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Emotions

Movilă: "I was near the Bataclan café and I saw two girls. I saw this one in front of me starting to really scream and cry. I took several photographs of her and posted one to Facebook, and it was picked up by another account. This girl wrote me, 'Cristian, I am the girl in the photo.' She lost her two close friends."

Photographer Cristian Movilă’s Eyewitness Photos of the Attack on Paris and its Aftermath

The experienced photographer says that nothing could have prepared him for what he saw

American Ingenuity Awards

Smile, Frown, Grimace and Grin — Your Facial Expression Is the Next Frontier in Big Data

Engineer Rana el Kaliouby is set to change the way we interact with our devices—and each other

What makes these guys creepy?

On the Science of Creepiness

A look at what’s really going on when we get the creeps

Cool Finds

This Haunted House is Actually a Lab for Studying Fear

Get scared for science

What a cute little schemer

New Research

Babies Time Their Adorable Smiles to Manipulate Adults

By timing their grins, babies can get adults to grin

New Research

Psychopaths Might Be Immune to Contagious Yawning

The less empathetic someone is, the less likely they are to yawn back.

Most kids, even those with autism, don’t need to see this guy’s smile to tell he is happy.

New Research

Kids With Autism Can Read Emotions Through Body Language

A new study challenges the misconception that kids with the disorder lack empathy

New Research

We Crave Comfort Food to Feel Less Alone

This is why you can’t stop eating corndogs

New Research

What Makes Some Screams Scarier Than Others?

Shrieks of fear share sound qualities with car alarms

New Research

Painkillers Might Also Dull Your Emotions

A study shows Tylenol could affect emotional evaluations, but judging the meaning of that finding is tough

New Research

Human Languages Skew Positive

We’re all a bunch of pollyannas

Surprise! Cats may be able to pick up on the moods of their owners.

New Research

It Isn’t Only Dogs; Cats May Pick Up on Emotional Cues, Too

New research shows that, like babies and dogs, our feline friends look to us for clues on how to react to new situations

Cool Finds

This Woman Can’t Feel Fear

Damage from a rare genetic condition appears to have knocked out the “fear center” in her brain

Science can help you avoid a holiday gift faux pas.

How to Give the Best Gifts, According to Science

Researchers are unwrapping the science behind gift giving, from the value of simplicity to the quality of the bow on top

Cool Finds

This Comedy Club Charges By the Laugh

In Barcelona, a comedy club is keeping tabs on its patrons’ laughs with facial recognition technology

New Research

Schadenfreude is a Childish Emotion

Even two-year-olds find the twisted joy in others’ pain

Cool Finds

Meet the Newest (Robotic) Member of Your Family

This emotional robot can tell stories, remember appointments, and make faces

New Research

Here’s How You Should Actually Go About Comforting a Depressed Friend

Optimism and well-wishes are not necessarily the best way to show a suffering friend that you care

New Research

Rats Can Feel Regret

Rats’ brain patterns and behaviors support the hypothesis that they can reflect on certain wrong choices

Some of the expressions the researchers identified, from top left to bottom right: happy, sad, fearful, angry, surprised, disgusted, happily surprised, happily disgusted, sadly fearful, sadly angry.

New Research

“Happy Disgust” Is a Newly Recognized Human Facial Expression

Basic emotions like happy, sad or angry blend in interesting ways on the landscape of the human face

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