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Would you believe that our brain's response to disgusting images can tell whether we're a Republican or Democrat? I didn't say disgusting images of Republicans (sorry, all you conservatives out there!), but apparently, a new study has found, how much your brain responds to pictures of maggot infestations, rotting carcasses, unidentifiable gunk in the kitchen sink, could predict whether you are liberal or conservative.  Say what?  An international team of scientists led by Virginia Tech reports that the strength of a person’s reaction to repulsive images can forecast their political ideology, according to newswise.com. “Disgusting images generate neural responses that are highly predictive of political orientation even when those neural responses don’t correspond with an individual’s conscious reaction to the images,” the Web site quotes Read Montague , a Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute professor who led the study. “Remarkably, we found that the brai...

Here's how to make both Republicans and Democrats happy.  A new study has found that big government AND communities both make people healthier. “Some people might like the argument that liberal government automatically leads to healthier people, because it supports their world view,” newswise.com quotes Mitchel Herian, a faculty fellow with University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Public Policy Center and lead researcher on the new study.  “But, in the absence of a liberal government, you also see better levels of health if you have a strong community.” “When government programs are in place, people tend to be healthier," adds  Ed Diener of the University of Illinois.  "But when government programs are weaker, a person with lots of close ties and social capital can still be healthy. Their wife can get them to exercise, their friends can help them not drink too much, and their support for each other may directly affect their health. Loneliness is bad for health.” The ...