Headline News

People in Groups Get Dumb

Friday, February 3, 2012
New research has found that small-group dynamics--such as jury deliberations, collective bargaining sessions, and cocktail parties --can alter the intelligence of some people, LOWERING their IQs. Could this be part of the reason for Congressional gridlock?
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A Place Where Women Rule

Friday, February 3, 2012
In a small state in India, women rule, with property, wealth and last names passing from mother to daughter, instead of from father to son. In reaction to this, instead of a feminist movement, there is a men's movement.

In BBC News, Timothy Allen quotes one of the...
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People Lie When Texting

Friday, February 3, 2012
A new study reveals that sending a text message leads people to lie more often than in other forms of communication.

The study involved 170 students performing mock stock transactions in one of four ways: face-to-face, or by video, audio or text chatting....
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A NEW KIND of Addict

Thursday, February 2, 2012
We've all heard about people who are addicted to alcohol, drugs or even gambling--but the NEW kind of addict get his stash from his physician, in the form of prescription drugs. Sometimes these addicts O.D., as in the cases of Heath Ledger and Michael Jackson.
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How to Make Sure You Get Your Deer (Or Your Man)

Thursday, February 2, 2012
Use a self-guided bullet!

Researchers (who are also hunters) have attached tiny light-emitting diode (LED) to a bullet so that it shows a bright path when fired at a target, making it less likely that the shooter will miss. And it's self-guided when aimed at a target that is wearing a laser (which a deer is not), but there is room...
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Bird Songs Reduce Crime

Thursday, February 2, 2012
Police have discovered a way to cut crime: Play bird songs.

Crime has gone down in Lancaster, California ever since the mayor started playing nature sounds--bird chirps, the sound of running water--in the streets. Mayor R. Rex Parris...
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Predictions of the Feng Shui Masters

Wednesday, February 1, 2012
You may be depressed about the future, and Chinese Feng Shui masters are too. Feng Shui is part of everyday life in China, used to predict everything from the weather to stock prices to the best day for a funeral, and...
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Good News About Gum

Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Until we have instant learning, we'll still have to study for tests. Have an important final exam coming up? You'll do better if you chew gum! Psychologists conducted a study that showed that students who chewed gum for five minutes before taking a test did better on the...
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The Brave Quest for Biofuel

Wednesday, February 1, 2012
In their search for a low greenhouse gas emissions fuels, scientists have done a lot of embarrassing things: They have measured kangaroo farts and cow farts. Now they are collecting giraffe manure.

...
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Mystery Disease: Hysteria or Toxic Spill?

Tuesday, January 31, 2012
High school students in the small town of Leroy, New York have been coming down with strange tics and verbal outbursts, with no obvious cause. Several girls have even started using wheelchairs. Some people are saying that these are a result of "mass hysteria," but environmental activist Erin Brockovich thinks a toxic chemical spill 40...
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Did US Blacks Evolve Due to Harshness of Slavery?

Tuesday, January 31, 2012
American blacks searching for their African roots are finding it's not so easy. In the January 27th edition of the New York Times, Edward Rothstein says, "The astounding thing about American slavery is...
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Owl Invasion!

Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Have you seen an owl in your yard lately? Arctic Snowy Owls are moving south into the lower 48 states in numbers never before witnessed. A leading researcher has called the numbers "unbelievable." Most of the birds are younger owls, and it is believed that the migration is being caused by a fundamental failure of food supplies in the...
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Better to Just Live Together?

Monday, January 30, 2012
Why don't more couples take the marital path? The share of married adults at an all-time low in the United States, and demographers are trying to...
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Scientists Engineer Bird Flu as Potential Weapon

Monday, January 30, 2012
The swine flu scare may have been a gigantic hoax, but what about bird flu? It seems to have never materialized either. In order to study the disease, two teams of...
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A Warm Winter Kills

Monday, January 30, 2012
Despite the ominous forecasts for NEXT winter, we're having a mild winter in the US this year. We assume that a COLD winter is what kills plants and animals, but it turns out that a warmer-than-usual winter season can harm them just as much.
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Murder by the Numbers

Friday, January 27, 2012
America seems to have the most serial killers, although Russia produced Andrei Chikatilo, the "Rostov Ripper," in the 1980s. Mathematicians discovered that his murders followed the same mathematical pattern as earthquakes, avalanches and stock market...
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More Evidence That Fracking Causes Quakes

Friday, January 27, 2012
Geologists say that recent earthquakes in Ohio and Oklahoma are directly linked to deep wells that were used to dispose of liquid wastes produced by the hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" of natural gas. At least 177 similar disposal wells are located...
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Law Courts Need to Use Their Brains

Friday, January 27, 2012
Our laws have not kept up with new discoveries in neuroscience, meaning that a jury could declare someone guilty when a crime isn't necessarily his (or her) fault. How should insights about the brain affect the course of a criminal trial, from the arguments in a...
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