What if the personality trait that you inhibited made you more likely to develop a certain fatal disease? Could your personality really be a determining factor in your health risks later on? Josh Jackson of Washington University in St. Louis describes that his research correlates the certain personality trait that a person inhibits to an array of health risks. In this longitudinal study, researchers have been studying the same 7,000 individuals since they were 30, all the way up to 90 years old. In the beginning of the study, researchers asked the participants to fill out questionnaires indicating their personalities based on the Big Five personality traits, Openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. In addition, participants were asked to tell the researchers if they have any health conditions already (Rushlow). Researchers asked participants this information in order to determine whether a participant’s personality would really affect their health.

Four years after the study was conducted, researchers found that conscientiousness and openness were the traits that protected the individuals the most from health risks such as stroke, heart disease and high blood pressure. This shows that according to conscientiousness and openness, personality does predict health. However, it might not be that individuals who are hard-wired with high levels of conscientiousness or openness are less prone to these diseases, but they are also more likely take better care of themselves such as exercise and eat healthy. On the opposite scale, the personality trait, neuroticism proved over a lifetime of research that individuals who had a high score in this personality trait had often poorer health than the others. As a result of the naturally high-stressed state these individuals live in they are more likely to have a stroke and a weak immune system (Rushlow).

However, it is hard to conclude exactly whether personality affects one’s health, or if having a certain disease affects how one will act. This study has only been examined on only one group of people so far because longitudinal studies are time consuming. Until more research is done on the topic, conclusions cannot be accurately made.

Rushlow, Amy. “What Your Personality Reveals about Your Health.” Yahoo. N.p., 16 Oct. 2014. Web. 24

Oct. 2014. <https://www.yahoo.com/health/

what-your-personality-reveals-about-your-health-100138557702.html>.

https://www.yahoo.com/health/what-your-personality-reveals-about-your-health-100138557702.html

With a stunning new discovery, Bulgaria may have cracked the code to the outstanding problem of paralyzed people who are unable to move. Since the beginning of time, once a traumatic event occurred to an individual such as a paralyzing car crash or a sports injury to the spine, it was utterly hopeless for these patients to walk again. Such heartbreaking injuries may finally be less tragic with the breakthrough discovery in Belgian patient, Darek Fidyka. According to Geoffrey Raisman, who is a professor at the University College London’s institute of neurology, Dark Fidyka received a unique cell transplant that helped him walk again using a frame (Kelland).

Using cells the olfactory bulbs that are responsible for a sense of smell, scientists have built a nerve gap in the patient’s spine to repair the damaged nerves. In the case of the olfactory bulbs that are responsible for sense of smell, the olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs ) open so that the olfactory nerve fibroblasts (ONFs) nerve fibers are able to attach. The ONC open the reattachment in the olfactory bulb and the ONFs are able to reattach. In relation to the damaged spine, surgeons have removed the OECs and from the olfactory bulbs and transplanted them into the damaged area. If scientists transplant the OEC cells into the spinal cord, then they believe it could help open the attachment sites for nerve fibers to grow again and reattach to the spinal cord (Kelland).

The breakthrough discovery could be the future for paralyzed patients, in that they may be able to follow in Dark Fidyka’s footsteps and walk again with a frame. However astounding this discovery may be, the results are not completely dependent because this study has only been performed in one patient. Dark’s ability to walk again may be due to his motivation or other compounding variables that the study did not control for. Although this study seems promising, the implications of the results from this study cannot be fully accounted for until there are more studies performed.

Kelland, Kate. “Cell Transplant Helps Paralyzed Man Walk With Frame.” Yahoo. N.p., 21 Oct. 2014.

Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <https://www.yahoo.com/health/

cell-transplant-helps-paralyzed-man-walk-with-frame-100583947072.html>.

https://www.yahoo.com/health/cell-transplant-helps-paralyzed-man-walk-with-frame-100583947072.html

Advertising majors listen up! Could the placement of the music in advertisements affect sale rates? Could something as simple as playing the music in an ad slightly before the video really predict a viewer’s memory of the product? Recent research conducted by Andy Rogers from the University of Huddersfield shows this exact trend occurring. According to Rogers, when music in an advertisement was played just slightly before the video was played, viewers showed high responses of memory retention (Parker).

