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The Perfect Car, According To Science

The Perfect Car, According To Science

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Released on Sept. 4, 1957, Ford dubbed its Edsel "the car of the future." It was designed to stand out, but most people didn't like the way it looked. Add "ugly" to a laundry list of problems from poor performance to a high price tag and the car tanked--its only lasting legacy being a lesson in how not to develop a product.
But what does the ideal car look like?
University of California, Riverside professor Subramanian "Bala" Balachander and his collaborators explored that question in a study that is forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing. Balachander is the Albert O. Steffey Chair and Professor of Marketing at UCR's School of Business.

Is Sufficient Sleep The Key To Successful Antidepressant Response?

Is Sufficient Sleep The Key To Successful Antidepressant Response?

Medication is an important part of treatment for many patients with major depressive disorder, but the transition to antidepressants isn't always smooth.
It can take six weeks for a person to respond to pharmacotherapy. And with remission rates at about only one-third, the majority of patients with depression could also benefit from better overall response to medication.
Researchers at the University of Michigan who specialize in both psychiatry and sleep medicine found a potential way to help. A precise sleep schedule could affect antidepressant remission rates and response time, researchers found. But not in the way they thought.

More, not less, sleep

Who Loses When Car Prices Are Negotiated?

Who Loses When Car Prices Are Negotiated?

A new car is a big expense for anyone -- but it will cost some people more than others, even at the same dealership.
A new U of T study, which is the first of its kind to reliably show large differences in the price paid for a new car, reveals that age and even in some cases gender can be a factor.
"We were surprised by the magnitude of the difference in how much people paid for an identical car that was bought in the same month in even the same city," says Ambarish Chandra, Assistant Professor of Business Economics in U of T Scarborough's Department of Management and the Rotman School of Management.

Transgender Youth Are As Likely To Become Pregnant As Other Adolescents

Transgender Youth Are As Likely To Become Pregnant As Other Adolescents

Sexually active transgender youth have pregnancy rates similar to their non-transgender peers--dispelling the notion that trans youth are less at risk for pregnancy, according to new UBC research.
In the first study of its kind, researchers used data from the 2014 Canadian Transgender Youth Health Survey, focusing on a subset of 540 youth aged 14-25 who had previously had sex. They found that five per cent (26) had been involved in a pregnancy at least once - comparable to B.C.'s pregnancy rate of about five per cent among sexually active young people.

Planet Nine Could Doom Our Solar System - If It Exists

Planet Nine Could Doom Our Solar System - If It Exists

The solar system could be thrown into disaster when the sun dies if the mysterious 'Planet Nine' exists, according to Dr. Dimitri Veras in the Department of Physics at University of Warwick, who says he has discovered that the presence of Planet Nine - the hypothetical planet which may exist in the outer Solar System - could cause the elimination of at least one of the giant planets after the sun dies, hurling them out into interstellar space through a sort of 'pinball' effect.
When the sun starts to die in around seven billion years, it will blow away half of its own mass and inflate itself -- swallowing the Earth -- before fading into an ember known as a white dwarf. This mass ejection will push Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune out to what was assumed a safe distance.

Psychopaths Feel Fear But See No Danger

Psychopaths Feel Fear But See No Danger

Researchers from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Radboud University Nijmegen found proof that psychopathic individuals can feel fear, but have trouble in the automatic detection and responsivity to threat. For many decades fear has been put forth as a hallmark feature of psychopathy, the impairments in which would lead to bold risk-taking behavior. Sylco Hoppenbrouwers (VU Amsterdam), Erik Bulten and Inti Brazil (Radboud University) reviewed theoretical and empirical brain and behavioral data pertaining to fear and psychopathy and found that psychopathic individuals have trouble detecting threats. There was however little evidence that the conscious experience of fear was affected, indicating that the experience of fear may not be completely impaired in psychopathy.

Variation In 'junk' DNA Leads To Trouble

Variation In 'junk' DNA Leads To Trouble

DURHAM, N.C. -- All humans are 99.9 percent identical, genetically speaking. But that tiny 0.1 percent variation has big consequences, influencing the color of your eyes, the span of your hips, your risk of getting sick and in some ways even your earning potential.
Although variants are scattered throughout the genome, scientists have largely ignored the stretches of repetitive genetic code once dismissively known as "junk" DNA in their search for differences that influence human health and disease.

Out Of Sync: How Genetic Variation Can Disrupt The Heart's Rhythm

Out Of Sync: How Genetic Variation Can Disrupt The Heart's Rhythm

In the August 31 issue of Science Translational Medicine, new research from the University of Chicago shows how deficits in a specific pathway of genes can lead to the development of atrial fibrillation, a common irregular heartbeat, which poses a significant health risk.
Researchers describe a complex system of checks and balances, including the intersection of two opposing regulatory methods that work to maintain normal cardiac rhythm, and offer insights that could lead to individualized treatment in humans.

Novel Method Enables Absolute Quantification Of Mitochondrial Metabolites

Novel Method Enables Absolute Quantification Of Mitochondrial Metabolites

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (August 31, 2016) - Whitehead Institute scientists have developed a method to quickly isolate and systematically measure metabolite concentrations within the cellular organelles known as mitochondria, often referred to as the "powerhouses of the cell." Prior attempts at such measurements have yielded unreliable results, either by taking too long to isolate mitochondria or by contaminating mitochondrial metabolites with contents from other cellular components.

Strong Social Support Is Related To Shorter Stay In Inpatient Rehab After Hospitalization

Strong Social Support Is Related To Shorter Stay In Inpatient Rehab After Hospitalization

GALVESTON, Texas - Sometimes the best medicine is the care of family and friends.
A recent study from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston showed that patients with strong social support from family and friends spend less time in an inpatient rehabilitation facility. This study is currently available in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Surgery At High-quality Hospitals Costs Medicare Less Than At Low-quality Hospitals

Surgery At High-quality Hospitals Costs Medicare Less Than At Low-quality Hospitals

Boston, MA - Patients who had major surgery at high-quality hospitals in the U.S. cost Medicare less than those who had surgery at low-quality hospitals according to a new study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The difference in Medicare spending was driven primarily by the cost of care in the weeks following surgery.
The study will appear online Wednesday, September 7, 2016 in Health Affairs.

Americans Are More Politically Independent, More Polarized Than Ever

Americans Are More Politically Independent, More Polarized Than Ever

Today's young millennial voters are seen as a key demographic for political victory in many races this fall. Now, new research suggests that millennials' political views differ significantly from young people from previous generations.
A team led by San Diego State University psychology professor Jean Twenge, author of the book "Generation Me," examined data from three large, nationally representative surveys of high school seniors, entering college students and adults in the United States administered since the 1970s. The surveys included responses to a variety of political questions from 10 million participants.