New research shows that variations in a particular genotype can make a person more likely to participate in “prosocial” acts, such as rescuing someone from drowning.
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A study combining regional political, social, economic and health data with responses from various personality surveys showed that parts of the US can indeed be said to have distinct temperaments.
Oprah Winfrey, the internationally famous talk-show host, media proprietor, philanthropist, recently declared that disbelief in god is incompatible with experiencing wonder. However, Winfrey’s unjustified view on atheism is only the […]
Maria Konnikova: the good news is that you can become more creative and I think that everyone has a certain degree of creativity in them.
Few Chinese terms survived the translational onslaught during the age of European imperialism.
Various participants within the growing field of “impact investing” are developing a range of innovative approaches to deploy private sector capital to solve pressing social challenges.
Filmmaker Casey Neistat explains how the democratization of filmmaking led to his unlikely career as a filmmaker – a career that began one day while playing with a 2000 iMac DV in the trailer park where he was living.
Contrary to some media reports, the chance of 2013 TV135 colliding with Earth is only 1 in 63,000 according to NASA.
Religion is said to either encourage thinking or at least “encourage” science in some nebulous ways.
The image above is a composite of images taken by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft looking down on Saturn and its rings.
A survey of UK residents revealed that those who claimed to meet the minimum recommended amount of weekly exercise tended to be heavier if they stated that part of that exercise included housework.
University of Rochester scientists discovered that during sleep, the space between brain cells widens, allowing additional cerebrospinal fluid to flush out toxic molecules. Some of these have been linked to neurodegenerative diseases.
A protein used by the liver to metabolize belly fat is also used by the brain’s memory center. More belly fat increases the chances that the liver will steal some protein from the brain in order to do its job.
New research suggests that people are largely biologically programmed to wake up and fall asleep at certain times. Those with “late” programming tend to struggle more with traditional work schedules, and can experience health problems as well.
When rats were given a choice between rice cakes, Oreos, cocaine, and morphine, the rice cakes lost handily. However, brain activity showed that in the battle between cookies and drugs, the cookies won.
In the case of one new brand, add black to the label and highlight “high-protein” instead of “low-fat.” It’s one of several new and existing products that are designed to attract an increasing number of “manfluencers.”
A small-scale experiment involving female university students revealed that the presence of music, regardless of its speed, appeared to reduce alcohol’s mellowing effects, leading to faster consumption.
There’s a danger to learning about cognitive biases and logical fallacies and so on which is that you end up with this tool kit of ways to reject other people’s arguments.
What can be better than to be following my own personal fascination?
It wasn’t until I was forced as an exchange student in Japan – my first time abroad – to learn Japanese using comic books and judo textbooks because I had no choice.
A new study claims that Facebook users are separated from each other by an average of just under four people. Interestingly, those that are in self-contained professions are more separated from each other than are Facebook users on the whole.
Critics decry them for their effects on urban planning and traffic management, but a sociologist says they promote stronger community cohesion in an era when knowing one’s neighbors is becoming less common.
Why do we systematically underestimate the amount of time or money we are going to spend on a given project?
Judging from their mid-term essays, I would say that among the many and diverse books and essays we’ve read so far in my course in technology, the one that has impressed the […]
If you’re not in Europe, Africa or the Middle East, don’t worry, you can still watch a live webcast of the penumbral lunar eclipse via the Slooh space camera starting […]
A study from Cologne University reveals that unconscious memorization of brand names as they appear on a screen may be disrupted by the act of chewing popcorn.
Don’t stop at the first explanation that occurs to you, ask your inner rivals what competing explanations they can come up with.
Thanks to some scientific sleuthing courtesy of a dedicated toxicologist, nicotine may have to surrender its infamous position.
We as a culture have invested the words of this book with amazing authority even though we don’t know what these words are and what they mean.
What is preventing us from formulating the optimum drug policy?