In a specific study that Rogers conducted, two commercials were shown to a group of people. The two different commercials that were played for the participants were a soft drink commercial and an advertisement for mineral water, and each commercial had two different versions. The first version of these commercials were the normal screenings of the commercials, but the second version was manipulated. The researchers manipulated the experiment so that they changed the music and video alignment in the second version of these commercials.

What they stunningly found was that people tended to remember more of the information in the commercial when the music was played slightly earlier than the visual imagery was shown. Even just playing the advertisement with a soundtrack a tenth of a second before the visual stimulus accounts for higher recollection of the ad (Parker). However, how can it be that people remember more when music is played before the visual aspects when one would think that the commercial would flow better when everything is in sync?

The reason for this supreme recollection is because when the music is played slightly before the video, the brain tries to anticipate what it going to occur next (Parker). However with all of this research how sure can we be with these conclusions? This study fails to account for other compounding variables that make recollection easier such as some material in commercials may have simpler information that others. In addition, the study fails to mention if this was a blind study. If it were not conducted as a blind study, then the participants might try harder on remembering the information in the commercial with the misplaced music because they knew that’s what the researchers were looking for.

Parker, Will. “Mis-synced Music Proves to Be a Powerful Enhancement for TV Ads.” Sci Gogo. McMurdo

Media Pty Ltd, 17 Oct. 2014. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <http://scienceagogo.com/news/

20140917042004.shtml>.

http://scienceagogo.com/news/20140917042004.shtml

Ever thought deeply about the strangeness of Halloween and why there’s a national holiday based around fear? Vanderbilt Psychiatry Professor, Dr. David H. Zald, and Pittsburgh sociologist, Dr. Margee Kerr set out to discover this answer. According to these two scientists, after much research on the topic, they discovered that the reason why humans love to be afraid so much is because of these five reasons. First of all, fear helps us remain in the moment and alert. This, in turn, helps us not to over think about the day-today problems and how much work we have to do for tomorrow (Cooper-White). Sometimes humans just need to live in the moment, instead of the countless responsibilities we always have to carry on our shoulders.

In addition, people love to scare themselves with horror movies so much because of the chemicals released to the brain when we know we’re safe (Cooper-White). Throughout the horror scene in the movie, once the scene is over we can finally relax and realize that we are out of harms way. However, one must put themselves through the agonizing pain of watching a creepy or blooding scene first in order to experience those feel-good chemicals such as serotonin, endorphins, dopamine, and adrenaline (Cooper-White).

Ever wondered why people love to contact the spirits with the Ouija board, or enter a haunted house on Halloween? It’s not because it’s a “fun” activity to do, but more because it produces feelings of confidence and accomplishment (Cooper-White). A great self-esteem booster is to test your boundaries with intense fear and make it through a scary experience.

Along with keeping us from worrying, making us feel safe, and feeling confident, fear has also been shown to make us feel closer to an individual if we experience a traumatic event together, such as watching a horror film. Scientists say that after experiencing a horrific event, such as going to a haunted house or using the Ouija board, many people will hug one another or high five because they feel more connected (Cooper-White). If you need to make a new friend, you can always invite them over to watch a scary movie and you’ll instantly form a bond.

Much like an alcohol or drug addiction, scary movies and the chemicals released when we scare ourselves have the same addictive factors. The feel good chemicals that are released from feeling safe from the “danger” in the movie produce a high similar to those addicted to a substance. We constantly want to seek that high again, making it a constant cycle of frightening ourselves, then feeling a sense of security and rush from the movie (Cooper-White).

Although some people may not understand why others constantly put themselves through the pain of watching a scary movie, others can take away some benefits from it.

Cooper-White, Macrina. “This Is Why We Love to Scare Ourselves Silly.” Huffington Post.

TheHuffingtonPost.com, 15 Oct. 2014. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/

10/15/science-of-fear-why-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/15/science-of-fear-why-we-love-to-scare-ourselves_n_5976266.html?utm_hp_ref=science

we-love-to-scare-ourselves_n_5976266.html?utm_hp_ref=science>.

With so much of the media and world attention on evil in the world, it is refreshing to find an article with a glimpse of hope. The fight against Malaria has been an ongoing and relentless one, yet with all the mosquito nets and supplies donated to help prevent Malaria, this 12-yeard-old may have finally cracked the code. In a science fair called the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, young scientist, David Cohen, invented a potential world-changing robot that drowns mosquitoes by using a pump-jet system. This pump-jet system uses a mesh to trap the mosquitoes underwater, and, therefore, drowning them (Couch).

