90% of the population on earth is right handed. I happen to fall in the 10% that makes up the lefties. Being honest, being left handed is pretty cool. It makes you feel unique and different and  I always have a fun fact I know I can rely on. However, all I want to know is why am I left handed. Why was I born a lefty rather than anyone else. Are there certain characteristics or traits that I posses that meant I had what it took and what was needed?

It seems, that according to scientists, the answer may be evolution. Scientists are aware that the hand one writes with is a trait that is passed down from family member to family member. However, they have been unable to locate which trait in the genome sequence has such an affect.

On the other hand, it is clear that just because it is passed on through family members does not necessarily mean it is hereditary. Many twins who share almost the exact same DNA write with different hands.

Some scientists attribute hand dominance to a need for cooperation. Most things in the world are created to favor right handed individuals. (Trust me, cutting with righty scissors is quite the challenge). Therefore, to adapt to the surroundings around us, humans are more likely to be righties. To be honest, being a lefty becomes a sort of risk. On average, lefties die 7 years earlier than righties due to accidents from righty favored machinery. Click here to read more. 

Another theory is that lefties are not as biased to a dominance of the left side of the brain. The human brain is contralateral. That means that the left side of the brain controls what the right side does and the right side of the brain controls what the left side does. Since the left side of our brain is used to process language, it makes sense that the side used to produce speech also controls the hand used to write language. There are even experiments that show that lefties tend to use both sides of their brain more evenly than righties. This theory also complies with the idea that most individuals would use the hand that correlates with the side of the brain related to speech and language. Therefore, it is possible that lefties don’t inherit the hand they are dominant in, but rather, they inherit the side of the brain they are dominant in.

So personally, I find it cool to think I do things differently than 90% of the population and that I might even be using an opposite side of my brain. Whatever the reason is, I’m happy I’m a lefty.

At this age, facial hair is becoming very prevalent. Some of my friends can grow a full bear in under 3 days. To me, it’s a little off putting and thats why I will never complain that I have no more facial hair than tiny bit of blonde peach fuzz. However, it is interesting to me how one chromosome can influence such extreme differences in males and females.

Scientists state that men have facial hair for a very specific reason. For both boys and girls, it starts in the section of the brain called the hypothalamus. What this part of the brain does is sends signals to a gland known as the pituitary gland. The job of the pituitary gland is to send signals that start up the ovaries in girls and testes in guys. As we have all learned in health class, the ovaries help to produce the hormone called estrogen. On the other hand, the testes help to produce the hormone called testosterone. These are the hormones that help kick our bodies into puberty. Testosterone makes the boys more manly while estrogen makes the girls more feminine. It is clear that it is the large amounts of testosterone in the boy’s bodies that will lead to the formation of facial hair. Because girls have more estrogen than testosterone, they do not develop facial hair as estrogen does not make our bodies do that. Interestingly enough, however, testosterone in males is also what leads to balding in the later years of a man’s life.

However, other scientists don’t like to just stop here. Other scientists counter this question with another question; why do men have beards in the first place?  Maybe it is to protect the men from the cold or the wind. But a flaw with that would be that women go outside too. Why don’t we need beards? Can women handle the cold better than men if beards are not necessary for us to survive? Or maybe, like in other species, it is to attract the opposite gender. Major differences in feathers in male birds and female birds help them attract each other. So maybe the major different in facial hair is to attract a mate. However, these are questions that have not yet been answered and will continue to be researched until there is a clear answer. To read more, click here.

So, whatever the reason behind it is, I am happy that females do not need beards. I have a hard time imagining me and some of my best girl friends with facial hair like some of the boys we’re friends with. The boys can keep the testosterone.

http://www.understanding-life.org/ask-a-physiologist/why-do-men-have-beards-women-do-not-lewis-age-11-why-do-we-have-armpit-hair-chris

Everyone knows that when people leave fingerprints at the scene of a crime, it is almost certain the police will be able to track down the culprit. Each individual has a specific fingerprint that is completely his/her own. Even twins have different fingerprints. Therefore, when someone leaves a fingerprint, it is so easy to identify whose it was. No one in the world will have a matching fingerprint. It belongs to just one person.

However, it is clear that fingerprints were not created so that we could easily identify criminals at the crime scenes. So, why were they invented?

Some scientists believe that fingerprints were developed to help us feel the subtle things in life. Like peach fuzz on someones face or the rough surface of sandpaper. The sense of touch in our finger prints is from the skin vibrations as the ridges and crevices of our fingers slide past an object.

