Culture | Science Codex

Explaining why a cupcake is delicious make us love it less - but why?

When consumers share their thoughts about products or experiences, their opinions can intensify, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. But it depends on whether they're talking about something sensory or practical.

"Consumers constantly share stories with others about products and services through word of mouth (WOM)," writes author Sarah G. Moore (University of Alberta). "How does sharing WOM change storytellers' feelings about their own experiences? Does sharing stories make consumers like the experience more or less than before? Moore asks.

Biomarker detects graft-versus-host-disease in cancer patients after bone marrow transplant

A University of Michigan Health System-led team of researchers has found a biomarker they believe can help rapidly identify one of the most serious complications in patients with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood disorders who have received a transplant of new, blood-forming cells.

Known as a hematopoietic stem cell transplant, these patients receive bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells from a matched donor who is either a family member or an unrelated volunteer.

'Trading places' most common pattern for couples dealing with male depression

University of British Columbia researchers have identified three major patterns that emerge among couples dealing with male depression. These can be described as "trading places," "business as usual" and "edgy tensions."

Manufacturing goes viral

Using a simple, single-step process, engineers and scientists at the University of California at Berkeley recently developed a technique to direct benign, filamentous viruses called M13 phages to serve as structural building blocks for materials with a wide range of properties.

The cannabis genome: How hemp got high

Throughout history, Cannabis sativa has been exploited by humanity. Hemp seed oil is rich in omega 6, an essential fatty acid, and its fibre is used in the production of fabrics. Marijuana is known for its mind-altering properties and has been used medicinally for over 2700 years. The changes to the genome that led to drug-producing plants is a mystery of cannabis evolution, but one that has now been solved, thanks to an article published today in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology.

Men win humor test over women, but other men tilt the results

Men are funnier than women, but only just barely and mostly to other men. So says a psychology study from the University of California, San Diego Division of Social Sciences.

Is the psychology of science its own field?

You've heard of the history of science, the philosophy of science, maybe even the sociology of science. But how about the psychology of science? In a new article in Current Directions in Psychological Science,, San Jose State University psychologist Gregory J. Feist argues that the field has been quietly taking shape over the past decade.

Evidence-based medicine in health-care reform

Alexandria, VA — The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 mandates a national comparative outcomes research project agenda for pragmatic and clinical trials that provide optimal evidence-based medicine, according to an article published in the October 2011 issue of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.

Researchers turn viruses into molecular Legos

Berkeley — Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have turned a benign virus into an engineering tool for assembling structures that mimic collagen, one of the most important structural proteins in nature. The process they developed could eventually be used to manufacture materials with tunable optical, biomedical and mechanical properties.

Manufacturing goes viral

Using a simple, single-step process, engineers and scientists at the University of California at Berkeley have developed a technique to direct benign, filamentous viruses called M13 phages to serve as structural building blocks for materials with a wide range of properties.

Rochester study: Age a big factor in prostate cancer deaths

Contrary to common belief, men age 75 and older are diagnosed with late-stage and more aggressive prostate cancer and thus die from the disease more often than younger men, according to a University of Rochester analysis published online this week by the journal, Cancer.

Study links pollutants to a 450 percent increase in risk of birth defects

AUSTIN, Texas — Pesticides and pollutants are related to an alarming 450 percent increase in the risk of spina bifida and anencephaly in rural China, according to scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and Peking University.

Wildlife Conservation Society uncovers record number of jaguars in Bolivia

In a new camera trap survey in the world's most biologically diverse landscape, researchers for the Wildlife Conservation Society have identified more individual jaguars than ever before.

Interventional radiologists: Tough on liver cancer, kind to patients

Finding innovative, minimally invasive ways to treat liver cancer—and being able to tailor that treatment individually to patients—are hallmarks of interventional radiologists. Advances in yttrium-90 (Y-90) radioembolization for liver cancer, a leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, are reported in studies in the October Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology.

Researchers discover ancient depiction of childbirth at Etruscan site in Tuscany

DALLAS (SMU) -- An archaeological excavation at Poggio Colla, the site of a 2,700-year-old Etruscan settlement in Italy's Mugello Valley, has turned up a surprising and unique find: two images of a woman giving birth to a child.

Researchers from the Mugello Valley Archaeological Project, which oversees the Poggio Colla excavation site some 20 miles northeast of Florence, discovered the images on a small fragment from a ceramic vessel that is more than 2,600 years old.