Many things we aren’t aware of can unconsciously influence our behavioural inclinations and orientations. “Pseudoneglect” is one of those things. Experimental evidence recognises it as a mild asymmetry in spatial attention. One result is leftward errors in line bisections. Even neurologically normal individuals prefer their left visual field to their right, and divide a line regularly left of centre. This could be displayed in architecture and construction. It has been long assumed that early Neolithic houses stood for about a generation (30 to 40 years) and new houses had to be built next to existing ones at regular intervals. Archaeologist Dr. Nils Müller-Scheessel wrote “By means of age determination using the radiocarbon method, we can now show that the new construction was associated with a barely perceptible rotation of the house axis counterclockwise. We see pseudoneglect as the most likely cause of this.” There are comparable archaeological observations at other places and times. Pseudoneglect thus goes far beyond the dating of early Neolithic houses.
SNEAK PEEK
1. Role changes: One
A good rain can have a cleansing effect on the land. Now, imagine you have a plant infected with a pathogen, and that pathogen spreading to the local soil. Who discovered that rain (and also droplets from human-made sprinkler systems) can further disperse bacteria?
1. MIT microbiologist Cullen Buie
2. Role changes: Two
We see changes in costume in the female leads Padme and Leia in Star Wars (Episodes I through VI). A study links the changes to the progression of the characters from their roles as political leaders to more passive roles as romantic partners. Who did the study?
2. Mary C. King, Jessica L. Ridgway (Florida State University)
3. Extra light jewellery
Lovers of gold watches would love this. If you use protein fibres and a polymer latex to form a matrix and embed thin discs of gold nanocrystals in it, you will get a form of gold that weighs about 5-to-10 times less than traditional 18-carat gold. Who is all set to make it?
3. Leonie van ‘t Hag (Source: ETH Zurich)
4. A language issue
Brain disorders affecting language skills don’t manifest in the same way globally. Italian speakers with dyslexia tend to have less severe reading issues than English or French speakers because Italian spelling is simpler and more phonetic. Who proved it in a study?
4. Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini (UCSF Memory and Aging Center)
5. Shimmering hues
Hummingbirds have the most brightly-coloured feathers. Light bounces off them like a soap bubble — shimmering hues that shift as you look at them from different angles. Who evinced that these colours come from the pancake-shaped structures present in the feathers?
5. Chad Eliason (Field Museum in Chicago)
6. Remind them of it
Knowingly or not, a typical child plays many roles — such as a friend, neighbour, son or daughter. Simply reminding them of their multi-faceted selves can make them better at problem-solving and flexible thinking — “all from a simple mindset switch”. Who said that?
6. Duke University neuroscientist Sarah Gaither
7. Sestrin will suffice
What if we could reap the benefits of a good workout without ever moving a muscle? A class of proteins called Sestrin can mimic many of exercise’s effects in flies and mice. Who claimed that Sestrin alone is sufficient to produce many benefits of physical exercise?
7. Molecular physiologist Jun Hee Lee (University of Michigan)
8. Empathy enhanced
Having a child with a disability in a family poses unique demands on all family members. True, but there is more to it. Who, based on a long study, argued that having a family member with a disability makes the rest of the family “more attentive to the needs of others”?
8. Anat Zaidman-Zait (TAU’s Constantiner School of Education)
9. Like tying shoes
Once you learn a skill, like tying shoes, you can perform it consistently over the years. The brain works by using highly distributed patterns of activity across neurons to generate behaviour — rather than by adjusting the activity of each individual neuron. Who found it?
9. Juan Alvaro Gallego (Imperial College London)
[ANSWERS]
1. MIT microbiologist Cullen Buie
2. Mary C. King, Jessica L. Ridgway (Florida State University)
3. Leonie van ‘t Hag (Source: ETH Zurich)
4. Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini (UCSF Memory and Aging Center)
5. Chad Eliason (Field Museum in Chicago)
6. Duke University neuroscientist Sarah Gaither
7. Molecular physiologist Jun Hee Lee (University of Michigan)
8. Anat Zaidman-Zait (TAU’s Constantiner School of Education)
9. Juan Alvaro Gallego (Imperial College London)
QUIZ No. 938
1. Our brain can translate lip movements alone into sound information. Who found it?
– Don W. Cleveland
– Samuel Allen Counter Jr.
– Mathieu Bourguignon
1. Mathieu Bourguignon
2. Who proposed that even nations accept “friends of friends” in war and diplomacy?
– Seymour S. Kety
– Susan Adele Greenfield
– Skyler Cranmer
2. Skyler Cranmer
3. Who firmly argued that free Internet access must be considered as a human right?
– Dr. Merten Reglitz
– Bruce Sherman McEwen
– Rita Levi-Montalcini
3. Dr. Merten Reglitz
4. Who was with Edison’s 1902 nickel exploration team before turning to journalism?
– G. Gould Lincoln
– Rowena Granice Steele
– Shirley Lewis Povich
4. G. Gould Lincoln
5. Who did develop a fabric for self-cleaning space suits, using carbon nanotubes?
– Kavya K. Manyapu
– Emilio Herrera Linares
– Russell Sidney Colley
5. Kavya K. Manyapu