Posts with tag science

Been wondering whether or not you looked a little pudgy in your favorite striped shirt? Turns out, you do! At least, that's assuming the stripes are vertical.

A group of UK scientists decided to test the time-honored fashion adage that vertical stripes are slimming (while horizontal stripes are less flattering) -- and the results were truly bizarre. Apparently you can forget everything you thought you knew about dressing thin, because -- at least according to science -- the exact opposite is true.

The Psychology Department at the University of York showed study participants 200 sets of pictures, in which models wore dresses with both horizontal and vertical stripes. Researchers discovered that women wearing vertical stripes appeared to be a full six percent wider than their horizontally-clad counterparts.

But while you're hauling your vertically-striped shirts off to Goodwill this weekend, take heart -- it's not all bad news. This style standby has been proven false, but it turns out wearing black really does make you look more svelte. Phew!

Check out our gallery for more slimming tips.

Do you know what else science geeks like? Babe machines.

Amorphia Apparel is a t-shirt line by designer Jeremy Kalgreen. They may not be as adorable as items from Threadless, but what these lack in cuteness, they make up with geeky hilarity. Consider what kind of person would buy funny clothing about Nietzsche and Dr. Henry Kissinger. There we go.

What qualities would your perfect bra have? Of course, it would have to provide proper support and be comfortable. And, it would need convertible straps so it can be worn with just about anything. It needs to cut low enough for you to wear your deepest neckline, but still provide a seamless appearance under a clingy t-shirt. It should lift and separate, but not so much that it makes your breasts look fake. Oh, and it should be a little sexy, too.

Are we forgetting anything? Because it turns out that building the perfect bra is a lot more scientific than we had realized.

Considering that tall people tend to make more money that their shorter counterparts, it stands to reason why a person might wish he or she had been born with more vertical.

But unless you're willing to undergo that gruesome femur extension surgery, there isn't a lot you can do about your height other than blame your bum luck and bad DNA.

Or so you thought...

Scientists in the UK have discovered that having older siblings, particular brothers can stunt growth. Experts connect the height trend to the condition of the womb as well as the mother's health following her first pregnancy. In cases of families with more than three children, the younger siblings tend to be roughly an inch shorter than the average for their age.

This research may come as cold comfort, but for those of you who have been looking for reasons to resent your older siblings, you can go ahead and add "diminutive stature" to your list of grievances.

Remember, it's their fault you don't make enough money or can't get dates.

Venge accordingly.

Diamonds are expensive because they're rare -- or at least that's what the diamond industry wants us to think. But the truth about diamonds (not the Nicole Richie book, by the way) is that they're extremely common, and they're also made from a very ordinary substance: coal.

A team of scientists in Scotland is doing its part to muck up the diamond economy. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh are developing laboratory processes that replicate the atmospheric pressure that converts coal into diamonds.

The hope is that with a laboratory-controlled process "large gem-quality diamonds... [could be made] artificially" from all sorts of carbon-based materials, including peanut butter!

The PB bling is made by squeezing the spread between the tips of two diamonds, resulting in something called the "stiletto heel effect".

Given the dirty dealings and unethical practices of the diamond trade, I'm pleased to hear that the days of the status quo are numbered. Just the same I doubt many women will forgo the "Diamond is Forever" mentality for a rock made in a lab from jar of Skippy.

What do you think? Would you be happy wearing a diamond made from peanut butter?

[via BBC.co.uk]

Smelling like booze usually means you've been partying. But what if that wine smell came from something else -- like your clothes?

Researchers in Australia have created a dress made not from cotton or silk, but from wine. Apparently, if wine is exposed to oxygen during the fermentation process -- conditions that produce vinegar -- a slimy byproduct called cellulose forms on the top of the vats. Cellulose consists of short fibers that can be combined to produce a fabric. Unlike cotton fib res, which can easily be spun into even longer fib res, wine fabric is considerably more unstable. In fact, if the cellulose dries up you lose the fibers altogether.

To create the dress, the scientists draped the cellulose over inflatable dolls (hehe -- wonder where they got those!). When the dress was complete, the dolls were deflated so that the outfit could be transferred onto the body of the model pictured at right.

But teetotalers shouldn't worry just yet -- wine dresses that last are still a long way off.

There are blushers and then there are blushers -- you know, the people who turn beet red and sweaty at the slightest provocation. If you happen to be of the latter category, then you might be pleased to hear that there is now a treatment for uncontrollable blushing.

It turns out that blushing is actually caused by a nerve in the chest that runs along the second rib. When faced with embarrassment, confrontation or nervousness, this nerve triggers the flushing in the neck and face we know as blushing. Scientists have discovered that excessive blushing can actually be treated by cutting the nerve that starts the red-faced process.

Blushers be forewarned -- this cosmetic treatment doesn't come cheap.

Dr. Keith Ablow -- television's anti-Dr-Phil -- just released a new book entitled Living the Truth. Corny title and lousy cover aside, Ablow's latest self-help book sounds like it could be an interesting read for folks who admit to having shopping problems (you know who you are!).

The upshot is that overindulgences like spending can serve as a distraction from deeper psychological conflict. Ablow says that most of us would rather take a pill or a drink or a trip to the mall than deal with what we've lived through and who we are. I tend to think he's right on this point -- after all, why do we buy things in the first place? We buy them because we think they will make us happier, perhaps even more fulfilled. Only the pleasure never really sticks around the way you hope it will, and you inevitably go back to that well for more of the same be it spending, alcohol, drugs or dysfunctional relationships.

By using the techniques in Ablow's book, readers are guided through the process of self-reflection that can lead to more fulfilling relationships and overall well-being.

Say what you will about therapy and therapists, but I think Dr. Ablow is onto something that many people face, but have no vocabulary to make sense of it. And if you finish the book and still think prolonged reflection on your past is total crap, at least it will have kept you away from the mall for a couple of hours.

