Learn about how studying World of Warcraft helped researchers learn how to respond to the coronavirus pandemic; how scientists described mouse facial expressions for the first time; and how social rejection can fuel creativity.

Scientists studied a "pandemic" in World of Warcraft to learn how to fight a real virus by Grant Currin

• Fenlon, W. (2020, March 13). The researchers who once studied WoW’s Corrupted Blood plague are now fighting the coronavirus. Pcgamer; PC Gamer. https://www.pcgamer.com/the-researchers-who-once-studied-wows-corrupted-blood-plague-are-now-fighting-the-coronavirus/
• World of Warcraft experienced a pandemic in 2005. That experience may help coronavirus researchers. (2020, April 9). The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/04/09/world-warcraft-experienced-pandemic-2005-that-experience-may-help-coronavirus-researchers/
• Lofgren, E. T., & Fefferman, N. H. (2007). The untapped potential of virtual game worlds to shed light on real world epidemics. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 7(9), 625–629. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1473-3099(07)70212-8

Scientists have described mouse facial expressions for the first time by Steffie Drucker

• The facial expressions of mice. (2020). EurekAlert! tfe033120.php">https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-04/m-tfe033120.php
• Dolensek, N., Gehrlach, D. A., Klein, A. S., & Gogolla, N. (2020). Facial expressions of emotion states and their neuronal correlates in mice. Science, 368(6486), 89–94. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaz9468

In some people, social rejection can fuel creativity by Kelsey Donk

• Khazan, O. (2020, March 16). Are Weird People More Creative? The Atlantic; The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/04/the-perks-of-being-a-weirdo/606778/
• Kim, S. H., Vincent, L. C., & Goncalo, J. A. (2013). Outside advantage: Can social rejection fuel creative thought? Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 142(3), 605–611. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029728

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Find episode transcript here: daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/world-of-warcraft-could-help-fight-covid-19-social-rejection-can-fuel-creativity-and-what-mouse-facial-expressions-teach-us-about-emotion">https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/world-of-warcraft-could-help-fight-covid-19-social-rejection-can-fuel-creativity-and-what-mouse-facial-expressions-teach-us-about-emotion