In 2009, a team of French researchers created an experiment that attempted to study how much of an effect our fingerprints have on our sense of touch. The scientists found that the ridges in our fingertips create a vibrancy on the surface as we brush our fingers by. The vibrations are then registered and noticed by nerve endings called Pacinian corpuscles. To read more about these, click here. From the Pacinian corpuscles, the information is passed on to sensory neurons and eventually the brain.

Other scientists believed that fingerprints were important because they allow us to grip things. The ridges in our finger prints help to create more friction between what we want to pick up and our fingers. Some scientists believed that without fingerprints it would become very difficult to grip objects and that they might even slip out from our fingers. However, a recent study has proved this theory wrong.

In a study that was published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, a team of scientists evaluated the rate of friction between our skin and any entity. However, they only found that it was a low amount. Also, they discovered that smooth skin had 33% more contact with glass than the fingerprints did. It seems that the ridges in the fingerprints prevented some of their fingers from coming into contact with the glass and therefore reduced the grip rather than improve it.

So, yeah, if you want to commit a crime without getting caught, it would definitely be beneficial to burn your finger prints off. However, if you want to be able to sense and feel the small details of our surroundings, scientists suggest that it may be smarter if we keep our fingerprints.

http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/parts/why-do-we-have-fingerprints1.htm

Do you ever think, “Oh yeah, I remember that. It happened when I was a baby, right?” Well, chances are you don’t actually remember it. Chances are what you remember is what your parents told you and you created the memory for yourself. Truth is, humans don’t remember their infant years. But why not?

Some scientists believe that this “childhood amnesia” is caused because our brains were too underdeveloped. As babies, some scientists believe that it is certainly possible to form some sorts of memories because the hippocampus and medial temporal lobe, two important areas of the brain used to form memories, are pretty well developed by the time we are one. but, our prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that assists in helping us store personal memories isn’t fully developed until early adulthood. Therefore, without the prefrontal cortex, it is impossible to commit things to memory. To read more click here.

Other scientists attribute this memory loss to the fact that our language is hardly developed. They argue that without language, we were not able to rehearse the memories and bring them back. Some even argue that because we did not know language, we were unable to store our memories properly. For example, when you first went to school, you were not surrounded by books or teachers or pencils because you didn’t know the words for those things existed. Therefore, you categorized the memory completely differently than you were to do so now.

Lastly, other scientist believe that we don’t have trouble storing the memories at all. These scientists argue that the problem lies within the drastic change in perspective. It is obvious that when we are little we certainly see the world very differently than how we see it now. Everything was foreign, we still didn’t have names for things, and everything just seemed too big for our use. It is possible that when we were babies, everything was so different that when we stored the memory, we have no cues to help retrieve it. Now, when you pass a shop on the street, you can remember that you have been there. But as an infant, the shop probably looked twice as big and twice as foreign. Therefore, you would not have the same retrieval cues because you see everything differently.

Most, if not all, of these explanations make complete sense. However, while I believe they all work together in some way to help block our memories, I think that our lack of language is the biggest contributing factor. Personally, it makes more sense to me because if I don’t know what something is, how can I store it in my memory? If I don’t know that what I’m looking at as a baby is a lamp, then I won’t be able to retrieve that memory when I’m older and am looking at the same lamp. In a sense, it like the lamp is two different objects; one is a lamp, and the other is an unknown object. It would be great to one day remember what I was doing at 3 months old and what I was thinking but until then, I guess i’ll just keep asking my parents.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/12330/why-cant-you-remember-being-baby

What makes you, you? Was it the traits that were passed down to you from your parents? The genes you inherited from them? Or was it the environment you grew up in? Maybe, it was both.

For years, psychologists have trifled with the concept of nature verses nurture. These two views of human development emphasize the importance of the effects of environment and heredity on behavior. The concept of nature deals primarily with how an environment affects behavioral patterns. On the other hand, the concept of nurture is more scientific and states that all behavior is predetermined and stems from genetics.

It is evident that many people think that one’s genes (their nature) have more affect on their behavior than any other factor. For example, two twins that were separated at birth had scary similar lives. Both were named James, both were good at math and bad at spelling and both even had a childhood dog named Toy.

However, there have been studies that show that an environment (one’s nurture) can play a key role in the outcome of a child as well. If a child was raised in a hostile environment, it is likely that they may have picked up on some of the negative habits they saw on a day-to-day basis and vice versa.

