Titanic vs. Lusitania: Time Determined Who Survived

The RMS Titanic being towed

From Live Science:

The time people have during survival situations might affect whether they behave selfishly or socially. Examining two shipwrecks, the Titanic and the Lusitania, researchers recently found the longer passengers had to react to the disaster, the more likely they were to follow social mores. The less time, the more selfishly passengers behaved.

The result: It was every man for himself aboard the rapidly sinking Lusitania, and so the fittest were the most likely to survive that accident. During the lengthy Titanic shipwreck, women in their reproductive years were the most likely to make it, while men of the same age had a lower probability of surviving.

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Happiness Ain't All It's Cracked Up To Be

From New Scientist:

The Founding Fathers liked happiness so much they considered pursuing it an inalienable right – but maybe that wasn't such a good idea. Happiness seems to make people more selfish, the latest in a series of revelations suggesting it changes how you think – and not in a good way.

Psychologist Joe Forgas at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, who has led many of these studies, suggests that happiness's negative effects all stem from a cheery mood's tendency to lull you into feeling secure. This makes you look inwards and behave both more selfishly and more carelessly.

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Happily Married Men 'Much Less Likely To Suffer Stroke' Than Single Or Unhappily Married Friends

Scientists say an unhappy marriage or being left on the shelf was as big a risk to your chances of having a stroke as having diabetes Photo: ALAMY

From The Telegraph:

Happily married men are much less likely to suffer a stroke than their single or unhappily married friends, according to new research.

Single men and those in unsuccessful marriages were 64 per cent more likely to have a stroke than men in successful marriages.

Scientists say an unhappy marriage or being left on the shelf was as big a risk to your chances of having a stroke as having diabetes.

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Technology That Makes The Heart Grow Fonder

If you can't be with the one you love, log onto Facebook. Or Skype. Or Second Life.

From MSNBC:

Today's faraway lovers prefer e-mail, text to an old-fashioned phone call

My college roommate hung on to her hometown boyfriend longer than most. I remember creeping in to the apartment late at night and tripping painfully over the phone cord that snaked from the living room into her bedroom. And if I listened hard, I could hear the inane murmurings that only a long-distance relationship can produce:

“You hang up first … you didn’t hang up! I’m not going to hang up. Are you still there? I love you too!”

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Parents Choosing More Unusual Baby Names Now

From Live Science:

Celebrities aren't the only ones giving their babies unusual names. Compared with decades ago, parents are choosing less common names for kids, which could suggest an emphasis on uniqueness and individualism, according to new research.

Essentially, today's kids (and later adults) will stand out from classmates. For instance, in the 1950s, the average first-grade class of 30 children would have had at least one boy named James (top name in 1950), while in 2013, six classes will be necessary to find only one Jacob, even though that was the most common boys' name in 2007.

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Hourglass Figures Affect Men's Brains Like a Drug

From Live Science:

Watching a curvaceous woman can feel like a reward in the brain of men, much as drinking alcohol or taking drugs might, research now reveals.

These new findings might help explain the preoccupation men can have toward pornography, scientists added.

Shapely hips in women are linked with fertility and overall health. As such, it makes sense evolutionarily speaking that studies across cultures have shown men typically find hourglass figures sexy.

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Study Links Violence To Take-Away Alcohol

From BBC:

US scientists have shown what they say is a direct link between the number of shops selling alcohol in an area and the violence occurring there.

The study was conducted in Cincinnati and considered all types of outlet, including bars and restaurants.

The more shops selling alcohol in an area, the scientists say, the more assaults were recorded there.

They presented the study at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting.

Professor William Pridemore from Indiana University, who led the study, spoke at the meeting in San Diego.

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More Liquor Stores Mean More Violence

From Live Science:

SAN DIEGO – The more bars and liquor stores in an area, the more violence there will be, a new study finds.

Researchers compared crime statistics and listings of liquor licenses in Cincinnati to determine the connection. Convenience stores and carry-out sites that sold alcohol were the most strongly associated with assaults, but bars and restaurants that serve alcohol are also correlated with violence.

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Even In The Virtual World, Men Judge Women On Looks

Pleading for empathy (Image: Indianna University School of Informatics)

From New Scientist:

HOW is a female avatar supposed to get a fair treatment in the virtual world? They should rely on human females - men can't help but be swayed by looks.

Thanks to video games and blockbuster movies, people are increasingly engaging with avatars and robots. So Karl MacDorman of Indiana University in Indianapolis, Indiana, decided to find out how people treated avatars when faced with an ethical dilemma. Does an avatar's lack of humanity mean people fail to empathise with them? The answer seems to depend on gender.

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Tiger Woods And Sex Addiction: Real Disease Or Easy Excuse?

From Live Science:

Tiger Woods is scheduled to break his months-long silence about the sex scandal that has plagued the world's most famous athlete. It's not clear how he will explain himself, though according to some reports Woods has been attending a private rehabilitation clinic in Mississippi that treats addictions — including sex addiction.

