Small Alabama town accidentally hires black drag queens to dance in Christmas parade
Scientists Successfully Forecast the Size and Location of an Earthquake
Evidence that the Lunar Cycle Influences Human Sleep
"Grasping the testicle with forceps proved laborious" in most of the animals, the authors write. They also mention using a "two-handed technique" and "moderate traction." Why It's Nearly Impossible to Castrate a Hippo
People who tell themselves to get excited rather than trying to relax can improve their performance during anxiety-inducing activities such as public speaking and math tests, study finds.
Humans show a natural tendency to discount bad news while incorporating good news into beliefs (the “good news–bad news effect”), an effect that may help explain seemingly irrational risk taking. Understanding how this bias develops with age is important because adolescents are prone to engage in risky behavior; thus, educating them about danger is crucial. We reveal a striking valence-dependent asymmetry in how belief updating develops with age. In the ages tested (9–26 y), younger age was associated with inaccurate updating of beliefs in response to undesirable in- formation regarding vulnerability. In contrast, the ability to update beliefs accurately in response to desirable information remained relatively stable with age. This asymmetry was mediated by adequate computational use of positive but not negative estimation errors to alter beliefs. The results are important for understanding how belief formation develops and might help explain why adolescents do not respond adequately to warnings. [PNAS | PDF]
The current study examined whether men’s ratings of women’s desirability as a long-term pairbond, based on static photographs, were related to the women’s second-to-fourth digit (2D:4D) ratio and their sexual attitudes and behavior.
Human development of the ability to learn from bad news [PDF]
What Are Neuromarketers Really Selling? The poor data and shoddy logic behind a hyped business boom.
Researchers identify gene that influences the ability to remember faces.
The modern economy depends on dozens of obscure metals. What happens if we run out?
How radioactive poison became the assassin’s weapon of choice: The mysterious life and brutal death of a Russian dissident.
How the Science of Swarms Can Help Us Fight Cancer and Predict the Future
A high-ranking FBI agent filed a sensitive internal manual detailing the bureau's secret interrogation procedures with the Library of Congress, where anyone with a library card can read it. […] "A document that has not been released does not even need a copyright," says Steven Aftergood, a government secrecy expert at the Federation of American Scientists. "Who is going to plagiarize from it? Even if you wanted to, you couldn't violate the copyright because you don't have the document. It isn't available." [Mother Jones]
What Happened On Easter Island — A New (Even Scarier) Scenario
Personal Possessions found in the Pacific. Related: Tiny museum in New York showcases the ordinary