Science News for Writers

Violent video games are controversial. What effects can we expect from people who spend a significant portion of their time playing?  An earlier study reported on SNfW shows that gamers have better social skills than one would expect, which is good.  But this study indicates that playing these games lead to gamers feeling like failures and that this feeling is what fosters violence. Something to think about in your family, or your next story. Failure to master a game  leads to frustration and aggression T he disturbing imagery or violent story lines of videos games like World of Warcraft or Grand Theft Auto are often accused of fostering feelings of aggression in players. But a new study shows hostile behavior is linked to gamers’ experiences of failure and frustration during play—not to a game’s violent content. The study is the first to look at the player's psychological experience with video games instead of focusing solely on its content. Researchers found...

Credit: © pemabild / Fotolia Replica of Viking ship. Academics have uncovered complex social networks within age-old Icelandic sagas, which challenge the stereotypical image of  Vikings as unworldly, violent savages. Vikings were probably more social than savage. A cademics have uncovered complex social networks within age-old Icelandic sagas, which challenge the stereotypical image of Vikings as unworldly, violent savages. Pádraig Mac Carron and Ralph Kenna from the University's Applied Mathematics Research Centre have carried out a detailed analysis of the relationships described in ancient Icelandic manuscripts to shed new light on Viking society. How Vikings Lived Recommended reading click on image In a study published in the European Physical Journal, Mac Carron and Kenna have asked whether remnants of reality could lurk within the pages of the documents in which Viking sagas were preserved. They applied methods from statistical physics to social netw...

A British magazine, GURU, is rapidly becoming a favorite. Why? The staff of Guru are assigned to research answers to those deep questions we all have, such as, why do Mentos candies foam so explosively when dropped into a bottle of Coca Cola?  Or any carbonated soda, for that matter. This is the type of conundrum that can keep an inquiring mind awake at night, pondering the possibilities.  Well, you can sleep easy from now on.  Here's the answer by Stuart Farrimond as published in the March 26th issue of Guru. Why do Mentos fizz so much when you put them into Coke? Titanium clubs can cause golf course fires Titanium alloy golf clubs can cause dangerous wildfires, according to UC Irvine scientists. When a club coated with the lightweight metal is swung and strikes a rock, it creates sparks that can heat to more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit for long enough to ignite dry foliage, according to findings published recently in the peer-reviewed journal Fire a...

Source:  rutherfordcountytn.gov I llustrations by children can be a critical tool in forensic investigations of child abuse. A recent study compared the results when child abuse victims were offered the opportunity to draw during questioning with results when victims were not offered this opportunity. "The act of drawing was not only an empowering experience for these children," said Dr. Katz. "We also found it to be forensically more effective in eliciting richer testimonies in child abuse cases. We had no idea the gap would be so great between those who drew and those who weren't given this option." A chance to express themselves Some 125 alleged child victims of sexual abuse were randomly selected for the field study. The children, aged 5-14, were questioned by nine well-trained forensic interviewers about a single occurrence of alleged sexual abuse. The children were divided into two sets -- a control group, questioned and allowed to rest during t...

Credit: Courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art This report may adjust a date 3,600 years ago by a trivial 30 years, but it leads me to wonder about another famous historical event described in the Christian Bible and other ancient documents: The story of Noah and the Flood. The article describes an inscription that talks of heavy rain lasting for an extended period. Though not mentioned specifically in the article, could this have been the era of Noah's Ark? Dark skies, days and days of rain.  My understanding is that the Noah story originates from the Fertile Triangle of the Middle East, not all that far from Santorini, and east of both Santorini and Egypt, in the main weather flow patterns of the region.  The full report follows: A n inscription on a 3,500-year-old stone block from Egypt may be one of the world’s oldest weather reports —- and could provide new evidence about the chronology of events in the ancient Middle East. A new translation of a 40-line ins...

Source:  blenderartists.org "This is not going to end well," thinks Blorg.  "Where the hell did  Ombagish get to?  Never around when you need him". This must have been an interesting first meeting all those years ago.   "Look at the size of the fangs on that kitty cat," says Blorg, soon to be the late leader of the Ombosh tribe. "That's one big cat," says Omgabish, his second in command and likely successor.  "What do you think they eat?" "Anything they can catch, I assume," says Blorg. "Bye," says Omgabosh,  lacing up his custom made bush-hog Nikes  and he was gone. So was Blorg about one cat burp later. Humans met saber-toothed tigers in Germany 300,000 years ago Suggested reading click on image S cientists excavating at the Schöningen open-cast coal mine in north-central Germany have discovered the remains of a saber-toothed cat preserved in a layer some 300,000 years old -- the ...

There is a visual discontinuity in a scene with Bogart and Paul Henreid in Casablanca -think you know what it is? "Casablanca" is one of my favorite movies, though it contains one noticeable discontinuity that I didn't catch until the tenth or twelfth time I watched it.  Why don't we see these things?  Here's research  that explains why.  (If you need to know what the visual goof is in Casablanca, email me, and I'll tell you.) E ver notice how Harry Potter's T-shirt abruptly changes from a crew neck to a Henley shirt in 'The Order of the Phoenix,' or how in 'Pretty Woman,' Julia Roberts' croissant inexplicably morphs into a pancake? Don't worry if you missed those continuity bloopers. Vision scientists have discovered an upside to the brain mechanism that can blind us to subtle changes in movies and in the real world. They've discovered a "continuity field" in which we visually merge together similar objec...