Both John Lock and Francis Galton held theories that correspond with the nature and nurture aspects of human development. John Locke’s beliefs were very similar to the stance of psychologists who believe nurture is key. For example, a scientist, Gianoutsos, states, “John Locke, in ‘An Essay Concerning Human Understanding’, defends the fundamental belief that humans are born without innate ideas, and thus must derive their knowledge entirely from ‘external, sensible Objects’” (Gianoutsos). John Locke believed that behaviors are externally learned. He noted that when a child is born, it is born with a clean slate and everything learned is accumulated through experience. This idea became known as Tabula Rasa. To read more click here

On the other hand, Francis Galton’s stance was similar to the viewpoints of those who believed heredity was more important. For example, a scientist, McLeod wrote, “Galton (himself a relative of Charles Darwin) was convinced that intellectual ability was largely inherited and that the tendency for ‘genius’ to run in families was the outcome of a natural superiority” (McLeod). This is similar to genes being passed from one generation to the next. It is evident that many scientists like Galton believe that the ability to be extremely intelligent is already predetermined due to ones genes. This relates directly to the nature aspect of human development as it states that the most important influence on behavior is genetics.

Personally, I believe one’s personality can be largely attributed to both nature and nurture. It would be stupid of me to say that I am who I am today solely because of the genes my parents passed down to me and not because of the way they raised me. In contrast, I would never be able to say that my parent’s genes had no affect on my personal growth. I believe that without the two working together, I would be an entirely different person.

http://www.baylor.edu/Pulse/index.php?id=42091

Nature vs. Nurture Debate In Psychology

http://psychology.about.com/od/nindex/g/nature-nurture.htm

While you may joke around with your friends and tell them they’re out of this world or maybe even a completely different species, it is clear that, in reality, we are all humans. However, have you ever wondered what makes us human? What differs us from all other species on this planet?

While many people are probably thinking, “It’s our DNA! Our DNA makes us human,” that’s not really the case at all. Our human DNA is 99% identical to a chimp’s DNA and, to make things a little weirder, 50% identical to a banana’s. However, does that make us 50% banana or 99% chimpanzee?

One scientist and experimenter, Suddendorf, focused very heavily on young children and primates to try and understand the difference in mental evolution and development between the two. After much research, Suddendorf finally came to his own solid conclusion as to what makes us human. According to Suddendorf, what makes us human is “Our open-ended ability to imagine and reflect on different situations, and our deep-seated drive to link our scenario-building minds together.” Suddendorf believes that humans, unlike other species, are able to use our imagination and think beyond our reality. To read more about his study, click here.

Two other scientists, Matt Cartmill and Kaye Brown, argue that our ability to understand the motivations of those around us makes us human. They argue that humans can empathize and can relate to other humans. Animals, on the other hand, are focused on bettering themselves and can not feel another animal’s pain. No chimpanzee will ever share its food because it sees that its “friend” is hungry. Humans can relate and can understand the intentions and motivations of those around them.

Being quite frank, there is no way to argue that humans are different than other animals. It is also quite true that we are different because of the way we stand, interact, the size of our brains and all the other physical features that help to distinguish us. it is clear that one can not argue these facts. However, unlike Suddendorf and other scientists, I find it hard to believe that animals do not have the ability to imagine or reflect. There are new discoveries everyday and while maybe it has been proven that they don’t have the part of the brain necessary to imagine or they don’t have the mental capacity, I still believe that maybe we’re missing something. I am not trying to argue with science. I just believe that the world surprises us everyday and that we can’t be sure about anything. Anyway, whatever the reason is, I am thankful everyday for that 50% of my genome sequence that sets me aside from a banana.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-suddendorf/what-makes-us-human_b_4414357.html

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/sep/01/20-big-questions-in-science

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1002/evan.21328/asset/21328_ftp.pdf;jsessionid=9FCE7367CE84E35528F258A625A81612.f02t04?v=1&t=i1l5ojb0&s=efaf7128529288ee1aedcd369560cf4685e847d6

Many people love the way dimples look on boys and girls. Many people even try to create dimples for themselves because they believe they’ll look better with them. Personally, I only have one dimple. I appreciate it because it makes me unique but to be honest, I don’t really know why dimples exist or why I only have one. Is it a bad thing? Is it common? Are two better than one? Lets find out.

