ScienceDaily: Living Well News

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• Here's your chances for a white Christmas and a dry New Year's Eve in the U.S.
• Curbing car travel could be as effective as cutting calories
• Sleeping pills owe half their benefits to placebo effect, study finds
• Psychologists: Scrooge's transformation parallels real life-changing experiences
• Women earn more if they work in different occupations than men, large international study finds
• Children's meetings offline with people met online examined in new study
• Bugs in the Christmas tree
• Bullying by childhood peers leaves a trace that can change the expression of a gene linked to mood
• Over-indulging can take hours off your life
• Popular TV chef recipes 'less healthy' than supermarket ready meals
• Hair practices may be barrier to physical activity for some African-American women
• Greed, not generosity, more likely to be 'paid forward'

Here's your chances for a white Christmas and a dry New Year's Eve in the U.S. Posted: 18 Dec 2012 11:29 AM PST Climatologists have examined 50 years of weather data and calculated the chances for a white Christmas and a dry New Year's Eve for various cities throughout the United States.

Curbing car travel could be as effective as cutting calories Posted: 18 Dec 2012 10:31 AM PST Those considering how to maintain a healthy weight during holiday festivities, or looking ahead to New Year's resolutions, may want to think twice before reaching for traditional staples like cookies or candy – or the car keys. A new study suggests that both daily automobile travel and calories consumed are related to body weight, and reducing either one, even by a small amount, correlates with a reduction in body mass index.

Sleeping pills owe half their benefits to placebo effect, study finds Posted: 18 Dec 2012 09:12 AM PST Half of the benefit of taking sleeping pills comes from the placebo effect, according to a major new study.

Psychologists: Scrooge's transformation parallels real life-changing experiences Posted: 18 Dec 2012 09:12 AM PST Psychologists studied 14 people who had sudden life-changing experiences. They say Ebenezer Scrooge's transformation fits right in. George Bailey from "It's a Wonderful Life" is another realistic movie character who embodies sudden change.

Women earn more if they work in different occupations than men, large international study finds Posted: 18 Dec 2012 08:20 AM PST Women earn less money than men the more the sexes share the same occupations, a large-scale survey of 20 industrialized countries has found.

Children's meetings offline with people met online examined in new study Posted: 18 Dec 2012 08:16 AM PST Few parents feel entirely comfortable with their children meeting their online acquaintances in real life. But a new study sets out to put the risks and benefits of such meetings in perspective.

Bugs in the Christmas tree Posted: 18 Dec 2012 05:18 AM PST Your Christmas tree may be adorned with lights and glitter. But 25,000 insects, mites, and spiders are sound asleep inside the tree.

Bullying by childhood peers leaves a trace that can change the expression of a gene linked to mood Posted: 18 Dec 2012 05:16 AM PST A recent study suggests that bullying by peers changes the structure surrounding a gene involved in regulating mood, making victims more vulnerable to mental health problems as they age.

Over-indulging can take hours off your life Posted: 17 Dec 2012 04:06 PM PST It may be the season to eat, drink and be merry, but each day of over-indulging can take several hours off your life, according to a new article.

Popular TV chef recipes 'less healthy' than supermarket ready meals Posted: 17 Dec 2012 04:06 PM PST Recipes created by popular television chefs contain significantly more energy, protein, fat, and saturated fat and less fibre per portion than supermarket ready meals, finds a new study.

Hair practices may be barrier to physical activity for some African-American women Posted: 17 Dec 2012 01:24 PM PST A study that surveyed 103 African-American women suggests that nearly 40 percent of the women reported avoiding exercise at times because of their hair.

Greed, not generosity, more likely to be 'paid forward' Posted: 17 Dec 2012 06:16 AM PST Paying it forward -- a popular expression for extending generosity to others after someone has been generous to you -- is a heartwarming concept, but it is less common than repaying greed with greed, according to new research.

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