In theory, David Cohen’s invention makes scientists around the world stop and think about an entirely new approach to Malaria. With this robot, Cohen is trying to eliminate the species of the mosquito entirely. Cohen’s goal is to prevent to mosquito from emerging from the larvae stage, thus causing the species to not exist entirely (Couch).  Although this would prevent the spread of Malaria to people because Mosquitoes are a high carrier of the disease, it also raises some compounding variables. First of all, if Cohen tries to eliminate the entire species of the mosquito that could cause problems for the development of the food chain. Killing off an entire species could cause major problems because then the predator of the mosquito has nothing to eat. Likewise, the mosquitoes pray would become overpopulated because there was no predator to control its size. In addition, this robot is probably very costly and Africa is already having trouble with getting enough nets to prevent their citizens from catching Malaria, let alone administering thousands of robots to kill the insect entirely. The Huffington Post article additionally addresses that this robot has yet to be tested whether it can effectively lower the rates of Malaria or West Nile virus in developing nations, but in theory this science fair robot is on the right track (Couch).

Couch, Robbie. “This 12-Year-Old Invented a Robot That Could Help End Malaria.” Huffington Post.  TheHuffintonPost.com, 13 Oct. 2014. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/ 10/13/david-cohen-robot-invention_n_5976982.html?cps=gravity>.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/13/david-cohen-robot-invention_n_5976982.html?cps=gravity

How is Ebola Actually Spread?

According to Edward Goodman who is currently an epidemiologist at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, he dismisses the long-speculated fears of Ebola spreading through the air. Unlike most diseases, you can’t catch the deadly disease of Ebola through the air, there has to be contact with a bodily fluid or the victim (Servick and Cohen).

According to a study entitled, “Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever Transmission and Risk Factors of Contacts”, conducted in 2000 through 2001, Ebola can be spread through contact of bodily fluids, but also by lesser-known ways of infection such as sharing a bed with an infected person and shaking hands (Francesconi et al.).In this study, researchers tried to find out how exactly Ebola is transmitted. Through this study, they interviewed 3 case-patients who had symptoms of Ebola. These patients were asked to tell the researchers the people who they suspected they had gotten the disease from. Then researchers asked the people who were referred to as transmitting the disease to identify who they probably got Ebola from, or their family members if the victim had already perished, This step was repeated until the researchers could no longer track back the disease. The patients were then asked about the contact they made with the infected individual. What was discovered was that contact with the infected bodily fluids was more prominent than just merely touching a bodily fluid. For example, out of 20 people interviewed, 75% made contact with the bodily fluids, 55% washed the infected person’s clothes, 90% had taken care of an ill person, 55% slept in the same house as the ill person, 30% shared meals, and 80% attended a funeral of an Ebola victim (Francesconi et al.). These statistics show that even just touching the same object as an Ebola-ridden individual; the disease could be just as easily spread as through vomit.

In addition to these seemingly harmless acts, a majority of the transmission of Ebola is occurring during funerals for victims of this disease. This is because it is ritual for people at funerals to touch the body of the dead person, wash their hands together, an eat meals together (Servick and Cohen). Unless people are more educated about this fatal disease, outbreaks are going to continuously occur because of the lack of knowledge of transmission.

Francesconi, Pablo, et al. Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever Transmission and Risk Factors of Contacts. N.p.:

n.p., 2003. Print.

Servick, Kelly, and Jon Cohen. “How Does Ebola Spread? Hard Facts from Key Studies.” Science

Insider. AAAS, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <http://news.sciencemag.org/africa/2014/10/

how-does-ebola-spread-hard-facts-key-studies?intcmp=collection-ebola>.

When it comes to money and material items, I have always found that I’m happier being with the people I love and experiencing events first on, rather than buying the latest pair of designer shoes. However, as I grew up in a wealthy suburban town, many of my classmates were very materialistic, that they failed to appreciate the beauty and happiness that many experiences bring.

