Memory, Spanking, and H1N1: Buzz Week in Review
Health studies are released all the time, and the vast majority draw little to no attention. This week was a little different. Two articles inspired a lot of interest. The first focused on four individuals who either suffer from or are blessed with (depending on who you ask) something called "super memory." The other summarized a study that examined the effects spanking can have on a child's IQ. Put on your thinking cap — it's time for a special science edition of the Buzz Week in Review.
All hail those with "super memory"
Have you ever walked into a room to do something, and then forgot why you walked there in the first place? Odds are that hasn't happened to the four people profiled in this article from Mental Floss. The popular piece focuses on the only four people in the world confirmed to have "super memory." One guy can look at a single freeze frame from a Pittsburgh Steelers football game and recall the game's date and final score. There's also a woman who can remember "most details of nearly every day she’s been alive since she was 14." She describes it as like walking around with a camcorder that's always on. The article makes for some great reading. Who knows, maybe you'll never forget it.
The real damage of spanking
Spanking kids has been a controversial form of punishment for years. Some say it doesn't harm children in any lasting way. Others feel otherwise, and a recent study appears to back up their point of view. The study, summarized nicely in this article from NPR, explains that 2- to 4-year-old kids who are spanked had IQs that were about five points lower than kids who were never spanked. Web savvy parents took notice — lookups on "spanking study" quickly surged from nil into the thousands. You can read the full study at the University of New Hampshire's official site.
Dr. Gupta gets H1N1
The swine flu menace continues and it doesn't even care if you have a medical degree. The latest high-profile victim: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent. He's free and clear now, but news of Dr. Gupta's illness made big waves after the good doctor talked about having H1N1 on his blog. Dr. Gupta and his cameraman fell ill while covering the war in Afghanistan. Not exactly the ideal place to become violently ill. Reports Gupta: "This was the sickest I have ever been." We'll take your word for it, doc.
source: yahoo buzz
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