Tiny Cellular Antennae Trigger Neural Stem Cells:
Yale University scientists today reported evidence suggesting that the tiny cilia found on brain cells of mammals, thought to be vestiges of a primeval past, actually play a critical role in relaying molecular signals that spur creation of neurons in an area of the brain involved in mood, learning and memory.
Call it the cocktail party effect: how an individual can participate in a one-on-one conversation within a cluster of people, switch to another, pick up important comments while tuning out others, change topics and return to the first conversation.
Starting Kindergarten Later Gives Students Only A Fleeting Edge, Study Finds:
New research challenges a growing trend toward holding kids out of kindergarten until they're older, arguing that academic advantages are short-lived and come at the expense of delaying entry into the workforce and other costs.
Part Of The In-group? A Surprising New Strategy Helps Reduce Unhealthy Behaviors:
Public health campaigns intended to reduce unhealthy behaviors like binge drinking and eating junk food often focus on the risks of those behaviors. But a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research suggests a relatively simple but surprisingly effective strategy to improve consumer health.
79 Million US Adults Have Medical Bill Problems Or Are Paying Off Medical Debt:
The proportion of working-age Americans who have medical bill problems or who are paying off medical debt climbed from 34 percent to 41 percent between 2005 and 2007, bringing the total to 72 million, according to recent survey findings from The Commonwealth Fund. In addition, 7 million adults age 65 and over also had problems paying medical bills, for a total of 79 million adults with medical bill problems or medical debt.
Brain & Behavior
Medicine & Health
Comments
I read 'Part Of The In-group? A Surprising New Strategy Helps Reduce Unhealthy Behaviors'. In it I find:
If there's no evidence grad students drink more - and I'm fairly sure there isn't any - this technique relied on falsehood. (In that example.) I think that's awful, no matter how well it works. Furthermore, many 'outgroups' are 'outgroups' not because of some minor difference like graduate student vs undergraduate student - but are 'outgroups' because they are of a different race, religion, ethic background, or sexuality. Linking undesirable behavior to 'outgroups' is a moral minefield. Quite frankly, this reminds me of the numerous anti-drug ads I saw growing up in Utah, in which drug users were always depicted as poor, and often as black or hispanic.
Posted by: llewelly | August 26, 2008 9:59 PM