research

In matters of life and death, it turns out that semantics matters. When researchers asked people what age they would "live to," compared with what age they would "die by," people's expectations shot up by an average of nine years. That life expectancy could have a big impact on your retirement finances.

The debt-ceiling discussions may be over, but the fallout for states is just starting. Many states, still struggling to recover to pre-recession levels, have depended on federal money to make up their shortfalls. As the flow of money slows, which states will take the biggest hits?

Research studies by Betsy Sparrow of Columbia University "support a growing belief that people are using the Internet as a personal memory bank: the so-called Google effect." Yes, the awareness that we can look things up easily later makes our memories worse. But when it comes to retrieving that online data, she notes, "We're remarkably efficient."

If the financial collapse taught us anything, it's that opacity and self-serving behavior rule at the big Wall Street firms -- so how can the little guy trust their advice? Wikinvest's Mike Sha explains how crowdsourcing can provide better, less biased investment advice to average investors.

We all know the psychological impacts of job loss and unemployment can be painful. But a new study reveals something that may surprise some victims of this recession: Having a bad job can be as harmful to your mental health as no job at all -- in fact, it can be even worse.

In an update Tuesday, Pfizer said it is discontinuing 15 of the projects in its development pipeline. The news comes a month after the world's largest pharmaceutical company announced large research and development cuts were on the way.

Planning on a career as a writer? Getting started can be costly -- advances are often elusive -- so you'll often have to dig into your own pockets to cover the cost of doing research. Doing that within your means is the key. Here are eight tips for doing great research on a budget.

Aside from the embarrassment, researchers know deceptions like the autism research fraud can have much larger consequences, both for the parents of autistic children and for the future of their studies. Says one prominent scientist: "It taints a lot of very good work that goes on."

A new study indicates that alcohol is far more harmful than illegal drugs such as crack cocaine, heroin, or marijuana, based on an analysis of both direct health effects and indirect costs to society as a whole.

Dieters looking for a little extra willpower to avoid putting junk food in their grocery carts might want to leave their credit cards at home. New research shows that buying groceries with plastic instead of good old-fashioned folding money makes people more likely to buy unhealthy foods.