Human Behavior, features and articles | Educational Science

Nov 30, 2012

No Bullies: Kind Kids Are Most Popular

As the holidays call for good will toward men, new research indicates that kids who are kinder are also happier and more popular. This finding suggests that simple and brief acts of kindness might help reduce bullying, the researchers say. At the top of parents' wish lists is for their...

Oct 31, 2012

Fall Back: The Science of Daylight Saving Time

If colorful leaves and the occasional snowstorm weren't a sign that summer has slipped away, daylight saving time officially ends this Sunday (Nov. 4). At 2:00 a.m. that day, the clocks will fall back an hour, meaning brighter mornings but darker evenings for most Americans. (Hawaii and Arizona don't participate...

Oct 31, 2012

First Polynesians Arrived in Tonga 2,800 Years Ago

The first Polynesian settlers sailed to Tonga between 2,830 and 2,846 years ago, according to new research. The findings, published Nov. 7 in the journal PLoS One, relied on ultraprecise dating of coral tools found at Tonga's first settlement. The technique provides us with unbelievable precision in dating quite ancient...

Oct 31, 2012

Evangelicals Becoming More Devout, Catholics Less So

Evangelical Protestants have become more devoted to their religious beliefs over the last three decades, even as Catholics have become less attached to their faith, new research finds. The denominational differences come even as religious affiliations have decreased overall in America, with the number of people who claim no religious...

Oct 31, 2012

US Birth Rate Hits New Low

The rate of babies born in the United States hit a record low in 2011, a new analysis shows. Researchers say the drastic drop in the birth rate among immigrants has greatly contributed to the overall decrease. Based on preliminary data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the Pew...

Sep 30, 2012

Zombies: The Real Story of the Undead

From World War Z to The Walking Dead to Shaun of the Dead to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and countless brain-dead rip-offs, zombies — re-animated corpses with an unstoppable craving for human flesh, especially brains — have invaded pop culture like never before. For staggering, slow-moving monsters, zombies have...

Sep 30, 2012

Bigfoot Research Gets Lift from Stealth Airship

Past expeditions to find conclusive evidence for the existence of Bigfoot have at least two things in common: They were unsuccessful, and they were ground-based. That's why the Falcon Project will make history regardless of whether it achieves its goal of capturing clear, steady film evidence of a Hominoid in...

Sep 30, 2012

Two Months 'Til Doomsday? Mayan Apocalypse Set for Dec. 21

If you believe in that sort of thing, humanity can expect a mere two months left of existence before the Mayan apocalypse hits Dec. 21. Today (Oct. 21) starts the two-month countdown toward doomsday, according to an interpretation of the Mayan calendar that has taken hold in some New Age...

Sep 30, 2012

People Stare Monsters in the Eye, Wherever It Is

Using the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons, scientists now find one way that people can treat monsters like people too, looking them in the eyes even when those eyes are not located in their heads. These findings could help researchers better understand autism, where people often fail to meet the...

Aug 31, 2012

Image Gallery: Ancient Lucky Charms

Ram figurine (Image credit: Yael Yolovitch, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)The artifacts were found near the remains of an ancient round building at the archaeological site of Tel Moza, outside of Jerusalem. Ram figurine in hand (Image credit: Yael Yolovitch, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)It is known that...

Aug 31, 2012

Is Anti-Muslim Film a Hoax?

A 13-minute amateur trailer for the film Innocence of Muslims depicts the prophet Muhammad as a womanizer, child molester and criminal. Though the clip had been available for at least several weeks on the Internet, protests over the film last week erupted in nearly two dozen countries, and several American...

Jul 31, 2012

How Alcohol Ads Target Kids

Parents might do their best to shield their kids from advertising related to alcohol, but alcohol marketers are doing their best to reach them anyway. That's the finding of new research that discovered that the content of alcohol ads placed in magazines is more likely to violate industry guidelines if...

Jul 31, 2012

Doomed Polar Explorer's Famed Ship Found on Seafloor

A research vessel testing its underwater mapping equipment recently made a remarkable discovery: the wreck of the Terra Nova, the famed ship that took British explorer Robert Falcon Scott on his fateful voyage to Antarctica a century ago. The ship was discovered off the coast of Greenland on July 11....

Jun 30, 2012

Scientists Learn How to Turn Innovations into Jobs

Many of today's best researchers and scientists need someone to show them the money. They face the same dilemma that alchemists faced centuries ago: how do you turn basic research (a base metal) into a commercially viable business (gold)? The National Science Foundation thinks its innovative I-Corps program will succeed...

Jun 30, 2012

Is North Korea Making EMP Weapons?

North Korea may be developing electromagnetic pulse weapons or bombs that could take out power grids — not to mention military and civilian electronics. Such speculation comes from a Chinese military analyst's article in the journal Bauhinia, according to the Washington Times. The Chinese military pointed out that North Korea...