Human Behavior, features and articles | Educational Science

Jun 17, 2015

5 Things I Learned When my Research Went Viral

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. We researchers all wonder whether reaching a broader audience for our academic work is worth the time and effort. Here’s a recent experience that may help you decide. On...

Jun 26, 2015

Does Music Give You Math Skills? It's a Tricky Equation

Naomi Eide is a master's student in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park. She contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Denny Gulick began playing piano at age 4. With perfect pitch and a knack for memorization, he was...

Aug 6, 2015

School Start Times in U.S. States: Full List

Most U.S. middle and high schools start too early — with an average start time of around 8:00 a.m., according to a new study. Some children's health organizations recommend that schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m., to help teens get the sleep they need. The study also found that...

May 18, 2016

Is Digital Multitasking Good for Teens?

The more time teens spend multitasking with various tech devices, the worse they tend to perform on academic tests, a small new study suggests. In the study, the researchers analyzed information from 73 eighth-grade students in Boston, who answered questions about how many hours per week they spent watching TV...

Jun 6, 2016

'Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War': A Q&A with Mary Roach

Is it possible to develop bombproof underwear? And why is it so difficult to perform a whole-body transplant? These are just some of the fascinating questions tackled by science writer Mary Roach in her new book, Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War. The book, published by W. W....

Aug 15, 2016

Book Excerpt: 'But What If We're Wrong?' (US 2016)

In his new book, Chuck Klosterman asks questions that are profound in their simplicity: How certain are we about our understanding of gravity? How certain are we about our understanding of time? What will be the defining memory of rock music, five hundred years from today? How seriously should we...

Aug 15, 2016

What If We're Wrong? History Suggests Everything Will Be Disproved

Hindsight is 20/20, right? That's the premise of a new book that poses the question: What if we were wrong? Chuck Klosterman's But What If We're Wrong? (Blue Rider Press, 2016) deals with the fact that the great march of history shows us that, well … we're always wrong. Aristotle...

Aug 25, 2016

Sexual Assault on Campus: Why College Freshmen Face Increased Risk

All across the U.S., college freshmen are gearing up for new classes, friends and freedoms, but there's also a darker side of these changes: At many colleges, first-year students are at an increased risk of sexual assault compared with sophomores, juniors and seniors, experts told Live Science. This period of...

Aug 27, 2016

Will You Make More Money If You Attend a Top-Tier School?

SEATTLE — College tuitions are becoming prohibitively expensive for many people, with Harvard University now costing almost $61,000 a year for tuition, room, board and fees. Given the high price tag, is it worth it to graduate from a highly selective school versus a less expensive, lower-tier one? The answer...

Sep 2, 2016

Nix Homework to Help Students? What the Science Says

A Texas teacher's note to parents about her newly implemented no formal homework policy in her second-grade class went viral last week, opening up the floodgates for parents, teachers and school administrators to weigh in on this controversial topic. In the note, teacher Brandy Young told parents that her students'...

Sep 12, 2016

Homeschooling Is on the Rise: Here's Why

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. As children head back to school, an increasing number of their homeschooled peers will be starting their academic year as well. Homeschooling in the United States is growing at...

Nov 9, 2016

Book Excerpt: 'Blueprint for a Battlestar' (US 2016)

In Blueprint for a Battlestar: Serious Scientific Explanations Behind Sci-Fi's Greatest Inventions, NASA insider Rod Pyle explores remarkable and memorable technologies from the world of science fiction. Each concept is explained and dissected to reveal the real science behind it. Some are temptingly within our reach — such as cyborgs...

Dec 9, 2016

Having Family for Dinner: 'Cannibalism' Author Dishes

When you think of cannibals, you may picture the headline-grabbing psychopaths who, every so often, commit horrific crimes. But elsewhere in the animal kingdom, cannibalism might involve a self-sacrificing mother or a hungry fetus snacking down on its siblings. Now, Bill Schutt's Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History (Algonquin Books, 2017)...

Feb 27, 2017

Live Science Talks 'Cannibalism' with Author Bill Schutt

Join Live Science as we take a seat at the table with Bill Schutt, author of Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History (Algonquin Books, 2018). While cannibalism in animals — including people — has been recognized for centuries, it wasn't always well-studied, and was long-thought to be a type of behavior...

Mar 14, 2017

Lifelike Models with 'Working Organs' Help Doctors Hone Surgical Skills

New, lifelike models of newborns that are as squishy as real babies and even include mimics of working organs could help surgeons and nurses train to perform life-saving procedures, researchers say. The baby mimics were created using 3D printing and were designed to better replicate the anatomical complexity and feel...