Category: Science

Is Love Enough? Science Shows 6 Ways Kate and Wills can have a lasting Royal Marriage!

Are you getting excited about the Royal Wedding yet?

Wills and Kate
The Perfect Couple? Prince William and Kate Middleton will be wed on 26th April 2011 at Westminster Abbey
(Even if you’re not, Brits have an extra day off work to look forward to!)

In a world with frighteningly high divorce rates, and facing a life in the limelight, is there really any hope that the royal marriage can survive a lifetime?

Well here are some tips for them that come from a rather surprising place – a recent edition of Social Science Research! (no, really) It contains a thorough analysis of some of the most comprehensive research ever done on marriage and divorce. Professor Wilcox from the University of Virginia scrutinised all previous research before delving into six years worth of surveys of married couples. He came up with some fascinating answers to those elusive questions, ‘What makes for a happy marriage?‘ and ‘Why do some people divorce?‘

I fear Kate and Wills have a copy of ‘Social Science Research’ sitting in their magazine rack- so I have summarised for them six top tips on how they can improve their chances of having a long and happy marriage… Read more

4 Fascinating Facts on Why You Are Easily Distracted (and not likely to read all of this)

Go on and admit it, you have a terrible attention span.

But it’s not all your fault. This is the internet after all and everyone knows that the ‘information superhighway’ is a candy store of virtual distractions – endless images, buttons and flashing graphics all competing for your attention. Right now, there’s probably four or five other things you’d quite like to be doing: Shopping on ebay, browsing YouTube for funny videos, reading emails or checking Facebook (who knows, someone might have commented on your oh-so-witty status update)!

Can't Concentrate: 14/365
Find it difficult to stay focused?
If you’re still reading then feel proud of yourself – you tenacious person you – because you belong a special minority that isn’t as easily distracted! Today’s post looks at four fascinating facts that show how pitiful we all are at keeping on task (and don’t worry they are fairly short)… Read more

Eating through your Ears: Listening to Music makes Food taste better!

This post was chosen as an Editor's Selection for ResearchBlogging.org

Heston Blumenthal: 3 Michelin Stared Chef is renowned for his experimental approach to cooking and for using science to push the boundaries of the dining experience.
Do you listen to music when you eat, or Does the sound of chewing and chomping irritate you?

Listening to music can be great for unwinding – especially after a long day. I wonder if department stores and hotel elevators would be much more stressful if it weren’t for the piped music! But what about listening to an instrumental piece for when you’re chowing down? If the sound of mastication turns you off, then perhaps music could be an ideal accompaniment. Personally, I enjoy a bit of Mozart at mealtime, but am I the only one? Could there be a good reason for this?

The effects of music on the enjoyment of food hasn’t been properly studied in a scientific way before. But recently published research in the Journal of Culinary Science & Technology has just changed that. Heston Blumenthal is famous for his scientific approach to pushing forward the boundaries of the dining experience. Is it possible that the man who makes Bacon and Egg ice cream could use music to make his food taste even better?

Read more

New Study: Can Religion Help You Fight Serious Illness?

This post was chosen as an Editor's Selection for ResearchBlogging.org
“Do you believe in God?” is not the sort of thing you normally expect to hear in a hospital clinic. But for a group women quietly waiting in a breast health clinic, their wait to see the doctor was interrupted by this question. However, this wasn’t an enthusiastic evangelist trying to win a new convert; it was all in the name of science…

Congo
Religious belief is common to every culture - but does it actually help?
The science vs. religion debate has been raging for centuries. Even though God and spirituality are by their very definition unprovable, ardent atheists and zealous believers continue to bicker. I wonder just how civil and controlled a dinner party attended by Richard Dawkins and Pope Benedict would be!

Even if a spiritual dimension cannot be measured, some things can: For example, does a religious belief help people deal with hardship, illness or strife? Many of the faithful would say yes – and that would seem to make sense. A belief in a higher is often presumed to help people cope in times of difficulty – but is this a real effect or just an act of self-delusion? Researchers from Canada have been on the case to try to find out… Read more

The Future of Nuclear Power after Fukushima: Thorium Reactors?