Studies show that dimples are the cause of a weakened muscle. You may be thinking, “if the muscle is messed up, then why are the dimples only visible when someone is talking or smiling?” This is because when a person with dimples is straight faced, they are not using any type of muscle. However, the second they start speaking and moving their mouth, the muscle begins to get used and the weakness is suddenly present.

As we get older and the muscles on our face get stretched out. As we age, the dimples sometimes seem to disappear even if they were heavily present when we were younger. This is why so many people associate dimples with youth.

Many sources say that having one dimple is a rare phenomenon which makes me feel like it’s pretty cool that I only have one. Some people get surgery to create dimples while others just use makeup to help mimic the idea. Either way, I like my one dimple and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Click here to read more. 

http://www.wisegeek.org/what-are-dimples.htm

http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Dimples-Naturally

Pop rocks have been a go-to candy of mine ever since I was a little girl. When I was in Israel this past May, I discovered pop rocks chocolate. It didn’t taste like the sweet pop rocks we’re used to, but rather regular chocolate that pops in your mouth. It’s incredible. However, I never thought about the chemistry behind this yummy candy I would eat every day. How is it popping? How is this safe?

Well, if you want the full and extended scientific version you can click here. This is the patent that Pop Rocks has and it has a full and in detail description of the processes. However, if you just want the basic information, read on. (Not such a fan of science so I try and stay away from the complicated processes) Anyway, most hard candy is made up of sugar and water as you would expect. The ingredients get boiled until all the water clears out. Eventually, the temperature will rise so high that all you have left is a pure sugar substance that when cooled will make a solid candy.

However, when it comes to pop rocks, the chemists or whoever is making the candy must mix in carbon dioxide into the syrup while it is still hot. The syrup contains mini spheres of carbon dioxide. When the candy cools, it pops and cracks into little pieces due to the release in pressure. However, the little bubbles are still left intact.

The popping noises are all coming from the carbon dioxide bubbles that are left in the candy! However, now that I know that I am ingesting candy and carbon dioxide, it makes me wonder if it is healthy for me. I understand that carbon dioxide is in the air we breathe, but, I also know that too much of it is bad for you. I guess you would need to consume a lot of pop rocks to be affected by the carbon dioxide but it just makes me wonder. Will this have a negative affect on my body in the long run? Will scientists even notice it if it will?

http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/science-questions/question114.htm

Everyone loves to take a nice bath every now and then. However, what I don’t love, is how my fingers suddenly age 60+ years when I stay in the water for too long. Obviously, I know my fingers are not disintegrating from soaking in the water for too long but it never occurred to me to even look up what the real cause was. I guess I accept a lot of stuff without ever asking why. Seems like this class is helping me address all of the things I just accepted to be true.

Scientists have decided that our fingers prune because it allows us to grip things better. Our body understands that when our hands are wet, it becomes harder to hold on to something seeing as everything becomes slippery. Therefore, we have adapted to pruney finger and toes.

Another theory is that the epidermis is made up of the protein keratin. Most of the dead keratin cells are great at absorbing water. The cells absorb the water and swell to a larger size. However, since the cells get bigger but are still confined to the same surface area, they get all shriveled up. To be honest though, this explanation seems a lot more complicated than the first one. The way we were taught causes me to believe that the more complicated answer is the right answer even though they might both be contributing factors.

You might be asking, “why only our hands and feet?” Well, in terms of the first explanation, it is clear. The rest of our body simply doesn’t need to grip anything. Our feet grip the floor to prevent us from falling while our hands grip what we’re holding to make sure that we don’t drop anything. Now, in terms of the second explanation, it gets a little more complicated. It is clear that we use our hands and feet the most. And, have you ever poked yourself in the palm with a needle? It does’t hurt as badly as it does on your arm. This is because our epidermis is much thicker in our hands and feet. This means more keratin cells which, in turn, means more dead keratin cells. With more keratin cells, it is easier to see the effects of cell expansion.

To read more click here. 

I hope I satisfied some of the curiosities my classmates had. Next time your fingers prune up it’ll be up to you to decide which reason you believe to be true. 

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-our-fingers-and-toes-wrinkle-during-a-bath/

http://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/information/anatomy/skin-wrinkly-in-water.htm

While you certainly won’t have to say goodbye to your redheaded friends at school, at one point studies showed that gingers may become extinct in the following decades to come. You may be thinking, “Who will be the new scapegoat for the ones who have ‘no soul’?” However, I am here to tell you that THIS IS NOT TRUE! Rumors have convoluted and clogged up our minds making us believe that we will soon have to say goodbye to the fiery hair even though we do not!

