Study links online misogyny to lower earnings for women
They created a misogyny index using Google Trends data. Instead of relying on attitudinal self-reports, they tracked online search rates for slurs against women, grouped into three categories: violent, manosphere and reactionary.
The idea is that anonymous search behaviour reveals latent hostility that surveys may miss. Both misogyny and traditional gender norms (measured separately using national surveys) were linked to lower female earnings, but misogyny had the stronger, more direct effect.
In areas with higher misogyny scores, women earned significantly less. The study suggests that even if only a small share of employers hold misogynistic views, they can still distort the job market.
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Why? Because women may spend more time avoiding or escaping hostile workplaces, and settle for lower pay just to get hired. This added friction can drag down average wages, even where most employers are fair.
The implication: the pay gap may be more personal than is thought, and raw hostility more damaging than we realise.
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Irish Times
2 days ago
- Irish Times
Exercise and socialising can help people at risk of dementia, large-scale study finds
A combination of healthy activities including exercise , nutritious diet, computer brain games and socialising can improve cognitive performance in people at risk for dementia , according to a large new US study. The study, conducted in five locations across the US over two years, is the biggest randomised trial to examine whether healthy behaviours protect brain health. 'It confirms that paying attention to things like physical activity and vascular risk factors and diet are all really important ways to maintain brain health,' said Dr Kristine Yaffe, an expert in cognitive ageing at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not involved in the study. The results were presented laste week at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Toronto and published in the journal JAMA. READ MORE The study involved 2,111 people, aged 60 to 79, from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. None were cognitively impaired. All had sedentary lifestyles, suboptimal diets and two other dementia risk factors, such as a family history of cognitive decline and high blood pressure. [ Alzheimer's: 'I've lost my friend and my companion,' says Úna Crawford O'Brien of fellow Fair City actor Bryan Murray Opens in new window ] Half of the participants followed a structured programme. They were prescribed a healthy diet, socially engaging activities, and a weekly regimen of eight exercise sessions and three sessions of computerised cognitive training. They attended 38 meetings with facilitators and fellow participants. The study is the biggest randomised trial to examine whether healthy behaviours protect brain health. Photograph: Getty Images The other participants followed a self-guided programme. They were given educational materials and resources, and were regularly encouraged to engage in healthy behaviours. They attended six team meetings during the study. Cognitive scores for both groups improved considerably, with the high-intensity group improving somewhat more than the other group. 'The structured intervention had an extra benefit over and above the self-guided,' said Laura Baker, a professor of gerontology, geriatrics and internal medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and a principal investigator of the study. Still, the study left many questions unanswered. We should have more aggressive targeting of interventions for people who have lower cognition, who are more at risk, and less intense or less expensive interventions for those with higher cognition — Kaarin Anstey Dr Lon Schneider, an Alzheimer's expert at the University of Southern California and a member of the Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, was impressed that 'both groups improved quite significantly'. But he noted that the difference in performance between the high-intensity and self-guided groups was 'very small', raising questions about how beneficial an intensive programme truly was. It was also unclear how much of the cognitive improvement reflected a 'practice effect', a common phenomenon whereby participants learn to do better on assessments simply by taking them several times, Schneider and other experts said. 'This does not demonstrate that any of the lifestyle changes in and of themselves, or the combination of them, is responsible for this level of improvement,' Schneider said. 'Or that it is necessarily related to neurodegeneration or Alzheimer's disease.' The results cannot be compared with the general population, as the study did not include a group that received no intervention. 