News by Subject Social & Behavior

Storytelling that educates and entertains -- aka 'edutainment' -- is a powerful communications tool that can lead to positive health-related changes among multicultural millennials, according to a new marketing study from Baylor University.

Many people are familiar with the existence of Neanderthals, the humanoid species that was a precursor to modern humans, but far less is known Denisovans, a similar group that were contemporaries to the Neanderthals and who died out approximately 50,000 years ago. Today, Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers Professor Liran Carmel and Dr. David Gokhman unveiled a reconstruction of a Denisovan girl based on patterns of methylation (chemical changes) in their ancient DNA.

Unlike US residents, people in a remote area of the Bolivian rain forest usually do not perceive the similarities between two versions of the same note played at different registers, an octave apart. This discovery by researchers from MIT and Columbia University may help scientists tease out elements of perception that cannot be seen when examining only a single, homogenous group.

Texas is ranked in the top quarter of the US for its worksite lactation support initiatives, according to research led by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health. The study, published recently in the Journal of Human Lactation, was the first of its kind to identify and describe statewide worksite breastfeeding initiatives. These initiatives recognize employers in the state that support their breastfeeding employees.

The same underlying mechanism that boosts urban innovation and startup businesses can also explain why certain types of crimes, like car theft and robbery, thrive in a larger population.