Answers from the research files
Do voters like mavericks?
Yes and no. A UC Irvine study found voters view a politician labeled as a maverick for challenging the party line as someone who is trustworthy and honorable. Mavericks often gain respect from those who hold opposing views, but at the same time, mavericks can experience significant backlash from their own party because people basically like those who agree with them. The researchers interviewed UC Irvine students, shoppers at a mall and visitors to the YourMorals.org Web site, created by social psychology professors and graduate students who study morals and politics.
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Can Web surfing be good for you?
Searching the Internet can actually improve brain function in middle-aged and older adults, according to a UCLA study. All those Google searches, it seems, activate the areas of the brain responsible for decision-making and complex reasoning.
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Is treatment more effective than incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders?
A UCLA study of Prop 36, the 2000 ballot measure that sentences drug offenders to treatment, found that taxpayers saved $2 in prison costs for every $1 invested in treatment programs. But participants were more likely to get rearrested. At the same time property crimes rose, violent crime declined in California at a greater rate than the rest of the country.
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Can fruits and veggies cure cancer?
No, but UC Riverside biochemists found that ingesting apigenin, a naturally occurring agent found in vegetables and fruit, improves cancer cells' response to chemotherapy. Apigenin is found in many foods including apples, cherries, grapes, artichokes, basil, nuts and in tea and wine.
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Why are Yosemite critters moving up?
Shrews, mice, squirrels and other small mammal populations in Yosemite National Park have been moving to cooler, higher ground in response to rising temperatures, according to a UC Berkeley study. Some small mammals in the park have moved to higher elevations while others have reduced their ranges. The rapid population shifts are another global warming danger signal.
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