EurekAlert! News by Subject: Social & Behavior - News by Subject: Social & Behavior

Social & Behavior

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 23-Jul-2025 00:10 ET (23-Jul-2025 04:10 GMT/UTC)

Four researchers honored by AAAS as Lifetime Fellows

University of Tennessee at Knoxville
Grant and Award Announcement

Four faculty members at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have been elected 2024 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Elected faculty are Professor Albrecht von Arnim of the Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology; Alison Buchan, the Carolyn W. Fite Professor and associate head of the Department of Microbiology; Research Professor Susan Kalisz of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; and Herbert College of Agriculture Dean and Professor David G. White.

We must not ignore eugenics in our genetics curriculum, says professor

Cell Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

To encourage scientists to speak up when people misuse science to serve political agendas, biology professor Mark Peifer of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill argues that eugenics should be included in college genetics curriculums. In an opinion paper publishing March 27 in the Cell Press journal Trends in Genetics, Peifer explains how he incorporated a discussion of eugenics into his molecular genetics course last year and why understanding the history of the field is critical for up-and-coming scientists.

Journal: Trends in Genetics

Electronic Screen Use and Sleep Duration and Timing in Adults

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: Daily screen use was associated with later bedtimes and approximately 50 minutes less sleep each week in this study. Associations were greater among those with evening chronotypes, who are at risk for poor sleep due to social jetlag (i.e., misalignment between circadian rhythms and social commitments). These findings confirm disruptions to sleep from electronic screens are not limited to children and adolescents. Further work is needed to understand the best mechanisms for intervention.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

State Minimum Wage and Food Insecurity Among US Households With Children

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: In this pooled cross-sectional study, findings suggest that state legislatures that elected to increase their state minimum wage may have also improved state food security rates among households with children at risk for economic hardship. The findings provide policymakers with actionable evidence to consider in setting minimum wages that could reduce the burden of food insecurity among U.S. children and families.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

Youth gun homicides doubled during second half of pandemic while adult rates returned to pre-COVID level

Boston University School of Public Health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study in JAMA Pediatrics found that the spike in gun death rates during the first two years of the pandemic disproportionately affected adolescents ages 10-16, as well as adults over 30 years old. These increases lowered the peak risk of being a victim of a fatal shooting from 21 years old to 19 years old. The study also found that as adult gun death rates returned to pre-COVID levels in 2022 and 2023, gun homicide rates continued increasing for the 10-16 adolescent age group, doubling pre-pandemic rates.

Journal: JAMA Pediatrics
Funder: NIH/National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities

Baylor Anthropology scientist Julie Hoggarth, Ph.D., named AAAS Fellow

Baylor University
Grant and Award Announcement

Baylor University’s Julie Hoggarth, Ph.D., associate professor of anthropology and noted Maya archaeologist, has been elected to the rank of AAAS Fellow by the Council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Two Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers named 2024 Fellows of American Association for the Advancement of Science

Johns Hopkins Medicine
Grant and Award Announcement

Two researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have been elected 2024 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the largest scientific society in the world and publisher of the Science family of journals.