Researchers from MIT show that we’re most susceptible to promotions and coupons at the entrance of a store – before we’ve had a chance to figure out our shopping goals. Notably, conditional coupons presented at this stage are so powerful that they can cause a consumer to spend either more or less than usual, depending on whether the condition stipulated on the coupon is higher or lower than how much the consumer would otherwise spend.

“Consumers start with fuzzy shopping goals,

Promising results prompt second human clinical study

Grape seed extract lowered the blood pressure of patients who participated in a UC Davis study of the benefits of the supplement on people with high blood pressure.

Conducted by UC Davis cardiovascular researchers, the study was the first human clinical trial to assess the effect of grape seed extract on people with metabolic syndrome, a combination of risk factors that increase the risk for heart disease, includi

The paradox of choice has been well-documented, but a new study from the forthcoming issue of the Journal of Consumer Research offers an explanation of the hierarchical consumer choices that lead to dissatisfaction with an overwhelming number of options – and how we can overcome these shopping crises.

“This research examines consumer choice as a decision process that comprises two different stages: selecting an assortment and, subsequently, selecting a particular option from that assort

Ultrasound and algae can be used together as tools to clean mercury from contaminated sediment, according to an Ohio State University study.

This research could one day lead to a ship-borne device that cleans toxic metals from waterways without harming fish or other wildlife, said Linda K. Weavers, the John C. Geupel Chair in Civil Engineering at Ohio State.

Doctoral student Ziqi He described the group’s latest results in a poster session March 27 at the American Ch

Center for Responsible Nanotechnology engages leading experts to discuss nanotech’s impact

The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology (CRN) today announced its first series of new research papers in which industry experts predict profound impacts of nanotechnology on society. Eleven original essays by members of CRN’s Global Task Force appear in the latest issue of the journal Nanotechnology Perceptions, published today. From military and security issues to human enhancement, ar

JA-YE Europe held its 2006 European Trade Fair from 23 to 25 March in Zagreb, Croatia. The event brought together 500 young entrepreneurs from 22 European countries, representing 70 student companies. The event was an opportunity for JA-YE secondary school student companies to show off their innovative ideas, to sell their products and services in a public setting and share their entrepreneurial spirit.

Educating young people about entrepreneurship will undoubtedly produce successful l

Research released this week supports the House of Commons vote to make all workplaces smoke free, including pubs and bars.

A team of researchers visited 64 pubs across the north west of England. They measured air quality using a portable monitor for at least 30 minutes in an area of the pub where smoking was allowed. They found very poor air quality with high levels of particles (PM2.5), particularly in pubs serving more deprived populations. These particles are breathed into the

Scientists make progress toward understanding mysteries surrounding animals that live in the dark recesses of the oceans

The largest habitats on Earth are located in the vast, dark plains at the bottom of the ocean. Yet because of their remoteness, many aspects of this mostly unexplored world remain mysterious. New research led by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, has produced a rare insight into animal populations in the deep sea

Western ideal of a perfect figure is having a negative effect on Chinese boys and girls, USC study finds.

Chinese teens who think of themselves as fat, even if they were normal or underweight, are at a greater risk for depression and school-related stress, a new USC study has found.

Girls who said they were overweight reported an overall grade point average of 3.06 versus 3.20 for other girls, according to the study of nearly 7,000 middle- and high-school students in se

The Home Office Safer Hospitals and Schools Programme evaluated by PRCI Ltd, a spin-out company from the University, and funded by the Treasury Invest to Save Budget (ISB) reveals that schools have a poor understanding of crime and disorder problems at their site.

Hospitals too do not have a full picture of crime on their sites because data is not properly recorded. Efforts to reduce crime, therefore, cannot be fully effective as the scale and precise nature of the problem is not known.

Increasing age does not necessarily cause a reduction in the quality of life, and in some cases, can even improve it.

Research published online this month in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, describes how researchers looked at indicators of the quality of life, and found that in England it is above average between the ages of 50 and 84, and in some cases increases compared with earlier years.

The researchers from Imperial College London, Karolinska Insti

The customer is cash, not king. Instead of investing more in customer relations we have to choose which relations we should invest in and which we should not invest in, suggests Fred Selnes, Professor in Marketing.

For ages now, marketing consultants have been pushing the slogan: the customer is king. That is why firms have invested considerable sums in developing good customer relations in order to keep them. Much of this is wasted effort, claims Fred Selnes, who wants to pull t

Mathematics is playing such an increasingly important role in crime scene investigations, helping forensic scientists work out a range of problems including the trajectories of bullets, fingerprint recognition and the speed of moving vehicles, that an understanding of the subject could be key for the next great detective.

Professor Christopher Budd from the University of Bath will explore this further when he delivers a lecture entitled Can maths catch criminals and bring them to j

People with Eczema may benefit from finding

Scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have identified a defect in the immune response of people with the skin condition atopic dermatitis that puts them at risk of developing serious complications following smallpox vaccination. Led by Donald Y.M. Leung, M.D., Ph.D., of the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, the

Increase in Vitamin E tied to reduction in utero deaths, but faster rates of cancer onset

Manipulating the in utero environment may alter the onset of cancers that appear later in the lives of mammals, according to a new University of Toronto study published in the journal Carcinogenesis.

“We know that cancer-causing agents can travel across the placenta and harm the developing embryo or fetus,” says Professor Peter Wells of the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. “This stu

A child’s first word is always a time for celebration. Whether it’s “ma,” “da,” or “cookie,” the fact that your child has begun to communicate verbally represents a significant step in his or her development – and your role as a parent. And while most infants understand a small repertoire of words by 12 months, there’s little knowledge of just how they build those vocabularies. In contrast, researchers know a fair amount about how toddlers’ language develops. While it might make sense to assume tha