Scientific American - Everyday Science

Close Super Bowl Boosts Ad At End

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:43:08 EST

Advertisers will drop $3.5 million for a 30-second spot during Sunday’s Super Bowl. But to get the most bang for their buck, they might want to play their ad right after the game ends--not during it. Because if it's a close one, the time slot right after the final gun should have the most sway with viewers. So says a study in the Journal of Advertising . [ Colleen C. Bee and Robert Madrigal, It’s Not Whether You Win Or Lose, It’s How The Game Is Played: The Influence of Suspenseful Sports Programming on Advertising (forthcoming, no link yet)]

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Social Clicks: Sounds Associated with African Languages Are Common in English

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:00:00 EST

Some Africans click, but English speakers don’t. That’s been the conventional wisdom about click sounds, which serve as regular consonants in Zulu and Xhosa and a few other African languages but which were presumed to just be used in English for encouraging a horse, imitating a kiss, or expressing emotions such as disapproval or amazement. But researchers have recently found that clicks are far more prevalent in the world’s lingua franca than had been thought.

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MIND Reviews: The Righteous Mind

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:00:00 EST

The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion [More]

More with Maryn: McKenna on Antibiotic Resistance

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:10:08 EST

Journalist and author Maryn McKenna talks about antibiotic resistance in agriculture and human health, MRSA, and a brief return to the subject of fecal transplants. [More]

Virtual Reality Contact Lenses Could Be Available by 2014

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:00:00 EST

Contact lenses that help enhance normal vision with megapixel 3D panoramic images are being designed by scientists using military funding.

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Could an Infection Cause Tourette's-Like Symptoms in Teenage Girls?

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:05:00 EST

Over the weekend Erin Brockovich made the news yet again as she and her nonprofit team descended on the village of Le Roy, N.Y., determined to test for environmental toxins that might be giving the town's teenagers symptoms of Tourette's syndrome. She has reportedly been stonewalled thus far by local officials, who have already ruled out toxins as the cause of last October's sudden outbreak of tics and involuntary movements in 12 girls who attend Le Roy Junior–Senior High School. An environmental testing company surveyed the air and water and found nothing amiss, and a local neurologist concluded upon examining the girls that they had "conversion disorder," a catchall moniker for physical symptoms that originate in the mind because of stress, trauma or even mass hysteria.

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Temperatures--Not Acid--Could Cook Coral to Death

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:01:00 EST

One of the biggest natural tragedies of recent years is the deterioration of Australia's Great Barrier Reef , a vast structure of coral off the continent's east coast that supports a profusion of wildlife. In addition to overfishing and nutrient pollution, the world's largest natural structure has suffered from rising ocean temperatures. But, perhaps less well known, Australia's west coast has some massive reefs of its own, offshore in the southeastern Indian Ocean. Massive stony corals of the genus Porites swell to the surface, and new research published February 2 in Science suggests those located in the colder waters farthest south are growing better than ever --thanks to warming ocean temperatures.

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Signs Boost Stair Climbing

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:15:08 EST

There’s an easy way to encourage people to take the stairs instead of an elevator: put up a sign reminding them to.

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Earthquake-Proof Engineering for Skyscrapers

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST

Key concepts [More]

Inside Story: What Happens When Brain Hits Skull

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:00:00 EST

Concussion, the most common among traumatic brain injuries, which occurs 1.7 million times a year in the U.S., represents a major public-health problem. It occurs when there is a sudden acceleration or deceleration of the head, a process depicted here in this animation.

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Penetrating Piscine Patterns: X-Rays Reveal What's Beneath Fishes' Scales [Slide Show]

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:30:00 EST

X-rays of fish skeletons that scientists use to study evolutionary development are now displayed as art. A new exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History will feature 40 x-rays of sea creatures laid out in evolutionary sequence. X-Ray Vision: Fish Inside-Out showcases the work of the museum’s scientists. X-rays allow researchers to study fish structures without dissections. The exhibition opens to the public on February 4 and runs until August 5.

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Honey Helps Heal Wounds

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:30:08 EST

Honey soothes a sore throat. Now research suggests that it could also help fight serious skin infections.

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Can Cleaner Cooking and Solar Power Help Solve Energy Poverty in Africa? [Slide Show]

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:01:00 EST

KWADUKUZA, South Africa--A Zulu crowd's ululations welcomed Jacob Zuma, president of the Republic of South Africa, back to KwaZulu–Natal, his home province. He had come to tell them of his commitment to bring them, and the rest of the nation, better access to energy--as well as to announce the distribution of solar-powered hot water heaters and LED lighting systems as well as clean-burning cookstoves.

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Did Leonardo da Vinci Copy His Famous "Vitruvian Man"?

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:45:00 EST

Leonardo da Vinci 's drawing of a male figure perfectly inscribed in a circle and square, known as the "Vitruvian Man," illustrates what he believed to be a divine connection between the human form and the universe. Beloved for its beauty and symbolic power, it is one of the most famous images in the world. However, new research suggests that the work, which dates to 1490, may be a copy of an earlier drawing by Leonardo's friend.

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Marijuana Mouth Spray: Will Cancer Pain Reliever Be Abused?

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:30:00 EST

The medical marijuana drug Sativex, which could be approved in the United States in the coming years as a treatment for pain relief, has little potential for abuse, experts say.

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Have Your Cake and Eat Its Package

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:56:08 EST

Picture an orange. It’s encased in a biodegradable shell--the peel’s even somewhat edible, as marmalade fans can attest. But we humans often package food in plastic, with its environmental and disposal challenges.

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How Much Energy Do You Waste Charging Your Cell Phone?

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 09:00:08 EST

How many chargers do you own? One for your cell phone? Another for your laptop? Yet another for your tablet, podcast player or even electric toothbrush? It adds up.

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How the Itch Informs the Scratch

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:00:08 EST

Itch. Past studies have shown that whatever the cause--perhaps just hearing me talk about itch--something triggers nerve fibers that send a signal lighting up three areas of the brain: the emotional regions; the limbic system that sparks the urge to scratch; and the cortex that tells you where to scratch.

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How Google's New Privacy Policy Could Affect You

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:00:00 EST

You’re on the way to a meeting. Traffic seems to be slowing. A text comes in: “You’re going to be late. Take the next exit for alternate route.” It’s from Google.

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Readers Respond to "Toxins All Around Us" and Other Articles

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

CHEMISTRY COMMENTARY [More]