Researchers have discovered the brain mechanism that prevents people from developing overwhelming fear.
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A new study from the Emory-Tibet Partnership showed that a form of compassion-based meditation helped increased test subjects’ ability to interpret others’ facial expressions.
Last spring, I wrote about the Secular Coalition for America’s new executive director, Edwina Rogers, a Republican lobbyist whose selection raised more than a few eyebrows. While I had (and […]
Scientists at Washington University in St. Louis are using crowdsourcing to gather data on people’s ability to learn names and faces.
Some links gathered over the week for you to peruse: • Ed Miliband, the leader of the UK’s opposition Labour party, is a nonbeliever. He says he doesn’t hold religious […]
New research at USC shows that the brain processes the movements of others differently depending on the viewer’s feelings about the person they’re watching.
Over the past decade, there have been several studies suggesting potential gene variants that may be linked to IQ.
UK researchers want to see if polyphenols, the compounds that allegedly give foods such as broccoli and blueberries body-healing properties, actually make it past the gut lining.
At this week’s Body Computing Conference, one team of researchers is unveiling a car with special sensors that monitor its driver’s health and habits.
A new trial of a Web-based system could represent the first step in a more collaborative doctor-patient relationship.
ICU doctors at a Kansas City hospital received results of a baby’s complete genome within just over two days, a new record.
A recently-published review of studies done on exercise interventions for young people shows that by themselves they don’t significantly increase children’s overall daily physical activity.
My latest article for Salon has just been published, “Atheism’s growing pains“. It’s a brief survey and distillation of the Atheism Plus movement: what it is, why it was needed, […]
A new study says that more and more companies are changing their environments to make it easier for their employees to work offsite.
A 12-year tracking study of coyotes in urban areas showed that the populations are thriving…and serving as test cases for larger animals like wolves and bears.
A restaurant check wallet currently being road-tested comes with its own mini-computer, letting patrons pay with a credit card right at the table.
A new study out from MIT says that the scannability of typefaces used on auto dashboards can impact a driver’s ability to react to an unexpected road condition.
Improved ability to cope with cognitive dissonance is tied to a regular dose of Wolfgang Amadeus M., according to preliminary research.
The key is to look for a job the same way you would look for a unique opportunity to create something better or new – a business, a product or service or maybe even a career.
Some research proposes that sorrow in fiction might be a form of psychological relief. A more fruitful explanation is that important virtues, values and morals that elicit uplifting emotions accompany sad moments in fiction.
Pervasive computing is all about interaction between the billions – soon to be trillions – of microprocessors that have infiltrated virtually every aspect of our lives. A new book,”Trillions”, argues that we have to design an entire living environment where those devices communicate with each other and with us.
Depending on your relationship to the powers that be, Wikileaks and its founder Julian Assange rank among either the brightest angels or the darkest demons of contemporary life. Harnessing the […]
It’s just a few weeks until the U.S. presidential election, and while nothing is set in stone, Mitt Romney’s hopes are looking increasingly dim. Despite the depressed economy, which would […]
Those windshields with embedded displays may be here sooner than you think: A team of Rice University researchers has come up with flexible high-capacity memory chips made of silicon oxide and graphene.
Two proteins found in the deadly snake’s venom kept mice pain-free longer, raising hopes for a medication that manages pain with fewer side effects.
Fashion, like art, knocks the dust off of life.
Engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have created a handheld scanner that will give primary care physicians the same kind of 3D imaging that surgeons have had for years.
Forget fingerprints: Technology is now available that can identify a person by their unique heartbeat. The one major challenge is getting people used to the idea.
John Silber just passed away. He accomplished many things…made Boston University into an internationally recognized academic institution, served as Chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Education…but he also taught an […]
Did I really see that last night? The debate was a bad horror movie for liberals and progressives such as myself, who support Obama. It was Attack of the 50-Foot […]