Tag: our

How our sense of taste changes as we age

Taste is a complex phenomenon. We do not experience the sensation through a single sense (as we would when we see something using our sense of sight, for example) but rather it is made up of the five senses working together to allow us to appreciate and enjoy food and drink. Initial visual inspection of

Are eyes the window to our mistakes?

We all make poor decisions from time to time. Researchers at the University of Arizona are working to better understand why, and they’re looking to the eyes for answers. To study mistake making in humans, researchers performed an auditory test on 108 participants in a lab. Each participant listened to a series of 20 clicks,

Oreo's New Cookie Flavor Has Us Scratching Our Heads

Oreo’s may just be our favorite grocery store cookie. I mean, whether you bite ’em, twist ’em or dunk ’em, they are delicious, but their latest flavor has us scratching our heads. According to Instagram user @thejunkfoodaisle, Nabisco will be releasing a buttered popcorn-flavored Oreo. Say what?! Details about the cookie are vague, though we imagine

How does social media use affect our body image?

Recently, the effects of social media use on our mental health and well-being have been the topic of much debate. According to the social displacement theory, for example, the more time we spend socializing online, the less time we’re likely to spend socializing in the offline world. This could lead to a decrease in one’s

Does our environment affect the genes in our brains?

Is there a link between differences in IQ test performance and the activity of certain genes? Researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin have shown that modifications in the structure of a specific gene have a negative impact on individual test performance. This suggests that environmentally induced epigenetic changes to our genetic material have a greater

Can changing our views on death improve how we live our lives?

Life is not possible without death and yet, modern medicine has waged an unending war against death. Now, a Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS) residential fellow is exploring how the concept of kenosis might create a common ground for personal growth, mutual understanding, civil discourse and productive policymaking in today’s diverse and polarized

Study shows how ‘friendly’ bacteria keep our gut healthy

The link between our gut bacteria and immune system is complex and crucial to our health. Recent studies have started to reveal parts of this link, but a lot remains undiscovered. For instance, certain good bacteria were found to regulate our body’s — and brain’s — response to stress. Gut bacteria also modulate the body’s