'We didn't believe that it was ethical' to have a 'group that would not get anything', said Heather M Snyder, senior vice-president for medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer's Association, which spent $50 million as the lead funder of the study. [ Irish study to assess dementia risk from sports-related brain injury in 360 retired athletes Opens in new window ] Baker said that even if the structured intervention was only modestly more effective than the self-guided one, 'I don't think we can say a small difference for an at-risk group is not meaningful.' She estimated that, compared with the self-guided group, the structured intervention 'slowed the cognitive ageing clock by one to two years', which might 'increase resilience against cognitive decline'. But several outside experts said that estimating any real-world advantage was difficult. They also questioned whether many people could realistically adopt an intense programme. [ Dementia diagnosis 'a very lonely experience at first': advocacy group calls for counselling support Opens in new window ] 'One of the big questions is how much do you need to do, and what's cost-effective,' said Kaarin Anstey, director of the Ageing Futures Institute at the University of New South Wales in Australia. 'If we only have very intensive interventions only a few people can afford, that's not actually going to address the bigger issue of population ageing and lots of people developing cognitive impairment.' The study, called US POINTER, was modelled after the first large randomised trial of lifestyle changes, called FINGER and conducted in Finland a dozen years ago. That study's intensive group showed 25 per cent greater cognitive improvement than a group receiving minimal intervention. The goal was to 'see if it can work' in a more diverse nation with different health and lifestyle issues, Baker said. The participants lived in North Carolina, Rhode Island, northern California, Houston and Chicago. More than two-thirds were women and 31 per cent were from racial or ethnic minority groups. Most had first-degree relatives with memory loss, and 30 per cent had the APOE4 gene mutation, which increases Alzheimer's risk. All of those subgroups experienced the same degree of cognitive improvement. Most people participated for the full two years, an indication that they were highly motivated whether or not they received intensive supervision. The study found that participants who started with lower cognitive scores benefited more. Photograph: Getty Images Phyllis Jones (66) of Aurora, Illinois, enrolled partly because her mother and grandmother had suffered from vascular dementia. Before the study, she said, stress from being laid off from a software engineering position and other job difficulties sent her to the emergency room with blurry vision and a racing heart. 'I was in really bad shape,' Jones said. Participating in the structured intervention 'woke me up'. At first, just 10 minutes of aerobics was exhausting, but she now exercises daily and has lost 30lb, she said. Buoyed by social support from the peer meetings, she found a new job as a software tester. She befriended another participant, Patty Kelly (81). They encouraged each other, and Kelly overhauled her own diet, sharply limiting sweets, cheese and fried food. Both women perceived some cognitive benefit, although they have not been told their scores. Jones felt more able to plan home projects and follow messaging chains at work. Kelly, who retired from a non-profit serving homeless families, said her driving had improved. 'I don't run into the side of the garage any more,' she said. The computer brain games were 'the hardest thing for us to get on board with', Jones said. That was true for other participants, too, Baker said. 'Is it practical to expect people to do this day after day?' Baker said about computerised brain training. 'Based on our experience, I'm going to say no.' But she said that any kind of intellectual stimulation could be helpful. [ Mobility issues? Here is a short workout you can do in a chair Opens in new window ] Since the trial ended last year, Jones has maintained many practices, she said, but found herself backsliding with sugar, and her cholesterol climbed. 'I think the structure is important, the accountability,' she said. The study found that participants who started with lower cognitive scores benefited more. It is unclear why, Anstey said, but could suggest that 'we should have more aggressive targeting of interventions for people who have lower cognition, who are more at risk, and less intense or less expensive interventions for those with higher cognition'. For both groups, the biggest cognitive improvement involved executive function – skills like planning and organising. Memory initially improved in both groups, but then declined, with no significant difference in the groups' ultimate memory scores. Memory loss is a core Alzheimer's symptom, Yaffe noted, so cognitive improvements in the trial were likely 'less related to Alzheimer's disease and more related to vascular changes in the brain'. The researchers will analyse blood, brain scans and other data to see if the activities spurred brain changes, reductions in Alzheimer's-related proteins or other biological factors, Snyder said. The US Alzheimer's Association will spend $40 million to follow the participants and help communities adopt locally tailored programmes. 'We now need to translate this and to turn brain health interventions into public health outcomes and solutions,' Snyder said. – This article originally appeared in The New York Times .
