Psychology

Source: DW- top storiesAll it takes is one night's sleep in a lab, during which physiological signals are recorded, for a new artificial intelligence model to estimate a person's risk for about 130 diseases later in life, including Parkinson's disease, dementia, heart disease, and cancers of the prostate and breast. The study, published in Nature Medicine and based on data from 65,000 sleepers, found the model could make such predictions years before the first...

Source: PsyPostA new study has found that heterosexual men with higher levels of general intelligence are less likely to engage in abusive or coercive behaviors toward their romantic partners. The findings, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, suggest that cognitive ability may play a role in how men manage conflict and commitment in heterosexual relationships. General intelligence was measured with the International Cognitive...

Source: Science Daily - Top HealthA large review of studies suggests that exercise can ease depression about as effectively as psychological therapy. Compared with antidepressants, exercise showed similar benefits, although the evidence was less certain. The analysis, based on data from 73 randomized controlled trials involving nearly 5,000 adults diagnosed with depression, suggested that light to moderate activity over multiple sessions worked best, with few side effects.

Source: PsyPostA new study explores how artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping social media interactions by generating images that manipulate user emotions and exploit cognitive shortcuts. The research, published in Computers in Human Behavior, suggests that specific visual themes, such as nostalgic rural scenes or neglected children, effectively bypass critical thinking and prompt genuine engagement from users.

Source: Science Daily - Top HealthTeens and young adults who sleep in on weekends may be giving their mental health a boost. A new study found that young people who made up for lost weekday sleep had a 41 percent lower risk of depressive symptoms. Although consistent sleep is still best, weekend catch-up sleep is also linked to well-being. The findings, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, add to growing evidence that sleep plays a critical role in adolescent mental...

Source: Science Daily - Top HealthResearchers in Japan have recreated key human neural circuits in the lab using tiny brain models called assembloids. These structures are designed to mimic how different parts of the human brain connect and communicate. Using this system, the scientists showed that the thalamus plays a central role in shaping specialized neural circuits within the human cerebral cortex. The study appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the...

Source: United Nations NewsA sweeping U.N. human rights report released Wednesday concludes that in the occupied West Bank, Israel is violating international law prohibiting racial segregation and apartheid, warning that the discriminatory practices have accelerated dramatically since late 2022 amid growing violence, repression, and impunity. The report, by the U.N. human rights office, describes a decades-long system of discrimination that has sharply intensified since...

Source: The Guardian - Climate CrisisDonald Trump has sparked outrage by announcing the U.S. will exit the foundational international agreement to address climate change, cementing the country's isolation from the global effort to confront dangerously rising temperatures. In a memorandum issued Wednesday, Trump withdrew from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and quit 65 organizations, agencies, and commissions, calling them "contrary to the interests of the United...

Source: Politico HealthcareIn a first for the U.S., Utah is letting artificial intelligence renew certain medical prescriptions—no human involved. The state has launched a pilot program with health-tech startup Doctronic that allows an AI system to handle routine prescription renewals for patients with chronic conditions. The initiative is a high-stakes test of whether AI can safely take on one of health care's most sensitive tasks and how far that could spread beyond...

Source: PBS News HourAuschwitz survivor Eva Schloss, the stepsister of teenage diarist Anne Frank and a tireless educator about the horrors of the Holocaust, has died at 96. Britain's King Charles III said he was "privileged and proud" to have known Schloss. "The horrors that she endured as a young woman are impossible to comprehend and yet she devoted the rest of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding and...

Source: NPR American hunger looks very different from the stereotype of malnourished children trying to survive famine in a low-income country. In the U.S., hunger is often much less obvious, but it's there—in the disruptive behavior of a third-grader who missed breakfast or the chronic anxiety of parents carefully rationing boxes of cheap macaroni to their kids. In 2023, 13% of American households were considered "food insecure" by the U.S. Department of...

Source: Science Daily - Top HealthA massive global genetics study is reshaping how we understand mental illness—and why diagnoses so often pile up. By analyzing genetic data from more than six million people, researchers uncovered genetic connections across 14 psychiatric conditions, showing that many disorders share common biological roots. These findings, published in Nature, help explain why depression, anxiety, PTSD, schizophrenia, and other disorders so frequently occur...

Source: PBS News HourSchools are facing a growing problem of students using artificial intelligence to transform innocent images of classmates into sexually explicit video and photo "deepfakes." This problem was highlighted recently when AI-generated nude images swept through a Louisiana middle school. Two boys ultimately were charged, but not before one of the victims was expelled for starting a fight with a boy she accused of creating the images of her and her...

Source: Science Daily - Top HealthResearchers have discovered that clogged brain "drains" show up early in people at risk of Alzheimer's disease. These blockages, easily seen on standard MRI scans, are tied to toxic protein buildup linked to memory loss and cognitive decline. In some cases, they may signal Alzheimer's earlier than other commonly used brain markers, which could help physicians detect the disease before irreversible damage sets in. The findings appear in the...

Source: Canadian Broadcasting Company - World NewsElon Musk's xAI is under international scrutiny over allegations that it is filling its platform with sexualized, AI-generated images of women and minors. A review of content on X, xAI's social media platform, found more than 20 cases in which women—and some men—had images digitally stripped of clothing using the AI company's chatbot, Grok. Ministers in France said in a statement Friday that the "sexual and sexist" content was "manifestly...

