Driving is a typical every day task that as college students most of us have experienced. Although as college students we may not experience as much driving in State College, Google’s new invention aims to potentially eliminate the act of driving around the world. There have been many discussions regarding driving such as driving safety and global warming from gas. These topics have been heavily discussed, but having cars that don’t require a driver is a new topic that Google has come up with. Google has created a self-driving car to revolutionize methods of transportation.

Earlier this week Google received a patent for its self-driving car. This car aims to use technology to increase safety and communication between the car and pedestrians. For example, the car would display a flashing stop sign when a pedestrian should not cross the road and a sign on the bumper would flash to signal that it is safe for the pedestrian to cross the road.

Google claims that these self-driving cars allow passengers to do what they want to do while traveling and these cars can prevent more accidents from happening. According to Google these cars have, “sensors designed to detect objects as far as two football field away in all directions.” These sensors can detect things like bikes, pedestrians, other vehicles, and even things like bags floating through the air. This technology is meant to promote safety and avoid the driver from becoming distracted or tired since the car does everything for the person that would normally be the driver.

The car detects where you are such as where it is in the world, what street it’s on, and what lane it’s in. The car can also detect what is around you such as the size and shape of the object and classifies it such as a pedestrian. Additionally the car can detect what will happen next. For example the car can predict where a cyclist is going to move in the street and whether or not a pedestrian is going to cross. Finally this car is able to determine what to do next. The technology in this car will then chose a safe speed and position in the road in response to what is around it.

As for my thoughts on this new technology, I definitely have mixed feelings. I really appreciate and commend the thought and innovation behind this new car. I can really appreciate all of the things that this car is capable of such as what it can detect and how it responds to other objects. Although the technology behind this car is extremely interesting I don’t know how successful this product will be. Humans love being in control, and this invention takes control away from people that is typically apparent in their daily lives. I love that this self-driving car aims to prevent accidents but it’s difficult to say whether this is an absolute effect of this car. I definitely feel that more studies need to be done on this car for me to believe if its accident prevention and other claims are reliable or not.

You might look at my title and be a little confused. Now, don’t take this the wrong way; geckos aren’t taking over the world or anything. On the other hand, geckos do have more of an influence on our lives than we may notice. To most of us geckos are just amphibians in the wild that don’t really hold much significance in our daily lives. This way of thinking is extremely understandable, but it turns out that geckos have come to inspire new technology that is useful in day to day matters.

Gecko’s feet in particular are what have been inspiring new and advanced technology. Personally I had never given much thought to the science behind gecko feet. Interestingly enough after some research I found that gecko feet have some really interesting technology. behind them that is really useful to science. Gecko feet allow them to scale vertical walls and hang out upside down and geckos have the power to basically turn the stickiness of their feet on and off. Gecko bulbous toes are covered in hundreds of tiny microscopic hairs call setae. These setae then proceed to split into hundreds of even smaller hairs called spatulae. These hairs become so close to the contours in surfaces that something called the van der Waals force takes place. This is when electrons from a gecko’s hair molecules and the electrons from the wall molecules create what is called an, “electromagnetic attraction.”

To study how gecko feet work research and science need to take place. One way that one could study how gecko feet work is through naturalistic observation. By looking at how a gecko can use its feet to climb and hang in its natural environment, a lot can be studied through naturalistic observation. Additionally, looking at gecko feet in a lab would be very useful. It would be very inhumane to kill a gecko just to look at its feet, so using an already deceased gecko would suffice to conduct adequate research.

Studying these feet and conducting research has led to the development of many new products, but I chose one that I found especially intriguing. New strapless bras that use “GeckTech” by Kellie K Apparel use the science behind gecko feet to revolutionize the strapless bra. These super-adhesive bras use technology inspired by gecko feet to avoid the constant hassle of having to pull up a bra because it won’t stay up. I think this new technology is genius. The hassle of constantly having to pull a strapless bra up because it can’t adhere to the body is definitely an annoying issue and this new technology is extremely smart and innovative as a solution to this common problem among women.

Gecko feet seem to have a legitimate impact on science and technology and I think it’s great that natural resources such as amphibians can be useful for things other than just understanding things like evolution and the food chain. A gecko can carry more information than we have ever considered in relation to science and technology. Who knows that else is out there to provide more innovative technological advancements.

Around the world winter is inevitable. Some places experience winter in different ways. For instance, California’s winter is nothing like Michigan’s winter. Here in State College we definitely experience the full effects of winter. Never have I ever thought that maybe men and women react differently to this chilly period of time, but research has shown signs that men and women react differently to the winter in terms of their mood and body resistance to the cold.

Research has shown that women feel the cold more than men but on the other hand they’re able to conserve body heat better than men. Associate Professor Nigel Taylor explains that men and women have different reactions to cold due to, “the way we lay down subcutaneous fat [the layer of fat below the skin].” Apparently and average woman posses a more even distribution of this fat right below the skin surface but this distribution is thinner for guys. When a woman reduces blood flow to the skin the skin’s temperature drops when the blood is moved to the level of fat but a man won’t experience such extreme change because their layer of fat does not have the same distribution. This is why is why skin temperature is typically cooler for women than for men.