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Irish Times
The Mind Electric: Stories of the Strangeness and Wonder of Our Brains by Pria Anand. Keen observations and evocative storytelling
The Mind Electric: Stories of the Strangeness and Wonder of Our Brains Author : Pria Anand ISBN-13 : 978-0349019109 Publisher : Virago Guideline Price : £22 A 19-year-old student developed a searing headache and slowly lost her vision, so gradually that it took her several days to realise that she had been struck blind. Certain that the blindness was divine punishment for a secret sin, she told no one. It wasn't until she walked into a wall that her grandmother intervened. The student's story is one of many patient stories that Pria Anand, a neurologist at Boston Medical Centre, uses to illustrate the myriad symptoms and deficits of neurological diseases. Anand is a compelling narrator and vivid storyteller. Having studied literature and cognitive science before her medical career, she writes with striking precision and sensitivity. Her love of language shines through in the compassionate way she describes patients and the complex challenges they face when the nervous system fails to function as it should. For Anand, hospitals are places of both heartache and wonder, and it is through stories we begin to make sense of the senseless. READ MORE This collection of stories honours scientific endeavour in pursuit of improved patient care. However, Anand is acutely aware of medicine's historical and contemporary failings and strongly advocates for care that does not discriminate based on gender, race or socioeconomic status. Her passion for equitable patient care makes this a powerful, engaging and, at times, a tender read. The title The Mind Electric might suggest an exploration of the intangible realms of thought, feeling and consciousness. In reality, Anand's focus is more grounded in the physical brain and its observable functions. This focus does not disappoint. Stories of disrupted sight, speech, hearing, touch, movement, memory and pain are crafted with skill and insight. The influence of Oliver Sacks is both clear and acknowledged, with rare and compelling neurological conditions taking centre stage. Such stories offer powerful insights into neuroanatomy and brain function. However, readers whose lives have been affected by conditions such as dementia, Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis may find their experiences less reflected in this collection. The Mind Electric is a valuable and welcome addition to the canon of medical writing. While medical students and doctors in training will find much to learn from Anand's insights, the book also offers broader appeal. Anand's keen observations and evocative storytelling make for compelling reading. Des McMahon is a consultant in palliative medicine, St Vincent's University Hospital and Our Lady's Hospice & Care Services.
Irish Times
23-07-2025
- Irish Times
Irish university central to discovery of ancient reptile that forces evolution rethink
A newly discovered reptile has led scientists 'back to the drawing board' on feather evolution. Although existing 70 million years before the oldest fossil feathers, the Mirasaura grauvogeli has long outer layer structures which share similarities with feathers. Originating from Grès à Voltzia in northeastern France, these reptiles had a large crest of plume-like structures, similar to how modern-day feathers look. Palaeontologists at University College Cork (UCC), along with an international team of researchers from Germany , Italy , France and the USA , discovered the new species of fossil reptile from the Triassic period, which ended around 201 million years ago. Professor Maria McNamara, leader of the UCC team and co-author of the study, told The Irish Times that the fossils were 'originally discovered in the 1930s by an amateur, Louis Grauvogel', who retained and protected them during the second World War. READ MORE Prof Maria McNamara and Dr Valentina Rossi with a fossil specimen showing the Mirasaura crest. Photograph: UCC 'They were kind of rediscovered by the family in an old drawer' and 'donated to the Stuttgart museum of national history', she said. The team at UCC, made up of Prof McNamara, Dr Valentina Rossi and Dr Tiffany Slater, were asked to analyse the soft tissues of the specimen. They examined the fossil's outer layer using scanning electron microscopy and synchrotron X-ray analyses. The microscope used by the UCC team allowed them to examine the sample without applying any conductive coating (such as metal or gold), which usually improves the imaging of samples. 'Our electron microscope allows us to put in whole big fossils without coating them', so 'it doesn't damage the specimens in any way', said Prof McNamara. The synchrotron X-ray analysis told the researchers of the chemical composition of the fossil. They found the fossil's soft tissues were rich in copper, which is a common element associated with feathers. The holotype of Mirasaura showing the bird-like skull and the crest along the back. Credit: Stephan Spiekman The team also found the fossil tissue was rich in preserved melanosomes (cell organelles that contain melanin pigments), which are common in the feathers, skin, hair and internal organs of fossil and modern vertebrate animals. They discovered that the melanosomes in Mirasaura are similar in shape to those in feathers, but not mammal hair or reptilian skin. 'We know that in modern animals, melanosome shape is closely linked to tissue type,' said Dr Rossi. 'We can therefore be confident that the Mirasaura structures share some common developmental features with feathers.' Dr Slater said the discovery 'forces us back to the drawing board for when feather-like structures first evolved'. She added: 'Mirasaura reveals a deeper, more complex evolutionary story than we ever expected.' Prof McNamara said this discovery 'suggests there is the very real possibility other ancient reptiles were evolving very showy plumes', which is 'really exciting'. She added that such discoveries would not be possible 'if those specimens remained in private hands'. 'Because these specimens were donated to a public institution, it's only then that they became accessible to scientists, and only because of that goodwill that we are able to make these really ground-breaking discoveries,' she said.
