A new MORI survey published today is the first to take a wide-ranging look at the issues of reliability of information found on the Internet, and the extent to which users feel they can trust the information they find there.

The reputation of an organisation and the trustworthiness of the content of websites are important factors in people’s attitudes, the survey found. Information provided via the websites of more established organisations such as museums, libraries and archive

A pro-inflammatory protein activated by bacteria in the colon plays a key role in the development of experimental colitis in mice – a mouse-version of human Crohn’s disease – according to research by scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine.

The study, published in the February 4, 2005 issue of the journal Science, identified interleukin-1Beta (IL-1â) as a major cause of severe inflammation in the mouse model of Crohn’s disease, which is a pai

The long-held belief that older people perform slower and worse than younger people has been proven wrong. In a study published today in Neuron, psychologists from McMaster University discovered that the ageing process actually improves certain abilities: Older people appear to be better and faster at grasping the big picture than their younger counterparts.

“Going into the study, we knew that ageing changes the way people see the world,” says Allison Sekuler, one of the senior au

Findings could point way to new treatments

Using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) for the first time to examine energy production biochemistry in a beating human heart, Johns Hopkins researchers have found substantial energy deficits in failing hearts.

The findings, published in the January 18 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, confirm what many scientists have conjectured for years about heart failure, and suggest new treatments designed to

Discovery could be used in design of robotic explorers

A study led by Princeton biologists has revealed a remarkably simple mechanism that allows flocking birds, schooling fish or running herds to travel in unison without any recognized leaders or signaling system.

The finding, published in the Feb. 3 issue of Nature, helps settle age-old questions about how animals coordinate their actions. Previously, scientists had looked for subtle signals or other explicit systems that

A proposal to merge the Maastricht based United Nations University Institute for New Technologies (UNU-INTECH) with the Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT) would create a major global research centre focusing on innovation and development. The combined facility would be the largest of its kind in the application of new technologies to help the developing world

Under a one-year transitional arrangement, in which the newly appointed UNU-INTEC

Elderly also drive worse when chatting, but not as bad as expected

If you have been stuck in traffic behind a motorist yakking on a cellular phone, a new University of Utah study will sound familiar: When young motorists talk on cell phones, they drive like elderly people, moving and reacting more slowly and increasing their risk of accidents. “If you put a 20-year-old driver behind the wheel with a cell phone, their reaction times are the same as a 70-year-old driver who is not us

Scientists fear rise in deaths from untreated depression

Challenging recent claims linking antidepressant use to suicidal behavior, a new UCLA study shows that American suicide rates have dropped steadily since the introduction of Prozac and other serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drugs. Published in the February edition of the journal Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, the authors caution that regulatory actions to limit SSRI prescriptions may actually increase death rates from untrea

A type of vegetation that can often be found washed ashore on beaches may soon emerge as a new player in the field of cancer-fighting foods. A new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that a diet containing kelp seaweed lowered levels of the potent sex hormone estradiol in rats, and raised hopes that it might decrease the risk of estrogen-dependent diseases such as breast cancer in humans.

“This study opens up a new avenue for research lead

[Temporal factors in motor vehicle crash deaths Injury Prevention 2005; 11: 18-23] / [Heat related deaths in young children in parked cars: an analysis of 171 fatalities in the United States, 1995-2002 Injury Prevention 2005; 11: 33-37]

More than 100 people die on US roads every day, but there is definitely a seasonal trend, with the highest average death toll on July 4, Independence Day, reveals research in Injury Prevention. Researchers from the Insurance Institute for Highway

Furan, a potentially dangerous chemical has been found by Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in processed foods, especially canned or bottled foods. A new study by McGill researchers Dr. Varoujan Yaylayan and graduate student Carolina Perez Locas explains the presence of this chemical in a wide range of food products

The study, published in the October, 2004 issue of Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, shows how food-based amino acids and sugars b

In a study that sheds new light on how consumers choose between pleasurable or practical products, a University of Washington researcher has found that people are more likely to buy fun products, but only if the situation allows them the flexibility to rationalize their purchases.

According to Erica Okada, an assistant professor of marketing at the UW Business School, goods can be broadly categorized into hedonic goods that offer enjoyment and utilitarian goods that offer pra

Primary malignant brain tumors are not very common – about 9,000 patients diagnosed per year – and are associated with a poor prognosis. Treatment of these patients varies greatly among academic and community centers and can be in conflict with accepted guidelines of care, according to a new study.

Findings are reported in the February 3 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in an article titled “Malignant Glioma Patterns of Care.”

UCSF Med

Study is based on data compiled from remote sensing, censuses, and expert opinion

The February 2005 issue of BioScience, the monthly journal of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), includes a new assessment of rapid land-cover change around the world over the period from 1981 to 2000. Changes in the use to which land is put have important implications for climate change and loss of biodiversity, and affect local populations’ access to food and clean drinking

More Britons are living alone than ever before, with more men than women living on their own between the ages of 25 and 44. And once someone has gone solo, they are more likely to remain living alone shows new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

Using census statistics and data tracking the lives of more than 150,000 individuals in England and Wales since 1971, researchers led by Malcolm Williams, of the University of Plymouth, found a significan

The chances of gaining approval for a change in public policy through a referendum are about 50 percent or lower, research conducted at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has shown. This is the case, even if a government is sure of its chances of gaining approval of its policy via the referendum process, the research indicates.

The research is part of a doctoral thesis written by Dr. Avital Moshinsky on the subject, “The Status-Quo Bias in Policy Judgment.” Her research incorpora