November 29, 2011

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Editor's Selections: More on Pepper Spray, and Synaesthesia

By Jason G. Goldman

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

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Here are my Research Blogging Editor's Selections for this week.

  • By now you've heard a lot about how dangerous weaponized pepper spray can be, and how much more dangerous to people suffering from respiratory diseases like asthma. "Even more worrying," writes the blogger at Neurobonkers, "is the complete lack of interest by the authorities in the lethal impact that pepper spray has on individuals who have taken stimulants such as cocaine and amphetamines."

  • Synaesthesia has been in the news this week, and is the topic of the remaining two editor's selections. First, Jon Brock at Cracking the Enigma writes about an interesting case of color-emotion synaesthesia.

  • Second, over at Inkfish, Elizabeth Preston asks whether "the genes promoting synesthesia have been kept around by evolution because they have a 'hidden agenda.'"

That's it for this week... Check back next week for more great psychology and neuroscience blogging!

Jason G. Goldman is a science journalist based in Los Angeles. He has written about animal behavior, wildlife biology, conservation, and ecology for Scientific American, Los Angeles magazine, the Washington Post, the Guardian, the BBC, Conservation magazine, and elsewhere. He contributes to Scientific American's "60-Second Science" podcast, and is co-editor of Science Blogging: The Essential Guide (Yale University Press). He enjoys sharing his wildlife knowledge on television and on the radio, and often speaks to the public about wildlife and science communication.

More by Jason G. Goldman

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