Surprising Science

Classical neurology defines consciousness as the ongoing process of arousal and awareness.   

New study suggests many people select mates who share their height and BMI.

Kessler hopes his theory helps us to see that those struggling aren’t “broken,” but caught in a loop.  

Biologist Stuart Firestein talks about the connection between smells, tastes, and memory.

A Japanese study found that they could even tell what subjects were dreaming about. 

Shelby Harris explains what can go wrong when the safety mechanism that shuts down your body during dreaming fails.

A neuroscientific approach to maintaining emotional well-being.

“A post-antibiotic era – in which common infections and minor injuries can kill – far from being an apocalyptic fantasy, is instead a very real possibility for the 21st Century.” 

Psychologist Bruce Hood argues that superstitious thinking is a natural part of human cognition and should not be so quickly dismissed.

The average amount of eye contact adults make is 30-60% per conversation, 60-70% if they feel invested.   

Got Milk? If you are holding a carton of Soymilk you don’t. Right now there is a battle over what can be defined as milk, and what can’t be. With milk sales going down and plant-based beverage sales going up, it could be an all-out war.

The words we speak might actually help us see the future. Here’s how.

Are people with blatantly un-scientific views stupid? The authors of Denying to the Grave: Why We Ignore the Facts That Will Save Us have a different view. 

Scientists show that brainless organisms can somehow learn and share knowledge.

The KIND foundation discovers seven people doing inspiring things for others.

An AI expert just stated that it will be considered socially normal to have sex with robots by the year 2040. Sure, you may be having sex with a robot–but what will this mean for your human relationship?

Given the FDA’s lack of oversight, the FTC is stepping in to regulate homeopathic products.

We urgently need fresh new thinking in order to address the scale and gravity of today’s global challenges, which have outgrown the present system’s ability to handle them. 

Extreme “river in the sky” climate events nearly wiped out the local population of a keystone species, the Olympia oyster.

The US Air Force’s Space Horizons Team wants to juice America’s space program. Here’s how.

We like to think of compassion as purely altruistic. Yet, it may have selfish underpinnings.    

Overly powerful synthetic marijuana-imitating drugs causes dozens of smokers to hit the streets of Brooklyn in a daze.

Brain blood flow in those with cannabis use disorder was found to be significantly restricted.   

A new study finds that non-human primates have the vocal tract required for human-type speech.

One controversial aspect, O’Neill says the FDA should only regulate drugs for safety, not efficacy.   

NASA debuted its own Giphy channel packed with gifs of the their missions and research.

Any story we tell of our species, any science of human nature, that ignores how important stories are in shaping what and how we think and feel is false. We evolved to be ultra-social (and self-deficient), so we care deeply about character and plot.  

Building a close relationships with your adolescent may seem like the most difficult task but it is one of the most important ones.

Safeguards must be put into place before a Minority Report scenario crops up.  

Spontaneous talk on surprise topics. Author, Podcaster, and “Human Guinea Pig” Tim Ferriss on death, ignoring most of the news, and sake as a secret weapon for podcasting.