Gamers who are free to interact with and explore a game world at their own pace are more relaxed and have improved mental well-being | The findings could open the door to using gaming as a therapeutic tool to counter stress and anxiety.
https://newatlas.com/mental-health/open-world-gaming-psychological-well-being/
https://redd.it/1hiihff
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Astronomers have uncovered a hidden network of pathways extending from our solar system to distant regions of the galaxy, suggesting that space is far more interconnected than previously thought
https://curiosmos.com/mysterious-interstellar-highways-may-connect-our-solar-system-to-distant-stars/
https://redd.it/1hig3r4
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Study extends chart of life by nearly 1.5 billion years. Fossilized skeletons and shells clearly show how evolution and extinction unfolded over the past half a billion years, but a new Virginia Tech analysis extends the chart of life to nearly 2 billion years ago.
https://news.vt.edu/articles/2024/12/science-extended-chart-of-life.html
https://redd.it/1hide0s
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Women exhibit less manipulative personality traits in more gender-equal countries. In countries with lower levels of gender equality, women scored higher on Machiavellianism, potentially reflecting increased reliance on manipulative strategies to navigate restrictive or resource-scarce environments.
https://www.psypost.org/women-exhibit-less-manipulative-personality-traits-in-more-gender-equal-countries/
https://redd.it/1hi0oxy
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3D modelling of "Lucy" suggests Australopithecus Afarensis could not run as fast as humans, reaching speeds of only 4.97m/s vs. humans 7.9m/s
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-04194-4
https://redd.it/1hhvgo7
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Ritalin on the road: ADHD drug methylphenidate improves driving performance | The medication reduced lane weaving and speed variation, while eye movements remained almost unaffected.
https://www.psypost.org/ritalin-on-the-road-adhd-drug-methylphenidate-improves-driving-performance/
https://redd.it/1hhuy4e
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Syphilis had its roots in the Americas
https://www.eva.mpg.de/press/news/article/syphilis-had-its-roots-in-the-americas/
https://redd.it/1hhrxqk
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More people are now living without running water in US cities since the global financial crisis
https://www.nature.com/articles/s44284-024-00180-z
https://redd.it/1hhq15l
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Microplastics in the Air May Be Leading to Lung and Colon Cancers. A review of 3,000 studies also suggests these minute plastic air particles may be causing male and female infertility.
https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2024/12/429161/microplastics-air-may-be-leading-lung-and-colon-cancers
https://redd.it/1hhmtcg
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Scientists Have Confirmed the Existence of a Third Form of Magnetism
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a63204830/third-form-of-magnetism/?utm_campaign=trueanthemFBPOP&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook
https://redd.it/1hhju4r
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Elevated levels of ‘forever chemicals’ (PFAS) found in several smartwatch wrist bands. Durability makes the bands great for sweaty workouts, but it might also present a source of these compounds to get under the wearer’s skin — literally.
https://www.acs.org/pressroom/presspacs/2024/december/elevated-levels-of-forever-chemicals-found-in-several-smartwatch-wrist-bands.html
https://redd.it/1hh7ukq
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Symptoms of complex PTSD predict the appearance of psychotic symptoms in daily life, study finds | Complex posttraumatic stress disorder (complex PTSD) is a mental health condition that arises from prolonged or repeated exposure to traumatic events.
https://www.psypost.org/symptoms-of-complex-ptsd-predict-the-appearance-of-psychotic-symptoms-in-daily-life-study-finds/
https://redd.it/1hh15qq
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Bias in AI amplifies our own biases, finds study | Artificial intelligence systems tend to take on human biases and amplify them, causing people who use that AI to become more biased themselves, finds a new study by UCL researchers.
https://techxplore.com/news/2024-12-bias-ai-amplifies-biases.html
https://redd.it/1hh1qcc
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Study examines women’s proximity to incinerators and chemical level in breast milk | Researchers find winds affecting emissions from incinerators play role, though diet still thought to be largest factor
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/dec/18/study-examines-womens-proximity-to-incinerators-and-chemical-level-in-breast-milk
https://redd.it/1hh0czj
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Almost three quarters of adolescents experience clinically significant depression or anxiety symptoms, with most being chronic, according to a new study.
https://www.mcri.edu.au/news-stories/almost-three-quarters-adolescents-experience-depression-anxiety
https://redd.it/1hgw5s7
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Drinking more than 5 cups of caffeinated coffee daily associated with better cognitive performance than drinking less than 1 cup or avoiding coffee in people with atrial fibrillation. Heavier coffee drinkers estimated to be 6.7 years younger in cognitive age than those who drank little or no coffee.
