The researchers state their worry bluntly: “The purpose of this paper is to contribute to an understanding of how consumers behave and what they perceive when shopping chilled groceries from cabinets with doors and without doors in the supermarket.” Sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch are all perception tools that help aid the decision making […]
About: Jim Eakins
Posts by Jim Eakins:
Two rubber band technique for finger ring removal
Researchers have attempted many solutions to remove rings from the fingers they are stuck on, including the use of dental equipment, a finger part of a surgical glove cut off cylindrically, ribbon gauze and a paper clip, and the classic caterpillar technique. Australian researchers from University of Queensland and Gold Coast University Hospital report on […]
Visual evaluation of sliced Italian salami [research study]
Italian researchers Annalisa Romano, Paolo Masi, and Silvana Cavella take a close look at slices of salami in their paper, “Visual evaluation of sliced Italian salami by image analysis.” Rather than using chemical analysis to determine the fat content in the salami, Romano’s team utilized computers to visually inspect the fat content. The computers were […]
Tracking glitter particles from a university building
A team of forensic researchers from Soonchunhyang University in South Korea have determined that glitter can be used to track a person’s location in a university building. “A distribution study of glitter was conducted from a local university building. The potential recipient surfaces chosen were the 1,000 chairs kept in 16 separate classrooms of […]
Deceptive-like behaviour in dogs (Canis familiaris)
Dogs are usually considered to be trustworthy pets, but a research (or perhaps research-like) study sheds light on dogs’ ability to use deceptive-like (ore perhaps deceptive) behaviour to get their way. The article “Deceptive-like behaviour in dogs” explains an experiment where …dogs had the chance to choose, in the presence of either a cooperative or […]
Hand cooling from illusion not linked to change in body ownership
Researchers from Utrecht University have an update on temperatures in hands that may, or may not, belong to you. Their paper, “No consistent cooling of the real hand in the rubber hand illusion,” gives an example of the importance of distinguishing body ownership: “Consider a simple task such as walking towards another person –say, this […]
Sleep to forget teacher, or sleep to remember grandmother?
It seems that a lack of sleep may prevent the brain from forgetting unimportant information. A lack of sleep may also prevent the brain from remembering important information. How can scientists make sense of this seemingly-nonsensical seeming-contradiction? Imagine you just met your child’s teacher, who is named Gwen. The name Gwen, however, is firmly associated […]
Modelling heat loss from a semi-spherical cow udder
Theoretical physicists are sometimes accused of making over-simplifications for mathematical models. This has lead to many variations on the spherical cow story, where a physicist claims to be able to cure a sick cow, but only if it is a spherical cow in a vacuum. Oddly, most iterations of this tale ignore heat radiated from […]
Techniques in Saliva Collection: Bacon Smell Rules, Lozenge Drools
Certain studies are tongue in cheek. This certain study is interested in the fluids between the tongue and cheek. Mouthwatering science abounds in the article, “New Techniques for Augmenting Saliva Collection: Bacon Rules and Lozenge Drools.” Hoping to find a method that increases the rate mouth fluids can be collected, researchers had volunteers’ saliva analyzed […]
Wedgie-associated nerve damage in a 50-year old man [medical report]
Wedgies have been the staple of school-yard bullies and pranksters for years. While reportedly possible to die of asphyxiation from application of an atomic wedgie, there has not been a medical report about the possible dangers of the act. Getting a firm grip on the problem, this case report pulls up the underpinnings of damage caused […]