A new study comparing Velociraptors and their modern counterparts, Komodo dragons and crocodiles, concludes that raptors were unlikely to be social, pack-hunters, in contradiction to their popularized portrayal in the ‘Jurassic Park’ movies. Continue reading ‘Jurassic Park’ was wrong: Study suggests raptors didn’t hunt in packs
Many adolescents witness diminishing grades in high school. A behavioral study has helped over 12,500 students change their views on intelligence, thus yielding higher grades among under-performing ninth-graders. Continue reading Intelligence not fixed in DNA: an idea that boosted academic success of thousands
A new study has compared the brains of dogs and cats and found cats wanting. Scientists counted the number of neurons in the cerebral cortex of brains and found that dogs have more than double the number of neurons of a cat. While this doesn’t immediately rule that dogs are the smarter species, it does suggest they have a higher capacity for learning. Continue reading Dog owners rejoice! Dogs could be smarter than cats
Headlines touting a recently discovered link between particular snippets of DNA and academic success skew a complicated (and fascinating) story that’s hidden in our genes. As described in Nature, a team of researchers from all over the world studied the genomes of hundreds of thousands of people and found a correlation between “educational attainment” and specific genetic variations. This technique, called a genome-wide association study, … Continue reading Our Genes are Not Our Destiny: “Smart Genes” have Tiny Effect on Schooling