Contrary to the decades-old theory that money can’t buy happiness; recent data suggests just the opposite (Singh). Think about it; there’s nothing quite like experiencing a mind-blowing concert, that breathtaking trip to Italy, or even a good time walking with your friends. These experiences are what people are going to remember most when they reflect back on their lives, not that flat screen TV you bought once. The study Waiting for Merlot: Anticipatory Consumption of Experiential and Material Purchases, which was published in Psychological Science, followed 100 college students and 2200 adults about their feelings about material purchases and experience purchases. They found that these college students and adults felt happier with their experience-related purchases over their material purchases. In addition, researchers found that the participants felt more anxiety and impatience with their material purchases (Singh).

A doctoral student of psychology at Cornell, Amit Kumar, explains this phenomenon with the concept that when consumer buy a product such as a flat screen TV or a new car, they know exactly what they are getting out of the product because they have researched what they want to buy. However, in talking about buying experiences, consumers start anticipating and envisioning what the experience is going to be like. This contributes to their happiness outcome because they don’t know what the experience they purchased is actually going to be like, so they are surprised every time (Singh). This evidence shows that although the sheer presence of money cannot buy happiness, nor can materialistic objects, using that money for experiences such as concerts and traveling does bring happiness.

Singh, Maanvi. “You Can Buy Happiness, If It’s an Experience.” NPR. N.p., 3 Sept. 2014. Web. 18

Sept. 2014. <http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/09/03/345540607/

look-forward-to-the-trip-not-the-gadgets-to-be-truly-happy>.

The answer to this startling question is an absolute yes. Tetrachromats, people who have a sort of “sixth sense” can see an array of various bright colors in even the dullest of things (Robson). People with this rare condition see the world in a very different way than the rest of the world would. For example, when we look at a seemingly gray sidewalk, we only see the dullness of the color gray. However, a Tetrachromat may see a plethora of brilliant oranges, pinks, greens, and reds bouncing off the sidewalk. Concetta Antico, an artist with Tetrachromacy, is on a mission. She is trying to help the world see through her eyes, one painting at a time. More specifically, Concetta Antico uses her condition of Tetrachromacy to show people how she views the world, in a world of new colors (Robson).

Cone cells in our retinas allow humans to see a variety of different colors.

The X chromosome inhibits a certain gene that is responsible for our red and green cone cells in our retina. In these red and green cone cells in the X chromosome, the gene for Tetrachromacy has a higher possibly. However, researchers speculate this condition of Tetrachromacy to be more prevalent in women. Since women have two X chromosomes, they have a higher change of getting this rare disorder (Robson).

Although a lot of this evidence is anecdotal because only the women who are Tetrachromats can see this extra world of colors, researchers have great reason to believe that the colors they are seeing are, in fact, very much real. One reason is because of the gene for Tetrachromacy in the X chromosome. The other is because many women have reported disagreeing with others about the colors in the world for their whole life (Robson). Although most of the human population, except a select handful of women, cannot see the world in this new light as can the Tetrachromats.

Robson, David. “The Women with Superhuman Vision.” BBC. BCC, n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

<http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140905-the-women-with-super-human-vision>.

Personally, my own family is affected with the tragedy of Parkinson’s disease, as my uncle suffers from this disease, although it is in an early stage. However, as we all know there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, just drugs that can slow down the development of this disease, much like HIV. Parkinson’s is a scary disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain, causing the patient to experience shaky hands, difficulty walking, bad posture, and decreased energy. My uncle has been diagnosed with this illness for a few years now, and, since the drugs are slowing the process of the development of the disease, he only experiences slight symptoms so far, such as shaky hands and decreased energy.

Although this disease is incurable, recent studies by researcher Oliver Sacks have discovered that the influence of music can positively encourage movement in Parkinson’s patients with severe progression of the disease. Sacks has observed in patients with severe cases of Parkinson’s who are completely unable to move, talk, and even think, once music is played, they are amazingly able to act almost normal again. The presence of music, any type of music with a good beat, allows these patients to dance, move, think, sing and talk again (Sacks). However, readers may be wondering how this can be?

Scientists have found that there are strong connections between the parts of the brain that allow movement and the listening parts of the brain. This allows us the move to the beat of a song (Sacks). These studies conducted using the simple act of playing music to Parkinson’s patients could be a great step forward in discovering the cure after all. Although drugs can slow down the disease greatly, this discovery of the effect of music in severely ill Parkinson’s patients could restore life back into them with the simple press of a button.