I think that this evidence makes a lot of sense. Although this source doesn’t provide a specific study I think the discussion of this evidence makes a lot of sense. To make these findings more reliable and credible a study should be done. An example of a study to test this explanation would be to expose men and women to various temperatures and see measure how their body temperatures fluctuate in each environment and compare between temperatures and look at the fat layer under their skin in each situation. I think a study like this would be a great way to test this theory and give it more reliability.

Another difference between men and women in the winter is the way short winter days trigger aggression hormones differently between the two genders. The findings regarding this topic show that, “melatonin acts directly on the adrenal glands in females to trigger a ‘seasonal aggression switch’ from hormones in the gonads to hormones in the adrenal glands-a major contrast to how this mechanism works in males.”

I think that this findings is interesting but I don’t know how much I trust it. I think there could be a correlation between the shorter winters days and increased aggression in women, but there’s a high chance that this could also incorporate many different other variables. For example some of these other variables may be what’s on their mind at the time, if they have a mood disorder, possibly their menstrual cycle, and others. I think this theory could explain a lot but I don’t know if it can be tested without any confounding variables since the human mind and hormones are so complex.

Let’s just start off by saying how much I love food, so naturally I automatically enjoy this topic. Typically we’re supposed to eat three meals a day although some of us distort that commonality and create our own meals and eating schedules. But, no one really likes eating alone. Personally I enjoy eating my meals with others. However, I never really thought about how the people we eat with effect the way we eat. Research says that in fact the way we eat is affected by who we are eating with.

Specifically, research has shown that the gender of the people we eat with has the biggest effects, especially for men. Cornell conducted a study that looked at male’s behaviors regarding food around women when they are with people of the same gender and the opposite gender. In this study, men ate a significantly greater amount of food around women than they did around men. This study was conducted using 105 adults who ate lunch at an all-you-can-eat Italian buffet over a period of two weeks. The findings of this study shows that men who ate in the company of women ate 93 percent more pizza and 86 percent more salad than those who ate with other males.

The evolutionary psychology viewpoint explains these results by saying that men may eat in this manner to show off in front of women that they can eat that much. Personally I have never noticed this and it’s probably cause I haven’t paid attention. I’m sure many men don’t realize they’re even doing it. The explanation that men do it to show off sounds like a good explanation but I don’t know if I buy that explanation 100%. The findings of the study definitely show convincing evidence of a correlation between the gender that males eat with and how much they eat, but I don’t know if I am convinced on the explanation that the study provides. It may be due to chance and it could be due to other variables like how hungry they were and how much the participants like Italian food. The evidence is definitely convincing but I do still have my doubts and concerns. Although I do have these concerns I do think the study was well conducted. I agree with the sample size and the way the study was designed.

I think there is room for research on the topic because I think it’s very interesting and worth knowing more about.

In college many students chose not to drink, but many also do choose to drink. Although it is not legal for students to drink unless they are 21 many students do without recognizing the potential long-term damage it may cause to the brain. Students have every right to have fun and college and have a good time through out these for years, but sometimes it’s at the expense of their health and well-being.

It is true that, “in the eyes of the law, once people reach the age of 18, they are considered adult, but the brain continues to mature and refine all the way to the mid-20s.” When students decide to drink heavily during this period of development they are impairing the process and changing things in the brain that are irreversible.

In a study published in the Journal, Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, the correlation between the repeated exposure to alcohol and its effects on learning and memory in an adolescent brain is examined. This study exposed adolescent rodents to alcohol in order to explore the, “resultant cellular and synaptic impact.” The amount of alcohol given to the rodents was enough to cause impairment and were then reported to have impairments in learning and memory that were not found in rats that had not consumed alcohol. These memory and cognitive functions were impaired due to, “hyperactivity in long term potentiation.” Basically, “the rats’ synapses became saturated and the animals became incapable of learning.”

This study is definitely an indicator that there is a correlation between exposure to alcohol in adolescence and brain damage, but I do find that there are a few flaws in this study that to me don’t make these findings too convincing. First off, the study shows that alcohol can damage the brain, but it doesn’t specify how long and how often the rodents were exposed to alcohol. I think it would make more sense if brain damage occurred after binge drinking many times for a long time rather than a few times every so often. If the study specified that I would be a little more convinced. Also, I think that testing this theory on rodents isn’t as reliable. Rodents going through adolescence isn’t nearly as complex of a process as humans going through adolescence and a rodent brain isn’t super similar to a human brain. This leads me to believe that the findings of this study aren’t very applicable to humans.

To create a more reliable study an experimenter could give participants enough alcohol to be considered binge drinking a certain amount of times over a set time span to see if the bring drinking affects the brains of adolescence. This would create much more accurate findings, but it would be highly unethical and could not be done.

I think that binge drinking definitely can cause some detrimental effects on the brain such as cognitive and memory problems. Adolescence should definitely stray away from binge drinking as much as possible even though it’s really hard especially in college. However, if you put the situation in perspective, it is more valuable to have pristine cognitive and memory abilities rather than not remembering a bunch of weekends due to excessive consumption of alcohol.

