ScienceDaily: Society - April 09, 2024
Top society research news
Are lab-grown brain tissues ethical? There is no no-brainer answer
Researchers offer insights into the ethical dilemmas and legal complexities surrounding brain organoids, especially those derived from human fetal tissue. Their findings advocate for thorough regulatory frameworks to ensure that scientific and medical progress in this field is conducted responsibly and ethically, with strong regulations supported by sound ethical and legal principles.
Atmospheric and economic drivers of global air pollution
Carbon monoxide emissions from industrial production have serious consequences for human health and are a strong indicator of overall air pollution levels. Many countries aim to reduce their emissions, but they cannot control air flows originating in other regions. A new study looks at global flows of air pollution and how they relate to economic activity in the global supply chain.
Image: hole in the shape of footprint in trees, J.M. Image Factory/shutterstock.com
How climate change will impact food production and financial institutions
Researchers have developed a new method to predict the financial impacts climate change will have on agriculture, which can help support food security and financial stability for countries increasingly prone to climate catastrophes.
A study confirms the concerns raised in the public domain about how young people's decreased fitness may affect their future work ability. The association of low youth cardiorespiratory fitness and adulthood decreased work ability persisted until the end of working life, which predicts substantial societal costs.
Everyday social interactions predict language development in infants
Researchers found that when the adult talked and played socially with a 5-month-old baby, the baby's brain activity particularly increased in regions responsible for attention -- and the level of this type of activity predicted enhanced language development at later ages.
Researchers envision sci-fi worlds involving changes to atmospheric water cycle
Human activity is changing the way water flows between the Earth and atmosphere in complex ways and with likely long-lasting consequences that are hard to picture. Researchers enlisted water scientists from around the globe to write story-based scenarios about the possible futures humanity is facing but perhaps can't quite comprehend yet. The results are part of a creative pathway to understand atmospheric water research with an eye towards the potential economic and policy issues that may be just beyond the horizon.
Adult fish struggle to bounce back in marine protected areas
Many marine protected areas are falling short of their most basic purpose: to rebuild struggling fish populations. In a new study, scientists looked at the age breakdown of reef fish in marine protected areas for the first time. They discovered in almost all of them, adult fish populations -- vital to spawning the next generation -- have either flatlined or declined.
Active workstations may improve cognitive performance
A recent study suggests that active workstations incorporating a walking pad, bike, stepper and/or standing desk are successful strategies for reducing sedentary time and improving mental cognition at work without reducing job performance. Extended sedentary behavior, whether at work or home, increases a person's risk of preventable chronic diseases.
With the planet facing a 'polycrisis', biodiversity researchers uncover major knowledge gaps
Connecting the study of infectious disease spread, biodiversity loss and climate change could offer win-win-win solutions for planetary health, but a new analysis has uncovered almost no research integrating the three global crises.
One-third of ride-share drivers have had a crash on the job, survey finds
Using a cell phone, driving while tired and driving on unfamiliar roads increased the likelihood of a crash.
Nudging in a virtual supermarket for more animal welfare
It may be possible to change the purchasing behavior of consumers noticeably using some simple strategies. At least this is what a new study indicates. The researchers investigated the effect of nudging on the sale of products produced with high animal welfare standards in a virtual supermarket. Nudges are gentle prods or pushes designed to promote certain behaviors -- such as placing some products in more visible positions.
New privacy-preserving robotic cameras obscure images beyond human recognition
In a bid to restore privacy, researchers have created a new approach to designing cameras that process and scramble visual information before it is digitized so that it becomes obscured to the point of anonymity.
Climate change impacts terrorist activity
Changing weather patterns induced by climate change are contributing to shifts in the location of terrorist activity, according to new research.
Research shows direct link between state income taxes and migration
A new study looks at 110 years of income tax history across the U.S. and notes out-migration by wealthy Americans.
Global life expectancy increased by 6.2 years since 1990, according to a new study. Over the past three decades, reductions in death from leading killers fueled this progress, including diarrhea and lower respiratory infections, as well as stroke and ischemic heart disease. When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in 2020, however, it derailed progress in many locations.
Exercise habits in youth create better health outcomes for some
Forming a long-term recreational exercise habit as a young person has a beneficial impact on physical and mental health later in life, but some groups, such as females and academic high-achievers, miss out on these benefits disproportionately.
