About
If you've got a story, picture, or link that's beyond belief, send it to tipline@haveigotoneforyou.com with your name and where you heard about it and we'll add it!
Accounts
Click here to check if anything new just came in.
May 10 2012
NCBI ROFL: Female chimps choose their sex noises depending on the audience.
Female chimpanzees use copulation calls flexibly to prevent social competition.
“The adaptive function of copulation calls in female primates has been debated for years. One influential idea is that copulation calls are a sexually selected trait, which enables females to advertise their receptive state to males. Male-male competition ensues and females benefit by getting better mating partners and higher quality offspring. We analysed the copulation calling behaviour of wild female chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) at Budongo Forest, Uganda, but found no support for the male-male competition hypothesis. Hormone analysis showed that the calling behaviour of copulating females was unrelated to their fertile period and likelihood of conception. Instead, females called significantly more while with high-ranking males, but suppressed their calls if high-ranking females were nearby. Copulation calling may therefore be one potential strategy employed by female chimpanzees to advertise receptivity to high-ranked males, confuse paternity and secure future support from these socially important individuals. Competition between females can be dangerously high in wild chimpanzees, and our results indicate that females use their copulation calls strategically to minimise the risks associated with such competition.”
Photo: flickr/downing.amanda
Related content:
May 09 2012
NCBI ROFL: The effects of caffeine, dextroamphetamine, and modafinil on humor appreciation during sleep deprivation.
“STUDY OBJECTIVES: Sleep loss consistently impairs performance on measures of alertness, vigilance, and response speed, but its effects on higher-order executive functions are not well delineated. Similarly, whereas deficits in arousal and vigilance can be temporarily countered by the use of several different stimulant medications, it is not clear how these compounds affect complex cognitive processes in sleep-deprived individuals. DESIGN: We evaluated the effects of double-blind administration of 3 stimulant medications or placebo on the ability to appreciate humor in visual (cartoons) or verbal (headlines) stimuli presented on a computer screen following 49.5 hours of sleep deprivation. SETTING: In-residence sleep-laboratory facility at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-four healthy adults (29 men, 24 women), ranging in age from 18 to 36 years. INTERVENTIONS: Each participant was randomly assigned to 1 of 3 stimulant medication groups, including caffeine, 600 mg, n = 12; modafinil, 400 mg, n = 11; dextroamphetamine, 20 mg, n = 16; or placebo, n = 14. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Humor appreciation for cartoon stimuli was enhanced by modafinil relative to both placebo and caffeine, but there was no effect of any stimulant medication on the appreciation of verbal ...
May 08 2012
NCBI ROFL: Scientific proof that milk is better on cereal than water.
Physical properties and microstructural changes during soaking of individual corn and quinoa breakfast flakes.
“The importance of breakfast cereal flakes (BCF) in Western diets deserves an understanding of changes in their mechanical properties and microstructure that occur during soaking in a liquid (that is, milk or water) prior to consumption. The maximum rupture force (RF) of 2 types of breakfast flaked products (BFP)–corn flakes (CF) and quinoa flakes (QF)–were measured directly while immersed in milk with 2% of fat content (milk 2%) or distilled water for different periods of time between 5 and 300 s. Under similar soaking conditions, QF presented higher RF values than CF. Soaked flakes were freeze-dried and their cross section and surface examined by scanning electron microscopy. Three consecutive periods (fast, gradual, and slow reduction of RF) were associated with changes in the microstructure of flakes. These changes were more pronounced in distilled water than in milk 2%, probably because the fat and other solids in milk become deposited on the flakes’ surface hindering liquid infiltration. Structural and textural modifications were primarily ascribable to the plasticizing effect of water that softened the carbohydrate/protein matrix, inducing partial collapse of the porous structure ...
May 07 2012
NCBI ROFL: Do women prefer more complex music around ovulation?
“The evolutionary origins of music are much debated. One theory holds that the ability to produce complex musical sounds might reflect qualities that are relevant in mate choice contexts and hence, that music is functionally analogous to the sexually-selected acoustic displays of some animals. If so, women may be expected to show heightened preferences for more complex music when they are most fertile. Here, we used computer-generated musical pieces and ovulation predictor kits to test this hypothesis. Our results indicate that women prefer more complex music in general; however, we found no evidence that their preference for more complex music increased around ovulation. Consequently, our findings are not consistent with the hypothesis that a heightened preference/bias in women for more complex music around ovulation could have played a role in the evolution of music. We go on to suggest future studies that could further investigate whether sexual selection played a role in the evolution of this universal aspect of human culture.”