Whether you’re tanning, spending a day at the beach, playing sports in the summer, or tending to your spring garden, people are constantly in the sun when the sun is shining. While the sun does many great things like warm the earth and provide light, can it be good for you heart? Researchers are saying that the sun can be good for your heart in more ways than one.

Dermatologist Richard Weller discussed that there is a correlation between, “sunlight and decreased levels of cardiovascular disease.” It is believed that those who have higher levels of vitamin D hold a lower risk of heart disease.

Many people have vitamin D deficiency today. In today’s society many people are becoming vitamin D deficient due to an unhealthy diet, not going outside enough, and stressful schedules. The lack of vitamin D in people’s bloodstream is becoming a larger issue and is affecting people’s risk of getting heart disease. There are many easy fixes such as eating dairy products, breakfast cereals, and oily fish. Additionally spending more time in the sun can boost your vitamin D levels greatly. Although there are some quick fixes to a vitamin D deficiency, there are some factors that are a little harder to avoid that may contribute to vitamin D deficiency. It is difficult to get a sufficient amount of vitamin D in the winter months when the sun isn’t as strong. In a database of 259,891 heart attacks 53% occurred during the winter months. This is very valid information relating to the topic but definitely does not show causation. There is enough evidence to show a correlation between amount of sunlight and vitamin D someone takes in and their risk of getting cardiovascular disease.

MD Paolo Boffetta conducted a study on the matter with eight international populations from Europe and the US. This study examined the relationship between levels of vitamin D and deaths from causes such as cardiovascular disease. Some aspects that were considered are countries, sexes, age groups, and seasons of blood sampling. 26,018 participants had their vitamin D levels measured and were followed from 4-16 years. During this period 6,695 participants died; the participants were ages 50-79. 2,2624 participants passed away from cardiovascular disease. In conclusion it was found that those who had lower levels of vitamin D had a higher mortality rate.

I think that this is a very well conducted study. The sample size, age groups, and variable that were looked at were all appropriate for the study. Additionally I think that the results show convincing evidence to show correlation not causation. I think it is difficult to know for sure whether a lack of vitamin D causes an increase in cardiovascular disease. There can be many other variable such as genetics, diet, exercise, and other possibilities. This study definitely shows that vitamin D provides possible benefits to the heart but doesn’t guarantee anything because many other factors may contribute. Although I like this study, I think more research must be done to determine any type of causation or guaranteed effects.

Like your parents always tell you, “play outside more.” Go outside and get some more vitamin D. It doesn’t hurt to spend a little more time outside because who knows; maybe that little extra time outside will be good for the heart.

As college students, many of us have our licenses and have been driving for a few year now. Additionally, all of our parents and guardians had different parenting styles when we were growing up. Even though these things may seem completely independent of each other, research has show that the two are actually related. Researchers have found that parenting styles do have an affect on teen driving habits and teen driving safety.

Although not all teens practice the same amount of safety when driving and don’t all drive the same way, here are some quick statistics on some teen driving trends. About 56% of teens say that they talk on the phone while they drive. Also, only 44% of teens said they would speak up if the way someone was driving frightened them. Additionally, 56% of teenagers rely on their parents to learn how to drive. This is where parenting comes in and how it plays a major role in teens driving habits and practices.

Researchers conducted a study to, “explore the association between parenting style and driving behaviors.” In a 2006 National Young Driver Survey data was gathered regarding a representative sample of 5,665 freshmen, sophomore, and juniors in high school. The parenting style variable was put into four categories: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved. To see how present each type of parenting style is in the study, they are broken down into percents. Half of the parents were authoritative, 23% permissive, 8% authoritarian, and 19% uninvolved. In comparison with the the children of uninvolved parents, children with authoritative parents reported one half the crash risk in the past year, were 71% less likely to drive while under the influence of alcohol, and less likely to use a cell phone while behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. Additionally, teens with authoritative or authoritarian parents were reported to use seat belts about twice as often as those with uninvolved parents.

I do like this survey but it definitely has its flaws. In terms of what this survey does well, it categorizes what is being studied and how much of each category is present. It makes the survey easy to follow and understand. Also it clearly states the results and even offers statistics and percentages. Although this study does many things well, it also has a few flaws. Although it clearly defines how many parents fall into which category, there can also be a bit a of a grey area. Some parents may act authoritarian in some situations and uninvolved in others. It can be slightly unlikely that all of these parents always have the same parenting styles 100% of the time. Also, there could be confounding variables that lead to these results. These statistics and evaluations of driving habits could also be due to things like the personality, morals, and values of the teen. These confounding variables could absolutely affect the outcomes of this survey.

Although this survey definitely exemplifies a relationship between parenting style and driving behavior in teens, it is important to remember that this is a correlation and not causation. There is not enough evidence to say that parenting style is the cause of certain teen driving patterns, but there is evidence that shows that there is a relationship between the two. There are many other factors that influence teen driving habits and parenting style happens to just be one of them.

