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Sensing The World: Some Basic Principles
The Secret Behind Humans' Ability To Sense Tiny Temperature Changes (February 26, 2007)Vision
The Lure of Bette Davis Eyes (May 5, 2008)Hearing
The
Noise of Toys (December 22, 2006)
The sounds of kids'
toys can drive adults crazy—and can sometimes be loud enough to possibly damage
children's hearing.
The
Earsplitting Sounds of Sports (December 04, 2006)
The noise
levels at some sporting events deserve a serious hearing.
Tinnitus
Sufferers Should Tune Out (January 7, 2008)
Distraction appears to
be an effective technique to avoid the phantom noise of tinnitus. Chelsea Wald
reports. For more on the latest tinnitus research, check out the November 1, 2007,
edition of the 60-Second Psych podcast at sciam.com/podcast.
Other Important Senses
Clowning
Is No Laughing Matter (November 30, 2006)
Making patients laugh in
certain situations may reduce pain and improve outcomes.
Synesthesia:
What Color Is Your Wednesday, What Sound Is Your Parachute? (April 04, 2007)
Family
members with the condition known as synesthesia may both experience the word Wednesday
as a color -- but not the same color.
Male
Sweat Can Smell Sweet or Sour to Different Sniffers (September 17, 2007)
Your
genetic makeup determines whether an individual man's sweat can smell to you like
vanilla, urine or nothing. Karen Hopkin reports.
Tongue's
Sugar Sensors Also Found in Gut (August 28, 2007)
Receptors for sugar
are found in the gut as well as the tongue—which could explain why some artificial
sweeteners may not curb the deep-down crave. Karen Hopkin reports.
Sense
of Smell Restored By Growth Factor Therapy (April 30, 2007)
Nasal mucus
has growth factors that, when increased in numbers, can lead to production of
new smell receptors and restore sense of smell in some patients.
Even
Clean Humans Can Smell Like Dogs (December 20, 2006)
Turns
out that humans can track a scent if they're willing to get down on all fours
for science.
Smells
Like Money (November 29, 2006)
That metallic smell of loose change
really results from the chemistry of coin with skin.
Broccoli
Blah? Genes Could Be To Blame (September 25, 2006)
A dislike of broccoli
can be blamed on a single gene, and may be a way evolution came up with to protect
thyroid function.
Perceputal Organization
One-Eyed
Depth Perception (March 20, 2008)
Eye movements combined
with the motion of objects in the field of vision enable some depth perception
even with only a single eye. Cynthia Graber reports.
Perceptual Interpretation
Price
Can Make Wine Taste Better (January 15, 2008)
Study subjects
rated the same wine as tasting better when they were told it was more expensive.
And their brains reacted differently to it when they thought it was pricier. Cynthia
Graber reports.
You Say "Ga," I say "Ba," but Everyone Hears "Da" (May 12, 2008)
A fascinating auditory illusion proves that the visual cue of moving lips plays an important
role in accurately hearing what people say.