Human Quirks News

September 9, 2016

Virus 'Gave' Females Placenta; Males, Muscle Mass

Keeping Cool Without Losing Your Shirt

First Ciliary Stroke Motion Microrobots

Vacation Vs Meditation: Which Is Better?

Latest Headlines

updated 1:10am EDT

Brain Perceives Taste With All Senses, Scientific Evidence Reveals

Aug. 31, 2016 — The phrase "it looks so good you can almost taste it" may actually be scientifically proven based on the findings of a new study that explored how the brain processes stimuli ... read more

Ethical Concerns Tied to Research on Human-Animal Embryos

Aug. 30, 2016 — Scientists have developed a new bioethical framework for addressing concerns surrounding potentially revolutionary research on human-animal ... read more

Cannabinoid Receptor Activates Spermatozoa

Aug. 30, 2016 — Biologists have detected a cannabinoid receptor in spermatozoa. Endogenous cannabinoids that occur in both the male and the female genital tract activate the spermatozoa: they trigger the so-called ... read more

Amputees' Brains Remember Missing Hands Even Years Later

Aug. 30, 2016 — Our brains have a detailed picture of our hands and fingers, and that persists even decades after an amputation, researchers have found. The finding could have implications ... read more

Special Nerve Cells Cause Goose Bumps and Nipple Erection

Aug. 29, 2016 — The sympathetic nerve system has long been thought to respond the same regardless of the physical or emotional stimulus triggering it. However, in a new study, scientists show that the system ... read more

Brief Rapamycin Therapy in Middle-Aged Mice Extends Lives

Aug. 23, 2016 — In mice, the drug rapamycin is known to extend lives and delay some age-related problems. Questions remain about about how it promotes healthy aging, when, how much and how long to administer ... read more

Scientists Use Ultrasound to Jump-Start a Man's Brain After Coma

Aug. 24, 2016 — A 25-year-old man recovering from a coma has made remarkable progress following a treatment to jump-start his brain using ultrasounds, scientists report. This is the first ... read more

Battery You Can Swallow Could Enable Future Ingestible Medical Devices

Aug. 23, 2016 — Non-toxic, edible batteries could one day power ingestible devices for diagnosing and treating disease. One team reports new progress toward that goal with their batteries ... read more

Edible Food Packaging Made from Milk Proteins

Aug. 21, 2016 — Most foods at the grocery store come wrapped in plastic packaging. Not only does this create a lot of non-recyclable, non-biodegradable waste, but thin plastic films are not ... read more

For Sensation-Seekers, the Color Red Can Elicit Rebelliousness, Study Finds

Aug. 17, 2016 — The widespread use of the color red to signal danger can actually be counterproductive for certain people, says new research. Under certain conditions, say investigators, the color red can arouse ... read more

Sting's Musical Mind Revealed by Brain Scan

Common Houseplants Could Make Nail Salons Safer

The Real Culprit Behind The Common Cold Might Be ... Camels?

Viruses Might Be More Likely To Get You Sick In The Morning

Study Casts Doubt on Claim That People Are Over-Optimistic

Aug. 16, 2016 — For many decades scientists have believed that people have an 'irrational optimism bias' -- a tendency to underestimate their chances of negative experiences, while overestimating their ... read more

Cognitive Offloading: How the Internet Is Increasingly Taking Over Human Memory

Aug. 16, 2016 — Our increasing reliance on the Internet and the ease of access to the vast resource available online is affecting our thought processes for problem solving, recall and learning. In a new article, ... read more

Legions of Nanorobots Target Cancerous Tumors With Precision

Aug. 15, 2016 — Researchers have just achieved a spectacular breakthrough in cancer research. They have developed new nanorobotic agents capable of navigating through the bloodstream to administer a drug with ... read more

Large Human Brain Evolved as a Result of 'Sizing Each Other Up'

Aug. 12, 2016 — Humans have evolved a disproportionately large brain as a result of sizing each other up in large cooperative social groups, researchers have ... read more

