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

Social & Behavior

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 22-Dec-2025 18:11 ET (22-Dec-2025 23:11 GMT/UTC)

2-Dec-2025

Event aims to unpack chaos caused by AI slop

Anglia Ruskin University
Meeting Announcement

Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) will host the world’s first academic symposium dedicated to addressing the impact of “brain rot” and “AI slop”. The event - Brain Rot, AI Slop, and the Enshittification of the Internet - is taking place this Friday (5 December) in Cambridge, England.

2-Dec-2025

Mindfulness may help people disconnect from their smartphones

University of British Columbia Okanagan campus
Peer-Reviewed Publication

With more than four billion people around the globe owning a smartphone, researchers are now looking at ways to reduce a growing public health concern—problematic smartphone use.

Dr. Susan Holtzman teaches psychology in UBC Okanagan’s Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. She recently published a study in Mindfulness examining the overuse or dependence on smartphones and how it might be curbed with mindfulness techniques.

Journal: Mindfulness

2-Dec-2025

Supplement trio shows promise in reversing autism-linked behaviors in mice

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers led by Tzyy-Nan Huang and Ming-Hui Lin from Academia Sinica in Taiwan report that a low-dose mixture of zinc, serine, and branch-chain amino acids can alleviate behavioral deficits in three different mouse models of autism. Published December 2^nd in the open-access journal in PLOS Biology, the study shows that when combined together, these three dietary supplements promote communication between neurons in the brain and improve social behaviors.

Journal: PLOS Biology

2-Dec-2025

Urban blue spaces: Quietly supporting food, income and community

University of Göttingen
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The rivers, lakes and ponds in cities – urban blue spaces also known as UBS – are increasingly recognised for their ecological and social roles. However, their contributions to sustainable food systems remains understudied. For this reason, an international research team led by Göttingen and Kassel Universities examined the extent and benefits of foraging for food in blue spaces across four major Indian cities. The items collected included fish, crabs, clams and plants as well as berries, mushrooms and flowers. The researchers found that bodies of water in cities played a critical role in food security and social inclusion. The results were published in the journal Nature Cities.

Journal: Nature Cities

2-Dec-2025

Day 2 of the 13th World Conference of Science Journalists: Advancing science journalism for society and global impact

World Conference of Science Journalists 2025
Meeting Announcement

The second day of the 13th World Conference of Science Journalists unfolded today at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Tshwane, South Africa - gathering over 450 science journalists, experts, and stakeholders from around the world to engage on the critical role of science journalism in promoting resilience and social justice.

Funder: Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, Science Diplomacy Capital of Africa, Gauteng Tourism, City of Tshwane, South African National Convention Bureau, South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, EurekAlert!, SciDev.Net, Association of British Science Writers (ABSW), Springer Nature

2-Dec-2025

Ants signal deadly infection in altruistic self-sacrifice

Institute of Science and Technology Austria
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Ant colonies operate as tightly coordinated “superorganisms” with individual ants working together, much like the cells of a body, to ensure their collective health. Researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) have now discovered that terminally ill ant brood, like infected cells, release an odor signaling their impending death and the risk they pose. This sophisticated early warning system facilitates rapid detection and removal of pathogenic infections. The study was published in Nature Communications.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: H2020 European Research Council

2-Dec-2025

Navigating the dating world? It’s important to know what you want, researchers say

McGill University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Single people who date without a clear understanding of what they are looking for in a relationship experience more loneliness and decreased life satisfaction, McGill researchers have found.

Journal: Personal Relationships
Funder: Fonds de recherche du Québec, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada