Human Quirks News

January 16, 2016

Will Computers Ever Truly Understand Humans?

Pathogens Found in Ice Man's Stomach

Brain-Computer Duel: Do We Have Free Will?

Scientists Manipulate Consciousness in Rats

Latest Headlines

updated 9:40pm EST

Is Suicide a Tragic Variant of an Evolutionarily Adaptive Set of Behaviors?

Jan. 14, 2016 — What do snapping shrimp, naked mole rats, ants, honeybees, and humans all have in common? They all share a similar colony-like organizational system that biologists have termed eusociality. Eusocial ... read more

The Way You Sound Affects Your Mood

Jan. 11, 2016 — Researchers have created a digital audio platform that can modify the emotional tone of people's voices while they are talking, to make them sound happier, sadder or more ... read more

Insects Are a Sustainable Source of Omega-3

Jan. 11, 2016 — Insect oil is a possible new source of the healthy omega-3 fatty acid. Insects make fatty acids by nature and can live on organic waste. A team of researchers examines which ... read more

Low-Cost 3-D Printer-Based Organ Model Production Technique Reveals Complicated Interior Organ Structure

Jan. 8, 2016 — Researchers in Japan have successfully developed a low-cost human organ model production technique for use with 3-D printers ... read more

Roman Toilets Gave No Clear Health Benefit, and Romanization Actually Spread Parasites

Jan. 8, 2016 — Intestinal parasites such as whipworm became increasingly common across Europe during the Roman Period, despite the apparent ... read more

Coffee Flour Offers a Potentially Healthier Way of Enjoying Java

Jan. 7, 2016 — Scientists are developing the flour milled from a new invention -- parbaked coffee beans -- both as a food ingredient and a ... read more

Skin Bacteria Help Cancer Cells Grow

Jan. 6, 2016 — Our skin is covered in millions of bacteria and most of them help keep us healthy. However, for patients with lymphoma, it may be a rather different story, as new research shows that toxins in the ... read more

Generous Mothers Are Nagged Less

Jan. 6, 2016 — For the first time, scientists have identified specific genetic variations in offspring that lead to preferential maternal treatment, which in turn improves offspring ... read more

Teenager Infected With Rat-Bite Fever from Her Pet Rodent

Dec. 23, 2015 — A 17-year-old woman was infected with the rare, but treatable rat-bite fever, that developed from pet rodents that lived in her bedroom, report the doctors who treated ... read more

Healthy Reflections: Mirrors Can Make Unhealthy Foods Less Tasty

Dec. 17, 2015 — People often choose the unhealthy food because they think it is tastier. Aiming for solutions promoting healthy eating practices and ultimately combating obesity, this research shows that the ... read more

Women Are Being Recruited For Temporary Uterus Transplants

Pro Skier Survives 1,600-Ft Fall Down Mountain

Brain Tape Worm Survivor, "lucky to Be Here"

Man Dies After Tapeworm Inside Him Gets Cancer

Some Consumers Use ‘servant’ Brands to Gain Sense of Power, Study Finds

Jan. 5, 2016 — A recent study states that some consumers -- materialists who strongly link possessions to happiness and who tend to have poor personal relationships -- regard anthropomorphized popular products as ... read more

'Spectre' Villain Fails Neuroanatomy in Latest Bond Film

Dec. 29, 2015 — James Bond's nemesis in the most recent film likely failed neuroanatomy, says a real-life neurosurgeon and scientist. Blofeld didn't quite know his brain anatomy and would've probably ... read more

Mental Time Travel: An Exclusively Human Capacity?

Dec. 22, 2015 — Are humans the only ones who are able to remember events that they had experienced and mentally time travel not only into the past but also the future? Or do animals have the same capacity? To a ... read more

Eyes Turn Into Skin: How Inflammation Can Change the Fate of Cells

Dec. 21, 2015 — Chronic inflammation can cause regenerating cells to grow into new, aberrant types; this is called metaplasia, and is a disorder linked to prolonged inflammation. A new study highlights a new concept ... read more

Multiplying Teeth, Literally

Dec. 18, 2015 — Researchers have found a way to--literally--multiply teeth. In mice, they were able to extract teeth germs--groups of cells formed early in life that later develop into teeth, split them into two, ... read more

In Vitro Gametogenes: Same-Sex Couples May Be Able to Have Children Biologically Related to Both Partners

Dec. 18, 2015 — A new analysis examines the possibility of using in vitro gametogenesis for human reproduction and its ethical and practical implications. Several groups of people could potentially use IVG for ... read more

Face Cream Ingredient Found to Mimic Life-Extending Effects of a Calorie Restriction Diet

Dec. 16, 2015 — A commonly used skin care ingredient is one of several newly identified compounds that can mimic the life-extending effect of a starvation diet, new research has ... read more

Women Less Likely to Hold Academic Medical Leadership Roles Than Men With Mustaches

Dec. 16, 2015 — Thirteen percent of department leader positions at top academic medical institutions in the United States are held by women, while nearly 20 percent are held by men with mustaches. The findings of ... read more

The Double Life of a Bacteria: Living Off Both Iron and Pure Electricity

Dec. 16, 2015 — The bacterium Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans can take electrons needed for growth directly from an electrode power source when iron—its already known source of energy—is absent, new research ... read more

Can Your Pet Boost Your Sex Appeal?

Dec. 15, 2015 — Dogs and cats are increasingly seen as being a crucial member of a traditional family, but aside from the companionship and love you receive from your pet... can they also make you appear ... read more

Cells Use Mechanism to Eat Each Other Before Becoming Toxic

Dec. 15, 2015 — In much the same way PAC-MAN gobbles through an intense maze of dots eating and destroying its aggressors, researchers have revealed for the first time how a similar mechanism in the eye lens does ... read more

Chitchat, Small Talk Could Serve an Evolutionary Need to Bond With Others

Dec. 14, 2015 — Idle conversation could be a social-bonding tool passed down from primates, suggests new research. The investigators found that lemurs use vocalizations far more selectively than previously thought, ... read more

Scientists Say Face Mites Evolved Alongside Humans Since the Dawn of Human Origins

Dec. 14, 2015 — A landmark new study explores the fascinating, little-known natural history of the face mite species Demodex folliculorum, using genetic testing to link the microscopic animal's evolution to our ... read more

Amoebas Reveals How Human Airway Cells Rally Against Cigarette Smoke Damage

Dec. 14, 2015 — Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death in the United States and cigarette smoking is the leading cause of COPD. Currently there is no cure, treatments are ... read more

U Mad Bro? Computers Now Know When You're Angry

Dec. 14, 2015 — Most people can tell if you're angry based on the way you're acting. Professor Jeffrey Jenkins can tell if you're angry by the way you move a computer mouse.The information systems ... read more

Aural Feedback for Oral Hygiene

Dec. 11, 2015 — Researchers in Japan have discovered that how effectively we clean our teeth and how satisfied we are with the brushing job we do depends a lot on the sound of the bristles scrubbing against the ... read more

When Brain Metabolism Dips, Desire Goes Up in Monkeys on 'Female Viagra'

Dec. 10, 2015 — As the drug touted as 'the female Viagra' comes to market, researchers are learning more about how the drug, called flibanserin, affects the ... read more

Lie-Detecting Software Uses Real Court Case Data

Dec. 10, 2015 — By studying videos from high-stakes court cases, researchers are building unique lie-detecting software based on real-world ... read more

Is Seeing Believing? People Are Not Good at Identifying Where Sights, Sounds Originate

Dec. 9, 2015 — Our memory can deceive us, but surely we can trust our vision and hearing, can't we? No, they are not very reliable, either, life scientists report, suggesting that our basic sensory ... read more

Access to the Internet Makes Us Less Willing to Say We Know Things

Dec. 8, 2015 — People are less willing to rely on their knowledge and say they know something when they have access to the Internet, suggesting that our connection to the web is affecting how we ... read more

Tuesday, January 5, 2016