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Top stories featured on ScienceDaily's Science & Society, Business & Industry, and Education & Learning sections.
How home food availability affects young children's nutrient intake
Early childhood is an important time for learning about nutrition and establishing healthy eating behaviors. Young children rely on parents to provide food options, and the availability of food in the home affects their dietary choices. A new study looks at changes in home food availability and nutrient intake for children from 2 to 4 years old.
Information overload is a personal and societal danger
We are all aware of the dangers of pollution to our air, water, and earth. In a recently published letter, scientists are advocating for the recognition and mitigation of another type of environmental pollution that poses equivalent personal and societal dangers: information overload.
Researchers can reveal illegal timber exports
A new method of timber analysis can confidently identify the location in which the tree was harvested. The method has been developed with the aim of combating illegal timber imports from Russia and Belarus.
Advanced army robots more likely to be blamed for deaths
Advanced killer robots are more likely to blamed for civilian deaths than military machines, new research has revealed. The study shows that high-tech bots will be held more responsible for fatalities in identical incidents.
New simpler and cost-effective forensics test helps identify touch DNA
Research has found a less expensive and easier to use test to learn more about forensic touch DNA. This research has important implications for forensic investigations and being able to identify DNA from a primary contact -- someone who may have committed the crime -- as well as secondary DNA that was inadvertently and indirectly transferred through touch.
Lonely 12 year-olds less likely to gain employment in adulthood
New research has found that there is a direct socioeconomic impact of loneliness in early adolescence. The research found that lonely young adults are more likely to be out of education, employment, or training (NEET) and consider themselves less employable and lower on the economic ladder than their less lonely peers.
The future is likely less skiable, thanks to climate change
Annual snow cover days in all major skiing regions are projected to decrease dramatically as a result of climate change, with 1 in 8 ski areas losing all natural snow cover this century under high emission scenarios, according to a new study.
Supply chain disruptions will further exacerbate economic losses from climate change
Global GDP loss from climate change will increase exponentially the warmer the planet gets when its cascading impact on global supply chains is factored in, finds a new study.
Innovative approaches for addressing difficult topics in K-12 schools
Three peer-reviewed journals have recently published research papers by Penn State's Hammel Family Human Rights Initiative. The papers illustrate how the initiative's programs help K-12 educators address difficult issues such as racism.
Good news: The US maternal death rate is stable, not sky rocketing, as reported
A new study challenges the prevailing view on the maternal death rate in the United States. The findings show that the rates of maternal death were stable between 1999-2002 and 2018-2021, instead of the dramatic upward trends previously reported. Additionally, the study indicates that direct obstetric causes of death declined over the last 20 years.
New study reveals unintended ethical faultline in team-based reward systems
Employers who have introduced team-based rewards systems to foster creativity, collaboration, productivity and sales may want to look again at a system that new research shows can create an unintended, insidious side-effect. Compared to employees who are individually rewarded, workers in team-based reward systems are more likely to remain silent when they observe a fellow team member engaging in unethical behaviour, according to a new study.
Federal housing programs protect residents from lead exposure
Americans already living in housing supported by federal housing assistance programs have significantly lower blood lead levels than counterparts who would later join these programs, according to new research.
Curbing coal-burning emissions translates to health gains for children
Research finds a nearly 40% decline in the annual average concentration of respirable particulate matter (PM2.5) in Krakow, Poland, between 2010 and 2019 following the implementation of clean air policies. Air quality improvements translated to substantial benefits for children's outcomes, including fewer cases of asthma and better birth outcomes.
Study tracks shifts in student mental health during college
Dartmouth researchers tracked more than 200 undergraduates for all four years of college to capture the most in-depth data yet on how students' self-esteem and mental health fluctuates during their years in academia. The researchers identify key populations and stressors they say administrators could target to improve student well-being. The study -- conducted from 2017 to 2022 -- also provides among the first real-time accounts of how the coronavirus pandemic affected students and resulted in lo...
