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People disregard advice when making tough decisions

An international study found that people across cultures tend to rely on their own intuition rather than seeking advice when making complex decisions. The research, led by the University of Waterloo, suggests that understanding this preference can help clarify cross-cultural misunderstandings and improve teamwork.

SourceUniversity of Waterloo·JournalProceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences·TypeSurvey·DateAug 12, 2025

New IQ research shows why smarter people make better decisions

A new study from the University of Bath found that individuals with a higher IQ make more realistic predictions, leading to improved life outcomes. Smarter people are significantly better at forecasting, making fewer errors and showing more consistent judgement compared to those with a lower IQ.

SourceUniversity of Bath·JournalJournal of Personality and Social Psychology·TypeData/statistical analysis·DateJun 26, 2025

To encourage scientific thinking, it is better to instruct than to reward

Researchers found that instructing individuals on how to think scientifically reduces the causal illusion, a common error in detecting cause-and-effect relationships. Providing adequate information and advice can help overcome this error, suggesting that rewarding people for correct answers may not be the most effective approach

SourceUniversity of Deusto·JournalRoyal Society Open Science·TypeExperimental study·DateJun 18, 2025

Patients are opting in for 10 years of breast cancer treatment

A new study of 591 women with early-stage breast cancer found that nearly two-thirds opted for continued endocrine therapy beyond the initial five years. Patients with higher-risk stage 2 disease were more likely to continue treatment, highlighting potential benefits in extending hormone-based therapy for these patients.

SourceMichigan Medicine - University of Michigan·JournalJNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute·TypeSurvey·DateJun 9, 2025

Many possible futures: How dopamine in the brain might inform AI that adapts quickly to change

Researchers found that brain's dopamine neurons encode a map of possible future rewards across time and magnitude, guiding adaptive behavior in uncertain environments. This biological insight aligns with recent advances in AI, particularly distributional RL algorithms, which learn from reward distributions rather than averages.

SourceChampalimaud Centre for the Unknown·JournalNature·TypeExperimental study·DateJun 4, 2025

With evolutionary AI, scientists find hidden keys for better land use

The AI system uses evolutionary computing to find optimal policy solutions that balance trade-offs between carbon storage, economic disruptions, and environmental benefits. It recommends nuanced approaches to land-use strategies, such as replacing crop land with forest, rather than simply converting all land into forests.

SourceUniversity of Texas at Austin·JournalEnvironmental Data Science·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateMay 19, 2025

Long working hours may alter brain structure, preliminary findings suggest

Preliminary research suggests that long working hours can induce neuroadaptive changes in the brain, particularly in areas associated with emotional regulation and executive function. The study found increased brain volumes in regions such as the middle frontal gyrus, which is involved in attention and problem-solving.

SourceBMJ Group·JournalOccupational and Environmental Medicine·TypeExperimental study·DateMay 13, 2025

University of Utah Researchers Develop Explainable AI Toolkit to Predict Disease Before Symptoms Appear

Researchers at the University of Utah have developed RiskPath, an Explainable AI toolkit that predicts disease progression years before symptoms manifest. The technology analyzes health data to identify high-risk individuals with unprecedented accuracy, offering new insights into risk factor interactions and disease development.

SourceUniversity of Utah Health·JournalPatterns·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateMay 1, 2025

Large, highly likely rewards can increase motivation in individuals who have recovered from depression

Previous depression survivors exhibit reduced motivation for everyday tasks but become equally motivated with large and certain rewards. This research sheds light on subtle motivational deficits persisting in recovered depression, guiding targeted treatment for sustained recovery.

SourceElsevier·JournalBiological Psychiatry Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateMay 1, 2025

Study finds engagement journalism training reduced 'horse race' political coverage, boosted more substantive content

A study found that journalism engagement training reduced the prevalence of 'horse race' stories and boosted more substantive, community-oriented content. The training program, Democracy SOS, worked with journalists and news outlets across the country to promote solutions-focused coverage and increase transparency.

SourceUniversity of Kansas·JournalJournalism & Mass Communication Quarterly·TypeMeta-analysis·DateApr 29, 2025

A common CEO pay strategy is stalling innovation, a new study reveals why

A new study by Virginia Tech researchers Jin Xu and Pengfei Ye finds that value-based stock grants can weaken executive motivation and limit corporate growth. The study analyzed thousands of U.S. firms from 2006-22, revealing that companies tying CEO compensation to a fixed dollar amount can unintentionally discourage executives from m...

SourceVirginia Tech·JournalJournal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis·DateApr 22, 2025

Q&A: What makes an ‘accidental dictator’ in the workplace?

A leadership trap known as the 'accidental dictator' can be avoided by embracing circumscribed empowerment, shared vision, and long-term perspective. Leaders must empower their team members within defined boundaries, engage them in the process of creating a shared vision, and prioritize a long-term perspective to build effective teams.

