Listening to Music After Surgery Lowers Pain and Anxiety

Summary: A new study suggests that listening to music after surgery can significantly reduce pain, anxiety, and even heart rate, aiding recovery. An analysis of 35 studies found that patients…

Video Games Boost Cognition, Exercise Improves Mental Health

Summary: A large-scale study has found that playing video games boosts cognitive abilities, but has no impact on mental health, while exercise improves mental well-being without affecting cognition. Over 1,000…

World’s First Face and Whole-Eye Transplant Marks Surgical Breakthrough

Summary: A surgical team successfully performed the world’s first combined face and whole-eye transplant, marking a significant advancement in transplant surgery. The operation, performed on a military veteran, involved more…

When Does Election Debunking Work? New Model Provides Insights

Summary: A study using a computational model reveals factors that influence whether debunking efforts about disputed election results will persuade people to change their beliefs. The model shows that debunking…

Florida’s anti-vaccine surgeon general takes his disinformation campaign on the road with RFK, Jr., anti-vaxxers, and Nazi-promoting ‘health specialists’

Florida has much going for it, but the state’s public health system doesn’t make the list. The opprobrium is largely due to its head, Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo. He is…

People Empathize with Bullied AI Bots

Summary: People empathize with AI bots excluded from a virtual game, treating them like social beings in need of fairness. Participants favored giving the AI bot a fair chance in…

Is identity or diversity key to managing disease in crops? – Functional Ecologists

In this post, Seraina Cappelli – postdoctoral fellow at University of Minnesota – presents her work ‘The potential of undersown species identity vs. diversity to manage disease in crops’. She…

Dr Saheed Olaide Jimoh – Functional Ecologists

For Black History Month 2024, the British Ecological Society (BES) journals are celebrating the work of Black ecologists around the world and sharing their stories. In this blog, Dr Saheed…

Carnivorous plants eat faster with a fungal friend

Insects have plenty to beware when it comes to carnivorous plants. Add an acid-loving fungus to that list of dangers. Sundew plants have tentacle-like leaves that curl around and entrap…

Exploring the sustainable challenges of genetically modified crops

Genetically modified (GM) crops are widely used around the world, but their effects on the environment need to be explored more. New research, published in Science on August 30, 2024,…