http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. There has been a major increase in the incidence of autism over the last twenty years. While people have differing opinions as to why this is (environment, vaccines, mother's age, better diagnostic practice, more awareness etc.) there are still many children who have autistic traits that are never diagnosed clinically. Therefore, they do not receive the support they need through educational or health services. http://phys.org/news188483574.html Medicine & Health Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:50:01 EST news188483574 A new study suggests a trend toward developing hyperactivity among typically developing elementary-school-aged siblings of autistic preschoolers and supports the notion that mothers of young, autistic children experience more depression and stress than mothers with typically developing children. http://phys.org/news187276918.html Medicine & Health Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:22:26 EST news187276918 Scientists have pinpointed how a key hormone helps animals to recognise others by their smell. http://phys.org/news186238048.html Biology Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:00:02 EST news186238048 A genetic link between schizophrenia and autism is enabling researchers to study the effectiveness of drugs used to treat both illnesses. http://phys.org/news186214402.html Medicine & Health Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:13:45 EST news186214402 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists studying ants have discovered that when they are seriously ill they voluntarily go away from the nest to die, which reduces the chances of them passing their infection to nest mates. http://phys.org/news185522245.html Biology Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:00:01 EST news185522245 (PhysOrg.com) -- Social support is crucial to the health of rural women in Canada. As rural communities shrink and their sport facilities deteriorate, rural women - already struggling for equal status in many areas of social life - are seeing their opportunities for group activity and social interaction disappear. http://phys.org/news184524166.html Other Sciences Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:00:01 EST news184524166 People who spend a lot of time browsing the net are more likely to show depressive symptoms, according to the first large-scale study of its kind in the West by University of Leeds psychologists. http://phys.org/news184394600.html Medicine & Health Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:43:58 EST news184394600 People with Parkinson's disease suffer social difficulties simply because of the way they talk, a McGill University researcher has discovered. Marc Pell, at McGill's School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, has learned that many people develop negative impressions about individuals with Parkinson's disease, based solely on how they communicate. http://phys.org/news184336456.html Medicine & Health Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:35:34 EST news184336456 The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said that change is the only constant. People change, organizations change, the way people and institutions interact changes over time. Change affects social interactions and the natural world, and it even plays a role in how networks such as air traffic control and banking systems function. http://phys.org/news183807195.html Biology Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:33:37 EST news183807195 Neurobehavioral researchers at Rush University Medical Center have found three key factors in a child's behavior that can lead to social rejection. The studies are a crucial step in developing scientifically sound screening tests and treatment planning for social-emotional learning difficulties. The results from the studies are published in the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. http://phys.org/news183213902.html Medicine & Health Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:45:45 EST news183213902 (PhysOrg.com) -- Understanding their dissatisfied customers and acting on the knowledge will help companies save money and reshape the way they conduct business, according to research by Heidi Kevoe Feldman, an assistant professor of communication studies at Northeastern. http://phys.org/news182626771.html Other Sciences Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:39:48 EST news182626771 Parents are acutely aware of the influence of friends on their children's behavior -- how they dress, how they wear their hair, whether they drink or smoke. http://phys.org/news182441042.html Medicine & Health Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:20:01 EST news182441042 (PhysOrg.com) -- Victoria University graduate Jared Thomas spent many hours riding buses and trains in the greater Wellington region as part of his PhD research. http://phys.org/news182421333.html Other Sciences Mon, 11 Jan 2010 09:40:02 EST news182421333 Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) process sound and language a fraction of a second slower than children without ASDs, and measuring magnetic signals that mark this delay may become a standardized way to diagnose autism. http://phys.org/news182177052.html Medicine & Health Fri, 08 Jan 2010 13:10:04 EST news182177052 (PhysOrg.com) -- Similarities between webs of terrorists and networks of rescue personnel may seem unlikely. To an eclectic collaboration of engineers and social scientists, the connections are not only possible, but a potential source of deep insights. http://phys.org/news180371964.html Other Sciences Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:30:02 