Culture

Media culture: Why Americans believe Obama is a Muslim and McCain is senile

EAST LANSING, Mich. — There's something beyond ignorance and topic avoidance that motivates Americans to believe President Obama is a Muslim, according to a study of 'smear' campaigns.

Being Muslim is a smear? Apparently so, though the people who are going to believe it despite his denial didn't vote for him anyway so the benefit is unclear. But it's all racial, the researchers say,and people are more likely to accept falsehoods when subtle clues remind them of ways in which Obama is different from them.

Networks, not city size, are the competitive advantage now

EAST LANSING, Mich. --- A city's size no longer is the key factor in building vibrant local economies, according to a study by a Michigan State University sociologist.

Study finds asking about pregnancy coercion and intimate-partner violence can reduce their incidence

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Specifically asking young women during visits to family planning clinics whether their partners had attempted to force them to become pregnant — a type of intimate-partner violence called reproductive coercion — dramatically reduced the likelihood that the women would continue to experience such pressures, according to a new pilot study led by researchers at the UC Davis School of Medicine.

Over 50? You probably prefer negative stories about young people

COLUMBUS, Ohio – When given a choice, older people prefer to read negative news, rather than positive news, about young adults, a new study suggests.

In fact, older readers who chose to read negative stories about young individuals actually get a small boost in their self-esteem, according to the results.

And what about younger people? Well, they just prefer not to read about older people.

Teaching communication and information literacy skills

MADISON, WI, August 30th, 2010 – Undergrads often take communication courses unrelated to their major or discipline. The Iowa State University Department of Horticulture teamed up with the Library and English Departments to develop a course section to teach students to research and understand literature searchers and incorporate them into papers and posters.

Diabetes impairs but does not halt sex among older adults

Many middle-aged and older adults with diabetes are sexually active according to a study of nearly 2,000 people aged 57 to 85 presented in the September 2010 issue of the journal Diabetes Care. Almost 70 percent of partnered men with diabetes and 62 percent of partnered women with diabetes engaged in sexual activity two or three times a month, comparable to those without diabetes, the study showed.

Congressman, CSHL president urge quick action to reverse judicial embryonic stem cell research ban

Cold Spring Harbor, NY – Against a backdrop of some of the world's most sophisticated biological research labs, Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) this morning issued a challenge to his colleagues in Congress: immediately upon their return from summer recess, he urged, they should pass legislation that would reverse a recent Federal court decision that has brought embryonic stem cell research in the U.S. to a screeching halt.

Smoking increases depressive symptoms in teens

While some teenagers may puff on cigarettes to 'self-medicate' against the blues, scientists at the University of Toronto and the University of Montreal have found that smoking may actually increase depressive symptoms in some adolescents. Published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, the findings are part of the long-term Nicotine Dependence in Teens (NDIT) study based at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre.

Less attractive sparrows set their sights lower

Less-pretty female house sparrows tend to lower their aim when selecting a mate. Addressing the lack of studies on condition-dependency of female mate choice, researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology found that female sparrows of a low quality prefer males of an equally low quality.

10-fold rise in obesity surgery in England since 2000

The use of bariatric or weight loss surgery has increased ten-fold in NHS hospitals in England since 2000, finds a study published on bmj.com today. One reason for this rapid rise is increased demand from obese patients as they become more aware of surgery as a viable treatment option, suggest the researchers.

So, people in England are a lot fatter but, for supporters of nationalized health care in the US, it also means they are getting 10X as much optional surgery without the system collapsing.