UPDATE (5th August 2011): Following the interesting debates and discussions arising from this piece, a follow up article has been written “Time to Change of view of ‘Nuclear Power’” – which was also published in the Tampa Tribune.

Hands up – Who thinks nuclear power is safe?

Before the Japan earthquake and tsunami on March 11, opinion surveys showed that most people thought it was. But as radiation seeps from the stricken Fukushima power plant, the world suddenly seems a very different place…

Fossil fuels are running out and we all want safe, clean and affordable power for this generation and the next. But is this an impossible dream? Today’s post describes how it is possible: It can be done with a hitherto little known type of nuclear power (yes, you read that correctly) – called the Thorium Reactor.

A ‘Thorium Reactor‘ is completely different to the Fukushima power plant design: A Thorium reactor doesn’t produce radioactive waste that lasts a thousand years, it won’t ever have a Chernobyl-like  ‘melt-down’ and it can’t be used to make an atomic bomb… And here’s the Sucker Punch: We’ve known about this super-efficient green technology for over 50 years! Read more

New Findings: How the ‘Five-A-Day’ Scheme has changed what we eat (or not)…

Do you think you eat enough fruit and veg? If you’re like most of us – then you probably don’t.

FruitsAlmost a decade has passed since governments around the world starting telling us to eat ‘five-a-day’. Upping your intake of vegetables has been shown to reduce your chance of heart attack, stroke and cancer. But have these high profile initiatives made even the slightest bit of difference to our eating habits?

Analysts from the University of Bolgna have been trawling through data from the UK since the British ‘Five-A-Day‘ programme started in 2003. They have just published their findings and they make some interesting revelations…

Read more

The Science of Attraction: What makes a beautiful face?

It all started as a disagreement one evening. The men ended up vehemently defending their opinion that – yes, Keira Knightley did indeed have an attractive face. The women had a completely different point of view – I won’t repeat what they said, but it wasn’t pleasant (poor Keira).

Does Keira Knightley have an attractive face? Discuss…

How we got so heated about the facial features of Ms Knightley, remains a mystery. But some questions remained: Were the men wrong? Or were the women just jealous? Could there even be a logical reason why  so many men would sell their pet cat to have a date with her? (Of course I wouldn’t – I love my cat too much)… Read more

Flower Power! New Study shows Plants can Boost Your Brain Power!

His FingerprintsDo you ever struggle to concentrate? You’re probably not alone. If you, like millions of us, spend the day working at a computer screen – then you will now that distactions are aplenty. The internet has been widely blamed for undermining our attention spans, and using social networking sites like Facebook seems to be costing businesses millions of dollars a day in lost productivity.

If you hate getting distracted, and want to stay focused, a team of researchers from Norway may have come up with a simple and ingenious solution: Put a pot-plant by your desk! Read more

Research shows Skinny People at risk of Diabetes!

Fed up being told of the dangers of being fat? We all know it by now – if you’re overweight, you could be seriously harming your health. Well here’s some refreshing news – a new study from the Nutrition Journal has revealed that it’s not just obese people that are putting themselves at risk of Diabetes… but also the underweight…

So Tough
A picture of health? Hardly - being underweight may increase the risk of Diabetes

Read more

Out of This World! The Amateur’s Guide to Making Your Own Satellite

Money
What would you do with US$10,000? (That's about £6,000) ... Build your own satellite perhaps?
What could you do with $10,000?

Take a trip around the world? Refit the kitchen or replace the ageing car? Perhaps you would invest it in stocks and shares?

But what would you say to building and launching your very own satellite? Forget paying to have a star named after you: Technology is now smaller and cheaper than ever before, so building your very own ‘Sputnik’ is a very real possibility. Utilising the kind of gizmos normally found in a mobile phone, amateurs can buy ‘DIY satellite kits’ and build their very planetary orbiter. These ‘nano-satellites’ are no bigger than a bottle of coke and weigh less than a bag of potatoes – and nice space agencies will let you ‘hitch a ride’ on the next rocket launch for next to nothing!

Amateurs and professionals alike are flocking to get a piece of the action: Ever fancy starting your own satellite TV station? What about monitoring weather patterns or having your personal Hubble Space Telescope?

Read on to find out the steps to making your very own ‘CubeSat’… Read more