Science of dance music: it’s what’s not there that counts.
Or, as NPR clarifies, what’s not there that makes *us* want to count. With our feet. Studies of syncopation have revealed that it’s absence that […]
psychology
Feeling the meaningless of it all? Do something selfless.
Not sure if this article from The Atlantic should go in the “no duh” file or if it’s really profound, but they’re certainly interested in […]
Children can inherit their parents’ trauma… through Dad’s sperm.
Nature reveals how parents who live through something horrible can have children who inherit depression and anxiety – biologically, through their RNA – from traumas […]
Procrastination and impulsivity are linked… in your genes.
Science Daily tries to find the evolutionary roots of …oooh, shiny! I’ll finish this tomorrow: From an evolutionary standpoint, impulsivity makes sense: Our ancestors should […]
Should you really eat that lobster? On invertebrates and pain…
New Scientist takes a surprisingly nuanced look at the way things like oysters and shrimp might actually be responding to trauma. They’re not all the […]
Elephants empathize.
Science magazine reaches out with new research showing that elephants don’t just mourn their dead, but also try to comfort those in anguish: The study […]
Bullied kids don’t exercise.
Seems kinda obvious to anyone who’s been picked on, but Outside is taking a long-term look at how bullying affects kids’ will to work out: […]
Later school starting times make for better students.
Laboratory Equipment explains why moving the morning bell a little later makes education more effective: Julie Boergers, a psychologist and sleep expert from the Bradley […]
Trauma can be inherited.
Shades of Philip Larkin…. Washington Post has more on how mice, at least, pass fear down with their DNA: In the experiment, researchers taught male […]
Trauma: the sunny side.
Laboratory Equipment reveals that there’s a plus to experiencing trauma. Your kids will have a lower risk of PTSD: Last year, junior investigator Sharon Dekel […]
Catch a snooze, take a whiff and conquer fear.
Washington Post rousingly reports on a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and, um, aromatic approach to deep-seated anxiety – with a psychological trick to beat fear with smells […]
SONG: “Better Man”
SONG: “Better Man” (To download: double right-click & “Save As”) ARTIST: grant. SOURCE: Based on “Just thinking about science triggers moral behavior,” Scientific American, 27 […]
When robots get 21-gun salutes.
PBS is holding a conversation with Reddit about anthropomorphism and what happens when soldiers start treating their machines like comrades – tools with personalities: “They […]
Thinking about science makes us better people.
Scientific American shies away from putting it that bluntly, but still. Psychologists at UC Santa Barbara found that just considering the scientific method, in all […]
When we judge a musician, movement matters more than the music.
Nature strikes fear into the heart of the awkward would-be indie rocker with a study that shows people put more weight on the way a […]