Working class prefers comedy and the intellectual class goes for drama

A study enjoying Spanish participation has analysed the theatre demand of society according to the socioeconomic status of the different types of the viewing public. The results were that the theatre is not just enjoyed by the intellectual classes. While they do prefer drama, the working class opts for comedy and the wealthier are swayed…

Research study shows men find dancing women more attractive during most fertile time

Researchers from the University of Göttingen in Germany have found that men viewing videos of silhouettes of dancing women were more likely to describe those who were ovulating at the time as more attractive than women at other stages of their menstrual cycle, which goes contrary to the longstanding theory of “concealed” ovulation in humans.…

Simple mathematical computations underlie brain circuits

The brain has billions of neurons, arranged in complex circuits that allow us to perceive the world, control our movements and make decisions. Deciphering those circuits is critical to understanding how the brain works and what goes wrong in neurological disorders. MIT neuroscientists have now taken a major step toward that goal. In a new…

Bigger Brain = Social Media Success

Hiring a social media manager or a salesperson? Maybe you should have the finalists’ brains scanned in an fMRI. A larger orbital prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with decision-making and cognitive processing, has been shown to correlate with greater social skills, according to a study by a team of UK researchers. Among…

Masturbation: “An Evolutionary Magic Trick”

In the climactic scene of Woody Allen's clever and self-consciously juvenile film Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask, Allen's character is a sperm cell who is waiting for his big moment. Allen's character is not happy with his assigned fate. Nor does he get to decide when his moment…

Why living in the moment is impossible: Study finds decision-making memories stored in mysterious brain area

The sought-after equanimity of "living in the moment" may be impossible, according to neuroscientists who've pinpointed a brain area responsible for using past decisions and outcomes to guide future behavior. The study, based on research conducted at the University of Pittsburgh and published today in the professional journal Neuron, is the first of its kind…

Memory and the Cybermind

THE line that separates my mind from the Internet is getting blurry. This has been happening ever since I realized how often it feels as though I know something just because I can find it with Google. Technically, of course, I don’t know it. But when there’s a smartphone or iPad in reach, I know…

True Secret to Success: Gratitude

I'm utterly convinced that the key to lifelong success is the regular exercise of a single emotional muscle: gratitude. People who approach life with a sense of gratitude are constantly aware of what's wonderful in their life. Because they enjoy the fruits of their successes, they seek out more success. And when things don't go…

Intimations of Immortality—and $5-Million to Study Them – Research

Millions of people fervently believe in an afterlife. John Martin Fischer, a philosopher at the University of California at Riverside, is not one of them. But Mr. Fischer does see the subject as ripe for academic research, and on Tuesday the John Templeton Foundation awarded him a windfall to make that happen—$5-million for a multidisciplinary…

Being in awe can expand time and enhance well-being

It doesnt matter what weve experienced -- whether its the breathtaking scope of the Grand Canyon, the ethereal beauty of the Aurora Borealis, or the exhilarating view from the top of the Eiffel Tower -- at some point in our lives weve all had the feeling of being in a complete and overwhelming sense of…