The factors that go into optimizing athletic performance have long been of interest to trainers, scientists, and, of course, athletes themselves. These include workout regimens, nutrition, and technique. A team of psychology researchers has now uncovered a more basic influence on success: visual attention. In an investigation of nearly 1,600 runners, scientists found that narrowing visual attention—zooming in on the finish rather than taking in the surroundings—serves as a powerful self-regulation strategy that can boost both effort and performance. 

In the midst of a multi-state measles outbreak, a new poll by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the de Beaumont Foundation finds that most U.S. adults (79%) say parents should be required to have children vaccinated against preventable diseases like measles, mumps, and rubella to attend school. This includes a majority of adults across party lines – 90% among Democrats and 68% among Republicans – as well as 66% of those who support the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement. It also includes 72% of all parents. Among all U.S. adults, about one in five (21%) do not support routine childhood vaccine requirements.