Alexander Ryking

Dissecting the GOP Brain: Why can’t Republicans handle the truth?

There is suggestive but not definitive evidence that the size of the amygdala – “an almond-shaped bunch of neurons located in an evolutionarily older part of the brain, the limbic system” – may play a role in one’s political orientation. The amygdala is strongly associated with fear; one of its tasks is to “structure our life-preserving defense responses.” Experiments have shown that conservatives tend to have bigger and more active amygdalas, but the field of “neuropolitics” is in its early stages, as Mooney notes. It’s clear, though, that genetics helps shape our political beliefs. According to Mooney, “40 percent or more of the variability in our political outlooks is ultimately attributable to genetic influences.”

It’s also clear that, whatever the extent of its physiological origin, fear is a major motivator in the GOP’s drive to deny reality.

Damage from Chemical Exposure Passed Down for Generations

New research has shown that exposure to commonly used chemicals causes changes in rats that are passed down through multiple generations.

“We are now in the third human generation since the start of the chemical revolution, since humans have been exposed to these kinds of toxins,” says David Crews, co-author of the study and a researcher at the University of Texas. “This is the animal model of that.”

“The ancestral exposure of your great grandmother alters your brain development to then respond to stress differently,” says Michael Skinner, co-author and a researcher at Washington State University. “We did not know a stress response could be programmed by your ancestors’ environmental exposures.”

theweekmagazine:

How good is your gaydar?

It turns out that college students can spontaneously gauge a complete stranger’s sexual orientation with startling accuracy, according to a new study from the University of Washington.

What’s more: It appears that women possess much stronger “gaydar” than their male peers

(Source: theweek.com)

Activists: Insurance industry’s flight from [libertarian] Heartland a symptom of growing climate change acceptance

The recent flight of insurance companies from leading climate change denial group The Heartland Institute isn’t just due to the group’s offensive Chicago billboard comparing scientists to “Unibomber” Ted Kaczynski. Experts told Raw Story this week that the overt rejection of Heartland’s billboard is more of an exclamation point on the rapidly growing trend of insurance companies owning up to the brutal reality of the world’s worsening weather.

April in U.S. was 3rd warmest on record; last 12 months also hottest in nearly 120 years of records

discoverynews:

How Saturday’s ‘Supermoon’ Will Effect Us

Astronomers call it perigee-syzygy; the rest of us call it “supermoon.” Either way, the alignment of the sun and moon will coincide with the moon’s closest approach to Earth on Saturday (May 5), resulting in the biggest full moon of the year. But don’t worry, it won’t break Earth.

Saturday’s supermoon will be especially super. Richard Nolle, the astrologer who coined the term “supermoon,” defined it as a full moon that occurs within 12 hours of lunar perigee, or the point in the moon’s slightly non-circular monthly orbit when it swings closest to our planet. On Saturday, the timing of the two events will be almost perfect: the moon will reach its perigee distance of 221,802 miles (356,955 kilometers) — the closest lunar perigee of 2012, in fact — at 11:34 p.m. Eastern Time, and it will fall in line with the sun (thereby becoming full) just one minute later.

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(via discoverynews)

Warmer seas behind Antarctic ice shelf melt, study finds

When it comes to melting ice shelves in Antarctica, the danger comes from below, new research suggests.

By discovering the anatomy of ice loss across this chilly expanse, research may be able to forecast how the continent will melt in the future — and also how much global seas may rise.

MAPS: What Your State Is Good At, And What It’s Lame At

(Click the link for the second infographic.)

discoverynews:

Mosquitoes Killed Two Killer Whales

The mosquito plague of summer is fast approaching and with it comes the threat of diseases, such as St. Louis encephalitis and West Nile virus. Not just human picnickers and campers have to worry about mosquito-borne disease. Even the largest of captive creatures is in danger from the tiny pests.

Two orcas, or killer whales (Orcinus orca), kept in captivity have died from the two diseases mentioned above, reported the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS).

“I think it is safe to say that no one would have thought of the risks that mosquitoes might pose to orcas in captivity, but considering the amount of time they unnaturally spend at the surface in shallow pools at these facilities, it is yet another deadly and unfortunate consequence of the inadequate conditions inherent to captivity,” said Courtney Vail, campaigns manager for WDCS.

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