Report Says Abortions Aimed at Girls Are Increasing in India

"A new study finds that among affluent, educated families, sex-selective abortions of girls have spread nationwide during the past two decades."

Galactic Census Confirms Existence of Mysterious 'Dark Energy'

"A census of 200,000 galaxies may confirm that the mysterious force of dark energy is what is pulling the universe apart at ever-increasing speeds, a new study finds."

Study Reveals Changing Role of iPads, Tablet PCs

A new Nielson study shows that "70 percent of tablet owners and 68 percent of smartphone owners use their devices while watching television."

With Money Tight, Report Says States and Colleges Should Focus on Productivity

"The University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs convened a panel of elected officials, higher-education leaders, and policy experts in December to discuss how colleges can better contribute to economic growth."

Default Rate on Federal Student Loans Jumps to 8.9%, a Nearly 2-Point Rise

"The rate at which students defaulted on their federal loans in the two-year period ending September 30, 2010, was 8.9 percent, an increase of nearly two percentage points over the two-year rate for the previous year, according to draft data released on Friday by the U.S. Department of Education."

U.S. Smart Grid to Cost Billions, Save Trillions

"A planned modernization of the U.S. national power grid will cost up to $476 billion over the next 20 years but will provide up to $2 trillion in customer benefits over that time, according to industry experts."

Poorer African States Put Children First: Study

"The oil-rich governments of Sudan and Angola are among the worst in Africa for looking after children, while poorer Tanzania, Mozambique and Niger are the best, a study showed on Tuesday."

Majors and Salaries

"Statistics say that a college freshman looking to make money upon graduation would be well-served by majoring in science, getting a graduate degree, and moving into a managerial role later in life. He should stay away from arts and education fields, which are financial and vocational dead-ends."

Sea Levels Set to Rise By Up to a Metre: Report

"Sea levels are set to rise by up to a metre within a century due to global warming, a new Australian report said Monday as it warned this could make "once-a-century" coastal flooding much more common."

How People Really Use The Internet For Health

"Eighty percent of adults who use the Internet have looked online for health info. Two-thirds have looked up a specific disease or medical problem. More than half have checked for info on a particular treatment, drug or procedure."

Alien Solar Systems Much Different Than Our Own

"Alien solar systems with multiple planets appear to be common in our galaxy, but most of them are quite different than our own, a new study finds."

Slow Turnover Rate for CEOs

"About 11.6% of CEOs left their job last year, the slowest rate of turnover since 2003, according to an analysis of 2,500 public companies released Tuesday by consulting firm Booz & Co. The rate dropped from 14.3% in 2009."

Want to Be Heard? Try Changing the Way You Talk

"The researchers found that telemarketers with certain vocal characteristics were far more persuasive than others. . .Overall, the study found, the ideal manner of speech is not too fast but not too slow, not overly animated, and punctuated with frequent, short pauses."

30% of Girls' Clothing Is Sexualized in Major Sales Trend

"Almost a third of girls' clothing for sale at 15 major retailers has sexualizing characteristics, a new study finds, a trend that psychologists say can encourage girls to view themselves as sex objects at an early age."

Arthritis, Obesity Make Each Other Worse

"When arthritis and obesity occur together they can create a barrier to physical activity, each condition helping make the other worse, U.S. officials say."

Who Lasts in Love May Be Determined By Mom

"The researchers suggest supportive, involved mothering in toddlerhood and an ability to work through conflict in adolescence are good predictors of becoming a 'strong link' -- the person with the bigger stake -- in adult relationships."

College's Value Goes Deeper Than the Degree, Graduates Say

"In the Pew survey, all respondents were asked about the 'main purpose' of college. Forty-seven percent said 'to teach knowledge and skills that can be used in the workplace,' 39 percent said "to help an individual grow personally and intellectually," and 12 percent said 'both equally.'"

Private Colleges Increased Aid as Economy Sank, Tuition-Discounting Survey Finds

"Private colleges spent an amount equivalent to about 37 percent of all of their tuition and fee revenue on scholarships for students in the fall of 2010, an all-time high, according to an annual 'tuition discounting' survey."

