Feature Channels: In the Home

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As most countries try to rid themselves of mercury pollution, some people are massaging creams containing the metal directly onto their skin to lighten it, putting themselves and others at risk for serious health problems. To find those most at risk, scientists are reporting today that they can now identify these creams and intervene much faster than before. They’re speaking at the 248th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.

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Researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, have identified the functions of two classes of pheromone receptors, and found pheromones crucial to triggering the mating process in mice.

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Vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, ethnic minorities, and low-income households are disproportionately affected by food security, despite the extensive private and public food safety net in the United States, according to a new report by RTI International.

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For decades, couples in which a wife had more education than her husband faced a higher risk of divorce than those in which a husband had more education, but a new study finds this is no longer the case.

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New forms of racial inequality make homeownership a risky investment for African-Americans, according to a new study by Cornell and Rice University sociologists.

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A Johns Hopkins-led research team has found that motivational interviewing, along with standard education and awareness programs, significantly reduced secondhand smoke exposure among children living in those households.

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Waiting until marriage to have babies is now “unusual” among less-educated adults close to 30 years old, sociologists have found.

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A new study, among the first in humans, is underway to investigate whether phthalate (plastics) levels in expectant fathers have an effect on the couples’ reproductive success, via epigenetic modifications of sperm DNA. Phthalates are detectable in nearly 100 percent of the U.S. population

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Previous research has found an association between not eating breakfast and obesity; but no large, randomized controlled trials had sought to find causation until now.

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Adolescence can be a wild ride. But a new book called The Owner’s Manual for Driving your Adolescent Brain uses science and storytelling to explain to children how to think about and sometimes manage the chaos. The book is a collaboration of neuroscientist Terrence Deak, associate professor of psychology at Binghamton University, and his aunt, JoAnn Deak, a longtime educator with a doctorate in educational psychology and author of several books, including Your Fantastic Elastic Brain, written for children ages 5 to 9.

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Dr. Scott Weese will present on how pet food and treat manufacturing practices play a major role in pathogen control for pets.

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In this month’s release, find studies about adolescent weight status and how it may impact choosing friends; types of policies that may be the most helpful in lowering fast food consumption and increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables; and the quality of tap water in public schools.

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UF/IFAS Horticulture Specialist Wendy Wilber explains how you can use Perennial Peanut in your Florida lawn.

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Study is a first look at the gender differences in the migration patterns for Great Plains residents in their teens and 20s. It has implications for community and economic development strategies in rural areas.

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Forgiving ourselves for hurting another is easier if we first make amends — thus giving our inner selves a “moral OK,” according to Baylor University psychology researchers.

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A Virginia Tech team of researchers has proven that homemade, inexpensive stink bug traps crafted from simple household items outshine pricier models designed to kill the invasive, annoying bugs.

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Do you know Staphylococci, coliforms, pseudomonads, yeasts, intestinal bacteria and — yes — even fecal germs may be on your toothbrush? Appropriate toothbrush storage and care are important to achieving personal oral hygiene and optimally effective plaque removal.

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Marital stress may make people more vulnerable to depression, according to a recent study by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers and their colleagues.

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Though owning a home is considered the American dream, race can influence just how sweet that dream actually is.

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A nationwide study of children who have witnessed domestic violence found that parents or caregivers were physically injured in more than a third of the cases, yet only a small fraction of offenders went to jail and just one in four incidents resulted in police reports, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.

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Children who viewed TV ads for Kids Meals were commonly unable to recall milk or apples, items added to make the meals healthier. Instead many kids thought apples were french fries.

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This semester, a Cézanne, Chagall, and a Dürer are among 90 original works of art hanging in student dorm rooms at Williams, each piece loaned to a student by the college's museum of art as part of its new Williams Art Loan for Living Spaces (WALLS) program.

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A new study finds gender differences in parenting and household labor persist among a group of highly motivated physician-researchers in the early stages of their career.

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Does having a television in the bedroom contribute to youth weight gain? In a recent national study, researchers from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center found that having a bedroom television was a significant predictor of adolescent weight gain

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The percentage of the family food budget spent on away-from-home food has steadily increased since the 1970s and so has the amount of calories families consume.

