The New 96.1 Joy FM -- Today's Lite Hits » science

Instant Snow! (Science You Probably Shouldn't Try At Home) [VIDEO]

Mike Riley — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 09:34:46 +0000

The first big snow of the season is just hours away. Some of us are dreading the white stuff, while others…well, others can’t wait for it.But what if the amount you’re going to get (2″-3″ for Buffalo and the Northtowns, up to a foot in ski country) just isn’t enough? If you lived at a [...]

Teenage Binge-Eating May Point To Drug Use; Study

Mike Riley — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 10:11:05 +0000

A new study suggests that parents and physicians can use eating habits as a possible predictor of whether teens will use marijuana and other drugs. According to the new research, teens and young adults who binge or overeat are almost two times more likely to use illegal drugs. Kendrin Sonneville, lead author of the report, [...]

Celebrating "The Enchantress Of Numbers"

Mike Riley — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 09:52:59 +0000

The Mother of Modern Computers was born on this day in 1815. How important was Ada Lovelace to the development of computers? Among her contributions was the idea that computers could do more than just crunch numbers. Ada was born in 1815, the daughter of Romantic poet Lord Byron and his then wife Annabella. The [...]

Women Can Pick Out Cheaters Just By Looking; Men, Not So Much

Mike Riley — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 09:55:18 +0000

A new study says women can frequently pick out male cheaters just by seeing pictures of men they’ve never met. Can men pick out female cheaters? Research says – no! “We provide the first evidence that faithfulness judgments, based solely on facial appearance, have a kernel of truth.” The research was done by an Australian team, headed [...]

You DO Believe Man Walked On The Moon, Right?

Mike Riley — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 20:06:06 +0000

If you’re like me, you’ve probably heard a crazy story or two. We know it doesn’t make sense to believe ‘em. But why do so many of us buy into utter nonsense? Well, a team from the University of Western Australia says we get our misinformation from one of four places: - rumors or works of fiction - [...]

Do You Want To Know What Could Kill You? [VIDEO/POLL]

Mike Riley — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 20:29:27 +0000

You probably didn’t know this, but when I’m off-work [vacations, weekends, etc], I try to follow a “normal” [awake in daytime, sleep at night] schedule. Daytime is a little overrated, but I sometimes find something good on TV. I was watching one of the Sunday news shows, and it had this story about how Science [...]

Are You Planning For The End Of The World?

Mike Riley — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 10:25:54 +0000

Sre you one of the people who believes the World will end on December 21st? If you are, are you still making Christmas plans [just to hedge your bets]? Well, because of all the end of the World fears [thanks a lot, you cowards], NASA has had to come forward, trying to calm people down. [...]

Should Women Shun Sex Before Athletics?

Mike Riley — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 10:08:19 +0000

There’s been a theory, dating back to ancient Greece, that athletes should refrain from sexual activity the night before a major event. But is there anything to that? And, since the practice began in an era before both sexes competed in sports, does it apply to women? The reason all this came up is an [...]

Daredevil Dives from Edge of Space [VIDEO]

Mike Riley — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 09:17:52 +0000

Austrian stuntman Peter Baumgartner jumped out of a balloon at the edge of Earth’s atmosphere yesrterday, free-falling more than 24 miles before landing safely in the New Mexico desert. In the process, he became the first human to break the sound barrier without an airplane, rocket, or other device. He also broke a more-than-50 year [...]

Beam Me Up, Scotty! 'Warp Drive' Is Coming

Amanda Ferris — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 10:00:07 +0000

Scientists are cautiously optimistic that a warp drive, like the ones made so famous in ‘Star Trek’ is more likely than they once thought. For non science-geeks, a warp drive could manipulate space-time itself to move a starship. A concept for a warp drive was developed in 1994 by a Mexican physicist named Miguel Alcubierre, [...]

Better Chocolate Through Science — New Technology Cuts Fat in Half!

Mike Riley — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 09:37:30 +0000

Chocolate. It tastes good, and more than one study reports it’s good for you. Chocolate is believed to help circulation, and a new study suggests it could even assist brain function. There’s just one problem: Chocolate has a very high fat content. But a new technique for making the sweet treat may reduce the fat content by half. Problem solved.

More Expressive Than Your Aunt Phyllis? Check Out This Incredible Robot Face! [VIDEO]

Mike Riley — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 09:16:26 +0000

If you’ve been to one of those theme-park “audioanimatronic” presentations, you know that robots can be made to do quite spectacular and life-like things. Now an Italian team is showing what may be the most realistic recreation of human expressions yet. The robotic face is known, oddly enough, as FACE (Facial Automaton for Conveying Emotions). [...]

Common Chemical May Raise Diabetes Risk in Women; New Study

Mike Riley — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 09:29:58 +0000

A class of chemicals one scientist calls “practically unavoidable”, found in everything from nail polish and hair spray to coatings on some medical products, seems to increase a woman’s risk for contracting diabetes, according to a new study. The research is based on a long-running study, The National Health And Nutrition Examination Study. Researchers were [...]

WEIRD SCIENCE: DNA Emoticons [VIDEO]

Mike Riley — Thu, 31 May 2012 09:12:30 +0000

We of the modern world owe much to science. Science has improved our health and our understanding of our place in the universe. It's helped us see how the creatures of the past became the animals of today . And, sometimes, science does things that we wouldn't understand the point of in a million years, no matter how hard we think about them.

Did Gas-Passing Dinosaurs Help Warm The Earth?

Mike Riley — Tue, 08 May 2012 08:58:06 +0000
It may not be the first thing you want to consider this morning. Or, for that matter, not as high as fourth or fifth on your list. But a new study claims that dinosaur farts may have helped heat the Earth. A team of British researchers [who seem to have had a lot of time [...]

Are Trans Fats Making You Crabby?

Mike Riley — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 09:02:09 +0000
Survey says – very possibly…There is already a laundry list of reasons to avoid trans fats [made when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil, as a food preservative]:for instance, they reduce “good” cholesterol levels and increase “bad” cholesterol levels, and may affect cognitive skills for people with high levels of trans fats in the blood. [...]

$35 Computer On Sale In England

Mike Riley — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:03:49 +0000
No, you read the headline correctly. A British non-profit group has a very bare-bones computer available for the bargain-basement price of $35.The Raspberry Pi computer [left in above picture], like those sold in the very early days of PC’s, is nothing more than the master control system for the device. You have to supply your [...]

Sleep Remains A Mystery

Mike Riley — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:01:16 +0000

Once people find out I work overnights here at the New 96.1 Joy-FM, they usually ask me how I can sleep during the day. I wish I had a better answer than the truth, which is: I've just always been able to. Then again, sleep in general is pretty mysterious.

Cold Outside? Watch A Chick Flick

Mike Riley — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:23:46 +0000
An upcoming study reportedly notes that the perfect movie for a cold Winter’s night is a chick flick. The report, due out this August in the Journal of Consumer Research, argues that feeling physically cold makes people want to feel emotionally warm. Researchers in Hong Kong and Boulder, Colorado conducted four different tests to make [...]

YOUR Cellphone Is Making ME Stupid!

Mike Riley — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:13:31 +0000
Clever, amusing, and memorable your cellphones’ ring tone may be. But new research claims that it may be so distracting that it causes those around you to remember less information, and need more time to get back to top speed after it stops ringing! The study was published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology. It [...]