Behavioural & life sciences—

A purpose-built database of participants who have shared genomic and behavioral data could give clinical trials a boost, Charman says.

Findings could shed light on evolution of language

Global data set suggests socioeconomic status does not play a role in children’s language development

Claudia Goldin honored for studies into women’s participation in the labor market over the past 200 years

Mouse study identifies separate mechanisms behind psychedelics’ antidepressant and hallucinogenic effects, providing target for future drug development

Giant study of ancient pottery and DNA challenges common evolutionary explanation for lactase persistence

“Bouba” is round and “kiki” is pointy, no matter which writing system you use

The plants have more genetic diversity in places where otters run rampant

Culture and topography also play important roles

Behavior could shed light on human language learning

The spread of the practice suggests some birds may have “culture”

Transit systems in 60 cities show unique microbiomes

New study suggests how vocal sounds could help language get off the ground

Method of studying “microdosing” could offer new routes for drug research

Study finds most chats don’t end when people want them to

Experiment suggests social wasps evolved an efficient facial recognition system

Rollout may start next week, prioritizing health workers, the elderly, and other vulnerable populations

Prize winners developed auction formats used in markets for electricity, carbon credits, and radio spectrum allocation

In study, stimulating sound and touch together molds the brain, reduces tinnitus

Remains suggest people 200,000 years ago used ash to repel insects in grass bedding

Tiny flyers show a concept of "numerical order" rarely seen in the wild

A trial that recruited 4000 gymgoers in Oslo, Norway, found no new infections

Faster, easier diagnosis means less misuse of antibiotics.

Some scientists think social science isn’t ready for the COVID-19 crisis.

Suicide rates increase, but other causes of death drop.

Study of veterans finds higher death rates, no benefits.

Social distancing means a net benefit of $5.2 trillion, according to the analysis.

Cities that locked down faster in 1918 bounced back better.

Missionary group Ethnos360 announces new helicopter plans.

Widespread immunity is essential for a successful vaccine, but establishing it could be difficult for the new coronavirus.

The current pregnancy test offers up lots of false negatives.

Pretend conversations early on lead to better vocabularies later.

Grandmothers help to explain an evolutionary mystery.

Study shows how kids could play a role in spontaneously emerging languages.

When shared-control drivers both make a mistake, humans take the fall.

Gigantic analysis pulls together conclusions from a century of research.

Treasure trove of fossils skyrockets our picture of post-extinction recovery.

Individual predictions might not tell us much, but group predictions are useful.

A focus on social harms can do better than standard punishments.

Debunking the content or techniques of denialism mitigates their impact.

Why does farming catch on when it dings health and quality of life?

The fossil record for our closest relatives is poor, but genetic data could help.

The overbite that comes from eating soft food may make "ffff" sounds more common.

In a rapidly changing climate, those memories may lead them astray.

Understanding the differences in rates means a better picture of our history.

The farther from the equator, the greater the seasonal swings.

Huge analysis shows how the answer changes depending on the question.

Containing the outbreak in a conflict-heavy region is challenging.

An overall downward trend reversed between 2016 and 2017.

Drug overdoses and suicide play an important role in the increasing death rate.

Study confirms rare paternal mitochondrial transmission in three families.

There’s overlap with risk for a range of other conditions and behaviors.

One reference genome doesn’t capture the huge variation in human DNA.

Desensitization trial shows success, but don’t try this at home...

Pathogenic E. coli outbreak across the US and Canada is under investigation.

Plenty of animals have ritual greetings. But most are not like this.

Multi-drug resistant gonorrhea is a rapidly growing threat.

Important details from a huge study have gotten lost in translation.

Woman in Tehran swallowed 30 lead-laced opium packs.

Generalizing from one group of chimps to the whole species is a sticky business.

Large historical analysis points to marriage choices skewing the stats.

Even when the vaccine is available, some parents are reluctant...

But the report illustrates how difficult it is to produce a precise figure.

The technique represents huge progress, but there’s still plenty of work to be done.

Symptom checkers didn’t always catch cases that needed emergency care.

But there’s a drop in species diversity, and some species never reappear.

The normally mild virus can be dangerous for already-sick people.

Millions of crowdfunded dollars are going to unsafe or ineffective therapies.

