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Intelligence: The Evolution of Night Owls

Intelligence: The Evolution of Night Owls
IQs and Zs Night owls are smarter than other people, and now we may know why. The modern world contains many features our slow-to-evolve brains still find unfamiliar—cars, TVs, hot dogs on a stick. But the world has always thrown new stuff at us, and brighter humans may adapt more ably. Satoshi Kanazawa, a psychologist at The London School of Economics and Political Science, argues that, while we have specialized mental modules for navigation, social interaction, and other age-old tasks, general intelligence is its own module handling only evolutionarily novel circumstances. And he has data showing that people with higher IQs are more likely to have values and preferences that just didn't make sense for our ancestors to embrace. A previous study found that evening people are smarter than morning people. Night Lights

Why Intelligent People Drink More Alcohol Drinking alcohol is evolutionarily novel, so the Hypothesis would predict that more intelligent people drink more alcohol than less intelligent people. The human consumption of alcohol probably originates from frugivory (consumption of fruits). Fermentation of sugars by yeast naturally present in overripe and decaying fruits produces ethanol, known to intoxicate birds and mammals. However, the amount of ethanol alcohol in such fruits ranges from trace to 5%, roughly comparable to light beer. Human consumption of alcohol, however, was unintentional, accidental, and haphazard until about 10,000 years ago. Human experience with concentrations of ethanol higher than 5% that is attained by decaying fruits is therefore very recent. Consistent with the prediction of the Hypothesis , more intelligent children, both in the United Kingdom and the United States, grow up to consume alcohol more frequently and in greater quantities than less intelligent children.

People with moles less prone to ageing THE secret of supermodel Cindy Crawford's ageless allure may be out as British scientists have discovered that people with lots of moles are genetically protected from many of the ravages of time. New research suggests they may not only develop fewer wrinkles in old age, but also have stronger bones and tauter muscles. Moles or beauty spots - for which Crawford is famous - are formed by rapidly dividing cells that start producing dots of dark pigment on children as young as four, but which usually vanish from about the age of 40. In some people, however, they continue to spread as they grow older, producing a smooth and wrinkle-free complexion that can make a woman look at least seven years younger than her real age. A study of 1200 identical and non-identical female twins, aged 18-79, showed that those with more than 100 moles on their bodies also have tougher bones and are therefore 50 percent less likely to develop osteoporosis than women with fewer than 25 moles.

Ten Psychology Studies from 2009 Worth Knowing About - David DiSalvo - Brainspin Image by AFP/Getty Images via Daylife Several great psychology and neuroscience studies were published in 2009. Below I’ve chosen 10 that I think are among the most noteworthy, not just because they’re interesting, but useful as well. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. A hallucinogen called ibogaine has helped addicts kick heroin, meth and everything in between. Is it the trip that does the trick? - Page 1 - News - Dallas Ron Price needs his milkshake. It's 10 o'clock on a Monday morning and the baldheaded, barrel-chested former bodybuilder is shuffling around the kitchen of a posh rehab clinic in Tijuana, wearing slippers and a blue Gold's Gym T-shirt. Price had been employed as a stockbroker in New Mexico, but his training regimen left him with debilitating injuries that forced him to undergo 33 surgeries in less than a decade. His doctor prescribed Oxycontin, and Price quickly became dependent on the potent painkiller. More recently, he started snorting cocaine and chugging booze to numb the pain. Now, 53 years old and three weeks into rehab, all he wants is a milkshake and to crawl back into bed. Clare Wilkins, the vivacious 40-year-old director of Pangea Biomedics, pops the lid of the blender to check the consistency of the concoction Price craves: peanut butter, soy milk, agave syrup, hemp protein powder and a few scoops of chocolate-flavored Green SuperFood. Ramzi Dreesen Details Related Stories Dr.

The fine dopamine line between creativity and schizophrenia New research shows a possible explanation for the link between mental health and creativity. By studying receptors in the brain, researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have managed to show that the dopamine system in healthy, highly creative people is similar in some respects to that seen in people with schizophrenia. High creative skills have been shown to be somewhat more common in people who have mental illness in the family. Creativity is also linked to a slightly higher risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Certain psychological traits, such as the ability to make unusual pr bizarre associations are also shared by schizophrenics and healthy, highly creative people. "The study shows that highly creative people who did well on the divergent tests had a lower density of D2 receptors in the thalamus than less creative people," says Dr Ullén.

Health / Medicine & Research : Turmeric could prevent liver damage The Hindu Anping Chen of Saint Louis University has tested the effect of curcumin, contained in turmeric, on the role of high levels of leptin in causing liver fibrosis in vitro, or in a controlled lab setting. File Photo: K.K. Mustafah A new Saint Louis University study has revealed that a chemical that gives curry its zing holds promise in preventing or treating liver damage from an advanced form of a condition known as fatty liver disease. The chemical, curcurmin, is contained in turmeric, a plant used by the Chinese to make traditional medicines for thousands of years. The recent study has highlighted its potential in countering an increasingly common kind of fatty liver disease called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). “My laboratory studies the molecular mechanism of liver fibrosis and is searching for natural ways to prevent and treat this liver damage,” said Anping Chen of Saint Louis University.

Rosenhan experiment Experiment to determine the validity of psychiatric diagnosis Rosenhan's study was done in eight parts. The first part involved the use of healthy associates or "pseudopatients" (three women and five men, including Rosenhan himself) who briefly feigned auditory hallucinations in an attempt to gain admission to 12 psychiatric hospitals in five states in the United States. All were admitted and diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. The second part of his study involved an offended hospital administration challenging Rosenhan to send pseudopatients to its facility, whom its staff would then detect. While listening to a lecture by R. In a 2019 popular book on Rosenhan by author Susannah Cahalan, The Great Pretender, the veracity and validity of the Rosenhan experiment has been questioned. Pseudopatient experiment[edit] Rosenhan and the other pseudopatients reported an overwhelming sense of dehumanization, severe invasion of privacy, and boredom while hospitalized. Impact and controversy[edit]

High intake of fruits and veggies prevents premature death--study According to researchers, alpha-carotene are plant pigments and nutrients known as carotenoids, a group that also includes beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, astaxanthin, and zeaxanthin. Alpha-carotene, like beta-carotene and around 50 other carotenoids are called 'provitamin A' compounds, because the body can convert them into an active form of vitamin A. The new study suggests alpha-carotene shields the body’s cells from oxygen-related damage that can trigger lethal diseases such as heart problems, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, macular degeneration, and other serious conditions. Lead researcher, Dr. Chaoyang Li, from the U.S. The study found that the risk of death in subjects who had blood alpha-carotene levels ranging from 2 and 3 micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dL) was 23 percent lower compared to those who had concentrations between 0 and 1. In order to evaluate the contribution of alpha-carotene in the reduction of fatal illnesses, the researchers conducted a study.

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