Brittle stars can learn just fine — even without a brain. Duke Today, Nov. 29, 2023. In a series of experiments, brainless brittle stars learned that “lights out” was a dinner bell call to come for dinner. Picked up by Newsweek, The Transmitter, ZME Science and IFLScience.
Tag Archives: psychology/neuroscience
Feeling lonely? What we want from our relationships can change with age
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Feeling lonely? What we want from our relationships can change with age. Duke Research blog, Nov. 14, 2022. Not feeling the holiday cheer this year? The gap between expectations and reality can leave people feeling lonely. Experts weigh in on why we feel lonely, particularly in later life, and what we can do about it. Picked up by Earth.com and InsideHook.
How to encourage preschoolers to be more fair, according to science
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How to encourage preschoolers to be more fair, according to science. Duke Research blog, October 17, 2022. Exposing young kids to different opinions or asking them to explain their thinking can have surprising benefits. Picked up by Futurity.
You can snuggle wolf pups all you want, they still won’t ‘get’ you quite like your dog
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You can snuggle wolf pups all you want, they still won’t ‘get’ you quite like your dog. Duke Today, July 12, 2021. If you feel like your dog gets you in a way that most other animals don’t, you’re right. New research comparing dog puppies to human-reared wolf pups offers some clues to how dogs’ unusual people-reading skills came to be. Picked up by CNN, UPI, Scientific American, Science News, Haaretz Daily, Inverse, Wired, The Miami Herald, MSN, Psychology Today, Business Insider, INDY Week and the Raleigh News & Observer.
Birds perceive ‘warm’ colors differently from ‘cool’ ones
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Birds perceive ‘warm’ colors differently from ‘cool’ ones. Duke Today, May 29, 2019. Birds may not have a word for maroon. Or burnt sienna. But show a zebra finch a sunset-colored object, and she’ll quickly decide whether it looks more “red” or “orange.” A new study shows that birds mentally sort the range of hues on the blue-green side of the spectrum into two categories too, but the line between them is fuzzier, perhaps because “either/or” thinking is less useful in this part of the spectrum, researchers say.
Stress ‘sweet spot’ differs for mellow vs. hyper dogs
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Stress ‘sweet spot’ differs for mellow vs. hyper dogs. Duke Today, July 21, 2015. People aren’t the only ones who perform better on tests or athletic events when they are just a little bit nervous — dogs do too. But in dogs as in people, the right amount of stress depends on disposition. A new study by researchers at Duke University finds that a little extra stress and stimulation makes hyper dogs crack under pressure but gives mellow dogs an edge. Picked up by the Daily Mail, the News & Observer and CBS News.