What’s easier for you: identifying what color something is, or identifying a smell from a source you cannot see? If you’re like most people, color comes more easily.
That, however, isn’t the case for all humans. According to a new study published Thursday in Current Biology, those who practice a hunter-gatherer lifestyle have an edge when it comes to naming a particular funk.
Evolving at the Speed of Smell
So why are people often better at describing what they see ve ...read more
Alcohol affects everyone a bit differently—some people take a few sips of beer and they’re stumbling all over, while others can ingest far more and still walk straight. You see, consuming alcohol affects the brain, which can impact your coordination and ability to think clearly—both of which are important to safely operating vehicles of all kinds, including drones.
As of Monday, it is illegal in New Jersey for people to fly drones under the influence of drugs or alcohol, ...read more
The eye may not be the window to the soul in the conventional sense, but it is a window into the intricate workings of the mind.
The pupil of the eye fluctuates and varies a lot in humans and many mammals. If tracked during the day, the pupil will not only respond to changes in external stimuli such as light, but also to internal conditions such as attention and emotional states. It is a signifier of what goes on in a person’s head and is linked to brain activity. Does this revelatory beh ...read more
If you feel like this year’s flu season is a rough one, that’s because it is.
CBS News recently reported that this year’s flu virus is dominated by a particularly nasty strain, H3N2, which has reached almost every corner of the country, causing prolonged illness in many and in some instances, death. The very young and the elderly are particularly vulnerable, and this year’s vaccine may only be about 30% effective because H3N2 tends to mutate quickly.
Citizen scientists ...read more
To find out just how your relaxed vacuuming schedule is affecting your baby's airway, researchers built a slightly frightening robotic infant.
This legless, metallic baby crawled across five wool rugs from real people's homes in Finland. (The grounded aluminum tape covering the robot helped to minimize static during its 25 crawling sessions of 20 minutes each.) Researchers had asked the people sharing their rugs not to vacuum for two weeks beforehand. As the robot crawled, advanc ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine