Frightening Physiology
Fear can trigger tiny muscles at the base of your hairs to contract, causing this familiar skin reaction also associated with cold temperatures.
What are goosebumps?
This artificial device replaces a missing body part, such as a hand, leg, or foot.
What is a prosthesis?
This billionaire recently unveiled a Tesla Roadster prototype with SpaceX thrusters that can hop into the air. Is it a car or a UFO?
Who is Elon Musk?
This young wizard attends Hogwarts and has a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.
Who is Harry Potter?
In Alien, a terrifying creature develops inside a living host before bursting out. In biology, an organism that lives in or on another organism and benefits at its expense is called this.
What is a parasite?
During intense fear, attention can narrow toward a perceived threat. What is this phenomenon commonly called?
What is tunnel vision?
This wearable robotic device uses powered joints and sensors to help a person stand, walk, or perform other movements.
What is a powered exoskeleton?
This slow-moving mammal was born at the San Diego Zoo on a special day celebrating its famously unhurried species.
What is a sloth?
In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy’s house famously lands on and kills this wicked witch.
Who is the Wicked Witch of the East?
In A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy Krueger attacks people in their dreams. These vivid dreams most commonly occur during this stage of sleep, characterized by rapid eye movements.
What is REM sleep?
This hormone is released during the fight-or-flight response, increasing heart rate and preparing the body for action.
What is adrenaline (epinephrine)?
This implanted device sends electrical impulses to help regulate a heartbeat that is too slow or irregular.
What is a pacemaker?
The world lost a rhinestone legend on August 25, 2026, when this country music superstar, who sang “Jolene” and “9 to 5,” took her final bow.
Who is Dolly Parton?
This wizard from The Lord of the Rings battles a Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm.
Who is Gandalf?
In The Ring, watching a cursed videotape sets the horror in motion. This light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye converts incoming light into signals that the brain can interpret.
What is the retina?
This neurotransmitter is associated with the brain's reward and motivation pathways and is often discussed in relation to why some people enjoy being scared.
What is dopamine?
This implanted electronic device helps some people with severe hearing loss by stimulating the auditory nerve.
What is a cochlear implant?
Even the Vatican had a health scare this October when this head of the Catholic Church was diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent surgery.
Who is Pope Leo XIV?
In this fantasy series, children enter a magical land through a wardrobe and encounter a lion named Aslan.
What is The Chronicles of Narnia?
In The Exorcist, some of the character’s disturbing movements resemble these neurological events caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain.
What are seizures?
This almond-shaped brain structure helps process threatening stimuli and coordinate fear-related responses.
What is the amygdala?
This implanted device can deliver electrical stimulation to the brain to help treat certain movement disorders, including Parkinson’s disease.
What is deep brain stimulation (DBS)?
This bear-y big champion lumbered its way to victory in Alaska’s annual Fat Bear Week competition, proving that sometimes the best way to win is to pack on the pounds!
Who is Backpack (Bear 89)?
In Greek mythology, this enchantress turned Odysseus’s men into pigs.
Who is Circe?
In World War Z, people can become infected before they show signs of illness. This term describes the time between an infection and the onset of symptoms.
What is the incubation period?