Snapping shrimp, naked mole rats, ants, honeybees, and humans – what do they all have in common? They all share a similar colony-like organizational system that biologists have termed eusociality. Eusocial species have been remarkably successful in both surviving and thriving through the use of colony-level cooperation. One cooperative behavior used by all eusocial species […]
Previous studies have found that psychedelic use may occasion lasting improvements in mental health, but the effects of psychedelic use on suicidality have been unknown. Now, a new study in the Journal of Psychopharmacology has examined the use of classic psychedelics (LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, and mescaline), to determine whether they might be protective with regard […]
Spread through contact with cat feces or eating undercooked meat, the parasite Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) has been linked to increased rates of attempted suicide in women. The study, in the Archives of General Psychiatry, notes that while causality has not been proven, a significant predictive association exists between the infection and suicide attempts later […]
The happiest countries (and happiest U.S. states) have the highest suicide rates; say an international team of researchers, who have pulled together a study that attempts to explain this seemingly paradoxical situation. The study, appearing in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, shows that a range of nations including Canada, the United States, Iceland, […]
The current issue of the journal High Altitude Medicine & Biology contains an analysis of mortality data that reveals a striking correlation between living at higher altitudes and suicide risk. A multi-institute research team examined cause-of-death data from all 2,584 U.S. counties between 1979 and 1998 and found that, as a group, people living at […]
In the largest study of its kind ever undertaken, a team of researchers analyzed the medical records of more than one million men dating back over 24 years and compared rates of hospital admission for attempted suicide against IQ scores. They found that even after adjusting for factors such as age and socioeconomic status, men […]
Teen suicide gets plenty of airtime, but a new American study finds that middle-aged whites, particularly women, are an emerging high-risk group. The study notes that the increase in the overall suicide rate between 1999 and 2005 was due primarily to an increase in suicides among whites aged 40 – 64, with white middle-aged women […]
Could neurotoxin pollutants be causing an elevated suicide rate in a North Carolina community? Sited next to a paper mill and other industrial plants, the community is suffering a sustained increase in suicides, which researchers think could be linked to the release of hydrogen sulfide and other airborne chemicals. The study, carried out by a […]
