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

Social & Behavior

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 1-Jul-2025 13:10 ET (1-Jul-2025 17:10 GMT/UTC)

Innovative technology for selecting high-quality sperm doubles IVF success rates

Tel-Aviv University

A new technology developed at Tel Aviv University and implemented at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon has demonstrated a significant increase in the success rates of fertilization, pregnancy, and the birth of a healthy baby through in vitro fertilization (IVF). According to the findings collected thus far, the technology has increased IVF success rates from 34% to 65% — resulting in 20 pregnancies out of 31 embryo transfers compared to only 14 pregnancies out of 41 embryo transfers in the control group. Among the notable cases was a couple who, after enduring 15 unsuccessful IVF cycles over several years, conceived for the first time using this technology and finally became parents.

One in four children receive services from children’s social care services before turning 18

University College London
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A quarter of all children in England receive services from children’s social care before turning 18, finds a new study by UCL researchers.

Keeper or corner?

Deutsches Primatenzentrum (DPZ)/German Primate Center
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Our brain is remarkably flexible in producing different reactions to supposedly comparable situations. The same sensory information can lead to different decisions depending on the behavioral context. One example of this is a penalty kick in soccer: a player can either choose the empty corner of the goal as the target or aim directly at the goalkeeper in the hope that he will jump aside. Both decisions are based on the same perception of the goalkeeper's position, but lead to completely different actions. Neuroscientists at the German Primate Center (DPZ) - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research in Göttingen have investigated how the brain implements this type of flexibility. Their results show that, depending on the requirements, our brain either reuses known neural pathways or develops new patterns to select movements depending on the context. Thus, goal-directed behavior and cognitive flexibility can be achieved in different ways, depending on the circumstance that made the flexible adaptation of behavior necessary. The findings help to understand why it is more difficult to adapt to some new situations than to others - whether in social interactions or motor tasks (Nature Communications).

Journal: Nature Communications

People prefer meat alternatives if they are significantly cheaper than real meat, study shows

Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Only a few people fundamentally oppose eating plant-based meat alternatives, a recent survey of 2,100 customers in the US shows. The study published in "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" (PNAS) was conducted by marketing researchers from the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), Humboldt University Berlin and Georg August University Göttingen. According to the results, the price of meat alternatives is the most decisive factor for their acceptance, while similarity to meat did not matter that much. Although, when both options were priced the same, respondents often favoured the animal product.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Should we stop saying ‘Russia’?

Uppsala University
Book Announcement

Should the world stop using the name ‘Russia’ and go back to the old name ‘Muscovy’? The question has been raised by critics of Russia in recent years and in his new book “Russia reverts to Muscovy”, Stefan Hedlund, a well-know Swedish Professor Emeritus of East European Studies, highlights several arguments in favour of a change of name. “The fact that Russia is so obsessed with the idea that Ukraine must be obliterated shows that the issue is so important that they would rather allow Russia to perish than Ukraine to survive,” Hedlund argues.

UT-led study finds vulnerable communities face greater risks from multiple environmental hazards

University of Tennessee at Knoxville
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study led by University of Tennessee, Knoxville Professor Paul Armsworth offers a comprehensive analysis of how multi-hazard environmental risks impact US communities. Extreme events like the flooding caused by Hurricane Helene in Tennessee and North Carolina layer disproportionate burdens onto communities that already face social and economic hardship.

Journal: Environmental Research Letters
Funder: Pew Charitable Trusts

Researchers link India’s food program to better health and stronger incomes

University of California - Santa Barbara
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Despite humanity’s scientific achievements and globalized economy, malnutrition remains a global issue. The United Nations estimated that 2.33 billion people experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2023.

Journal: American Economic Journal Applied Economics