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Findings: A Shocker: Partisan Thought Is Unconscious
By BENEDICT CAREY, The New York Times, January 24, 2006
Liberals and conservatives can become equally bug-eyed and irrational when talking politics, especially when they are on the defensive.
Using M.R.I. scanners, neuroscientists have now tracked what happens in the politically partisan brain when it tries to digest damning facts about favored candidates or criticisms of them. The process is almost entirely emotional and unconscious, the researchers report, and there are flares of activity in the brain's pleasure centers when unwelcome information is being rejected.
( Read More )
Mastering the Geometry of the Jungle
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR, The New York Times, January 24, 2006
An indigenous group called the Mundurukú, who live in isolated villages in several Brazilian states in the Amazon jungles, have no words in their language for square, rectangle, triangle or any other geometric shape except circles.
The members use no measuring instruments or compasses, they have no maps, and their words for directions are limited to sunrise, sunset, upstream and downstream. The Mundurukú language has few words for numbers beyond five except "few" and "many," and even those words are not used consistently.
Yet, researchers have discovered, they appear to understand many principles of geometry as well as American children do, and in some cases almost as well as American adults. An article describing the findings appears in the Jan. 20 issue of Science.
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Vital Signs: Senses: Bad News for Nerves of Aging Fans of Heavy Metal
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR, The New York Times, January 24, 2006
Longtime exposure to loud noise may increase the risk of developing a benign nerve tumor called an acoustic neuroma, Swedish research suggests.
The tumor, which grows inside the skull, can cause constant ringing in the ears, affect balance and result in deafness. It occurs mainly in people over 50.
The findings, published online in The American Journal of Epidemiology, will appear in the Feb. 15 print edition.
( Read More )
United States Ranks 28th on Environment, a New Study Says
By FELICITY BARRINGER, The New York Times, January 23, 2006
WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 - A pilot nation-by-nation study of environmental performance shows that just six nations - led by New Zealand, followed by five from Northern Europe - have achieved 85 percent or better success in meeting a set of critical environmental goals ranging from clean drinking water and low ozone levels to sustainable fisheries and low greenhouse gas emissions.
The study, jointly produced by Yale and Columbia Universities, ranked the United States 28th over all, behind most of Western Europe, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Costa Rica and Chile, but ahead of Russia and South Korea.
The bottom half of the rankings is largely filled with the countries of Africa and Central and South Asia. Pakistan and India both rank among the 20 lowest-scoring countries, with overall success rates of 41.1 percent and 47.7 percent, respectively.
The pilot study, called the 2006 Environmental Performance Index, has been reviewed by specialists both in the United States and internationally.
( Read More )
By BENEDICT CAREY, The New York Times, January 24, 2006
Liberals and conservatives can become equally bug-eyed and irrational when talking politics, especially when they are on the defensive.
Using M.R.I. scanners, neuroscientists have now tracked what happens in the politically partisan brain when it tries to digest damning facts about favored candidates or criticisms of them. The process is almost entirely emotional and unconscious, the researchers report, and there are flares of activity in the brain's pleasure centers when unwelcome information is being rejected.
( Read More )
Mastering the Geometry of the Jungle
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR, The New York Times, January 24, 2006
An indigenous group called the Mundurukú, who live in isolated villages in several Brazilian states in the Amazon jungles, have no words in their language for square, rectangle, triangle or any other geometric shape except circles.
The members use no measuring instruments or compasses, they have no maps, and their words for directions are limited to sunrise, sunset, upstream and downstream. The Mundurukú language has few words for numbers beyond five except "few" and "many," and even those words are not used consistently.
Yet, researchers have discovered, they appear to understand many principles of geometry as well as American children do, and in some cases almost as well as American adults. An article describing the findings appears in the Jan. 20 issue of Science.
( Read More )
Vital Signs: Senses: Bad News for Nerves of Aging Fans of Heavy Metal
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR, The New York Times, January 24, 2006
Longtime exposure to loud noise may increase the risk of developing a benign nerve tumor called an acoustic neuroma, Swedish research suggests.
The tumor, which grows inside the skull, can cause constant ringing in the ears, affect balance and result in deafness. It occurs mainly in people over 50.
The findings, published online in The American Journal of Epidemiology, will appear in the Feb. 15 print edition.
( Read More )
United States Ranks 28th on Environment, a New Study Says
By FELICITY BARRINGER, The New York Times, January 23, 2006
WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 - A pilot nation-by-nation study of environmental performance shows that just six nations - led by New Zealand, followed by five from Northern Europe - have achieved 85 percent or better success in meeting a set of critical environmental goals ranging from clean drinking water and low ozone levels to sustainable fisheries and low greenhouse gas emissions.
The study, jointly produced by Yale and Columbia Universities, ranked the United States 28th over all, behind most of Western Europe, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Costa Rica and Chile, but ahead of Russia and South Korea.
The bottom half of the rankings is largely filled with the countries of Africa and Central and South Asia. Pakistan and India both rank among the 20 lowest-scoring countries, with overall success rates of 41.1 percent and 47.7 percent, respectively.
The pilot study, called the 2006 Environmental Performance Index, has been reviewed by specialists both in the United States and internationally.
( Read More )
