Only 1 in 10,000 people have absolute or “perfect” pitch, the ability to hear a tone and tell what note it is. This unusual ability is acquired early in life, typically learned during training at about four to six years of age, and there are no records of adults acquiring the ability. But a new study shows that people who […]
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If you are broke and hungry on Thanksgiving Day, George Dimopoulos will feed you. No charge. If you are lonely, he will hug you. Also no charge. Then he will feed you. Dimopoulos owns George’s Senate Coney Island, along Haggerty Road next to a nine-hole golf course in Northville. He also owns three other George’s Senate restaurants and, come to […]
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■ When Lindsay Crumbley Scallan lost her underwater camera in the waters off Maui, Hawaii, in 2007, she figured her precious vacation photos were gone forever. But six years later, Scallan’s camera washed up on a beach over 5,200 miles away inTaiwan, with its memory card intact. Scallan was identified after pictures of her from the camera were shown on […]
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Awe-inspiring experiences, such as viewing works of art or overlooking a scenic vista, may have physical as well as mental health benefits, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, found that the positive emotions triggered by these encounters can have an immune-boosting, anti-inflammatory effect that helps protect the body from heart disease, depression, autoimmune conditions, […]
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A year ago, 37-year-old Australian truck driver Bill Morgan was crushed in a car accident and came close to dying. When his luck finally changed after winning a car on a scratch-off lottery ticket, the local media wanted to air his story. Well, it was during that reenactment that he got another surprise. The ticket he was scratching was yet […]
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Since the late 1990s, when they began decoding the human genome, scientists have believed that 98 percent of DNA is “junk,” with no function. But new research shows that most of this genetic material serves as switches that turn genes on or off, which could explain why some people predisposed to certain diseases get them, while others don’t. Our genome […]
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The brain develops faster during early childhood and more than any other time in our life. In children, it is a magnificent thinking machine that learns and grows by interacting with the world. Not surprisingly, experts say that the foods kids eat not only fuel their bodies but their minds as well. Research shows that healthy eating can improve children’s […]
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■ Griffin Furlong has been fighting an uphill battle, but this week the 18-year-old graduated as ”class valedictorian” after his mother to leukemia when he was 6, Furlong spent two years in a homeless shelter with his father and brother. “It was horrible,” he said. “A kid should not have to go through that.” A month ago, just before final […]
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■ A high school baseball team in Sacramento was practicing last week when they heard desperate cries for help. A teenage girl had been pinned underneath a car in the Valley High School parking lot. Without prompting, the 30-strong team quickly lifter the four-door sedan off the injured girl, allowing coaches Troy Quirillo and Brett Sawyer to pull her to […]
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As an evolutionary strategy, the evolutionary roots of monogamy have long puzzled scientists: When a male pairs off for life with one female, he limits how many offspring he can produce, thus reducing his chances to pass on his genes. Few species are monogamous, yet 5 percent of mammal species are, including wolves and beavers—and about a quarter of primates. […]
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