What differentiates a happy day from a typical one? […] Socializing was one of the activities most strongly linked to the probability of having a good day, but beyond 2 hours, additional socializing was not associated with further increases in the probability of reporting a better-than-typical day. Working for up to six hours was not related to whether people rated their day as better than usual; beyond six hours, however, additional work was associated with sharp declines in the probability of having a good day. […] Time spent on sports and exercise was positively associated with having a good day up until approximately 5 hours

study published in the British Journal of Psychology suggests that people are more likely to support populist politicians when they find them entertaining

In the colonial era, only the poor, indentured servants, and prisoners ate lobsters because they were cheap, too plentiful, and considered “tasteless.” After prisoners in one Massachusetts town got sick of eating them all the time, a new rule said they only had to eat them three times a week.

Birds have sex chromosomes. But their sex chromosomes evolved independently of the X and Y chromosomes of mammals. In birds, a gene called DMRT1 initiates sexual differentiation. (DMRT1 is also important in sexual differentiation in mammals and many other vertebrate animals.) Males inherit two copies of DMRT1 and females inherit only one copy. Reduced dosage of the gene in females leads to the production of the sex hormone estradiol, a potent estrogen, in the developing embryo. […] To their amazement, the students discover that embryos with male sex chromosomes develop ovaries when exposed to estradiol. Embryos with female sex chromosomes develop testes when injected with the drug that prevents estradiol from being made.

Hawaiian caterpillar patrols spiderwebs camouflaged in insect prey’s body parts

o3 Beats a Master-Level Geoguessr Player

every day the same again | April 29th, 2025