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Those are some takeaways from an extensive new meta-analysis of laboratory debunking studies published in the journal  Psychological Science . The analysis, the first conducted with this collection of debunking data, finds that a detailed counter-message is better at persuading people to change their minds than merely labeling misinformation as wrong. But even after a detailed debunking, misinformation still can be hard to eliminate, the study finds. "The effect of misinformation is very strong," said co-author Dolores Albarracin, professor of psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "When you present it, people buy it. But we also asked whether we are able to correct for misinformation. Generally, some degree of correction is possible but it's very difficult to completely correct." Countering beliefs based on misinformation "Debunking: A Meta-Analysis of the Psychological Efficacy of Messages Countering Misinformation" was...

For this study, he focused on a single type of molecule in trichomes -- acylsugars. The secrets Last and a team of MSU scientists found from studying these specialized metabolites open an evolutionary window for the emerging field of plant defense metabolism, insights that could lead to engineering advances for better pest resistance and human medicine. There are an estimated 300,000 species of plants in the world, producing roughly more than a million metabolites. Plants use these molecules to grow, communicate with each other or to defend themselves against pests and disease. Humans benefit from many of these products for food, medicines and industrial uses. Thousands of core metabolites are found in every plant, but hundreds of thousands are more specialized and found only in specific groups of plants. Acylsugars are an example of a group of specialized metabolites found only in the Solanaceae family, which includes tomato and petunia plants. These specialized metabolites hav...

Using data from National Database for Autism Research (NDAR), lead author Kristina Denisova, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at CUMC and Fellow at the Sackler Institute, studied 71 high and low risk infants who underwent two functional Magnetic Resonance imaging brain scans either at 1-2 months or at 9-10 months: one during a resting period of sleep and a second while native language was presented to the infants. After extracting measures of head movements during the scans, the statistical characteristics of these movements were quantified. The study found that infants at high risk for developing ASD have elevated levels of "noise" and increased randomness in their spontaneous head movements during sleep, a pattern possibly suggestive of problems with sleep. In addition, 1- to 2-month-old high risk infants showed more similar signatures while listening to native language and while sleeping while low risk infants showed distinct signatures during the two conditions....

In a study, researchers compared women who had healthy pregnancies with those that experienced preeclampsia, a condition in which blood vessels around the uterus constrict during pregnancy and can result in symptoms that include high blood pressure , kidney damage, swelling and headaches. The researchers found that after a pregnancy, the blood vessels of women who experienced preeclampsia function differently than women who had healthy pregnancies, which could help explain why women who have had preeclampsia go on to have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. "We were able to show that even though the symptoms of preeclampsia go away once the woman gives birth, there's still an underlying dysfunction in the blood vessels," said Anna Stanhewicz, a post-doctoral fellow in the College of Health and Human Development. "This suggests that something happens during a preeclamptic pregnancy that permanently changes the way blood vessels function." Stanhewicz ...

In the first trial, 493 adult primary health care attendees with moderately severe or severe depression were randomly assigned to either the HAP treatment plus enhanced usual care (EUC), or enhanced usual care (EUC) alone. The researchers found that HAP participants maintained the benefits they showed at the end of treatment through the 12-month period, with significantly lower symptom severity scores (adjusted mean difference in BDI-II: ?4.45) and higher rates of remission (PHQ-9 score < 5: 63% versus 48%) than participants who received EUC alone. In the second trial, 377 adult male primary health care attendees with harmful drinking were randomly assigned to either the CAP treatment plus EUC, or EUC alone. The researchers found that CAP participants maintained the gains they showed at the end of treatment through the 12-month period, with higher remission rates (AUDIT score < 8: 54.3% versus 31.9%) and a greater proportion reporting no alcohol consumption in the past 14 da...

Olive oil. Credit score: © Dušan Zidar / Fotolia The well being advantages of olives -- and related pure merchandise resembling olive oil -- have lengthy been acknowledged and touted by proponents of the Mediterranean weight-reduction plan. Nevertheless, little was beforehand identified about what particular compounds and biochemical interactions within the fruit contribute to its medical and dietary advantages resembling weight reduction and prevention of kind 2 diabetes. A Virginia Tech analysis crew found that the olive-derived compound oleuropein helps the physique secrete extra insulin, a central signaling molecule within the physique that controls metabolism. The identical compound additionally detoxifies one other signaling molecule known as amylin that over-produces and varieties dangerous aggregates in kind 2 diabetes. In these two distinct methods, oleuropein helps stop the onset of illness. The findings have been...