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- April 16, 2013
- 08:39 AM
- 139 views
5 Ways You’re Wrong About Surviving Disasters
by Anouk Vleugels in United Academics
Everybody remembers the kind captain in Titanic, drowning in his own guilt when he realises he has comprised safety regulations for fame, and his decision to go down with the ship. Before meeting his demise, he first makes sure the women and children make it off the ship. Surely this is the proper thing to do in such situations – women and children first- right? Research suggests otherwise.... Read more »
Bruno S. Frey, David A. Savage, and Benno Torgler. (2010) Behavior under Extreme Conditions: The Titanic Disaster. Journal of Economic Perspective. info:/
Bush SP. (2004) Snakebite suction devices don't remove venom: they just suck. Annals of emergency medicine, 43(2), 187-8. PMID: 14747806
- April 15, 2013
- 11:02 AM
- 68 views
Why The Tip Of Your Tongue Experience Is Useful
by Katja Keuchenius in United Academics
It happens mostly with names: you recall a person, can perfectly imagine his face, the first letter of his name may even be there, but he whole name just won’t come off the tip of your tongue. Everybody knows the feeling and most don’t dwell on it too long. But neuroscientists take if very seriously. What do we know about this strange phenomenon?... Read more »
Schwartz, B., & Metcalfe, J. (2011) Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) states: retrieval, behavior, and experience. Memory , 39(5), 737-749. DOI: 10.3758/s13421-010-0066-8
- April 15, 2013
- 09:14 AM
- 87 views
The Man Who Shouldn’t Have Normal Vision
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
Usually, the human eye takes in signals that are processed by both sides of the brain. What’s remarkable is now these signals are distributed. In most brains, signals from one eye are sent to two places; directly back to the part of the optical lobe behind the brain, and by “crossing over” to the lobe on the opposite side of the brain. But a Canadian man literally sees things differently.... Read more »
Davies-Thompson, J., Scheel, M., Jane Lanyon, L., & Sinclair Barton, J. (2013) Functional organisation of visual pathways in a patient with no optic chiasm. Neuropsychologia. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.03.014
- April 15, 2013
- 07:47 AM
- 94 views
Another Penis Story: Size Matters, Up to a Point
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
While females are attracted to larger penises, their interest only extends to a degree and penis size isn’t the only trait that concerns them, a new Australian study shows. Although this finding grabbed a lot of headlines, the research also provided insight into how genitalia can evolve, even without having offspring.... Read more »
Mautz, B., Wong, B., Peters, R., & Jennions, M. (2013) Penis size interacts with body shape and height to influence male attractiveness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1219361110
- April 15, 2013
- 05:32 AM
- 74 views
Surviving Sandy: Staying Put in Far Rockaway
by Elke Weesjes in United Academics
Hurricane Sandy churned across the Caribbean and up the eastern seaboard of the U.S. in late October of 2012, leaving a path of death and destruction in its wake. This article focuses on the decision making among some of those who stayed behind in the storm—and how we might use that information to better prepare for the disasters of the future.... Read more »
Nicole M. Stephens,MarYam G. Hamedani,Hazel Rose Markus,Hilary B. Bergsieker,and Liyam Eloul1. (2009) Why Did They "Choose" to Stay? Perspectives of Hurricane Katrina Observers and Survivors. PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE. info:/
- April 15, 2013
- 03:47 AM
- 90 views
Arctic Sea Ice Will Vanish in 30 years
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
The data were a shock even to climate scientists. Four years ago, researchers noticed that Arctic sea ice was melting much faster than expected; it’s so bad now that these same scientists predict that all Arctic sea ice will be gone by 2050. That’s bad news for a warming planet.... Read more »
Overland, J., & Wang, M. (2013) When will the summer arctic be nearly sea ice free?. Geophysical Research Letters. DOI: 10.1002/grl.50316
- April 12, 2013
- 10:40 AM
- 118 views
Getting Science Right: Does Marihuana Change Your IQ?
by Anouk Vleugels in United Academics
In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last year, researchers conclude, after a longitudinal study on the Dunedin cohort, that the use of cannabis at a young age could lower intelligence at a later age. Many media, including us, wrote about these findings. But now it seems the researchers may have gone a bit too far with their statements.
At least, that’s what Ole Rogeberg, researcher at the Norwegian Frisch Centre, thinks. He says the researchers Me........ Read more »
Meier, M., Caspi, A., Ambler, A., Harrington, H., Houts, R., Keefe, R., McDonald, K., Ward, A., Poulton, R., & Moffitt, T. (2012) From the Cover: PNAS Plus: Persistent cannabis users show neuropsychological decline from childhood to midlife. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(40). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1206820109
Rogeberg, O. (2013) Correlations between cannabis use and IQ change in the Dunedin cohort are consistent with confounding from socioeconomic status. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(11), 4251-4254. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1215678110
- April 12, 2013
- 07:40 AM
- 109 views
Exploring The Brain Without Cutting It Open
by Katja Keuchenius in United Academics
Until now we were able to use scans (like the one pictured on the left) to have a quick look at the brain. But to dig deeper into the mystery hidden in our skull, scientists had to slice the matter up, which makes it hard for them to keep the general overview of the brain. Now there’s a new way: biologists managed to make brains transparent.... Read more »
Chung, K., Wallace, J., Kim, S., Kalyanasundaram, S., Andalman, A., Davidson, T., Mirzabekov, J., Zalocusky, K., Mattis, J., Denisin, A.... (2013) Structural and molecular interrogation of intact biological systems. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/nature12107
- April 11, 2013
- 10:32 AM
- 100 views
From One Heart Attack to Another Heart Attack: Can We Break the Vicious Cycle?
