Harpswell Information

09-12-8: It Seems Biology (not Religion) Equals Morality
by Marc D. Hauser
Where I intend to be divisive is with respect to the argument that religion, and moral education more generally, represent the only — or perhaps even the ultimate — source of moral reasoning. If anything, moral education is often motivated by self-interest, to do what's best for those within a moral community, preaching singularity, not plurality. Blame nurture, not nature, for our moral atrocities against humanity. And blame educated partiality more generally, as this allows us to lump into one category all those who fail to acknowledge our shared humanity and fail to use secular reasoning to practise compassion.

09-8-23: How We Support Our False Beliefs
ScienceDaily (Aug. 23, 2009) — In a study published in the most recent issue of the journal Sociological Inquiry, sociologists from four major research institutions focus on one of the most curious aspects of the 2004 presidential election: the strength and resilience of the belief among many Americans that Saddam Hussein was linked to the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

09-8-22: Are ants conscious?
A new study shows that ants are capable of making extremely sophisticated judgement calls.
The rescuers work frantically to shift the sand that has half-buried their colleague.
After a few minutes, they’ve succeeded – only to find there’s another problem: the victim is caught up in an anchor-like structure buried even deeper in the sand. So they set to work again, slashing away at the anchor line until it gives way, finally releasing their colleague

09-6-6: Mood Literally Affects How We See World
Research Suggests That People in a Good Mood Take in More Information When They Look at Something
June 5, 2009 -- We’ve all heard of rose-colored glasses. New research suggests that mood really may affect our vision.
Although people in a good mood may not see things tinted with pink, they do take in more information when they look at something. Meanwhile, people in a bad mood are more likely to see with tunnel vision. The research has been published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

09-5-19: New Tool Can Help Predict Risk Of Alzheimer's In Elderly
ScienceDaily (May 18, 2009) — A new tool can help predict whether people age 65 and older have a high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Research on the tool is published in the May 13, 2009, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
ScienceDaily (May 18, 2009) — A new tool can help predict whether people age 65 and older have a high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Research on the tool is published in the May 13, 2009, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

09-5-3: Fish May Actually Feel Pain And React To It Much Like Humans Do
ScienceDaily (May 1, 2009) — Fish don't make noises or contort their faces to show that it hurts when hooks are pulled from their mouths, but a Purdue University researcher believes they feel that pain all the same.

09-1-10: Women Can Smell a Man's Intentions
It's not hard to tell when a guy is "happy to see you."
The twinkle in his eye, his swagger, that sexy smile — all are clear signs he's in the mood.
And, at least subconsciously, a woman can also tell by the scent of his sweat, according to new research.
Scientists have long debated whether humans, like animals, use chemical signals called pheromones to communicate sexual interest to potential mates. Problem is, the effects of pheromones are thought to be subconscious — meaning that if we do communicate using them, we sure don't know it. It's also hard to know what these pheromones might be and how we sense them, so researchers understand little about them.

09-1-2: Religion May Have Evolved Because Of Its Ability To Help People Exercise Self-control
Self-control is critical for success in life, and a new study by University of Miami professor of Psychology Michael McCullough finds that religious people have more self-control than do their less religious counterparts.
These findings imply that religious people may be better at pursuing and achieving long-term goals that are important to them and their religious groups. This, in turn, might help explain why religious people tend to have lower rates of substance abuse, better school achievement, less delinquency, better health behaviors, less depression, and longer lives.

08-12-3: UC Berkeley: Brain Difference Between Rich, Poor Kids
BERKELEY, Calif. (KCBS) -- Researchers at UC Berkeley have shown for the first time that the brains of low-income children function differently from the brains of kids from high-income families.
In a study published by the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, scientists at UC Berkeley's Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and the School of Public Health report that normal 9- and 10-year-olds differing only in socioeconomic status have detectable differences in the response of their prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that is critical for problem solving and creativity.
Electrodes on the scalp and held in place by a cap to measure underlying brain activity were used to measure brain function on electroencephalograph , said cognitive psychologist Mark Kishiyama, one of the researchers.

08-08-12: Neuroscientists Glimpse How The Brain Decides What To Believe
ScienceDaily (Aug. 12, 2008) — It has probably happened to everyone at one time or another. You're driving to a restaurant for the very first time. At a crossroads, you make a turn. You drive for several minutes, and then several minutes more. Nothing in sight. The disturbing thought creeps into your mind: "I should be there by now. Did I make the wrong turn?"
At what point will you make a u-turn and go back? It all depends on how confident you are of the decision you made at the crossroads. If you are following a mere hunch, you may decide to go back. If you are following printed directions issued by the restaurant, you may have much more confidence in your decision and continue along in the same direction.

Prevalence Of Religious Congregations Affects Mortality Rates
ScienceDaily (July 3, 2008) — LSU associate professor of sociology Troy C. Blanchard recently found that a community's religious environment -- that is, the type of religious congregations within a locale -- affects mortality rates, often in a positive manner. These results were published in the June issue of Social Forces.

