Health, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 31, 2006

Monkey's Voice Good as Human's for Newborn Babies

ST. LOUIS—Straight out of the womb, infants may be just as aroused by a rhesus monkey call as by human speech. Infants are acute listeners. Previous studies have found newborns perk up more to folk music than white noise. And four-month-olds like listening to people talk more than they like...

Jan 31, 2006

Something Fishy: How Humans Got So Smart

ST. LOUIS—Human brains are bigger and better than any of our closest living or dead non-human relatives in relation to body weight. Scientists say we have fish and frogs to thank for this. When early humans started to fish, they also began feeding their hungry brains. The arrival of language...

Dec 31, 2005

Sound Science: Pete Townshend Blames Headphones for Hearing Loss

In a widely reported story this week, rock star Pete Townshend blamed his hearing loss on earphones rather than the years of participating in loud concerts with his band, The Who. But what is the science of his claim? Pretty solid. Townshend has spoken of his hearing loss before but...

Dec 31, 2005

The Journey of a New Brain Cell

Newborn adult brain cells travel along a neural highway from their place of birth to their final destination. Now scientists have shown that tiny, beating, hair-like structures called cilia play an important role in helping the new cells merge onto the highway's on-ramp. Scientists have long questioned how newborn brain...

Dec 31, 2005

Men Enjoy Physical Revenge, Brain Study Suggests

When Martha Stewart suited up for her prison time, many of her devoted followers felt sorry for her. Others, perhaps believing she was guilty or just not fans of her painted lampshades, were happy to see her incarcerated. Men probably fell in the latter category more often, if a new...

Dec 31, 2005

Is Your Earwax Wet or Dry?

Do you have dry, flaky earwax or the gooey, stinky type? The answer is partly in your heritage. A new study reveals that the gene responsible for the drier type originated in an ancient northeastern Asian population. Today, 80 to 95 percent of East Asians have dry earwax, whereas the...

Nov 30, 2007

Why Time Seems to Slow Down in Emergencies

In The Matrix, the hero Neo could dodge bullets because time moved in slow motion for him during battles. Indeed, in the real world, people in danger often feel as if time slowed down for them. This warping of time apparently does not result from the brain speeding up from...

Nov 30, 2007

Child Care in First Two Years Greatly Affects IQ

How well children are cared for in their first two years directly affects brain development and IQ later in life, a new study finds. Researchers studied abandoned young children in Romanian orphanages over time and found that those placed in foster care at younger ages had significantly higher IQ's than...

Oct 31, 2007

Old Folks Focus Just Fine, Thanks

Old folks can focus their attention on sights and sounds just as well as any young whippersnapper. Previous research has indicated that elderly adults might be more distracted by sights or sounds that interfere with their focus, so a new study conducted by scientists at the Wake Forest University Baptist...

Oct 31, 2007

Report: Ban Cloning or Prepare for Consequences

Human cloning should be outlawed or else the world community needs to prepare to protect clones from potential abuse and discrimination, according to a new policy analysis by the United Nations University. A legally-binding global ban on work to create a human clone , coupled with freedom for nations to...

Oct 31, 2007

The Dawn of Chocolate Discovered

Long before the Aztecs and other early Americans introduced chocolate to the world, ancient civilizations used cacao, the source of chocolate, to make a completely different tasty treat. In fact, new evidence from pottery shards shows that cacao was in use much longer than previously thought. Cacao beans, which come...

Oct 31, 2007

What's in Your Genes? Ancient Parasites

You may not know it, but you're part virus. At least, some of your genes come from viruses that slipped their DNA into the genes of our primate ancestors millions of years ago. The DNA remnants of these ancient retroviruses, distant relatives of today's HIV, account for an estimated 8...

Oct 31, 2007

The Big Holiday Depression Myth

At some point during this holiday season—maybe as you're rushing to the corner store for more turkey stuffing, or while at a Christmas Eve sale wrestling the last Xbox 360 away from a middle-aged mom—you will be tired, stressed and depressed. Most people have heard the bit of folk wisdom...

Oct 31, 2007

Couples Emphasize Career of Man over Woman

When working couples move, the husband's career often gets a boost and the wife's career suffers. A new study suggests what's behind that typical outcome. Couples tend to put more emphasis on the man's career, even if the wife works full-time and is college-educated. This is bad news for people...

Sep 30, 2007

Incan Kids Fattened Before Sacrifice

Incan children as young as 6 were “fattened up” prior to their sacrificial deaths, a new study shows. Researchers made the startling discovery by sampling the hair of frozen child mummies found high in the Andes mountains, near the summit of Mount Llullaillaco—a 22,100-foot (6,739-meter) active volcano on the border...