The food police have argued amongst themselves for many years over how to change consumers' eating habits. Some have suggested that 'pricing strategies' (i.e. higher taxes) may change behavior while others say subsidies for healthy foods are the way to encourage people to eat fruits, vegetables and whole grains. The thought is that if you make it cheaper, people will eat more of it, more expensive and people will eat less.

To sort out the controversy, a team of researchers from the University of Buffalo set out to determine in the laboratory which method is best for dictating to consumers what's good for them, taxes on junk food or subsidies for healthy food. Their results appear this month in Psychological Science.

Researchers who observed viruses as they evolved to infect bacteria say they have confirmed the Red Queen Hypothesis, the idea that competing species drive molecular evolution through natural selection for adaptation and counter-adaptation.

The team used high-throughput DNA sequencing technology to sequence thousands of virus genomes. They found that when the bacteria could evolve defenses, the viruses evolved at a quicker rate and generated greater diversity, compared to situations where the bacteria were unable to adapt to the viral infection. The results are published in Nature.

Why do some people who experience traumatizing events develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder while others don't? Scientists know that, in general, the more traumatic events a person experiences the higher their likelihood of developing PTSD, but even under extreme stress not all individuals develop the disorder. Now, researchers writing in Biological Psychiatry say that survivors of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide may help explain how genetic factors influence this relationship.

Promiscuous females may be the key to a species' survival, according to new research published today in Current Biology. The study may explain why females of most species have multiple mates, despite this being more risky for the individual.

Known as 'polyandry' among scientists, the phenomenon of females having multiple mates is shared across most animal species, from insects to mammals. This study suggests that polyandry reduces the risk of populations becoming extinct because of all-female broods being born.

Research conducted at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine suggests that "exergames" – entertaining video games that combine game play with exercise can improve the symptoms of subsyndromal depression (SSD) in seniors. In a pilot study, researchers found that use of exergames significantly improved mood and mental health-related quality of life in older adults with SSD. The study appears in the March issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

People have a strong tendency to give nonhuman entities human characteristics (known as anthropomorphism), and researchers from Harvard and the University of Chicago say they now understand the psychology that underlies this behavior. The research appears in Current Directions In Psychological Science.

Neuroscience research has shown that similar brain regions are involved when we think about the behavior of both humans and of nonhuman entities, suggesting that anthropomorphism may be using similar processes as those used for thinking about other people.