All Stories by Avery Elizabeth Hurt
- Animals
Invertebrates are pretty clever, but are they conscious?
Scientists are designing experiments to test whether these animals have self-aware experiences as we do.
- Psychology
Done right, online learning might be as engaging as face-to-face
Measures of stress offer clues to how engaged students are during online lessons. This could help teachers design more effective classes.
- Brain
Some screen time may aid kids’ recovery from concussions
A few hours a day on digital devices may actually aid recovery by connecting kids with friends and giving their brains some stimulation.
- Chemistry
Was that fingerprint left during a crime? A new test may answer that
In what could be a boon to forensics, Iowa State University chemists have come up with a way to analyze the age of fingerprints.
- Tech
Can computers think? Why this is proving so hard to answer
In 1950, Alan Turing proposed a test to tell a human from a computer. Today, that Turing test may tell us more about ourselves than about machines.
- Psychology
Lying won’t stretch your nose, but it will steal some brainpower
The science of lying shows that most people don’t lie often. But when they do, it takes a surprising toll on their brains.
- Health & Medicine
In an emergency, you may want to see Dr. Dog
Emergency room visits by therapy dogs can reduce pain, anxiety and depression in patients waiting for care, a new study finds.
- Psychology
To excel at basketball, it’s mind over matter
Get your head in the game. Top basketball coaches value psychological traits more than physical ones when recruiting players, says a new study.
- Humans
Want to improve your reading skills? You might just need more space
A simple change by publishers and Web designers could help kids — both with and without dyslexia — read faster and better.
- Tech
Will you learn better from reading on screen or on paper?
Some studies find students don’t learn as well by reading on screens as from paper. But that's not always true. Here’s how to make the most of reading in either format.
- Environment
Cheatgrass thrives on the well-lit urban night scene
Middle-grade campers team up with ecologists at Denver University to show that streetlights boost the growth of a reviled invasive species.
- Earth
Earth as you’ve never seen it before
Earth is a sphere. Flat maps distort features on that sphere, usually by a lot. Now three scientists think they may have the best solution yet for flattening the planet.
