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Can Stress Really Make Us Sick?
The Washington Post: It seems like a no-brainer that stress may make us more likely to succumb to viruses and other infections, but that’s a tough connection to make scientifically. For starters, it would not be ethical to test the idea by putting people under extreme stress and exposing them to dangerous infections in the laboratory. But some scientists have nonetheless found ways to study the problem. Their findings show that the picture is more complicated than the notion that too much stress can overwhelm the immune system. Read the whole story: The Washington Post
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Forgiving a Wrong May Actually Make It Easier to Forget
We’re often told to “forgive and forget” the wrongs that we suffer -- it turns out that there may be some scientific truth behind the common saying. A study from researchers at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland shows that the details of a transgression are more susceptible to forgetting when that transgression has been forgiven. The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. “It is well established that learning to forgive others can have positive benefits for an individual’s physical and mental health,” says Saima Noreen, lead author of the study.
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What Could Be More Interesting than how the Mind Works?
Harvard Gazette: The brain is Steven Pinker’s playground. A cognitive scientist and experimental psychologist, Pinker is fascinated by language, behavior, and the development of human nature. His work has ranged from a detailed analysis of how the mind works to a best-seller about the decline in violence from biblical times to today. Raised in Montreal, Pinker was drawn early to the mysteries of thought that would drive his career, and shaped in part by coming of age in the ’60s and early ’70s, when “society was up for grabs,” it seemed, and nature vs. nurture debates were becoming more complex and more heated. Read the whole story: Harvard Gazette
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More Teenage Boys Get Jobs as Baby Sitters, Find Parents Are Fans
The Wall Street Journal: Baby sitter wanted. Lightsaber experience, basketball skills and willingness to wrestle are a plus. With more families entrusting young children to the care of male baby sitters, teenage boys—many who couldn't care less about old notions of gender roles—are discovering an enjoyable alternative to mowing lawns for extra cash. The American Red Cross says it has noticed an uptick in the number of boys taking its baby-sitting classes, which are held in more than 2,000 U.S. classrooms. This year, 9.3% of its enrolled students are boys, up from 8.7% in the year ended June 2013. The number could approach 11% after the summer busy season, the organization says.
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You Don’t Know What You’re Saying
Scientific American If you think you know what you just said, think again. People can be tricked into believing they have just said something they did not, researchers report this week.The dominant model of how speech works is that it is planned in advance — speakers begin with a conscious idea of exactly what they are going to say. But some researchers think that speech is not entirely planned, and that people know what they are saying in part through hearing themselves speak. So cognitive scientist Andreas Lind and his colleagues at Lund University in Sweden wanted to see what would happen if someone said one word, but heard themselves saying another.
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Different Way to Treat Depression: Games
The Wall Street Journal After being diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder last September, Reva Wood struggled with chronic pain, and then anxiety stemming from chronic pain. To reduce her anxiety, she decided to try something a little unusual: a videogame called SuperBetter that claimed to use science-based challenges to help her manage anxiety. Digital games are gaining notice from some researchers who think they're a novel way to address mental health issues like depression and anxiety. SuperBetter is currently the subject of two scientific trials, including a National Institutes of Health-funded experiment that will begin this summer.
