Life's Little Mysteries Body Mind Archives
New Optical Illusions Expose More Foibles of the Brain
May 22, 2012, by Natalie Wolchover, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
These amazing new optical illusions show just how weird the human brain really is.
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Celebrities Turned Ugly in New Optical Illusion
May 21, 2012, by Natalie Wolchover, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
The amusing runner-up at this year's Best Illusion of the Year contest makes celebrities' faces appear hideously distorted when viewed in a certain way.
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'Disappearing Hand Trick' Named Year's Best Illusion
May 21, 2012, by Natalie Wolchover, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
An optical illusion that tricks the brain into thinking one's hands have vanished wins the title of "Best Illusion of 2012" in an annual contest.
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Vogue Magazine Bans Anorexic Models, But Will It Help?
May 11, 2012, Benjamin Radford, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor
Thin models have been increasingly blamed for promoting unhealthy body images.
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What If Our Hands Had 6 Fingers?
May 10, 2012, by Natalie Wolchover, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
Scientists explain why math would be different, possibly with profound consequences for human intelligence. They think the sixth finger would likely be an extra thumb.
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How Far Can the Human Eye See?
May 07, 2012, by Natalie Wolchover, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
We can see far beyond Earth's horizon.
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Are Humans Just Fleshy Automatons?
May 07, 2012, by LifesLittleMysteries.com, staff
Modern neuroscience reveals that much of human behavior is governed by chemical reactions. Are we just complicated robots?
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Why Are Pollen Allergies So Common?
April 30, 2012, by Natalie Wolchover, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
There's nothing especially heinous about pollen, except that it's everywhere.
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The 5 Most Common Allergies
April 30, 2012, Life's Little Mysteries Staff
People can become allergic to anything they're exposed to frequently, but these are the five most common culprits.
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Top 5 Things that Cause Brain Farts
April 27, 2012, by Natalie Wolchover, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
Our brains are generally adept at processing sensory data from everyday life, but in these 10 circumstances, they comically fail.
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Can Stressing About Money Affect Your Health?
April 26, 2012, David Mielach, BusinessNewsDaily Staff Writer
What kind of health problems are associated with worrying about money?
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Why Are Some People Better at Drawing than Others?
April 24, 2012, by Natalie Wolchover, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
Great headway has recently been made in determining what makes people good at drawing, and how the skill can be learned.
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Poll: Do You Believe in God?
April 18, 2012, Life's Little Mysteries Staff
This isn't simply a yes or no question.
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How Music 'Awakens' Alzheimer's Patients
April 18, 2012, by Natalie Wolchover, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
Music seems to have a transformative effect on Alzheimer's and dementia patients. Scientists are starting to figure out why.
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10 Everyday Things that Cause Brain Farts
April 16, 2012, by Natalie Wolchover, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
Our brains are generally adept at processing sensory data from everyday life, but in these 10 circumstances, they comically fail.
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Why Everyone Believes in Magic (Even You)
April 12, 2012, by Natalie Wolchover, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
In a new book, author Matthew Hutson accrues evidence that suggests we all believe in magic; he argues that magical thinking is actually good for us.
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What is Trisomy 18?
April 10, 2012, Life's Little Mysteries Staff
Rick Santorum's 3-year-old daughter suffers from this condition. What is it?
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Why Does Spinning Make You Dizzy?
April 10, 2012, by Natalie Wolchover, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
Spinning makes you dizzy because of inertia, an important principle of physics. Here's how it works.
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Niceness is in Your DNA, Scientists Find
April 09, 2012, by Natalie Wolchover, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
Researchers have identified some of the genes that influence how nice you are.
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Why Does Coffee Cause Bad Breath?
April 05, 2012, Life's Little Mysteries
What makes coffee make your breath stink so badly?
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How Do We Fall Asleep?
April 03, 2012, by Natalie Wolchover, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
Concentrating on how you fall asleep tends to makes it not happen, so it's impossible to understand the process by doing it. Here's the neuroscience of what's going on.
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Should You Pre-Chew Your Baby's Food?
April 02, 2012, by Natalie Wolchover, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
Pre-chewing your infant's food may be an important and safe way to boost his or her immune system.
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Why Can Some People Wiggle Their Ears?
March 30, 2012, Brooke Borel, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor
You might be surprised why some people are able to wiggle their ears.
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Why Do Joints 'Pop'?
March 27, 2012, Life's Little Mysteries
You've probably noticed that stiff fingers, knees and necks make a crackling sound from time to time. What causes that to happen, and is it a sign of bad joint health?
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Why Do People Talk In Their Sleep?
March 26, 2012, by Natalie Wolchover, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
Sleep-talking is the product of a confused mental state, but it happens to the best of us.
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