Photo: flickr/Epiclectic
Thanks to BBoyButzemann for today’s ROFL!
Related content:
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Women’s gaydar improves during ovulation.
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Kin affiliation ...
May 04 2012
NCBI ROFL: Women’s sexual and emotional responses to male- and female-produced erotica.
“Whether erotic films made by women are more arousing for women than erotic films made by men was studied. Forty-seven subjects were exposed to both a woman-made, female-initiated, and female centered, erotic film excerpt. Photoplethysmographic vaginal pulse amplitude was recorded continuously. Self-report ratings of sexual arousal and affective reactions were collected after each stimulus presentation. Contrary to expectation, genital arousal did not differ between films, although genital response to both films was substantial. Subjective experience of sexual arousal was significantly higher during the woman-made film. The man-made film evoked more feelings of shame, guilt, and aversion. Correlations between subjective experience of sexual arousal and photoplethysmographic measures of sexual arousal were nonsignificant. The largest contribution to female sexual excitement might result from the processing of stimulus-content and stimulus-meaning and not from peripheral vasocongestive feedback.”
|
Photo: flickr/rachelkramerbussel.com
Related content:
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Would Spock be turned on by porn?
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: This holiday season, show your loved ones you care: send an electrovaginogram.
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Probably the most horrifying scientific lecture ever.
NCBI ROFL. Real articles. Funny subjects.
Read our FAQ!
May 03 2012
NCBI ROFL: PhDs agree: bees see like me!
Bees perceive illusory colours induced by movement.
“Certain black-and-white patterns, when rotated at appropriate speeds, can create the artificial perception of hues. We report that this illusion is not confined to human vision, but is also perceived by an insect, the honeybee. The findings suggest that certain features underlying the processing of colour information are shared by man and bee.”
Bonus quotes from the main text:
Freely-flying bees (Apis melrifera) were trained to discriminate between two visual stimuli presented in a horizontal plane immediately beneath the surface of a glass-topped table. One of the stimuli bore a reward of sugar water. The locations of the stimuli were interchanged frequently to prevent the bees from using position cues to identify the rewarded stimulus.
Related content:
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Want to make your Africanized honey bees more aggressive? Get ‘em drunk!
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: How dogs navigate to catch frisbees.
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Is that bee on crack? Oh, wait…it is.
NCBI ROFL. Real articles. Funny subjects.
Read our FAQ!
May 02 2012
NCBI ROFL: The identification of attractive volatiles in aged male mouse urine.
“In many species, older males are often preferred mates because they carry “good” genes that account for their viability. In some animals, including mice, which rely heavily on chemical communication, there is some indication that an animal’s age can be determined by its scent. In order to identify the attractants in aged male mouse urine, chemical and behavioral studies were performed. We herein show that aged mice have higher levels of 3,4-dehydro-exo- brevicomin (DB), 2-sec-butyl-4,5-dihydrothiazole (BT), and 2-isopropyl-4,5-dihydrothiazole (IT) and a lower level of 6-hydroxy-6-methyl-3-heptanone relative to adult male mice. We also demonstrate that the attraction of females to the odor of male mouse urine is greater when the urine is from aged males. However, the attraction of aged urine odor was offset by the ultrafiltration of adult and aged mouse urine. When DB, BT, and IT were added to adult urine, the attraction of the urine was enhanced. Our results suggest that inbred aged male mice develop an aging odor that is attractive to female mice in an experimental setting and that this attraction is due to increased mouse pheromone signaling.”
May 01 2012
NCBI ROFL: Imitating mickey mouse can be dangerous.
“Inhaling helium to produce that amusing squeaky voice may not be the innocuous party trick it seems, according to emergency medicine physicians at the Wesley Center for Hyperbaric Medicine in Brisbane, Australia.
Simon Mitchell and colleagues report the case of a previously healthy 27-year-old man who inhaled helium and subsequently developed a stroke with transient blindness and radiographic evidence of cortical infarction. The man had inhaled the gas directly from a pressurized canister; most children who perform the trick—to imitate the voice of Mickey Mouse—inhale the gas from helium-filled balloons.
