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Edge

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More from Edge

Read: Can a four-day week preserve productivity?

Career & Money · Primary-source evidence review ·

Can a four-day week preserve productivity?

Reporting subsets of self-selected pilots showed no clear revenue loss as hours fell, but productivity was mostly reported rather than measured; the current record supports a testable work redesign, not a universal output guarantee.

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Read: Can a short nap improve performance?

Performance · Primary-source evidence review ·

Can a short nap improve performance?

A 381-person meta-analysis found a small post-nap cognitive benefit, strongest for alertness; nearly all tests were in labs, the average nap lasted 55 minutes, and immediate results were inconsistent.

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Read: Can asking more questions make people like you?

Relationships · Primary-source evidence review ·

Can asking more questions make people like you?

Two text-chat experiments found a modest liking benefit when people were prompted to ask more, while speed-dating data linked follow-up questions to greater second-date interest; responsiveness—not a question tally—is the useful signal.

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Read: Can caffeine protect attention after sleep loss?

Performance · Primary-source evidence review ·

Can caffeine protect attention after sleep loss?

Randomized studies and a 45-paper meta-analysis show that caffeine can improve vigilant attention after sleep loss, but it does not fully restore procedural control, and the alertness benefit can fade across repeated restricted nights.

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Read: Can generosity raise social status?

Social Status · Primary-source evidence review ·

Can generosity raise social status?

Visible contributors received more prestige and were chosen more often as partners in small-group games; newer studies show when giving reflects cooperative values, economic capacity or strategy.

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Read: Can saying thank you strengthen a relationship?

Relationships · Primary-source evidence review ·

Can saying thank you strengthen a relationship?

Possibly: a month-long trial differed on only two of seven outcomes— positive emotion and adaptation, not global relationship satisfaction; better results tracked feeling understood, validated and cared for.

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Read: Does mentorship improve early-career outcomes?

Career & Money · Primary-source evidence review ·

Does mentorship improve early-career outcomes?

Sometimes. Randomized trials found gains in new-hire productivity and some STEM outcomes, while a 2026 professional workshop changed belonging but not publications or advancement; results varied across access arrangements, programs and outcomes.

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Read: Can structured self-disclosure create closeness?

Relationships · Primary-source evidence review ·

Can structured self-disclosure create closeness?

In the original 45-minute experiment, escalating reciprocal tasks made strangers feel closer than small talk; the study created a temporary feeling, not love, friendship or lasting commitment.

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Read: Do follower counts change credibility?

Social Status · Primary-source evidence review ·

Do follower counts change credibility?

Twitter and Instagram experiments found that visible audience size could raise or lower perceived credibility, or make no difference; results varied across account structures and post conditions, while one experiment found a larger independent effect for its intended influencer–product-fit condition.

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Read: Do job referrals widen opportunity gaps?

Career & Money · Primary-source evidence review ·

Do job referrals widen opportunity gaps?

A randomized employee program reduced attrition and labor costs, while observational employer data link referred hires to lower recruiting costs; experiments show incentives and referral constraints change who gets put forward, but eventual hiring or promotion gaps remain unresolved.

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Read: What does a visible luxury logo signal?

Social Status · Primary-source evidence review ·

What does a visible luxury logo signal?

Prominent marks can raise perceived status, but experiments also find a warmth penalty when observers infer showing off; the logo alone cannot reveal wealth, motive or insecurity.

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Read: Do names still change job callback rates?

Career & Money · Primary-source evidence review ·

Do names still change job callback rates?

Across more than 83,000 U.S. applications, those with distinctively Black names had an employer-contact rate 2.1 percentage points lower than those with distinctively White names; a Finnish replication found uneven change in combined origin signals by 2024.

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Read: Do shared experiences feel more intense?

Relationships · Primary-source evidence review ·

Do shared experiences feel more intense?

The original chocolate experiments found more-extreme evaluations but no difference in direct intensity; the same-room condition of a 2016 spatial-distance experiment found a higher direct-intensity rating, while minimal video studies found no average emotional or enjoyment effect.

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Read: Do wearables increase physical activity?

Performance · Primary-source evidence review ·

Do wearables increase physical activity?

Across 121 randomized trials, monitor-based programs added about 1,235 daily steps and 49 weekly minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity; sedentary time did not clearly change, and the hardware was rarely the only intervention.

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Read: Can a silent phone weaken face-to-face conversation?

Relationships · Primary-source evidence review ·

Can a silent phone weaken face-to-face conversation?

