Does Bigfoot really exist? Scientists turn to DNA for the answer
Scientists ask collectors and enthusiasts to send their alleged Bigfoot genetic samples for testing.
Why dogs yawn when we yawn
If your dog ‘catches’ your yawn, your furry friend may be empathizing with you.
The Only Thing That Can Stop This Asteroid is Your Liberal Arts Degree.
By now you’re probably wondering what this is all about, whyFBI agents pulled you out of your barista job, threw you on a helicopter, and brought you to NASA headquarters. There’s no time, so I’ll shoot it to you straight. You’ve seen the news reports. What hit New York wasn’t some debris from an old satellite. There’s an asteroid the size of Montana heading toward Earth and if it hits us, the planet is over. But we’ve got one last-ditch plan. We need a team to land on the surface of the asteroid, drill a nuclear warhead one mile into its core, and get out before it explodes. And you’re just the liberal arts major we need to lead that team.
I. Am. Dying. You simply must read the rest.
Projecting human evolution: 5 traits we might possess in the future
Given the growing evidence that humans are still evolving, it’s worth asking: What might we be evolving into?
The polar bear is currently the largest bear on Earth, standing at around 8 feet tall. That’s still a few feet short of the biggest bear, which is thought to be the South-American giant short-faced bear. Also known as Arctodus, this bear is believed to have tipped the scales at 3,500 pounds and stood 11 feet tall, which is even taller than this diagram shows.
Why so few people are left-handed
About 10 percent of people favor their left hand, a ratio that has remained constant for more than 5,000 years. Scientists may have finally figured out why.
It’s all about the balance between cooperation and competition. Humans have long had an evolutionary need to cooperate, such as when sharing tools or hunting in groups. And if most people use the same hand, it makes such cooperation easier. “The more social the animal — where cooperation is highly valued — the more the general population will trend toward one side,” says co-author Daniel M. Abrams.
So why do we have lefties at all? Because people aren’t purely cooperative. We compete with each other, too, and always have. “If a society was totally cooperative, then everyone would be same-handed,” says Nauert. But that’s not us. Our competitive streak ensures that there will always be lefties.
Phys.Org:
[The researchers] turned to the world of sports for data to support their balance of cooperation and competition theory. Their model accurately predicted the number of elite left-handed athletes in baseball, boxing, hockey, fencing and table tennis — more than 50 percent among top baseball players and well above 10 percent (the general population rate) for the other sports.
On the other hand, the number of successful left-handed PGA golfers is very low, only 4 percent. The model also accurately predicted this.
Which Side Is Your Good Side? Here Comes the Science
Whatever you do, accentuate that left cheek of yours: it is your best one. According to a scientific study, there no longer remains a question of which is your best side. Everyone, it seems, agrees that left is best.
Wake Forest University psychology professor Dr. James Schirillo and co-author Kelsey Blackburn published their findings in the journal Experimental Brain Research, stating that we humans prefer looking at the left side of a face, finding it more pleasant.
Discovery News’ Benjamin Radford delves into the “science” of pet psychics.
Photo credit: Corbis
Why you’re not crazy if you talk to yourself
Talking to invisible green men is one thing, but everyday conversation with yourself may lead to better cognition.