The patient developed rigidity and lost consciousness within moments of inhaling the helium. On arrival at the emergency room 15 minutes later, he regained consciousness but was found to have complete visual loss and evidence of cortical infarction.
The patient was diagnosed with a cerebral arterial gas embolism occurring after inhaling helium; he was treated with hyperbaric oxygen. His blindness resolved, and there was radiographic evidence of regression of his stroke after four cycles of treatment with hyperbaric oxygen.
The patient in this report had inhaled helium from a high pressure cylinder, causing blood vessels in his lungs to rupture and allowing the gas to gain access to ...
April 30 2012
NCBI ROFL: The dangers of intense hand drumming.
Rust urine after intense hand drumming is caused by extracorpuscular hemolysis.
“BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
During Carnival, groups of > or =60 drummers go drumming with their hands and marching for periods of 2 to 4 h. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency and type of urinary abnormalities after candombe drumming and to evaluate possible pathogenic mechanisms.
DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS:
For analysis of pathogenic mechanisms, a group of individuals were prospectively evaluated before and after candombe drumming. Methods: Candombe drummers were recruited in January 2006, 1 wk before prolonged drumming. After clinical evaluation, urine and blood samples were obtained before and immediately after drumming.
RESULTS:
Forty-five healthy individuals (four women and 41 men), median age 31 yr (14 to 56), were evaluated. Predrumming urine and plasma samples were obtained for 30 individuals. Nineteen (42%) of 45 had a previous history of rust urine emission temporally related with candombe drumming. After drumming, 18 of 26 showed urine abnormalities; six of 26 showed rust urine, eight of 26 had microhematuria, and seven of 26 had proteinuria >1 g/L. The candombe drummers who showed rust urine after heavy drumming ...
April 27 2012
NCBI ROFL: Why Miss Poland is more beautiful than generic med students.
Body mass index and waist: hip ratio are not enough to characterise female attractiveness.
“The assessment of characteristic body features of Miss Poland beauty contest finalists compared with the control group, can contribute to recognising the contemporary ideal of beauty promoted by the mass media. The studies of Playboy models and fashion models conducted so far have been limited to the following determinants of attractiveness: body mass index, waist:hip ratio, and waist:chest ratio, which only partially describe the body shape. We compared 20 body features of the finalists of Miss Poland 2004 beauty contest with those of the students of Medical Academy in Bydgoszcz. Discriminant analysis showed that the thigh girth-height index, waist: chest ratio, height, and body mass index had the greatest discrimination power distinguishing the two groups. A model of Miss Poland finalists figure assessment is presented which allows one to distinguish super-attractive women from the control group.”
Photo: flickr/georgereyes
Related content:
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Sexualization of the female foot as a response to sexually transmitted epidemics: a preliminary study.
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Psychosexual study of communist era Hungarian twins.
Discoblog: NCBI ...
April 26 2012
NCBI ROFL: How your brain is like Google.
Google and the mind: predicting fluency with PageRank.
“Human memory and Internet search engines face a shared computational problem, needing to retrieve stored pieces of information in response to a query. We explored whether they employ similar solutions, testing whether we could predict human performance on a fluency task using PageRank, a component of the Google search engine. In this task, people were shown a letter of the alphabet and asked to name the first word beginning with that letter that came to mind. We show that PageRank, computed on a semantic network constructed from word-association data, outperformed word frequency and the number of words for which a word is named as an associate as a predictor of the words that people produced in this task. We identify two simple process models that could support this apparent correspondence between human memory and Internet search, and relate our results to previous rational models of memory.”
Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Felipe Micaroni Lalli
Related content:
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: This is your brain. This is your brain as an internal combustion engine.
Discoblog:
April 25 2012
NCBI ROFL: Wish you could get drunk without blacking out? Next time, have a coffee.
Alcohol-induced retrograde memory impairment in rats: prevention by caffeine.
“RATIONALE:
Ethanol and caffeine are two of the most widely consumed drugs in the world, often used in the same setting. Animal models may help to understand the conditions under which incidental memories formed just before ethanol intoxication might be lost or become difficult to retrieve.
