Science News for Writers

www.flickr.com "A single disgusting image is sufficient to predict a subject's political orientation," says one researcher. "I haven't seen such clean predictive results in any other  experiments in our lab or others." It appears that someone could argue that political orientation is genetically controlled in much the same way  as sexual orientation is.  While this research implies that political orientation is genetically specified, research released earlier this year (see below) shows basic structural differences of the brains of conservatives and liberals. According to this and other research, nurture appears to play a role, but it seems that nature is the controlling factor.  To paraphrase Lady Gaga, "we're born this way."  As to why some people are born liberal or conservative, there is research to do.  Does being conservative or liberal convey an adaptive evolutionary advantage for the individual?  If that were the case,...

favim.com How would you describe the face of Lauren Bacall?  Celebrated writers such as Charles Dickens and George Eliot described characters' faces vividly without going into detail.    How much description of a character's face is enough?  Perhaps another way of putting it is, how much do you describe, and how much do you leave to your reader's imagination? According to this research, "less is more," based on analysis of the facial descriptions in classic literature. Here's the story: Vivid descriptions of faces  don't have to go into detail. C elebrated writers such as Charles Dickens and George Eliot described characters' faces vividly without going into detail about their features, according to a research group led at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Experts in literature, psychology, neurology and music suggested that vividness can be created not only by describing individual features, such ...

www.purpleclover.com To quote Lewis Carroll, "damn, that's good news." Actually, I think he said something like, "Frabjous day, etc., etc," but I think it what I wrote is closer to the point. This means the older author can continue to follow Ernest Hemingway's advise, "Write drunk, edit sober."  Well, no, not a good idea.  I mean editing sober is always a good idea, but writing drunk?  Not so much. But a glass of wine or a highball before?  Perhaps. Here's the story: F or people 60 and older who do not have dementia, light alcohol consumption during late life is associated with higher episodic memory -- the ability to recall memories of events. Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, University of Kentucky, and University of Maryland found that for people 60 and older who do not have dementia, light alcohol consumption during late life is associated with higher episodic memory -- the ability to r...

Source: Spartaco - Sins of Rome peplumtv.com   Roman gladiators ate a mostly vegetarian diet and drank ashes as a tonic after training according to anthropological investigations carried out  on bones of warriors found during excavations in the ancient city of Ephesos . Roman Gladiators ate a mostly vegetarian diet and drank a tonic of ashes after training?  That goes against every image I've ever held dear. When you picture a gladiator eating, don't you picture him with a goblet of mead in one hand and a joint of meat in the other, tearing off big chunks of meat like a carnivore on the Serengeti?  I do. The conclusions of this research destroys this view. The thought of big, hulking brutes nibbling from a pile of asparagus and cauliflower is dissonant in the extreme, especially veggies without ranch dressing. Where's the blood and grease dripping off their chins?  Where's the gnawed bone thrown into the corners for...

Credit: IPC PAS A light pulse fired from a 10 terawatt** (TW) laser, dispersing into water  vapor. The blue glow is laser light. The source of the other colors is mainly plasma fiber (filament) arising as a result of ionized matter, located in the  air in the path of the light pulse  at the University of Warsaw.   Humorist S. J. Perelman once wrote, "there's little like a detailed report filled with decimal points and guarded generalizations to put a glaze on your eye like a Sung Vase." Mr. Perelman never met the Terrawatt, an arcane measurement of size, time or something else, either incomprehensively small or unimaginably big, I don't remember which because my brain collapsed reading the definition, that a relatively normal person's brain tends to collapse trying to comprehend the definition.  (I remember when an IT guy used the word terraflop in mixed company.  I sobbed hysterically for nearly an hour.) But trust me, the terrawatt,...

Credit: Stuart Hay, ANU Dr. Vladlen Shvedov (L) and Dr. Cyril Hnatovsky adjust the hollow laser beam in their lab at the Australian National University. Star Trek and Star Wars technology is getting closer.   Okay, so this tractor beam moves particles, but, one of these days it will be powerful enough to pull a shrimp off the barby from the kitchen or a cold Foster  Ale from the fridge to my chair while I'm happily watching The Simpsons.  And just how cool is that?  After that, who knows.  Maybe it will repel bill collectors and pull in. . . well, it's dream. In reality, this may seem trivial, but the ability to attract or repel at this level is a first step to achieving something amazing.  Kudos to the researchers who achieved this. Here's the story: L aser physicists have built a tractor beam that can repel and attract objects, using a hollow laser beam that is bright around the edges and dark in its center. It is the first long-distan...

motionmedication.com Several of the most popular posts on SNfW over the past weeks are about how humans perceive the world around them.  For a writer, this is an ongoing issue.  As we all know, one reader will finish a book and tell you that it's about one thing, the next reader will come away with a different conclusion. Investigators know when they interview witnesses to an event, they will hear different versions of that event even though the witnesses were standing next to each other when the event occurred.   Apply this to the medicines most of us take, and research shows another phenomena of perception: the name the drug is given effects the way the drug acts on us.  And different people have different reactions based on perception.  The example given in the research is a patient suffering the symptoms of anxiety becoming more anxious because the drug they are given to treat their symptoms is labeled an "antipsychotic." Then there is the plac...

Credit: Image courtesy of University of Bristol Myths about the brain are common among teachers  worldwide and are hampering teaching, according to new research.   While this research was directed at teachers, it effects everyone, because they taught us.  So it's a short leap to the conclusion that we were taught and hold these attitudes as well.   The one myth that we hear over and over again is that we only use 10% of our brain.  Wrong.  Every lobe and neuron has a function,  We use 100% of our grey  matter any given time, taking care of functions of which we are completely unaware.  We don't have to count cadence for our heart to beat or our lungs to expand and relax.  Our livers process the chemicals in our body, our bone marrow creates new blood cells, our food digests and excretes, our blood pressure goes up and down, light enters our eyes to be processed and interpreted and all the while, random thoughts go wander...

www.soul-expressions-abuse-recovery.com Unfortunately, domestic violence and sexual assault are part of life in the U.S. and around the world.  This article identifies those people most at risk of sexual assault and suggests some common sense ways a person can avoid situations in which sexual assaults occur. The typical assault victims are: Young women, who are  Drinking alcohol, and are attacked by Someone the know,  Either a friend,  family member or  Someone they met within the proceeding 24 hours. A model for the author, screenwriter or parent. Here's the story: Risk factors for sexual assault identified,  includes age & alcohol consumption R isk factors for sexual assault, including young age and alcohol consumption, must be addressed when considering preventative strategies, suggests a new study. Results of this study show that 66% of the women interviewed were aged 15-24 years old and  75% had met the perpetra...

en.wikipedia.org The New Orleans Rhythm Kings (nicknamed NORK) were one of the most  influential jazz bands of the early to mid-1920s. The band was a combination of New Orleans and Chicago musicians who helped shape Chicago Jazz . ( Left to right: Leon Roppolo,  Jack  Pettis, Elmer Schoebel, Arnold Loyacano, Paul Mares, Frank Snyder, and  George Brunies.)   Sometimes the results of scientific study are simply too cool to be true. Take Jazz, the one true American music.  Research announced today at a medical conference concludes that Jazz is healthy and good for you.  As a sign of its healthiness, this research shows that merely listening to it lowers your heart rate, a sign of lowered stress. Perhaps having a little Jazz on in the background while writing is in order.   Especially if you're on deadline.  Based on recent research, research demonstrates taking a walk gets your creativity juices flowing (see link bel...