When people lie, they use different parts of their brains than when they tell the truth, and these brain changes can be measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. The results suggest that fMRI may one day prove a more accurate lie detector than the polygraph.
“There may be unique areas in the brain involved in deception that can be measured with fMRI,” said
Study is first to reveal hypogonadism as common complication of diabetes
Low testosterone production appears to be a common complication of type 2 diabetes in men, affecting 1 out of 3 diabetic patients, a new study has shown. Moreover, results of the investigation show that this condition, known clinically as hypogonadism, is caused not by a defect in the testes, where testosterone is produced, but by improper functioning of the pituitary gland, which controls production of tes
New research, headed by microbiologists from the University of Georgia, show for the first time that Salmonella – a widespread and often deadly bacterial pathogen – use molecular hydrogen to grow and become virulent. The discovery represents a way that diseases caused by Salmonella and other enteric infections could be lessened or even eliminated.
The research, just published in the journal Infection and Immunity, was led by Rob Maier, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar a
The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) is applauding a new study from the Medical Research Council (MRC) that shows that spinal manipulation – the primary form of care performed by doctors of chiropractic – combined with an exercise program offers effective treatment for those suffering from back pain. The study, published in the Nov. 19 issue of the British Medical Journal, found that a collective approach to back pain treatment provided “significant relief of symptoms and improvements in ge
Findings are disapointing, but some changes and more time could improve results
A new UCLA study released Nov. 26 reports higher arrest rates among drug offenders diverted to treatment during the first six months of California’s Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (SACPA), commonly known as Proposition 36. The findings show SACPA clients were 48 percent more likely to be arrested for a drug offense within a year of admission than clients entering treatment through other c
Terrorist attacks like those on Sept. 11, large-scale industrial accidents like Three Mile Island, hurricanes like Andrew, or earthquakes like the one in Northridge, Calif., that killed 60 people–these are all what economists call low probability, high consequence events. Making economic decisions about how to prepare for such “extreme events” is a difficult process. Under what circumstances are the benefits of strengthening a building against explosions or earthquakes worth the costs? A new s
If you’ve ever been tempted to drop a friend who tended to freeload, then you have experienced a key to one of the biggest mysteries facing social scientists, suggests a study by UCLA anthropologists.
“If the help and support of a community significantly affects the well-being of its members, then the threat of withdrawing that support can keep people in line and maintain social order,” said Karthik Panchanathan, a UCLA graduate student whose study appears in Nature. “Our stud
Individuals aged 65 and older are unlikely to receive needed mental health treatment in the United States, according to a recent national study by researchers at Texas A&M University. Drawing upon data from the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health, the researchers found that older adults were three times less likely than younger adults (individuals aged 18-64) to receive outpatient mental heath care. Only 2.5% of older adults throughout the nation reported utilizing any outpatient m
Imagine being able to see or taste sounds, as well as hearing them. Sound like science fiction? For some people, it’s reality.
This blending of the senses occurs in a rare condition called “synesthesia.” In this condition, a stimulus, such as sound, creates a reaction in another sense, as well as the expected sense.
Now, professor Daphne Maurer of McMaster University’s department of psychology has found that at one time we all lived in a world in which sights had sounds
Many community pharmacists are not opposed to importing drugs to lower patients’ costs as long as those drugs are channeled through U.S. pharmacies to ensure safety and efficacy, according to a study by pharmacists at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Michigan.
The study will appear in the November/December edition of the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association. “Importation of Prescription Medications: The Experiences, Opinions and Intended
High-quality care for depression can improve productivity at work and lower rates of workplace absenteeism, according to a new report.
A two-year program for depressed employees treated at 12 primary care practices nationwide improved productivity at work by an average of 6 percent, or an estimated annual value of $1,491 per depressed full-time employee. The program reduced absenteeism by 22 percent in two years, saving the companies an estimated $539 for each depressed full-time
Agricultural pesticide workers are not only exposed to pesticides from inhalation, but also through their skin. The dermal route of exposure to chlorpyrifos, a common agricultural pesticide, contributes substantially to workers’ total exposure, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who analyzed agricultural test data provided by pesticide manufacturers. The study authors report that accurate methods
BIG foreign companies that established UK business plants over a 14-year period exaggerated their job creation claims, a new study suggests.
Companies deliberately overstated job claims to attract business support and advice, conclude researchers from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne Business School. The team say ambitious job creation targets can be advantageous to inward investment agencies, like regional development agencies (RDAs), and warn that such claims should be
Parents are more likely to get a good night’s sleep if they take their babies out in the early afternoon, according to a study in December’s Journal of Sleep Research.
Yvonne Harrison, from the School of Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University, found that babies who sleep well at night are exposed to twice as much light between 12 noon and 4pm than poor sleepers. 56 healthy, full-term babies were monitored for three consecutive days at six, nine and twelve weeks’ old. P
If you happen to be looking left or right when your car is rear-ended, you could be lucky enough to avoid the headache of whiplash. A new study at the University of Alberta shows that whiplash injuries in low-speed accidents are much less likely if the victim’s head happens to be turned to either side instead of facing front when the vehicle is struck.
The research involving neck muscles is giving a solid scientific definition to whiplash that may help identify and establish
As they sit down to their Thanksgiving Day dinner, many Americans will marvel at the cornucopia of food at their table. What many don’t think about is how much food is wasted, not just on Thursday, but every day, from the beginning of the harvest to the scraps tossed into the garbage. Mounting new evidence, in fact, shows just how wasteful the nation is with its bounty.
America has been long been the poster child for the “throw-away society” and researchers have known for y
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