OBJECTIVES:
Ethanol-induced retrograde amnesia was investigated using a new odor-recognition test.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Rats thoroughly explored a wood bead taken from the cage of another rat, and habituated to this novel odor (N1) over three trials. Immediately following habituation, rats received saline, 25 mg/kg pentylenetetrazol (a seizure-producing agent known to cause retrograde amnesia) to validate the test, 1.0 g/kg ethanol, or 3.0 g/kg ethanol. The next day, they were presented again with N1 and also a bead from a new rat’s cage (N2).
RESULTS:
Rats receiving saline or the lower dose of ethanol showed overnight memory for N1, indicated by preferential exploration of N2 over N1. Rats receiving pentylenetetrazol or the higher dose of ethanol appeared not to remember N1, in that they showed equal exploration of N1 and N2. Caffeine (5 mg/kg), delivered either ...
April 24 2012
NCBI ROFL: Reminders of secular authority reduce believers’ distrust of atheists.
“Atheists have long been distrusted, in part because they do not believe that a watchful, judging god monitors their behavior. However, in many parts of the world, secular institutions such as police, judges, and courts are also potent sources of social monitoring that encourage prosocial behavior. Reminders of such secular authority could therefore reduce believers’ distrust of atheists. In our experiments, participants who watched a video about police effectiveness (Experiment 1) or were subtly primed with secular-authority concepts (Experiments 2-3) expressed less distrust of atheists than did participants who watched a control video or were not primed, respectively. We tested three distinct alternative explanations for these findings. Compared with control participants, participants primed with secular-authority concepts did not exhibit reduced general prejudice against out-groups (Experiment 1), prejudice reactions associated with functional threats that particular out-groups are perceived to pose (specifically, viewing gays with disgust; Experiment 2), or general distrust of out-groups (Experiment 3). These findings contribute to theory regarding both the psychological bases of prejudices and the psychological functions served by gods and governments.”
Photo: flickr/loop_oh
Related content:
Discoblog: ...
April 23 2012
NCBI ROFL: Ever wanted to know what’s really in hotdogs?
Applying morphologic techniques to evaluate hotdogs: what is in the hotdogs we eat?
“Americans consume billions of hotdogs per year resulting in more than a billion dollars in retail sales. Package labels typically list some type of meat as the primary ingredient. The purpose of this study is to assess the meat and water content of several hotdog brands to determine if the package labels are accurate. Eight brands of hotdogs were evaluated for water content by weight. A variety of routine techniques in surgical pathology including routine light microscopy with hematoxylin-eosin-stained sections, special staining, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy were used to assess for meat content and for other recognizable components. Package labels indicated that the top-listed ingredient in all 8 brands was meat; the second listed ingredient was water (n = 6) and another type of meat (n = 2). Water comprised 44% to 69% (median, 57%) of the total weight. Meat content determined by microscopic cross-section analysis ranged from 2.9% to 21.2% (median, 5.7%). The cost per hotdog ($0.12-$0.42) roughly correlated with meat content. A variety of tissues were observed besides skeletal muscle including bone (n = 8), collagen (n = 8), blood ...
April 20 2012
NCBI ROFL: If you want to sell more alcohol, touch your customers.
The effect of waitresses’ touch on alcohol consumption in dyads.
“A total of 96 men and 48 women participated in a study on the effect of touch in the natural setting of public taverns in the United States. Participants in the same-gender (men-men) or mixed-gender dyads were either touched or not touched by waitress confederates. Regardless of dyad type, participants who were touched consumed more alcohol than participants who were not touched. Men in the mixed-gender dyads consumed more alcohol when the women was touched. Same-gender (men-men) dyads aggregately consumed more alcohol than mixed-gender dyads. The results are interpreted in terms of the environmental cues and the dynamics of the group.”
Photo: flickr/zoonabar
Related content:
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Beauty week: Blond, busty, skinny waitresses get bigger tips.
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: A field study of bar-sponsored drink specials and their associations with patron intoxication.
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Munich Oktoberfest experience: remarkable impact of sex and age in ethanol intoxication.
NCBI ROFL. Real articles. Funny subjects.
Read our FAQ!
April 19 2012
NCBI ROFL: Wobbling appearance of a face induced by doubled parts.
“An illusion produced by duplicating facial parts, which can cause an unstable feeling for many observers, was investigated. We examined factors that contribute to the unstable feeling. The results suggest that this illusion is specific to face perception, and the unstable feeling may be generated by difficulty in keeping attention directed to either of the duplicated facial parts.”
|
Bonus figures from the full text:
Related content:
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: No way. According to my tongue, that hole is definitely wider. (That’s what she said.)
