May 26, 2011 13:17
- The Claim: A Fake Smile Can be Bad for Your Health
When was the last time you flashed a fake smile at the office? For some, it may be just another mundane aspect of work life - putting on a game face to hide your inner unhappiness. But new research suggests that it may have unexpected consequences: worsening your mood and causing you to withdraw from the tasks at hand.
- Why Are Spy Researchers Building A 'Metaphor Program'?
A small research arm of the U.S. government's intelligence establishment wants to understand how speakers of Farsi, Russian, English, and Spanish see the world by building software that automatically evaluates their use of metaphors.
- Hand Sanitizers Carry Unproven Claims to Prevent MRSA Infections
Some hand sanitizers and antiseptic products come with claims that they can prevent MRSA infections. Don't believe them.
- Kurt Vonnegut Turns Cinderella Into An Equation
The totally unpredictable, one-of-a-kind novelist Kurt Vonnegut (Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat's Cradle, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater) once gave a lecture in which he presented - in graphic form - the basic plots of all the world's great stories. Every story you've ever heard, he said, are reflections of a few, classic story shapes. They are so elementary, he said, he could draw them on an X/Y axis. Which he then did. Here are three of them.
- Autism Changes Molecular Structure of the Brain: Discovery Points to a Common Cause for Multifaceted Disease
For decades, autism researchers have faced a baffling riddle: how to unravel a disorder that leaves no known physical trace as it develops in the brain. Now a UCLA study is the first to reveal how the disorder makes its mark at the molecular level, resulting in an autistic brain that differs dramatically in structure from a healthy one.
- Lawmaker Says Women Should Plan Ahead in Case of Rape, Since He Carries A Spare Tire
During the House's debate, Rep. Pete DeGraaf, a Mulvane Republican who supports the bill, told her: "We do need to plan ahead, don't we, in life?"
Bollier asked him, "And so women need to plan ahead for issues that they have no control over with a pregnancy?"
DeGraaf drew groans of protest from some House members when he responded, "I have spare tire on my car."
"I also have life insurance," he added. "I have a lot of things that I plan ahead for."
- Nearly Half of Americans Are 'Financially Fragile'
Nearly half of Americans say that they definitely or probably couldn't come up with $2,000 in 30 days, according to new research, raising concerns about the financial fragility of many households.
- Seven Must-Read Books on The Art And Science of Happiness
If you, like us, are fascinated by the human quest to understand the underpinnings of happiness but break out in hives at the mere mention of self-help books, you're in luck: We've sifted through our personal library, a decade's worth of obsessive reading, to bring you seven essential books on the art and science of happiness, rooted in solid science, contemporary philosophy and cross-disciplinary insight.
- Gary Shteyngart wins Wodehouse Prize
New Yorker Gary Shteyngart is to have a pig named in his honour after becoming the first American to win the Wodehouse Prize for comic fiction.
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