Surprising Science

Understanding the importance of praise in our personal and professional lives means overcoming a blind spot in human psychology that is many tens of thousands of years in the making. 

The idea that Alzheimer’s is a form of diabetic disease has been gaining currency in medical circles for almost ten years. The accumulated evidence is now so strong that many […]

Do you dig social media, kung fu, ascetic lifestyles, and the color orange? If so, the Shaolin Temple has just the job for you.

Fast food workers staged a national protest in cities across the United States yesterday. Their employers may respond to the call for higher wages by speeding up the process to automate their jobs.

The best advisors for surviving the road are those who make their living on it. Actress Stefanie O’Connell advocates for her system of frugal/healthy eating while on tour.

Have you ever experienced a moment when you’ve teetered between telling the truth and telling a lie? According to a new study, you have your dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to thank for that.

Swedish scientists have found that learning a new language has a significant effect on the brain and improves language skills as a whole.

This cool cat is one of the four Siberian tigers that call the Philadelphia Zoo home. Siberian tigers, also known as Amur tigers, are the world’s biggest cats, capable of growing […]

In just four years, the experimental research wing of the US military, named DARPA, plans to market a medical device that can recover lost memories.

In his recent Big Think interview, Bill Nye proposed his version of an ideal core curriculum. Spoiler Alert: there’s science involved. As Bill explains, incorporating science and math into the […]

A national health study has found that diets low in carbohydrates, complimented by moderate amounts of fat, are better for you than the low-fat diet that doctors and government authorities have recommended for decades.

After following 634 couples over nine years, researchers at the University of Buffalo found that partners who smoked marijuana together were consistently less violent toward each other.

Should homeless Americans be entitled to 24/7 access to restrooms? An increasing number of advocates are pushing the issue to the forefront of homeless-rights discussions.

Neuroscientists fascinated by the teenage psyche have come together to publish a series of studies on what makes juveniles tick. Their findings reveal why teenage boys in particular act in such a risk-averse manner.

While you can’t prevent your financial institution from being breached by hackers, you can still protect your information by not falling into their traps.

August 30, 1984: the Space Shuttle Discovery launches from Kennedy Space Center on its maiden voyage. STS-41-D was NASA’s 12th Space Shuttle mission. One mission’s crew members was Judith Resnik, who […]

Physics for babies is a big deal.

Recent studies have found that eating unhealthy foods, especially those high in sugar and fat, contribute directly to the biological and emotional states associated with depression.

3.4 million people die each year from water-related diseases 99% of which occur in the developing world. To put things in more perspective, lack of access to clean water and sanitation […]

A study completed at Cornell University found that adults who don’t eat breakfast tend not to overcompensate by eating larger or unhealthier meals during the day. 

Increasingly, the Internet reflects our vision of the offline world where people naturally gravitate toward groups who already share our opinion on social and political matters. 

The technologists who brought you online dating, music streaming platforms, e-readers, and mobile phones are now tackling food production.

How you get to work, and how long that journey takes, generally determine the level of satisfaction you have with your commute, according to British and Canadian researchers.

From pinpointing different brain regions to the treatment of neurological disorders, scientists have demonstrated that the brain is a highly plastic organ capable of learning new things well into the later stages of life.

Interviewing over Skype can be incredibly stressful, especially if you haven’t prepared correctly. The key to nailing the new job is in how you diligently arrange everything can control before the interview starts. 

Canadian researchers have identified the part of the brain that links motor learning with the need for a full night’s sleep. This is why dancers, actors, and musicians are at their best at full rest.

The Defender is billed as a smart personal protection device. Not only will it photograph an assault, it sends that photo to the authorities.

Four years ago a paper by Dan Sperber published in the Review of Philosophy and Psychology coined the term: The Guru Effect – the tendency for people to “judge profound […]

The potency of the omega-3 vitamin, long thought to be the source of this beneficial effect, is now in doubt…

Think your job has you under a lot of pressure? Here’s one that’s put you above a lot of pressure… magma pressure, that is. From the U.S. Geological Survey: “At […]