Surprising Science — April 23, 2010

Sleep, Memory

Subjects who dreamed about a virtual reality maze that they had been in a few hours earlier were quicker to get out of it the second time they were tested.

bigthinkeditor

A new study indicates that dreams may help to improve memory. Scientists at Harvard Medical School have found that subjects who dreamed about a virtual reality maze that they had been in a few hours earlier were quicker to get out of it the second time they were tested. The students who did dream about the maze did not replay the experience experience exactly—”suggesting that the dreams don’t reflect an attempt by the brain to create an exact memory of what happened, but rather an attempt to put a new memory in context of existing knowledge.”

X-ray style image of a human head with brain highlighted by luminous, branching electric currents made of particles against a dark background.

Starts With A Bang

Can the known particles and interactions explain consciousness?

At a fundamental level, only a few particles and forces govern all of reality. How do their combinations create human consciousness?

A person in a karate gi breaking a brick with a hand strike, demonstrating the physics of karate, superimposed on a background of mathematical equations and graphs.

Hard Science

Karate physics: How your hand can break concrete without breaking itself

A human hand has the power to split wooden planks and demolish concrete blocks. A trio of physicists investigated why this feat doesn’t shatter our bones.

An American flag and a decorative shield with a peace symbol, evoking a sense of paranoia, in front of the United States Capitol building under a cloudy sky.

The Present

Is the U.S. becoming more paranoid?

Although social paranoia is more common than clinical paranoia, studies suggests that American society isn’t any more conspiratorial than it has been in the past.

A digitally rendered yellow sponge, inspired by the "Twinkie defense," depicted within geometric wireframe shapes on a black background, symbolizing conceptual and design analysis.

Neuropsych

The “Twinkie defense”: What we know about diet and crime

In the murder trial of Dan White, the defense touched on diet as a cause for White's actions. It has become known as the "Twinkie defense."

Business

The science of motivation: 5 simple fixes for team engagement

Too many companies fail to recognize that “the deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated” — but the solution is easy.

Up Next

Culture & Religion

Making Reparations

President Obama can reshape the debate over "the idea that the descendants of American slaves should receive compensation for their ancestors’ unpaid labor and bondage," writes Henry Louis Gates Jr.