ScienceDaily: Living Well News

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• Venus Transit: June 5-6 2012
• Where have all the hummingbirds gone?
• American teens are less likely than European teens to use cigarettes and alcohol, but more likely to use illicit drugs
• Psychology and the sporting life
• Monkey lip smacks provide new insights into the evolution of human speech
• Blanch your weeds, study suggests
• Who says girls can't compete athletically with boys?
• Four telltale signs of propaganda on Twitter
• Equality or hierarchy? Built-in hierachy leads to greater productivity and fewer conflicts
• Early exposure to microbes reduces inflammation related to chronic disease later
• TV viewing can decrease self-esteem in children, except white boys
• Does dinner make a strong family, or does a strong family make dinner?

Venus Transit: June 5-6 2012 Posted: 01 Jun 2012 08:17 PM PDT On June 5, 2012, at 6:03 PM EDT, the planet Venus will do something it has done only seven times since the invention of the telescope: cross in front of the sun. This transit is among the rarest of planetary alignments and it has an odd cycle. Two such Venus transits always occur within eight years of each other and then there is a break of either 105 or 121 years before it happens again.

Where have all the hummingbirds gone? Posted: 01 Jun 2012 08:17 PM PDT The glacier lily as it's called, is a tall, willowy plant that graces mountain meadows throughout western North America. It flowers early in spring, when the first bumblebees and hummingbirds appear.

American teens are less likely than European teens to use cigarettes and alcohol, but more likely to use illicit drugs Posted: 01 Jun 2012 08:13 PM PDT The U.S. had the second-lowest proportion of students who used tobacco and alcohol compared to their counterparts in 36 European countries, a new report indicates.

Psychology and the sporting life Posted: 31 May 2012 01:57 PM PDT The 2012 Olympics in London are about to start, and millions around the world will admire and ponder the mysteries of athletic performance. Psychological scientists are no exception. Researchers have examined how visual illusions improve sports performance, how attitudes and beliefs about competence determine performance and what exactly happens when we indulge in silly sports rituals.

Monkey lip smacks provide new insights into the evolution of human speech Posted: 31 May 2012 10:56 AM PDT Scientists have traditionally sought the evolutionary origins of human speech in primate vocalizations. But unlike these primate calls, human speech is produced using movements of the tongue, lips and jaw. Speech is also learned, while primate vocalizations are mostly innately structured. New research supports the idea that human speech evolved less from vocalizations than from communicative facial gestures.

Blanch your weeds, study suggests Posted: 31 May 2012 07:23 AM PDT You don't need to spray weedkiller to remove the weeds between your paving stones. Six treatments throughout the summer with either boiling water, steam or careful flaming will dispatch even the hardiest of unwanted plants.

Who says girls can't compete athletically with boys? Posted: 31 May 2012 07:22 AM PDT A new study that looked at performance differences between male and female childhood athletes found little difference in certain age groups, even though boys and girls rarely compete against each other in the US.

Four telltale signs of propaganda on Twitter Posted: 31 May 2012 07:17 AM PDT A new study identifies four characteristic behaviors of Twitter hyperadvocates, whose actions clearly separate them from the tweeting behavior of typical users.

Equality or hierarchy? Built-in hierachy leads to greater productivity and fewer conflicts Posted: 30 May 2012 12:23 PM PDT Despite our inclination to believe equality within a team or group is important, new research suggests that a built-in hierarchy leads to fewer group conflicts and higher productivity. Teams in which everyone has high power are likely to experience elevated levels of conflict, reduced role differentiations, less coordination and integration, and poorer productivity than teams with a broader distribution of power and status.

Early exposure to microbes reduces inflammation related to chronic disease later Posted: 30 May 2012 12:23 PM PDT American parents may want to rethink how much they protect their children from everyday germs. A new study done in lowland Ecuador finds no evidence of chronic low-grade inflammation -- associated with diseases of aging like cardiovascular disease. In contrast, about one-third of adults in the U.S. have chronically elevated C-reactive protein. Acute elevations in CRP are important for protection against infectious disease. When chronically produced, CRP is associated with chronic diseases.

TV viewing can decrease self-esteem in children, except white boys Posted: 30 May 2012 07:01 AM PDT If you are a white girl, a black girl or a black boy, exposure to today's electronic media in the long run tends to make you feel worse about yourself. If you're a white boy, you'll feel better, according to a new study. The study also found that black children in their study spent, on average, an extra 10 hours a week watching television.

Does dinner make a strong family, or does a strong family make dinner? Posted: 29 May 2012 10:35 AM PDT The family meal is often touted and encouraged for its social and health benefits, but a new study questions the nature of this association, finding that the perceived benefits may not be as strong or as lasting once a number of factors are controlled for.

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