People are stressed, worried, pressured, and uptight when constantly living in such a busy and fast-paced world. Many people will deal with such feelings in a variety of ways, some more effective than others. There are many remedies for such feelings for like yoga, therapy, meditation, seep, etc. One potential solution to feeling stressed and uptight could also be retail therapy. It may not be extremely common but it definitely has its logic behind it.

Research has shown that 62% of shoppers have purchased something for the purpose of cheering themselves up, and 28% have purchased something as a way to celebrate. Even though money is tight for many, people are constantly shopping in today’s economy and some of those shoppers are doing it for the purpose of retail therapy.

In a story about a woman named Janice, after her divorce she went shopping for new bedding to get rid of thought regarding her old marriage so she could start fresh. She reported that shopping for new bedding following her divorce was “therapeutic” in her journey to move on. Although this is only an anecdote, it does show that for at least some, retail therapy can be extremely helpful in times of distress. To show that retail therapy is more than just an anecdote, studies must be conducted.

In a study conducted at the University of Michigan, 45 female students were gathered to watch a movie clip of a bullying incident. Following the viewing of the clip they were then offered to have the option of buying a snack. The participants were then asked how they felt, and those who took a snack reported feeling better than those who did not. In an additional test, participants were shown another sad clip and then were randomly assigned one of the two possible simulated shopping scenarios. The group that was able to chose more of the products that they like reported feeling happier after shopping. In conclusion of these two studies, shopping can lift one’s spirits, and the cause of that is having the ability to chose something that you like. Shopping allows people to “chose and restore personal control.” This can reduce their sadness and feelings of stress and anxiety.

This study did a good job of simulating a relevant experiment that clearly pertains to what is being tested, which is if retail therapy actually does any good. The tasks that the participants are asked to do are valid ways of measuring how much good can come from retail therapy. What could be improved in this study is the sample size and gender of participants. Only women are tested, which doesn’t give a wide enough variety of results to see if this experiment is truly meaningful. Also only 45 females is not enough participants to truly understand if retail therapy works. The researchers should’ve chosen a lot more participants to create a more accurate sample size of how retail therapy works.

Personally, I have participated in retail therapy and I have definitely noticed positive results. When I have been in stressful or sad situations and have gone shopping after, it definitely boosted my mood. It made me happy to pick out things that I liked and gave me something to look forward to, in this case wearing the new clothes I just bought.

Although retail therapy has its perks and can make one feel better, that feeling can sometimes only be temporary. Too much retail therapy can really damage one’s funds or credit, which will just create more stress, anxiety, and sadness. Retail therapy can be a good way to occasionally get some quick relief and enjoyment from feelings of stress, but may not always be the best solution to your problems.

Sleep is essential to every human being, and especially in college students. Students have a million and one things going on from clubs, to studying, to class, all while trying to maintain a decent sleep schedule. In addition to all of the different academic elements of a college student’s life, they’re trying to maintain an adequate social life as well. College students try and make sleeping a priority, often times through naps. They also try and make having a social life a priority, often times by drinking alcohol. So, how do the two affect one another? Well, alcohol definitely has its affects on sleep in more ways than one.

Some people may use alcohol to help them sleep. In a recent survey, 28% of insomniacs reported that they use alcohol to improve their sleep. When ingested by normal individuals, alcohol can help someone fall asleep faster, but its keeping them asleep that is a different story. “Alcohol is metabolized rapidly and blood concentrations are negligible by the middle of the night for most individuals who have a few drinks prior to bedtime, often resulting in withdrawal symptoms thereafter.” Sleep is interrupted by multiple awakenings, nightmares, sweating, etc. when one goes through withdrawal of alcohol during sleep. Due to these interruptions in sleep, it cuts down one’s overall sleep time resulting in a much shorter night’s sleep.

In a study on how alcohol affects sleep, researchers used an EEG to examine the effects in adolescence. The subjects were 18 to 21 year old female college students. There were 24 participants who were all female social drinkers. Some were given presleep alcohol and some were given placebo, and then both were given standard polysomnography followed by EEG recordings. In conclusion, the alcohol increased slow wave sleep-related NREM delta power. However, the alcohol interfered with sleep due to increased delta activity. Basically, the subjects were able to fall asleep well, but staying asleep was the issue from so many sleep interruptions due to alcohol consumption.

This study did a good job by having some subjects be the control and some be the experimental by having some consume alcohol before sleep and some take the placebo. This is a good idea because it will create clearer results because the experimenter can easily compare the results in sleep of those who consumed alcohol and those who did not. Also this study is a single-blind because the researcher knows which subjects are getting what, but the subjects do not know if they’e actually getting alcohol or the placebo, which prevents any participant bias. On the other hand, the subjects being studied may be too narrow of a group to produce reliable and trustworthy results. The only age group being studied here is 18 to 21 year olds. To make these results more reliable, the researcher needs a much larger variety of age ranges into adulthood and elderly age. Additionally, only females are being studied here. Males should be included because females are not the only college students who socially drink at this age, and men should be accounted for as well to see how alcohol affects their sleep.

