MADISON, Wis. -- During the 2014-15 flu season, the poor match between the virus used to make the world's vaccine stocks and the circulating seasonal virus yielded a vaccine that was less than 20 percent effective.

While this year's vaccine is a much better match to the circulating seasonal strains of influenza, the shifty nature of the virus and the need to pick the viruses used to make global vaccine stocks well before the onset of the flu season can make vaccine strain selection a shot in the dark.

Whether it's paying the electric bill or taking the clothes out of the dryer, there are many daily tasks that we fully intend to complete and then promptly forget about. New research suggests that linking these tasks to distinctive cues that we'll encounter at the right place and the right time may help us remember to follow through. The research is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

There are many ways we can try to remind ourselves to do something in the future - we can set a calendar alert, jot down a quick note, or even use the old-fashioned string-around-the-finger trick. But the problem with many of these strategies is that they don't provide a reminder that will be noticed when we need it most.

Florence, Italy - 23 May 2016: The flu jab is associated with a reduced risk of hospitalisation in patients with heart failure, according to research presented today in a late breaking trial session at Heart Failure 2016 and the 3rd World Congress on Acute Heart Failure.1

The study in about 60 000 patients ends the controversy over influenza vaccination in heart failure patients and provides more robust evidence for current recommendations.

Professor Kazem Rahimi, Deputy Director of The George Institute for Global Health, University of Oxford, UK, said: "Many guidelines recommend that elderly patients and those with co-morbidities including heart failure should have annual flu vaccinations to reduce the risk of adverse events."

Every day humans and animals face ambiguous circumstances. If we become sick after eating, we blame the food; however, if we then fall ill without having eaten that food, the causal link becomes ambiguous. New findings from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan and New York University reveal where and how such ambiguous associations are processed in the brains of rats.

Tempe, Ariz. -- Evolution can be an emotionally charged topic in education, given a wide range of perspectives on it. Two researchers from Arizona State University are taking an in-depth look at how college professors handle it.

In a first-of-its kind study, scientists from ASU School of Life Sciences have found that a majority of professors teaching biology in Arizona universities do not believe that helping students accept the theory of evolution is an instructional goal. In fact, a majority of study participants say their only goal is to help students understand evolution.

Climate scientists have long recognized the importance of forest conservation and forest regrowth in climate mitigation and carbon sequestration -- capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. But the detailed information required to make accurate estimates of this potential has remained elusive.

Now, an international team of 60 scientists, working together as the 2ndFOR Network, has completed studies on the effects of forest conservation and secondary forest regeneration across 43 regions in Latin America.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- People with intellectual disabilities are more susceptible to exploitation and abuse, and the rise of the Internet only increases their vulnerability.

A first-of-its-kind study co-authored by a Michigan State University scholar finds that adults with Williams syndrome -- who are extremely social and trusting -- use Facebook and other social networking sites frequently and are especially vulnerable to online victimization.

Roughly a third of study participants said they would send their photo to an unknown person, arrange to go to the home of a person they met online and keep online relationships from their parents.

Professional athletes suffer from sleep disorders more frequently than generally thought, however, systematic examination, counselling and individual treatment planning can improve the quality of their sleep. Published in the Journal of Sports Sciences, a new Finnish study clearly shows for the first time that systematic measures can improve the sleep of professional athletes.