Culture

The quality of scientific research may be suffering because academics are being increasingly pressured to produce 'publishable' results, a new study suggests. A large analysis of papers in all disciplines shows that researchers report more "positive" results for their experiments in US states where academics publish more frequently. The results are reported in the online, open-access journal PLoS ONE on April 21st, by Daniele Fanelli, of the University of Edinburgh.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Combining telephone counseling calls with a daily written diet plan increases a person's success in improving fruit and vegetables consumption, according to research published in Preventive Medicine.

Catalan researchers have discovered a new species of Pliopithecus primate, considered an extinct family of primitive Catarrhini primates (or "Old World monkeys") in the rubbish dump of Can Mata in the Vallès-Penedès basin (Catalonia).

The fragments of jaw and molars found in this large site demonstrate that Pliopithecus canmatensis belongs to this group, which includes the first Catarrhini that dispersed from Africa to Eurasia.

A comprehensive assessment of global fossil-fuel subsidies has found that governments are spending $500 billion annually on policies that undermine energy security and worsen the environment.

The study, titled "The Politics of Fossil-Fuel Subsidies" by David Victor, a professor of political science with UC San Diego's School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS), was one of five released April 22 by the Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI) of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).

Chapel Hill, NC — For many Americans coming out of high school, college, military service and the workforce represent the primary avenues of opportunity. Before the housing bubble was caused by unlimited loans, a 'right' to a college education caused college costs to boom, so the opposite of the intended effect occurred and college tends to draw students from a relatively advantaged background. The all-volunteer military service provides life opportunities to the less advantaged through access to material and educational benefits.

American action films continue to portray female heroines as the weaker sex, says Katy Gilpatric, and that has the potential to influence a young viewing audience (assuming the success of American action films at the domestic box office can be attributed to the targeted youth audience) and their ideas about gender and violence. Her study is published in Springer's journal Sex Roles.

Troy, N.Y. – Students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are harnessing the strength of the sun to improve the situation of an impoverished Haitian school and jumpstart a new dairy industry in rural Peru.

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — New UC Davis research has found that patients scheduled to undergo coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in California were just as ill in 2003 — when public reporting of performance data for this particular surgery began — as in 2006, evidence that "report cards" did not cause doctors or hospitals to turn away sicker patients.

PLoS Medicine has launched a series on Global Health Diplomacy with an introductory article outlining the intersection of foreign policy and global health interests, using Brazil as a case study.

Research at the University of Alberta shows that when a thin person is seen laying down watching television, people assume they're resting. But when people see an overweight person relaxing, it's automatically assumed they're lazy and unmotivated.

Tanya Berry, from the U of A's Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, says these stereotypes about overweight people need to be addressed. Berry says just because a person is overweight, it doesn't mean they don't exercise, and just because a person is thin, it doesn't mean they are fit and healthy.

Pregnant women had a disproportionately higher risk of death due to 2009 influenza A(H1N1) in the U.S., and early antiviral treatment appeared to be associated with fewer admissions to an ICU and fewer deaths, according to a study in the April 21 issue of JAMA.

(Baltimore, MD) – Kennedy Krieger Institute announced today new study results showing that when and how autism symptoms appear in the first three years of life has vital implications to a child's developmental, diagnostic, and educational outcomes. Published this month in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (Epub ahead of print), this study found children with early developmental warning signs may actually be at lower risk for poor outcomes than children with less delayed early development who experience a loss or plateau in skills.

Boston, MA and Hyde Park, NY -- Responding to the health threat posed by Americans' over-consumption of sodium, experts in the department of nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) called today for sodium reduction strategies that are strong and effective—and that maximize the enjoyment people derive from food.

Using measures of blood alcohol concentration, self-assessed and observer-assessed drunkenness, a study in the North West of England has confirmed the overwhelming prevalence of extreme alcohol consumption in UK nightlife. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention and Policy interviewed and 'breathalyzed' revellers, finding that one in ten intended to drink more than 40 units by home time, with those using extended licensing hours having the most extreme alcoholic intentions.

PASADENA, Calif.— Parents pursuing adoption within the United States have strong preferences regarding the types of babies they will apply for, tending to choose non-African-American girls, and favoring babies who are close to being born as opposed to those who have already been born or who are early in gestation.