Wednesday, 8 February, 2012

When everybody exploits a common resource without limit, we get the tragedy of the commons: Benefiting the individuals burns through the resource. A new economic strategy game, based on how animals and plants grow, suggests that communication helps players allocate the resource and still take home a bigger harvest.

The science behind medical marijuana is emerging. Some tests show that it dulls pain in cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and AIDS. Why is medical marijuana so difficult to explore? What’s coming to the market?

The Titanic sank in 1912, the Lusitania sank in 1915. In each case, about 32 percent of passengers survived. But women and children did much better on Titanic, which took 160 minutes to slide underwater, than on Lusitania, which went down in 18 minutes. Ditto for rich people. Why?

To hide from hungry fish, this animal houses luminous bacteria. But what prevents the bacteria from reproducing and killing the squid? At last, a genetic a balancing mechanism is revealed.

Cleaner fish remove parasites from other fish. Why do males punish females who eat the wrong food from their host? A clue to the evolution of cooperation?

Can our evolutionary roots explain that self-destructive search for sex – and sexual companionship? Could Darwinian psychology constitute the cause home-wrecking, career-blitzing fatal attractions?

Less carnage than last time, but why do mass killers pull the trigger? What are the warning signs of “rampage” shootings?

Study finds that male body odor is harder to mask, but the male nose is more easily confused. Info lends insight into human mating, and helps perfume makers. So what’s in your deodorant?

We explore the sad saga of pet primates. Are these pets psychologically good for us? For them? Are humans and other primates trading diseases at home, and in the wild?

Researchers in positive psychology find that giving is better than receiving, that social relationships are key, and that money can – in some circumstances – buy some happiness.