Wellnews by Scott LaFee

This week brings a couple of interesting and perhaps controversial studies regarding how people interpret facial expressions.

In a pair of experiments by Canadian researchers, participants were asked to identify the gender of photographed faces. In the first experiment, researchers reported that androgynous faces with angry expressions (lowered eyebrows, tight lips) were more likely to be identified as male, while happy faces (smiling) were more often labeled female. In the second experiment using male and female faces wearing expressions of happiness, anger, sadness, fear or a neutral expression, subjects identified male faces faster than female faces, with female faces expressing anger taking the longest to identify.

"The association between anger and men and happiness and women is so strong that it can influence the decisions about the gender of another person when that person is viewed briefly," said Ursula Hess of the University of Quebec.

In the second study out of Tufts University in Massachusetts, researchers asked 21 college students to guess the sexual orientation of 192 gay and straight women, based upon facial photos cropped to eliminate ears and hair. The students guessed right 64 percent of the time. A 2008 study reported similar results with male faces.

Psychologist Nicholas Rule says the determination is probably unconscious. Participants were more accurate when they were told to make snap decisions, rather than ponder. Rule speculates that subtle differences in facial muscles caused by habitual expressions may be the key. Earlier research has shown that homosexuals tend to adopt facial expressions more typical of the opposite sex.

PHOBIA OF THE WEEK

Dinophobia — a fear of dizziness or whirlpools

GET ME THAT.

STAT!

Almost one-third of American adults — 65.7 million people — play a caregiver role. The average caregiver is a woman, 48 years old and provides care to another person for 20 hours a week, according to a national study by MetLife and the American Association of Retired Persons.

STORIES FOR THE WAITING ROOM

Exercise isn't just good for the body. A new study of teenage boys found that physically fit boys also scored higher on intelligence tests.

The Swedish study looked at 1.2 million men born between 1950 and 1976 who enlisted for mandatory military service at age 18. Researchers found that boys who improved their cardiovascular health between 15 and 18 exhibited significantly greater intelligence scores than those who became less healthy over the same time period.

The improvement was restricted to cardiovascular fitness. Boys with superior muscle strength alone did not post better cognition scores.

MEDTRONICA

Symptom checker

symptoms.webmd.com

Developed by WebMD, this easy-to-use site requests some basic information (age, gender). Then it asks you to click on selected parts of the body and select from a list of symptoms (itchiness, sharp pain, bloating).

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

Those rumbling, gurgling, growling sounds emanating from your midsection are called borborygmi and are caused by the movement of fluids and gases as food, acids and digestive juices migrate from the stomach into the upper part of the small intestine. The average body makes about two gallons of digestive juices each day.

OBSERVATION

People who take cold baths never have rheumatism, but they have cold baths.

— Unknown

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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