Useful Science

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/24 This week we're talking about having a useful summer. Follow us @usefulsci or email us at podcast@usefulscience.org. Show Notes Fan-generated wind can help reduce the presence of mosquitoes by diluting substances that attract them, like CO2. Normal (2D) movies are just as effective at evoking emotion as 3D movies.

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/23 This week we're talking about pop music. Follow us @usefulsci or email us at podcast@usefulscience.org. Show Notes From 1986 to 2016, billboard-reaching pop music songs became more "attention grabbing" with faster tempos, shorter titles, less time before singing began, and less time before the title of the song was mentioned. From 2014 to 2016, songs with atypical lyrics (lyrics that defied genre conventions) were downloaded more on large streaming services than songs with typical lyrics.

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/22 This week we're talking about the science of love. Follow us @usefulsci or email us at podcast@usefulscience.org. Show Notes In heterosexual online dating, people pursue partners who are on average 25% more desirable than themselves. The likelihood of receiving a response to a first message decreases when there is a greater difference in desirability. Couples who were instructed by researchers to have more sex increased their sexual frequency but reported reduced happiness and enjoyment of sex. This suggests that more sex does not necessarily lead to greater relationship happiness. The Experimental Generation of Interpersonal Closeness: A Procedure and Some Preliminary Findings. (pdf)

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/21 This week we're talking about sleep. Follow us @usefulsci or email us at podcast@usefulscience.org. Show Notes People who slept less than 6 hours a night were 4 times more likely to catch a cold. Higher nighttime temperatures due to climate change are projected to disrupt summer sleep patterns, particularly for people who cannot afford air conditioning and people who are more sensitive to heat, like the elderly. Not sleeping enough (staying up for 17 hours straight) impaired performance in the same way as a blood alcohol level above the legal driving limit would (BAC 0.05%).

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/20 This week we're talking about going outside. Follow us @usefulsci or email us at podcast@usefulscience.org. Show Notes Bridging the nature gap: can citizen science reverse the extinction of experience? Titanium dioxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles (found in mineral sunscreens) generate DNA damage when exposed to UV light, however they do not appear to penetrate the underlying layers of skin, minimizing their potential risk. Literature review on the safety of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles in sunscreens Patterns of sunscreen use on the face and other exposed skin among US adults Skin Cancer Facts & Statistics Most of Us Are Making a Crucial Mistake When Applying Sunscreen, Scientists Warn

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/18 This week we're talking about expensive headphones and audio quality. Follow us @usefulsci or email us at podcast@usefulscience.org. Show Notes No correlation between headphone frequency response and retail price A Meta-Analysis of High Resolution Audio Perceptual Evaluation Quarter to Midnight (Thanasi's album)

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/18 This week we learn about the benefits and risks of urban green spaces. Follow us @usefulsci or email us at podcast@usefulscience.org. Show Notes Promoting ecosystem and human health in urban areas using green infrastructure: A literature review Children living in areas with more street trees have lower prevalence of asthma Urban green space, public health, and environmental justice: The challenge of making cities ‘just green enough’

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/17 This week we learn about sleep habits, Fitbit lawsuits, and bad science reporting.. Follow us @usefulsci or email us at podcast@usefulscience.org. Show Notes VanWinkles.com: Here's the Truth About the "Women Need More Sleep Than Men" Study That Blew Up the Internet Exploring Sex and Gender Differences in Sleep Health: A Society for Women's Health Research Report Snopes.com: Drinking Tequila Provides Many Health Benefits? CNN: Fitbit accuracy questioned in lawsuit Validation of Biofeedback Wearables for Photoplethysmographic Heart Rate Tracking

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/hi-interview Interview: Social impact, documentaries, VR, and empathy with Harmony Institute. Follow us @usefulsci or email us at podcast@usefulscience.org. Show Notes Harmony Institute Social Issue Networks and Film Festivals (Graphika Research) VR: Going Beyond the Empathy Machine That Dragon Cancer Harmony Institute Fellowship Program Story Pilot

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/16 This week we learn about art museums, napping, and male and female brains. Follow us @usefulsci or email us at podcast@usefulscience.org. Show Notes Students selected to visit an art museum showed stronger critical thinking skills and displayed higher levels of social tolerance after the visit. These effects were larger for students from more disadvantaged backgrounds. Bo Bartlett’s The Box Although there are some aspects of brain structure that are more common in males or females, any individual brain is typically a 'mosaic' of these features, suggesting there is no such thing as a 'male brain' or 'female brain'.

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/15 This week we learn about getting out the vote, ADHD, and self-compassion.

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/josh-rosenau Guest Josh Rosenau, Programs and Policy Director of the National Center for Science Education, talks about the mission of the NCSE and the history of attacks against evolution and climate science in public schools.