by Piet Carriere in United Academics
“If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.” This quote from Albert Einstein reflects how this article approaches the underlying problem of reoccurring heart attacks, which affects millions of people. This is illustrated by statistics from the US, where around 935’000 (first and subsequent) heart attacks occur every year. The death rate after the first attack is approximately 10%, yet reoc........ Read more »
Dutta, P., Courties, G., Wei, Y., Leuschner, F., Gorbatov, R., Robbins, C., Iwamoto, Y., Thompson, B., Carlson, A., Heidt, T.... (2012) Myocardial infarction accelerates atherosclerosis. Nature, 487(7407), 325-329. DOI: 10.1038/nature11260
Leuschner, F., Rauch, P., Ueno, T., Gorbatov, R., Marinelli, B., Lee, W., Dutta, P., Wei, Y., Robbins, C., Iwamoto, Y.... (2012) Rapid monocyte kinetics in acute myocardial infarction are sustained by extramedullary monocytopoiesis. Journal of Experimental Medicine, 209(1), 123-137. DOI: 10.1084/jem.20111009
Tabas, I. (2012) Cardiology: Bad matters made worse. Nature, 487(7407), 306-308. DOI: 10.1038/487306a
Karakas, M., & Koenig, W. (2013) Sympathetic Nervous System: A Crucial Player Modulating Residual Cardiovascular Risk. Circulation Research, 112(1), 13-16. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.112.281097
- April 10, 2013
- 12:06 PM
- 99 views
The Effects of Social Media Monopolies
by Mark Fonseca Rendeiro in United Academics
Though some new statistical reports show signs of slowing down, we are still very much in the era of social media euphoria, where more and more people join up, sign in, and check their feeds as often as possible. ”Like” it or not- grievances are aired, ideas are sometimes exchanged, and a never ending stream of baby photos are shared at every minute of the day. On the surface, both regular users and professional researchers have observed and chronicled the list of achievements and p........ Read more »
Gehl, R. (2013) What's on your mind? Social media monopolies and noopower. First Monday, 18(3). DOI: 10.5210/fm.v18i3.4618
- April 10, 2013
- 11:09 AM
- 139 views
Getting Science Right: Staring at Large Breasts Makes you Live Longer
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
What’s the story?
It’s great news for leering men! A study in none other than the New England Journal of Medicine found that men who stare at large breasts live longer than men who don’t. A German research group, headed by an aging specialist named Karen Weatherby, found that staring at large breasts for longer than 10 minutes is equivalent to a 30 minute workout. The study, which took five years, revealed that breast watching men had lower blood pressure, slower resting pulse........ Read more »
Campbell, J. (2011) Getting it wrong: ten of the greatest misreported stories in American journalism. Choice Reviews Online, 48(12), 48-48. DOI: 10.5860/CHOICE.48-6722
- April 10, 2013
- 09:12 AM
- 84 views
The Effects of Social Media Monopolies
by Mark Fonseca Rendeiro in United Academics
Though some new statistical reports show signs of slowing down, we are still very much in the era of social media euphoria, where more and more people join up, sign in, and check their feeds as often as possible. ”Like” it or not- grievances are aired, ideas are sometimes exchanged, and a never ending stream of baby photos are shared at every minute of the day. On the surface, both regular users and professional researchers have observed and chronicled the list of achievements and p........ Read more »
Gehl, R. (2013) What's on your mind? Social media monopolies and noopower. First Monday, 18(3). DOI: 10.5210/fm.v18i3.4618
- April 10, 2013
- 07:13 AM
- 109 views
New Explanations Of Modern Children Getting Fat
by Katja Keuchenius in United Academics
Obesitas is more and more becoming a problem for Western children. It’s easy to blame the genes or the fastfood branche, but of couse the situation is more complex. A lot of risks are interwoven with our society. Three recent studies, published in Pediatrics, point to some of these less obvious factors that play a role in fattening children.... Read more »
Disantis KI, Birch LL, Davey A, Serrano EL, Zhang J, Bruton Y, & Fisher JO. (2013) Plate Size and Children's Appetite: Effects of Larger Dishware on Self-Served Portions and Intake. Pediatrics. PMID: 23569096
Bickham DS, Blood EA, Walls CE, Shrier LA, & Rich M. (2013) Characteristics of Screen Media Use Associated With Higher BMI in Young Adolescents. Pediatrics. PMID: 23569098
Mitchell, J., Rodriguez, D., Schmitz, K., & Audrain-McGovern, J. (2013) Sleep Duration and Adolescent Obesity. PEDIATRICS. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2012-2368
- April 10, 2013
- 06:17 AM
- 75 views
How Intelligent Are Raccoons?