Two small experiments reported weaker relationship outcomes around a nearby phone, especially during meaningful talks; later replications and a meta-analysis did not support a reliable mere-presence effect.

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Read: Does creatine improve memory?

Performance · Primary-source evidence review ·

Does creatine improve memory?

After a key meta-analysis corrected double-counted outcomes, its overall effect was no longer significant, although an older-adult subgroup remained; newer sleep-loss trials test a narrower stress response, not everyday recall.

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Read: Does Emideltide or DSIP improve sleep?

Health · Primary-source evidence review ·

Does Emideltide or DSIP improve sleep?

Small intravenous studies produced mixed results and did not establish an insomnia benefit; no trial tested the nominated subcutaneous route. In 2026, FDA staff proposed not listing either form under 503A, and PCAC separately voted 6–7–1 against each in nonbinding advice.

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Read: Does feeling understood predict relationship wellbeing?

Relationships · Primary-source evidence review ·

Does feeling understood predict relationship wellbeing?

Yes—but studies measure different signals: feeling known tracked relationship satisfaction, daily felt understanding tracked same-day wellbeing, and a broader responsiveness composite predicted only one of two long-term wellbeing outcomes.

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Read: Does KPV have human evidence?

Health · Primary-source evidence review ·

Does KPV have human evidence?

FDA found no clinical trial, pharmacokinetic study, case report or documented human exposure to KPV; cell, cadaver-skin and animal studies do not establish efficacy, dosing or safety.

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Read: Does looking busy at work raise perceived status?

Social Status · Primary-source evidence review ·

Does looking busy at work raise perceived status?

U.S. experiments found that long work and little leisure raised perceived status alongside inferred competence and demand; Italian samples reversed the pattern, and a German replication found conspicuous leisure rated higher still.

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Read: Does MOTS-c have human metabolic evidence?

Health · Primary-source evidence review ·

Does MOTS-c have human metabolic evidence?

Human studies track the body's own MOTS-c during exercise, while FDA found no clinical administration data; a 120-person Phase 2a metabolic trial is recruiting, with no posted results.

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Read: Does music improve exercise performance?

Performance · Primary-source evidence review ·

Does music improve exercise performance?

Across 139 studies, music produced a small average performance gain and made exercise feel more positive; a newer preference review found clearer strength and power effects than speed or aerobic endurance.

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Read: Does pay transparency narrow gender pay gaps?

Career & Money · Primary-source evidence review ·

Does pay transparency narrow gender pay gaps?

Sometimes: public disclosure of individual salaries narrowed the gap in Canadian universities and employee-facing pay reports did so in Danish firms; internal reports in Austria and an on-request right in Germany did not.

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Read: Does similarity shape who becomes friends?

Relationships · Primary-source evidence review ·

Does similarity shape who becomes friends?

Across 1,523 interacting pairs, similarity appeared early rather than growing with closeness; in 41 new students, neural alignment predicted some later network differences but not friends versus all non-friends.

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Read: Does a lower voice make you seem higher status?

Social Status · Primary-source evidence review ·

Does a lower voice make you seem higher status?

Often—but mainly in perceived dominance, formidability and leader preference. Prestige and trust varied; evidence linking pitch to real-world success was context-dependent and correlational.

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Read: Does working from home improve performance?

Career & Money · Primary-source evidence review ·

Does working from home improve performance?

There is no universal effect: field experiments range from an 18% decline to a 13% gain; a hybrid trial left measured performance unchanged, and one coordinated office day a month raised calls per hour in a June 2026 trial.

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Read: Is BPC-157 supported by human evidence?

Health · Primary-source evidence review ·

Is BPC-157 supported by human evidence?

FDA found two abstract-only randomized programs and three uncontrolled reports with 17 or fewer participants; none establishes efficacy, while a new 120-person hamstring trial is still recruiting.

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Read: What separates TB-500 from thymosin beta-4?

Health · Primary-source evidence review ·

What separates TB-500 from thymosin beta-4?

TB-500 is a seven-amino-acid fragment, not full-length thymosin beta-4; FDA found no administered-human TB-500 evidence, so clinical results for the 43-amino-acid peptide do not transfer.

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Read: Why do humblebrags backfire?

Social Status · Primary-source evidence review ·

Why do humblebrags backfire?

A nine-study program linked the disguise to lower sincerity and liking; petition and real-money tests changed behavior, while ephemeral-post experiments found no reliable disadvantage.

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