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Search: Why do songs get stuck in our head?
Search results: Earworms.
According to Scott D. Lipscomb, associate professor in the School of
Music, the existence of "earworms" is acknowledged in research literature but the cause is not yet clearly understood. One possible explanation is that the neural circuits representing a song get stuck in "playback mode," and a snippet of the song plays over and over again in our head. |
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Search: Why are some people left-handed?
Search results:
South paw genetics.
According to Monica Luciana, professor of psychology, most people are right-handed. Handedness has a genetic component, because left-handedness runs in families. Handedness also appears to be influenced by brain development. We know that because children who are premature or have neurological problems at birth have higher-than-typical rates of non-right-handedness. |
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Search: Why do we twitch when we're falling asleep?
Search results:
Neuron misfires.
According to Carlos Schenck from the U's Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center, the brain is programmed to initiate "state transitions" and so with billions of neurons shifting gears during such changes, it is not surprising that all sorts of little (or at times big) misfirings across neurons are taking place, resulting in various motor and sensory events. |
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Search: Why is yawning contagious?
Search results:
Yawning prompts empathy.
It has been shown that viewing someone yawn evokes unique brain activity in areas that play a role in self-processing and self-awareness, which suggests that yawning may be part of a neural network involved in empathy, or the connection of self to others. |
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Search: What are the chances of intelligent life in outer space?
Search results:
Alien probability.
The odds are "definitely not zero" and are potentially quite high, according to University astronomy professor Charles "Chick" Woodward. With billions and billions of galaxies out there, even if the probability is 1 percent of 10 to the 9th power, you've got a big number and therefore a pretty good chance there is other life in the universe. |
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Search: Do mosquitoes prefer certain people?
Search results:
Mosquitoes may have favorites.
There is evidence that mosquitoes do prefer to bite some people compared to others, says entomologist Jeff Hahn. However, it is not clear whether these people are more attractive or just easier to find. Host-seeking in mosquitoes involves a very complex set of behaviors believed to be related to the chemical smells given off by the individual. |
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Search: Can we measure personality?
Search results:
The test used worldwide.
Constructed by U of M psychologist Hathaway and neuropsychiatrist McKinley, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is a test to assess personality. First published in 1942, updated in 1989, and published in many languages, it is the most widely used test of personality in the world. |
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Search: Can we design safer transportation?
Search results:
Life-saving technology.
Mechanical engineering professor James J. "Crash" Ryan was a pioneer in automobile and aircraft safety systems, who earned his nickname by using himself in dozens of hands-on crash tests. He developed the first "black box" flight recorder in 1960, and in 1963 he obtained a patent for the first automatic retractable seat belt -- an invention that has since saved thousands of lives. |
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Search: What can we feed livestock besides corn?
Search results:
Mustard bran.
U of M, Crookston animal nutrition professor Harouna Maiga has discovered that mustard bran -- the outer layer of whole mustard seed and a by-product of mustard milling-is a nutritious feed and a less expensive option than corn. This could be especially important as more feed crops are used for biofuels like ethanol. |
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Search: Can we be profitable and socially responsible?
Search results:
Money does grow on trees.
Professor of Strategic Management and Organization Alfred Marcus and his MBA students engage in an intensive two-week seminar in Costa Rica. Here students learn how to create harmony between economic development, environmental concern and social integrity. It's an all-important lesson concerning sustainability's key role in our economic future. |
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Search: How can we understand the brain?
Search results:
MEG minded.
Neuroscience professor Apostolos Georgopoulos and his students perform research with Magnetoencephalography, or (MEG). The technique measures small magnetic signals reflecting changes in the electrical current in the brain. Their research gives a critical perspective and understanding of how the brain functions and helps unlock the mysteries surrounding brain diseases like schizophrenia, autism, and Alzheimer's. |
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Search: Is there a natural way to protect crops?
Search results:
Wasps to the rescue.
Entomology professor George Heimpel and his students are studying the Chinese sting-less wasp-a natural predator of the soybean aphid, which causes an estimated $200 million of lost crop yields a year. In field-testing, they are finding that the wasps are very effective at killing the aphids and saving the plants. Looks like nature is a natural solution. |
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Search: How can we slow global warming?
Search results:
A cool plan.
Geography professor Steven Manson and his students research deforestation and its effects on global environmental change. With agent-based modeling, a way to examine how humans alter land surface on the earth, they create probable environmental consequences of this land change. The research could help avert potentially disastrous changes in climate. |
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Search: Does any good come from bad?
Search results:
Good can come from bad.
Psychology professor Patricia A. Frazier and her students research the
effect of trauma on people. Looking at numerous studies, they've found that 50 to 60 percent of survivors of trauma report some kind of personal growth, or good -- such as appreciating life more or strengthening relationships-that has arisen from their experience. |
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Search: To be or what to be?
Search results:
A real world performance.
An innovative program at the U of M combines the artistic vision of the
Guthrie Theater with the academic values of CLA. Students study with Guthrie artistic staff as well as take classes in the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance. With the additional possibility of performing on the Guthrie stage, by the time they graduate, these students already have acting experience and a head full of practical knowledge. |
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Search: Do human rights trials work?