by Katja Keuchenius in United Academics
These cute little animals are one of the few that actually flourished thanks to instead of despite the growing population of humans. By stealing ourfood, for example. How smart raccoons can be, you see in this video that went viral after a woman, filming the remarkable behavior from her kitchen window, put on YouTube last week.... Read more »
H. B. Davis. (1907) The Raccoon: A Study in Animal Intelligence. The American Journal of Psychology. info:other/
- April 9, 2013
- 09:59 AM
- 119 views
Heart Repairs Bypass a Surgeon’s Scalpel
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
For 60 years, the standard procedure for heart surgery was to open the chest. Then, bypass surgery (replacing clogged coronary arteries), transplants, and other procedures could be performed. While open—heart surgery was revolutionary enough when it was introduced in the 1960s, now a new revolution is taking place—heart surgery without cutting open the chest. Or at least not as much... Read more »
Iribarne, A., Easterwood, R., Chan, E., Yang, J., Soni, L., Russo, M., Smith, C., & Argenziano, M. (2011) The golden age of minimally invasive cardiothoracic surgery: current and future perspectives. Future Cardiology, 7(3), 333-346. DOI: 10.2217/fca.11.23
- April 9, 2013
- 05:16 AM
- 98 views
Three-Dimensional Printer Can Make Human Tissue
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
Three-D printing already has made some amazing inroads into technology, with the ability to make customized forms quickly and cheaply. It also has some disturbing potential, say, for making guns quickly and cheaply.
But one area promise is in making living tissues, which could potentially lead to artificial organs for transplant. Researchers at the University of Oxford, using oil and water, invented a 3-D printer (pictured) that is able to generate materials that flexed like muscle cells, and........ Read more »
Villar, G., Graham, A., & Bayley, H. (2013) A Tissue-Like Printed Material. Science, 340(6128), 48-52. DOI: 10.1126/science.1229495
- April 9, 2013
- 04:52 AM
- 97 views
Would It Ever Be Possible To Predict Dreams?
by Katja Keuchenius in United Academics
Have you ever been able to perfectly tell what you dreamt last night? Your dreams probably are always too fuzzy for clear stories. That’s why they will never be part of objective science, right? Japanese researchers don’t agree. They have been busy ‘decoding’ dreams and now talk about predicting them.
To bridge the gap between the objective world of measuring and the subjective experience of dreams, they monitored the dreaming patterns of three people looking at their ........ Read more »
Horikawa, T., Tamaki, M., Miyawaki, Y., & Kamitani, Y. (2013) Neural Decoding of Visual Imagery During Sleep. Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.1234330
- April 8, 2013
- 09:54 AM
- 113 views
Getting Science Right: “Male of the Species Is Heading for Extinction”
by Anouk Vleugels in United Academics
Today: “The end of men? Expert predicts males will be extinct in five million years… and the process has already started!” by Daily Mail. Last week, Daily Mail published a story on research conducted by Dr. Jenny Graves, Distinguished Professor of Molecular Science at La Trobe University, Melbourne. According to the story’s headline and taglines, males are basically living on borrowed time. “Professor Graves, one of Australia’s most influential scientists, b........ Read more »
Graves, J.A.M. (2006) SEX CHROMOSOMES DYNAMICS AND Y CHROMOSOME DEGENERATION. CELL, 901-914. info:/
- April 8, 2013
- 07:18 AM
- 94 views
U.K. Parliament Orders Halt to Bee-killing Pesticides
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
The United Kingdom’s House of Commons has ordered the British government to temporarily (at least) ban the use of three popular pesticides, because of their links to declines in honeybees, bumblebees and other pollinators.... Read more »
U.K. House of Commons. (2013) Pollinators and pesticides. UK House of Commons. info:/
- April 8, 2013
- 04:05 AM
- 94 views
Sexual Harassment Has a Cost—to Males and Females
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
Sexual harassment is seen through the animal kingdom, from beetles to fish to humans. Forced attempts at copulation—whether grabbing a female frog with a claw-like thumb, or grabbing someone’s breast in the workplace—are usually seen as acts of male dominance. But a few studies have shown that these behaviors are costly in evolutionary terms—and for both sexes.... Read more »
Makowicz, A., & Schlupp, I. (2013) The direct costs of living in a sexually harassing environment. Animal Behaviour, 85(3), 569-577. DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.12.016
Studd, M., & Gattiker, U. (1991) The evolutionary psychology of sexual harassment in organizations. Ethology and Sociobiology, 12(4), 249-290. DOI: 10.1016/0162-3095(91)90021-H
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