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Think all cows look alike? Then clearly you’re not a cow.
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Hmm… I wonder if this illusion works on other body parts?
NCBI ROFL. Real articles. Funny subjects.
Read our FAQ!
April 18 2012
NCBI ROFL: Murder: an evolutionary adaptation?
The homicidol effect: investigating murder as a fitness signal.
“This article extends homicide adaptation theory by investigating signal effects of a murder. In two experiments (N = 299 and N = 161) participants reported their perceptions of a described person. The first study manipulated the information about the person (including or excluding a single sentence stating that the person has committed a murder) and stimulus person/observer sex match (same vs. opposite sex). Results suggest that murder functions as a signal of the described person’s fitness that enhances observers’ evaluations and inclination to interact with the person. Opposite-sex observers evaluate the murderer’s intent more favorably than same-sex observers, but these evaluations of intent produce differential (positive vs. negative) effects between the two groups. The second study replicated the findings and ruled out potential confounds.”
Photo: flickr/mitchypop
Related content:
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Wham, bam, thank you ma’am: an evolutionary perspective.
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Effects of stress on human mating preferences: stressed individuals prefer dissimilar mates.
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: The evolution of humor from male aggression.
NCBI ROFL. Real articles. Funny ...
April 17 2012
NCBI ROFL: You don’t need a face to be a good magician.
Social misdirection fails to enhance a magic illusion.
“Visual, multisensory and cognitive illusions in magic performances provide new windows into the psychological and neural principles of perception, attention, and cognition. We investigated a magic effect consisting of a coin “vanish” (i.e., the perceptual disappearance of a coin after a simulated toss from hand to hand). Previous research has shown that magicians can use joint attention cues such as their own gaze direction to strengthen the observers’ perception of magic. Here we presented naïve observers with videos including real and simulated coin tosses to determine if joint attention might enhance the illusory perception of simulated coin tosses. The observers’ eye positions were measured, and their perceptual responses simultaneously recorded via button press. To control for the magician’s use of joint attention cues, we occluded his head in half of the trials. We found that subjects did not direct their gaze at the magician’s face at the time of the coin toss, whether the face was visible or occluded, and that the presence of the magician’s face did not enhance the illusion. Thus, our results show that joint attention is not necessary for the perception of this ...
April 16 2012
NCBI ROFL: The effect of social support derived from World of Warcraft on negative psychological symptoms.
“Previous research examining players of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) suggests that players form meaningful relationships with each other. Other research indicates that people may derive social support from online sources, and this social support has been associated with greater well-being. This study used an online survey of players (N = 206) of the MMOG World of Warcraft (WoW) to examine if social support can be derived from MMOGs and to examine its relationship with negative psychological symptoms. Players of WoW were found to derive social support from playing and a positive relationship was found between game engagement and levels of in-game social support. Higher levels of in-game social support were associated with fewer negative psychological symptoms, although this effect was not maintained after accounting for social support derived from the offline sources. Additionally, a small subsample of players (n = 21) who played for 44 to 82 hours per week (M = 63.33) was identified. These players had significantly lower levels of offline social support and higher levels of negative symptoms compared to the rest of the sample. This study provides evidence that social support can be derived from ...
April 13 2012
NCBI ROFL: The economics of faking orgasms.
The economics of faking ecstasy.
“In this paper, we develop a signaling model of rational lovemaking. In the act of lovemaking, a man and a woman send each other possibly deceptive signals about their true state of ecstasy. For example, if one of the partners is not in ecstasy, then he or she may decide to fake it. The model predicts that (1) a higher cost of faking lowers the probability of faking; (2) middle-aged and old men are more likely to fake than young men; (3) young and old women are more likely to fake than middle-aged women; and (4) love, formally defined as a mixture of altruism and demand for togetherness, increases the likelihood of faking. The predictions are tested with data from the 2000 Orgasm Survey. Besides supporting the model’s predictions, the data also reveal an interesting positive relationship between education and the tendency to fake in both men and women.”
Photo: flickr/greggoconnell
Related content:
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: The clinical value of boredom. A procedure for reducing inappropriate sexual interests.
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Sneezing induced by sexual ideation or orgasm: an under-reported phenomenon.
Discoblog: ...
Maybe Soup is currently being updated? I'll try again automatically in a few seconds...