People need to be able to balance sleep and other tasks while being awake. Yes, having a social life is important but sleep is just as important if not more. To ensure a good night’s sleep reduce your alcohol intake for sweet dreams.

Whether you’ve seen a trailer for one, a billboard, or have actually watched one, scary movies are constantly being released, especially at this time of year. From horror, to thrillers, to action, to gore, scary movies have been around for many many years, and many people can’t seem to get enough of the chills and thrills that are scary movies.

Some may ask, “Why would people put themselves through scary movies? Why would people volunteer to feel constantly scared and terrified of what is going to happen next and watch people get murdered and suffer?” This question can be answered with a variety of theories. In a 2005 meta-analysis, 35 journal articles were studied regarding the relationship between viewer enjoyment and scary movies. As a result of this study, four theories were created as a result of this study.

The first theory states that, “Zillman’s excitation transfer paradigm states that views who experience ‘fearful apprehension about deplorable events that threaten like protagonists’ also then experience heightened enjoyment when those threats are satisfyingly resolved.” A second theory sates that viewers of scary movies with more empathy don’t enjoy scary movies as much as those who have lower levels of empathy. Another theory discusses that those who are more detached from what is going on in the film, such as one being chased down by a murderer, enjoy the film more because it is not their problem, they just get to sit on their couch at home and watch it all happen. One last theory states that those who enjoy scary movies tend to share three common traits: sensation-seeking, above-average aggression, and maleness. The sensation-seeking and above-average aggression I definitely could agree with, but the maleness I believe is a false-positive. That conclusion is not authentic because males may say they enjoy scary movies more just because they feel they have to because they want to look “tough”, and don’t actually enjoy them, making this a false conclusion. To understand those who prefer scary movies, involves a look at personality and psychology.

So, why do some like being scared while others don’t? The natural high of the fight or flight response can feel great. Some enjoy this sensation more than others, leading them to be bigger fans of scary movies. This is about brain chemistry rather than just solely about preference. Research shows that people chemically respond differently in thrilling situations. Dopamine is the main hormone that is released in such situations and some may enjoy the dopamine response more than others.

To really get a detailed look at how people respond to thrilling situations, a study could be done to understand this. This study could have hundreds of people watch the same scary movie, and analyze how they respond by observation, and by examining their brains while they watch these films, by looking at how they are responding to dopamine. It would be difficult to make this study a double-blind, but it might not matter because people may not necessarily be able to even control how they respond to the scary movies. I think a study similar to this could give a glimpse into how people respond to scary movies, which could lead to a deeper understanding of trends and common reactions when watching scary movies.

Scary movies could be thought of as a mixture between a dream and being awake. People are able to sort through what is going on and learn skills that apply to everyday life. People are able to analyze what they would do in the situation and learn from the characters mistakes in how they handle the scary and thrilling situations that they encounter.

Scary movies come in many forms from paranormal to blood and gore, and just like scary movies vary in what they’re about, people’s preferences and brains vary on how much they enjoy scary movies.

Peppermint can be used as a flavoring for gum, tea, ice cream, cookies, toothpaste, and more. Mint can be used for flavor and a cool sensation, but can also be used for healing for medical related purposes. Sometimes, when one has a stomach ache they will be told to chew a piece of mint gum to calm their stomach. The question that is raised is “what are the the true healing purposes of peppermint?”

Some more basic purposes for peppermint can be used to help headaches, skin irritation, nausea, diarrhea, menstrual cramps, flatulence, and anxiety. Other purposes are indigestion, irritable bowl syndrome, or pain in the lower gut.

One option to ingest peppermint is for the purpose of improving IBS (irritable bowl syndrome). Aline Charabaty, MD is a director of the Center of Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Georgetown University Hospital in D.C recommends using coated capsules of peppermint oil. She explains that these capsules positively benefit the improvement of IBS symptoms by taking two capsules twice a day for at least four weeks. Peppermint is able to serve other various purposes besides just calming the stomach. Another example is helping symptoms of the cold and flu. Menthol is peppermint’s active agent is an effective decongestant. Menthol thins mucus and helps loosen phlegm and break up coughs. Additionally it helps sooth the throat and decrease dry coughs.In terms of skin irritation, peppermint has a soothing and cooling sensation when applied topically to calm skin irritation such as hives or poison ivy. Peppermint can serve a variety of purposes and can be utilized in different forms.

In a study on the effectiveness of peppermint researches tested weather coated peppermint oil would help IBS or recurrent abdominal pain in children. 651 patients were studied, and 9 of the 16 studies were double blind randomized control trials. Some were given peppermint oil and some were given a placebo. Eight of the twelve placebo-controlled trials showed statistically significant improvement from the patients who received the peppermint oil. 58% had improvements who used the peppermint oil and 28% had improvement who took the placebo.  In conclusion, the researchers found that peppermint oil significantly improves IBS symptoms.