SourcePenn State·JournalOrganizational Dynamics·DateApr 18, 2025

Brain research: Study shows how brain stimulation can influence decisions

A new study by Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg found that brain stimulation can influence decisions, making choices faster with anodal stimulation and slower with cathodal stimulation. The research used transcranial direct current stimulation to activate or inhibit specific brain regions.

SourceMartin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg·JournalJournal of Cognitive Neuroscience·TypeExperimental study·DateApr 14, 2025

A research team from the UJI tests how the brain uses context boundaries to guide decision-making in both spatial and abstract environaments

The DAM-Decision and Memory group at Universitat Jaume I studied the cognitive and neural computations that guide decision-making and long-term memory. They found that the hippocampal and medial prefrontal cortex regions use context boundaries to make decisions in both spatial and abstract contexts.

SourceUniversitat Jaume I·JournalNature Communications·TypeExperimental study·DateApr 4, 2025

New University of Minnesota research shows impact of anxiety and apathy on decision-making

A study published in Biological Psychiatry found that anxiety and apathy lead to different patterns in how people process uncertainty and make decisions. Participants made choices between exploring new options or sticking with familiar ones, revealing distinct computational mechanisms underlying these behaviors.

SourceUniversity of Minnesota Medical School·JournalBiological Psychiatry·TypeData/statistical analysis·DateMar 4, 2025

Robot faster than physicians at spotting side effects

A new study at the University of Gothenburg found that a software robot can detect side effects faster than physicians during amiodarone treatment for cardiac arrhythmia. The robot also recommends appropriate intervals between lab tests, aligning with standard practices and reducing unnecessary testing.

SourceUniversity of Gothenburg·JournalJournal of Medical Internet Research·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateFeb 18, 2025

‘Hey Siri, choose my medical expert.’

A new study from the University of South Australia found that most people trust AI in situations where the stakes are low, such as music suggestions. However, those with poor statistical literacy or little familiarity with AI were just as likely to trust algorithms for trivial choices as they were for critical decisions. The study also...

SourceUniversity of South Australia·JournalFrontiers in Artificial Intelligence·TypeCase study·DateFeb 17, 2025

Keeper or corner?

Neuroscientists investigated how the brain implements flexibility in decision-making, revealing that it either reuses known neural pathways or develops new patterns. The findings help understand why some adaptations are more difficult than others, especially in social interactions and motor tasks.

SourceDeutsches Primatenzentrum (DPZ)/German Primate Center·JournalNature Communications·TypeExperimental study·DateFeb 3, 2025

A hearing aid for … your nose?

A new study by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory researchers explains how the brain updates associations between smells and sounds based on context. The findings suggest that a feedback loop between the olfactory cortex and olfactory bulb enables fast adaptation, allowing animals to fine-tune their motor responses accordingly.

SourceCold Spring Harbor Laboratory·JournalNature Communications·DateJan 30, 2025

Picking the right doctor? AI could help

A machine learning algorithm developed by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin can assess experts' decision-making quality, including doctors. This innovation has the potential to improve patient outcomes and lower costs by selecting doctors based on their accurate diagnosis rates.

SourceUniversity of Texas at Austin·JournalManagement Science·DateJan 13, 2025

Optical imaging technique offers more precise diagnosis of sleep apnea

A recent study has explored a new imaging approach that uses swept-source optical coherence tomography to visualize the upper airway with high precision. By integrating computational fluid dynamics, researchers were able to identify areas of turbulence and pinpoint obstruction sites, leading to more accurate diagnoses and treatment pla...

SourceSPIE--International Society for Optics and Photonics·JournalBiophotonics Discovery·DateJan 7, 2025

Emergency department physicians vary widely in their likelihood of hospitalizing a patient, even within the same facility

A new study found that emergency department physicians differ in their likelihood of hospitalizing patients, with those who admit more patients being discharged sooner but not less likely to die. The study suggests that differences in physician decision-making drive these variations, rather than patient health.

SourceUniversity of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences·JournalJAMA Internal Medicine·TypeData/statistical analysis·DateDec 23, 2024

The best AI strategy to recognize multiple objects in one image

Researchers from Bar-Ilan University discover that classifying objects together through Multi-Label Classification can yield better results than detecting individual objects. This new method allows networks to learn correlations between object combinations, making them more recognizable in real-life applications such as autonomous vehi...

SourceBar-Ilan University·JournalPhysica A Statistical Mechanics and its Applications·DateDec 10, 2024

Using race and ethnicity to estimate disease risk improves prediction accuracy but may yield limited clinical net benefit

A cross-sectional study found that including race in disease risk models improves prediction accuracy, but the clinical net benefit is smaller than expected. The researchers provide a widely adaptable framework for deciding whether to include or exclude race from disease risk predictions.

SourceAmerican College of Physicians·JournalAnnals of Internal Medicine·TypeNews article·DateDec 2, 2024