ScienceDaily: Society - April 15, 2025
Top society research news
Carb restriction offers relief from calorie counting
The intermittent fasting diet, which involves periods of severe calorie restriction, may be on the way out, as research is suggesting that rather than drastically reducing calories, people can achieve similar metabolic benefits by cutting back on carbs.
Emotions and levels of threat affect communities' resilience during extreme events
Researchers use mathematical modeling to probe whether cohesive communities are more resilient to extreme events, finding that emotional intensity and levels of stress play a big role.
New study finds surprising way to curb college-aged drinking harms -- without cutting alcohol
Researchers have developed and tested an intervention called Counter-Attitudinal Advocacy and compared it to to the well-established Personalized Normative Feedback (PNF) to evaluate their effectiveness in decreasing drinks per week, peak blood alcohol concentration and alcohol-related consequences relative to a control group.
We're living in a period where the gap between rich and poor is dramatic, and it's continuing to widen. But inequality is nothing new. In a new study researchers compared house size distributions from more than 1,000 sites around the world, covering the last 10,000 years. They found that while inequality is widespread throughout human history, it's not inevitable, nor is it expressed to the same degree at every place and time.
Wealth inequality's deep roots in human prehistory
Wealth inequality began shaping human societies more than 10,000 years ago, long before the rise of ancient empires or the invention of writing. That's according to a new study that challenges traditional views that disparities in wealth emerged suddenly with large civilizations like Egypt or Mesopotamia.
Modeling method provides smarter way to predict customer demand
Researchers have developed a new forecasting model that helps companies more accurately estimate how many customers are interested in a product -- even when key data is missing. The study introduces a mathematical modeling method that enables businesses to estimate customer interest beyond just completed transactions and traditional forecasting techniques. The approach offers a more precise way to understand demand, optimize operations and improve decision-making.
Deadly rodent-borne hantavirus is an emerging disease with pandemic potential
Virginia Tech researchers seek to understand the environmental factors that influence the distribution of hantavirus in rodent populations across the United States.
Marine shipping emissions on track to meet 2030 goals, but expected to miss 2050 target
The United Nations organization responsible for international marine shipping today approved new emission reduction policies. A new paper highlights the need. Researchers surveyed 149 marine shipping experts in 2021 and found they expect the sector to see a reduction of 30 to 40 per cent in the carbon intensity of shipping -- a measure of the amount of CO2 emitted to ship cargo over a given distance -- by 2030 compared with 2008 levels. But they expect the sector won't meet its net-zero goal for 2050, instead achieving about 40 to 75 per cent reductions from 2008 levels.
School-based asthma therapy improves student health, lowers medical costs
Millions of U.S. children have asthma and benefit from taking anti-inflammatory medications at least once a day as prescribed by their health care provider. This school-based asthma therapy program enables school nurses to help students take their medications on schedule. A study has found that it can save thousands of dollars per student in medical costs. Participating students are healthier because they have fewer asthma-related emergencies that require a trip to the emergency department, hospital or health care provider's office.
Government urged to tackle inequality in 'low-carbon tech' like solar panels and electric cars
The UK government needs to go beyond offering subsidies for low-carbon technologies (LCTs) like electric cars and solar panels for energy and heating, if it is to meet its net-zero targets by 2050, a report suggests.
Police officers face twice the risk of traumatic brain injuries and PTSD, survey finds
Police officers are more than twice as likely to have traumatic brain injuries compared to the general population.
AI tool makes sense of public opinion data in minutes, not months
DECOTA transforms open-ended survey responses into clear themes -- helping policymakers make better use of underutilised public feedback.
Global EV adoption fails to cut CO2
The transition to electric vehicles won't reduce carbon emissions unless countries clean up their electricity grids.
Intuition guides farmers towards better decision-making, but remains a taboo
In Finland, farmers who have transitioned to regenerative agriculture perceive intuition as something that leads to better decision-making, a new study from the University of Eastern Finland shows. However, intuition also remains a taboo; a topic that is avoided and rarely discussed.
Unsafe driving during school drop offs at 'unacceptable' levels
Risky driving by parents and other motorists who do the school run is putting children in danger, according to a new study.
