AI to translate cat faces.
Nature: Scientific Reports wants you to know why your cat is making faces at you. They’ve published a study that uses artificial intelligence to decipher “CatFACS codings”… Read the rest “AI to translate cat faces.”
psychology
SONG: Two Wolves Inside Us
SONG: “Two Wolves Inside Us” . (OGG version here.)
ARTIST: grant.
SOURCE: Based on Ecology, 14 Nov 2024, “Canids as pollinators? Nectar foraging by Ethiopian wolves… Read the rest “SONG: Two Wolves Inside Us”
Personalities count… for wolves.
Sentient Science reports on an unexpected flaw that might interfere with human attempts to reintroduce wolves into the wilds of Colorado. The problem isn’t the biology or ecology… Read the rest “Personalities count… for wolves.”
Meditate for marathons.
Outside reports on a study that finds meditation can have a profound effect not only on your mental wellbeing, but also on your physical endurance and athletic performance:
… Read the rest “Meditate for marathons.”…[R]esearchers
Social media makes you weird.
Or at least, to be a little closer to what this Current Opinion in Psychology study is really saying, social media creates a false sense of what “normal” is, amplifying every… Read the rest “Social media makes you weird.”
Roll D20 for catharsis, with a plus-2 closure bonus.
Ars Technica writes on the psychology of the tabletop, with initial research showing promise for using role-playing games like D&D for group therapy:
… Read the rest “Roll D20 for catharsis, with a plus-2 closure bonus.”“It seems particularly useful
Look into a dog’s eyes and your brains can synchronize.
Science Alert explains the allure of the puppy-dog eyes with Chinese research demonstrating brainwaves suddenly syncing up between humans and dogs when they look into each other’s… Read the rest “Look into a dog’s eyes and your brains can synchronize.”
Cats will play fetch too.
The Conversation extends the dog-owner’s friendly game of fetch to feline friends who, researchers have found, can also enjoy bringing back toys that are thrown for them to retrieve… Read the rest “Cats will play fetch too.”
Being a night owl is a mental-health risk.
I can’t tell if this is either totally obvious or the gravest of insults … or, more likely, both… but Stanford researchers have found that night owls, those of us who tend… Read the rest “Being a night owl is a mental-health risk.”
Exercise slows down your perception of time.
Science Alert brings us (well, those of us who are working out) one step closer to moving like the wind through a world of living statues with research from the UK and the Netherlands that shows… Read the rest “Exercise slows down your perception of time.”
Bumblebees teach each other.
Nature shares a study that found that bumblebees somehow communicate the solutions to complex puzzles to each other, something that only humans were thought to do. Instead, the insects… Read the rest “Bumblebees teach each other.”
Say it to me deeply.
Science Daily reports on research into the psychological effects of the pitch of people’s voices. It’s fairly well known that people find men’s voices more attractive,… Read the rest “Say it to me deeply.”
Secretly sick.
University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Reporting and Policy (CIDRAP) has some scientific findings from colleagues at U Michigan that will surprise no one who … Read the rest “Secretly sick.”
MDMA against white supremacy.
BBC reports on a simple pharmaceutical study at the University of Chicago – about the mechanism by which MDMA increased “the pleasantness of social touch” – … Read the rest “MDMA against white supremacy.”
Nature‘s endorsement didn’t help Biden – it only hurt Nature (and scientists in general).
Nature honestly (and slightly brutally) examines its own shortcomings as a political advocate in a study that found the scientific journal’s 2020 endorsement of Joe Biden didn’t… Read the rest “Nature‘s endorsement didn’t help Biden – it only hurt Nature (and scientists in general).”