A new study looks at how the music played in the background of shark documentaries affects the viewers’ opinion of sharks. Not surprisingly, ominous music resulted in a more negative opinion of sharks than light music or silence.
A recent study in JAMA reviews data on measles and pertussis cases and previous studies of these cases, finding that vaccine refusal does contribute to outbreaks and puts others at higher risk of infection.
Students at ISU protest feeding trials of a vitamin A enriched staple banana cultivar, because they would apparently rather see poor African children die of vitamin A deficiency than risk a “public relations coup” for GMOs.
Recent headlines are reporting that researchers from the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Industrial Science have developed an unbreakable glass that is almost as strong as steel. Let’s see how the claims hold up.
Scientists have discovered and examined a new species of hominin, Homo naledi, which is an interesting mix of primitive and modern features.
Bickel found that sentence structures that caused the brain to perform more work were not favored over time in their review of over 600 languages. Specifically, there was a universal human bias away from the use of ergatives in speech.
Don’t be alarmed by the click-bait sensational headlines. The new “study” is just a review article (no new data) and doesn’t even look at actual association of cell phone use with cancer or other diseases. It only suggest a possible, and at this point still speculative, mechanism, oxidative stress. The data still fails to show any connection between cell phone use and cancer.
The Rotarura Daily Post (from New Zealand) reports that Ma Nithya Maheshwaranand, a 12 year old girl from Dallas, is able to read while blindfolded using her “third eye.” This is an old trick, and skeptics are not impressed.
A new study looking at the herpesvirus vaccine used to prevent Marek’s disease in poultry has come up with some interesting findings. The vaccine may actually lead to the evolution of more virulent strains, which can threaten unvaccinated birds.
Pew poll shows gap in opinion between scientists and the public.