Why are Mexicans happier than the average bear?
It’s in their genes, according to a new scientific paper, which asserts that nations with the highest prevalence of the A allele also perceive themselves happiest — countries like Ghana and Nigeria in West Africa, and northern Latin American nations like Mexico and Columbia.
Mas…Gene genie: Mexico is happier than the average bear because science
Here’s some fantastically hot news: The more chiles you eat, the longer you’ll live!
Eating spicy food is associated with a reduced risk for death, an analysis of dietary data on more than 485,000 people found.
Study participants were enrolled between 2004 and 2008 in a large Chinese health study, and researchers followed them for an average of more than seven years, recording 20,224 deaths. The study is in BMJ.
After controlling for family medical history, age, education, diabetes, smoking and many other variables, the researchers found that compared with eating hot food, mainly chili peppers, less than once a week, having it once or twice a week resulted in a 10 percent reduced overall risk for death. Consuming spicy food six to seven times a week reduced the risk by 14 percent.
Mas…New medical study: Eating spicy foods helps you live longer
MiJA Elise Roedenbeck, formerly a professional geek*, wonders if computers make our brains less creative. Since half of Elise’ cabeza is exposed to Mutant Moon Rays from Outer Espace synergistically multiplied by the Reality Distortion Field generated by her MacBook Pro, it was urgent she get an answer as quickly as possible. In this case, it took her only 3:03.
PRO TIP: Elise’s high tech screen name on the Twitter is @buttronica, so you know she’s right, especially when POCHO Migrant Editor Al Madrigal shows up on her list as #1 most creative comedian. 🙂
Here’s Buttronica’s video:
Mas…Elise @Buttronica Roedenbeck: Do computers zap our creativity? (video)
A year-long study has shown that potential buyers were less likely to contact Craigslist sellers with brown skin and/or tattoos.
And when contact was made, according to the research, the prices offered for identical items were less.
Sociological Images has the story:
Mas…Study shows brown skin, tattoos will cost you money on Craigslist
(PNS reporting from BOSTON) Geneticists at Boston University have discovered the gene in men that gives them the strength, stamina and expertise to take out the trash.
According to an article published Monday in the journal Science, the gene is located near other genetic material that corresponds to mens’ inherent superior ability to mow the lawn and open tight jar lids.
Mas…Breaking: Scientists ID ’empty the trash’ gene in male DNA
If you are Latina or Latino, you may have heard comments such as, “Wow, you speak so well… You are not like them… You are really smart… OR You are different and they will really like you.”
You might even be asked repeatedly where you are from if your first answer is a city or state in the U.S.
Remarks like these are called microagressions, according to Silvia L. Mazzula, PhD (Asst. Professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY).
These …”subtle forms of racism,” she writes, “…communicate hostile and racial insults. Microaggressions are things said or done – many times unconsciously – that reflect a person’s inner thinking, stereotypes and prejudices. They are difficult to recognize because they are brief, innocuous, and often difficult to see. Why are they important to talk about? Because microaggressions are pervasive and have a detrimental impact on people’s psychological and physiological well-being.”
Mas…Does this sound familiar? ‘You’re a Latina/o? But you speak so well!’
(PNS reporting from DIXIE) In a groundbreaking study just released by Atlanta’s Center for Brain Development Place, scientists have found that the more racist an individual is the less likely he or she is to comprehend satire.
In the controversial study, published in Totally Not Made Up Magazine last week, participants were asked to read an article titled “Monkey escapes from zoo, spreads poop and socialism” and then asked to comment.
Scientists found that those who believed the monkey should be taught to uphold democracy and abstain from sex before marriage but without the use of taxpayer money were 10 times more likely to be racists.
(PNS reporting from SEATTLE) Women now have scientific proof of what they suspected all along: men make you crazy.
The groundbreaking study conducted here by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center proves what women have suspected all along.
The technical explanation? Women who give birth to boys retain male DNA in their brains and therefore they go batshit crazy.
The study found that in 63% of women, male DNA from their fetus was able to cross the blood-brain barrier and continue to exist inside the mother’s brain, even into old age.
Mas…Totally scientific proof and I’m not kidding: Men make women crazy
I am always so proud when humanity expands the frontiers of knowledge. Scientific American reports the result of a new study:
The team took college men and had half of them perform a stressful task unrelated to food or money which raised their cortisol levels. They then asked the stressed and unstressed men to take a look at some images of women, and rate their attractiveness. The images varied in body size, from underweight to obese. Finally, they recorded the participants own weight, height, and hunger status, as controlling variables.
The results were clear. The stressed out guys preferred a larger body size than their relaxed counterparts – but that was not all. “Men experiencing stress not only perceive a heavier female body size as maximally attractive, but also more positively perceive heavier female body sizes and have a wider range of body sizes considered physically attractive.
There may be less to this than meets the eye, according to colleague Victor Payan:
Mas…Nasty Nalgas Research: Stressed out guys like big butts (with videos)