Out of the park: New research tallies total carbon impact of tourism at Yellowstone
New research makes a case study of Yellowstone National Park -- calculating surplus carbon that visitors from across the world add to the atmosphere each year as a direct result of a park visit.
Experiencing extreme weather predicts support for policies to mitigate effects of climate change
Most Americans report having personally experienced the effects of extreme weather, according to new survey data. An analysis finds that a reported exposure to extreme weather is associated with support for a half-dozen pro-environmental government policies that are intended to mitigate the effects of climate change and are contained in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
For mining in arid regions to be responsible, we must change how we think about water
In an unprecedented study of the South American 'Lithium Triangle,' hydrologists discover that not all water responds the same way to environmental change and human use.
Talking politics with strangers isn't as awful as you'd expect, research suggests
Individuals underestimate the social connection they can make with a stranger who disagrees with them on contentious issues, a new research paper suggests.
Working outside the typical 9-5 in younger adulthood may be linked with worse health decades later
The hours you work earlier in life may be associated with worse health years later, according to a new study.
Exploring the effect of the presence of familiar people in interpersonal space
Researchers investigate the influence of social relationships on our bodily responses to the presence of other persons in the interpersonal space.
Testing environmental water to monitor COVID-19 spread in unsheltered encampments
To better understand COVID-19's spread during the pandemic, public health officials expanded wastewater surveillance. These efforts track SARS-CoV-2 levels and health risks among most people, but they miss people who live without shelter, a population particularly vulnerable to severe infection. To fill this information gap, researchers tested flood-control waterways near unsheltered encampments, finding similar transmission patterns as in the broader community and identifying previously unseen viral mutations.
Researchers studied six cities, finding that nighttime gunshots were particularly prevalent in low-income neighborhoods. The team found gunshots are twice as likely to occur at night, and that low-income communities are disproportionately affected by them.
Are universities connected to local sustainability? A new study suggests yes...and no.
A new study finds that universities scoring strongly on measures of sustainability are associated with innovation and economic growth in their surrounding communities. However, the study did not find similar connections between university sustainability performance and environmental sustainability in their home communities.
Research reveals pre-collapse monitoring of Kakhovka dam, Ukraine
New evidence from a spaceborne-monitoring team indicates that the Ukrainian Kakhovka Dam, which collapsed early into the Russian invasion, may have been vulnerable even before the war.
Last chance to record archaic Greek language 'heading for extinction'
A new data crowdsourcing platform aims to preserve the sound of Romeyka, an endangered millennia-old variety of Greek. Experts consider the language to be a linguistic goldmine and a living bridge to the ancient world.
Increasing positive affect in adolescence could lead to improved health and well-being in adulthood
Adolescents with high positive affect may have improved physical and mental health as adults, according to a new study.
Scientists' urgent call: End destruction and forge a just, sustainable future
An international team of scientists published a study emphasizing the urgent need to align political will, economic resources, and societal values to ensure a more sustainable and equitable world. The review summarizes the grave threats facing the planet but rejects a 'doom and gloom' philosophy. They advocate a global cultural shift that elevates kinship with nature and communal well-being, underpinned by the recognition of Earth's finite resources and the interconnectedness of its inhabitants.
Companies ignoring climate risks get punished by markets, new study reveals
Companies that proactively manage climate risks boost their valuations, while those with a passive stance are discounted in the equity market, according to new research.
AI writing, illustration emits hundreds of times less carbon than humans, study finds
A group of scholars calculated the amount of energy used by AI tools for the tasks of writing and illustrating and compared it to the average amount of energy humans use for the same processes. Their results showed artificial intelligence results in hundreds of times less carbon emissions than humans. This does not mean, however, that AI can or should replace humans in those tasks, simply that its energy usage is less. The better approach is a partnership between humans and AI, the authors write.
Early detection of language disorders helps children obtain right interventions
New screening tools in child health care are effective in identifying early language and communication difficulties in children. This is shown by two studies based on more than 6,000 children.
Gloom and doom warnings about climate change do not work
How do you spread a message about climate change? According to an international study involving 59,000 participants, some tactics may actually reduce support.
New study findings suggest that shortening overnight operations by seven hours at bars and taverns in a Baltimore, Md. neighborhood resulted in a 51 percent immediate drop in homicides within the first month, followed by a 23 percent decline in all violent crimes annually in the surrounding area, compared to similar neighborhoods with no change in hours of sale. Homicide rates decreased by 40 percent in each subsequent year.