Male parenting in gorillas can give clues about the evolution of fatherhood.

Some tentative links are in place, but many crucial details are fuzzy.

There’s a lot to know about primate brains—in fact, we’ve barely scratched the surface.

Primate habitats overlap with the best regions for new palm oil plantations.

A famous experiment combined with genetic data is a potent source of new clues.

Getting it wrong has implications for healthcare, infrastructure, and climate.

Studying it could help us understand more about our bodies, brains, and emotions.

Their genes show how complicated insulin really is.

And narrow down the window of breeding between our species.

Regional language differences in the UK are retained centuries later in Suriname.

A simulation shows that large metabolisms were efficient enough for the tundra.

Social circle questions came closer to 2016 election results than standard polls.

Ancient genome analysis leaves horse ancestry as one giant question mark...

Ancient bird poop is surprisingly good at giving answers.

And things get wickedly complex in small populations.

A natural experiment helps to detangle how education and wealth are related.

The genetic jigsaw puzzle of an ex-slave in Iceland.

Do you say “dived” or “dove?" If it’s the latter, you may have the automobile to thank.

Do social pressures cause the evolution of big brains? The debate is ongoing.

The finding helps us understand why human childbirth is so dangerous.

“Broken windows” policing might lead to more crime, but it’s complicated.

Distraction results in a lower chance of their eggs getting the boot.

Study suggests how specialized visual recognition might develop.

The largest group of fishes may be 40 million years younger than we thought.

The results help to explain what causes audible hallucinations.

The biggest improvements are to neuroticism and extraversion.

Genomic, geographical, and cultural data join forces.

Newly dated human teeth back up existing genetic evidence.

Planning ahead means they’re even smarter than we thought.

Unwalkable cities, activity inequality, and obesity are a tricky blend.

The natural experiment suggests the carpool policy really helped.

Evidence for this migration is scant, but growing.

This “game changer” opens up a new world of possibilities.

Were humans migrating out of Africa much earlier than we realized?

It could lead to greater vaccine uptake, but could also risk free-riding.

But interpreting rudimentary DNA evidence requires some leaps.

Genetics seems to play a role.

Similarities in Native American genomes suggest adaptation in ancient history...

Does the test require self recognition, knowledge of how mirrors work, or both?

But we have no idea whether it’s evolutionarily valuable.

We really need long-term research on the topic.

Unexpected yet popular answers often turn out to be correct.

Some of the genes identified seem to be involved in bamboo digestion.

Bones and burial grounds point to male children getting better-quality food.

Tiny preliminary study suggests that it worked reasonably well.

A new cohort study shows the negative impact has reduced over time.

A mathematical model suggests maybe it’s not possible.

Global syphilis genome shows that a single strain is surprisingly widespread.

Better drivers switch between split- and whole-brain tasks more easily.

Evidence for socioeconomic risk factors has been elusive.

The emergence of multi-male groups seems to lead to a new kind of aggression.

House’s success rate might not be as high if he listened to his team.

Musical perception is, surprisingly, not shared by all humans.

A tiny selection against education, but it’s overwhelmed by cultural changes.

A meta-analysis of 88 studies on grit raises some questions about the concept.

Very old and very small Homo floresiensis-like remains found in Indonesia.

Surveillance might be more more effective deterrent than prison, researchers suggest.

But the association between stress and conspiracy theories is pretty limited.

Framing people’s choices differently could boost uptake, economists suggest.

And first class passengers seem to be enraged by the sight of the lower classes.

Amazon user ratings barely match up with Consumer Reports.

Just the potential of a follow-up results in increased turnout.

Studying these traits in tandem could help us understand them better.

Pairs of friends laugh differently from pairs of strangers.

Handwriting recognition algorithm suggests even lower-rank soldiers were writing.

The significance of the moral intent behind an action is weighed differently.

After recently correcting an error, H. floresiensis suddenly makes a bit more sense.

Do we think about thinking at a much younger age than we thought?

People in corrupt countries cheat more in a die-rolling experiment.

Study participants took emergency instructions from a robot they knew was faulty.

Consistent location, repetitive behavior have biologists scratching their heads.

Attractiveness gives us rose-tinted glasses when we’re judging intelligence.

Study reporting that high fat diet made mice fat somehow makes headlines.