08-05-29: How Fairness Is Wired In The Brain
ScienceDaily (May 29, 2008) — In the biblical story in which two women bring a baby to King Solomon, both claiming to be the mother, he suggests dividing the child so that each woman can have half. Solomon's proposed solution, meant to reveal the real mother, also illustrates an issue central to economics and moral philosophy: how to distribute goods fairly.

08-05-24: How Are Humans Unique?  (NY Times)
Human beings do not like to think of themselves as animals. It is thus with decidedly mixed feelings that we regard the frequent reports that activities once thought to be uniquely human are also performed by other species: chimpanzees who make and use tools, parrots who use language, ants who teach. Is there anything left?

Older Brain Really May Be a Wiser Brain
When older people can no longer remember names at a cocktail party, they tend to think that their brainpower is declining. But a growing number of studies suggest that this assumption is often wrong.
Instead, the research finds, the aging brain is simply taking in more data and trying to sift through a clutter of information, often to its long-term benefit.

08-05-05: Appeasing the Gods, With Insurance
Suppose you’re preparing to travel by air. Which of these precautions do you think is most likely to prevent your plane from crashing?
  A) Sacrificing a gilt-horned bull on an altar.
  B) Sacrificing two goats on the tarmac.
  C) Buying flight insurance.
I’m guessing you didn’t go for the bull sacrifice. Although this preboarding procedure was practiced by ancient Greek travelers, as Homer reported in grisly detail, today there are serious doubts about its efficacy, if only because of the litany of tourist woes in “The Odyssey.”

08-05-05: Lots of Animals Learn, but Smarter Isn’t Better
  “Why are humans so smart?” is a question that fascinates scientists. Tadeusz Kawecki, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Fribourg, likes to turn around the question.
  “If it’s so great to be smart,” Dr. Kawecki asks, “why have most animals remained dumb?”
Dr. Kawecki and like-minded scientists are trying to figure out why animals learn and why some have evolved to be better at learning than others. One reason for the difference, their research finds, is that being smart can be bad for an animal’s health.
   Learning is remarkably widespread in the animal kingdom. Even the microscopic vinegar worm, Caenorhadits elegans, can learn, despite having just 302 neurons. It feeds on bacteria. But if it eats a disease-causing strain, it can become sick.

08-4-18: Treated Unfairly? Here's Why You're Sore
Brain Imaging Studies Show Fair Treatment Activates Portion of Brain Linked to Happiness
April 18, 2008 -- There's no escaping the fact that life isn't always fair, but that usually doesn't make unfair treatment any easier to accept. Now new brain imaging studies may help explain why.
The research shows that being on the receiving end of fair treatment is inherently rewarding, activating the portion of the brain associated with happiness.
Being treated unfairly was shown to activate a region of the brain previously linked to negative emotions, such as moral disgust.

08-2-22: What Is The Cognitive Rift Between Humans And Other Animals?
ScienceDaily (Feb. 22, 2008) — Shedding new light on the great cognitive rift between humans and animals, a Harvard University scientist has synthesized four key differences in human and animal cognition into a hypothesis on what exactly differentiates human and animal thought.

08-2-20: Human Culture Subject To Natural Selection, Study Shows
ScienceDaily (Feb. 20, 2008) — The process of natural selection can act on human culture as well as on genes, a new study finds. Scientists at Stanford University have shown for the first time that cultural traits affecting survival and reproduction evolve at a different rate than other cultural attributes. Speeded or slowed rates of evolution typically indicate the action of natural selection in analyses of the human genome.

07-11-5: Mirror neurons, Altruism, Neuroscience | Salon News
I feel your pain
New proof of "mirror neurons" explains why we experience the grief and joy of others, and maybe why humans are altruistic. But don't call us Gandhi yet.

07-9-4: Persistence of Myths Could Alter Public Policy Approach - washingtonpost.com
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued a flier to combat myths about the flu vaccine. It recited various commonly held views and labeled them either "true" or "false." Among those identified as false were statements such as "The side effects are worse than the flu" and "Only older people need flu vaccine."
When University of Michigan social psychologist Norbert Schwarz had volunteers read the CDC flier, however, he found that within 30 minutes, older people misremembered 28 percent of the false statements as true. Three days later, they remembered 40 percent of the myths as factual

07-9-3: ScienceDaily: The Bonobo Handshake
What’s it like to work with relatives who think sex is like a handshake, who organize orgies with the neighbors, and firmly believe females should be in charge of everything?

07-9-1: Altruism Emerges When Thoughts Focus On God
Thoughts related to God cultivate cooperative behaviour and generosity, according to University of British Columbia psychology researchers.
In a study to be published in the September issue of Psychological Science journal, researchers investigated how thinking about God and notions of a higher power influenced positive social behaviour, specifically cooperation with others and generosity to strangers.

