Authentic Science Research 2013-2014

Using a computer program, Neuroscientist Kamitani led an experiment to compare the brain's activity during sleep and during wake. This study involved 3 adult males, who were hooked up to a fMRI (used to measure brain activity). Being told to describe the things they saw in their dreams, the 3 adults were also asked to look at those objects in real life. Kamitani's study revealed that the brain responded similarly to objects dreamt about or seen awake.

Phil Plait, the author of Bad Astronomy, strongly believes that astrology is inaccurate according to 3 things horoscopes assert: force from planets and stars affect humans; force can be tracked; horoscopes predict fortune. Scientists argue, that out of the 4 forces (gravity, electromagnetism, strong, and weak), strong and weak forces have nothing to do with astrology itself, and the objects that exert the most gravitational and electromagnetic forces on the Earth have little influence in astrology. Many other researchers and authors support the idea that astrological predictions are biased and harmful.

Being the leader of the research team at the University of Alberta, Lisa Hartling experiments with how music affects levels of pain. The team conducted with 42 children in the pediatric ER: half given music to listen to while getting an IV, the rest given no music. Hartling reports that there were less pain after the procedure for the kids that had listened to music than the kids that had not. She hopes to continue this research, testing with different types of music or other distractions to help lower pain during medical procedures.

The bright light emission from smartphones or tablets can affect melatonin, the hormone that controls the body's sleep-wake cycles. A Mayo Clinic study tested with different brightness levels and distances the devices must be to least affect melatonin levels in the body. Results revealed that low brightness levels along with the device held 1 foot away from the face disrupts sleep the least.