Tagged: research

“Why did they do it?”  That’s one of the first questions on the lips of every reporter and pundit after a tragedy like the Boston Marathon bombing, and often there is no satisfying answer.  In cases of domestic terrorism, the motives of the perpetrator leave us with other, equally difficult questions:  what separates angry young men, most of whom will never commit acts of mass violence, from those who do?

Two weeks ago, Congress passed a continuing budget resolution that included an amendment to cease all funding of political science research. Currently, Poly-Sci gets about ten million dollars a year in support from the national science foundation. In a recent series of posts on Pacific Standard, Seth Masket, political scientist at the University of Denver, says his field has become a new political punching bag. We’ve asked Seth on to tell us why…and why he thinks such research matters.

The high heel—ever the fashion accessory—has always attracted attention. Turns out (insert astonishment here) that they make the wearer more attractive and more feminine. 

In honor of this not quite surprising research, here are our top scientific no-brainers inspired by the Ig Nobel prizes for thoughtful, humorous and sometimes absurd research.

Dating sites like E-Harmony and Match.com use complex math to bring people together. Now, a project funded by the Michael J. Fox foundation is leveraging similar matchmaking algorithms to link people with Parkinson’s disease to appropriate clinical trials. 

Journalist Neal Ungerleider wrote about the Fox Trial Finder tool for Fast Company. 

The National Science Foundation has given The University of New Hampshire $750,000 to coordinate the study of the impacts of Climate Change on roads and bridges.

The grant money will establish a network of Northeast climate scientists and civil engineers led by UNH researchers.