All Stories by Bruce Bower
- 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.
- Health & Medicine
Neural paths for borderline personality disorder
A new brain-imaging study indicates that unusual neural activity linked to emotion, attention and conflict-resolution systems underlies a common psychiatric condition known as borderline personality disorder.
- Life
Capuchin monkeys choose the right tool for the nut
New field experiments indicate that wild capuchin monkeys choose the most effective stones for cracking nuts, suggesting deep evolutionary roots for the use of stone tools.
- Archaeology
Armenian cave yields ancient human brain
A team of scientists has excavated 6,000-year-old artifacts and three human skulls, including one containing a preserved brain, from a cave bordering Armenia’s Arpa River.
