Heidelberg, Germany. A research group demonstrated that intensive maternal care by mice during infancy promotes the effect of a messenger substance in the brain., resulting in reduced anxiety in adulthood and higher weight than counterparts who received less affection.

The research group was able to show that the effect is explained by the maternal care which stimulated the persistent formation of certain neuropeptide Y (NPY) receptors in the forebrain.

Exeter, United Kingdom. Scientists have observed a strategy for females to avoid unwanted male attention: choosing more attractive friends.

Male guppies are well known for frequent and sometimes constant harassment of females. This puts a significant burden on females, sometimes preventing them finding food and escaping from predators.

Boston, MA, USA. Young girls have been viewed as far more savvy than boys at navigating the emotional pitfalls of friendships. But a new report shows that when friends let them down, girls are even more devastated than boys.

Despite previous research, the new findings suggest that when more serious violations of a friendship occur, girls struggle just as much and, in some ways, even more than boys.

Evanston, IL, USA. Flocking to an online dating site with a wish list of ideal traits that you desire in a mate may not get the results you desire. Research shows that once you actually meet a potential dating partner, those ideals are likely to fall by the wayside.

When people examined written descriptions of potential partners, they liked those that matched their ideals more than those that mismatched their ideals, but those same ideals didn't matter once they actually met in person.

College Park, MD, USA. Critiques of sexist behavior often cite the objectification model, where viewing someone as a body induces dementalization (stripping away their psychological traits), but new evidence presents an alternative account.

Researchers argue that a body focus does not diminish the attribution of all mental capacities; instead, it leads perceivers to infer a different kind of mind.