Author: dispatchtimes news

An analysis of data from the Chicago Health and Aging Project suggests that daily fluctuations in salivary cortisol may help predict cognitive decline in older adults. The study found that those with medium to high intraday cortisol variability started with higher cognitive functioning and experienced slower decline, while the highest average cortisol levels were linked to faster cognitive deterioration. The research was published in JAMA Network Open. As people age, cognitive function can deteriorate, with memory, processing speed, attention and executive function common areas of decline. Chronic stress is thought to contribute to this process by repeatedly activating the body’s…

A major U.S. study published in Nature Human Behaviour has found that providing low-income mothers with a substantial monthly cash stipend during their child’s first four years slows the pace of biological aging in their children, as measured by epigenetic clocks. The Baby’s First Years project randomised 735 children and 777 mothers across four metropolitan areas, with households assigned to receive either $333 or $20 a month for the first four years of life, via debit cards with no spending restrictions. Biological aging in this study was assessed through DNA methylation, a process whereby chemical tags attached to DNA influence…

A new study published in Nature Communications finds robust but independent sex differences across how the brain functions, its structure and associated behaviours. Researchers Siyuan Liu and Armin Raznahan, working at the National Institute of Mental Health, show that while functional activation, grey matter volume and behavioural traits each reliably distinguish male and female profiles, the degree of sex typicality in one domain bears no relation to the others. The team analysed data from nearly 1,000 healthy young adults who underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing seven different tasks. The tasks spanned emotion processing, gambling, relational reasoning, social cognition,…

A nationally representative survey in the United States suggests public support for political violence decreased heading into the 2026 midterm elections, even as partisan tensions remained high. The research indicates that while people at large reject the use of physical force to pursue political aims, MAGA supporters were still more inclined than others to justify violence. The findings come from a mid-2026 wave of an ongoing, annual study conducted under the direction of Garen J. Wintemute, a distinguished professor of emergency medicine and the Baker-Teret Chair in Violence Prevention at the University of California, Davis. The work was published as…

A qualitative study into unicorn pursuit within consensual non-monogamy reveals that couples who seek a third partner often focus on their own pleasure, but the search process itself can also strengthen the existing relationship through improved communication and mutual understanding. The findings, published in Psychology & Sexuality, shed new light on how these dynamics unfold in practice. In this arrangement, established couples invite a third person to join their romantic or sexual life. The third participant, commonly referred to as a unicorn, is perceived as rare and highly sought after, with many searches traditionally centring on a bisexual woman as…

A new study published in Imaging Neuroscience suggests that a ten-minute very slow jog can lift mood and sharpen focus. Led by Hideaki Soya, a professor emeritus at the Institute of Health and Sport Sciences at the University of Tsukuba, and Ryuta Kuwamizu, an assistant professor there, alongside Chorphaka Damrongthai and colleagues at the Soya Laboratory, the work examined how the gentlest form of running affects the brain and mood. Humans have a long evolutionary history of running, a movement long linked with broad physical and mental health benefits. The prefrontal cortex, the region behind the forehead involved in complex…

A new study published in Aggression and Violent Behaviour has found that a taste for excitement and risk—sensation seeking—is associated with higher levels of antisocial behaviour, while there is little evidence that resting heart rate itself causes such conduct. The research, led by Timon G. Udo of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, analysed data from the Netherlands Twin Register and points to sensation seeking as a potential focal point for future prevention efforts. Antisocial behaviour refers to actions that break social rules or disregard other people’s rights and feelings. It can include aggression, deceit, rule-breaking, vandalism and violence. High levels of antisocial…

A British university study suggests that people harbouring unconscious doubts about their self-worth, or a misalignment between their conscious and automatic self-evaluations, notice subtle facial cues of anger and disgust more quickly than others. The findings, published in Personality and Individual Differences, link this heightened perceptual sensitivity to concerns about social rejection and to poorer interpersonal wellbeing. Self-esteem is typically described as how much a person values themselves, but psychologists divide it into two layers: explicit self-esteem, the conscious sense of self-worth, and implicit self-esteem, automatic evaluations that operate beneath awareness. A mismatch between the two—self-esteem discrepancy—can occur when someone…

A USC-led study in rats suggests the digestive system talks to the brain during meals to help remember where food was found. The research proposes a nutrient-triggered nerve pathway that releases a memory-boosting chemical in the hippocampus, and finds that a junk-food diet in early life can disrupt this gut-brain memory signalling. The vagus nerve, described as a sprawling information highway between the body and brain, carries metabolic data from the gut to the central nervous system. This signaling is known to help maintain energy balance and regulate how much an animal eats, but the latest work extends its reach…

A sweeping meta-analysis spanning six decades of protest research concludes that people who join demonstrations are driven more by social connections and political interest than by personal grievances or distrust of government. The study, published in Science Advances, identifies key factors behind micromobilisation and pinpoints who is most likely to take to the streets. The work is led by Shelley Boulianne of Mount Royal University in Canada and Jennifer Earl of the University of Delaware, with collaborators from Lund University. The researchers focused on physical marches and demonstrations, ensuring a like-for-like comparison across actions rather than mixing in online petitions…