I dare say that when the Superman comic was created back in 1932, Jerry Siegel and Canadian artist Joe Shuster never imagined that their hero Superman would die and that his one weakness would turn out to be real.

But both have happened. In 1992, Superman was killed off, and now in 2007, Kryptonite has been discovered in a Serbian mine.

The mineral was discovered by Dr. Chris Stanley, a researcher at London's Natural History Museum. The real Kryptonite isn't green and doesn't glow, but it does bear a strong resemblance to the chemical composition described in the film Superman Returns.

Not a sworn Superman fan, Stanley actually discovered the compositional resemblance to the famed compound while searching the web. He told BBC: "Towards the end of my research I searched the web using the mineral's chemical formula -- sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide -- and was amazed to discover that same scientific name, written on a case of rock containing kryptonite stolen by Lex Luthor from a museum in the film Superman Returns.

Pretty crazy, isn't it?

New born babies might be great additions to your life, but they come at a cost. Diapers, food, child care, clothes, baby furniture, accessories and that doesn't even get your through the terrible twos. But what about the non-monetary costs of parenting?

A poll of 500 mothers and fathers in the UK concluded that on average parents lost around 90 minutes of sleep each night. Ninety minutes each night for a week basically adds up to a full night of sleep lost every seven days. Multiply that number by a year and the study concluded that parents lost a full two months worth of sleep.

So the next time you're invited to a baby shower and can't figure out what to take as a gift, you might consider a subscription to a coffee of the month club. And if it raises eyebrows, just tell them that you're thinking ahead.

What does your hair part say about you? Other than serving as evidence that you actually comb your hair, you probably think it doesn't say much about you. Well, according to the Hair Part Theory, there maybe more than meets the eye.

The Hair Part Theory suggests that in addition to keeping your hair out of your eyes, your part actually affects the way others perceive you. (Awesome ... yet another way in which we need to start scrutinizing ourselves!)

According to this theory, a left hair part draws unconscious attention to the activities controlled by the left hemisphere of the brain. Traditionally, these brain functions have been linked to masculinity (analytic stuff and endlessly talking about themselves).

A right hair part, on the other hand, draws unconscious attention to the activities controlled by the right hemisphere of the brain. As you've probably already guessed, the right hemisphere controls the feminine functions (emotional stuff and mother-resentment).

As the thinking goes, if you want to emphasize the more masculine parts of yourself, you should part your hair on the left. And if you want to emphasize your femininity, part your hair on the right.

While the Hair Part Theory smells a lot like pseudo-science, it does make me wonder what it would mean to have a part-preventing cowlick on one side of your head.

Here at Styledash, we rarely bring up the issue of unwanted hair. It's sort of the great taboo of the beauty industry, and even though women spend millions on hair removal each year, no one seems to want to talk about it. Keeping that in mind, I did stumble across a fascinating story about unwanted hair over on the BBC website.

A team of Turkish researchers recently discovered that drinking two cups of spearmint tea each day reduces the production of male hormones in women. Hirsutism, the condition associated with excessive hair in women, is often the result of an overabundance of androgen or polycystic ovary syndrome.

Spearmint tea is known to reduce testosterone in men, so the researchers conducted a study to find out if the imbibe would have a similar -- but therapeutic -- effect on women. The researchers found a significant decrease in testosterone and an increase in several female hormones, which minimized hair production in the volunteers.

If you were looking for a reason to replace your afternoon cup of coffee with an herbal tea, this is certainly good motivation to ditch the caffeine. But don't get ahead of yourself quite yet -- more research is needed to determine whether or not this could be a natural alternative remedy for people suffering from hirsutism.

Don't you hate it when Hollywood lies to you?

When I found out that the von Trapp family did not actually walk across the Alps to Switzerland as they did in the Sound of Music, I was in a state of shock for weeks.

Now that I know the ugly truth about Antony and Cleopatra, I'm feeling similarly disappointed. What is this ugly truth, you might ask?

Well, Antony and Cleopatra were themselves kind of ugly. A study of a 2000-year-old silver coin featuring the busts of Antony and Cleopatra revealed a somewhat unsettling truth about the famed lovers.

As you can see from the photograph, Antony had bulging eyes, a hook nose and a thick neck (meaning that he was no Richard Burton). Not to be outdone, Cleopatra was the proud owner of a pointy chin, thin lips and a pointy nose (meaning that she was no Elizabeth Taylor).

Clearly, science and Hollywood need to get their stories straight.

News flash: Lavender and tea tree oil can give you man boobs.

According to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine, lavender and tea tree oils have caused three young boys to develop gynaecomastia, a condition in which men start to produce breast tissue. Doctors suggest that the two common oils mimic female hormones in the body, which in turn inhibit the normal effects of male hormones.

The good news is that as soon as the three boys stopped using tea tree and lavender oils, their bodies stopped producing new breast tissue. Doctors also found that eventually the existing breast tissue disappeared.

In response to this finding, the researchers have encouraged doctors to ask patients what products they have been using if they appear to have gynaecomastia. Until we know more, people should be a little bit careful about using these products, particularly with children.

Here's a quick test to find out which of your friends is hiding an inner geek: jewelry shaped like molecules. Wear these on a night out, and wait to see who goes "Oh! An earring that looks like acetycholine! How cute!"

Not to rag on smart people -- I'm embarrassed to say my C+ in high school chemistry leaves me a little clueless in this arena.

If you're into the idea, the company also sells items fashioned after important chemicals like caffeine, estrogen, and chocolate -- you can even get testosterone boxers and oxytocin baby onesies. It's the easy way to look both cute and intelligent-- all in one fell swoop.

[via: Boing Boing]