This study appropriately chose a double-blind so that the researcher and participants weren’t aware of who was being treated with the oil and who was being treated with the placebo. This avoids any researcher or participant bias that could create artificial results or a false positive or negative due to unauthentic feedback from either the researcher or participants. Also the study made the intelligent choice of using a placebo to test to see if the oil produces significant effects. One flaw with this study is that it only tests children. I would be interested in seeing if similar or different results happen when this study is done on adults. Those results may alter the way we evaluate the healing potential of peppermint. Although it is said that peppermint has various abilities to help medical illnesses, there are still many questions about how significant its effects are.

Many of us have heard of it, some of us may have tried it. Acupuncture is the practice of placing needles through the skin in specific locations of the body for the purpose of healing and relief of symptoms. Acupuncture can be used to heal chronic pain in the back, to osteoporosis, but does it actually work? Acupuncture was developed over 2,000 years ago. This was when we had less knowledge on our bodies and less scientific technology and tools. Some may view acupuncture as a legitimate way of healing pain or certain diseases, and say may view it as a theatrical placebo.

One theory is that acupuncture may stimulate the production of endorphins and other similar similar compounds that affect how the brain perceives pain. One study that could be conducted into finding this out, could be a a double-blind placebo experiment. The experimenter wouldn’t know who got acupuncture and who didn’t and could look at how their brains and endorphins reacted to see if they play a role in how acupuncture heals. The participants wouldn’t know if they were getting proper acupuncture or not, which would avoid a participant bias towards reporting any false claims about how they feel after acupuncture. The placebo would be something that was similar to acupuncture, but doesn’t follow the proper acupuncture procedures, and the other component being tested would be actual acupuncture. This study could test this theory to see if endorphins contribute to why acupuncture is believed to help pain and diseases.

In a study conducted analyzing the effectiveness for acupuncture 29 randomized control trials involving 17,922 patients, researchers used acupuncture and a placebo form of acupuncture. In this study, patients who received acupuncture claimed that it helped get rid of their chronic pains over those who did not receive acupuncture. The conclusions to this study were that acupuncture is an effective form of treatment for chronic pain.

Although this may have been a very well conducted study, I find that there are still some unanswered questions and possible confounding variables. Some possible confounding variables could be a person’s willingness to allow acupuncture to work, the severity of a person’s pain, and their state of mind regarding their own personal results after acupuncture. Someone may feel a placebo effect and think that acupuncture actually worked, when they didn’t even receive it and someone may think that acupuncture didn’t work even when they did receive proper acupuncture. There are many variables that contribute to the validity of this study. Some unanswered questions relating to this study are: What was the severity of the pain for patients? Was this study single-blind, double-blind, or neither? Although this study is a good start, there is definitely more to look into regarding acupuncture and its effectiveness.

Approximately 3 million American adults use acupuncture treatment each year.  Acupuncture has a loyal customers, but is their loyalty due to legitimate results or a placebo effect.

Dasani, Poland Spring, Aquafina. We’ve all heard of these popular brand name water bottles, but are there really any benefits to the excessive amount of different types of water bottles over tap water? In retrospect, bottled water is nothing special compared to tap water, and if anything, bottled water is worse than tap water. Bottled water has many negative environmental and health effects, making the misconception that bottled water may be better just a myth.

According to National Geographic, the public drinks 21 gallons or 79 liters of bottled water per capita per year on average, according to the Columbia Water Center. The bottled water industry has outdone in sales drinks like milk, coffee, and juice. Leaving only beer and soda as the two drinks that two better than bottled water in sales. Americans spent 10.6 billion dollars on bottled water in 2009, which resulted in paying up to 1,000 times the cost of tap water. Almost half of all that water that Americans spent so much on really just came from municipal tap water supplies in 2009. Many bottled water companies claim that their water is from a pure, clean source or from a pure spring lake, but really it is estimated that about 25 percent or more of bottled water is really just tap water in a bottle, that may or may not go untreated.

Many my think that bottled water is cleaner and safer than tap water, but really tap water is subject to more strict federal safety regulations than bottled water. Tap water goes through intense safety procedures and testing to make sure it is up to par to provide to the public. Although many bottled water companies claim how pure and clean their water is, in independent testing of ten different brands of bottled water in 2008 found 38 contaminants.

In addition to the water, the plastic may raise just as many concerns regarding health as the water itself. A safe plastic is only used once and polyethylene therephthalate is the most common resin used in disposable water bottles. As theses bottles are reused, which in most cases they are, they can leach chemicals such as carcinogens and hormone disruptors, which can enter your system because the plastic is porous.

Additionally, bottled water poses threats to the environment along with health. The Australian city of Bundanoon banned bottled water from being sold in 2009. Some may as why? Water bottles are so convenient because you can just throw them out when you’re done. Yes, you can throw them out when you’re done, but that is exactly the problem. More than 80 percent of recyclable plastic bottles end up in landfills each year. They do not break down naturally, and release toxic chemicals, ultimately hurting the environment.

So, next time you reach for a bottle of water, try reaching for tap water instead, it’ll save your health and your environment, two things that are very important. Don’t let a substance like water jeopardize that.

