Studies and Analyses

Using food, UCI psychologist Elizabeth Loftus demonstrates false beliefs can affect people’s later thoughts and behaviors

For the millions of Americans who worry about overeating during the holiday season, there may be hope: A new UC Irvine study suggests changing their memories of food may be a way to influence their eating habits.

With food as the subject, UCI psychologist Elizabeth Loftus conducted the first scientific demonstration of the effect of false beliefs on

Exposure to fine particles and pollutants that accumulate in cars driving at varying speeds in road traffic enhances the likelihood of thrombosis, inflammation and alters the regularity of the heart rhythm. A study published today in the journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology raises concerns about cardiovascular risks for vehicle drivers.

Michael Riediker, from The Institute of Occupational Health Sciences in Switzerland, collaborated with colleagues from a number of institut

University of Utah scientists taught baby sparrows to sing a complete song even though the birds were exposed only to overlapping segments of the tune rather than the full melody. The study provides clues about how musical memories are stored in the brain and how those memories help birds learn to sing.

The results also may have implications for how people learn language, says Gary J. Rose, a University of Utah professor of biology and principal author of the study published in

Results illuminate evolutionary interaction between virus and human immune system

An international research team has identified immune-system genes that appear to play a key role in the body’s defense against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The findings may lead to ways of circumventing the virus’s ability to avoid vaccines by rapid mutation. The study in the Dec. 9 issue of Nature also describes how HIV infection is driving human evolution, since individuals with protective

Although transplantation is by far the preferred treatment option for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), those with high levels of “anti-donor” antibodies have had little hope of receiving a donated organ. Among the relatively few who have undergone transplantation, rejection rates have been very high.

Because the immune systems of “highly sensitized” individuals initiate a rejection response against the tissue of the majority of the population, these patients typi

Does stress speed up the onset of skin cancer? The answer, in mice anyway, appears to be “yes.” Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center say that chronic stress may speed up the process in those at high-risk for the disease. Their new study, published in the December issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, shows that mice exposed to stressful conditions and cancer-causing UV light develop skin cancers in less than half the time it took for non-stressed mice to g