Human Behavior, features and articles | Educational Science

Dec 31, 2014

The Story Behind the Leap Second

This article was originally published on The Conversation. The publication contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Most people would feel they can count on one day comprising the same number of hours, minutes and seconds as the next. But this isn’t always the case –...

Dec 31, 2014

Women Can't Be Geniuses? Stereotypes May Explain Gender Gap

The gender gap in certain academic fields may be due to those fields' emphasis on brilliance (rather than hard work, for example) and stereotypes that hold that women can't be geniuses, new research suggests. Researchers surveyed 1,820 people working in academia in the U.S. in 30 disciplines, ranging from computer...

Dec 31, 2014

Mummy Mask May Reveal Oldest Known Gospel

This story was updated at 9:54 a.m. ET on Feb. 9. A text that may be the oldest copy of a gospel known to exist — a fragment of the Gospel of Mark that was written during the first century, before the year 90 — is set to be published....

Dec 31, 2014

After Narcosub, Are Drug Drones a Surprise? (Op-Ed)

This article was originally published on The Conversation. The publication contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. It will come as no surprise to anyone that drugs are big business, so when a drone crashed in a car park of a US border town weighed down...

Nov 30, 2016

Smallpox Found in Lithuanian Mummy Could Rewrite Virus' History

The mummy of a child discovered in a crypt beneath a Lithuanian church harbors the oldest sample found to date of the virus that causes smallpox, a new report said. But the researchers' analysis of the virus, called the variola virus, suggests that smallpox first appeared in humans much more...

Nov 30, 2016

Why Is Santa Always White?

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. It is that time of year again: People are dusting off their holiday decorations in order to make their homes and public spaces festive. It is also the time...

Nov 30, 2016

8 Things We Learned About Human Nature in 2016

8 Things We Learned About Human Nature in 2016 (Image credit: Sonpichit Salangsing | Shutterstock.com)Does telling one lie make you more likely to tell another? During which season are couples most likely to divorce? And what prompts the victims of long-ago sexual assaults to finally speak out? This year, researchers...

Sep 30, 2016

Scopes Monkey Trial: Science on the Stand

The Scopes Monkey Trial was an American legal trial in Dayton, Tennessee, during the summer of 1925. Also known as The State of Tennessee vs. John Thomas Scopes, the case tried high school substitute science teacher John Scopes for violating Tennessee's ban on the teaching of evolution in all public...

Sep 30, 2016

Halloween Monster Science (Infographic)

The stories behind Halloween monsters ... (Image credit: Michael Reis / Purch) ...

Aug 31, 2016

Does IQ Determine If You're Prejudiced? It's Complicated

There's a long-standing and somewhat uncomfortable finding in psychology: that low IQ, conservative social beliefs and prejudice — including anti-gay attitudes and racism — are all linked. Many studies have found this relationship — so much so that a 2015 meta-analysis of the research suggested that researchers who conduct studies...

Aug 31, 2016

Sept. 11 Anniversary: What the Attacks Taught Us About Science

Through the years (Sept. 15, 2001) -- A New York City fireman calls for 10 more rescue workers to make their way into the rubble of the World Trade Center. (Image credit: U.S. Navy Photo by Journalist 1st Class Preston Keres.)This year marks the 15th anniversary of the worst terrorist...

Aug 31, 2016

Oxytocin Hormone May Boost Spirituality

The hormone oxytocin is perhaps best known for its role in feelings of love and social bonding. But a new study suggests it's involved in feelings of spirituality as well. The study involved 83 men ages 35 to 64 who received either a dose of oxytocin or a placebo, both...

Jul 31, 2016

Feeling Burned Out at Work? Study IDs 2 Key Reasons

The old career-counseling advice about choosing a job that's a good fit for you is getting support from a new study: Job burnout may be caused by a mismatch between an employee's inner needs and the characteristics of his or her job, the study from Switzerland suggests. For example, a...

Jul 31, 2016

Lochte's Lies: How Science Explains Fibbers

Nearly a week after Ryan Lochte and three other U.S. swimmers claimed to have been robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, it seems the men are admitting their story seriously bent the truth. I want to apologize for my behavior last weekend — for not being more careful...

Jul 31, 2016

Global Survey Reveals That Acceptance of Gay People Lags in 3 Regions

SEATTLE — The acceptance of gay rights has undergone an unprecedented worldwide surge in recent years, with governments granting gay people the right to marry and protections from discrimination. But that's not the case everywhere, largely because of unyielding local cultures that thwart pro-gay global views, new research finds. These...