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/14 This week we learn about body shape index, humor in the classroom, and squatting while pooping. Follow us @usefulsci or email us at podcast@usefulscience.org. Show Notes 'Surface-based Body Shape Index', which takes into account distribution of body weight, has been found to more accurately predict mortality than the Body Mass Index (BMI). Teachers who use humor in their classrooms tend to get better student evaluations by their students, regardless of learning outcomes. Squatting down makes it quicker and easier to poop as compared to sitting down, probably because sitting upright leaves a kink in the gut that straightens out when we squat. Accurate science or accessible science in the media – why not both? Squatty Potty

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/13 This week we learn about online dating, marathon runners, and pizza. Follow us @usefulsci or email us at podcast@usefulscience.org. Show Notes People tended to eat less pizza when it was cut into small slices and served on a large table. Ask Useful Science: Bicycle weight and marathon runners Wilber, R. L. & Pitsiladis, Y. P., Kenyan and Ethiopian distance runners: what makes them so good? Hoffman, K. M., Trawalter, S., Axt, J. R. & Oliver, M. N., Racial bias in pain assessment and treatment recommendations, and false beliefs about biological differences between blacks and whites. Some medical students still think black patients feel less pain. The Ethiopia/Kenya Running Phenomenon. Runner’s World (2014). Fisher, M., Why Kenyans Make Such Great Runners: A Story of Genes and Cultures. Interview: Accurate science or accessible science in the media – why not both? Thorough screening of romantic partners online does not lead to more successful dates. This may be

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/12 This week we learn about getting drunk on diet soda, getting full on imaginary food, and attracting mosquitos with your genes. Follow us @usefulsci or email us at podcast@usefulscience.org.

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/11 This week we learn about ambient noise for creative thinking, email checking frequency, and academic tracking, which is separating students into different classes or schools according to their academic ability. Follow us @usefulsci or email us at podcast@usefulscience.org. Show Notes Individuals who were instructed to only check e-mails 3 times per day (as opposed to as many times as they wanted) reported lower levels of daily stress. Ask Useful Science: Academic Tracking The Variable Effects of High School Tracking (Gamoran, 1992) Peer Effects, Teacher Incentives, and the Impact of Tracking: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in Kenya (Duflo, Dupas & Kremer, 2008) Implications for Ability Grouping in Mathematics for Fifth Grade Students (Stinnet, 2013) Ability Grouping Interventions and Math Performance Among Inner-City School (Sreckovic, 2015) Can Universal Screening Increase the Representation of Low Income and Minority Students in Gifted Education? (Card &a

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/10 This week we learn about attractive male faces, sex frequency, and organic, grass fed, hormone free, non-gmo beef. Follow us @usefulsci or email us at podcast@usefulscience.org. Show Notes Listener feedback on Episode 8 math anxiety study: Does Rejection Hurt? An fMRI study of social exclusion, Eisenberger et al. Social rejection shares somatosensory representations with physical pain, Kross et al. The happiest couples have sex about once per week, and having sex more frequently is not associated with greater happiness. Women are not attracted to male faces morphed to increase their Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy characteristics (which correlate to how masculine a face looks). PDF with morphed photos Facing a psychopath: Detecting the dark triad from emotionally-neutral faces, using prototypes from the Personality Faceaurus Machiavelli (Google Image Search) Machiavelli statue Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/9 Follow us @usefulsci or email us at podcast@usefulscience.org. Show Notes Adolescent brains develop in a way that overemphasizes reward and underemphasizes risk, which may help explain teenager's decision making and susceptibility to peer and emotional pressures. Rebelling against the brain: Public engagement with the ‘neurological adolescent’ Alcohol-Related Risk of Driver Fatalities: An Update Using 2007 Data (Voas et al) Case Closed: Research Evidence on the Positive Public Health Impact of the Age 21 Minimum Legal Drinking Age in the United States (DeJong & Blanchette) Drinking and driving among college students (Wechsler et al) Antibacterial soap containing triclosan is no better at killing germs during hand-washing than regular soap.

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/8 Follow us @usefulsci or email us at podcast@usefulscience.org. This week we learn about the effect of old misconceptions on learning new concepts, painful math anxiety, and healthy personalities. Show Notes Students’ difficulties in grasping physics concepts are rooted in the incorrect assumptions the student develops before entering a physics course ( e.g. “motion implies a force” ). When these preconceptions are not addressed, fundamental physics concepts are likely to be misperceived or distorted to fit existing beliefs. People with high math-anxiety activate pain networks in their brains when anticipating doing math, but not while actually performing math. Story Spoilers Don’t Spoil Stories Personality traits are associated with expression levels of genes that regulate inflammation and therefore may be biologically linked to how well people fight disease. Big Five personality traits, OCEAN/CANOE

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/7 This week we cover articles from the education section of our site. We learn about teaching children that intelligence is malleable, merit badges, and depressed roommates. We also have an interview with Derek Muller of Veritasium and Snatoms. Show Notes Awarding an educational merit badge (a digital representation of student knowledge or skill mastery) may be a useful tool to motivate and measure learning in young students. Veritasium, Derek Muller's YouTube channel Snatoms: The Magnetic Molecule Modeling Kit (KickStarter) Derek Muller on Hank Green's SciShow Teaching 7th graders that intelligence is not fixed but malleable (and that it can be improved through hard work) resulted in an upward trajectory of math grades in junior high school. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, by Carol Dweck Guy Winch, Emotional Hygiene Having a roommate who was vulnerable to depression increased college students' own vulnerability and symptoms of depression. Editorial Expression of