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Ousiometrics Analysis Says All Human Language Is Biased

A new tool drawing on billions of uses of more than 20,000 words and diverse real-world texts claims...

Wavelengths Of Light Are Why CO2 Cools The Upper Atmosphere But Warms Earth

There are concerns about projected warming on the Earth’s surface and in the lower atmosphere...

Here's Where Your Backyard Was 300 Million Years Ago

We may use terms like "grounded" and terra firma to mean stability and consistency but geology...

Convergent Evolution Cheat Sheet Now 120 Million Years Old

One tenet of natural selection is a random walk of genes but nature may be more predictable than...

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It's not surprising that in a trial, mothers participating in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) who received subsidized vouchers for fruits and vegetables at area farmers markets used them - and chose fruits or vegetables more often then they would at supermarkets. 

But prices at local supermarkets are lower, notes a new University of Illinois study, so the question becomes how much should taxpayers spend in hopes that families will eat more vegetables, if they don't buy them at supermarkets. Should we mandate their behavior by giving them vouchers for farmer's markets rather than grocery stores?
An analysis of the scientific production of more than 80 countries from 1996 to 2006 found that there are three major ‘clusters’ of countries, defined by the thematic areas they investigate and that their governments invest in most.

Using this data, researchers from the University of Granada and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), belonging to the SCImago research group have designed the most comprehensive 'world map of research' to date. Using statistical techniques and multivariate analysis, they included over 15 million documents and scientific articles.

Can rats show regret and, if so, how would we know?

Neuroscientists at the University of Minnesota say they do and it's intriguing because regret is a cognitive behavior thought to be uniquely and fundamentally human.    

"Regret is the recognition that you made a mistake, that if you had done something else, you would have been better off," said A. David Redish, Ph.D., a professor of neuroscience in the University of Minnesota. "The difficult part of this study was separating regret from disappointment, which is when things aren't as good as you would have hoped. The key to distinguishing between the two was letting the rats choose what to do."

Citrus is the world's most widely cultivated fruit crop. In the U.S. alone, the citrus crop was valued at over $3.1 billion in 2013. Originally domesticated in Southeast Asia thousands of years ago before spreading throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas via trade, citrus is now under attack from citrus greening, an insidious emerging infectious disease that is destroying entire orchards. To help defend citrus against this disease and other threats, researchers worldwide are mobilizing to apply genomic tools and approaches to understand how citrus varieties arose and how they respond to disease and other stresses.

Antidepressant drugs are common in the developed world and are among the most prescribed medications in North America. Though antidepressants are effective for some, there is a lot of variability in how individuals respond to antidepressant treatment.  

A recent study found that levels of a small molecule found only in primates are lower in the brains of depressed individuals, a discovery that may hold a key to improving treatment options for those who suffer from depression.

Once the public loses confidence in the ability of journalists to be trusted guides for the public, it is hard to regain it. Scientists don't trust journalists because they get a lot of science wrong. The public doesn't trust journalists because they don't ask the awkward questions of people whose work they admire.

And then there is the framing they engage in.