Welcome to DSC Original Content’s biweekly podcast, where we explain a weird, tricky or surprising subject in mere minutes. In this edition, find out why humans never evolved the ability to hibernate; discover why the future of space exploration depends on successfully gassed mice; and hear about...
As you may have discovered during a relentless tickle attack, it’s really tough not to laugh, even when you hate it. According to Dr. Alan J. Fridlund, an expert on nonverbal communication and an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University...
The night is going smoothly. You’re out at the bar with your friends having a great time. Then, all of a sudden, a fight breaks out. It’s the same friend every time. He’s wildly punching another of your friends. Or the guy standing behind him. Or the...
We live in an age in which people willingly lube up homemade electrodes, strap them to their heads, and then crank up some voltage to zap their brains. It’s called transcranial direct-current stimulation, or tDCS, and it is very much a thing — there’s some slick consumer products you...
Exercise has long been considered an ideal method for dealing with anger. By channeling rage into physical activity, you turn negative emotion into improved physical health. Everything from the Mayo Clinic to self-help books to lifehacking advice extols the anger-reducing virtues of physical exertion. Using exercise to...
If, as George Bernard Shaw once said, “whisky is liquid sunshine,” hangovers are a meteor straight to the face. But how exactly does too much of our favorite alcoholic beverage add up to a throbbing headache, dizzying nausea and draining fatigue? Dr. Aaron White, senior scientific advisor...
We’ve all drunk, at least once, to the point where the room starts to spin uncontrollably. Or rather, the point where it feels like the room is spinning uncontrollably, which begs the question: What is alcohol doing to us that makes it feel like we’re on a...
Every month we try to learn three things about our body. What’s going on down there? Why does it do that? Will it ever stop? With 2016 drawing to a close, we’ve rounded up some of the most fascinating things we’ve learned about our favorite and most...
Every month, we report on three body-related scientific discoveries, but as 2016 draws to a close, we’re looking at some of the biggest stories to come out this year. Keep an eye out for our other pieces focusing on our hair, our brains and, yes, our genitals,...
Every month we try to learn three things about our body. What’s going on down there? Why does it do that? Will it ever stop? With 2016 drawing to a close, we’ve rounded up some of the most fascinating things we’ve learned about our favorite and most...
We try to learn three things about our bodies every month, but as 2016 draws to a close, we’re taking a look at some of the year’s biggest stories involving our favorite and most important body parts. With that in mind, keep an eye out for our other...
Like a thief in the night, a panic attack can strike at any moment and without any obvious reason. Those who’ve suffered them understand that they can be a truly terrifying experience: The pounding heart, the shortness of breath, the feverish sweat, all culminating in a seemingly...