Divorce Rates Falling, Report Finds

". . .a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau finds divorce rates for most age groups have been dropping since 1996 by an average of about 5 percentage points. One reason that fewer couples landed in divorce court may be that people were waiting longer to get married and that about a third of men and women ages 25 to 29 have never married."

30% in U.S. Have Never Married, Census Says

"Thirty percent of Americans have never been married — the largest percentage in the past 60 years, says the U.S. Census."

Hispanics Lead U.S. Embrace of Mobile Technology

"The report points out that Hispanics have been leading the U.S. population in terms of embracing mobile technology. For example, last summer Pew found that more than 87 percent of English-speaking U.S. Hispanics owned a cell phone, vs. 80 percent of non-Hispanic whites."

Study: Changes Of 1960s Behind Church's Abuse Crisis

"Why did the Roman Catholic Church experience a sexual abuse crisis? There are no simple answers, according to a five-year study by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice that was released on Wednesday. But the reasons suggested in the report are unlikely to satisfy critics of the church."

Coffee May Protect Men From Prostate Cancer

"Coffee is good for men, according to research released Tuesday from the Harvard School of Public Health. Those who who drink the most coffee — regular or decaffeinated — have the least risk for prostate cancer, especially the deadliest forms of the disease, the study found."

Study Suggest Water on Distant Planet

"Mounting evidence indicates a planet orbiting a star 20 light years away could be the first habitable planet other than Earth, French researchers say."

South to Lose 23 Million Acres of Forest Over 50 Years

"The South is projected to loose 23 million acres of forest or about the size of South Carolina, over the next 50 years, the U.S. Forest Service said in a report on Tuesday."

Susquehanna Tops List of Nation's Most Endangered Rivers

"A national conservation group on Tuesday declared the 444-mile Susquehanna River in New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland to be the nation's most endangered due to use of a gas drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing in the region."

Study: Netflix is Biggest Source of Internet Traffic

"Move over, Web surfing. Netflix movies now take up more of the Internet pipes going into North American homes."

Poll: Americans as Unhappy as Ever with Congress

"Americans voted to turn over control of Congress to Republicans last fall, but a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds they remain as unhappy as they have ever been with Capitol Hill."

Study: 1 out of 3 Hospital ERs Have Closed Over the Last Two Decades

"Close to a third of emergency departments closed shop over the last two decades, a new study shows."

Biologists Announce Discovery of an Entirely New Branch of Life

"A new paper published in Nature magazine suggests that biologists in the U.K. have discovered an entirely new and unique branch in the tree of life."

Study: 'Old' Memories Confuse in Old Age

"U.S. researchers say memory problems in old age occur because pathways in the brain become degraded and the brain cannot accurately 'file' new information."

Black Youth Have Less Trouble if Mentored

"Community mentors can help rural African-American youths reduce anger or avoid legal problems and substance abuse, U.S. researchers suggested."

Report: Offshore Tax Havens Cost U.S. $100 Billion a Year

". . .a new report by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group states that many of the biggest U.S. companies who took advantage of government bailouts or rely on government contracts regularly hide their money from the IRS in overseas tax havens. Overall, the U.S. loses approximately $100 billion in tax revenues every year as corporations and individuals shelter their fortunes in foreign bank accounts."

Presidents Are Divided on Best Ways to Measure Quality

"When asked how the public should assess colleges, their leaders cited measures whose reliability is often questioned: graduation rates and accreditation."

Fewer Than Half of College Presidents Say Athletics Has Positive Financial Impact

"Only a quarter of college presidents at four-year public universities say intercollegiate athletics has a positive financial impact on their institutions, according to a new survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, in association with The Chronicle. Thirty-nine percent of presidents at four-year, private universities say it does."

Most Presidents Prefer No Tenure for Majority of Faculty

"Across higher education, a significant number say they would prefer long-term contracts for full-time professors."

Crisis of Confidence Among Presidents Threatens Colleges

"More than a third of presidents think the industry they lead is heading in the wrong direction."