07-7-29: Connections Across Brain Regions Implicated In Adolescents' Ability To Resist Peer Pressure
  The capacity to resist peer pressure in early adolescence may depend on the strength of connections between certain areas of the brain, according to a study carried out by University of Nottingham researchers.
  New findings suggest that enhanced connections across brain regions involved in decision-making may underlie an individual's ability to resist the influence of peers.
  The study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, suggests that brain regions which regulate different aspects of behaviour are more interconnected in children with high resistance to peer influence.

07-6-27: Researchers May Remake Neanderthal DNA : Wired News - AP News
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Researchers studying Neanderthal DNA say it should be possible to construct a complete genome of the ancient hominid despite the degradation of the DNA over time.
There is also hope for reconstructing the genome of the mammoth and cave bear, according to a research team led by Svante Paabo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.

07-06-07: ScienceDaily: 'Cultured' Chimpanzees Pass On Novel Traditions
Science Daily — The local customs that define human cultures in important ways also exist in the ape world, suggests a study reported online June 7th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. Indeed, captive chimpanzees, like people, can readily acquire new traditions, and those newly instituted "cultural practices" can spread to other troops.
"We have robust evidence that in chimpanzees there is a considerable capacity for cultural spread of innovations," said Dr. Andrew Whiten of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. "This strengthens the interpretation of cases of behavioral diversity in the wild as socially transmitted traditions. Moreover, we have now shown that chimpanzees can sustain cultures that are made up of several traditions. This again is consistent with what is seen in the wild, where chimpanzees are thought to show up to 20 traditions that define their unique local culture."

07-5-28: ScienceDaily: Inner Workings Of The Magnanimous Mind: Why It Feels Good To Be Altruistic
It’s an enduring mystery that taunts neuroscientists and evolutionary biologists.  If the human brain evolved to maximize its owner’s survival, why are we motivated to help others, even when it incurs some personal cost?

The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race; Discover Magazine
To science we owe dramatic changes in our smug self-image. Astronomy taught us that our earth isn’t the center of the universe but merely one of billions of heavenly bodies. From biology we learned that we weren’t specially created by God but evolved along with millions of other species. Now archaeology is demolishing another sacred belief: that human history over the past million years has been a long tale of progress. In particular, recent discoveries suggest that the adoption of agriculture, supposedly our most decisive step toward a better life, was in many ways a catastrophe from which we have never recovered. With agriculture came the gross social and sexual inequality, the disease and despotism, that curse our existence.

Farfetched? Hint of Free Will Found in a Fly | LiveScience
SA spark of free will may exist in even the tiny brain of the humble fruit fly, new findings that could shed light on the nature and evolution of free will in humans.

English 101 for bonobos | csmonitor.com
Researchers in Iowa plumb the language skills of apes at a center where the primates even watch their own videos. Part 2 of two.
Des Moines, Iowa - Panbanisha wants coffee – a tall decaf Starbucks caramel macchiato, to be exact. Midway through a demonstration of her extensive vocabulary, obligingly pointing to the correct symbols on a complex board for "yogurt," "egg," and "hurt," she switches gears and points to the symbols for "candy" and "coffee" – her term for a caramel macchiato.
"You want coffee, Panbanisha?" asks William Fields, a senior researcher at Des Moines's Great Ape Trust – a question that Panbanisha responds to with an enthusiastic series of loud shrieks. A few more exchanges, and she's made sure he knows to get enough for the other six apes, to get "marshmallow" – her word for the foam on top – and to get the drinks now!

An orphanage for primates | csmonitor.com
Claudine André runs a nursery for bonobos in the Congo and warns about the vanishing presence of the most humanlike of the apes. Part 1 of two.
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo - Claudine André shields her eyes from the Kinshasa glare, peering toward the thick jungle beyond the perimeter fence and the telltale scraps of banana leaves. "Où êtes-vous?" she calls out. Where are you?
From the canopy of trees comes excited screeching. Ms. André smiles. Her bonobos – 50 or so orphans rescued from pet cages and bush-meat markets – always respond. "On y va!" she yells. Let's go.
Seemingly unbothered by the tropical heat, André glides up one of the steep hills of the nature sanctuary here, the only one of its kind in the world. Soon, a posse of bonobos strolls alongside her on the other side of the fence, grinning and romping. André introduces them by name, and by story.

Turning Human Beings Into Monsters - Our Lives as Atoms - Times Select - New York Times Blog
It is three years and a few days since CBS News published the first photos documenting the systematic abuse, torture and humiliation of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison. The Bush administration and the American military have worked hard to firmly establish the “few bad apples” explanation of what happened. Eight low-ranking soldiers were convicted, and Staff Sgt. Ivan Frederick II, who was found guilty of assault, conspiracy, dereliction of duty and maltreatment of detainees, is now halfway through his eight-year prison sentence.
But there are very good reasons to think that Frederick and the others, however despicable their actions, only did what many of us would have done if placed in the same situation, which puts their guilt in a questionable light. Can someone be guilty just for acting like most ordinary human beings?