Short-form Content: A Modern Media Pandemic

From the debut of Sesame Street in 1969 all the way to today’s social media, short-form content has become more and more popular. This may be an overlooked issue in the modern age characterized by overstimulation and attention deficiency.

Yiǧit Bozok • November 14, 2022

How can other species’ emotions influence us?

Have you ever looked at your pet and detected excitement, sadness, or guilt? Such interactions indicate not only your pet expressing an emotion, but also you reacting to it. This ability is crucial for a social animal’s survival, but can it work between species?

Anna Matsulevits • October 31, 2022

Tracing consciousness down to the cell

Where is consciousness in the brain? This question has puzzled scientists, physicians, and philosophers alike. Recent work has raised an exciting possibility: we may be able to trace the most complex capabilities of the brain right the way down to the cells.

Verónica Mäki-Marttunen • October 24, 2022

Stroking, gently.

Whenever I'm at a petting farm (kinderboerderij), I try to get attention of the grazing cows. Sometimes – on my gentle call – they come to me as if they understand my good intentions. Can cows, in fact, perceive interactions with humans as something positive?

Maria Lojowska • September 19, 2022

Fighting climate change with kindness

We should eat less meat to reduce climate change. Recognition of similarities between us and other animals can help us to achieve just that. More effortlessly – out of kindness.

Maria Lojowska • June 13, 2022

Meditation, not medication: cognitive enhancement done right

Stimulant abuse for the sake of good grades has contaminated universities worldwide. Given that pressure to perform is unlikely to be relieved, educators should at least ensure that students can strive for success in a healthy manner. Meditation may be the way.

Fabiana Neto Gaspar and Neja Zrimšek Žiger • May 09, 2022

The art of presenting

Oral presentations inform our peers of our scientific progress. More importantly, they show others who we are - as potential collaborators, as grant applicants, or as potential future colleagues. We need to take our presentations seriously.

Esther van Leeuwen and Fieke Harinck • May 04, 2022

Stress? It's safety, silly!

A new view of stress as a default response throws current theory upside down. Not something present (a stressor) triggers a stress response, but something missing (information on safety) unleashes it, keeping it disinhibited as long as safety is missing or unclear.

Jos Brosschot • April 25, 2022

Mindfulness: the key to treating OCD?

Only 50-65% of patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) benefit from standard OCD treatments. Until recently, the remaining individuals needed to live with the debilitating effects of the illness. Fortunately, mindfulness is now emerging as an alternative.

Emma Nesbit, Mayra Jager and Sabrina Bayer • April 21, 2022