Scientists: Parrots Groove to the Beat

Apparent scamster has fake resume

(NEWSER) - Oh-oh. The credentials of the supposedly flying "Bird Man" of Holland have flown the coop. "Jarno Smeets," who posted a wildly popular YouTube video apparently showing him flapping giant wings to take flight , posted credentials on Facebook and LinkedIn that don't check out. Film experts at Industrial Light and Magic —and elsewhere —have declared the video to be a not-so-very-clever fake, notes Gizmodo . Wired, though skeptical, is withholding ultimate judgment, with its physicist Rhett Allen saying there is "nothing that indicates it must be a fake." But Wired staffers haven't been able to confirm either the work or education credentials Smeets lists, including study at Coventry University in England and work at Pailton Engineering. More»

Hint: You don't want to engage in 'dad dancing'

(NEWSER) - Finally, scientists have answered the question that is surely foremost on your mind: What makes a person a good dancer? A new study to be published in a UK journal finds that women like men who know how to move their "core body region," a lead psychologist says. "The torso, the neck, the head. It was not just the speed of the movements, it was also the variability of the movement. So someone who is twisting, bending, moving, nodding." (Can't quite picture it? The BBC has a video.) More»

Harvard study echoes popular trend to ditch the running shoes

(NEWSER) - The barefoot running trend now has a powerful academic ally in a Harvard study that sides with au naturel hoofers. Researchers compared people who had always run barefoot, those who had always worn shoes, and those who had given up footwear. The barefoot runners had a lighter stride, and used their calves and foot muscles more efficiently. “You can run barefoot on the world’s hardest surfaces without the slightest discomfort,” a researcher tells Reuters . More»

Web test tries to suss out implicit prejudice via picture exercise

(NEWSER) - Do you have a subconscious love of gays—or hatred of white people? There's an app for that. Actually, it's a website that's part of a study by Harvard, the University of Virginia, and the University of Washington . “Project Implicit” gathers personal information, then puts you through a 15-minute test meant to gauge prejudice toward different groups through questions and a word/picture exercise. More»

Nope, Kevin and Jill weren't the first

(NEWSER) - Jill and Kevin Heinz made a splash when their wedding-entrance dance video went viral—but they weren’t the first couple to surprise guests with their groove. E! runs down some of the most popular YouTube wedding dance clips:

• Thriller: Brian and Sandy Lundmark managed to impress the King of Pop himself, landing on his list of favorite clips.