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Celebrating a Death: Ugly, Maybe, but Only Human
The New York Times: Some Americans celebrated the killing of Osama bin Laden loudly, with chanting and frat-party revelry in the streets. Others were appalled — not by the killing, but by the celebrations. It was appropriate to go after Bin Laden, just to try to cut the head off that serpent, but I don’t think it’s decent to celebrate a killing like that,” said George Horwitz, a retired meat cutter and Army veteran in Bynum, N.C. Read the whole story: The New York Times
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The hidden power of mothers: How moms improve their children’s lives
The Washington Post: Ever wonder why it is that mothers seem to have a magical fix for problems? Or always seem to say the right thing? Join Dr. Peter Vishton Friday, May 6 at 1 p.m. ET, as he chats about how scientists are discovering many surprising, and previously unrecognized, ways in which a mother may promote the well-being of her child starting from the child's fetal stage through his/her toddler years. Read more: The Washington Post
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Does this green card make me look fat?
The Vancouver Sun: Moving to the U.S. could be bad for your waistline, according to a forthcoming study linking fatty foods with the desire to belong. Within 15 years of moving to the States, research has shown that immigrants approach American levels of obesity — a finding previously linked to the ubiquity of cheap, high-calorie fast food and larger portion sizes. But investigators now suggest it's not simply the presence of such dishes but also immigrants' notion that eating them somehow validates their "Americanness." Think of it as a patriotic version of the axiom "You are what you eat," with the drive-thru doubling as a rite of passage. Read the whole story: The Vancouver Sun
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Dating Duo Illuminates Modern Humans’ Journey
Science: WOLLONGONG, AUSTRALIA—When University of Pennsylvania archaeologist Harold Dibble was reopening excavations at the Grotte des Contrebandiers (Smuggler's Cave) in Morocco a few years ago, he looked for experts to help him figure out when prehistoric humans had occupied the cave, which is a key site for understanding the spread of Homo sapiens. Dibble knew our species had been there more than 50,000 years ago—beyond the practical limit of radiocarbon dating. So he recruited two dating aces from the University of Wollongong in Australia, Zenobia Jacobs and Richard Roberts, experts in the technique of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating.
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Why Extroverts Are Happier Than Introverts
MSNBC: Extroverts are the cheeriest personality type, and a new study finds that the root of their happiness may be in their memories. People who are extroverted remember the past in a more positive light than other personality types, researchers report in the June issue of the journal Personality and Individual Differences. This rose-tinged viewpoint explains much of the happiness gap between extroverts and people who are neurotic, a personality trait marked by anxiety and irritability. Read the whole story: MSNBC
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Who knows you best? Not you, say psychologists
Know thyself. That was Socrates’ advice, and it squares with conventional wisdom. “It’s a natural tendency to think we know ourselves better than others do,” says Washington University in St. Louis assistant professor Simine Vazire. But a new article by Vazire and her colleague Erika N. Carlson reviews the research and suggests an addendum to the philosopher’s edict: Ask a friend. “There are aspects of personality that others know about us that we don’t know ourselves, and vice-versa,” says Vazire.
