How much free will do you really have? Hypnosis is silly and there is no "Manchurian Candidate" scenario happening any time soon, but we're all inductance when you get right down to it. And that could be a future path in neuroscience.

A study Current Biology writes of a causal link between activity in the ventral tegmental area and choice behavior in primates; when electrical pulses are applied to the ventral tegmental area of their brain, macaques presented with two images change their preference from one image to the other. 

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a therapeutic target for treating the most common form of eye cancer in adults. They have also, in experiments with mice, been able to slow eye tumor growth with an existing FDA-approved drug.

The findings are published online in the May 29 issue of the journal Cancer Cell.

"The beauty of our study is its simplicity," said Kun-Liang Guan, PhD, professor of pharmacology at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center and co-author of the study. "The genetics of this cancer are very simple and our results have clear implications for therapeutic treatments for the disease."

People who engage in binge eating, substance abuse and obsessive compulsive disorder all share a common pattern of decision making and similarities in brain structure, according to a  new paper in Molecular Psychiatry.

Many people, regardless of occupation, have experienced a difficult boss or annoying co-workers. It might even be harassment or bullying.

It's still better than being ignored, according to a paper in Organization Science. University of British Columbia scholars contend that while most consider ostracism less harmful than bullying, feeling excluded is significantly more likely to lead job dissatisfaction, quitting and health problems.

"We've been taught that ignoring someone is socially preferable--if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all," says Professor Sandra Robinson, who co-authored the paper. "But ostracism actually leads people to feel more helpless, like they're not worthy of any attention at all." 

Psychological stress is harmful to sperm and semen quality, affecting its concentration, appearance, and ability to fertilize an egg, according to a study led by researchers Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Rutgers School of Public Health. Results are published online in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, infertility affects men and women equally, and semen quality is a key indicator of male fertility.

In the pop culture world of mainstream media, magic bullets are common. Every week there is a new miracle vegetable and then the following work there will be scare journalism about some chemical.

In the world of magic bullets, smoking causes lung cancer. Yet science knows that a risk factor is not genetic determinism. If lung cancer among non-smokers were itemized separately from smokers, it would be in the top 10 killers all on its own, and shockingly few smokers get lung cancer compared to the hundred million who are smoking just in America.