Quirky Science

Trying to fool a kindergartner? Not so fast

From the words for colours to how to tie a shoelace, kids have lots to learn -- and for the most part, they depend on others to teach it to them.
But whether deliberately or inadvertently, people sometimes misinform. So at what age can kids tell trustworthy teachers from confidence tricksters?
A new study published in PLOS One by psychology researchers from Concordia and the University of British Columbia shows that by the age of five, children become wary of information provided by people who make overly-confident claims.
"Our study gives us a window into children's developing social cognition, skepticism and critical thinking. It shows us that, even though kindergarteners have a reputation for being gullible, they are actually pretty good at evaluating sources of information. Parents can use this ability to help guide them in their learning,” the researchers write.

Does Facebook make you lonely?

Are people becoming lonelier even as they feel more connected online?
Hayeon Song, an assistant professor of communication at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, explored this topic in recent research.
Song's study looked specifically at Facebook, which, with more than one billion users and growing, is a major force in people's everyday life and social interactions.
The work of Song and her team, published this summer in Computers in Human Behavior, analysed data from relevant existing studies to conclude that there is a relationship between Facebook use and loneliness. The researchers concluded that the feeling of loneliness brings its users to Facebook, rather than because Facebook makes people lonely.
Song writes that further study of the issues is important because loneliness is linked to psychological and health issues such as depression.

Programming computers in everyday language

Computers speak a language of their own. They can only be programmed by those, who know the code. Computer scientists of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) are presently working on a software that directly translates natural language into machine-readable source texts. In this way, users may generate own computer applications in a few sentences. The challenge to be managed is that people do not always describe processes in a strictly chronological order. A new analysis tool developed by KIT researchers serves to automatically order the commands in the way they are to be executed by the computer.
"We want to get away from complicated rules for users -- this is what programming languages are -- towards smart computers that enter into a dialogue with us," writes Mathias Landhäußer, scientist of KIT's Institute for Program Structures and Data Organization (ITP).

Dissolvable silicon circuits and sensors

Electronic devices that dissolve completely in water, leaving behind only harmless end products, are part of a rapidly emerging class of technology. This technology suggest a new era of devices that range from green consumer electronics to 'electroceutical' therapies, to biomedical sensor systems that do their work and then disappear.
A team of engineers at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign is leading the development of such concepts, along with all of the required materials, device designs and fabrication techniques for applications that lie beyond the scope of semiconductor technologies that are available today.
Practical applications might include: bio-dissolvable devices that reduce infection at a surgical site. Other examples are temporary implantable systems, such as electrical brain monitors to aid rehabilitation from traumatic injuries or electrical simulators to accelerate bone growth. Additional classes of devices can even be used for programmed drug delivery, the researchers said.