Observations
Masks and Emasculation: Why Some Men Refuse to Take Safety Precautions
They think it makes them look weak, and avoiding that is evidently more important to them than demonstrating responsible behavior
Blogs
Observations
How a Landmark Physics Paper from the 1970s Uncannily Describes the COVID-19 Pandemic
Phil Anderson’s article “More Is Different” describes how different levels of complexity require new ways of thinking. And as the virus multiplies and spreads, that’s just what the human race desperately needs...
Observations
The Fight against COVID-19 Threatens to Cause Collateral Health Damage
The pandemic is no excuse to abandon chronic disease management and prevention
Recent Posts
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Can fearful memories be erased?
In the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , Joel and Clementine's relationship ends so sourly that the couple elects to have their mutual memories swept away via a non-surgical procedure called "targeted memory erasure." No such tool actually exists...
Common good is best achieved through rewards, not punishment
To promote the common good, should helpers be rewarded, or should free riders be punished? Although the bulk of previous research has fingered punishment as the best enforcer, a new study published online today in Science found that rewards are more effective...
Music to Monkeys' Ears? Try Metallica, or the Metro
Music is known to induce terror and tears, as well as inspire dance. Even basic human speech itself is laced with emotional direction: a musical pattern of long drawn out sounds versus short brief ones can be the difference between calming and exciting a child...
Role of physicians and psychologists in interrogation of terrorism suspects reexamined
Physicians and psychologists played a larger role in the use of torture in interrogation of terrorism suspects than previously asserted, according to a report released yesterday by the nonprofit organization Physicians for Human Rights (PHR)...
Breasts in Mourning: How Bottle-Feeding Mimics Child Loss in Mothers’ Brains
After a successful birth, opting not to breast-feed may trigger evolved mourning behaviors
Check please: Can the din of a restaurant help Parkinson's patients with speech troubles?
Parkinson's disease sufferers typically face a long, difficult battle against the disorder's degenerative effects on their motor skills and speech. While many scientists are studying the potential for drugs, surgery and exercise to slow the disease's impact on the central nervous system—including tremors, stiff muscles and impaired movement—one team of researchers is experimenting with technology designed to help Parkinson's sufferers fend off voice and speech problems...
Very old and very young are quicker than many assume
Humans have long enjoyed crowing about their intellectual superiority in the animal kingdom. But just as some studies—of tool-wielding birds and language-discerning rodents—have begun to chip away at our cognitive place in the sun, others have set their sights on two human groups whose intelligence might have been underestimated—the very young and the very old...
Breaking free from the Web: New rehab caters to Internet addicts
You've noticed them—people who truly cannot detach psychologically and behaviorally from the worlds of online gaming or social networking. Or perhaps you are one of these people.
It might be the meds: Are seniors driving under the influence?
Many older adults might be driving under the influence without even knowing it. Common drugs—from painkillers to beta-blockers—can impair driving abilities by causing dizziness, sleepiness and even disorientation...
Do people really walk in circles?
Yes, people really do walk in circles—but only when stripped of important visual clues, such as the sun or moon, according to a paper published online today in Current Biology .
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