The Incandescent Effect
Forget the “wisdom” about turning the lights down low to set a romantic mood. A new study by faculty at …
Author Archives: Rebecca Coffey
It’s Not Just Narcissists Who Want Plastic Surgery
… It’s narcisists who are perfectionists. Call it their own Snopes.com sleuthing. But hearing again and again that narcissistic self-absorption …
The Biology of Lying
When a mother in Ohio faked her address in order to send her child to a better public school, she …
What You Wish You Didn’t Know about Sugar
The average American consumes an astounding 2-3 pounds of sugar each week,. Actually, that’s not all that surprising. Sugar is …
Volcanoes in the News
Volcanoes are in the news this May. A new study published earlier this month suggests that the supervolcano that Yellowstone …
How Do You Spell G-E-N-I-U-S?
Not all geniuses are physicists like Isaac Newton or Albert Einstein. Creative genius Andy Warhol is widely reported to have …
Smell, and the Language of Talking Plants
Smell happens when odorants—airborne molecules—attach to sensory receptors inside the nose, triggering an electro-chemical reaction that the brain interprets. Dogs’ …
Stuff My Chimp Throws
You’ve been to the zoo, right? Maybe you’ve seen a chimp sit on his haunches while looking far away with …
Stench
Over the ages, words a plenty have been wasted on the loveliness of the sense of smell. To me, the …
Snoopy—It’s Not Just a Dog’s Name Anymore
Listening in on third-party conversations is impolite. But it’s one way that humans and some non-human animals gather information to …
Family Friendly Science 