The relationship between siblings is, for most people, the longest they will ever enjoy. It is fundamental for many of us, but especially for children, who live together regularly with their brother or sister, and where the fraternal relationship is part of daily life, of play and leisure, of learning basic skills, of emotional development […]
Aristotle defined (fair) outrage as the pain that is experienced due to the fortune of someone who does not deserve it and he outlines that a man who is only rightly outraged is worth praising . However, if he described this outrage as fair does it mean there is another one that is unjust? In […]
The needs imposed by a globalized society that maintains activity 24 hours a day and 7 days a week are being addressed by increasing working hours and extending work activity into the weekend. Karoshi, which can be translated literally as “overwork death” in Japanese, is occupational sudden mortality. In Asian countries, the risk of karoshi […]
Author: Elger Abrahamse is an Ikerbasque Research Fellow and staff scientist at the Basque Center for Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL) Culture may be defined as the system of customs and beliefs that are deeply shared within a specific subset of the population. It includes ample behavioral scripts – informal guidelines about how to behave […]
How does the Zika virus cause microcephaly? Why do some people develop schizophrenia or mental disease while others don’t? Is our sexual orientation hardwired in our genes? As seemingly unrelated as these questions might sound, they can all be addressed using the same scientific tool: twin siblings. Nancy Segal (Boston, 1951) has been chasing twins […]
Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone and, in men, it plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as the testis and prostate, as well as promoting secondary sexual characteristics such as increased muscle and bone mass, and the growth of body hair. Testosterone increases in heterosexual men after having […]
Juvenile delinquency is a serious and common problem but not hopeless: it has been on the decline for a number of years, yet, juvenile courts continue to assess millions of cases per year. There are times when this subject seems hopeless such as when we read about a horrendous crime committed by a minor. The […]
Theory of mind is the ability to attribute mental states—beliefs, intents, desires, knowledge, etc.— to oneself and others and to understand that others have beliefs, desires, intentions, and perspectives that may be different to ourselves. Attributing thoughts to others allows one to predict or explain their actions, and to posit their intentions. It enables one […]
It is not only a piece of matter that moves but also a universe of meanings and contexts. For philosophers, the word Meaning is everything but trivial. In a crowded street, you may point the location of the closest train station by extending your arm at speed in the direction of someone else’s head – […]
Another busy day unfolds through dozens of medical visits, prescriptions, and auscultations. The next patient, a medication-resistant chronic back pain case, enters the office and asks the doctor whether acupuncture has something to do with placebos. The physician feels like the artful and evidence-based bedrocks of his medical praxis are called into a tug-of-war. A […]