New e-book highlights profound, diverse effects of nature on learning

URBANA, Ill. – Children are losing their connection to nature. It’s more than an unfortunate abstraction. Scientists say our increasingly indoor lifestyle negatively affects our health and well-being, not to mention our drive to protect the natural world. And it…

Hiring committees that don’t believe in gender bias promote fewer women

Is gender bias in hiring really a thing? Opinions vary, but a new study by a UBC psychologist and researchers in France reveals that hiring committees who denied it’s a problem were less likely to promote women. “Our evidence suggests…

Depression, anxiety linked to opioid use and reduced survival in women with breast cancer

Elderly women battling breast cancer who have anxiety, depression or other mental health conditions are more likely to use opioids and more likely to die, a new study led by the University of Virginia School of Medicine suggests. The findings…

Suicide and self-harm risk nearly triple in people with restless leg syndrome

Restless legs syndrome was associated with a nearly tripled risk of suicide and self-harm in a new study led by Penn State researchers. Using Big Data, the researchers found that people with restless legs syndrome (RLS) had a 2.7- fold…

Is it autism? The line is getting increasingly blurry

Around the world, the number of people diagnosed with autism is rising. In the United States, the prevalence of the disorder has grown from 0.05% in 1966 to more than 2% today. In Quebec, the reported prevalence is close to…

Families continue to enjoy TV together — but potentially ruin it for each other

TV companies battling to preserve the shared experience of scheduled TV viewing in an era of 24/7 streaming and personalised viewing need more than binge-watching contracts and no-sleeping agreements to keep customers. Recently, Netflix introduced a binge-watching contract for couples…

Health research funding lags for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Clinical research funding continues to lag for the U.S. population of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, even though the nation’s largest biomedical funding agency has pledged to prioritize research on diverse populations, a new study…

Virtual reality experiences may help treat severe pain

Therapeutic virtual reality can be used to reduce severe pain in hospitalized patients, according to a study published August 14, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Brennan Spiegel of Cedars-Sinai Health System, USA, and colleagues. Therapeutic virtual reality…