News in Brief Smart, Emotionally Stable People Enjoy Morbid Humor A taste for the grotesque is no reason for embarrassment. Tom Jacobs
News in Brief Why Do So Few Americans Take Maternity Leave? You probably already know the U.S. has terrible parental leave laws. New numbers suggest that even the policies… Pacific Standard Staff
News in Brief The Smoking Habits of James Bond The superspy has kicked the habit, but the same can’t be said of the people around him. By… Pacific Standard Staff
News in Brief The Other Money Problem in Drug Trials Speaking fees and other financial ties to pharmaceutical companies—not just direct funding—could bias a drug trial’s results. By… Pacific Standard Staff
News in Brief Why Some Doctors’ Groups Blocked Opioid Reform The American Cancer Society describes itself as a “health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer.” So it might come… Francie Diep
News in Brief Does One Fewer Cookie a Day Keep Death at Bay? An odd-sounding approach to living longer gets a boost when two teams of researchers compare notes. By Nathan… Pacific Standard Staff
News in Brief ‘Nightmare Bacteria’ Are More Diverse Than We Previously Thought Researchers call for greater vigilance and more testing to stop a group of bacteria that resists nearly everything… Pacific Standard Staff
News in Brief Could an Invasive Species Save Caribbean Coral Reefs? Coral ecosystems around the globe are collapsing thanks in large part to human activities. How far should we go to save them? Kate Wheeling
News in Brief In Search of Donkey Kong Neuroscientists use common analytic techniques to decipher three arcade classics—and miss the mark. Here’s what that could mean… Pacific Standard Staff
News in Brief We Don’t Gradually Glide Into Corrupt Behavior—We Jump Head First New research disputes the popular “slippery slope” notion of corruption. By Tom Jacobs (Photo: nist6dh/Flickr) The specter of… Pacific Standard Staff