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Mom’s advice about washing your hands may finally be starting to get through (it hasn’t always been this way!) At least we’re getting better: A new study shows that 85% of adults washed their hands in public restrooms, compared with 77% in 2007. The 85% total was actually the highest observed since these studies began in 1996. In a separate telephone survey, 96% of adults say they always wash their hands in public restrooms, a percentage that has remained relatively constant over the years. Researcher Judy Daley says, "Although we are happy about the latest results, there is still work to do. Only a minority indicate they wash their hands after coughing or sneezing.read more

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No matter what kind of school you go to (and even if you’re home schooled), you have to take math. Scientists have known for a long time that movements help us remember things. New research shows that gesturing helps students develop new ways of understanding mathematics.

This is the first time research has shown that gestures not only help recover old ideas, they also help create new ones. The information could be helpful to teachers (who might want to do something along the lines of invent a “YMCA” type song with movements to go along with new mathematical concepts).
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We all know that we should wash our hands often, and here’s a new reason WHY.

Don’t you wish everyone washed their hands after going to the bathroom? (YOU do, don’t you?) BBC News found that more than one in four subway and bus commuters has bacteria from feces on their hands. Researchers discovered this when they swabbed over 400 people at bus and train stations in five major cities in England and Wales. For some reason, people who rode the bus had higher rates of hand contamination than subway riders. Surprisingly, manual workers had cleaner hands than students, retired people or the unemployed (or maybe it’s not surprising?these people have to wash their hands frequently).
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There are lots of good reasons to use your hands, and kids with a certain finger length do better on tests. Now there’s ANOTHER reason that hands are important for learning. Ever forget where you parked the car? It’s a trick that works for adults too.
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