EUREKA!

[ new finDinGs anD researcH ]

A Big Blast Impact induces a cold snap.

>>> nearly 13,000 years ago a colder, drier climate wiped out the giant sloths and saber-toothed cats that inhabited North America. Dartmouth geochemistry professor Mukul Sharma has published a new theory suggesting the trigger for the cold snap was a comet or meteor hitting Quebec. “show us the crater,” his critics have demanded. Sharma is currently working on a proposal to do just that.

Facing Facts Toughen up your look.

>>> people with faces that have a high width-to-height ratio seem more intimidating, although it is unclear why. But Eric Hehman, a postdoc researcher in the brain sciences department, has found that someone with a thin face can ratchet up his or her intimidation factor by as much as 33 percent by tilting their chin up or down by no more than an inch.

Medical Surprise Doctors are not all about data.

>>> findings by the national bureau of Economic Research indicate doctors often advocate treatments that are not proven effective. Thirty-six percent of end-of-life spending and 17 percent of overall U.S. healthcare spending “are associated with physician beliefs unsupported by clinical evidence,” write College economist Jonathan Skinner and Dr. David Wennberg of the Geisel School, coauthors of the study. The reasons? Patient demand and peer pressure, among other factors.