60-Second Mind

Choosing a user name starting with a letter appearing earlier in the alphabet is just one scientifically vetted way to increase the odds of turning an online encounter into a first date. Christopher Intagliata reports

High-calorie and exceedingly pleasurable foods appear to change rat brain rewards circuitry, causing the rodents to continue to seek such fare. Erika Beras reports

Parkinson’s patients derived more benefits from a salt solution they were told was an expensive drug than from the same solution when it was described as being cheap medication. Karen Hopkin reports

Of studies presented at conferences, those that found a cognitive benefit to bilingualism were almost twice as likely to get published in journals as were studies finding no benefit. Karen Hopkin reports  

Implicit bias against another race lessened after volunteers experienced themselves via virtual reality as a member of that race. Karen Hopkin reports  

Levels of a protein fragment in the blood paralleled how long head injuries benched hockey players. Ingrid Wickelgren reports

If you're in an up mood, you may walk more energetically. But a study finds that purposefully walking more energetically may improve your mood. Christie Nicholson reports  

Subjects who kept pace with a walking colleague estimated a potential enemy to be smaller and lighter than did other walkers who were not marching. Karen Hopkin reports  

Young adults who’d had highly controlling parents were less able to stress their own viewpoints to a friend or partner in confident and productive ways. Daisy Yuhas reports  

Absence from work due to illness increased dramatically for those who slept less than six hours or more than nine hours per night. Christie Nicholson reports  

The direction of your gaze when looking at someone offers an unconscious, automatic giveaway of whether your initial reaction is romance or sex. Christie Nicholson reports

People who had to strike up conversations on a subway later reported feeling happier than those who didn’t. Christie Nicholson reports.

Survey subjects rated life experiences as making them happier and as a better use of money than buying objects. But they actually spent their cash on material goods, whose value is more easily quantifiable. Erika Beras reports

Children who experience neglect, abuse and/or poverty can have smaller amygdalas and hippocampuses, brain regions involved in emotion and memory, compared with kids raised in nurturing environments. Christie Nicholson reports  

Monkeys trained to play fixed video games made moves indicating that they expected certain patterns to occur. Erika Beras reports  

Researchers studying anesthetized rats discovered a handful of activity patterns that may mark the path to consciousness after anesthesia. Karen Hopkin reports  

Our ability to pinpoint pain varies across the body, and in a specific pattern. Christie Nicholson reports  

Researchers could tell what sounds blindfolded volunters were hearing by analyzing activity in their visual cortexes. Christie Nicholson reports  

Thirty-three families allowed themselves to be recorded for up to six nights. Parents who said they supported corporal punishment did it often and with little provocation. Christie Nicholson reports  

In a study covering five different countries, subjects reported feeling best on the days when they practiced what are considered extroverted actions. Christie Nicholson reports  

Food’s texture in your mouth—also called “mouthfeel” or “oral haptics”—influences estimates of calorie counts. And people might eat more crunchy stuff assuming (often incorrectly) it has fewer calories than softer fare. Christie Nicholson reports  

Teenage drivers who have a high sensitivity to stress actually have lower rates of car accidents than their more mellow friends. Christie Nicholson reports  

What's being called "nomophobia," the anxiety of not having your mobile phone with you, may be a real condition among teens, at least according to two recent studies out of South Korea, the world’s most connected nation. Larry Greenemeier reports  

Girls who played with dolls were then asked about future careers. Those who played with Barbie more likely to envision traditional pink-collar jobs than were girls who played with Mrs. Potato Head. Erika Beras reports  

Children who heard descriptions of animals behaving like humans were less likely to attribute to a real animal a newly learned biological fact than were kids who heard realistic information. Christie Nicholson reports  

Moms were better able to sway a child's perception of risk when they explained the reasons an activity was dangerous and its possible consequences rather than just saying no. Christie Nicholson reports  

Adults who had been members of gangs in their adolescence had poorer outcomes on a variety of measures, including physical and mental health, than those who'd never been in a gang. Christie Nicholson reports  

Babies learning speech figure out what an object is by listening to others talk about what that object does. Christie Nicholson reports  

Recent and easily retrievable information can overwrite the details of memories, thus altering them in your mind. Christie Nicholson reports

People who played instruments as children responded a bit quicker to complex speech sounds as adults, even if they had not played an instrument in many years. Erika Beras reports

Psychologists found that encouraging newlywed couples to watch romance flicks, and then discuss them cut the three-year divorce rate in half. Christie Nicholson reports

A meta-analysis of 47 previously published studies concludes that there's moderate evidence for meditation offering some relief of anxiety and depression, and low or insufficient evidence for effects on other conditions. Christie Nicholson reports  

Brain-training games seem to temporarily improve specific tasks, but claims that they can improve overall brain function have yet to be proved. Christie Nicholson reports

Computer-use affects the brain's ability to generalize the skill of moving a mouse. Christie Nicholson reports

A survey of 2500 Americans finds that despite many knowing about Jolie's preventive double mastectomy, most remain in the dark about breast cancer risk. Christie Nicholson reports

Scores on standardized tests may go up but a student's ability for abstract and logical thinking may not improve. Christie Nicholson reports

Delaying inevitable pain may not be the best route when it comes to decreasing your anxiety. Christie Nicholson reports

If you want to catch someone in a lie, you'll raise your odds in the afternoons, as most people are more likely to cheat or lie then as opposed to the morning. Christie Nicholson reports

If you over-eat or under-eat as a reaction to stress, don't worry, your body may compensate to balance you over time. Christie Nicholson reports

Physical labor is often made easier when accompanied by music. But is it merely listening to music that helps, or is it more motivating to participate in the music itself? Christie Nicholson reports

A study of so-called cyberchondriacs finds that those who are uncomfortable with uncertainty only feel worse the more they search online for health symptoms. Christie Nicholson reports

Looking at photos of food can lead us to become bored with other similar foods. Christie Nicholson reports

Exposure to a fearful memory while in deep sleep may help reduce the fear. Christie Nicholson reports

In a group experiment, members who donated the least and the most to the community were both ostracized. Amy Kraft reports

It appears we might be born with the knowledge that living things have insides and are not hollow. Christie Nicholson reports

A recent experiment finds that when people are about to lie via digital text they take longer to construct their words. Christie Nicholson reports

Turns out that if we think something looks like trash then we probably won't bother recycling it. Christie Nicholson reports

A special occasion can often make food taste better, and the more you are personally involved in its preparation the better. Christie Nicholson reports

Changes in youth football practices cut total hits to the head in half, while leaving game situations unaffected. Ingrid Wickelgren reports.

People ate less of a portion of food if it was labeled "double-size" rather than "regular." Karen Hopkin reports

When it comes to news or political statements, the more powerful the speaker the more we are likely to believe them. Christie Nicholson reports