Overview
Probing our ability to communicate nonverbally is hardly a new psychological tack; researchers have long documented the complex emotions and desires that our posture, motions, and expressions reveal. Yet until recently, the idea that people can impart and interpret emotional content via another nonverbal modality—touch—seemed iffy.We have an innate ability to decode emotions via touch alone. In a series of studies, volunteers attempt to communicate a list of emotions to a blindfolded stranger solely through touch. Many participants were apprehensive about the experiment. "This is a touch-phobic society," he says. "We're not used to touching strangers, or even our friends, necessarily."But touch they did—it was, after all, for science. The results suggest that for all our caution about touching, we come equipped with an ability to send and receive emotional signals solely by doing so. Participants communicated eight distinct emotions—anger, fear, disgust, love, gratitude, sympathy, happiness, and sadness—with accuracy rates as high as 78 percent.
How Does Coronavirus Spread?
Experts believe the virus that causes COVID-19 spreads mainly from person to person. There are several ways this can happen:
Droplets. When an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks, droplets with the virus fly into the air from their nose or mouth. Anyone who is within 6 feet of that person can breathe those droplets into their lungs.
Aerosolized transmission. Research shows that the virus can live in the air for up to 3 hours. When you breathe air that has the virus floating in it, it gets into your lungs.
Surface transmission. Another way to catch the new coronavirus is when you touch surfaces that someone who has the virus has coughed or sneezed on. You may touch a countertop or doorknob that's contaminated and then touch your nose, mouth, or eyes. The virus can live on surfaces like plastic and stainless steel for 2 to 3 days. To stop it, clean and disinfect all counters, knobs, and other surfaces you and your family touch several times a day.
Fecal-oral. Studies also suggest that virus particles can be found in infected people's poop. But experts aren't sure whether the infection can spread through contact with an infected person's stool. If that person uses the bathroom and doesn't wash their hands, they could infect things and people that they touch.
Alternate ways to say hello
People around the world are coming up with new substitutes for traditional greetings like the handshake, the hug, the high-five and the cheek-kiss, amid rising concern about the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.The virus spreads through tiny water droplets expelled when an infected person coughs, sneezes or exhales, according to the World Health Organization. These droplets can infect a person if they come in contact with the eyes, nose or mouth — and one way they can get there is by hitching a ride during a handshake.Post-handshake era has been evolving rapidly in various cultures and over social media, where many users have been showcasing their hands-free hellos for all to see.One of the most popular techniques appears to be the “footshake,” as demonstrated in a brief video with over 2 million views on Twitter. The video shows several young men greeting each other with feet instead of hands.Many news outlets and social media users in India have been promoting a “namaste over handshake” approach as the best way to avoid spreading the virus. The gesture involves bowing with one’s hands pressed together, fingers pointing up.Looking for a direct Labs?. Find a "medical labs near me" from tuhealthy App for quest locations near you.
