Changing someone’s genetic programming is easier than you might think. While techniques for altering DNA at the molecular level are becoming more widely used, it’s also possible to simply turn genes on or off without permanently changing the underlying genetic material. That means we can affect the genetic instructions that get sent to an organism’s body by changing its environment or with drugs.
No, most people aren’t in severe pain when they die
Health Check: how can I make it easier to wake up in the morning?
Is apple cider vinegar really a wonder food?
Brain scans reveal why rewards and punishments don’t seem to work on teenagers
Parents and teachers are painfully aware that it’s nearly impossible to get a teenager to focus on what you think is important. Even offering them a bribe or issuing a stern warning will typically fail. There may be many reasons for that, including the teenager’s developing sense of independence and social pressure from friends.
Research Check: will a coffee a day really keep heart attacks at bay?
Is it possible to boost your intelligence by training? We reviewed three decades of research
Scientists achieved astonishing results when training a student with a memory training programme in a landmark experiment in 1982. After 44 weeks of practice, the student, dubbed SF, expanded his ability to remember digits from seven numbers to 82. However, this remarkable ability did not extend beyond digits – they also tried with consonants.
You might be in a medical experiment and not even know it
In the long view, modern history is the story of increasing rights of control over your body – for instance, in matters of reproduction, sex, where you live and whom you marry. Medical experimentation is supposed to be following the same historical trend – increasing rights of autonomy for those whose bodies are used for research.
Having a backup plan might be the very reason you failed
Final decision? Why the brain keeps on changing its mind
Benjamin Franklin once quipped: ‘There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know oneself.’ Every decision we make, from pinpointing the source of a faint sound to choosing a new job, comes with a degree of confidence that we have made the right call. If confidence is sufficiently low, we might change our minds and reverse our decision. Now scientists are using these choice reversals to study the first inklings of self-knowledge. Changes of mind, it turns out, reflect a precisely tuned process for monitoring our stream of thoughts.
How we learn to read another’s mind by looking into their eye
Why our brain needs sleep, and what happens if we don’t get enough of it
Health Check: does drinking alcohol kill the germs it comes into contact with?
The ancient clock that rules our lives – and determines our health
Our lives are ruled by time; we use time to tell us what to do. But the alarm clock that wakes us in the morning or the wristwatch that tells us we are late for supper are unnatural clocks. Our biology answers to a profoundly more ancient beat that probably started to tick early in the evolution of all life.
‘Wear red, get noticed’ – and other subtle psychological ways colour affects us
Some of the earliest applied research into colour was carried out by Louis Cheskin at the Color Research Institute of America founded in the 1930s. A pioneer in the field of marketing psychology, Cheskin argued that consumers make automatic and non-conscious assessments of products based not just on the product itself but derived from all its characteristics as determined by each of the senses. One major sensory feature is colour.
Can trying to meet specific exercise goals put us off being active altogether?
Why your kids might be able to see better if they play outdoors more often
Curious Kids: How do we get allergic to food
Health Check: is margarine actually better for me than butter?
Only 20 years ago butter was the public villain – contributing to raised cholesterol levels and public concern over an increased risk of heart disease. Now this public perception seems to have been reversed, and reality cooking shows seem to use butter in every recipe. But what has caused this shift in perceptions and is it based on scientific evidence?