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Frontiers Communications
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1,343 news posts
Health
26 Sep 2016
Why do more men commit suicide than women?
by Simon Watt, Frontiers Science Writer Why do more men die when they attempt suicide than women? The answer could lie in four traits, find scientists. More than 6,000 British lives are lost to suicide each year, and nearly 75 per cent of those are male. However, research has found women are more likely to suffer from depression, and to attempt to take their own life. Scientists interested in this sex difference looked into why men’s attempts at suicide were more likely to be fatal, in a study published in open-access journal Frontiers in Psychiatry. Although men tend to choose more lethal methods than women do, the study found that even when men and women try to kill themselves using the same method, men are still more likely to die. 4 traits for suicide Prof. Gopikrishna Deshpande and his team from Auburn University in USA found there are four traits defined as “the acquired capability for suicide” which men are more likely to have than women. The traits are fearlessness of death, pain tolerance, emotional stoicism and sensation seeking. People experiencing a desire to commit suicide will not do so without first losing their fear of dying and developing the […]
Frontiers news
23 Sep 2016
Interview with Review Editor Petia Koprinkova-Hristova
by Erica Namigai, Frontiersin.org Petia Koprinkova-Hristova is a renowned researcher in Computational Intelligence, and is currently an associate professor at the Institute of Information and Communication Technologies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Dr. Koprinkova-Hristova is an active reviewer for a number of scientific journals, among which are Neurocomputing, Neural Networks, and IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks, and is a Review Editor on the Editorial Board of Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience. How long have you been a reviewer for Frontiers and what made you decide to be a reviewer for the journal? I was invited two years ago by a colleague. What do you like about the peer review process at Frontiers? I have the opportunity to communicate with the authors throughout the review process. At Frontiers, peer reviewers are recognized on the article. Is this important to you as a reviewer and as a reader of researcher papers? For me it is not that important because I think that the paper should be estimated based on its quality but not with respect to the reviewers who assessed it. Are you happy with the way peer review works in general? I am happy with the peer review process. This year’s theme […]
Frontiers news
23 Sep 2016
Call for Mentors: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution is seeking experienced researchers to join a new mentorship initiative where PhD students have the opportunity to curate an open-access article volume around a given theme. The aim of the program is to provide graduate students with crucial insights into academic publishing and the peer review process. Mentors in this program will work alongside students to consider relevant themes in ecology and evolution which can shed light on emerging research areas, or delve deeper into an already established one. Students will pair with mentors to develop a Research Topic proposal and identify key authors to contact about contributing. Mentors will also handle the review of manuscript submissions. Following closure of the topic, students will be encouraged to write an Editorial summarizing the collection and placing it in a wider context. If interested or would like to know more, send us an email at: ecologyandevolution@frontiersin.org
Life sciences
22 Sep 2016
Sex before sport doesn’t negatively impact performance
Contrary to popular belief, sex before sport doesn’t have a negative effect on the athlete and could even benefit performance. — By Tania Fitzgeorge-Balfour, science writer Over the course of the Rio Olympics, 450,000 condoms were distributed around the athlete’s village. This may be surprising considering the common view that abstinence from sexual activity can boost athletic performance. These long-standing views have now been challenged by a recent analysis of current scientific evidence, published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Physiology. “Abstaining from sexual activity before athletic competition is a controversial topic in the world of sport;” said Laura Stefani, an Assistant Professor of Sports Medicine at the University of Florence, Italy, and lead author of this review;”We show no robust scientific evidence to indicate that sexual activity has a negative effect upon athletic results.” The authors sifted through hundreds of studies with the potential to provide evidence, however big or small, on the impact of sexual activity upon sport performance. After setting a number of criteria to filter out the most reliable of these studies, only nine were included in the review. One of these found that the strength of female former athletes did not differ if they had sex the night before. Another actually […]
Frontiers news
21 Sep 2016
Interview with Review Editor Jose Luis Contreras-Vidal