Why can’t we all hit riffs like Christina Aguilera, hit high and low notes like Mariah Carey, and sing a beautiful melody like Ariana Grande? According to research, there are many factors that contribute to the answer of why some people are naturally better at singing than others. In a study from the University of Montreal in 2012 on what prevented those who are not musically trained from being able to sing. This study found that 20 percent of the people that were studied didn’t have good control of their vocal muscles, 35 percent had trouble matching their voice to a specific pitch, and five percent completely lacked the ability to detect different differences in pitches between two sounds. These reasons for variety in why people do not have the ability to sing well, shows that it differs from person to person.

Mental abilities can influence our abilities to sing. We’re all born with the ability to sing but sometimes it is a “mental boundary” that keeps us from singing. People need encouragement to boost their self-confidence and mental state to help them be more willing and dedicated to improving their singing. People who lack confidence and encouragement are going to be much less likely to acquire a pleasant singing voice, due to their lack of a positive mental outlook in regards to singing.

Sean Hutchins who studied at BRAMS for neuroscience of music did a study on the two suspects that he felt had the biggest impact on why some people do not have natural vocal abilities. First, he explained perception as in “maybe people weren’t hearing the notes correctly.” He also had a theory that maybe it was difficulty with motor control, in other words, bad singers couldn’t control their vocal chords enough to duplicate what they heard. He tested musicians with at least seven years of experience and non-musicians and asked them both to replicate notes that he generated on his computer. First, they were able to match the notes with a slide (a device with a sliding button to change the pitch of a sound). Eventually both groups were able to make the sound, but when they were asked to try and match the notes with their own voices, the non-musicians were only successful 59 percent of the time. Hutchins concluded that this may be due to the imitative deficit, which means that the bad singers’ brains associate a note that we hear with the incorrect muscle movement in one’s voice.

Although some may say that singing lessons can help, many people lack the necessary mental abilities that make one able to sound good when they sing, maybe even to the caliber of Ariana Grande.

Whether its your feet, armpits, stomach, or neck, many people but not everyone are ticklish. I’ve always wondered why are people ticklish, why are only some people ticklish, and why do people laugh when they’re being tickled? I myself am definitely ticklish and more places than one and can never control my laughter.

Research shows that there is a physiology behind tickling. Beneath the skin lay millions of tiny nerve endings that communicate to the brain any type of touch or exposure to things such as things that are warm or cold. These senses inform us when to take our hands off a burning pan or bundle up when it’s the winter. When such nerves are stimulated by the touch of another person, specifically one’s fingers or a feather, messages are sent through the nervous system to the brain, which is in charge of analyzing this sensory message. A tickling sensation is cause by stimulus in two sections of the brain. The first is the somatosensory cortex, which is responsible for analyzing touch and the pressure of the touch. The signal from the skin’s sensory receptors then send the message to the anterior cingulated cortex, which is in charge of pleasant feelings. When these two parts of the brain work together, they create a tickling sensation.

Some may ask, “if a tickling sensation is as simple as communication of sensory stimuli, why can’t I just tickle myself?” Tickling oneself is not possible, because the cerebellum, which is located in the back of the brain, and is responsible for governing movement can alert the brain that this stimulus is coming, and disregard the intensity of the sensation.

Touch is a powerful thing that causes physical and emotional changes, so why is it that specifically tickling results in laughter? Laughter is an involuntary reaction caused by tickling. One theory discusses that ticklishness is based on personality. Someone that has an antsy personality may have uncontrollable laughter at even the slightest touch, while people with more stern personalities don’t have even a slightly similar reaction. Also, studies have shown that although laughter is typically a reaction of glee or joy, in terms of tickling, laughter is typically the result of either social anxiety of the situation or nervous laughter.

Neuroscience professor Robert R. Provine believes that tickling is a form of communication between family, friends, and lovers because of evolution in our sexual behavior. Provine offers that explanation that, “if you think the social component is not important, try tickling a stranger.”

UC San Diego Psychologists conducted a study involving 72 undergraduate students to see if any relationship occurred between tickling and laughter. The group was divided into thirds, with different experimental conditions. The first group watched a 14 minute video of “The Best of Saturday Night Live”, followed by being tickled by a research assistant. The second group was tickled and then shown the video. The control group was shown a nature video and then tickled. To measure the tickle things such as time spent smiling, laughing, wiggling, or asking for the tickling to stop were considered. The tickling was done to multiple parts of the body from the foot, to parts of the torso, to arms. Researchers wanted to see if tickling would create a sort of “warm up effect” to see if tickling and humor shared the same underlying emotion that is mirth. The study found that tickling and humor do not share the same emotion and most of the participants found the experience to be anything but positive.

Tickling is something playful to do with friends or family to maybe show affection or play around with someone, but the laughter that comes with it is anything but playful and the science behind the tickle is a complex system of sensory communication in the brain.

We’ve all heard it: “Oh my god stop I’m feeling claustrophobic!” And yes, some of us do feel really uncomfortable in certain spaces such as a small closet or a crowded room. Many of us experience discomfort in certain environments, but claustrophobia is more than just an uncomfortable feeling.

