Scientists Think They Know What Causes Trypophobia
Source: MentalFloss
Trypophobia describes the fear of clusters of holes. While it’s not officially recognized, many are convinced they have it.
Health & Medicine
Experimental robot performs simulated surgical operations aboard space station
Source: NBC
A surgical robot originally intended for space has the potential to revolutionize surgery here on Earth.
A new device let a man sense temperature with his prosthetic hand
Source: ScienceNews
Researchers in Italy and Switzerland have developed a new device that makes it possible for a person with an amputation to sense temperature through their prosthetic hand. The technology is a major step toward prosthetic limbs that could restore a full range of senses, improving both the prosthesis’s usefulness and its acceptance by those who wear them.
This Is Your Body on Fear
Source: Right as Rain (University of Washington Medicine)
Your fear response starts in your brain but quickly spreads through your body—affecting your thinking, heart rate, breathing, muscles, digestion, and more. Fear is normal and helpful, but it can become anxiety if your fear response kicks in when no threat is present. Read this article to learn more about how fear works, how it differs from anxiety, and when fear may be negatively affecting your life.
Would Shakespeare’s poisons and drugs work in reality?
Source: BBC
Several Shakespearean plots points, including the climax of Romeo and Juliet, focus on powerful potions. Did the bard dream them up, or might they have really existed?
Is Fear Contagious?
Source: PBS: Gross Science (on YouTube)
Fear may be able to spread from person to person—just like a virus. Recent studies have indicated that humans can smell fear and disgust in the body odor of those nearby, causing the part of their own brain that processes those emotions to become active.
Scientists have solved a classic optical illusion–and the answer’s in your neurons
Source: BBC: Science Focus
There is a famous optical illusion with two gray lines inside a number of black and white bars. The gray bars are the same color, but they appear lighter or darker depending on which bars are around them. Science was never sure why, but it seems the answer lies in you brain’s neurons and how fast they can fire.
Rare Brain Disorder Prevents All Fear
Source: Wired Magazine
A middle-aged woman—known as SM—blithely reaches for poisonous snakes, giggles in haunted houses, and once, upon escaping the clutches of a knife-wielding man, didn’t run but calmly walked away. All because a rare kind of brain damage precludes her from experiencing fear of any sort.
Why Popcorn Tastes Better When You Eat It with Chopsticks
Source: The Irish News
How do you make something old and familiar feel fresh and new? Science suggests the trick is to interact with it in new ways. Something as simple as eating popcorn–but doing so with chopsticks–can result in people rating the popcorn as tastier and more enjoyable than eating the same popcorn with their hands. Read the article and think of ways you may make things you already own feel new again.
Can You Trust Your Ears?
Source: ASAP Science
When most people think of an illusion, they think of an image or video–but there are audio illusions that trick your hearing, too. After you watch this video, you’ll have to ask yourself “Can I trust my own ears?”