The rumors started when scientists at the “Oxford Hair Foundation” let out a false rumor that our ginger friends would not make it past the year 2107. The rumor started with the idea that recessive genes could eventually die out. To me, this makes sense. When I was younger I thought that being a red head skipped a generation. I always assumed that if a ginger were to marry a brunette, the brunette would take over and the ginger would be lost. It seems that I was wrong, however. Scientists state that a recessive gene will never die out unless all of the people carrying that gene die out before they reproduce.

Another ridiculous claim was that as the climate gets warmer, gingers and their pale skin will not be able to adapt and will die out. This is complete nonsense. Even if it did get too hot outside, there are plenty of people who are just as pale and do not have red hair. I suppose that their brown hair will protect them from evaporating into thin air? This article helps to explain how warmer climate will not be the root of a massive extinction of red heads everywhere.

While I may have been rather sassy, it has come to my attention that genetic companies often use this as a stunt to attract more attention. I certainly do not want any of my ginger friends to go extinct and I’m happy to help debunk the idea that they will soon be no more. Recessive genes do not just go away and therefore neither will gingers.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/genetic/redhead-extinction.htm

http://www.buzzfeed.com/tomphillips/gingergeddon-is-cancelled#2z5h8tl

At this stage in our lives, I think it is safe to say that we all know that yawning is contagious. However, like most of the students my age, I had never bothered to research why. Quite honestly, I never even questioned it. I was told that yawning was contagious and I simply left it at that. Who actually cares why, right? Well, I decided that at this moment, tonight, for this specific blog, I care.

I did some research and found that some scientists believe that yawning is a sign of empathy and even social involvement. I further learned that children don’t begin to “catch” yawns until they begin socializing, which is usually at around age 4. Immediately, this made sense to me seeing as children under 4 years of age often enjoy playing by themselves rather than with others. Studies even show that children with autism are half as likely to “catch” yawns and in severe cases, some children with autism never do.

Molly Helt, a graduate student in clinical psychology at the University of Connecticut conducted a study on this topic with her very own son who suffers from autism. They were on the airplane and she could tell he was feeling discomfort. In an effort to get him to clear his ears, she yawned at him multiple times. She hoped that he would catch the yawn and do it back however, he never did. To read more about her study click here. 

Other scientists believe that contagious yawning is due to a phenomenon called Non-conscious Mimicry. This has been nicknamed the chameleon effect because of one’s tendency to mimic what is around them. Therefore, if someone sees another person yawn, they suddenly have an urge to yawn themselves. Often, this is unintentional and subconscious. Scientists believe this is caused by a group of neurons called mirror neurons. When we see someone yawn, the area of the brain where these mirror neurons are located gets fired up and causes us to repeat that action. It is almost like our subconscious wants to do all that it can to fit in.

Here is another theory as to why yawning can be contagious:

While I may not have thought about why we yawn before, and I may not think about it ever again, I enjoyed researching and blogging about it. It is clear to me that contagious yawning is something I should have looked into years ago. Whether we catch yawns because our mirror neurons tell us to, because it is a form of social empathy, or even because we need more oxygen, it is clear to me that there are multiple factors involved. In my opinion, I think that catching yawns is caused a little bit by all three. However, there are parts that do not make sense to me. For example, a child with autism might not be able to catch yawns because of a variable z rather than his/her inability to socialize. I have worked with many children with autism and as sad as it is, many of them are able to socialize and have feelings and empathy toward those they spend time with. Also, I think it is quite stupid that our bodies yawn to get more oxygen and subsequently create less oxygen in the air causing us to yawn again and again and again following a positive feedback loop. However, I wouldn’t be surprised or offended if you yawned while reading because even reading about yawning can trigger an effect.

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-is-yawning-contagious-claudia-aguirre

http://news.discovery.com/human/health/yawning-social-behavior.htm

Hi my name is Leona Kogan and I am from Marlboro, New Jersey. I am taking this course because I enjoy listening to Andrew speak and because I really do not like real science. Taking biology, Environmental Science or Chemistry would be torture for me. Therefore, this course seemed like the best option for me to fulfill my course requirements. I do not want to be a science major because as I have stated, science is one of my least favorite subjects. I have never been taught a science course by a competent or interesting science teacher and, honestly, they all ruined it for me. This is a picture of my dog, Toby. He is the best.

To learn more about Wheaten Terriers, click here.

Thanks for reading!

-Leona