Conservative commentary often attempts to reinstate the primacy of stay-at-home motherhood, prompting feelings of guilt among working mothers. But a recent study might help to finally lay this issue to rest – it shows working mothers are happier and healthier than stay-at-home mums. The study, published in the US Journal of Family Psychology, found mothers […] … learn more→

Children who play with puzzles between ages 2 and 4 later develop better spatial skills, a study by University of Chicago researchers has found. Puzzle play was found to be a significant predictor of spatial skill after controlling for differences in parents’ income, education and the overall amount of parent language input. In examining video […] … learn more→

Many people fall victim to emotional eating, but it doesn\’t happen only when they\’re feeling bad, according to researchers. Having a good day at work, for example, can sometimes lead to a candy bar treat from the vending machine, according to Karen Winterich, assistant professor of marketing, Penn State Smeal College of Business, and Kelly […] … learn more→

Researchers have long been fascinated by the secrets of Ramat Rahel, located on a hilltop above modern-day Jerusalem. The site of the only known palace dating back to the kingdom of Biblical Judah, digs have also revealed a luxurious ancient garden. Since excavators discovered the garden with its advanced irrigation system, they could only imagine […] … learn more→

Nearly 13.7 billion years ago, the universe was made of only hydrogen, helium and traces of lithium — byproducts of the Big Bang. Some 300 million years later, the very first stars emerged, creating additional chemical elements throughout the universe. Since then, giant stellar explosions, or supernovas, have given rise to carbon, oxygen, iron and […] … learn more→

It is difficult not to supress a satisfying shiver of schadenfreude as one watches the saga of the self-immolating Murdoch Empire play itself out. The latest episode – breath-taking in its sheer chutzpah – involves journalists from The Sun using the “hated” Human Rights Act against their own employer, who they believe has compromised their […] … learn more→

One of Duke\’s most prominent scientists has joined a protest against a leading academic publisher, adding her name to a growing list on campus and at universities elsewhere. Mathematician Ingrid Daubechies says she will no longer publish, referee or do editorial work for the Amsterdam-based academic publisher Elsevier. She joins biologists Laryssa Baldridge and Eric […] … learn more→

Researchers have mapped the genome of the Tasmanian Devil for the first time, a crucial step towards understanding the transmissible facial tumours decimating Devil populations and related human cancers. < The international team, led by Dr Janine Deakin of the Research School of Biology at The Australian National University, compared the normal Tasmanian Devil genome […] … learn more→

It\’s long been known that the better off your family is, the better you tend to do in school. Yet despite this knowledge – and programs to help level the playing field – the classroom achievement gap between rich and poor students has grown steadily over the past half-century, according to research by Sean Reardon, […] … learn more→

“Of course, it is in a remote place,” said a lady at a tourist information centre, slightly frowning. I was a little paralysed with her reaction as it was not in the context of what I said before her words. In the early November last year, I was in Albany, WA. As many of you, […] … learn more→