Humans’ Bat-Like Sonar Could Help the Blind
Humans have built-in biological sonar similar to bats and dolphins that could lead to a better quality of life for blind people and the visually impaired. The international study suggests people have the ability to use echoes, or echolocation, a skill some animals use to detect and find objects. Developing this ability could promote increased […]
Laughter Triggers Different Parts of Brain
Laughter can be a valuable communications tool; it can indicate ridicule, humor, joy or maybe just a physical response to being tickled. German scientists have found these different laugh responses are handled by different networks in our brains, depending on the specific context of the laughter. The different patterns of brain connectivity brought on by […]
Report Finds Asians, Africans and South Americans Might Make Better Musicians
If you speak a tonal language like Cantonese or Vietnamese, you might have a better ear for learning musical notes, even if you’re not a musician. Tonal languages, found mostly in Asia, Africa and South America, are those that use a number of high and low pitch sounds in patterns of speech. In these languages, […]
Facebook ‘Unfriending’ Triggers Real-life Consequences
Facebook users who decide to unfriend someone may trigger a series of real-life consequences which reach beyond cyberspace, according to a new study from the University of Colorado Denver. Based on 582 survey responses gathered via Twitter, the study found that 40 percent of people would avoid anyone who unfriended them on Facebook in real […]
Skipping Breakfast Prompts Brain to Make Poor Food Choices
Skipping breakfast sets the brain up to make poor food choices later in the day, according to a new study. Scientists from the MRC Clinical Science Centre at London’s Imperial College, compared the brain scans and eating patterns of people both after eating breakfast and when they were fasting. They found that those who avoid […]
A Woman’s Drive to be Thin May be in Her Genes
While cultural and societal factors have long been thought to influence how women see themselves in the mirror, a new study in Michigan has revealed that genetics may also play a role in making some women more vulnerable to the pressure of being thin. Many people today, especially women, have taken the modern axiom, “Thin […]
Pre-marital Jitters Signal Trouble Ahead
A new study suggests brides should not ignore those pre-wedding day jitters. Women who have doubts right before their nuptials are more likely to have an unhappy marriage and end up in divorce court, according to the report in the Journal of Family Psychology. “People think everybody has premarital doubts and you don’t have to […]
What They Say, and What You Hear, Can Differ
The brain isn’t always entirely accurate when it comes to processing language, according to a new study. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) finds we may not be processing every word see hear or read. This can mean our brain doesn’t pick up on changes made to key words in a sentence, even if […]
Fatter Population Threatens World Food Supply
Turns out obesity isn’t just a health issue; all of that overeating could seriously cut into the future world food supply. According to a new study from Great Britain, if the current worldwide obesity epidemic continues unabated, maintaining enough food to feed the world could actually become a much more serious challenge. Right now, the […]
Your Body Odor Can Reveal Your Age
People can tell how old you are by how you smell, according to new research published in the journal PLoS One. It appears that “old person smell” some people complain about is for real, that elderly people emit a unique identifying odor. An elderly individual’s “old person smell” is actually acknowledged and accepted in cultures […]