Backup Plans May Keep You from Achieving Your Goal, Research Shows

Aug. 11, 2016 — When it comes to setting organizational and personal goals, making a backup plan has been seen as a sensible way to deal with uncertainty -- to be prepared if things don't go as expected. ... read more

We Understand That Social Media Does Not Equal Social Interaction

Aug. 11, 2016 — If you worry that people today are using social media as a crutch for a real social life, a study will set you at ease. A new study found that people are actually quite adept at discerning the ... read more

Researchers 'Reprogram' Network of Brain Cells in Mice With Thin Beam of Light

Aug. 11, 2016 — Neurons that fire together really do wire together, says a new study, suggesting that the three-pound computer in our heads may be more malleable than we ... read more

Your Brain on Google Glass

Aug. 11, 2016 — A group of biomedical engineers use functional near-infrared spectroscopy to measure mental workload as subjects navigate a college ... read more

Orangutan Able to Guess a Taste Without Sampling It, Just Like Us

Aug. 11, 2016 — Without having tasted a new juice mix before, an orangutan in a Swedish zoo has enough sense to know whether it will taste nice or not based on how he recombined relevant memories from the past. Only ... read more

Paraplegics Regain Some Feeling, Movement After Using Brain-Machine Interfaces

Aug. 11, 2016 — Eight people who have spent years paralyzed from spinal cord injuries have regained partial sensation and muscle control in their lower limbs after training with brain-controlled robotics, according ... read more

Believe It or Not: Exercise Does More Good If You Believe It Will

Aug. 11, 2016 — People benefit more from exercise when they believe it will have a positive effect, new research indicates. A psychologist and his team have conducted a study demonstrating that test subjects derive ... read more

Reducing the Harms of Alcohol Through Weaker Beer

Aug. 10, 2016 — Could a small drop in the alcohol content of beer or other drinks reduce the harmful effects of alcohol in society at large? A new review, which explores the evidence, suggests this approach may be ... read more

Recording Selfies While Brushing Teeth Can Improve Oral Health Care Skills

Aug. 10, 2016 — Recording smart phone video 'selfies' of tooth-brushing can help people learn to improve their oral health care techniques, according to a new ... read more

Dreaming Also Occurs During Non Rapid Eye Movement Sleep

Aug. 9, 2016 — Measurements demonstrated that the brain activity of people who dream during NREM sleep, compared to people who do not dream in NREM sleep, is closer to brain activity of awake ... read more

Stem Cells of Worms, Humans More Similar Than Expected

Aug. 9, 2016 — The transient form of genetic information, the RNA, is processed in a similar manner in the cells of both organisms. These mechanisms seem to be at work throughout the whole animal kingdom. ... read more

Psychologist's Magic Makes a Non-Existent Object Disappear

Aug. 9, 2016 — Experimental psychologists have developed their own magic trick to explore human perception. 32 percent of people were convinced by a magician that they'd just seen an object disappear, even ... read more

New Study Confirms Adage That With Age Comes Wisdom

Aug. 8, 2016 — Older adults are better at interpreting the correct slope of a hill than young adults, which researchers believe is because of greater life ... read more

Navigating the Human Genome With Sequins

Aug. 8, 2016 — Australian genomics researchers have announced the development of Sequins -- synthetic 'mirror' DNA sequences that reflect the human genome. This intuitive new technology, which can be used ... read more

Viewing Video in Slow Motion Makes Action Appear More Intentional, New Study Finds

Aug. 4, 2016 — Watching a video of a harmful or violent act being committed can provide useful evidence of the circumstances surrounding the action. But new research shows that watching that same video in slow ... read more

Sharks Get Bad Rap When Viewed With Ominous Background Music

Aug. 4, 2016 — In a new study, researchers found that the background music in shark documentaries affects viewers' perceptions of sharks. The researchers suggest that ominous background music could hinder ... read more

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