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Expressed Emotion
Hide
and Seen: Gestures and Facial Expressions Help Communication; Government Attempts
to Keep Science Information Hidden (November 8, 2006)
In this episode,
Scientific American Mind executive editor Mariette Dichristina talks about a special
section of the magazine devoted to the roles of gestures and facial expressions
in communications. A panel discussion of government secrecy at the annual meeting
of the Society of Environmental Journalists featured climate researcher James
Hansen.
Watching
Someone Else's Fear Induces Your Own (March 21, 2007)
Horror movies
may bank on the same part of your brain getting excited while watching someone
else in fear as when you're in fear yourself.
Experienced Emotion
Laughing
Matter (December 13, 2006)
Functional MRI studies show that part
of laughter's contagious quality may be because just hearing laughter triggers
facial muscles to get ready to smile or laugh.
Life's
U-Shaped Path of Happiness (February 7, 2008)
A cross-cultural
study including 74 countries finds that most people do indeed have a midlife crisis—but
most also find ways to get happy again. Adam Hinterthuer reports.
Why Are Conservatives Happier Than Liberals? (June 24, 2008)
Conservatives have greater
subjective life satisfaction than liberals, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Two New York University
researchers performed three studies to find out why. Christie Nicholson reports.
Stress and Health
Literacy
A Matter of Life And Death (July 24, 2007)
In a study of over 3,000
Medicare patients, only smoking was a stronger predictor of early death than was
illiteracy. Patients who can't read or understand health information don't take
medicine properly and fail to seek care when necessary. Steve Mirsky reports.
Immune
System Keeps Your Brain Tidy Too (December 26, 2007)
Researchers
have uncovered a link between the the brain's nerve cell network and the immune
system—the same protein that helps gets rid of uninvited bacteria also eliminates
unused neural connections. Karen Hopkin reports.
Geome-Based
Medical Choices Draw Nearer (January 23, 2008)
A study of over
38,000 hypertension patients (the ALLHAT study, for Antihypertensive and Lipid
Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial) finds that individuals respond
better to some drugs than to others, based on their personal genetics. Steve Mirsky
reports.
Docs
Make Fake Pills Real Meds (January 4, 2008)
A new study finds that
a significant number of physicians will on occasion knowingly prescribe a placebo.
Cynthia Graber reports.
Athletes
Should Just Chill (August 9, 2007)
Putting athletes into a cooling
chamber for a brief period prior to a training session seems to improve performance.
Steve Mirsky reports.
Good
Vibrations May Stop Fat From Forming (October 23, 2007)
Mice that
spent 15 minutes a day on a vibrating platform had 30 percent less fat around
their middles than mice on stationary surfaces. Karen Hopkin reports.
Study
Finds Diet Indeed Affects Acne (September 26, 2007)
Young men with
moderate acne saw their condition improve after following a low-glycemic diet.
Cynthia Graber reports.
A
Second, Clean Plate May Be A Cue To Keep Eating (February 06, 2007)
Super
Bowls provide plenty of opportunity for snacking, and for researchers who study
eating habits. A soon-to-be published experiment done at a Super Bowl party found
that people ate more when they had their plates consistently cleaned off than
if their detritus was left on the plate.
Lying
in Weight: The Hidden Epidemic of Eating Disorders in Adult Women (And A Few Men
(May 23, 2007)
In this episode, molecular biologist and journalist Trisha
Gura discusses her new book, Lying In Weight, about eating disorders in adult,
even elderly, women, as well as a small percentage of men. Plus we'll test your
knowledge of some recent science in the news.
Some
Light Medicine (December 08, 2006)
A new device will enable researchers
to gauge the effects of everyday lighting on circadian rhythms and health.
Promoting Health
No
Purchase Necessary For Anti-Smoking Product Ads To Work (July 25, 2007)
The
so-called spillover effect means that exposure to stop-smoking product ads persuades
people to stop even if they don't buy the product. Steve Mirsky reports.
The
Guts to Fight AIDS (September 13, 2006)
HIV can hide and replicate
in the intestines, affecting immunity even while blood levels of the virus are
low.
Home
Visits Improve AIDS Outcomes (March 25, 2008)
In rural areas of
developing countries, home visits can vastly lower AIDS and all-cause mortality
rates. Cynthia Graber reports.
Researchers
Heart Yak Cheese (March 25, 2008)
Cheese made from the milk of
yaks, shaggy beasts from
The
Mythical Daily Water Requirement (April 2, 2008)
There's no evidence
that humans actually need the oft-cited "eight-glasses-per-day" of water.
Karen Hopkin reports.