https://newsroom.heart.org/news/drinking-coffee-may-help-prevent-mental-decline-in-people-with-atrial-fibrillation
https://redd.it/1higln5
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Digital labels displayed the base price of food and added discounts as products got closer to expiring. Researchers found the stores changed prices 54% more often, while another study found digital labels increased price change frequency 853%.
https://news.mccombs.utexas.edu/research/digital-labels-can-help-grocers-waste-less-food/
https://redd.it/1hicgny
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Around 1 in 127 people globally is on the autism spectrum. This figure is substantially higher than the previous estimate of around 1 in 271 people, based on 2019 data. ASD was most common in people younger than 20 years old, where it ranked within the top 10 causes of non-fatal health burden.
https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/around-1-in-127-people-globally-is-on-the-autism-spectrum
https://redd.it/1hi6s8p
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Building muscle strength and mass may help reduce depression risk, study suggests. Adults with stronger grip strength and greater muscle mass were less likely to experience depression. Targeting muscle development through exercise may be an effective strategy to improve mental health.
https://www.psypost.org/building-muscle-strength-and-mass-may-help-reduce-depression-risk-study-suggests/
https://redd.it/1hhxh9p
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Sleep apnea linked to brain changes: Individuals with breathing issues during sleep may have an enlarged hippocampus, responsible for memory and thinking, and alterations in the brain's white matter, a common sign of reduced brain health associated with aging
https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/PressRelease/5219
https://redd.it/1hhw69g
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Dancing lowers the depression associated with Parkinson disease, and the benefits can be seen in multiple ways. Research found after each dance class, reported depression rates dropped, and the effect was cumulative from class to class, with significant improvements after 8 months.
https://www.yorku.ca/news/2024/12/13/dancing-the-blues-away-seen-in-brain-imaging-in-people-with-parkinson-disease-new-study-finds/
https://redd.it/1hhtqui
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Massive volcanic eruptions did not cause the extinction of dinosaurs
https://www.uu.nl/en/news/massive-volcanic-eruptions-did-not-cause-the-extinction-of-dinosaurs
https://redd.it/1hhjal7
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'Fat tax': Unsurprisingly, dictating plane tickets by body weight was more popular with passengers under 160 lb, finds a new study. Overall, people under 160 lb were most in favor of factoring body weight into ticket prices, with 71.7% happy to see excess pounds or total weight policies introduced.
https://newatlas.com/transport/airline-weight-charge/
https://redd.it/1hhp31v
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Almost all leading large language models or “chatbots” show signs of mild cognitive impairment in tests widely used to spot early signs of dementia, study finds: Findings challenge assumption that AI will soon replace human doctors
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1068361
https://redd.it/1hhk281
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The moon may be more than 100 million years older than previously thought, study finds
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/moon-age-older-study-rcna184499
https://redd.it/1hhdvla
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Study shows how smart TVs use automatic content to track and report what you watch, including when using the TV as a monitor by HDMI connection
https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/your-smart-tv-watching-what-you-watch
https://redd.it/1hh7voj
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Animal-based products account for 60% of agriculture’s energy use globally but provide only 18% of consumed calories
https://norwegianscitechnews.com/2024/12/fossil-fuels-help-us-grow-food/
https://redd.it/1hh4v22
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Researchers have quantified the speed of human thought: a rate of 10 bits per second. But our bodies' sensory systems gather data about our environments at a rate of a billion bits per second, which is 100 million times faster than our thought processes.
https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/thinking-slowly-the-paradoxical-slowness-of-human-behavior
https://redd.it/1hh2n4v
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Individuals with higher verbal IQ were more likely to vote in elections and participate in civic activities while being less inclined to endorse traditionalist and authoritarian values. They also tended to hold more liberal social attitudes and support egalitarian views.
https://www.psypost.org/verbal-iq-predicts-political-participation-and-liberal-attitudes-twice-as-strongly-as-performance-iq/
https://redd.it/1hgzdjv
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Scientists have created a prototype reactor that can harvest hydrogen fuel using only sunlight and water. Green hydrogen, a "climate-neutral process that uses renewable energy sources to create hydrogen," has been a "growing conversation among renewable fuel
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/green-tech/a63137651/green-hydrogen-sunlight/
https://redd.it/1hgx756
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