Caspian Sea decline threatens endangered seals, coastal communities and industry
Urgent action is needed to protect endangered species, human health and industry from the impacts of the Caspian Sea shrinking, research has found.
Multi-virus wastewater surveillance shows promise at smaller, site-specific scales
In a new study, wastewater surveillance for multiple pathogens at five different sites identified local trends that were not captured in larger surveillance programs, and some sites used the data to inform efforts to prevent disease spread.
In a new article, researchers explored whether a worker can create a psychological contract with a non-human agent in the form of an algorithm that mediates their relationship with an organization.
Stroke deaths and their racial disparities increased over last 20 years
Over the last two decades, ischemic stroke mortality rates in the U.S. have grown, with almost 3 in 10 deaths occurring at home, and increases particularly among racial minorities and rural residents. These growing disparities were among the findings of a new study.
Wildfire recovery: What victims say they need most
Wildfire victims have a range of needs, including mental health support and information about wildfire smoke, according to a new study.
Decarbonization improves energy security for most countries
Researchers analyzed trade-related risks to energy security across 1,092 scenarios for cutting carbon emissions by 2060. They found that swapping out dependence on imported fossil fuels for increased dependence on critical minerals for clean energy would improve security for most nations -- including the U.S., if it cultivates new trade partners.
Man's best friend may be nature's worst enemy, study on pet dogs suggests
New research into the overlooked environmental impact of pet dogs has found far-reaching negative effects on wildlife, ecosystems and climate.
Simultaneously burying broadband and electricity could be worth millions to people in MA towns
When it comes to upgrading electrical and broadband infrastructure, new research shows that a 'dig once' approach is nearly 40% more cost effective than replacing them separately. The study also found that the greatest benefit comes from proactively undergrounding lines that are currently above ground, even if lines haven't reached the end of their usefulness.
AI threats in software development revealed
Researchers completed one of the most comprehensive studies to date on the risks of using AI models to develop software. In a paper, they demonstrate how a specific type of error could pose a serious threat to programmers that use AI to help write code.
Early education impacts teenage behavior
Researchers explored the long-term effects of preschool expansion in Japan in the 1960s, revealing significant reductions in risky behaviors amongst teenagers. By analyzing regional differences in the rollout of the program, the study identified links between early childhood education and lower rates of juvenile violent arrests and teenage pregnancy. The findings suggest that improved noncognitive skills played a key role in mitigating risky behaviors, highlighting the lasting benefits of early-education policies.
Universal spatiotemporal scaling laws governing daily population flow in cities revealed
While the daily ebb and flow of people across a city might seem chaotic, new research reveals underlying universal patterns. A study unveils fundamental spatiotemporal scaling laws that govern these population dynamics.
Parents' metabolic traits can affect the child's health over time
Research shows that the biological parents' genes affect the child's insulin function and capacity to regulate blood sugar levels and blood lipids in different ways. Such knowledge may be used to to develop preventive treatments that reduce the child's risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
In Guatemala, painted altar found at Tikal adds new context to mysterious Maya history
Just steps from the center of Tikal, a 2,400-year-old Maya city in the heart of modern-day Guatemala, a global team of researchers has unearthed a buried altar that could unlock the secrets of a mysterious time of upheaval in the ancient world. The altar, built around the late 300s A.D., is decorated with four painted panels of red, black and yellow depicting a person wearing a feathered headdress and flanked by shields or regalia. The face has almond-shaped eyes, a nose bar and a double earspool. It closely resembles other depictions of a deity dubbed the 'Storm God' in central Mexico.
Role of social workers in addressing marginalized communities bearing brunt of climate disasters
A researcher spent a year living in a jjokbang-chon, an extremely impoverished neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea. While there, he calculated residents' carbon footprints, finding they contribute much less to climate change than their fellow citizens, and detailed how they suffer the effects of extreme heat and other climate issues. He advocates for social work to take a role in addressing such climate injustice in a way that does not remove already limited resources from such populations.
Proteins shown to act as 'guardians' to keep cells' energy making mitochondria safe
Scientists say they have discovered how a group of proteins linked to Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis act as 'guardians' of mitochondria, small organelles, or subunits, within a cell that make and store energy and are found in almost all plants and animals.
Could you have new findings on a Hepatitis B curing medicine?