Protect
Your Heart on Valentine's Day—Take A Nap (February 14, 2007)
Lying
down on the job might be great idea. A study of over 24,000 Greeks found that
midday naps in healthy individuals reduced the risk of cardiac death by a third.
Gene
Helps Turn Carbs into Fat (December 5, 2007)
A gene determines
whether highly processed carbs get stored as fat or burned away. But deactivating
the gene to prevent fat build-up has its own problems. Cynthia Graber reports.
Virus
Infection Could Be Contributing to Obesity (August 20, 2007)
The
presence of human adenovirus-36 seems to transform adult stem cells found in fatty
tissue into fat cells—infection with the virus may therefore be a factor in at
least some cases of obesity. Steve Mirsky reports.
Diets
Don't Work (April 05, 2007)
A meta-analysis from UCLA finds that—no
surprise—most dieters gain the weight back and more in the long term.
Fruits
and Vegetables Still Not On American Diet (March 19, 2007)
Studies
coming out in April show that Americans are falling far short of the recommended
daily five servings of fruits and vegetables.
People
Eat More Food When Labeled Low Fat (January 12, 2007)
Researchers
found that people consume more calories when they eat low-fat foods, by eating
more of them.
Hefty
New Year (December 26, 2006)
Keeping your eating under control
can be a special challenge during the holiday season.
Can
Fat Be Fit? (September 12, 2007)
In this episode, award-winning
journalist Paul Raeburn talks about his article in the September issue of Scientific
American, called "Can Fat Be Fit?" as well as another piece he wrote
as a sidebar to a feature, about losing weight and keeping it off.
Putting
Food on the Table: What to Eat (September 5, 2007)
In this episode,
World
is Fat: Obesity Now Outweighs Hunger Worldwide (August 22, 2007
In
this
Why
We Eat, Eat and Eat Some More; and Remembering Mr. Wizard (June 20, 2007)
In
this episode, Brian Wansink, eating behaviorist and director of the Cornell University
Food and Brand Lab, talks about "Mindless Eating" habits; and
Gene
Helps Turn Carbs into Fat (December 5, 2007)
A gene determines
whether highly processed carbs get stored as fat or burned away. But deactivating
the gene to prevent fat build-up has its own problems. Cynthia Graber reports.
TV
That Might Be Good For You (September 19, 2007)
A storyline on
the show ER may have modestly improved the health habits of some viewers. Steve
Mirsky reports.
Extra
Genes for Starch Eaters (September 10, 2007)
Humans have different
numbers of a gene for digesting starch, probably because starch-eaters who got
more of the genes had an advantage. Karen Hopkin reports.
Obesity
May Be Contagious (July 26, 2007)
When friends put on weight, packing
on a few extra pounds yourself may become more acceptable. Karen Hopkin reports.
Clustered
Outdoor Smokers Rival Auto Exhaust (May 30, 2007)
Sidewalk smokers
hanging out in front of bars and restaurants produced more carbon monoxide than
auto traffic did.
Coffee
and Cigarettes May Protect Some Against Parkinson's (April 10, 2007)
Although
tobacco and large amounts of caffeine are risk factors for many conditions, they
apparently confer some protection to those with a predisposition for Parkinson's.
Tobacco
To The Drawing Board (November 01, 2006)
Two touted antismoking measures—media
campaigns aimed at parents and ventilation systems to protect nonsmokers in restaurants—may
actually increase exposure to smoke.
ICU
Not Getting Nicotine (October 26, 2006)
Studies of smokers in a hospital
intensive care unit found that they are probably better off going cold turkey
than being given nicotine replacement therapy to deal with withdrawal while hospitalized.
Weight
Loss Gains (September 07, 2006)
Evolution may account for losing weight
being so hard. But a vaccine could lighten the load.
Smoking
Can't Buy Happiness (March 18, 2008)
Smokers tend to be less happy
than nonsmokers, and the effect is heighened the lower their economic status.
Karen Hopkin reports.
Combat
stress, Intel high school science competition, GLOBE At Night astronomy project
(March 22, 2006)
In this episode, clinical psychologist and U.S. Army Captain
Bret Moore discusses combat stress in Iraq and his article on combat stress in
the February/March issue of Scientific American Mind.
Little
Liver Leaves Big Livers Lively (November 29, 2007)
A tiny model liver
made from real liver cells may help to better predict drug toxicities. Cynthia
Graber reports.
Tobacco
To The Drawing Board (November 01, 2006)
Two touted antismoking measures—media
campaigns aimed at parents and ventilation systems to protect nonsmokers in restaurants—may
actually increase exposure to smoke.