Source: PsyPostA new study has found that personality traits associated with masculinity may influence alcohol use following romantic conflicts. The findings suggest that individuals with higher levels of masculine orientation—regardless of their biological sex—are more likely to drink alcohol after a disagreement, largely due to the intense negative emotions they experience. The findings appear in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.

Source: Science Daily - Top HealthA new study suggests that disruptions in the body's internal clock may be tied to a higher risk of dementia. Research published on December 29, 2025, in the journal Neurology found that people with weaker and more irregular circadian rhythms were far more likely to develop dementia than other people. The study also showed that individuals whose daily activity levels peaked later in the day faced a higher risk than those who peaked earlier.

Source: APA MonitorThe number of psychologists who can prescribe medication is growing rapidly. Since New Mexico became the first state to allow licensed psychologists to prescribe in 2002, the field has grown from a few dozen to more than 300 today, with another 1,500 psychologists also holding master's degrees in clinical psychopharmacology. This growth has prompted the American Psychological Association to update its guidelines related to the prescription of...

Source: APA MonitorOnce the realm of science fiction, human-AI relationships are becoming normal aspects of daily life. While generative AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini have become common tools for many users, a new wave of AI apps—such as Replika, Character.AI, and dozens more—are specifically designed to simulate human companionship, in some cases even initiating and maintaining romantic relationships.

Source: APA MonitorIn 2025 many new laws and executive orders posed major challenges to the field's core priorities, including health equity, access to care, and research funding. Amid those changes, record numbers of psychologists began joining APA's advocacy initiatives, meeting with policymakers, and responding to action alerts. By late September 2025, psychologists had sent over 110,000 messages to Congress and regulatory agencies—nearly triple the total for...

Source: APA MonitorHistorically, psychologists have relied on patients' self-reported symptoms and history to diagnose mental health conditions, often followed by a potentially lengthy period to determine which treatment—if any—improves the symptoms. Now, psychologists are using a patient's brain scans plus data from phones and wearables to determine the best intervention before beginning treatment, coupled with AI, to bypass trial-and-error efforts and...

Source: Politico Energy and ClimateOn a 5,800-acre swath of dusty plains outside the Pantex nuclear weapons plant, crews are piling up mounds of dirt for a colossal monument to Donald Trump's presidency: the world's largest private energy grid and AI campus, run partly on nuclear power and named the Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus. "A real superpower has nuclear submarines, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and nuclear-powered AI," said the CEO. "This is a...

Source: PBS News HourTourists celebrating the new year in Hawaii could become the first to be taxed to address the consequences of climate change. In Utah, people who get caught driving drunk could be among the first to have their driver's licenses striped red with the label: "No Alcohol Sale." And motorists in Georgia could become the first to display the stylings of President Donald Trump with a special "America First" vehicle license plate.

Source: PBS News HourMany consumers feel pride in avoiding the glazed pastries in the supermarket and instead opting for "all natural" granola packed with extra protein. Same goes for low-fat yogurts and bottled "superfood" smoothies. But buyer beware: food buzzwords often cover up a high amount of sugar, which is linked to heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. People should get no more than 10% of their calories from added sugar—a bit more than what's in a single...

Source: PsyPostWhen headlines begin with attention-grabbing words like "Shocking," readers initially tend to doubt the accuracy of the information presented. However, new research finds that this skepticism fades over time, leading people to eventually believe the claims made in those headlines. These findings, published in the journal Communication Research, suggest that clickbait-style language might be effective at planting information that people later...

Source: Google News - HealthA new computational model of the brain has not only learned a visual category learning task as well as lab animals, but even enabled the discovery of counterintuitive activity by a group of neurons that researchers working with animals to perform the same task had not noticed before, reports a team of scientists in the journal Nature Communications. Notably, the model produced these achievements without ever being trained on data from animal...

Source: CBS News - ScienceA heavy reliance on fossil fuels has now pushed earth beyond the three-year temperature average set in the 2015 Paris Agreement of limiting warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius since preindustrial times. Experts have said for more than a decade that limiting warming to 1.5 degrees could prevent catastrophic environmental destruction around the globe. Extreme weather events already kill thousands of people annually and are projected to...

Source: NPR Teen use of AI chatbots is growing, and experts are now warning that extended chatbot interactions may affect kids' social development and mental health. These concerns have also been fueled by recent U.S. Senate testimony about two teenagers who killed themselves after chatbots encouraged them to carry out suicide plans. Here's what parents should know to help kids use the technology safely.

Source: Science Daily - Top HealthResearchers have grown pea-sized "mini-brains" in the lab that are offering an unprecedented look at how neurons behave in cases of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Such studies reveal distinct electrical firing patterns that could identify these conditions with high accuracy, opening the door to more precise diagnoses and personalized drug testing. Instead of guessing medications, doctors may one day see what works before treating the...

Source: CBS News - U.S. NewsOpenAI is seeking a new "head of preparedness" to guide the company's safety strategy amid mounting concerns over how artificial intelligence tools could be misused. According to the job posting, the new hire will be paid $555,000. "This will be a stressful job," CEO Sam Altman wrote in an X post over the weekend. He added, "models are improving quickly and are now capable of many great things, but they are also starting to present some real...