Politics Still Struggles with Color

Yale researchers mailed letters to legislators with fictional names, asking for help in registering to vote. Some letters were signed with "black" names (e.g. DeShawn Jackson) and some with "white" names (e.g. Jake Mueller). Findings reveal that letters from "black" constituents received fewer responses from white legislators and received more responses from minority legislators. Also, the behavior crossed party lines. Whites from both parties behaved similarly - even when the letters indicated the constituent's party lines.

Best Draft Pick = Best Speaker?

Experts argue words college athletes use in media interviews signal levels of confidence, conceptual complexity, team orientation, self-centeredness and distrust. In other words, studying media interviews supposedly can inform a pro-team if the player they will draft is a good fit.

For example, in 2005 the San Francisco 49ers had to decide between Alex Smith or Aaron Rodgers - both stars and both scored very high on football proficiency exams. But Smith didn’t use common leadership words while Rodgers did. For those who don't know, Aaron Rogers was MVP of the 2011 Superbowl (his team won). Smith, however, hasn't done as well.

Prehistoric Shark Alive

Researchers discovered a prehistoric frill shark - a species whose fossils have been found to be at least 80 million years old.

See the video.

Giant Squid Video

See rare clip of a giant squid.

Want to be Smarter? Chew Gum

A study examined the effects of the timing of gum chewing on cognitive function. Chewing gum was associated with performance advantages on multiple measures when gum was chewed for 5 minutes before, but not during, cognitive testing. Benefits last for the first 15-20 minutes of the test, and are limited to cognitive domains.

Time-limited benefit can be attributed to "mastication-induced arousal." Lack of improvement in cognitive function when gum is chewed throughout testing may be because of an "interference effect" of sharing of resources between cognitive and masticatory processes - meaning its hard to chew gum and think at the same time.

Family vs. Politics

A study reveals an inverse relationship between family ties and political participation. The more people rely on the family to provide services, insurance, and resources, the lower one's political participation and civic engagement. Strong family ties are a substitute for generalized trust, instead of a complement to trust.

Something to consider next time the far right espouses family values in their campaigns.

Don't Date

A study reveals a positive association between romantic involvement and delinquency in adolescence. The number of romantic relationships from adolescence to young adulthood was positively related to delinquency in young adulthood even after controlling for earlier delinquency in adolescence, gender, age, puberty, race/ethnicity, and other demographic characteristics (family structure, parents' education).

Cobra Killer

Video of fight between Indian mongoose and Indian cobra.