Yesterday I drew attention to a study claiming that students who bring water into exams get better grades. I made the point that at this time of year the media are often keen to report ‘science news’ that can be framed in ways that make it relevant to college students […]
Animal studies
Personality goes a long way…toward making you sick
This is dangerously close to “day job” territory, but yesterday evening I was on the wireless talking about the relationship between psychological traits and physical health. This was part of the excellent Futureproof show on Newstalk 106-108 fm, hosted by the also-excellent Jonathan McCrea (and produced by the just-as-excellent Shaun […]
Who let the pseudoscientists out?
We already know that men are pigs, but now we also know that men are the kind of pigs who corrupt the morality of dogs. And how do we know this? Well, scientists have discovered it, and the media are duly reporting it. “Dogs walked by men are four times […]
Shock! ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ is scientifically implausible
I’ve just returned from watching Rise of the Planet of the Apes at my local cinema, and I’m happy to report that there were no scientific shortcomings or flaws whatsoever in this movie. ONLY KIDDING! While it is certainly an enjoyable flick, and boasts terrific visual effects (especially once all the […]
See no evil, hear no evil…
If you were confused by last week’s media stories about the latest review of UK science research on monkeys, then you are forgiven. The review, commissioned by the major British science funders and chaired by the president of the Zoological Society of London, evaluated 10 years of research involving non-human […]
It’s true, college is a rat race
Earlier this week, a new paper by neuroscientists at Bristol University was covered across several media outlets. Very quickly, a common thread began to emerge through the headlines: “Stress can help when studying for exams” reported the Daily Telegraph; “Last-minute exam stress can actually help students to form stronger memories” […]