Sacks, Oliver. “Music and the Brain: Parkinsonsism and Music’s Ability to Heal.” PBS. WNET, n.d.

Web. 18 Sept. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/musicinstinct/video/music-and-the-brain/

parkinsonsism-and-musics-ability-to-heal/51/>.

“Parkinson’s Disease Health Center.” WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. <http://www.webmd.com/

parkinsons-disease/default.htm>.

Ever noticed how that boring English class drags on? Or when you’re with your friends you always wish you had more time? This sense in time perception is heavily credited to how our brains perceive time, and this article is discussing just that. Psychologist John Wearden from the University of Keele has been studying this concept of time in human brain by examining the Scalar Expectancy Theory. In this theory, humans are said to have an internal clock, which lets you estimate time. (Kraft). For example, if you watch a 10 second YouTube video, you will be able to easily tell that it is much shorter than a 2 minute music video.

Readers may be wondering how our brains are intelligent enough to keep track of time, estimate time, and speculate how long something will take. This evolutionary skill is due to the fact that our brains depend highly on patterns. Professor Dean Buonomano of UCLA discovered that our brains take in lots of sensory information, decipher the information, and then transform it to patterns that our brain can use (Kraft).

According to Buonomano, once our brain takes in all the sensory information, our brain cells make unique reactions then work diligently to leave marks of time, which let the brain interpret time (Kraft). This article makes us wonder a little more deeply every time we experience something or a certain amount of time. Or the next time we have to estimate how much time we will need in the morning for work. The brain is a complex organ in our body, and further understanding the brain to the best of our ability is the only way to move forward as a human race.

Kraft, Amy. “Unlocking the Mystery of How Your Brain Keeps Time.” The Week. Week, n.d. Web. 18 Sept.

2014. <http://theweek.com/article/index/261814/

unlocking-the-mystery-of-how-your-brain-keeps-time>.

As long as I can remember, I have always been a die-hard morning person. I cannot run very effectively on less than 7 hours of sleep, versus my night-owl friends in high school. I had this one friend throughout high school who would constantly run on no more than 2 hours of sleep, because she spent most of the night working on homework and studying. However, I had always wondered if this tactic was effective for intelligence, or just a complete waste of time. A study in, “The Week” discovered that, contrary to my previous belief, night people have higher IQ’s than morning people. However, the morning type tends to have a more hardworking personality trait (The Week Staff).

Logically, this seems to disprove the idea that procrastination and cramming for tests is the wrong way to study for tests. My parents had always taught me that in order to achieve good grades, I couldn’t leave all my studying for the night before. I had been brought up on the belief that if I don’t get enough sleep; I won’t perform effectively on any test. In this article, zoologist Robert Alison in the Winnipeg Free Press then goes on to announce that morning people tend to have lower IQ’s (The Week Staff). You might be wondering how this study can be true if morning people are well rested and able to concentrate efficiently? According to scientists from the London School of Economics, more intelligent humans initially started staying up later to get more work done. These people with higher IQ’s adapted to being more productive in their work by staying up all night to achieve their goal (The Week Staff).

Maybe the early bird doesn’t get the worm after all. Although in a 2008 study by Psychologist Marina Giamnietro, evidence showed that night owls tended to be more emotionally unstable, encounter more problems with eating disorders and addictions, and is less reliable than morning people. Yet, they still hold the fact that night owls have higher IQ’s than morning people (The Week Staff). This evidence begs the question that should have start staying up all night in order to become more intelligent?

The Week Staff. “Night Owls vs Morning People: Who’s Smarter.” The Week. Week, n.d. Web. 18 Sept.

2014. <http://theweek.com/article/index/209165/

night-owls-vs-morning-people-whos-smarter>.

My name is Julia Levine and I’m from Westfield, NJ. I’m undecided right now but I’m thinking about majoring in Human Development and Family Studies or Communication Sciences and Disorders. I took this course because I need to fulfill a science requirement and nothing else looked interesting. This course appealed to me because it was specifically designed for non-science students. Also this class actually looked interesting because you discuss interesting topics such as if aliens exist or not. I am not a science major because I think the formulas or topics in standard science classes such as biology, chemistry and physics are boring. I also don’t understand most of the material I learned throughout high school science, I just memorized it for tests.