Science News

Testosterone, the male sex hormone previously linked to aggression and criminality, may actually foster pro-social behaviors by increasing honesty in men.

In his new book, The Moral Molecule: The Source of Love and Prosperity, neuroeconomist Paul J. Zak discusses his research on oxytocin, what he calls the "moral molecule." For the past 10 years, Zak has been conducting the same kind of trust games that are common in experimental economics, but with a twist. Before and after the trust games, Zak has been taking blood samples with the goal of gaining a better understanding of how and why people trust others.

More on OXYTOCIN: http://www.scoop.it/t/science-news?q=oxytocin

Individuals are willing to sacrifice their own resources to promote equality in groups. These costly choices promote equality and are associated with behavior that supports cooperation in humans, but little is known about the brain processes involved. We use functional MRI to study egalitarian preferences based on behavior observed in the “random income game.”

NEUROSCIENCE: http://www.scoop.it/t/science-news?tag=neuroscience

In the decades to come, humans will begin patronizing robot-staffed brothels, say researchers from New Zealand’s University of Wellington, removing the guilt and social stigma associated with visiting flesh-and-blood prostitutes.

Articles about ROBOTICS: http://www.scoop.it/t/science-news?tag=robotics

So, in sum, moral ecology is the abstract notion that it takes many behavioural strategies to promote high stable levels of cooperation, which helps explain evolved psychological diversity, which helps explain moral diversity.

Bioengineers at Maastricht University have announced the world's first lab-grown meat will be produced this October, a significant step in what could become a DIY food revolution. According to the Financial Times, 70 percent of agricultural land is currently used for raising animals for their meat, so experts argue so-called in vitro meat engineering will become a vital part of future food production. And not surprisingly, this development has reigniting a larger debate on bioethics.

The part of the brain we use when engaging in egalitarian behavior may also be linked to a larger sense of morality, researchers have found. Their conclusions, which offer scientific support for Adam Smith’s theories of morality, are based on experimental research published in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

NEUROSCIENCE: http://www.scoop.it/t/science-news?tag=neuroscience

Why did the proverbial Good Samaritan cross the road to help the injured stranger? Perhaps he listened to his heart. Not in the poetic sense, but literally. A new study by Jun Gu and his colleagues has highlighted the way cardiac feedback influences people's moral decisions. When students were fed false feedback, leading them to think their heart was racing, they were more likely to volunteer for a good cause and less likely to lie to gain more money.

As machines become increasingly autonomous from humans, such as self-guided drones or self-driven vehicles (which have been granted drivers' licenses in Nevada), they will face moral dilemmas.

As the U.S. presidential election campaigns heat up, the economic debate is dominated by bailouts, austerity and, inevitably, taxation. Now a new study published in Symbolic Interaction asks why tax is such an important issue to voters and explores the moral ideas which underpin their views.

To investigate the effect of mortality awareness, researchers behind the influential "terror management theory" first experimented with judges and prostitutes.

A new study suggests that women are more moral than men, according to a leading philosopher who also found that women over the age of 30 were the most honest.