It is one of society's most common vexations: forgetting a name. Now, scientists at Temple and the University of Pennsylvania have hit on an intriguing remedy —a weak dose of electricity to the head. The technique is called transcranial direct current stimulation. The way this mild stimulation seems to work is by making neurons more likely to fire, said Temple psychologist Ingrid Olson, senior author of the study. "It kind of makes them more ready to act," she said of the neurons. No adverse effects have been found.

For many Americans, the complex and detailed healthcare reform bill is confusing. Misperceptions of the provisions in the health law are common, according to Tom Getzen, professor of Risk, Insurance and Healthcare Management at Temple’s Fox School of Business. "There are so many statements floating around, and they are often nebulous or couched in tricky ways so as to be misleading, but technically are correct," Getzen said.

In an opinion piece, John Allen Paulos, professor of mathematics at Temple, discusses the gaps that remain between stories and statistics. "There is a tension between stories and statistics, and one under-appreciated contrast between them is simply the mindset with which we approach them," he wrote. "In listening to stories we tend to suspend disbelief in order to be entertained, whereas in evaluating statistics we generally have an opposite inclination to suspend belief in order not to be beguiled."