News by Subject Social & Behavior

In 2015, a fluorosurfactant known by the trade name 'GenX' made headlines when researchers discovered it and related compounds in the Cape Fear River of North Carolina, a source of drinking water for many residents of the area. Now, researchers report in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology that they have detected the same per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in the river, as well as some new ones, but their overall levels are decreasing.

An international team of researchers has carried out the first systematic global review of water reallocation from rural to urban regions -- the practice of transferring water from rural areas to cities to meet demand from growing urban populations. They found that 69 cities with a population of 383 million people receive approximately 16 billion cubic meters of reallocated water per year -- almost the annual flow of the Colorado River.

By analyzing thousands of declassified images from Cold War-era U2 spy missions, Emily Hammer of the University of Pennsylvania and Jason Ur of Harvard University discovered archaeological features like prehistoric hunting traps, 3,000-year-old irrigation canals, and hidden 60-year-old marsh villages. They also created an online tool that allows other researchers to identify and access the photos for the first time.

Overall physical activity starts to decline already around the age of school entry. While the proportion of physically inactive individuals rises with age there still are groups of people who manage to increase their physical activity level in adulthood and old age.

In a study of 200 years of pre-industrial Quebecois genealogical history, researchers at Brown found that fertility-related changes in natural selection during the pre-industrial era paved the way for economic and technological progress.

Taking at least 20 minutes out of your day to stroll or sit in a place that makes you feel in contact with nature will significantly lower your stress hormone levels. That's the finding of a study that has established for the first time the most effective dose of an urban nature experience. Healthcare practitioners can use this discovery to prescribe 'nature-pills' in the knowledge that they have a real measurable effect.