ScienceDaily: Society - November 14, 2023
Top society research news
A 'fish cartel' for Africa could benefit the countries, and their seas
Banding together to sell fishing rights could generate economic benefits for African countries, which receive far less from access to their fisheries on the global market than other countries do from theirs. By joining forces, researchers say African fisheries would not just secure more competitive access fees, they could also protect their seas' biodiversity.
Harry Beugelink/shutterstock.com
Survey finds many Americans are letting their guard down during respiratory illness season
Despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warning this year will be potentially dangerous for respiratory illnesses, a third of Americans are not concerned about the threat, according to a new national survey.
Wildfires and drought have led to $11.2 billion in damages to privately held timberland in California, Oregon and Washington over the past two decades, a new Oregon State University study found.
New research maps 14 potential evolutionary dead ends for humanity and ways to avoid them
Humankind risks getting stuck in 14 evolutionary dead ends, ranging from global climate tipping points to misaligned artificial intelligence, chemical pollution, and accelerating infectious diseases, finds a new major assessment by scientists from multiple different disciplines. To break these trends, humans must become self-aware of our common futures.
New scientific methods for analyzing criminal careers
Researchers have examined 1.2 million criminal incidents and developed an innovative method to identify patterns in criminal trajectories.
Exhaustion caused by video conferencing demonstrated on a neurophysiological level
Using EEG and ECG data, researchers were able to demonstrate that video conferences and online education formats lead to greater fatigue than face-to-face alternatives.
Diverse forests hold huge carbon potential, as long as we cut emissions
New study estimates that natural forest recovery could capture approximately 226 Gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon, but only if we also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Achieving these results requires community-driven efforts to conserve and restore biodiversity. In brief: Forests have the potential to capture 226 Gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon in areas where they would naturally exist. This forest potential can only be achieved alongside emissions cuts. Sixty-one percent of the forest potential can be achieved by protecting existing forests and allowing them to regrow to maturity. Thirty-nine percent can be achieved by reconnecting fragmented landscapes through community-driven ecosystem restoration and management. A natural diversity of species is needed to maximize the forest carbon potential.
New heat map charts unequal civic opportunity in the United States
People in many parts of the United States possess few chances for the robust community engagement that underpins healthy democracies, according to a new report that for the first time maps civic opportunity across the country. The heat map reveals patterns of inequality in civic opportunity tied to race, class, immigration status and education.
Designing cities for 21st-century weather
Researchers have investigated how changes in urban land and population will affect future populations' exposures to weather extremes under climate conditions at the end of the 21st century. They used a data-driven model to predict how urban areas across the country will grow by 2100, and found that how a city is laid out or organized spatially has the potential to reduce population exposures to future weather extremes.
Low-intensity fires reduce wildfire risk by 60%
High-intensity, often catastrophic, wildfires have become increasingly frequent across the Western U.S. Researchers quantified the value of managed low-intensity burning to dramatically reduce the risk of such fires for years at a time.
Scientists found hundreds of toxic chemicals in recycled plastics
When scientists examined pellets from recycled plastic collected in 13 countries they found hundreds of toxic chemicals, including pesticides and pharmaceuticals. Because of this, the scientists judge recycled plastics unfit for most purposes and a hinder in the attempts to create a circular economy.
Physical fitness since childhood predicts cerebellar volume in adolescence
Physical fitness since childhood is associated with cerebellar grey matter volume in adolescents. Those who were stronger, faster and more agile, in other words, had better neuromuscular fitness since childhood, had larger Crus I grey matter volume in adolescence.
Scientists caution against a reliance on mechanical devices to clear water bodies of plastic
An international group of scientists has called for the United Nations Treaty on Plastic Pollution to focus more on measures to reduce the production and consumption of plastics and the prevention of future plastic waste, rather than on the unselective removal of waste already in the water.
Plastics treaty must tackle problem at source
The new Global Plastics Treaty must tackle the problem at source, researchers say. They say the treaty must prioritize 'upstream' issues: cutting total production and consumption of plastics, phasing out hazardous chemicals and tackling fossil fuel subsidies.
Social-behavioral findings can be highly replicable, six-year study by four labs suggests
Roughly two decades ago, a community-wide reckoning emerged concerning the credibility of published literature in the social-behavioral sciences, especially psychology. Several large scale studies attempted to reproduce previously published findings to no avail or to a much lesser magnitude, sending the credibility of the findings -- and future studies in social-behavioral sciences -- into question.
Increasing workplace flexibility associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease
Increasing workplace flexibility may lower employees' risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a new study. In workplaces that implemented interventions designed to reduce conflict between employees' work and their personal/family lives, researchers observed that employees at higher baseline cardiometabolic risk, particularly older employees, experienced a reduction in their risk for cardiovascular disease equivalent to between five and 10 years of age-related cardiometabolic changes.
After conducting the first scoping review of its kind, researchers have developed an evidence-based interactive mapping tool to assist policymakers as they consider regulating the concentration of THC in cannabis products and as more potent products move into the marketplace.
Southern Alaska's national forests key to meeting climate, conservation goals
Analyses of U.S. national forests shows that increased protections for two Alaskan forests is a key to meeting climate and biodiversity goals.
21st century Total Wars will enlist technologies in ways we don't yet understand
As new technologies like artificial intelligence, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as drones and so-called 'cyberweapons' such as malware and Internet-based disinformation campaigns become integral to our daily lives, researchers are working to grasp the role they will play in warfare.
Africa's dangerous air pollution levels are a global problem, says new research
A new report has brought to light the challenge of air pollution levels in Africa and why international action is needed to combat it.
Poetry can help people cope with loneliness or isolation
Research has found that many people who took to sharing, discussing and writing poetry as a means to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic experienced 'demonstrable positive impact on their wellbeing'.
When dads are feeling a bit depressed or anxious, how do kids fare?
A team of researchers has found that slightly higher, but mild anxious or depressive symptoms in fathers were associated with fewer behavioral difficulties in the first years of elementary school and better scores on a standardized IQ test in their children.
Energy transition: A super-model to guide policy makers
How can we ensure that an energy policy will achieve its objectives? To find out, scientists and public authorities can rely on computer models of varying degrees of accuracy. However, these models have a number of limitations, including the fact that they are not very effective for generating projections on a regional scale. A team has now designed a super-model to simulate the spread of three green technologies.
We can save lives and millions with less nitrate in drinking water
Denmark could save lives and more than $300 million a year by reducing the amount of nitrate in its drinking water. An ever-growing body of research concludes that the amount of nitrate in some Danish boreholes increases the risk of colorectal cancer.
Threatened sharks and rays caught off Cyprus
Sharks and rays from threatened species are being caught off northern Cyprus, according to a new study by scientists who are working with local authorities and fishers to protect the animals.
Food waste prevention in Europe can generate major footprint savings
New calculations show that the European countries have great potential for reducing the demand for global food resources and the associated GHG footprint. Researchers have estimated the climate footprint savings that may be obtained from reducing food loss and waste along Europe's food supply chain by 50 % by 2030.
Rewarding women more like men could reduce wage gap
Addressing the shortage of women in STEM fields such as computer science is not enough to close the gender gap: Treating women more like men, especially on pay day, is more important than representation alone, according to new research.