Although many people think that claustrophobia is just the fear of small or dark spaces, claustrophobia also includes rooms that don’t have clear and accessible escape roots such as an elevator, which just so happens to be a small and sometimes dark space. Claustrophobia is not its own disorder, but is typically linked to anxiety.

Claustrophobia is considered to be a symptom of anxiety. One cause of claustrophobia is generalized anxiety disorder. It is believed that the development of anxiety disorder and claustrophobia are correlated but not caused by one another. Additionally, another reason for claustrophobia is panic disorder. If someone has panic disorder they are more likely to panic when in an enclosed space. Social phobia is also a cause of claustrophobia because people with social phobia are constantly worried about having an easy escape from a social situation incase of discomfort. Another cause of claustrophobia is a potential traumatic childhood experience such as being trapped in a small closet when you were little or being hid in a very small space.

To examine claustrophobia more in depth, researchers set up a study in which 35 participants individually stood close to a horizontal line on a wall and a laser pointer was used to inform the participants on the midway point. The participants then moved back a few feet, pointed again, and continued for nine times. As participants distanced themselves from the line , their midway estimates shifted from the left to the right. After analyzing how quickly the participants’ estimates changed, the researchers had enough information to determine the size of each individual’s “near space.” Next, the participants were asked how likely they were to experience claustrophobic symptoms in certain scenarios, such as being stuck in a closet or on a train. The conclusion was that participants with the largest near spaces were the most likely to experience any symptoms of claustrophobia because invading someone’s personal space can trigger feelings of anxiety and even fear. This study shows that whether people experience or the severity of claustrophobia depends on one’s near space. Severity of claustrophobia differs from person to person as seen in this experiment.

Some physical symptoms that may be signals that someone suffers from claustrophobia are sweating, accelerated heartbeat, fainting, light-headedness, shaking, and hyperventilation. Many of these symptoms are similar to disorders that are more likely to cause claustrophobia such as anxiety and panic disorder.

Examples of situations that can induce feelings of claustrophobia are being at a crowded party, being on an airplane, and getting and MRI or CAT scan. Some will react more severely to these situations than others, but these situations are some that are more likely to cause such feelings. Although not everyone who experiences claustrophobic symptoms has a larger disorder, it is still a worthwhile argument that people who do experience symptoms of claustrophobia more severely may have a larger disorder such as anxiety disorder.

Next time you are in a tight space and experience any of the mentioned symptoms or feelings, it may be that you are experiencing at least a small instance of claustrophobia.

Most of us do it, some more than others. We cry when we’re sad but we also cry when we’re happy. Whether we cry because we’re laughing so hard at someone’s joke and we found out a piece of good news, sometimes we get so happy we could cry.

Oriana Aragon, a psychologist at Yale surveyed 143 adults about the many in which they react to experiences that are good and experiences that are bad. In this study, the subjects were shown babies that varied on their ‘cuteness’, which is based on how chubby their cheeks are and the size of their chins, eyes, and noses. Following this, the subjects were then asked how they felt about each baby and the manner in which they would want to react with the baby.

As a result of this study the psychologists were able to find that the cuter the babies, the more positively the subjects would react. When the subjects would state that they wanted to be playfully aggressive with the babies, they would calm down quicker and become more emotionally neutral compared to when the subjects did not want to be playfully aggressive.

This research shows that feelings of being ‘too positive’ can interfere with other things such as decision making, and cause people to ignore any environmental threats and act more impulsively. People who are the ones who would want to play aggressively and pinch the baby’s cheeks are the kinds of people that are more likely to cry at their child’s first birthday or when their sibling is getting married. People seek to go back to emotional equilibrium when positive emotions are too strong.

Although some may not cry when they’re happy, for example the subjects in the study that did not have as severe of a reaction as the ones who wanted to play aggressively with the babies, people do tend to cry in extreme times of laughter and happiness because their emotions are on such a high and feel the need to go back to equilibrium through tears.

Hi, My name is Amy Rosenzweig and I’m from Westfield, NJ.

I am taking this course because science has never been my strong suit. Bio wasn’t terrible, Chem was horrible, and Physics was just always out of the question so I never even bothered taking it. I always avoided science focused classes as much as possible especially any that included math. I am the type of person that gravitates towards classes more on the lines of English and Social Sciences.

I’m in this course because at orientation my advisor told me that as communications majors, we typically are not into math and science, which in my case at least is very true. She put a list of the least “sciencey sciences” that we could take and I was thrilled. I chose this course because the description seemed interesting and of course it was on the list as a non-sciencey science.

As I’m sure you’re able to tell by now, I am not a major in anything that has to do with science. I am in the school of communications but do not currently have a specific major. I am not planning on being a science major because I have known for a while that I wanted to be a communications major. I have interest in journalism, broadcast, PR, and advertising, which are all majors within the school of communications.

On a different note,here are to of my three dogs. Yes, I have three dogs because my mom is obsessed. I think the one on the right happens to be the smallest dog ever.

Click here to see a cool video my friend made of my grade on college decision day.