New study shows how AI can help us better understand global threats to wildlife
Researchers used AI to scour information from websites and social media to map bat hunting and trade. Research found evidence of bat exploitation in 22 countries that had not previously been identified by traditional academic research. Following concerns about the reliability of the IUCN Red List, new research demonstrates how AI's ability to filter vast amounts of online data can support wildlife conservation.
Explicit socioemotional learning can have a key role in PE lessons, study says
Teachers might be more motivated to help students engage with their emotions and build their resilience when this work is part of lessons, rather than as an add-on intervention, a new study has found.
AI analysis of historical satellite images show USSR collapse in 1990s increased methane emissions, despite lower oil and gas production
An AI-powered analysis of 25 years of satellite images yields the surprising finding that methane emissions in Turkmenistan, a former Soviet republic and major oil-producing region, actually increased in the years following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
New study quantifies health impacts from oil and gas flaring in U.S.
A new study finds that pollution from oil and gas venting and flaring results in $7.4 billion in health damages, more than 700 premature deaths, and 73,000 asthma exacerbations among children annually. Researchers also conclude that emissions are underreported and controlling emissions is not only profitable for operators, but also can significantly improve public health in surrounding communities.
Air filters and scheduled window opening can reduce classroom pollution by up to 36%
To improve air quality in classrooms, schools should use air purifiers during the school day and open the windows after hours. That's according to a new study.
When a team is less than the sum of its parts: Tensions between individual and team wellbeing
Individual wellbeing doesn't always add up to team wellbeing -- but reflection and open communication can help.
New traffic signal would improve travel time for both pedestrians and vehicles
Adding a fourth light to traffic signals -- in addition to red, green and yellow -- would shorten wait times at street corners for pedestrians, as well as improve traffic flow for both autonomous vehicles and human drivers. And the more autonomous vehicles there are in the traffic network, the shorter the wait times for everyone.
Climate policies to reduce motor vehicle emissions can improve children's health, save money
A new study finds that policies to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from motor vehicles combined with investments in electric vehicles and public transportation would reduce air pollution and bring large benefits to children's health. They would also save money.
Delta-8-THC use reported by 11% of 12th graders in 2023
Approximately 11% of 12th-grade students across the United States reported past-year use of delta-8- tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-8-THC, or delta-8 for short), according to an analysis of data from the 2023 Monitoring the Future survey. Delta-8 is a psychoactive substance that is typically derived from hemp, a variety of the Cannabis sativa plant. Delta-8 has intoxicating effects similar to delta-9-THC (delta-9), the primary THC component responsible for the 'high' people may experience from using...
India's water problems set to get worse as the world warms
Winter storms known as western disturbances that provide crucial snow and rainfall to northern India are arriving significantly later in the year.
Going top shelf with AI to better track hockey data
Researchers got a valuable assist from artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help capture and analyze data from professional hockey games faster and more accurately than ever before, with big implications for the business of sports.
Happiness can be learnt, but you have to work at it
We can learn to be happy, but only get lasting benefits if we keep practicing, a new study has revealed.
No, an anti-racist program in schools didn't stress out kids, study finds
A new study of how high school students respond to a program designed to increase the frequency and quality of conversations about race in school finds that the anti-racist intervention did not cause stress or feelings of alienation among study participants. The finding rebuts concerns that anti-racist programs are harmful to children and teens.
'Study drugs' set the stage for other drug use and mental health decline
Taking 'study drugs' like Adderall without a diagnosis is not only dangerous in itself, but can lead to other drug use and a decline in mental health, according to new research.
Higher bacterial counts detected in single-serving milks, researchers report
Scientists have detected higher bacterial counts in commercial, paperboard single-serving containers two weeks after processing than milk packaged in larger containers from the same facilities.
Natural history specimens have never been so accessible
Researchers have painstakingly taken computed topography (CT) scans of more than 13,000 individual specimens to create 3D images of more than half of all the world's animal groups, including mammals, fishes, amphibians and reptiles.