Human Behavior, features and articles | Educational Science

Dec 31, 2013

Gloomy Vocabulary in Books Reflects Poor Economic Climate (Op-Ed)

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Literature has mirrored the shifting economic climate over the past century, according to a study published today by researchers in Bristol and London. When times are tough financially, it seems,...

Dec 31, 2013

Is a Rhino Hunt Really Conservation? (Op-Ed)

Marc Bekoff, emeritus professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, is one of the world's pioneering cognitive ethologists, a Guggenheim Fellow, and co-founder with Jane Goodall of Ethologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Bekoff's latest book is Why Dogs Hump and Bees Get Depressed (New World Library, 2013). This...

Dec 31, 2013

In Images: An Ancient European Hunter Gatherer

Hunter gatherer genome (Image credit: CSIC)A 2014 study in Nature has shown that a 7,000-year-old Mesolithic hunter-gatherer found in Spain had dark skin and blue-eyes. Accidental find (Image credit: Jose Ignacio Soto | Shutterstock.com)In 2006, hikers accidentally discovered the remains, along with another skeleton, in the Cantabrian Moutnains of Northwest...

Dec 31, 2013

China's War on Thought is Being Waged in Western Universities (Op-Ed)

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. In the past decade, US and UK universities have embarked on a program of developing formal relationships, exchanges, and partnerships with their counterparts in China. No scholar interested in promoting...

Nov 30, 2015

Being Happy Doesn't Really Increase Your Life Span

Being happy is nice and all, but don't count on happiness to add years to your life — a new study finds that how happy you are doesn't seem to affect your risk of dying early. The study did find that being unhappy was linked with an increased risk of...

Nov 30, 2015

Why Do Scientists Overspecialize into Silos? (Op-Ed)

his article was originally published at The Conversation.The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Crossing disciplinary boundaries is unusual – and crucially important. In 1998, groundbreaking thinker and eminent biologist EO Wilson cautioned against scientific overspecialization, warning that thought silos “…must be torn down...

Nov 30, 2015

Holiday Hazard: Installing Christmas Lights Can Lead to Falls

Putting up Christmas lights is part of the holiday tradition for many people, but it turns out that falls during installation can sometimes lead to serious or even deadly injuries, a recent study suggests. In the study, researchers looked at the data of 40 patients who were admitted to a...

Oct 31, 2015

Inventor and Actress Hedy Lamarr Honored with Google Doodle

Today's Google Doodle commemorates actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr, on what would have been her 99th birthday. During World War II, Lamarr designed a system to safeguard homing signals on torpedoes launched by Allied forces, protecting them from Nazi interception by hopping between radio frequencies. Her patent, co-created with composer...

Oct 31, 2015

Emoji Snags 'Word of the Year' (Here’s Why That Makes Sense)

It's official: Oxford Dictionaries word of the year isn't a word at all, it's face-with-tears-of-joy, the most globally used emoji in 2015. The smiley face with oversized tears made up a whopping 20 percent of all emojis used in the United Kingdom and 17 percent of those used in the...

Oct 31, 2015

Abraham Lincoln Was a Science Champion, Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson Says

Abraham Lincoln is best known for abolishing slavery and keeping the United States together through the Civil War, but he also helped the country become the scientific and engineering powerhouse we know today. For example, Lincoln signed the Morrill Act in 1862, creating a system of land-grant colleges and universities...

Oct 31, 2015

Many Small Microaggressions Add Up to Something Big

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Upon entering a classroom or office for the first time, I frequently take more than a few seconds to place my book bag on the floor. I do this...

Oct 31, 2015

Devils Tower: See Photos of Wyoming's Unique Rock Formation

In the Fourche River Valley in northeastern Wyoming, an unmistakeable and unique geological wonder arises from the desolate, high plains landscape. Telltale formation Here, an intrusion of the igneous rock phonolite porphyry formed between the layers of sedimentary rock, resulting in what is known today as Devils Tower. (Credit: Linda...

Sep 30, 2015

What the 'Phub'? Your Cellphone Habits Might Hurt Your Relationship

Are you a phubber? That is, do you snub others by constantly looking at your cellphone? If you're guilty of phubbing, you may want to change your ways soon: A recent survey suggests that interrupting real-life encounters to stare at your phone can damage personal relationships. In everyday interactions with...

Sep 30, 2015

Science of Sexy: Why Emilia Clarke Reigns Supreme

It's official: Actress Emilia Clarke is Esquire magazine's Sexiest Woman Alive. In many ways, it's not surprising Esquire picked Clarke, who plays the fearless dragon rider and rightful heir to the Iron Throne on Game of Thrones. (And no, it's not just because she's in a state of undress in...

Sep 30, 2015

Fall Back? Why Daylight Saving Time Is So Confusing

On Sunday, Nov. 1, it's time to wind back the clocks. Or is that forward? Wait, are we losing an hour, or gaining one? This biannual changing of the clocks is frustrating to many people. Even the name itself is confusing: It's daylight saving time — not, as many people...