A new study highlights a fascinating idea for using a multisensory neurological condition to explore bigger psychological questions

The human vision system has tricks up its sleeve that computers can’t yet match.

Test scores decline as a school day wears on, but they bounce back after a break.

Believers in punishing, all-knowing gods seem to cheat other believers less.

But relevance is unclear, as the participants faced no consequences for confessing.

Study looking at negative impacts of video games finds small effects.

Even tiny groups of humans would have had the tech to out-compete Neanderthals.

Playful behavior could give clues about why they’re so smart.

Recalibrated genetic evidence better matches the fossil record.

But very differently from the way we process music.

Although the two are linked, there seems to be another cause underlying both.

If products you like keep getting discontinued, get used to it.

Genetic problems in dogs go far beyond just inbreeding.

Meta-analysis finds link with openness, not neuroticism or disagreeableness.

Selectively lazy reasoning makes us go easy on ourselves, hard on others.

A look at the DNA of village dogs points to the region near Mongolia and Tibet.

Three experiments found no difference in conspiracists’ information processing...

An unusual immigration process from Switzerland could inform policy-making.

Test results are explained by different genes from other cognitive abilties.

Recent discoveries point to shared traits and blurred borders with our closest relatives.

Health agency’s report on e-cigarettes used shaky evidence, ignored conflicts of interest.

More morally aware babies also prefer good characters to bad ones.

Large in-pub experiment finds that alcohol levels don’t make people prettier.

The first European agriculturalists, some 7,000 years ago, may have met a bloody end.

Pre-registering big drug trials resulted in fewer drugs having a positive effect.

Whistled Turkish is processed equally by both sides of the brain.

Lenders on a large microfinance site have biased preferences based on looks.

Accounting for binge drinking would make for more realistic and helpful guidelines.

A language universal would bring evidence to Chomsky’s controversial theories.

Well, not quite, but buildings are too cold because they’re optimised for men.

Genetics may play a role in developing curiosity, motivation, and other traits.

Engineers use biomimetics to turn water surface tension into a launchpad.

Another study showed a strong correlation between thinking type and cognitive ability.

Biases against facial characteristics might have chilling real-world effects...

But the difference in male-female mortality rates is still not properly understood.

An opportunity to play with some of the UK’s most cutting-edge science, for free.

It’s vital that people discuss medical decisions with health professionals.

Making cities friendly for cyclists demands a design rethink...

Phone and social media data show behavioural changes long before official stats.

First known case of wild vertebrates cloning themselves and surviving.

Having a person speak a chatbot’s answers changes people’s perceptions of the AI.

Research suggests cooperative gamers play nicer, even when the game is violent.

Despite what far too many headlines and reports are trumpeting.

Ancient bones tell the story of the earliest confirmed case of British leprosy.

Small twin study finds a genetic component to mosquito attraction.

Oyster card data could help authorities respond to unplanned disruptions faster.

After using search engines, people overestimate their ability to explain ideas.

Confounding factors like poverty can’t account for the total increase in risk.

“Molecular national selfie” combines genetics with historical and medical data.

Families with abuse histories might be more scrutinized by social services.

Study finds new evidence that intelligence is “environmentally malleable.”...

Y chromosome diversity suggests male reproductive bottleneck 8,000 years ago.

But most moral decisions are still influenced by prior commitments...

Analysis shows less Viking DNA than expected, and no single group of Celts.

“Hearing” isn’t always hearing, and many voices are friendly.

Childhood objects could shape people’s letter–color associations.

Despite what recent research suggests, no, probably not.

Faster diagnostic tests, new drugs, and better policies are vital.

The indirect ancestor of modern humans lived 2.8 million years ago.

And boys should be vaccinated as well as girls.

If you claim you’re a doctor online, people may trust you more than the CDC.

The upper class isn’t less ethical, just more likely to lie for selfish reasons.

But it’s a challenging thing to study in birds.

We can’t assume that human migration affects language and genes the same way.

Implanting a false memory of committing a crime is easier than you think.

Stone tool techniques are transmitted better through teaching than imitation.

Personality types combine with urban traits to influence life satisfaction.

People who read a passage that contradicted their viewpoint saw it as opinion.

Two wrongs make a right, as vices and lack of control go well together.