Is College Worth It?

"The typical college graduate earns an estimated $650,000 more than the typical high school graduate over the course of a 40-year work life, according to a new analysis of census and college cost data by the Pew Research Center."

Facebook Can Serve as Personality Test

"Companies who want to know more about prospective employees can learn a lot by checking their Facebook profiles, according to a new study that compares the ubiquitous social media site to users' scores on a standard personality test."

Does Your Brain Take Naps While You're Awake?

"Have you ever been so exhausted that you feel basically half-asleep? Turns out, that may be what's literally going on in your brain, according to a new study published in Nature."

Economists: Lower Growth, Higher Oil Prices Coming

"A survey from the National Association for Business Economics predicts GDP will grow 2.8 percent this year — down from the group's February prediction that it would grow 3.3 percent."

Higher IQ Linked to Liberalism, Atheism

"More intelligent children may be more likely to grow up to be liberals, a researcher at the London School of Economics and Political Science suggests."

Scientists Find Genetic Link to Depression

"Scientists say they have discovered the first solid evidence that variations in some peoples' genes may cause depression -- one of the world's most common and costly mental illnesses."

Scientists Find "Master Switch" Gene for Obesity

"Scientists have found that a gene linked to diabetes and cholesterol is a 'master switch' that controls other genes found in fat in the body, and say it should help in the search for treatments for obesity-related diseases."

Religious Belief is Human Nature, Huge New Study Claims

"Religion comes naturally, even instinctively, to human beings, a massive new study of cultures all around the world suggests."

Pooh, Peter Rabbit & Clifford: Males Dominate Children's Books

"From Winnie the Pooh to Peter Rabbit to Clifford the Big Red Dog, male characters dominate kid literature. And a new study finds that gender equality in children's books hasn't necessarily improved over time."

Values, Peers Help Minority Students

"Family values and peers help secure academic success among African-American and Latino males facing discouraging challenges, a U.S. study says."

Study Links Lower Education to Faster Aging

"Researchers from Britain and the United States examined the length of sections of DNA known as telomeres from around 450 people taking part in a long-term health study and found that people who did less well at school had shorter telomeres, suggesting they may age faster."

For-Profit Colleges Fare Well in Report's Analysis of Costs to Students and Taxpayers

"Within 10 years of completing their programs, graduates of for-profits earn wages comparable to graduates of competitive colleges, the report says."

Jenny Craig Ranks as Top Diet By Consumer Reports

"Consumer Reports rates Jenny Craig as the top diet compared to five other commercial diets."

US Ranks 17 as Clean Tech Producer, China is No. 2

"Denmark earns the biggest share of its national revenue from producing windmills and other clean technologies, the United States is rapidly expanding its clean-tech sector, but no country can match China's pace of growth, according to a new report obtained by The Associated Press."

US Ranks 17 as Clean Tech Producer, China is No. 2

"Denmark earns the biggest share of its national revenue from producing windmills and other clean technologies, the United States is rapidly expanding its clean-tech sector, but no country can match China's pace of growth, according to a new report obtained by The Associated Press."

Grand Canyon Born by Continental Lift

The answer as to what formed the Grand Canyon "may lie deep beneath the plateau’s chiseled landscape, a study in the April 28 Nature suggests. Hot rock welling up from below invades the plateau, causing blobs to drip off the bottom."

Signs of Dark Matter From Minnesota Mine

"An experiment in Minnesota is the first to bolster a long-contested claim that detectors a continent away have found evidence of particles called WIMPs. WIMPs are theorized particles considered to be leading candidates for dark matter, invisible material believed to make up more than 80 percent of the matter in the universe."

Study Helps Explain Behavior of Superconductors

"A Rice University-led team of physicists this week offered up one of the first theoretical explanations of how two dissimilar types of high-temperature superconductors behave in similar ways."

For Most People, Antidepressants Don't Stop All Symptoms of Disease

"Even patients who appear to have a successful response to antidepressants may not experience total elimination of depression symptoms, a new study suggests. Some of the most common persisting symptoms include insomnia, sadness and decreased concentration."

