Culture | Page 2543 | Science Codex

Risking your neck for better grog: Mutinies as tipping points for collective unrest

Films depicting the 1787 mutiny aboard the British ship HMS Bounty show sailors living cheek by jowl, being forced to dance, enduring storm-ridden Cape of Good Hope crossings to satisfy the ship captain's ego and being flogged for trivial reasons.

We may not think that these harsh conditions have much relevance today. But mutinies continue to occur, especially in the armed forces of developing nations. And mutinies have similarities to other types of rebellions, including worker strikes, riots, prison rebellions and political uprisings.

Study finds unhealthy substance use a risk factor for not receiving some preventive health services

Researchers from Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified unhealthy substance use as a risk factor for not receiving all appropriate preventive health services.

Educating heart patients, families cut one hospital's falls by 64 percent

Including patients and their families in a structured prevention program reduced patient falls by more than half, according to a new study.

Mayo Clinic finds surgeon caseload, practice setting affect treatment of small kidney tumors

Patients with small kidney tumors are more likely to be offered treatment options based on surgeons' case volume and type of practice than on tumor characteristics.

Coping with climate change

Durham, NC — As global temperatures rise, suitable sites for many plants and animals are shifting to cooler and higher ground. Can we predict which species will be able to move far or fast enough to keep up? A new study says the secrets to success in the face of a warming world are still elusive.

Rather than sticking around and sweating it out, some groups of plants and animals are responding to rising temperatures by migrating northward and upward to higher latitudes and elevations, studies show.

Sharing musical instruments means sharing germs

BOSTON (May 12, 2011) — Germs survive for several days in wind instruments including the clarinet, flute, and saxophone, according to a pilot study published in the International Journal of Environmental Health Research. The researchers, led by Stuart Levy, MD, of Tufts University School of Medicine, urge proper cleaning of these instruments. The data suggest a need for additional research to determine the conditions for survival of germs on shared musical instruments, especially those with wooden reeds.

Study: Most at-risk patients don't adhere to statin treatment, despite real benefits

A new study from North Carolina State University shows that the vast majority of patients at high risk for heart disease or stroke do a poor job of taking statins as prescribed. That's especially unfortunate, because the same study shows that taking statins can significantly increase the quality and length of those patients' lives.

Increase in Internet access parallels growth in prescription drug abuse

Increasing access to rogue online pharmacies – those which dispense medications without a doctor's prescription – may be an important factor behind the rapid increase in the abuse of prescription drugs.

Traditional, Internet media more trusted than social media for research news

WASHINGTON—May 11, 2011—Most Maryland residents trust the health and medical research information provided by traditional media—newspapers (77%), television (71%), magazines (68%), radio (66%)—and the Internet (also 66%), according to a new state poll commissioned by Research!America. Social media fared less well, with 51% saying social media is not trustworthy for health and medical research issues. Fewer than 20% use their cell phone or other mobile device to find health information.

Following your steak's history from pasture to plate

The package on a supermarket steak may say "grass-fed" or "grass-finished," but how can a consumer know whether the cow spent its days grazing peacefully on meadow grass or actually gorged on feedlot corn? In ACS's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, scientists are now reporting the development of a method that can reconstruct the dietary history of cattle and authenticate the origins of beef.

The '$1,000 genome' may cost $100,000 to understand

Advances in technology have almost lifted the curtain on the long-awaited era of the "$1,000 genome" — a time when all the genes that make up a person can be deciphered for about that amount – compared to nearly $1 million a few years ago.

A direct connection between business rates and local economy has no foundation in reality

London, UK (May 11th, 2011) - In 1988 Margaret Thatcher took control of business rates away from local councils and in 2011 Eric Pickles wants to give it back to them. In his article, What do business rates measure? published by SAGE, Dominic Williams carries out research into the link between business rates and the local economy.

Resettlement is a positive move for homeless people

Resettlement services over the last few years have helped many homeless people make positive changes in their lives. The largest study in the UK of the resettlement of single homeless people has found that four-in-five (81 per cent) of a large representative sample were still living independently 18 months after being re-housed.

Drug regulators are protecting profits over patients, warn researchers

Medicines regulators are protecting drug company profits rather than the lives and welfare of patients by withholding unpublished trial data, argue researchers on bmj.com today.

They call for full access to full trial reports (published and unpublished) to allow the true benefits and harms of treatments to be independently assessed by the scientific community.

Does Cupid play politics? That 'something special' might be your mate's political ideology

Though "variety is the spice of life" and "opposites attract," most people marry only those whose political views align with their own, according to new research from Rice University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Political scientists found that political attitudes were among the strongest shared traits and even stronger than qualities like personality or looks.