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 […]
psychology
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 […]
Parents *shocked* by study linking soda to kids’ behavioral problems.
Science Daily doesn’t actually get into the parents’ responses, but it’s easy enough to imagine. Columbia University researchers have linked soft drinks to “aggression, attention […]
Electricity is sapping our sleep.
Science Magazine examines our internal clock, and the power that sunlight has in saving us from being so tired of waking up tired: Turning lights […]
The worst learners are stressed-out men.
If everyone is stressed out, Scientific American seems to be saying, then women will have a mental advantage. That’s because stressed men are worse at […]
Watch your dog’s left eyebrow. That’s how they say they’re glad to see you.
Doctor Dolittle… well, not exactly. But The Telegraph reads dogs’ faces to see if they’re happy to see you: Animal behaviour experts have found the […]
Grace makes the meal taste better (and singing improves the birthday cake).
The Telegraph celebrates the effect rituals have on our appetites, with research that shows saying grace makes the meal taste better: The study, by researchers […]
Switching the light on and off to switch OCD on and off.
Nature looks at some strange mice and even stranger methodology used to map their brains – by using light to turn OCD on and off: […]
Perfect pitch isn’t.
Science Daily sticks it to the people with an innate ear for what’s a C and what isn’t. Apparently, “perfect pitch” can be fooled: Absolute […]
Specific numbers make negotiations more favorable. For you. Not the other guy.
Doesn’t matter who you are or what you want, University Herald explains. The negotiator who asks for the specific number gets the upper hand: Research […]
The smarter you are, the less you’ll be distracted by large-scale…. Wait, what was I saying?
BBC puts on a big show about how smart folks’ brains filter out big background motions – a capacity that proves that intelligence is really… […]
Coloring in the blues.
Berkeley researchers have mapped out connections between the music we hear and the colors we see. That is, blues music really is blue, and Mozart’s […]
The guitar thing WORKS, man.
Science says so. Pacific Standard reports on two studies that find guys with guitars really are more attractive: Across cultures, the research would suggest, male […]
Real fake medicine isn’t really fake. It’s real. But how real?
Harvard researcher Ted Kaptchuk is mastering the medical secrets of sleight-of-mind by figuring out how to use placebos as real medicine: Last year, he and […]
Dope smokers maybe not so dopey.
Nature reports that the link between youthful indulgence in marijuana and IQ loss might be overstated: Ole Røgeberg, a labour economist at the Ragnar Frisch […]