by Carla Aloe, Frontiersin.org For Peer Review Week we decided to talk to some of our Review Editors about their experience at Frontiers. Jose Luis Contreras-Vidal is a Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Houston. He earned his Ph.D. in Cognitive and Neural Systems from Boston University in 1994, and he was previously an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland. Professor Contreras-Vidal is a Review Editor for Neuroprosthetics, the section cross-listed between Frontiers in Neuroscience and Frontiers in Neurology devoted to the study of brain-machine interfaces and neuroprostheses. He is also a Topic Editor for Frontiers in Human Neuroscience for the Research Topic Mobile Brain/Body Imaging and the Neuroscience of Art, Innovation and Creativity. How long have you been a reviewer for Frontiers and what made you decide to be a reviewer for the journal? I have been a reviewer since July 2011. I joined Frontiers because I believe in open access, transparent and expedited reviewing. Moreover, I find the overall quality of Frontiers journals to be very good. What do you like about the peer review process at Frontiers? I really appreciate that Frontiers is open, authors […]
Psychology
20 Sep 2016
Emotional Intelligence can enhance quality of life
by Srividya Sundaresan, Frontiers Science Writer Research indicates emotional intelligence correlates with a greater sense of personal well-being, a study in Frontiers in Psychology found. People feel a sense of well-being when their work and their lives are meaningful. Psychologists measure two indices of personal well-being – our need to seek pleasure and avoid pain – hedonic well-being, and our need for personal fulfillment and self realization – eudaimonic well-being. If a sense of well-being is important for an individual, what are certain factors or traits that contribute to well-being? Can these traits be enhanced to give people more resources to deal with their challenges? Emotional intelligence, or EI, could play an important role, according to a recent study reported in the online journal, Frontiers in Psychology. But, what is EI? EI is often described as the ability of a person to identify emotions in themselves and others, and manage these emotions. Two aspects of EI are trait EI and ability-based EI. Trait EI includes the perceptions of features such as self control, self awareness, and adaptability, to name a few, whereas ability-based EI refers to objective skills in coping with emotions. Evidence from other studies show EI improves with targeted training and […]
Frontiers news
20 Sep 2016
Frontiers Collaborative Peer Review: criteria to accept and reject manuscripts
Frontiers’ founding principle is to empower researchers in the publishing process. We distribute editorial responsibility to our Editorial Boards, to which we appoint leading experts according to strict criteria of excellence.
Health
20 Sep 2016
Searching for answers in Hernia surgery
by Emily Barker, Frontiersin.org Hernia surgery is one of the largest fields in general surgery – worldwide there are more than 30 million operations performed each year. Hernias are a common aliment, which if left untreated can turn into a strangulated hernia – a very painful and potentially lethal condition. However, despite large numbers of hernia cases across the world, Ferdinand Köckerling, Field Chief Editor for Frontiers in Surgery, explained there is still a number of unsolved questions when it comes to treating them. Over the past six years he and a network of surgeons have collected data from over 330,000 hernia cases for their Herniamed registry. There are many different procedures including an open or minimally invasive approach. He explained: “For the hundreds of different procedures, there is still an ongoing discussion what the best approach is for the patients.” Herniamed, a non-profit organisation, is attempting to answer those questions and they have already made some discoveries. “We found there is a clear correlation between the case volume of the surgeons and the outcome – that means when you want to have optimal outcome for the patients then you need more specialized surgeons in the field of hernia surgery;” explained […]
Open science and peer review
15 Sep 2016
A History of Academic Peer Review
Although peer review is now a fundamental quality control measure implemented during the publishing process, the practice as we know it today is quite different from how it was envisioned almost two centuries ago. PDF version available here: A Succinct History of Academic Peer Review References Csiszar, A. (2016) Peer review: Troubled from the start. Nature 532:306-8 doi:10.1038/532306a Spier, R. (2002) The history of the peer-review process. Trends in Biotechnology 20(8):357-8 doi: 10.1016/S0167-7799(02)01985-6
Open science and peer review
15 Sep 2016
Podcast: Peer Review Recognition
Peer review recognition provides transparency and accountability which are key to achieving high quality research. In this Frontiers podcast, guest host Pamela Valdes, President of EPFL’s Postdoc Association and postdoc for EPFL’s Life Sciences Faculty, talks to Frontiers’ Mirjam Curno and Tobias Preuten on what makes Frontiers Peer Review different and what Frontiers is doing to recognize researchers for their peer reviews.
Frontiers news
14 Sep 2016
New mentorship program for PhD students
Frontiers is excited to announce a mentorship program which will give PhD students the opportunity to curate an article volume around a specific theme. The project is called a Research Topic and it’s with the open-access journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. Students will pair with more experienced mentors to propose a topic and identify key authors to contact about contributing to the volume. This represents an opportunity for students to gain insights into peer review and publishing processes. Students will be directly involved in: Generating a topic proposal Determining the scope of the topic Writing the topic description Considering potential contributors and types of submissions. Following closure of the topic, students will be encouraged to write an Editorial that will summarize the collection and place it in a wider context. If interested or would like to know more, send us an email at: ecologyandevolution@frontiersin.org. Deadline to apply is October 15, 2016.
