PEOPLE: NEWS IN BRIEF

Credit: christianchan | 123rf

PARENTAL GENDER ATTITUDES LINKED TO GIRLS' REDUCED UNIVERSITY PARTICIPATION

Stereotypical gender role attitudes and negative images of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields by Japanese parents may be associated with girls’ reduced university participation.

Credit: HKBU

NEW TANGRAM GAMES TEST CHILDREN’S VISUAL-RELATED LITERACY SKILLS

A new series of games can be used to train and test children’s reading, writing and word identification skills at an early age.

Based on the principles of traditional Chinese tangram games, the new method enables teachers and parents to easily identify children with early visual processing difficulties so additional support can be provided.

Credit: S. Ricci

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF MODERN HUMANS OVER NEANDERTHALS

Researchers have found the earliest evidence of mechanically delivered projectile weapons in Europe, dating to 45,000-40,000 years ago. The finding indicates that the spearthrower and bow-and-arrow technologies allowed modern humans to hunt more successfully than Neanderthals, giving them a competitive advantage.