Blog Posts by Nadine Kalinauskas

Participants in a recent study were likely to choose an altered, more attractive, photo of themselves. (Thinkstock)Dove's viral campaign got it wrong.

An article in Scientific American points to research that refutes the idea that we're more beautiful than we think. In fact, according to psychological studies, we're actually less beautiful than we think.

In a series of studies by Nicholas Epley of the University of Chicago and Erin Whitchurch of the University of Virginia, participants were shown photographs of themselves, some of them digitally altered to look more or less attractive that the original portrait. They were then asked to pick out the unaltered photo -- and most of them grabbed an "attractively enhanced" one.

When asked to perform the same task for a stranger's face and not the participant's own, the participant accurately chose the unaltered photo.

Also see: Does stress make you less attractive?

And it's not just our appearance we view in a more flattering light than is realistic, it's everything.

"Most people believe that they are above average, a statistical impossibility. The above

A foster mom is facing jail time after hitting her four-year-old foster child with a spoon. (Thinkstock)We recently shared the story of a man who was reunited with — and finally adopted by — his former foster mother years after he was removed from her care because he wanted to be spanked.

This week, another story involving foster parents and spanking is making headlines.

Connecticut foster mother Jami Littlefield, 51, is facing 100 days in prison and two years probation for spanking her four-year-old foster daughter with a wooden spoon.

Littlefield claims the child was "acting out," telling Littlefield she was going to kill her and calling her a racial slur.

The little girl's biological mother, Elisabeth Land, noticed the marks on her daughter's buttocks when she bent over to pick up a toy during a supervised visit and alerted her family's advocate. The child was taken to a health centre where she was treated for bruising.

Also see: Stepmom's unusual punishment for bully daughter

"She said my daughter hit her granddaughter and spit at her and used a racial slur, but I have never seen my

Allana Maiden (right) started a Change.org petition in January. (Allana Maiden via Change.org)In January, Allana Maiden, 28, launched a petition on Change.org, asking Victoria's Secret to offer mastectomy bras for cancer survivors who struggle to find beautiful undergarments that fit.

This Monday, she got her answer: No.

In the petition, Maiden, the daughter of a breast-cancer survivor, writes that she wants to make "survivor" bras more accessible to women.

"Many women who undergo mastectomy surgery because of breast cancer suffer from body image issues," she writes. "It doesn't help that they don't have the option of buying the pretty bras they wore before their battle with cancer, and specialty stores can be hard to find, forcing them to order bras online that they have to send back because they don't fit properly."

"Mastectomy bras are currently treated as more of a medical device," Maiden told Yahoo! Shine in January. "Their purpose is to hold the prosthesis in place and nothing more. But women like to buy bras and panties that make them feel feminine and pretty. If there's

Taco Bell just unveiled its newest breakfast concept: the Waffle Taco.

Consisting of a sausage patty and scrambled eggs folded into a waffle — with a packet of syrup on the side — the 89-cent option is currently only available at three Southern California locations.

Do you think Taco Bell's new breakfast offering is disgusting, amazing or both? (Taco Bell)Thankfully, because the waffle is folded like a taco, customers can even eat it on the go.

"We're pleased with the initial reaction from our customers and if the Waffle Taco does well in testing, we’ll roll it out to all our restaurants that serve breakfast," Taco Bell spokesman Rob Poetsch writes in an e-mail to Businessweek.

Taco Bell has only been offering breakfast foods since last year, trying to compete with breakfast king McDonald's.

Also see: Next at McDonald's: All day breakfast?

Fast food restaurants are all fighting for a piece of the breakfast pie. From breakfast sodas — Taco Bell already has Mountain Dew A.M. to wake up its groggy customers — to "Egg White Delight" McMuffins, it seems every chain is pushing

On average, Canadian women live four years longer than men. (Thinkstock)Demographic statistics in the developed world have long told us that women live longer than men, but scientists have often been left scratching their heads when trying to figure out why.

Now, a new study out of Japan — where women live, on average, seven years longer than men — claims to have solved the longevity mystery: Women's immune systems age more slowly then men's.

Researchers discovered that levels of white blood cells and cytokines, which help to carry messages in the immune system and are responsible for fighting off bacterial infections, decrease more quickly in men than in women.

The findings were published in the open access journal Immunity & Ageing.

Also see: 105-year-old woman's odd secret to a longer life

"The process of aging is different for men and women for many reasons," explains lead researcher Katsuiku Hirokawa from the Tokyo Medical and Dental University. "Women have more estrogen than men which seems to protect them from cardiovascular disease until menopause. Sex

Marine Corporal Juan Dominguez lost his right arm and both his legs in an explosion while serving in Afghanistan in 2010.

Marine Corporal Juan Dominguez and his wife share their first dance. (YouTube screen grab)This April, he got married.

Dominguez wed his bride, Alexis Gomez, at the Wilson Creek Winery in Temecula, Calif. on April 27. Every detail of their big day, from the venue to the flowers to the cake, was donated by their community.

"You put your arms around Temecula, and Temecula puts their arms around you," says Wilson Creek CEO and president Bill Wilson. "I think it is one of the most giving cities that I’ve ever, ever been a part of."

Also see: This couple's wedding story will bring you to tears

"I'm not surprised at all that everybody literally just jumped at the chance to help and be a part of it because that’s really what makes this town amazing," wedding coordinator Jennifer Molloy tells the Press-Enterprise. "They're literally the best of what California has to offer."

Molloy estimates that the wedding would have cost between $30,000 and $35,000.

Making the day

Would you eat a burger that was made in a lab if it tasted 'reasonably good?' (Thinkstock)A scientist has grown a burger in a lab.

The future is here.

Dr. Mark Post has grown a 5-ounce hamburger in his laboratory at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. The total cost? A whopping $325,000.

A private donor covered the costs.

"The hamburger, assembled from tiny bits of beef muscle tissue grown in a laboratory and to be cooked and eaten at an event in London, perhaps in a few weeks, is meant to show the world — including potential sources of research funds — that so-called in vitro meat, or cultured meat, is a reality," writes Henry Fountain for New York Times.

Engadget's Melissa Grey summarizes the complicated meat-growing process:

"Each pricey patty begins its life as cells sourced from the necks of slaughterhouse cows, which are then developed in a growth serum comprised of fetal calf stem cells. After three weeks, those cells divide into a strip of meat, about half an inch long," she writes.

Also see: McDonald's hamburger shows no signs of mould after 14 years

"Combine about

In 2000, Richard Nares lost his 5-year-old son Emilio to leukemia.

Now, he drives other sick kids and their families to their chemo and doctor appointments — at no charge.

Richard and his son Emilio. (Richard Nares/CNN)"No child should miss their cancer treatment due to lack of transportation," Nares says of his "Ride With Emilio" program.

While Nares and his wife had the resources and support system to get to appointments on time, he says that many families aren't as fortunate.

Also see: Athlete puts career on hold to save a stranger's life

"It's extremely tough, not just emotionally, but now financially," he tells CNN. "Sometimes, both parents have to either leave their job or cut back severely. Some ... don't have (an) extra $10 to pay for cafeteria food."

By 2003, the number of requests for rides grew too large for Nares and his Buick to handle, so he hired a driver, established a more formal scheduling system, and founded the Emilio Nares Foundation.

The San Diego, Calif.-based organization helps families of children with cancer by