended in a totally dark chamber. The experience is described as "meditation for the non-meditator."

A distinctive pattern of brain activity associated with conditions including deep anesthesia, coma and congenital brain disorders appears to represent the brain's shift into a protective, low-activity state in response to reduced metabolic energy. A mathematical model developed by a Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-based research team accurately predicts and explains for the first time how the condition called burst suppression is elicited when brain cells' energy supply becomes insufficient. Their report has been released online in PNAS Early Edition.

One of the strongest known risk factors for spontaneous or unexpected preterm birth – any birth that occurs before the 37th week of pregnancy, most often without a known cause – is already having had one. For women in this group who would like to avoid this scenario in their second pregnancy, focusing on weight gain and dietary changes may not be the best strategy. A new study reported at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting found no connection between weight gain and the risk of repeat preterm birth.

(Edmonton)—Talk about gender confusion! A recent study by University of Alberta researchers Elena Nicoladis and Cassandra Foursha-Stevenson in the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology into whether speaking French influenced how children assigned gender to objects yielded some interesting observations. Nicoladis and Foursha-Stevenson found some differences between the unilingual English children and the bilingual French-English children they surveyed.

Some of the more startling results from the Anglo crowd? Cows are boys. Cats and stars are girls

Clarksburg, MD—"In the last eight days, scientists have delivered a powerful one-two punch in the fight to defeat Alzheimer's disease," said Stacy Pagos Haller, President and CEO of the American Health Assistance Foundation (AHAF), a nonprofit that identifies and funds exceptionally high-impact research worldwide through its Alzheimer's Disease Research program.

DALLAS (February 10, 2012) — In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting ™, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report that early transplantation of human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells into the lateral ventricles of neonatal rats with birth-related brain damage is possible, and that the donor cells can survive and migrate in the recipient's brain. The study was designed to have the rat's brain damage mimic brain injury in infants with very low birth weight.

HOUSTON -- (Feb. 9, 2012) – A neuropeptide called Substance P is the cause of seizures in patients with brains infected by the pork tapeworm (Taenia solium), said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in a report that appears online in the open access journal PLoS Pathogens.

A neuropeptide called Substance P is the cause of seizures in patients with brains infected by the pork tapeworm Taenia solium, according to Baylor College of Medicine researchers. Their results appear February 9th in the Open Access journal PLoS Pathogens.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Underserved youth athletes report more life skill and character development when their coaches place greater emphasis on creating caring climates instead of focusing on competition, according to research from Michigan State University's Institute for the Study of Youth Sports.

Playing in an atmosphere that focuses on player self-improvement versus player competition creates a sense of teamwork and develops initiative, social skills and a sense of identity, report the authors of the study from the Department of Kinesiology institute.

AMHERST, Mass. – There will always be a wild and unpredictable quality to creativity and invention, says Anthony McCaffrey, a cognitive psychology researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, because an "Aha moment" is rare and reaching it means overcoming formidable mental obstacles. But after studying common roadblocks to problem-solving, he has developed a toolkit for enhancing anyone's skills.