Apple Usurps Google as World's Most Valuable Brand

"Apple has overtaken Google as the world's most valuable brand, ending a four-year reign by the Internet search leader, according to a new study by global brands agency Millward Brown."

Obese Men More Likely to get Counseling

"Obese men treated by male physicians are more apt to get weight-related counseling than obese women treated by a female physician, U.S. researchers say."

Renewables Could Be 80 Percent of Energy By 2050: U.N.

"Renewable sources such as solar, wind and hydropower could fulfill almost 80 percent of the world's energy demand by 2050 with the right policies, according to a U.N. report which won backing from governments on Monday."

In Massachusetts, Long Waits for Doctor Visits Common

"Almost everyone in Massachusetts has health insurance under a state mandate, but many doctors do not accept the subsidized insurance programs available to low-income residents, a new study shows."

Does Your Brain Take Naps While You're Awake?

"Have you ever been so exhausted that you feel basically half-asleep? Turns out, that may be what's literally going on in your brain, according to a new study published in Nature."

Climate Change Driving Up Food Costs

"Global warming has already taken a toll on the world's food production, driving up the price of food by as much as 20 percent, a new study shows."

How a Person Views Past Predicts Happiness

"How one thinks of the past affects how one feels in the present, with those who remember the past positively being happier than others, U.S. researchers say."

Tablet Sales Could Beat Laptops in U.S. By 2012

"The tablet computer has altered the PC world and tablet sales could outpace laptops in the United States as early as 2012, retailers and manufacturers say."

Survey: Educators Lack Training to Teach Online Safety

"America's K-12 teachers are ill-prepared to educate students on the basics of online safety, security and ethics, and more than a third of teachers receive no training in cybersecurity issues, according to a coalition of government and private technology experts who released a study today."

Study: Men More Likely to Say 'I Love You' First in Relationships

"A study appeared in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology that found that two-thirds of men in heterosexual relationships said those three little words first, often a full six weeks before the woman."

Overweight Exercise More Than People Think

"Just because someone is overweight does not mean he or she is not exercising or considering exercising, U.S. researchers suggest."

New Drugs Often Marketed Ahead of Crucial Data

"Data that could save money and help doctors make smarter treatment decisions are often unavailable at the time new medicines hit the market, according to U.S. researchers."

Foot-and-Mouth Disease Study Could Save Millions of Animals

"A paper out today in the journal Science could save the lives of millions of cattle, sheep, goats and pigs."

Study: Few Americans Accurately Monitor Calories

"Only 9% of people in the USA can accurately estimate the number of calories they should eat in a day, and 9% keep track of their calories every day."

Why Happiness Isn't Always Good: Asians vs. Americans

"In a new paper in the journal Emotion, a team of psychologists at the University of Washington finds that not everyone sees positive emotions such as joviality and self-assurance as unequivocally good. Depending on your ethnic background, you may find such emotions suspicious and even dangerous."

Family Meals Keep Kids Slimmer, Healthier, Study Finds

"Researchers pooled data from 17 earlier studies and found that youngsters who joined family members regularly for meals were 24 percent more likely to eat healthy foods than kids who rarely ate with their families. They were also less likely to suffer from eating disorders."

Student Research Papers: Skimming the Surface

"An analysis of research papers written in first-year composition courses at 15 colleges reveals that many students simply copy chunks of text from the sources they cite without truly grasping the underlying argument, quality or context."

Apple to Capture 76% of 2011 Mobile App Revenue

Apple will capture 76% of all mobile app revenues in 2011, according to a new report from IHS iSuppli.

Inequality Rising Across the Developed World

"A new report attributes the increase in inequality across rich countries to globalization, technological improvements and changing marriage patterns."

U.S. Business Has High Tax Rates but Pays Less

"The United States may soon wind up with a distinction that makes business leaders cringe — the highest corporate tax rate in the world. . .But by taking advantage of myriad breaks and loopholes that other countries generally do not offer, United States corporations pay only slightly more on average than their counterparts in other industrial countries."

