All Stories by Bruce Bower
- Health & Medicine
Early intellectual gap found for kids of older fathers
A reanalysis of data from more than 33,000 U.S. children finds that those with older fathers fared somewhat poorer on intelligence tests than those with younger fathers, regardless of mothers’ ages.
- Archaeology
Horse domestication traced to ancient central Asian culture
New lines of evidence indicate that horses were domesticated for riding and milking more than 5,000 years ago by members of a hunter-gatherer culture in northern Kazakhstan.
- Humans
Playing for real in a virtual world
Preteen boys and girls interacting in a virtual world display the same contrasting play styles that have been observed in real-world settings.
- Anthropology
Modern feet step back 1.5 million years
Researchers say that 1.5-million-year-old footprints discovered in eastern Africa show that a human ancestor had modern-looking feet and walked much like people do today.
- Health & Medicine
Taking age stereotypes to heart
A long-term investigation indicates that young and middle-aged adults who hold negative attitudes about the elderly are more likely to have heart ailments and strokes later in life.
- Psychology
Don’t worry, get attention training
New studies suggest that a short course of attention training offers as much relief to sufferers of two common anxiety disorders as psychotherapy or medication.
- Psychology
Fatal fallout of financial failure
Using population data, researchers have linked a widespread Asian economic crisis in 1997 to an abrupt increase in suicide rates the following year in hard-hit places.
- Humans
Women have hormonal cues for baby cuteness
Premenopausal women and women taking oral contraceptives are especially sensitive to the cuteness of babies’ faces, partly thanks to raised levels of reproductive hormones, a new study suggests.
- Humans
When dreams come true
People see hidden truths in their dreams and use dreams to guide waking attitudes and behaviors, especially when dream content supports pre-existing beliefs, researchers say.
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- Health & Medicine
Parenting shapes genetic risk for drug use
A three-year study of black teens in rural Georgia finds that involved, supportive parenting powerfully buffers the tendency of some genetically predisposed youngsters to use drugs.
- Health & Medicine
Newborns pick up the beat
Electrical measurements of sleeping newborn babies’ brains indicate that the 2- to 3-day-olds automatically detect a regular beat in rhythmic sequences, possibly reflecting an early capacity for learning music.
