Culture | Page 2501 | Science Codex

Medicine debunked! Cigarettes not addictive so graphic warning labels reduce demand

Will graphic cigarette package warning labels significantly reduce demand? A new study suggests it will, meaning cigarettes are not an addiction, they are simply marketing - an economics finding that will overturn the entire medical field.

Current US policy requires that tobacco companies cover 50 percent of one side of a cigarette pack with a text warning. But the FDA recently unveiled nine new cigarette warning labels, which include graphic images of lung and mouth cancer, to be unveiled in September 2012.

Sex life suffering, men? Blame "partner betweenness"

ITHACA, N.Y. — Researchers say they have found a potential new way for middle-aged and older men to blame women: The relationships between their female partners and the men's closest friends.

Researchers have created a correlation between erectile dysfunction and the social networks shared by heterosexual men and their partners. The researchers describe the situation as "partner betweenness." In such cases, a man's female partner has stronger relationships with his confidants than the man does — in effect, the romantic partner comes between the man and his friends.

Carpal tunnel syndrome patients prefer to share decision-making with their physicians

Rosemont, Ill. – Patients receiving treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) prefer to play a more collaborative role when it comes to making decisions about their medical or surgical care, according to the findings of an August 3rd issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS).

Erectile dysfunction and the social network - when wives come between friends

Researchers have found a potential new source for sexual problems among middle-aged and older men: the relationships between their female partners and the men's closest friends.

Hunting wolves may be key to their conservation

MADISON – Hunters have been credited with being strong conservation advocates for numerous game species in multiple countries. Would initiating a wolf hunt invoke the same advocacy for those carnivores?

Women more likely to recruit other women for political office

Los Angeles, CA (DATE) The gender composition of those responsible for candidate recruitment plays a crucial role in either encouraging or discouraging women candidates to run for office, according to a recent study in Political Research Quarterly (PRQ) published by SAGE on behalf of the Western Political Science Association.

The effects of social networking on kids - the good and the bad

WASHINGTON – Social media present risks and benefits to children but parents who try to secretly monitor their kids' activities online are wasting their time, according to a presentation at the 119th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association.

Even for Nobel Laureates, creative ideas meet resistance

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The path of success for Nobel Prize laureates in the sciences isn't a straight shot from obscurity to science superstardom, a new study says. Instead, many laureates saw their Nobel-winning idea grow in acceptance from their first related scientific article to their most successful publication but their later work related to the Nobel idea gains less acceptance and many times is no more accepted by the scientific community than their very first efforts.

Cyberstalking: Dealing with the cyberworld's dark side

WASHINGTON – People who are cyberstalked or harassed online experience higher levels of stress and trauma than people who are stalked or harassed in person, according to a presentation at the American Psychological Association's 119th Annual Convention.

"Increasingly, stalkers use modern technology to monitor and torment their victims, and one in four victims report some form of cyberstalking, such as threatening emails or instant messaging," said Elizabeth Carll, PhD, in a talk entitled, "Electronic Harassment and Cyberstalking: Intervention, Prevention and Public Policy."

Dieting - now with less willpower needed

WASHINGTON – Dieters may not need as much willpower as they think, if they make simple changes in their surroundings that can result in eating healthier without a second thought, said a consumer psychologist at the American Psychological Association's 119th Annual Convention.

"Our homes are filled with hidden eating traps," said Brian Wansink, PhD, who presented his findings and strategies for a healthier lifestyle in a plenary address entitled "Modifying the Food Environment: From Mindless Eating to Mindlessly Eating Better."

Friending the Virgin: What Rembrandt and Facebook have in common

Los Angeles, CA (August 5, 2011) Facebook and artists like Rembrandt have much in common, says the author of "Friending the Virgin: some thoughts on the pre-history of Facebook" in SAGE Open.

Stereotype threat - if you're prejudiced against yourself, small interventions may help

WASHINGTON – Picture black and white students at an Ivy League college learning about black students who are a year or so ahead of them in that school. They're told that the older black students were anxious about fitting in and how they would be viewed in college when they first arrived. But as the older black students got more involved in campus life, they began to find the school rewarding, even exciting as their life course took shape.

US physician practices spend 4 times Canadian practices

NEW YORK (Aug. 4, 2011) -- Physicians in the United States spend nearly four times as much dealing with health insurers and payers compared with doctors in Canada. Most of the difference stems from the fact that Canadian physicians deal with a single payer, in contrast to the multiple payers in the United States.

These findings are published in the August issue of the journal Health Affairs -- the result of a research collaboration among Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University–Ithaca, the University of Toronto, and the Medical Group Management Association.

Wireless network in hospital monitors vital signs

A clinical warning system that uses wireless sensors to track the vital signs of at-risk patients is undergoing a feasibility study at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.

When the full system is operational sensors will take blood oxygenation and heart-rate readings from at-risk patients once or twice a minute. The data will be transmitted to a base station, where they will be combined with other data in the patient's electronic medical record, such as lab test results.

Poorly controlled asthma costly

Poorly controlled asthma more than doubles healthcare costs associated with the disease and threatens educational achievement through a dramatic increase in school absence, according to researchers at National Jewish Health. The research team reported in the August 2011 issue of The Archives of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology that children with "very poorly controlled" asthma missed an average of 18 days of school each year, compared to 2 or less for other asthma patients.