Psychology
13 Sep 2016
Touchscreens may boost motor skills in toddlers
by Conn Hastings, Frontiers Science Writer Younger use of touchscreens by toddlers correlates with increased fine motor control. Does your toddler use a touchscreen tablet? A recent study published in Frontiers in Psychology has shown that early touchscreen use, and in particular actively scrolling the screen, correlates with increased fine motor control in toddlers. Smartphones and tablets are now commonplace at work and in the home. If you are reading this on your morning commute on public transport, it is likely to be on a touchscreen device, while surrounded by people who are completely absorbed by their own touchscreens. There has been a dramatic increase in the ownership and use of tablets and smartphones in recent years. In the UK, family ownership of touchscreen devices increased from 7% in 2011 to 71% in 2014. It is therefore not surprising that children are using touchscreens from a very early age, but is this a good thing or not? The effects of using touchscreens on young children are a concern for some parents and policymakers. Popular opinion holds that using touchscreens at an early age is likely to delay the cognitive development of children. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that […]
Frontiers news
13 Sep 2016
Frontiers Peer Review Happy Hour
Why have one Happy Hour when you can have two? In honor of Peer Review Week, Frontiers is hosting a Peer Review Happy Hour at Kings College London AND their Lausanne office on Sept. 22 – and you are invited to attend! Peer Review Week is a global event happening September 19-25, 2016. It celebrates the essential role that peer review plays in maintaining scientific quality. This year’s theme is “Recognition for Review” which will explore all aspects of how those participating in review activity should be recognized for their contribution. Space is limited, so sign up today. This is your chance to meet the Frontiers team! You’ll also learn about the latest developments in peer review, while enjoying drinks and snacks. More Peer Review Week activities. #PeerRevWk16 FRONTIERS PEER REVIEW HAPPY HOUR IN LONDON Basement of King’s Learning Centre at King’s College London Strand London WC2R 2LS Thursday Sept 22nd @ 16.:00 p.m. – 18:00 p.m. Register for the London event. FRONTIERS PEER REVIEW HAPPY HOUR IN LAUSANNE EPFL Innovation Park Building I, Lausanne Thursday Sept 22nd @ 16.:00 p.m. – 18:00 p.m. Register for the Lausanne event.
Sustainability
12 Sep 2016
Don’t fear GM crops, they could help solve the sustainability crisis
by Emily Barker, Frontiersin.org Modified crops are nothing to be scared of and could be essential in solving the global sustainability crisis, explained Dr. James Lloyd, Deputy Field Chief Editor for Plant Biotechnology in the open-access journal Frontiers in Planet Science. Much of southern Africa is currently suffering consecutive seasons of drought, and farmers in Eastern Kenya have lost more than 80% of their crops due to lack of rain. These droughts, caused by climate change, could potentially leave 36m people across Africa facing hunger. However, there is hope in drought resistant crops. Over a five-year period, a total of 2.9 million farmers in 13 African countries saw their yields increase by 20% to 30% after sowing a variety of drought-tolerant hybrids. “I think that using this type of technology has huge potential to increase crop yields and I would be optimistic that we can increase food production as we need to in the next years or so,” he added. Making modified starch more ecofriendly Dr. Lloyd and his team, who are based in South Africa, have currently been working on increasing the amount of phosphate that’s bound to starch by manipulating plant genes. Modified starch is used by the paper […]
Health
12 Sep 2016
Eating your greens could enhance sport performance
By Fabienne Eckert, Frontiers Science Writer Nitrate supplementation in conjunction with Sprint Interval Training in low oxygen conditions could enhance sport performance a study has found. Researchers from the University of Leuven in Belgium carried out a study with twenty-seven moderately trained participants. These were given nitrate supplements ahead of Sprint Interval Training (SIT), which took the form of short but intense cycling sessions three times a week. Nitrate is commonly found in diets rich in leafy green foods, like spinach and is important for the functioning of the human body, especially during exercising. To assess differences in performance in different conditions, the study included workouts in normal oxygen conditions and in hypoxia conditions, which are low oxygen levels such as those found in high altitudes. The observations published in Frontiers in Physiology were unexpected: after only five weeks, the muscle fiber composition changed with the enhanced nitrate intake when training in low oxygen conditions. “This is probably the first study to demonstrate that a simple nutritional supplementation strategy, i.e. oral nitrate intake, can impact on training-induced changes in muscle fiber composition;” stated Professor Peter Hespel from the Athletic Performance Center at the University of Leuven. For athletes participating in […]