Yearly Archives: 2015

Self-proclaimed Experts More Vulnerable to the Illusion of Knowledge

shutterstock New research reveals that the more people think they know about a topic in general, the more likely they are to allege knowledge of completely made-up information and false facts, a phenomenon known as "overclaiming." The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. "Our work [...]

The Brain-Gut Axis, Part 1 

istockphoto Traditional Eastern medicine has long acknowledged the importance of the gut. But evidence-based medicine, colloquially called Western medicine despite being practiced all over the world, has long disregarded a possible link between the brain and the gut – until recently, because a paradigm shift in neuroscience is now taking place. - Sara [...]

By |2015-11-15T20:12:59+11:00November 12th, 2015|Categories: Science & Research|Tags: , , , , , |1 Comment

Drugs, Greed and a Dead Boy

Andrew Francesco at age 8. Credit Steven Francesco Andrew Francesco was a rambunctious, athletic and joyful child, but also a handful. When he was 5 years old, a psychiatrist prescribed Ritalin. As he grew older, he disrupted classes and was given a growing number of potent antipsychotic and other medications. These didn’t work, [...]

High School Sexting Scandal Shines Light on Ghost Apps that Keep Nude Photos Hidden

Students were caught doing what many say is happening everywhere. Photo: Glen Mccurtayne When students were caught participating in an illicit photo ring that was operating out of Cañon City High School in Colorado, parents and school officials there were quick to say that kind of thing was surely happening everywhere. They're not exactly wrong. The [...]

Beverage Group Sues City Over Soda Warnings, Advertising Ban

shutterstock The American Beverage Association has sued the city of San Francisco, claiming new legislation requiring health warning labels on sugary beverages and prohibiting advertisements of them on city property violates the First Amendment. The San Francisco Chronicle reports the association filed the lawsuit on Friday. The lawsuit says the city "is trying [...]

Wake Up Rosie Smartphone App Aims to Help Girls Navigate the Internet ‘Junkyard’

rosierespect.org.au Young women are now twice as likely as young men to develop mental illness, according to new research. And those who work to help girls navigate the pitfalls of growing up say the internet and social media are not helping. "We are really looking at the internet as 'it's a junkyard' — [...]

By |2015-11-08T20:18:26+11:00November 8th, 2015|Categories: Cybersafety, Mental Health & Wellbeing|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

Want ‘Sustained Happiness’? Get Religion, Study Suggests

Chad Mizelle sits in silent meditation during service at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington. (Erin Schaff/For The Washington Post) A new study suggests that joining a religious group could do more for someone’s “sustained happiness” than other forms of social participation, such as volunteering, playing sports or taking a [...]

Your Brain on Porn and Other Sexual Images 

dailymail A recent neurology study found that the more porn a man watched, the less gray matter he had in his brain. The study made headlines the world over, prompting an anonymous listener to ask whether such sexual stimulation is indeed bad for the brain. So just what is the effect of sexual [...]

Could A ‘Sniff Test’ Lead to Early Autism Diagnosis?

evanroboldphotographyblog.com, Photo: Evan Robold We can identify autism and its severity with meaningful accuracy within less than 10 minutes using a test that is completely nonverbal and entails no task to follow. This raises the hope that these findings could form the base for development of a diagnostic tool that can be applied [...]

Psychology Is Not in Crisis? Depends on What You Mean by “Crisis” 

flickr, Photo: aldo_mx In the New York Times yesterday, psychologist Lisa Feldman Barrett argues that "Psychology is Not in Crisis." She is responding to the results of a large-scale initiative called the Reproducibility Project, published in Science magazine, which appeared to show that the findings from over 60 percent of a sample of [...]

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