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When it comes to choosing what to eat, nutrition is important but flavor is likely the true motivator and also the key to eating right, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. This March, during National Nutrition Month®, experiment with new flavors and flavor combinations in healthy meals and “Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right.”

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While taste drives most food choices, eating nutrient-rich foods that provide the most nutrition per calorie is one of the best ways to “Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right,” according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. As part of the 2014 National Nutrition Month® theme, the Academy encourages everyone to choose the most nutritionally-packed foods you can from each of the five MyPlate food groups every day.

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Make mealtime a family time. If you can get together for meals even a few times a week, family meals mean healthier eating – and more. For National Nutrition Month®, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics encourages all families to make a commitment to eating more meals together and “Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right.”

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While social, emotional and health factors play a role in the foods people choose to eat, the foods we enjoy are the ones we eat most. That is why, as part of National Nutrition Month 2014®, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics encourages everyone to “Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right.”

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Research confirms that taste is the number-one reason why one food is purchased over another. So what are consumers to do when the taste of favorite foods starts to lose its luster? As part of the 2014 National Nutrition Month® theme, “Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right,” the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics encourages everyone to explore new foods and flavors, keeping taste and nutrition on your plate at every meal.

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Despite their strong pro-family values, evangelical Christians have higher than average divorce rates — in fact, being more likely to be divorced than Americans who claim no religion, according to findings as cited by researchers from Baylor University.

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Research among college students found that men under the influence of alcohol are more likely to perpetrate physical, psychological or sexual aggression against their partners than men under the influence of marijuana. Women, on the other hand, were more likely to be physically and psychologically aggressive under the influence of alcohol but, unlike men, they were also more likely to be psychologically aggressive under the influence of marijuana.

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A new national study provides surprising evidence of how cohabitation contributes to the number of long-term relationships lasting eight years or longer.

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Researchers have found that exercise plays a role in how individuals feel they can manage their work-life balance.

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Expert shares quick, fun list of tips to avoid holiday-induced meltdowns

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These pressures are particularly palpable during the holiday season. We often think our kids will be disappointed if we can’t measure up to their expectations at the holidays, and when we think it’s our job to keep them happy, we shudder at the thought of disappointing them. Dr. Aaron Cooper, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist at The Family Institute at Northwestern University and author of I Just Want My Kids To Be Happy (Late August Press, 2008), provides expert tips to parents as they set and manage their children’s expectations during the holidays.

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Politics and religion are considered unsafe topics of conversation at parties. This holiday season, experts at UAB say avoiding one other topic – weight – can help everyone be more merry and bright.

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More people than ever are living alone. That’s according to a new family profile from the National Center for Family and Marriage Research (NCFMR) at Bowling Green State University. Researchers found the percentage of households with just one person has more the doubled since 1960 from 13 to 27 percent.

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A study by Michael Olson at UT finds that spouses' automatic attitudes, not their more thoughtfully held conscious attitudes, are a good predictor of marital satisfaction. It is the first study to look at the long-term implication of automatic attitudes—positive or negative thoughts, feelings or actions that one might not be aware of having toward an object or person.

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Although newlyweds may not be completely aware of it, they may know whether their march down the aisle will result in wedded bliss or an unhappy marriage, according to new study led by a Florida State University researcher.

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Do drinking and marriage mix? That depends on who’s doing the drinking — and how much — according to a recent study by the University at Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions (RIA).

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A new study by a researcher at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California, San Diego, says that by 2015, the sum of media asked for and delivered to consumers on mobile devices and to their homes would take more than 15 hours a day to see or hear. That volume is equal to 6.9 million-million gigabytes of information, or a daily consumption of nine DVDs worth of data per person per day.

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Losing weight is beneficial for human health, but when one partner in a romantic relationship loses weight, it doesn’t always have a positive effect on the relationship. According to new research, there can be a “dark side” to weight loss if both partners are not on board with enacting healthy changes.

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A new web-based mapping site allows users to see stark racial boundaries, subtle shifts in income, and intricate patterns of race, age, household size and income for any location in the United States

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Kindergarten-age children have poorer health if their home life is marked by disorder, noise and a lack of routine and they have a mother who has a chaotic work life, new research suggests.

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If telecommuting – or working from home – is an available option, one University of Alabama at Birmingham expert says its perks go beyond working in pajamas.