EST news180371964 (PhysOrg.com) -- When it comes to the workings of the Web, the brain, or a social network, physics finds universal truths. http://phys.org/news179766565.html Physics Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:10:09 EST news179766565 (PhysOrg.com) -- Thanks to the Internet and online social networks (OSNs) news and gossip now spread literally like wildfire -- uncontrollably and seemingly without any order. But according to one Ryerson researcher, there is method to the madness. With the right mathematical model, you could spot when and where a story starts, then watch as it skips across the Internet. One day, similar models could even detect and track terrorist cells within OSNs. http://phys.org/news179607879.html Other Sciences Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:20:01 EST news179607879 Scientists from the University of Zurich have discovered the physiological mechanisms in the brain that underlie broken promises. Patterns of brain activity even enable predicting whether someone will break a promise. The results of the study conducted by Dr. Thomas Baumgartner and Professor Ernst Fehr, both of the University of Zurich, and Professor Urs Fischbacher of the University of Konstanz, will be published in the journal Neuron on December 10, 2009. http://phys.org/news179585680.html Medicine & Health Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:20:01 EST news179585680 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, are challenging long-held beliefs that human beings are wired to be selfish. In a wide range of studies, social scientists are amassing a growing body of evidence to show we are evolving to become more compassionate and collaborative in our quest to survive and thrive. http://phys.org/news179512429.html Other Sciences Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:34:54 EST news179512429 "Why is it that men can be bastards and women must wear pearls and smile?" wrote author Lynn Hecht Schafran. The answer, according to an article in the Journal of Vision, may lie in our interpretation of facial expressions. http://phys.org/news179170846.html Medicine & Health Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:42:02 EST news179170846 A novel early intervention program for very young children with autism - some as young as 18 months - is effective for improving IQ, language ability, and social interaction, a comprehensive new study has found. http://phys.org/news178781035.html Medicine & Health Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:40:02 EST news178781035 A high-fat, high-sugar diet could have the same effect on brain chemistry as mood-altering drugs, giving scientific support to the craving for "comfort food", Australian researchers said Tuesday. http://phys.org/news178270511.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:20:02 EST news178270511 (PhysOrg.com) -- Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders marked by impaired social interactions, restricted interests, repetitive behaviors, and communication impairment, which persist throughout a person's lifetime. The ASD prevalence rate--the number of individuals diagnosed with autism--has been steadily increasing over time. http://phys.org/news176582022.html Medicine & Health Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:10:01 EST news176582022 (PhysOrg.com) -- If your best friend is a guy from "The Office" or a young doctor on "Grey's Anatomy," you may be relying too much on TV shows to fill a social void in your life. http://phys.org/news175970817.html Other Sciences Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:48:06 EST news175970817 (PhysOrg.com) -- Psychology researchers have found the sound of the human voice can be recognised by the brain in less than one fifth of a second. http://phys.org/news175969377.html Medicine & Health Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:40:01 EST news175969377 Positive social interactions exist within Drosophila: when in a group, Drosophila flies have better memory than when they are isolated. Thomas Preat's team at the Laboratoire de Neurobiologie (CNRS, France) has recently highlighted this phenomenon through olfactory memory tests. http://phys.org/news175279636.html Biology Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:00:01 EST news175279636 Music serves as a natural and non-invasive intervention for patients with severe neurological disorders to promote long-term memory, social interaction and communication. However, there is currently no plausible explanation of its neural basis for why and how music affects physical and psychosocial responses. http://phys.org/news175257288.html Medicine & Health Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:00:01 EST news175257288 Standing out in a crowd is better than blending in, at least if you're a paper wasp in a colony where fights between nest-mates determine social status. http://phys.org/news174827689.html Biology Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:15:46 EST news174827689 Seismic surveys used for oil and gas prospecting on the sea floor are a disturbance for blue whales, the world's biggest animal and one of its rarest species, biologists reported on Wednesday. http://phys.org/news172909374.html Biology Wed, 23 Sep 2009 07:50:04 EST news172909374 (PhysOrg.com) -- According to recent studies, young children learn best through social interaction. Andrew Meltzoff and his colleagues at the University of Washington are studying an emerging field called the "Science of Learning," which re-evaluates how children learn in formal and informal settings. http://phys.org/news171869508.html Other Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2009 06:32:24 EST news171869508