Infidelity is not uncommon among men (and women) all over the world. Plenty of people cheat on their spouses: according to one survey, 25 percent of men and 17 percent of women have been unfaithful. That, of course, doesn't make them sex addicts.

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Parents To Blame For Women 'Unlucky In Love', Claim Scientists

The study could explain why some women such as Jennifer Aniston,
remain unlucky in love. Photo: Reuters

From The Telegraph:

The reason why some women remain without a long-term boyfriend appears to have been solved by Australian scientists.

Researchers from the University of Western Australia reportedly claim some of the secrets of attraction appear to be hidden in certain immune system genes inherited from our parents.

They found that a woman's appearance or sweat contains clues to the genetic make-up of her immune system.

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Happiest States: Hawaii Moves Into First Place

From Live Science:

If you needed an extra twist of the arm to set off on a Hawaii vacation, here it is: The big-wave state was the happiest place to live in 2009, according to a newly released national survey.

Topping the well-being list among all 50 states, Hawaii pulled ahead of the 2008 leader Utah. But Utah and its neighbors still have plenty to smile about. Nine of the top 10 well-being states reside in the Midwest and the West. The south didn't fare so well, taking seven of the 11 lowest well-being spots on the list.

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4 Myths of Online Dating Photos Revealed

From Live Science:

Guys hoping to get noticed on online dating sites should take off their shirts, at least those with six-pack abs, according to new survey results by one online matchmaker that also provide advice for gals' profile pics.

"We were sitting on a treasure trove of data," said Sam Yagan, co-founder and CEO of OkCupid. ''There are millions of experiments essentially happening on our site every day."

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Why Men And Women Get Jealous For Different Reasons

From Times Online:

Cheating on a spouse or significant other is sure to cause feelings of jealousy and hurt in the spurned partner.

But men and women differ on what part of cheating they think is the worst: Men tend to be more bothered by sexual infidelity, while most women are bothered more by emotional infidelity.

The prevailing explanation for this difference is the unique evolutionary roles played by men and women, but a new study suggests that it has more to do with the types of attachments people form in relationships.

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Everybody Laughs, Everybody Cries: Researchers Identify Universal Emotions

Laughter is a universal language, according to new research. The study suggests that basic emotions such as amusement, anger, fear and sadness are shared by all humans. (Credit: iStockphoto/Eduard Härkönen)

From Live Science:

Science Daily (Jan. 26, 2010) — Here's a piece of research that might leave you tickled: laughter is a universal language, according to new research. The study, conducted with people from Britain and Namibia, suggests that basic emotions such as amusement, anger, fear and sadness are shared by all humans.

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No Help Wanted: Shopping Tactics Different For Men

From Live Science:

The stereotype of a man refusing to ask for directions while driving may carry over to shopping as well, researchers announced recently.

The results, which are based on survey questions, show that women are much more likely to seek out other people for guidance about wine purchases, usually from interpersonal relationships, such as friends and family. But men are less likely to ask others for help, and instead prefer to get information from impersonal and published materials, as well as from their own experiences.

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Good And Bad Angels In Hollywood And The Bible

Polls have indicated that nearly 70 percent of Americans think angels exist.
Credit: Screen Gems

From Live Science:

The new film "Legion" is about the final days of mankind, as a group of angels make a last stand in a small diner in New Mexico to protect a woman pregnant with humanity's new savior.

The archangel Michael is played by Paul Bettany, who portrays Charles Darwin in the new film "Creation," also released this Friday. The film poster shows Michael with a hunting knife in one hand and a machine gun in the other. This ain't your grandmother's angel.

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Scientists Announce The End Of The Mid-Life Crisis: Life Really Does Begin At 40, They Say

Life's a beach: Over-40s are 'free to enjoy life' according to a psychologist

From The Daily Telegraph:

Life really can begin at 40, an expert claimed yesterday.

Improvements in healthcare, education and life expectancy have made the mid-life crisis a thing of the past, according to psychologist Dr Carlo Strenger.

'Somehow this line has been drawn around the mid and late 40s as a time for a mid-life crisis in our society,' he said.

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Did Gorillas Teach Humans The Basics Of Fair Play On The Sporting Field?

Good sports: Apes advance the concept of fair play by helping to keep games going and giving younger competitors the advantage

From The Daily Mail:

Gorillas play competitive games just like humans, although they are more likely to also be good sports, say scientists.

Apes advance the concept of fair play by helping to keep games going and giving younger competitors the advantage, psychologists at the University of St Andrews claim.

Their study has helped trace the evolutionary origins of how humans understand each other.

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Midlife Crisis 'Replaced With Graceful Midlife Transition'

From The Telegraph:

The midlife crisis is being replaced with a graceful "midlife transition" as increased life expectancy and good job prospects take the sting out of ageing, scientists say.

The sudden awareness of mortality that has led many men to exchange their wives and cars for newer models no longer has such a potent effect, it is claimed.

Instead, an increasingly confident and resilient generation are embarking on productive "second lives" as they reach 50, aware that they still have 30 good years ahead of them.

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