Not all altruism is alike, says new study | Science News. Benefits of music: Northwestern University study finds that playing music helps the brain | Science News. People Are Awesome: Paying It Forward With Kidneys Saves 30 Lives - News. Last month, we told you about South Carolina's Corner Perk, a coffee shop where customers "pay it forward" by donating money to pay for other customers' drinks. Those customers then donate their own many to pay for other customers' drinks, and so on. The pay-it-forward model is not new, of course, and a cup of coffee at Corner Perk is a relatively small expense. But the idea of selfless giving is powerful in and of itself, and can change lives if applied to the right problem.
One month later, selflessness similar to that found at Corner Perk has resulted in probably the biggest and most important pay-it-forward chain in history. In August 2011, Riverside, California resident Rick Ruzzamenti donated one of his kidneys to an anonymous stranger in Livingston, New Jersey, out of the kindness of his heart. Science overturns view of humans as naturally 'nasty' | Science News | Scoop.it.
Biological research increasingly debunks the view of humanity as competitive, aggressive and brutish, a leading specialist in primate behavior told a major science conference Monday. "Humans have a lot of pro-social tendencies," Frans de Waal, a biologist at Emory University in Atlanta, told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. New research on higher animals from primates and elephants to mice shows there is a biological basis for behavior such as cooperation, said de Waal, author of "The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society.
" Until just 12 years ago, the common view among scientists was that humans were "nasty" at the core but had developed a veneer of morality -- albeit a thin one, de Waal told scientists and journalists from some 50 countries. But human children -- and most higher animals -- are "moral" in a scientific sense, because they need to cooperate with each other to reproduce and pass on their genes, he said. Neil MacGregor: 2600 years of history in one object (TEDTalks) | Science News. [VIDEO[] - The Science Of Generosity | Science News. Special report: The hungry generation | Science News. More Than Human? The Ethics of Biologically Enhancing Soldiers | Science News.
TEDxGateway - Narayanan Krishnan - To give without a reason. "The Inner Net" by David Bowden. Science Bulletins: On Shaky Ground—Building a Safer Future in Haiti. The Mathematics of Altruism | Science News. Do we no longer care about the collective good? | Science News. Can Science End War? | Science News. Warning of unrest, new study shows millions risk losing lands in Africa. Public release date: 1-Feb-2012 [ Print | E-mail Share ] [ Close Window ] Contact: Coimbra Sirica csirica@burnesscommunications.com301-943-3287 Burness Communications Jenna DiPaolo jdipaolo@rightsandresources.org202-412-0331 Rights and Resources Initiative LONDON (1 February 2012)—New studies released in London today suggest that the frenzied sell-off of forests and other prime lands to buyers hungry for the developing world's natural resources risk sparking widespread civil unrest—unless national leaders and investors recognize the customary rights of millions of poor people who have lived on and worked these lands for centuries.
In presenting the results of an analysis of tenure rights in 35 African countries, by international land rights specialist Liz Alden Wily, Hatcher noted that despite the clear potential for bloodshed, "local land rights are being repeatedly and tragically ignored during an astonishing buying spree across Africa. " Law and Reality Diverge in South Sudan. GOOD Video: Can Computers Enable Students to Teach Themselves? - Education - GOOD | Science News. Women report feeling pain more intensely than men: study | Science News. Victory for crowdsourced biomolecule design | Science News. Engineering a Difference | LiveScience | Science News. Technology for a Cause | Science News. Military Becomes a Major Funder of Synthetic Biology, and Scientists Are Mostly Fine With That | Science News. Ethical Supercomputing | Science News. Jobs for the Poor? Save the Wild for $1 a Day. Sorry Beatles but researchers at Conservation International might contradict your song “Money.”
The best things in life aren’t free But you can protect the birds and bees Now give the poor money The best things in life aren’t really free. Fresh air, clean water, and bountiful crops all depend on healthy ecosystems. But research published in BioScience pointed out that the communities which steward those environmental resources often do not receive payment for their services. PHOTOS: Spectacular New Species Found in Amazon Communities near natural areas which provide economically valuable environmental services are often some of the poorest. Paying people to steward the nearby ecosystems could help raise them out of poverty, noted the study authored by Will Turner and his colleagues at Conservation International. BLOG: Protecting Biodiversity: The Cost of Inaction But it is much easier said than done. Also, areas with above average biodiversity value provided 79 percent of ecosystem services. Life Vest Inside - Kindness Boomerang - "One Day".
The Archaeology News Network: Rediscovering Ashoka | Science News.