Middle Age Bulge Increases Risk of Later Dementia

"Carrying around extra pounds during middle age was associated with a higher risk of dementia later in life in a new study that followed twins in Sweden for 30 years."

Minorities Lose Ground in Big Corporate Boardrooms

"The 2010 Alliance for Board Diversity Census, released this week, found that as of last year white men made up 72.9 percent of board members at the nation's 100 largest companies, up from 71.2 percent in 2004, when the board last analyzed the data."

Sea Levels Could Rise By 2-3 Feet More, Arctic Experts Say

"The Arctic is melting faster than expected and could contribute 2-3 feet more in global sea levels by 2100 than earlier thought, experts state in a report being presented to international officials on Wednesday. The report shatters predictions made four years ago by the authoritative U.N. climate change panel."

Business Travel May Be Hazardous to Health

"People who travel for business two weeks or more a month are fatter and report worse health than employees who don't travel, U.S. researchers say."

Social Status Affects How People Respond

"People's brains tend to perk up when they interact with others on the same rung of the socioeconomic ladder, U.S. researchers say."

Report Lists Top Five Financial Cities

"London, Paris and Tokyo fell from the top five financial capitals in the latest PricewaterhouseCooper's Cities of Opportunities report released Tuesday."

British Households to See Income Loss

"The typical British household will see its disposable income drop by 2 percent this year, one of the country's leading economists said."

Americans Eat 22 Teaspoons of Sugar a Day

"U.S. adults consume 22.2 teaspoons of sugar a day -- or 355 calories -- and reducing the amount of sugar can reduce weight, a U.S. food expert says."

Soldiers With Mental Illness More Often Get PTSD

"Preexisting mental health problems could be setting soldiers up for post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, when they return from the battlefield, U.S. Navy researchers said Monday."

Arts Graduates Find Jobs, Satisfaction

"Conventional wisdom has long held that pursuing a career in the arts is a likely ticket to a life of perennial unhappiness, hunger and unemployment. But the opposite appears to be true -- graduates of arts programs are likely to find jobs and satisfaction, even if they won't necessarily get wealthy in the process -- according to a new national survey of more than 13,000 alumni of 154 different arts programs."

Being Highly Social Cuts Dementia Risk by 70%

"Yet more evidence that friends and family are the best medicine: a new study finds that the most social seniors had a 70% reduction in the rate of cognitive decline, compared with their least social peers."

Google Named Most Reputable Company in U.S.

"Google has topped a list of the most reputable companies in the U.S., according to a Harris Interactive poll."

No Big Shifts to Nation's Energy Supply by 2035, Report Says

"The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts that in 2035 we will use more fossil fuels overall than we do today, but a larger portion of it will come from increased domestic production of natural gas."

Fat Removed Via Liposuction Returns in All the Wrong Places

"According to a new study from the University of Colorado, non-obese patients who underwent liposuction for removal of fat deposits from thighs and lower abdomens found that new fat deposits began to appear elsewhere on their bodies. The details on the research can be found in the journal Obesity."

Young Adults Have a 'Disconnect' Between Behavior and their Health

"Young adults can't be expected to worry about having a heart attack or stroke. But they should consider that their lifestyle choices now may influence their health later, researchers said Monday."

Older Baby Boomers Say They Get More Respect at Work

"Nearly half of those born between 1946 and 1964 now work for a younger boss, and most report that they are older than most colleagues. But 61% of baby boomers surveyed said their age is not an issue at work, while 25% called it an asset. Only 14% classified getting older as a workplace liability."

Report: California cities have worst air pollution in U.S.

"California cities topped the list of U.S. cities with the worst air pollution, according to 'State of the Air 2011,' the American Lung Association's annual report on air quality, which was released April 27."

Manufacturing Grows for 21st Straight Month

"Manufacturing grew for the 21st straight month in April, fueled by a weak dollar that has made U.S. goods cheaper overseas. But the cost of raw materials rose for the fifth straight month, a growing concern for many companies."