Insights: News

Tricks and Treats

Charms really do put a spell on you.

Black cats and jack-o'-lanterns are all in the Halloween spirit, but superstitions have concrete effects on our success, according to a study from the University of Cologne. In a series of experiments, subjects who brought in a good-luck charm saw big performance boosts—in some cases, scores 55 percent higher than those of folks who came in sans lucky socks.

Researchers think the charms bolster confidence. "You're reminded of times you've 'used' the charm and had good outcomes, so you feel secure and perform better," says psychologist Lysann Damisch. —Jenny Merkin

Eighty percent of people have a lucky charm. Here's how a few common ones began.

Rabbit's Foot

A paw was said to make wealth multiply like, well, bunnies.

Knock on Wood

Several ancient sects believed that gods lived in trees. People rapped to request good fortune.

Fingers Crossed

The gesture may have been an evocation of the crucifix.

The Truth (and the Lies) About Autism

Recent autism research overturns many assumptions about the condition. See if you can tell fact from fiction when it comes to the latest discoveries. —Tarah Knaresboro

True or False?

1. Scientists are developing a urine test for autism.
2. Drugs may someday cure a form of autism.
3. Eliminating gluten and casein from the diet decreases the symptoms of autism.

1. True Autistic children appear to have unique digestive tract bacteria. Imperial College London's new research suggests that a urine test that detects markers of these microbes could one day help doctors identify the condition before behavioral symptoms appear.
2. True Scientists at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine are working on a drug to treat a form of autism that stems from a mutated gene that impairs neuronal communication. The drug—already FDA-approved for treating short stature—restored affected nerve cells in mice.
3. False Evidence for the popular gluten-free, casein-free diet is more anecdotal than scientific. University of Rochester researchers found that eating gluten or casein seemed to have no effect on sleep, bowel movements, or social behavior. More research is needed.

Cold Comfort

Why you can't blame your blues on the weather girl

As the temperature chills and the days grow shorter, it's easy to chalk up your gloom to dreary weather. But a recent paper in Psychiatry Research suggests you find a new scapegoat for your bad mood. "There is literally no association between weather and how people feel that day," says lead researcher Marcus J. H. Huibers of Maastricht University. Huibers' team monitored more than 14,000 subjects' day-to-day affect for several years and found that daily variations in temperature, sunshine, and rainfall had no measurable effects.

It seems we misattribute cheer when it strikes us on bluebird mornings. "Today is a beautiful day, and I felt great when I woke up and biked to work with the sun in my face," Huibers admits. "The question is, would I have felt differently if it had rained? Our study says it wouldn't have made much of a difference." —Jenny Merkin

Minty-Fresh Mentors

The best are wet behind the ears.

Think the best mentors are those whose stars have burned most brightly? Not so: A study from Northwestern University suggests when it comes to counseling, enthusiasm and commitment trump experience.

Researchers found that successful academics did a great job mentoring during the first third of their careers, but advised poorly during the last third. Why the drop-off? "They may have had too much on their plates to effectively oversee students or put themselves in their protégés' places," says study author R. Dean Malmgren.

Still, mentoring benefits both parties, Malmgren confirms. Visit Mentoring.org to find local gigs; opportunities vary in time commitment, so you can pitch in even if you're busy, well-established, and graying at the temples. —Stephanie Booth

The Good Old Days

A clear new view on fuzzy memories

When old friends gather at high school reunions, there's something going on other than reminiscing: exaggerating. As we view the past through the lens of the present, social memory-what's shared and retold in groups-slides farther from reality, according to a report in Memory Studies.

"Memory has much more to do with the future and the present than the past," says paper author Harald Welzer. We're constantly remolding old situations to fit our present frame of mind: You remember your high school sweetheart as not-so-sweet if he's now a cheating ex-husband. And as actual events grow fuzzier, we increasingly invoke stereotypes to help us make sense of old stories; the bully becomes more evil, the nerd more pathetic. —Lauren F. Friedman

Head Of The Class

Shaping up future valedictorians

Straight-A students aren't just the product of good genes, great teachers, and hard-core study skills. New research points to other factors that may impact kids' smarts over the years.

Word Perfect

Babies raised among books obtain an average of three years more schooling than book-free kids, notes an Australian National University study. Study author Joanna Sikora suspects that the offspring of lit-loving parents develop rich vocabularies, which aid cognitive development.

Boys Chase Girls

Research from the University of Texas suggests that adolescent males in female-heavy classrooms have lower GPAs, possibly because they find the girls' presence distracting. (Low-cut tops probably don't help.)

Clique Here

Popularity counts: A study from the University of California-Los Angeles notes that seniors who have more close pals from their own high school than from other schools have higher GPAs. Researcher Melissa Witkow suspects that classmates may serve as study buddies, plus good students are apt to make connections in a rewarding social environment. —Tarah Knaresboro