Conservative estimates suggest anywhere from 20 to 60 percent or more of people cheat on their spouses. Internet porn remains — as you probably know, quite possibly firsthand— wildly popular. If a thing exists, there’s someone out there who’s into it sexually, and a site dedicated to it somewhere online. And regardless of what you thought of 50 Shades of Grey, either the terribly written novel or the comically bad film, that whole enterprise launched millions of housewife masturbation sessions and helped expand the conversation around BDSM.
Map: These are the world’s least religious countries
The survey of 65 countries, conducted by Gallup International and the WI Network of Market Research, is based on 63,898 interviews. China tops the list of the world’s least religious nations by far; it’s followed by countries in Europe — about three fourth of all Swedish and Czech also said that they were either atheists or not religious.
The demographics and politics of gun-owning households
Americans with young children in their home are just as likely as other adults to have a gun in their household, according to newly released survey data from the Pew Research Center.
Overall, about a third of all Americans with children under 18 at home have a gun in their household, including 34% of families with children younger than 12. That’s nearly identical to the share of childless adults or those with older children who have a firearm at home.
One Simple Idea That Could Reduce Domestic Violence
A report released Tuesday is proposing a simple way to reduce domestic violence: Give victims free lawyers.
Lawyers are expensive, and women who need them often can’t afford them. Without legal counsel, it can be harder for women to get protective orders, leave their abusive partners and escape the cycle of violence. And women stuck in violent relationships tend to miss work because of injury or rack up hospital bills they can never pay off, according to the report by The Institute for Policy Integrity, a nonpartisan think tank.
With one in four women in the U.S. estimated to become victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime, this dynamic has major economic repercussions. As the report notes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that domestic violence costs the U.S. at least $9.05 billion each year.
Providing free or subsidized legal representation to victims, the report concludes, may reduce domestic violence and would be cost-effective as it would likely result in lower associated health care and legal costs.
Here’s What Breaking Up Does to Your Brain
When the love of your life dumps you, you’re going to go a little nuts. But it’s a very specific form of crazy: There are actually conflicting neural systems active inside your brain. It’s like you’re falling in love all over again, only in reverse. Here’s how neuroscience explains it.
Overeating may be caused by a hormone deficiency, scientists say
It’s late at night and you really just want another slice of that chocolate cake — even though you’re not hungry.
Scientists say the phenomenon could be more than just having an overactive sweet tooth. It may be the result of a hormone deficiency in the brain, a discovery that could have implications for obesity down the road.
How our brains toy with our minds
THE MAN WHO WASN’T THERE
Investigations Into the Strange New Science of the Self
By Anil Ananthaswamy
This cutting-edge research is a huge step in the war against brain disease
If you don’t understand a problem, chances are you won’t be able to solve it.
That’s a major stumbling block for scientists attempting to develop treatments for brain disorders such as autism, depression, dementia, and more that will affect an estimated 100 million Americans at some point in their lives.
How Americans can lose a lot of weight without giving up a single calorie
You’ve heard for years that the French and Japanese are much thinner than Americans because their diets are so much better than ours. A new mathematical model assesses why that is and how much thinner Americans could be if they changed their eating habits.
How a Human Scream Uniquely Activates the Fear Response in Your Brain
We know human screams are jarring. They’re loud, occasionally shrill, and tend to make us feel stressed, or even fearful. What’s unclear is why they elicit anxiety. But a new study suggests this response may have something to do with the acoustic quality of human screams, and how they trigger the brain’s fear response.