If a man were dying on the street, would you help him or just walk by? Most of us would like to think we would help, but unfortunately this is not usually the case. According to a social psychological phenomenon known as the bystander effect, people do not intervene in...
An average human sleeps for a third of his or her life (1). Other animals can display great variation in their time spent sleeping, ranging from the koala (up to 22 hours) to the giraffe (as little as 1.5 hours) (1). Numerous studies affirm the importance of sleep to health...
Chemists and physicists have heavily debated the seemingly simple question of why ice is slippery. Intuition tells us that liquids are mobile and that their presence reduces friction between solids, which is why water on the floor can cause someone to slip. Yet ice is frozen water – a solid....
Synesthesia, a rare neurological condition, describes an involuntary, automatic union of the senses or secondary experience caused by an external stimulus. The word “synesthesia” comes from the Greek meaning “to perceive together.” These secondary experiences often occur through separate modes such as an internal auditory association with a visual stimulus....
At one time or another, most of us have experienced “pruney” fingers, or the exaggerated wrinkling of fingers and toes that results from prolonged exposure to water. Until the early twentieth century, most scientists attributed the pruney fingers phenomenon to osmosis, or the movement of water into dry outer layers...
The Flynn Effect is the observation that intelligence quotient (IQ) test scores have, on average, increased significantly from the 1930s to the present day. IQ tests are intended to have an average score of 100. However, psychologists revise the test every couple years in order to maintain this numerical average....
We cry when we are in despair. We tear up when we yawn. Our eyes well up during moments of immense joy. But why do we cry in the first place? What biological functions does crying serve? While the scientific community struggles to provide concrete explanations for this teary condition,...
Many scientists have attmpted to find the “Fountain of Youth.” Although many genetic and medical treatments have increased the average human life expectancy, these treatments have yet to increase lifespan over a hundred years. However, this statement may no longer hold true in the future. In a recent issue of...
Anyone who has flown on an airplane should be familiar with the common pre-flight reminder to turn off cell phones on flight. For many people, this may seem silly or superfluous. What could your iPhone do that would possibly affect the flight? There are those who have left their phones...
Skin aging is a fact of life; everyone will face it sooner or later. In order to understand how this process works, it is important to know the basics of skin. The epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue are the three layers that compose the human skin. Epidermis is the skin’s...
