The Big Yawn

Q: Why are yawns contagious?

A: It never fails. No matter who it is, where I am, or if I'm even tired a huge yawn takes over my face every time I see someone else do it first. Why?

I searched everywhere for the answer to this burning question and unfortunately there is not a definite answer because not everyone agrees on the reason why we yawn to begin with.

Scientists used to believe that people yawned when there was too much carbon dioxide and not enough oxygen in their blood. When a yawn stretched over your face you exhaled CO2 and inhaled oxygen into your lungs which then heads to your bloodstream. They also believe you yawn more when you are tired because the breathing is slowed down.

Recently though, some scientists have said the theory is false and believe that being warm could cause yawning. In 2007, researchers from the University of Albany proposed that yawning may be a means to keep the brain cool.

No matter why we yawn, someone will still follow us. According to WorldScience.net, the Finnish government funded a brain scanning study to find the answer. The study found that yawn contagion is unconscious meaning we often do not even realize we are doing it and have no control stopping it. "Wherever it might affect the brain, it bypasses the known brain circuitry for consciously analyzing and mimicking other people's actions," according to the study.

The circuitry that is bypassed is called the mirror-neuron system. This contains a special type of neurons that are active when the person does something and when he or she senses someone else doing the same thing, like yawning. The study says the mirror neurons do not play a role in yawn contagiousness because the area typically becomes active with conscious actions and scientists believe yawning is an unconscious action.

The study also found a deactivation in a part of the brain called the left periamygdalar region. This part of the brain has been linked to the unconscious analysis of emotional expressions in faces, so why would it be deactivated during yawning? Researchers say the reason why it deactivated is unclear.

So it seems to me after all this fancy and probably pretty expensive research at Helsinki University the answer has still not been found. The one clear answer believed to have been found through the study is that "contagious yawning does not rely on brain mechanisms of action understanding."

I'm still confused and started looking into the social aspect of yawning. Adelie penguins yawn as a part of their courtship- the male penguins open their beaks wide and point their faces toward the sky while trying to get the attention of their future partner. Could humans yawn as a way of communication too?

Yawning may be a survival instinct inherited from our evolutionary past. "During human evolutionary history when we were subject to predation and attacks by other groups, if everybody yawns in response to seeing someone yawn, the whole group becomes much more vigilant, and much better at being able to detect danger," said Gordon Gallup.

Believe what you believe. There are several reasons and explanations about the contagiousness of yawning, but I think it's probably just your own personal opinion about why it happens.

Why Don't Humans Have a Mating Season?

Deer, dogs, cats, and whales all have mating season in fact most mammals do, but why don't humans? According to the Naked Scientists forum, humans have evolved much more than other mammals not to need a mating season. Many animals reproduce at a certain time of the year because of their food resources or the temperature changes that they experience throughout the year. Animals want a lot of food available for the pregnant and nursing mother to stay nourish her and obviously don't want their little bundle of joy freezing at the time of birth.

Humans, in most cases, will not starve during pregnancy and their babies will stay warm even if they're born in the middle of December. So in this case there is no real reason for humans to have a mating season. If all these factors are taken care of the babies will survive whether they were conceived in January or July.

Another, more interesting theory is beer. According to Nkruman Steward, "if it wasn't for beer, humans would have a mating season just like every other animal on the planet." He believes there is no need for a mating season for humans because after a six pack of Bud Light, we can jump start one for ourselves at any time. Alcohol stimulates the part of the brain that determines facial attractiveness. In studies by researchers at University of Glasgow and St. Andrews, they found that the more people drink, the higher they ranked pictures of the opposite sex. So apparently people get drunk and reproduce; therefore, leaving no need for a mating season.

The beer theory is interesting and may have some explanation of why humans do not need a mating season, but I think the human evolution theory is more accurate.

Why don't Women have Beards?

Q: Why don't women have beards?

Men are hairy and women (well, most women) are not. What's up with that?

Hair growth is controlled by hormones and most women do not have beard because their female glands and hormones prevent it. The female hormone (estrogen) stimulates the growth of hair on a woman's head, but stunts the growth of beards and mustaches, yet sometimes the unwanted hair does show up.

The male sexual hormone, testosterone, is the hairy hormone. Men have more of this hormone than women, therefore they grow beards and women do not. But what about those ladies that do sport a little peach fuzz?

Younger women are full of estrogen which prevents beard growth, but as women pass through menopause, their estrogen level decreases. This could be the reason that some older women have unwanted facial hair as they age that they never had before.

Generally though, men are just hairier than women in most cases. But, if a man had more estrogen in his body than testosterone he would lose his beard so it just depends on the hormone levels of a person, which can be different in everyone.

It is interesting that this would not be a question or discussion, if women from day one had beards. The real question should be, why don't men have babies?

Hawking's Comeback

I really enjoyed this article on Stephen Hawking's comeback. It seems as if he has faced almost everything in his life and has conquered it. It is interesting that after all the work he has done in his life, he is not as iconic anymore as he used to be. The author of the article said, "the master of black holes is himself steadily becoming less visible." It may be a sign of the generation and the times. From my personal experience, I feel like my generation is more intersted in Kanye West's latest scandal and Britney Spears' newest fling instead of more important and intersting people like Hawking.

Now for the grading...

Lede: 19/20. I loved the lede. The author put me right into the same room with Hawking as he made his entrance. Very well done and definitely did draw me in.

Content: 18/20. I do think the author answered all the questions. Not knowing much about Hawking before this article, I learned a lot and was not left wondering anything after I finished the article.

Organization: 19/20. I thought the article was easy to read, follow, and understand. The author broke up the text into small paragraphs, which makes a long story easier to read and the transitions were effective in doing that also.

Quality of Writing: 20/20. I loved the writing style. The tone was not too scientific and stuffy, it was somewhat casual and very easy to understand and read.

Clarity of Exposition: 17/20. When the author was explaining the black holes theory I was a little confused, but he did try to use smaller words and phrases to explain it for the less scientific people out there like me. I'm guessing that people that are involved with this area clearly understand the article.