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Social & Behavior

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 20-Oct-2026 10:16 ET (20-Oct-2026 14:16 GMT/UTC)

Do ridesharing services affect crime rates?

Wiley
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research published in Economic Inquiry reveals that ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft may reduce crime in some areas.

Journal: Economic Inquiry

Orangutan mothers seek out playmates for young

Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Orangutan mothers adjust ranging behavior to increase their offspring’s access to play with neighboring peers. Mothers actively provide young with social contact, even at a cost to their own energy budget. Social play seems to be a requirement across all great apes, and some solitary species must accept a cost to meet that need.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Plants, people and progress for native prairie seeds

South Dakota State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Native seed systems are a crucial part of prairie restoration and have been studied from ecological, production and trouble-shooting angles, but never from a social science perspective, until now. Researchers from South Dakota State University conducted more than 60 interviews to better understand the people and relationships within the native seed system of the Northern Great Plain Region to help identify the best ways to support the local network.

Journal: People and Nature

The world’s oyster reefs could add $12 trillion to planetary health each year – if they were better managed

Frontiers
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists calculated the total gross ecosystem product that the world’s oyster reefs could deliver to planetary health and human wellbeing, given adequate interventions for habitat restoration and protection. They estimated that the combined potential ecosystem services of oyster reefs, including food production, carbon sequestration, water filtration, and coastline protection, could be worth up to $12 trillion per year. For this potential to be realized, 90% of sites suitable for oyster reefs would require restoration, while 80% would need protection through conservation efforts.

Journal: Frontiers in Marine Science

SKKU research team recreates viral transmission and herd immunity on a chip

Sungkyunkwan University External Affairs Division (PR team)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A compact, centimeter-scale microfluidic chip uses 444 interconnected hexagonal microchambers to model population density, spatial contact, and social distancing.

Journal: Advanced Science

Against the odds: why some ecosystems thrive

University of Sydney
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Global study reveals the common ingredients behind conservation success: valuing local knowledge alongside science; community role in decision-making; and management adapting to local social and environmental conditions.

Journal: Nature Ecology & Evolution
Funder: Australian Research Council, National Geographic Society

Childhood abuse leaves a scar on the brain, study finds

University of California - Los Angeles
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A study of a diverse, global sample of people found different cortical thickness, surface area and subcortical volume in some regions of the brain in people who had experienced childhood abuse. More severe abuse correlated with more dramatic changes in the brain. The effects were more pronounced in women than in men or children. The findings show/suggest that distinct types of early life adversity may be associated with a variety of changes in brain structure that depend on age and sex.

Journal: Biological Psychiatry

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