Misunderstood males? I grew up on a farm, and it was not uncommon for male horses, male goats and even male deer to let out a snort whenever anxiety surfaced in them — whether it be from a predator in the area, the removal of food from their eating area or the wandering off of a female that the male had his eyes on. Maybe the topi antelope in “Deceptive cads of the savanna” (SN: 6/19/10, p. 14) is the same. Maybe he is not trying to trick the female into thinking a lion is near, but simply expressing the anxiety that surfaces when a potential imminent loss is sensed — in ... (p. 29)

Stefan Koelsch’s team at the Freie Universität Berlin uses music to investigate the brain. In a 2008 paper in NeuroReport, Koelsch and colleagues found that a single unexpected chord or tonal change can kick the amygdala into gear and elicit an emotional response. Click here to listen to an excerpt of the music that participants listened to. In a 2006 paper in Human Brain Mapping, the researchers found that activity in emotional centers in the brain can be up or down regulated by music. Click here to hear pleasant and unpleasant versions of a tune used in the e...

To explore the effect that music has on the mind, Science News asked researchers to share a song they enjoy and the emotion it evokes.  Ethan Ross, physician Song: “Dark Star” by the Grateful Dead Emotion: “Elation, euphoria and wonder.” Virginia Naples, vertebrate paleontologist Song: “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” by Gordon Lightfoot Emotion: “Sadness and nostalgia for knowing about past events.” Alan Boss, planetary scientist Song: Beethoven’s Ninth Emotion: “... the joy of being alive, at least for a while, and in sp... (p. 25)

Music lights up almost every area of the brain, which shouldn’t be a surprise since it makes people tap their feet, encourages the recollection of vivid memories and has the potential to lighten the mood. Around the outside 1. Prefrontal cortex: This brain region plays a role in the creation, satisfaction and violation of expectations. It may react, for instance, when a beat goes missing. Recent work has shown that during improvisation a part of the prefrontal cortex involved in monitoring performance shuts down, while parts involved in self-initiated thoughts r... (p. 27)

September 12 – 13 A conference in Chicago focuses on the links between epilepsy and depression. See www.epilepsyanddepressivedisorders.com September 15 The 2010 International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge entry deadline. Go to www.nsf.gov/news/scivis October 4 – 8 Planetary scientists meet in Pasadena, Calif. See dps.aas.org/meetings/2010 (p. 4)

SCIENTISTS CALCULATE HOW MAN MAY FLY LIKE BIRD — Man may some day be able to fly by flapping a set of artificial wings, two Chilean scientists assert.... A 154-pound man equipped with 66 pounds of flight accessories would need wings about 10 feet long with a flight surface of 60 square feet. To maintain a speed of 45 to 50 miles per hour, he should flap his wings 35 times a minute or a little faster than once every two seconds. The up-and-down speed of the wing tip should be 15 to 20 miles per hour or about 10 feet per second....The man would be working about as hard as if he walked up 30 s... (p. 4)

Time’s arrow I’ve enjoyed reading Science News since I was a kid; thanks very much for producing such a fine periodical! This is the first time I’ve felt compelled to write to you about an article you’ve published: “Law and disorder” (SN: 6/19/10, p. 26). I can’t help but feel that the time theory that Sean Carroll proposes misses the point of time. Time is the observation of forces acting on matter or energy. Take an event such as dropping a ball: Gravity acts on the ball, pulling it to the ground. If we reverse time, the ball will be repelled from the Earth. The ball ... (p. 34)

August 14 – 17 The American Sociological Association meets in Atlanta. See www.asanet.org/meetings August 30 – September 3 Researchers and policy makers meet in Boston to discuss environmental factors affecting penguin population health. See www.penguinconference.org September 1 A psychologist lectures in New York City on the connection between beauty and happiness. See www.nyas.org/events (p. 4)

LIP-SMACKING GRASSHOPPER — A grasshopper with a talent for lip-smacking has turned out to be quite an unusual insect. Paratylotropidia brunneri Scudder is the first insect known to communicate over fairly long distances by producing an audible sound from the mouth — literally smacking its lips…. Produced at the rate of six or seven per second, usually in groups of four, the grasshopper ticks resemble a shorter, softer version of the ticking song of a katydid. The call can be heard several yards away…. It may be … that the grasshopper’s lip-smacking signal evolved through a s... (p. 4)