Search results:
Accountability can improve practices.
Political science regents professor Kathryn Sikkink and her students research human rights, transitional justice, and the role of nongovernmental organizations. While some believe that the threat of prosecution can undermine human rights by entrenching repressive governments and keeping insurgents away from peace talks, her studies suggest that human rights trials lead to fewer human rights violations. |
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Search: What can I control with my mind?
Search results:
Harnessing brainpower.
Professor Bin He and his students are using a thinking cap and neuro-control technology to play a computer game with only the mind. The cap's 64 electrodes capture thoughts and feed them into a computer program. But it's not all about playing games. In the future, they hope the technology will enable people with artificial limbs to move them-just by thinking about it. |
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Search: Can't we all just get along?
Search results:
Curbing aggression.
Professor Nicki Crick and her students are studying the basis of relational aggression in young girls. They use an experiment with one ice cream cone and three girls to help understand why kids bully and what form it takes. With this research, they hope to one day stop aggression before it even starts. |
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Search: Is the food we eat safe?
Search results:
The betterment of our food.
Professor of Veterinary Medicine Jeff Bender and his students study how farms, processing plants, and retailers can effectively protect the food we eat from foodborne illnesses. Bender teaches how to detect and manage animal disease before it turns into an epidemic. Being properly educated on what trouble signs to look for helps make sure that the food we eat makes a safe journey from farm to fork. |
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Where is virtual reality going next?
Search Results:
Virtual technology advancements.
At the U of M, students use virtual reality-based technology to learn
dentistry. In a new simulation clinic, they practice on lifelike
mannequins connected to infrared-tracked drills and computers. With
feedback accurate to a tenth of a millimeter, it's the best "practice"
patient available. And this is just the beginning. In the future, students will enjoy a state-of-the-art learning experience by working with holograms. |
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Search: Do we have memories from before we were born?
Search results:
Newborns already remember
Newborn babies definitely have memories from before they were born, says cognitive development specialist Dr. Kathleen Thomas. For example, babies recognize their mother's voice almost immediately after birth. However, a condition known as "infantile amnesia" keeps most of our memories from before age two or three locked away. |
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Search: What if we flipped celebrity and teacher pay?
Search results:
We would value teachers more.
While speculating on such a fantastic scenario might, to some, be more disheartening than helpful, education professors Thom Swiss and Tim Lensmire say it encourages us to ask ourselves important questions about societal roles, the value of education in our society, and how we value the people who are responsible for helping others learn. |
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Search: Can animals make fuel?
Search Results:
Cow power.
Philip Goodrich and researchers in the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering have pioneered the world's first fuel cell operated on energy from cow manure. A digester using microorganisms is used to convert cow manure to methane, which is then converted to hydrogen to power a 5-kilowatt fuel cell. A generator in Isanti County is producing 3,100 kilowatt hours of electricity per day. |
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Search: Will we run out of fresh water?
Search Results:
Water scarcity is regional.
According to Q.Q. Huang in the Department of Applied Economics, scarcity of clean and fresh water is a regional problem, not a worldwide crisis. Water resources are diminishing in parts of the world where there is a gap between water demand (due to overpopulation, industry and agriculture) and water supply. The loss of water resources can be slowed through effective resource management. |
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Search: Why do we like junk food?
Search Results:
Junk food treats our brains.
Sweet foods affect certain chemicals and the "reward centers" in the brain, says CFANS dean Allen Levine, and mixtures of fat and sugar are even more delicious to people and animals. Such combinations of "macronutrients" are referred to as junk food because they provide little more than calories. Healthier foods are rich in vitamins and minerals and other beneficial substances, but don't reward our brain chemistry like sweet and fatty foods. |
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Search: Why can't we all use the metric system?
Search results:
We're already mostly metric.
Although the journey has been slow, says Robert Kudrle, professor in the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, the U.S. has already "gone metric" for most things and will eventually move to a metric-only system. However, he also predicts that a few artifacts will remain. For example, we're never going to change the length of a football field. |
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Search: Can we stabilize the world population?
Search results:
Population may adjust on its own.
It seems extremely unlike the world's nations will get together to plan to achieve zero (or negative) population growth, says Deborah Levison, associate professor in the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. However, as the world becomes more crowded, children will become more expensive, and more adults may choose to be childless-possibly leading to population decline. |
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Search: Can we ease traffic jams without new roads?
Search Results:
Narrow cars.
Rajesh Rajamani and a research team from the Department of Mechanical Engineering are developing and refining a prototype narrow commuter vehicle that would take up less than half the space of a standard automobile and could potentially be driven two abreast in a normal lane of traffic to help alleviate traffic congestion. |
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Search: Is a picture really worth a thousand words?
Search Results:
An advertising catchphrase.
According to U librarian Johan Oberg, versions of the phase appear in the 1862 novel Fathers and Sons as well as a number of early 20th century advertisements, which attribute to the Chinese (yet no such saying has been found in books of proverbs). The Quote Verifier ultimately suggests that the expression is a mix of "ancient Chinese wisdom and snappy American patter with a dash of Russian literary insight." |
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Last modified on June 13, 2008