While love doesn’t always conquer all, it can be a potent antidote to addiction, according to a growing body of research. The latest study on the matter examined male prairie vole behavior, finding that those that had bonded to a …
Study: For Obese Women, Quality of Life Suffers More
A lot of factors determine your health-related quality of life, including your weight. In general, the heavier you are — that is, the further you veer into overweight territory — the worse your quality of life. But a new …
Study: Could Brain Scans Help Spot Autism?
A brain scan may someday be able to help identify cases of autism, a new study suggests. Currently, autism is diagnosed based on subjective evaluations of a child’s behavioral and developmental deficits, but researchers at …
Q&A: A Food-Safety Expert Explains Germany’s E. Coli Outbreak
As of Tuesday evening, a virulent and mysterious type of E. coli had killed 16 people in northern Germany and Sweden and sickened 1,150 others in Germany alone.
Family MattersPregnancy
Could Too Much Coffee Affect Chances of Pregnancy?
Caffeine may perk you up mentally, but it could have the opposite effect on your fallopian tubes, leading researchers to wonder whether women who drink coffee, tea and soda may have a harder time getting pregnant.
Plan Your Way to Less Stress, More Happiness
A recent survey by psychologist and self-help author Robert Epstein found that 25% of our happiness hinges on how well we’re able to manage stress. The next logical question is, of course, how best can we reduce our stress?
WHO Says Cell Phone Radiation Is “Possibly Carcinogenic.” Now What?
Using a mobile phone may increase your risk for certain kinds of brain cancers. That was the scientific conclusion relayed today by a working group of 31 scientists from 14 countries meeting at the World Health Organization’s …
An Addict’s Battle With Painkiller Addiction Reveals Outdated Rehab Tactics
The New York Times today includes a moving personal story about overcoming opioid addiction. But while it describes one woman’s triumph, it also illustrates something the Institute of Medicine calls a “quality chasm” between …
Monkeys, Like Humans, Make Bad Choices and Regret Them, Too
We humans tend to think of ourselves as the only sentient beings capable of regret, a key emotion that helps keep us from making the same mistakes over and over. Now a new study shows that rhesus monkeys may be saddled with the …
The Psychology of Real Estate: Why North Is Better Than South
So you’re searching online for a new place to live. You stumble across an affordable house in a nearby city that you’ve never visited. The house is in a neighborhood called North Town. A few minutes later, you find a similar …
Family MattersParenting
After the Storms, What Happens to the Tornadoes’ Orphans?
Alongside the terrible physical devastation that tornadoes have wrought in communities throughout the South and Midwest this spring lies an even deeper human tragedy: in some circumstances, a single parent — or both — has …
Diet Psych Out: Why ‘Health’ Food Is Less Satisfying, Even If It’s Sinful
The problem with most health food is that nobody likes it — not least your own stomach. New research suggests that the stomach signals less satisfaction after eating “health food,” regardless of the actual fat and calories …