This Just In

A roundup of new and noteworthy insights from the week’s most talked-about studies:

1 U.S. TODDLERS ARE MORE SOCIAL THAN OTHER KIDS

Babies raised in the U.S. are more social, more impulsive and less likely to be unhappy than children in Chile, Poland and South Korea, according to a study that surveyed mothers, published in the European Journal of Developmental Psychology.

2 THINKING POSITIVELY MAY HELP YOU LIVE LONGER

A report in the BMJ based on surveying about 10,000 middle-aged people three times over five years found that those who reported high life enjoyment each time were 24% less likely to have died in the next seven years than those who had no enjoyment.

3 THE HUMAN BODY HAS A ‘NEW’ ORGAN

Scientists recently discovered that the mesentery, which had been considered a group of structures connecting the intestine to the abdomen, is in fact continuous and qualifies as an organ, researchers wrote in the Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.

–J.Z.