Good looking, sociable people don’t make good scientists, according to popular stereotypes.
This is one of the findings of an interesting new study of how scientists are perceived, from British researchers Ana I. Gheorghiu and colleagues.
Gheorghiu et al. took 616 pictures of scientists, which they downloaded from the faculty pages at various universities. They gave the portraits to two sets of raters. The first group were asked to rate the attractiveness of the portraits and to say whethe ...read more
Photo: flickr/danox
Eating your own placenta: some people (many of them celebrities) claim that it is a miracle cure-all, helping a new mother overcome everything from postpartum depression to low milk production. But is there actually any proof to these claims? Not that pro-placentophagers (we just made that word up) will likely care, but according to this meta-analysis of the literature, there is little scientific proof for any of these health claims. More specifically, the authors conc ...read more
(Credit: NASA/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt/Seán Doran/Ernie Mastroianni)
The first results from Juno’s brush with Jupiter reveal swarms of cyclones, massive ammonia plumes and complex interactions between a turbulent magnetic field and powerful streams of electrons. The findings are published today in Science and Geophysical Research Letters.
The Juno team is still sifting through the massive piles of data the probe is sending back from the gas giant. Since arriv ...read more
This is going to hurt. (Credit: Shutterstock)
Cowpea seed beetle sex is complicated.
During copulation, the male seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus, uses his sharp, spiky penis to damage females’ reproductive tract while depositing sperm. All the while, the female vigorously kicks at her suitor—it hurts! As studies have shown, males with longer, harmful penis spikes enjoy more reproductive success, to the detriment of their partner’s health.
But the process of evolution ha ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine
