
lifescore
Edge
New research. Clear implications. Sharper decisions about status, advantage and access.
Every article answers one question—and opens the next.
Start here.

Can two short nights make you look less attractive?
A controlled sleep-restriction study found small changes in how strangers rated attractiveness, health, sleepiness and willingness to socialize.
Read articleMore from Edge

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.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
Are dominance and prestige different routes to social status?
Both predicted influence in new groups, but prestige was associated with likability and freely given deference; dominance predicted rank without the same deference, and its association weakened in some longer studies.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
Are Epitalon's sleep and longevity claims backed by human evidence?
Human evidence establishes neither. A small study changed a melatonin metabolite without measuring sleep; lifespan claims come from cells, animals or a different pineal preparation, and a 2026 panel vote was not drug approval.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
Can an upward social media comparison lower self-esteem?
In a 128-person profile experiment, high network activity produced slightly lower immediate state self-esteem; a newer diary study and syntheses show why the result cannot support a universal platform verdict.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
How much performance can deliberate practice explain?
A corrected 88-study meta-analysis linked deliberate practice to 14% of between-person performance variance on average; new data from 44,213 chess players associated practice type with learning efficiency.
Read article
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.
Read article
What did the 2026 FDA peptide hearing actually change?
An advisory committee recommended 503A listing for the free-base and acetate forms of six of seven peptides; no drug was approved, and final FDA action remains pending.
Read article
What does human evidence show about Semax?
Semax has been tested in people, but no replicated, well-controlled study has shown better cognition in healthy adults; FDA also found no human pharmacokinetic study.
Read article
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.
Read article
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.
Read article
Can a clear invitation make strangers more likely to talk?
A randomized field experiment found that a clear signal of openness increased reported interaction between strangers—but not every measure of connection.
Read article
When does tracking turn play into work?
Six experiments found that measurement could increase walking or reading while reducing enjoyment by making an activity feel more like work.
Read article
Were the weakest LinkedIn ties best for finding a new job?
Randomized LinkedIn experiments found larger marginal job-transmission estimates for moderately weak ties, with nonlinear and platform-specific results.
Read article
Which social connection best predicts upward mobility?
Across US counties, economic connectedness was strongly associated with upward mobility—but the 72.2-million-user study does not prove individual causation.
Read article
Can an if-then plan close the gap between intention and action?
A meta-analysis of 642 tests found that cue-linked if-then plans helped on average, but robust adjustment cut the estimated effect substantially.
Read article
Is higher local income linked to lower personal happiness?
A US panel study linked higher local earnings to lower self-reported happiness after accounting for own income—but the evidence remains observational.
Read article
Does tracking progress make goals more achievable?
A meta-analysis of 138 randomized studies found that progress-monitoring interventions improved goal attainment on average, with wide variation.
Read article
Is sharing the same space enough to bridge class lines?
A 70.3-million-user network study found that exposure and measured friending bias each accounted for about half of cross-class disconnection.
Read article
Can one email change how workers feel about their pay?
A randomized salary-database email changed satisfaction and job-search intentions for below-median workers, with no measured gain above the median.
Read articleEdge delivery
Get new Edge articles in your inbox.
Evidence-led insights, delivered when published.