ScienceDaily: Society - March 18, 2025
Top society research news
Want to climb the leadership ladder? Try debate training
Research finds people who learn the basics of debate are more likely to advance to leadership roles in U.S. organizations. A key reason seems to be that debate training makes employees more comfortable about being assertive in the workplace.
As next hurricane season nears, study explores impacts of 2024's storms
When major storms hit Houston last spring and summer, losing power was a nightmare for residents, but for many, the financial fallout was just as devastating. A new report finds that more than half of Houston-area workers lost income due to these storms, either because they couldn't get to work or their jobs were forced to close.
Social media can help track species as climate changes
Social media can help scientists track animal species as they relocate in response to climate change, new research shows.
New research explores mental health costs of emotional labor at work
'Fake it till you make it' might be common advice to climb the corporate ladder, but new research shows that this attitude could also adversely affect job satisfaction and mental health.
'Doomsday Clock' and patterns of mortality and mental health in the United States
A new study investigated the mortality and mental health correlates of the iconic Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' Doomsday Clock.
Delhi air pollution worse than expected as water vapor skews figures
New Delhi's air pollution is more severe than previously estimated with particles absorbing atmospheric water vapor leading to particulate matter levels across the city being underestimated by up to 20%.
Cities that conducted greenhouse gas emissions inventories moved needle toward reduction
Researchers gathered emissions data from hundreds of US cities that either conducted a greenhouse gas emissions inventory, or reported they employed sustainability staff. The cities that conducted an inventory showed a statistically significant reduction in emissions between 2010 and 2015, while those with sustainability staff did not. Little research had previously been done to gauge effects of such measures and show that addressing emissions is meaningful, researchers argue.
First operating system for quantum networks
Researchers have announced the creation of the first operating system designed for quantum networks: QNodeOS. The research marks a major step forward in transforming quantum networking from a theoretical concept to a practical technology that could revolutionize the future of the internet.
How the brain uses 'building blocks' to navigate social interactions
Our brains use basic 'building blocks' of information to keep track of how people interact, enabling us to navigate complex social interactions, finds a new study.
Want to preserve biodiversity? Go big
Large, undisturbed forests are better for harboring biodiversity than fragmented landscapes, according to recent research. Ecologists agree that habitat loss and the fragmentation of forests reduces biodiversity in the remaining fragments. But ecologists don't agree whether it's better to focus on preserving many smaller, fragmented tracts of land or larger, continuous landscapes. The study comes to a clear conclusion.
How climate change affects rain and floods
Climate change may lead to more precipitation and more intense floods. A new study shows that to understand the details of this relationship, it is important to distinguish between different types of rainfall and flood events -- namely, between short-term events that occur on a time scale of hours, and longer-term events that last several days. In each case, climate change has a different impact.
More than marks: How wellbeing shapes academic success
A world first* study of more than 215,000 students, researchers found that while standardized tests measure academic skills, different dimensions of wellbeing -- emotional wellbeing, engagement, and learning readiness -- can play a crucial role in performance.
A new study has found that targeted psychological interventions can significantly enhance long-term resistance to misinformation. Dubbed 'psychological booster shots,' these interventions improve memory retention and help individuals recognize and resist misleading information more effectively over time.
Good parenting helps, but has limits under major deprivation
Parenting skills can make a big difference in fostering a newborn's language acquisition and cognition, but there may be a limit to how far parenting can go to make up the challenges to developing this skill in those born in highly disadvantaged backgrounds.
What's in a label? It's different for boys vs. girls, new study of parents finds
Research has shown that adults instinctively think of men when asked to think of a person -- they describe the most 'typical' person they can imagine as male and assume storybook characters without a specified gender are men. A new study by psychology researchers shows that the way parents talk to their children may contribute to these perceptions. Their findings show that parents across the US are more likely to use gender-neutral labels -- for instance, 'kid' -- more often for boys than for girls and to use gender-specific labels, such as 'girl,' more often for girls than for boys.