Discovery News

Newborns Pick Up Language in the Womb

human

Nov. 6, 2009 -- Comparing the gurgles, coos and cries of French and German newborns, a team of scientists from both countries found that baby talk is not, as previously assumed, universal.

Earlier research showed that human fetuses start to memorize sounds from the external world by the third trimester, and are especially keyed in to the melodic qualities of music and speech.

Previous studies also showed that newborns prefer the voice of their mothers, and can decipher different emotional content -- anger, joy -- from the intonation of maternal speech.

Poor Memory Linked to Risky Behavior in Youth

human

Nov. 3, 2009 -- Children with weak memories are more likely to engage in risky behaviors like gambling, using alcohol and drugs and fighting, new research shows.

Daniel Romer of the University of Pennsylvania led the study that followed a group of 387 boys and girls, ages 10-12, in the Philadelphia area.

The implications of the findings, which Romer says are unprecedented, are that kids might be unwilling or even unable to think through the potential consequences of impulsive behavior.

Pollution Trips Up Female Marathon Runners

human

October 30, 2009 -- Female marathon runners take heed: If you want to run your best race, you'd be advised to look at pollution levels before you choose your course.

Higher levels of coarse particle pollution appear to slow marathon times for women, according to research presented today by Linsey Marr of Virginia Tech.

Marr and colleague Matthew Ely of the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine considered marathon times in seven cities -- Boston, New York, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Sacramento, Los Angeles and Duluth, Minn. -- over the years 1980 to 2007.

Superstitious Beliefs Cemented Before Birth

human

Oct. 30, 2009 -- The propensity to believe in paranormal phenomena and superstitions appears to arise in the womb, suggests new research.

The findings, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, further indicate that a reduced ability for analytical thinking may correspond with increased intuitive thinking, which has been associated with a belief in extrasensory perception (ESP), ghosts, telepathy and other paranormal phenomena.

Author Martin Voracek claims his new study's determinations "suggest (there are) biologically based, prenatally programmed influences on paranormal and superstitious beliefs."

Gang Assaults: Why They Happen

human

Oct. 30, 2009 -- It's easy to dismiss something shocking and horrific as a random act of brutality.

But when a 15 year-old girl was gang raped last Saturday behind a high school in Richmond, Calif., it was an extreme example of behavior that is all too common, according to some experts' chilling research.

Around 9 pm that evening, a teenager left her homecoming dance at Richmond High School. Friends assumed she was heading home early. It wasn't until nearly midnight, after she had been repeatedly raped and beaten for over two hours that she was discovered, bloodied and unconscious, under a bench on school grounds.

Fast Runners Have Shorter Heels, Longer Toes

human

Oct. 30, 2009 -- Plenty of people run, but only some have the ability to fly like the wind.

A new study helps to explain what separates the fleet-footed from the heavy-footed: ankle structure and toe length.

While these aren't the only features that make sprinters fast, subtleties in anatomy might help coaches determine whether to steer young runners towards distance or short races. The insights could also lead to faster sprinting shoes and even help people stay mobile into old age.

Culture (Not Just Genes) Drives Evolution

human

Oct. 28, 2009 -- Culture, not just genes, can drive evolutionary outcomes, according to a study released Wednesday that compares individualist and group-oriented societies across the globe.

Bridging a rarely-crossed border between natural and social sciences, the study looks at the interplay across 29 countries of two sets of data, one genetic and the other cultural.

The researchers found that most people in countries widely described as collectivist have a specific mutation within a gene regulating the transport of serotonin, a neurochemical known to profoundly affect mood.

Happy National Chocolate Day

human

Oct. 28, 2009 -- Today is National Chocolate Day, an occasion to commemorate all things chocolate.

Chocolate is more than simply an indulgence. This tasty treat has been around for more than two millennia, originating in Central America. The Mayans revered the cocoa bean, dubbing it "the food of the gods."

Chocolate was introduced to the Western world in the 16th century following the arrival of Spanish explorers. During that time, chocolate was used not only as a food, but also as a currency.

Human Speech Gene Found

human

Oct. 27, 2009 -- Humans may owe the gift of gab to a newly discovered gene that helps keeps vocal pipes limber.

Researchers discovered the gene, dubbed tospeak, in an Australian family with a speaking disorder. Many of the women in the family have weak, husky voices, while several of their male relatives cannot speak above a whisper, reported Raymond Clarke of the University of New South Wales' St. George Hospital in Kogarah, Australia, October 21 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics.

Clarke and his colleagues traced the source of the family's disorder to a region of chromosome 8. Part of the chromosome had been rearranged, causing a break in the tospeak gene. Tospeak probably doesn't code for a protein, Clarke says. The gene is sprinkled with stop signals and its RNA product doesn't resemble other RNAs that have specific functions in the cell. But production of the tospeak RNA seems to be important for proper development of the larynx.

Serial Killers Shaped by Society, Study Claims

human

Oct. 26, 2009 -- Serial murderers are distorted reflections of society's own values, according to new research.

Traditionally the behavior of serial killers has been viewed through a psychological framework, blaming customary factors like bad parenting, maladjusted brain chemistry or past abuse. But Kevin Haggerty, a University of Alberta sociologist and criminologist, argues that society -- not psychology -- is responsible.

"I would say there's minimal evidence that psychological approaches have made more than a small difference in our understanding of this phenomenon," he told Discovery News. "Almost every psychological approach applied to serial murder has been ruled out as a uniform claim to understanding this behavior."