People who had to strike up conversations on a subway later reported feeling happier than those who didn’t. Christie Nicholson reports.

Talking to Strangers Makes You Happy

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Science

Choosing a user name starting with a letter appearing earlier in the alphabet is just one scientifically vetted way to increase the odds of turning an online encounter into a first date. Christopher Intagliata reports

Up Your Online Dating Game with Evidence-Based Strategies

High-calorie and exceedingly pleasurable foods appear to change rat brain rewards circuitry, causing the rodents to continue to seek such fare. Erika Beras reports

Junk Diet Rewires Rat Brains

Parkinson’s patients derived more benefits from a salt solution they were told was an expensive drug than from the same solution when it was described as being cheap medication. Karen Hopkin reports

High Price Tag on Meds May Boost Healing

Of studies presented at conferences, those that found a cognitive benefit to bilingualism were almost twice as likely to get published in journals as were studies finding no benefit. Karen Hopkin reports

Publication Bias May Boost Findings for Bilingual Brain Benefits

Implicit bias against another race lessened after volunteers experienced themselves via virtual reality as a member of that race. Karen Hopkin reports

Talking to Strangers Makes You Happy

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