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If your mom can't teach you to be nice ... maybe science can!Researchers at the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are setting up an experiment to see if they can "train" people to be nicer to each other:First, the team had the group try the Buddhist technique of compassion meditation: thinking about a time someone was suffering, then chanting, "May you be free from suffering. May you have joy and ease." The people focused on a loved one, like a friend or family member, then themselves, then a stranger, and finally a "difficult person" in their lives. (If only they had an estranged family member they strongly disliked; they could knock out three at a time.) A control group, meanwhile, got cognitive reappraisal training, a technique for turning negative thoughts positive. Both the groups were trained for 30 minutes a day over the internet for two weeks.So how do you measure compassion?The researchers here used a game. Two anonymous players--one the "Dictator" and one the "Victim"--shared a pool of $10. The dictator decided how much money the victim got. As dictators are wont to do, the victim didn't get much: only $1 out of the $10. The person playing then had to decide how much of his or her $5 to give to the victim. The Buddhist-meditators were more likely to share more of the dough.The researchers started the study with fMRI scans and performed them again on both groups after the training. The groups were shown images of suffering while in the machine, like a crying child or a burn victim. They found that the people with meditation training had increased activity in the inferior parietal cortex (that's not necessarily a perfect indicator of empathy, but it suggests something's going on, at least).Colin Lechler of PopSci has the post: Link (Image: The Jerk, starring the inimitable Steve Martin)

You recall the post last week Biopic Actors and Their Real-Life Counterparts. It turns out those pictures were compiled by redditor banana_rhino. Now he has a second album of 64 actors and the real people they portrayed in movies. Some of them are quite uncanny. Link -via Buzzfeed

On May 1, Kiera Wilmot, a Florida high school student, was arrested for mixing toilet bowl cleaner with tin foil, causing a small, harmless explosion. Though she had a spotless school record, she was expelled and charged with a felony as an adult -- a harsh penalty widely ascribed to institutional racism (Wilmot is black). On May 16, thanks to Wilmot's bravery, a crowdfunded project by former NASA engineer Homer Hickam, and the ACLU, the charges against Wilmot were dropped and Wilmot and her twin sister were awarded a full bursary to the Advanced Space Academy program at the U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala.. Now, Wilmot has written a must-read editorial for the ACLU on her experience with zero-tolerance, detailing the awful treatment she received and the thoughtless way in which the gears of the a discipline-obsessed educational system grind up its own students: The principal and dean of discipline came over and asked me to tell them what happened. I was kind of scared, but I thought they'd understand it was an accident. Before that, I've never gotten in trouble this year other than a dress code violation because my skirt was two inches too short. I told him it was my science experiment. In my third period class I was called up to discipline. I wrote a statement to the dean of discipline explaining what had happened. Afterward I was told to sit on the resource officer's office. They told me I made a bomb on school property, and police possibly have the right to arrest me. I didn't know what they classified as a bomb. I was worried I accidently made a bomb. I was really hurt and scared. I was crying. They didn't read me any rights. They arrested me after sitting in the office for a couple minutes. They handcuffed me. It cut my wrist, and really hurt sitting on my hands behind my back. They took me to a juvenile assessment center. I was sitting in this room with no clock so it felt like years of me sitting there. When my mom came, she didn't say anything. She just had this really disappointed look, and told me I lost privileges. But she's really been supportive of me. I don't know what would have happened if I didn't have my mom. I would have dug a hole and sat there for the rest of my life. I don't think police should have been involved because I'm a good student for one. And two, it was a big deal, but it wasn't like people were hurt and the school was in shatters. I maybe should have gotten 10 days suspension or a work detail where on Saturday you wake up early and pick up trash around the school. An Unexpected Reaction: Why a Science Experiment Gone Bad Doesn't Make Me a Criminal (via The Mary Sue)

As if locusts weren't tasty enough already, the Café & Bar Ristorante Absente in Tokyo now serves them on spaghetti. Rocket News 24 reports:In their press release, restaurant owner Pasta Dio would like to remind everyone that locusts are an excellent source of calcium, protein, and vitamin A and were used in Japan during times of war to fight malnutrition and save lives. They even claim that once you get past the initial heebie-jeebies, locusts actually have an addictive texture that makes you come back for more.Link(Photo: @Press)

How cool is this, that all of sudden in the past few days a couple of my favorite writers have started following me? I better shape up, straighten out and fly right from now on. No more nonsense and drivel and cat videos, for sure: that's not gonna pull people of their ilk. Nosirree. heh

Mad Science SocksAre you mad about science? You need the Mad Science Socks from the NeatoShop. This fabulous and comfy pair of knee-high socks features a mad scientist's laboratory design. Goggles, microscopes, and flasks. Oh My! Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Footwear!Link

Image: NASA, ESA, C.R. Robert O'Dell, G.J. Ferland, W.J. Henney and M. PeimbertI've always said that if you want to get people more excited about astronomy, name the stars after snacks (case in point). It seems like NASA has finally heeded this sound advice, and announced that the Ring Nebula is actually more like a jelly donut:The Ring Nebula, whose iconic shape and large size make it a favorite of amateur astronomers, can now be seen in new detail, after NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured a sharp image of the nebula. Researchers say the new clarity reveals details that were previously unseen, and a structure that's more complex than scientists had believed."The nebula is not like a bagel, but rather, it's like a jelly doughnut, because it's filled with material in the middle," says C. Robert O'Dell of Vanderbilt University, who leads a team of researchers studying the Ring Nebula. They combined Hubble's visible-light images with infrared data from telescopes on Earth.Now doesn't that just make you yearn for more confectionery, ... er, astronomy? NPR's Bill Chapell has the scoop: Link

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Etsy seller CuriousBurrow will make you a sweet, sleepy sloth ring to order, in a range of colors. Sloth Ring - Made To Order (via The Mary Sue)

Michal Krasnopolski's minimalist movie posters takes minimalism to another level. Each title is represented by a very simple shape that makes sense if you've seen the film, or sometimes it's a take on the title (such as North by Northwest).The designs rigorously adhere to the same mold: a circle overlaid by two diagonals, all inscribed in a square. The structure seems stringent, but, as Krasnopolski found out, it could actually yield “plenty of possibilities.” His poster for the original Star Wars, for example, consists of a grey circle diametrically bisected by a single line and set on a black background. (Hint: it’s the Death Star.) A diagonal red line, partially dissolved at the bottom end, signifies the Man of Steel’s fiery takeoff into the sky in Superman. A dial of red tick marks, each more faded than the last, references the submarine radar screen from The Hunt for Red October.Of course, you can take minimalism a little too far. I still don't "get" the posters for Pulp Fiction or Raiders of the Lost Ark. You can see all 22 of them at Fast Co. Design. Link