Health & Science

last updated 8 January 2015

Love or lust? It’s in his face

A new study finds that both men and women can look into the face of a potential partner and know instinctively whether that person is seeking a roll in the hay or a long-term relationship. When British researchers showed two sets of photos to 700 young men and women, the large majority of respondents were able to tell whether the person pictured was primarily interested in sex or a relationship. Apparently, people can “read” a lot of subtle cues from another person’s face. Men with exaggerated masculine features, such as square jaws, smaller eyes, and larger noses—an indication of high testosterone levels—are usually perceived as more interested in casual sex. Women found them attractive, but were wary of them. Men, on the other hand, were attracted to more glamorous female faces, which signaled openness to casual sex. The study, psychologist Lynda Boothroyd of Durham University tells BBCnews.com, shows that we “have a subconscious—not always right, but reasonable—guide” to assessing the romantic intent of potential partners. She said, though, that while people’s first “gut” reaction is often accurate, “people are not always sure about their judgments, possibly because the cues are very subtle.”

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Alligators almost never get sick. They have super immune systems that ward off virtually every virus and bacteria, and scientists are now trying to figure out their secret, to create treatments that could be used by humans. In a new study, researchers found that when they exposed alligator and human blood samples to 23 types of bacteria, the gator blood killed them all, while the human sample destroyed just eight. “Alligators tend to get into tussles and fights,” Lancia Darville, a researcher at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, tells USA Today. “They have torn limbs and scratches that are exposed to all of this bacteria in the water, yet they are never infected.” It appears that gators do not rely on customized antibodies to destroy micro-invaders, but have proteins in their blood that kill off everything that seems remotely alien to their system. “They don’t need to be exposed to any microorganism such as bacteria, viruses, fungi for their bodies to respond against them,” Darville says. As soon as the chemical structures of these key proteins are understood, she says, they can be examined for their potential as human cures.

A “regional” nuclear war between two states such as India and Pakistan would badly deplete the ozone layer and subject much of the Earth to dangerous radiation, says a new study. Previous research has shown that a small-scale nuclear war would inject so much smoke and debris into the atmosphere that it would block sunlight and drastically lower temperatures worldwide—creating a “nuclear winter” that could last for years. But on top of that, says a new study by University of Colorado researchers, the instant heat and soot generated by a regional nuclear war, involving 50 detonations, would effectively eat large holes in the ozone layer, exposing human beings all over the world to 25 percent to 70 percent more ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Vast quantities of plants and plankton would wither and die, amphibians would perish, animals would starve, and tens of thousands of people would develop skin cancer. Eight nations are known to have nuclear arsenals, and about 40 possess enough nuclear material to construct bombs. “The world has become a far more dangerous place when the actions of two countries on the other side of the world could have such a drastic impact on the planet,” study author Brian Toon tells LiveScience.com.

Athletes aren’t the only professionals doping their way to the top. A new survey by the science journal Nature has found that one-fifth of its readers—most of whom are scientists, doctors, or advanced students in the sciences—admit to using drugs to boost brain power. Sixty percent of the drug-using respondents said that their favorite cognitive enhancer was Ritalin, the amphetamine that’s often prescribed for hyperactive kids but is abused by some college students as a “study aid.” Forty percent named the narcolepsy drug Provigil—which produces prolonged wakefulness—and another 15 percent chose beta blockers, heart drugs known for their anti-anxiety effects. The study’s findings are striking because Nature readers are presumably well-informed about the perils of abusing drugs, yet choose to take them anyway to enhance their ability to focus, stay awake, or perform well in trying circumstances. “The desire for cognitive enhancement is very strong, maybe stronger than for beauty or athletic ability,” says Dr. Barbara Sahakian of Cambridge University in the U.K. “Suppose you’re preparing for the SAT, or going for a job interview—in those situations where you have to perform on that day, these drugs will be very attractive.” But like all drugs, they can cause unwanted side effects, or when used chronically, can lead to dependency. “You can usually tell who’s using,” graduate student Jeffrey Wells tells The New York Times. “They can be angry, testy, hyperfocused; they don’t want to be bothered.”