Search (2504)
France – Under 24? Have a Free Newspaper – Slate Magazine
sales lag, the French government is trying to encourage young people to read newspapers again by offering a free subscription to people between the ages of 18 and 24 to any paper of their choice. While newspaper readership is declining around the world, it's particularly bad in France, where half as many papers are sold as in the United Kingdom or Germany, and where only 10 percent of people under 24 reported paying for a paper in 2007. The government…
1 min read
Can phantom limbs contort into impossible configurations?
llowing the surgical removal of a body part, amputees often report sensations which seem to originate from the missing limb. This is thought to occur because the brain's model of the body (referred to as the body image) still contains a representation of the limb, and this leads to the experience that the missing limb is still attached to their body. Occasionally, amputees say that they cannot move their phantom limbs - they are perceived to be frozen in space,…
1 min read
Do nice doctors heal you faster?
a scientificamerican.com Empathy Heals: Patients whose doctors show concern recover from colds faster It feels good when someone pays attention to our concerns and our feelings—and it turns out such empathy is good for our health, too. Researchers at the University Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health report in Family Medicine that patients of doctors who expressed such concern had a cold for one day fewer than patients whose physicians focused on just the facts. In randomized controlled trials…
1 min read
What do you buy when you buy a lottery ticket?
nt: you don't buy a future of money. People who win the lottery are almost always unhappy in the long run, and most of them continue to buy lottery tickets. It's not the destination, it's the journey. Same thing with first dates, blog posts, opening presents and answering a phone call from a stranger. The thrill of possibility, the chance for recognition, the chemical high of anticipation. That's what people pay for. via sethgodin.typepad.com Join over 320,000 readers. Get a free…
1 min read
Do Genes Cause Bad Driving?
ople with a gene variant limiting the availability of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) performed more than 20 percent worse on a driving test than people without it. A follow-up test a few days later had similar results. BDNF works to keep memory strong by supporting brain cell communication. When you are engaged in a task like driving, BDNF is secreted in the area of the brain responsible for the function and helps your body respond. About 30…
2 minutes
Can watching TV crime dramas distort perception of the criminal justice system?
a news.uns.purdue.edu People who watch forensic and crime dramas on TV are more likely than non-viewers to have a distorted perception of America's criminal justice system, according to new research from Purdue University. And: "Many people die as a result of being murdered in these types of shows, and we found the heavy TV-crime viewers estimated two and a half times more real-world deaths due to murder than non-viewers," Sarapin says. "People's perceptions also were distorted in regards to a…
2 minutes
What are the chances of a huge meteor smashing us flat?:
ery year, about 150 meteors are hardy enough to survive the friction of passing through the atmosphere and actually strike the ground. At that point, they become "meteorites." Most of them are small and do no damage whatsoever--the Earth is a fairly good sized planet, after all, and the chances of a meteorite landing in a populated area are comfortably remote. It's estimated that a a meteor strike causing 100 or more fatalities could only occur once in 100,000 years,…
1 min read
The most profitable movie ever:
in over 320,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email here. Related posts: New Neuroscience Reveals 4 Rituals That Will Make You Happy New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful How To Get People To Like You: 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior Expert
1 min read
