Science News for Writers

Macleans.ca    According to Statistics Canada, approximately 1.9 million Canadians aged 20 and over were in a Living Apart Together (LAT) arrangement in 2011. It’s not a huge number, but it is growing in one category—the 60-plus—where it jumped from 1.8 per cent to 2.3 per cent from 2001-11. (Read full story)    Older adults embracing 'living apart, together' Since 1990, the divorce rate among adults 50 years and older has doubled. This trend, along with longer life expectancy, has resulted in many adults forming new partnerships later in life. A new phenomenon called 'Living Apart Together' (LAT)--an intimate relationship without a shared residence--is gaining popularity as an alternative form of commitment. Researchers say that while the trend is well understood in Europe, it is lesser known in the U.S. This means that challenges, such as how LAT partners can engage in family caregiving or decision-making, could affect family needs. “What has...

medium.com It’s a sign of great character development and exposition that Richard Hatch is never remembered as the gay winner of Survivor and simply as the first winner of Survivor.  Richard was absolutely loathed by a  large part of the audience but it was never because he was gay. It was simply because he was depicted as a cold-hearted villain . ( Full article ) The subject of homosexuality has changed so much over the past fifty years.  When I was in the service during Vietnam, a homosexual in the military faced a prison term and a dishonorable discharge just for being who they were. But time changed.  When a good friend from those days came out to me as gay in 1980, all I could say was to quote the immortal Inspector Jacques Clouseau from Blake Edwards's The Pink Panther series, "I knew that." Today, not really that big a deal, though it still takes courage and self-awareness to state what may be obvious to others. But why are people ...

Source :   Are men afraid of transgender women ?  The Telegraph  Psychiatric diagnoses in young transgender women About 41 percent of young transgender women had one or more mental health or substance dependence diagnoses and nearly 1 in 5 had two or more psychiatric diagnoses in a study of participants enrolled in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention intervention trial, according to an article. Transgender youth -- including adolescent and young adult transgender women assigned a male sex at birth who identify as girls, women, transgender women, transfemale, male-to-female or another diverse gender identity on the transfeminine spectrum -- are a vulnerable population at risk for negative mental health and substance use outcomes. Sari L. Resiner, Sc.D., of Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, and coauthors used a diagnostic interview in an at-risk sample of young transgender women to assess the prevalence of mental he...

Stan quite regularly annoyed Ollie to distraction - repeatedly in every film.  Yet they remained close  friends - on screen and in real life.  What is it about a difficult person that  makes us keep them around? Why we keep difficult people in our lives Close kin, especially female relatives and aging parents, were most likely to be listed as "difficult." Chances are, you have someone in your life who causes a lot of tension and stress. Difficult relationships are common. They are also commonly difficult to evade. Who are these people and why can't we just cut the cord?  New research explores these questions and sheds light on the answers. Plain and simple: They are people you are stuck with, either because you need them or because you can't ignore them. "The results suggest that difficult people are likely to be found in contexts where people have less freedom to pick and choose their associates," says Dr. Shira Offer, of the Depa...

Crew.co Writing a 'to-do' list at bedtime may aid in falling asleep, according to a new  study.  Can't get your mind to slow down and let you get some sleep?  Write out a to-do list. According to this research, this simple chore will help you sleep.  Either because it clears your mind of random thoughts about what you have to do tomorrow, or, as in my case, my life is so tedious and unremarkable, I fall asleep from simple boredom. But no matter why it works, give it a try. *  *  *  *  * Can writing your 'to-do's' help you to doze? Study suggests jotting down tasks can Some 40 percent of American adults report difficulty falling asleep at least a few times each month, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Writing a "to-do" list at bedtime may aid in falling asleep, according to a Baylor University study. Research compared sleep patterns of participants who took five minutes to write down upcoming duties versus p...

Bureau of Labor Statistics Child labor a thing of the past?  No way.  This research reveals how almost all of us deal with  this knowledge when it comes to products we buy.  And we're each guilty to one degree or another . An interesting facet of the human mind - that might impact a story you're working on.  Jeans made with child labor? People choose willful ignorance Consumers 'forget' when products have ethical issues " Consumers not only forget the uncomfortable truth, but sometimes 'mis-remember'  the  facts and believe that the offending product was made ethically ." Many consumers have found a way to cope with the knowledge that products they like have been made unethically: They simply forget they ever knew it.  In a series of studies, researchers found that consumers conveniently "forgot" that brands of desks were made with wood from rain forests or that jeans may have been made with child labor. In...

Credit: Arvid Guterstam Neuroscientists have created an out-of-body illusion in participants placed inside a brain scanner. They then used the illusion to perceptually 'teleport'  the participants to different locations in a room and show that the perceived location of the bodily self can be decoded from activity patterns in specific brain regions. While significantly more expensive than my favorite method for experiencing an out of body experience, my technique can be used anywhere a solid brick wall is found.  Head butting a solid object doesn't cost much (if you exclude medical costs) but you are limited to how many times you can achieve this illusion before the top of your head is permanently flat. Here's the story.  I'm off to look for a really beefy, well-built wall.  Ciao. Brain scan reveals out-of-body illusion The feeling of being inside one's own body is not as self-evident as one might think. In a study from Sweden's...

                                                                                                                                                                 (Watterson, 2005, Vol. 3, p. 370) After reading this study, I tried to think of things in film, television or print that awed me, i.e., made me feel I was in the presence of something greater than myself.  I suppose I'm in awe of Benjamin Franklin, the ultimate American.  I was awed by the redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge, especially in the 1952 English film of the story. Awed also by the altruism of Rick at the e...

Does the true-crime and crime fiction you research and write help criminals get smarter?  Does breaking down how a crime is investigated teach perps how to avoid detection?  To clean up clues left in a crime site? The answer seems to be no, they are still the lovable, inept dolts we've always made a buck off.  And will continue to exploit as there is no cure for outbursts of rage, greed, and just plain human stupidity anywhere on the scientific horizon. Here's the story: *  *  *  *  * The CSI effect: Watching TV crime shows does not make better criminals Does watching the work of fictional forensic investigators on TV influence viewers? There is a belief that this is the case and that the consequences of people watching shows such as the American crime drama television series "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" are filtering through into real life, a phenomenon that has been called the CSI effect. In the worst case, it is fe...