Two minutes can change your life. — Our bodies change our minds, our minds can change our behavior, and our behavior can change our outcomes. Amy Cuddy We make decisions about others in a snap, and their body language contributes to our verdict. Since much of this process happens before speaking, it occurs through what social scientists…

Maybe they prefer it that way. — The image of the brilliant mind trapped in a feckless body wandering the face of the earth, socially distant, and alone is tough to shake. …

Kick procrastination. — Another January rolls in. We wipe the slate clean, zero the scale, and begin anew. For most of us, this is an exciting time. Friends write lofty goals in day calendars, we sketch re-imagined dreams in journals, and we look forward to an improved life. …

It may sap your energy. — You can chant positive affirmations all day, scribble them on Post-it notes and stick them on your bathroom mirror, refrigerator, or coffee maker, or choose them as your phone’s wallpaper, but they only enhance living to a certain extent. Here’s why positive thinking won’t take you across the finish line. First, you can’t even control what you think. …

It may predict future dementia and early mortality. — Bonnie Blodgett was like millions of others who took her sense of smell for granted until she abruptly lost it. As documented in Remembering Smell: A Memoir of Losing — and Discovering — the Primal Sense, for Bonnie, the comforting, complicated smells of her great-grandfather’s wing chair and the rich…

It’s coming whether we like it or not. Get ready; Facebook recently switched its name to “Meta” in preparation for the digital storm they predict will soon take place, the new frontier called The Metaverse. But do you need to care about The Metaverse? Does it affect any of us…

Social media use and depression — The United Nations World Happiness Report cites Denmark as the happiest country in the world. Yet, within that small country, 500 people will take their lives within the year. Three times the number that will die in traffic accidents. Shouldn’t the country with the highest happiness rating have the lowest…

A mind that strays is unhappy — Happiness is like that gold ring on the carousel we’re all after. But not allowing it to slip through your fingers after the initial grab is tough. Happiness is slippery. We tend to think satisfied people are attractive, accomplished, leaders, and above all, wealthy. We track them like bloodhounds on…

Move over leather for sustainable biomaterials. — It’s time to reexamine fungi and their offshoot; mold. They’ve gotten a bad rap because they’re slimy and gross, and no one likes to find them creeping along their cheese or bread. But they are survivors. Think of fungi as the cockroach of the organism world. …