Researchers analysed the profile of adults who claim to have past-life memories, the features of these memories, and their associations with mental health, happiness, and religiosity/spirituality. The results indicated a high prevalence of mental disorder symptoms, with religiosity and spirituality being protective factors.

New research from the University of Zurich suggests that gorillas may be using a similar strategy as humans: when moving to a new social group, female gorillas seek out groups containing females they have lived with in the past and avoid males they grew up with.

 

Based on more than a decade’s worth of data across 36 U.S. states, a study in Contemporary Economic Policy finds that spreading out food assistance payments over more days reduces financially motivated crimes—especially robberies.

Staying put after a natural disaster is known to bring health risks. Now, scientists have calculated how much higher mortality risk from all causes is for people, aged over 65 and covered by health insurance, who continued to live for up to five years in areas that flooded after Hurricane Sandy’s landfall in 2012. On average, risk of death from all causes for these tri-state area residents increased by 9%, compared to those who lived in not flooded zip codes. Stark regional differences were found between some regions, which makes region-specific disaster planning crucial, the team said.

New research by the University of South Australia finds a silver lining to the struggling media landscape in the face of the digital age, revealing that social media is enhancing the diversity of news the community receives.