FYI: Findings

A “universal” flu vaccine may revolutionize flu prevention. Such vaccines, which target the unchanging portion of the virus, could reduce the severity of illness and debilitate the virus’s adaptability and resistance to immunity, according to a new study led by ecology and evolutionary biology postdoctoral research associate Nimalan Arinaminpathy. A research team from various universities and government agencies found that when used together with strain-specific vaccines, the universal vaccine may provide unmatched control of seasonal and new flu strains. The findings were published in the Feb. 21 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

ILLUSTRATION: STEVEN VEACH

Risk-taking and fast thinking interact in a potentially dangerous way, according to a study by Princeton psychology professor Emily Pronin and postdoctoral fellow Jesse Chandler. In two experiments, Pronin and Chandler found that the faster information was presented — in a set of trivia statements read by subjects and a video they watched — the more risk the participants took or intended to take. The research suggests that the speed at which people process information can influence their decisions and make them more prone to risk. The findings were published in the April issue of Psychological Science.