Hearing changes could be ancient in the human line
A Binghamton University study of two ancient hominins from South Africa suggests that changes in the shape and size of the middle ear occurred early in our evolution. Such alterations could have profoundly changed what our ancestors could hear — and perhaps how they could communicate, Nature reports this week. Read more
Hackers compete to create the most insidious code
Computer security expert Scott Craver, a Binghamton faculty member, tells Wired magazine he created the contest to raise awareness about security issues and drive research. Read more
Hanging with smarties ups GPA
High school students whose friends get higher marks tend to raise their own grade point averages over time, Scientific American reports in this one-minute podcast focusing on research by Binghamton’s Hiroki Sayama. Read more
The challenges of treating personality disorders
Binghamton’s Mark Lenzenweger was a guest on National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation for a discussion about the challenges of treating personality disorders. Read more
How porn became a civil right
Binghamton historian Leigh Ann Wheeler’s new book, How Sex Became a Civil Liberty, catalogs the development of the concept of sexual rights and offers an unapologetic feminist critique of the extremes of sexual civil libertarianism, Salon reports. Read more
Thinking clearly about personality disorders
Binghamton researcher Mark F. Lenzenweger and other experts speak to The New York Times about the American Psychiatric Association’s quest for a new diagnostic system for personality disorders. Read more
To teach evolution, you have to understand creationists
“Evolution educators do not simply need to spread the word about evolution,” Binghamton historian Adam Laats writes in The Chronicle of Higher Education. “We need to convince and convert Americans who sincerely hold differing understandings about the nature and meaning of science.” Read more
