ScienceDaily: Society - April 22, 2025
Top society research news
Viewing art can boost wellbeing by giving meaning to life
The simple act of looking at a piece of visual art can boost your wellbeing, a new research study has found, and this benefit can be gained in a hospital setting as well as an art gallery.
Novel treatment approach for language disorder shows promise
Neuroscientists have developed a new treatment approach for a language disorder that combines traditional speech therapy with noninvasive electrical stimulation of the brain. Brain stimulation helped induce neuroplasticity, the brain's capacity to continue to reorganize and learn.
What if Mother Earth could sue for mistreatment?
The study highlights the transformative potential of the Rights of Nature, which views nature as a rights-bearing entity, not merely an object of regulation and subjugation by extractive industries. The Llurimagua case -- a dispute over a mining concession in Ecuador's cloud forest -- illustrates this approach, providing a unique opportunity to rethink Earth system governance.
Coastal management model plays the long game against the rising tides
To protect against rising sea levels in a warming world, coastal cities typically follow a standard playbook with various protective infrastructure options. For example, a seawall could be designed based on the latest climate projections, with the city officials then computing its cost-benefit ratio and proceeding to build, accordingly. The problem? Future climate conditions might differ substantially from the used projections, according to a civil engineering doctoral student.
How safe is the air to breathe? 50 million people in the US do not know
Across the United States, 58% of counties have no active air-quality monitoring sites, according to a new study. Rural counties, especially those in the Midwest and South, are less likely to have air-quality monitoring sites, which could impede pollution estimations and impact public health, the team said.
Father's mental health can impact children for years
Five-year-olds exposed to paternal depression are more likely to have behavioral issues in grade school, researchers find.
Researchers have demonstrated that intensified environmental variability (EV) can promote the evolution of cooperation through simulation based on evolutionary game theory. This result offers a new perspective for the reinterpretation of the variability selection hypothesis (VSH), which attributes improvement in human cognitive abilities to severe EV in Africa during the Middle Stone Age (MSA), as further relevant to the explanation of the evolution of sociality.
Faster way to solve complex planning problems
Researchers developed a machine-learning-guided technique to solve complex, long-horizon planning problems more efficiently than some traditional approaches, while arriving at an optimal solution that better meets a user's goals.
Researchers introduce a brand-new method to detect gunshot residue at the crime scene
Crime scene investigation may soon become significantly more accurate and efficient thanks to a new method for detecting gunshot residues. Researchers have developed the technique that converts lead particles found in gunshot residue into a light-emitting semiconductor. The method is faster, more sensitive, and easier to use than current alternatives. Forensic experts at the Amsterdam police force are already testing it in actual crime scene investigations.
Study finds dramatic boost in air quality from electrifying railways
Switching from diesel to electric trains dramatically improved the air quality aboard the San Francisco Bay Area's Caltrain commuter rail line, reducing riders' exposure to the carcinogen black carbon by an average of 89%, finds a new study. The electrification of the system also significantly reduced the ambient black carbon concentrations within and around the San Francisco station.
No butterfingers in baseball: Understanding slip between fingertips and the ball
In 2021, Major League Baseball banned the usage of resin, and since batting averages have gone up. A group of researchers set out to reveal the science behind this.
Most goals in football (soccer) result from first touch shots
A researcher has analyzed the most frequent situations faced by football goalkeepers. The aim is to compile data to facilitate the design of more effective training. The work stresses the importance of practicing the deflections and first touch shots that are produced.
The brain learns to filter out distracting stimuli over time
The human brain can learn through experience to filter out disturbing and distracting stimuli -- such as a glaring roadside billboard or a flashing banner on the internet. Scientists have used electroencephalography (EEG) to show that early visual processing in humans changes with repeated exposure.
You keep me up to date! Thank you.
This is a wonderful publication!