Science News

While it's already well-known that dolphins rank among the most intelligent creatures on the planet, new research is suggesting that they just might be one of the most magnanimous too.

A team of biologists recently published a study examining dozens of fascinating cases of inter-species generosity between dolphin and human, all taking place along the shore of Australia's Tangalooma Island Resort. According to their findings, wild dolphins have been observed bearing gifts, such as dead "eels, tuna, squid, an octopus" to wading humans on 23 separate occasions.

More: http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/wild-dolphins-observed-gifting-fish-humans.html

Neuroscientist Sara Lazar's amazing brain scans show meditation can actually change the size of key regions of our brain, improving our memory and making us more empathetic, compassionate, and resilient under stress.

Articles about NEUROSCIENCE: http://www.scoop.it/t/science-news?page=1&tag=neuroscience

Think about compassion like a radio dial. We can tune our compassion up or down, but where the dial lands will depend on our concerns about being overwhelmed and on how well we can control our emotions.

In a series of experiments Francesca Gino and Adam Galinsky found that feeling “psychological closeness” to somebody who acts unethically makes you more likely to act unethically (the same is true of ethical behavior.) On the surface that doesn’t seem like a serious issue, but psychological connections can arise from some fairly random things.

More on COMPASSION: http://www.scoop.it/t/science-news?tag=compassion

During the first 24 hours after the death of a loved one, a person's risk of experiencing a heart attack increases by about 21 times, according to a new study. Their heart attack risk remains elevated for at least a month after the loss.