The Pepper robotic assistant. (Credit: MikeDotta/Shutterstock)
As prices drop and their functionality expands, you can expect to see humanoid robots in more places, including schools, airports, and hospitals. That’s made researchers curious how androids and their kin will influence human behavior. In a study published today, scientists found that meaner, colder robots can help people concentrate — and that could help us better understand human-robot relationships.
The experiment, p ...read more
When kids were asked if certain lines are longer or shorter than others, they deffered to the robots’ answers. (Credit: Tony Belpaeme / Ghent University)
Those of us of a certain age may recall the D.A.R.E. program wafting through our classrooms like so many puffs of smoke. In addition to the evils of drugs and alcohol, and the importance of just saying no, the program highlighted the power of peer pressure. No matter how much our friends and classmates might say something’s cool, ...read more
(Credit: Gregory Zamell/Shutterstock)
Millions of years ago, a gene in mammals became useless. Now scientists have discovered the gene has come back to life in elephants, where it’s exceptionally good at killing damaged cells. The “zombie” gene may explain why the long-lived pachyderms rarely develop cancer and how large animals evolved.
A Cancer Mystery
Elephants are a paradox for scientists. The giants appear largely resistant to cancer, which is odd as their long lifespans ...read more
(Credit: tommaso79/Shutterstock)
If you wanna shiver right, you gotta exercise.
That’s the suggestion of a new study in The Journal of Physiology looking at how mice fared in the cold after they’d spent some time undergoing regular jogging sessions on a wheel. Compared to couch-potato mice, the fit mice lost less weight in the cold and had higher body temperatures. The findings reveal that physical fitness likely plays a role in how well we deal with chilly situations.
Shiver ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine
