What is a Higgs Boson?

Fermilab scientist Don Lincoln describes the nature of the Higgs boson. Several large experimental groups are hot on the trail of this elusive subatomic particle which is thought to explain the origins of particle mass

via Fermilab's YouTube Channel

Fermilab scientist Don Lincoln describes the nature of the Higgs Boson.

What Are You Curious About? Discovery Channel Launches Curiosity

Premiering this Sunday, August 7th at 8pm, Discovery Channel launches the ambitious series Curiosity with a companion website at Curiosity.com. 

Curiosity asks and answers the most fundamental questions facing the world today. Each episode of Curiosity will focus on a single enduring question in science, technology, and society. As is always the case, one single question cascades into several more, making each episode of Curiosity a rich and textured experience. From the micro to the macro, we tackle provocative and insightful questions.

Have you ever wondered why the sky is blue? Questioned how we age? Asked what makes us truly happy? More than just a landmark television series, Curiosity is an adventure of discovery, an expedition to uncover the truths behind life's most challenging questions.

I have high hopes for the series, it has the potential to be another great source of creative thinking fuel. If the following teaser clips are an indication of what is to come we should all tune in to the series and join the conversation on the website. 

Negative Images Boost Unrelated Memories

People who viewed an image of a dead cat (or something equally negative) after recalling a newly learned Swahili word were better at later remembering the word than people who viewed a neutral image, say Bridgid Finn and Henry L. Roediger III of Washington University. The viewers of negative images remembered 57% of what they had previously recalled, compared with 44% for people who saw neutral pictures. An emotionally arousing event may enhance "reconsolidation" of memory because the brain's emotional centers have close connections with the reconsolidation region, the researchers say.

Source: Enhancing Retention Through Reconsolidation: Negative Emotional Arousal Following Retrieval Enhances Later Recall

via Harvard Business Review's The Daily Stat

Chris Chabris: When Intuition Fails

Psychologist and neuroscientist Chris Chabris studies how rarely we see the world as it really is. A creator of the famous “gorilla experiment” and co-author of “The Invisible Gorilla: and Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us,” Chabris' work reveals how relying on our institutions is a perilous decision-making strategy.

Psychologist and neuroscientist Chris Chabris studies how rarely we see the world as it really is. A creator of the famous “gorilla experiment” and co-author of The Invisible Gorilla: and Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us, Chabris' work reveals how relying on our institutions is a perilous decision-making strategy. 

Caffeine Cuts Men's Ability to Collaborate Under Stress

When it comes to collaboration on stressful tasks, caffeine impairs men's performance but boosts women's, according to research led by Lindsay St. Claire of the University of Bristol in the UK. The researchers say their laboratory study raises the question of whether men "fight or flee" while women "tend and befriend" under stress, and whether caffeine somehow intensifies those behaviors. They also ask whether coffee at business meetings might have the effect of sabotaging collaboration. 80% of the world's population consumes caffeine daily.

via web.hbr.org