YSM Issue 87.4

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q a&BY SIENNA LIThe 2014 Rio World Cup saw thegathering of top soccer stars from aroundthe globe. There was one new player inparticular that caused quite a stir. Hisname? The Brazuca. This soccer ball,made especially by Adidas for the 2014World Cup, proved to be a star performerin the games, rehabilitating Adidas’ imageafter the poorly-received Jabulani ball of2010.The Brazuca has been praised for itspredictability and consistency on thefield. Its design incorporates a numberof new features to improve the ball’sperformance. Most noticeably, thenew ball has only six panels, versus theJabulani’s eight and a standard ball’s thirtytwo.Fewer panels means fewer stitches,which cuts down on friction between theair particles and the surface of the ballWhat makes the World Cup ball special?IMAGE COURTESY OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHICThe new Brazuca ball design, with six panelsand a rough surface, moves through the airpredictably and with astonishing accuracy.when it is in motion. Less friction resultsin decreased turbulence and makes theball’s movement more predictable.However, smoother balls tend toexperience more drag, a force thatcauses the ball to swerve unexpectedly.The Jabulani’s practically uninterrupted,8-paneled surface was too smooth, causingit to dip randomly in the air. To counterthis effect, the Brazuca is covered withlittle bumps that create a rough surface.Players are thus able to get a better gripon the ball, and there is reduced drag.The Brazuca also features long, deepseams along its panels that disrupt thesmoothness of the ball to enhance itsaerodynamic movement.The Brazuca was well-received at the2014 World Cup, garnering positivereviews from players, coaches, and fansalike. The question now is: what’s next forsoccer ball design?What happens in the brain when we watch a movie?BY AMANDA MEINext time you find yourself in a movietheater, consider this: You are probablysharing more than an armrest or a bag ofpopcorn with the person next to you; youare likely sharing brain activity, too.In one fMRI study, moviegoers whowatched The Good, the Bad, and theUgly experienced increases and decreasesof neural activity in tandem. As much as70 percent of their cerebral cortex wassynchronized at any given moment. Thissynchronization happened especially inbrain regions responsible for processingsights and sounds, but was also evidentin regions associated with emotion.Researchers observed correlations in thefusiform face area when subjects saw faceson screen. They saw synchronized activityin the limbic system’s cingulate gyrus, whichconnects actions with emotional responses.ART BY CHRISTINA ZHANGMoviegoers may experience similarincreases and decreases in neural activitywhen they watch visually-stimulatingmovies together.But why does this happen? Researchersattribute these correlations to the factthat people watching the same moviesexperience the same stimuli.Movies that direct audience attentionwith structural devices are more likelythan unstructured videos to elicit brainsynchronization. Cuts and angle shiftsgreatly influence viewers’ eye movements,and information collected by retinal cellspasses through the thalamus into the visualcortex at the back of the brain. Regions ofthe visual cortex have functions rangingfrom pattern recognition to motionperception. As a result, movies that exertmore control over viewers’ perception havea greater impact on their brain activity.Unstructured videos like comedy shows, bycontrast, elicit only 5 to 20 percent corticalsynchronization among viewers.Great films may not be mind control,but they certainly come close.
5NEWSLetter from the editorYale ScientificEstablished 1894CONTENTSOCTOBER 2014 VOL. 87 ISSUE NO. 4ON THE COVER66778910112526272830323435363738Ancient arthropod unearthedMapping human perceptionRobert Langer speaks at YaleMicroscopy advancesStudents tackle design challengesAncient barley and droughtDavid Rand on cooperationImmune system against herpesFEATURESVirologyMan-made meningitisGeologyDeath Valley’s sailing stonesMedicineHope for damaged heartsEpidemiologyMystery pandemic: EbolaMicrobiologyReinventing the human embryoCryptographyQuantum computingUndergraduate ProfileYetunde Meroe MC ’16Alumni ProfileDavid Spiegel YC ’67MythbustersThe not-so-simple weatherUnsolved MysteriesThe Mpemba EffectScience in the SpotlightQuack Echo, Wormholes1812Deadly21 EuphoriaFinding EquilibriumFemale scientists at Yale have been pushing tirelessly for decades topromote the integration of women into Yale’s scientific community.Advocates from undergrads to long-term faculty members toadministrators are working to overcome the remaining obstacles.The Science ofSwarmsNicholas Ouellette is oneof a growing number ofscientists studying thescience of swarms. Theseresearchers hope that byunderstanding how animalsswarm, they can informsuch far-flung disciplines asrobotics, computer design,and physics.To help opioid addicts,doctors are prescribingbuprenorphine, a drug thateases painful withdrawalsymptoms. However, someclinicians, policymakers,and insurance companiesdisagree on how availablebuprenorphine should be,and science is speaking upwith the facts.IMAGE COURTESY OF FREE PRESS15IMAGE COURTESY OF NATUREIMAGE COURTESY OF DAILY MAILA Smarter Way to Track NutritionIMAGE COURTESY OF SAN DIEGO FOOD BANKResearchers at the Yale School of Public Health haverecently discovered a way to find out in only one minuteif you’ve been eating your fruits and vegetables. Thenext time you visit your doctor, you might want to thinktwice before sugarcoating your diet.More articles available online at www.yalescientific.orgwww.yalescientific.orgOctober 2014Yale Scientific Magazine3
Page 1: Yale ScientificEstablished in 1894T
Page 5 and 6: F R O M T H E E D I T O RCrime, Jus
Page 7 and 8: biomedical engineeringRobert Langer
Page 9 and 10: anthropologyYale team explores soci
Page 11 and 12: Defending against herpesBY PATRICK
Page 13 and 14: Swarmsby zachary millerart by chris
Page 15 and 16: nutritionFOCUSA Smarter Way to Trac
Page 17 and 18: The take-home message: “Eat more
Page 20 and 21: FOCUSwomenDR.VIVIANIRISHDr. Vivian
Page 22 and 23: by theresa steinmeyerart by carrie
Page 24 and 25: FOCUSaddictionenough buprenorphine
Page 26 and 27: FEATUREgeologyd e at hva l l e y’
Page 28 and 29: FEATUREepidemiologyMYSTERY PANDEMIC
Page 30 and 31: REINVENTINGBY ISABELLE ROSSI DE LEO
Page 32 and 33: FEATUREcryptographyQU A N T U MC O
Page 34 and 35: FEATUREundergraduate profileYetunde
Page 36 and 37: FEATUREmeteorologyMYTHbustersThe No
Page 38 and 39: FEATURETV show reviewSCIENCE IN THE

YSM Issue 87.4

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