The Science of Gaydar: How Ovulation and Sexy Stories Sharpen Sexual Perception
On a scale of 1 to George Michael, I'd put my gaydar at about 7. But evidently my so-so ability to spot a gay man sharpens close to when I'm ovulating, or if I've recently…
View ArticleThings We Can Learn From Dolphins: Electro-Sensing, Amazing Powers of Healing
When we figure out how to communicate with dolphins pretty soon, these are some good questions to ask: Why don't you feel any pain when you're hurt? Can you teach us how to regrow missing body parts?...
View ArticlePR2 Robot Learns to Scoop Up Distasteful Matter
The roboticists at the University of Pennsylvania’s GRASP Lab have done some truly great things, from flying tricks with aerobatic quadcopters to programming their PR2 to read. And now this: PR2 as...
View ArticleStudy: If You Hate Someone, Your Brain Sees Them Differently
Perception isn't just a simple chain of neurological events. A new study from the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California suggests that…
View ArticleFurry Racism At The Pound: Why Is It Harder For Black Cats To Find Homes?
Are people spooked by black cats? Darker felines sure seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to adoption. Black cats stay in shelters longer and are more likely to be euthanized than...
View ArticleKids Are Still Drawing 1900s Idea Of What Dinosaurs Looked Like
An article over at the Cornell Chronicle looks into the issue of "cultural inertia" in our understanding of dinosaurs. When asked to draw a T. rex, perhaps the most…
View ArticleThe Science Of 'Zero Dark Thirty': When We Can Condone Torture
Critics have applauded the realism of the film Zero Dark Thirty, an Oscar favorite that claims to re-create the hunt for Osama bin Laden. But some have protested an early scene in which intelligence...
View ArticleThe World Looks Bigger Through A Virtual Child's Eyes
To a four-year-old, the world is a pretty big place. Once we grow up, the playgrounds and classrooms of our childhood no longer seem as towering as they appear in our…
View ArticleAnxious People Prefer More Personal Space
How close can something get to your face before you blink? That's basically the method scientists use to determine "defensive peripersonal space," the safety bubble of…
View ArticleThe Mind-Bending Science Of James Turrell's Art
This has been the summer of James Turrell. In and out of the art world, everyone's talking about the artist, whose simultaneous exhibitions at the Guggenheim in New York…
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