harper’s FINDINGS INDEX

Toxoplasma gondii infection, which was recently found to increase human facial symmetry and attractiveness, makes Danish women become successful entrepreneurs. Open-label placebos reduce feelings of guilt, and video game loot-box purchases are strongly correlated with problem gambling. Exeter researchers sought gamblers to treat with ketamine, and other Exeter researchers who reared pheasant chicks, trained them on cognitive puzzles, and released them into the wild found that they were likelier to be eaten by foxes near the edges of their home range. A Finnish researcher warned of rising sexual inequality and loneliness in straight men, noting that 5 percent of them have half of all penile-vaginal sex. Erogenous mapping revealed a pronounced preference for the tip of the penis and the middle third of the ventral penile shaft among circumcised men. A longlegged teen with cubitus varus and shotty testicles was diagnosed with 49,XXXXY syndrome. Biologists studying Lamprologus callipterus identified the chromosomal difference between bourgeois males, who are large enough to lift the shells needed for female brooding, and dwarf males, who are small enough to sneak inside the shells and fertilize the females. Chinese researchers described the gonadal development of the dwarf surf clam, and astrophysicists discovered the tightest ultracool dwarf binary. Downregulation of Sonic Hedgehog signaling was found to promote genital warts.

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Neanderthals roasted brown crabs in Gruta da Figueira Brava ninety thousand years ago, genetic taint from chickens has disrupted the red jungle fowl genome, and Vikings brought over their own animals in addition to stealing them from Britons. A Coccocephalus wildi fossil discovered in a coal mine in England a century ago was found to possess the oldest well-preserved vertebrate brain, and no evidence of evisceration was found among previously undisturbed crocodile mummies of varying quality at Qubbat al-Hawa. Dolphins whistle louder and longer to communicate over anthropogenic noise. An analysis of the feces of Japanese macaques in Kamikochi suggested the active predation of fishes. The common quail was suspected as an unknown reservoir of Toscana virus and sandfly fever Sicilian virus. The Alongshan virus, discovered five years ago in China, appeared in Swiss ticks. Temnothorax rugatulus rock ants combine systematic meandering with random walks to search for food. Mouthwear in crickets was compared with that of tyrannosaurids.

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Researchers in Ireland asserted that there is no fetal microbiome; tiny bites of solid food reduce breastfeeding duration; and living near green environments increases the oligosaccharide diversity of a mother’s milk. Xenobiotics that are likely to originate in personal care products were found in the vaginas of mothers who gave birth prematurely. American children may be poisoned by the makeup they use for playing dress-up. Parental separation leads to an increase in a child’s unstructured time, and five different genetic variants increase the risk of nearsightedness the more schooling one receives. The administration of chemotherapy in the afternoon reduces female lymphoma patients’ mortality rate by a factor of 12.5. Mpumalangans with HIV experience delayed melatonin release and shorter sleep cycles. Shenzhen adolescents left behind by their migrating parents have problems with their sleep and mental health. Climate change was found to be an important motivation for Polish antinatalists. The number of homes burned per square mile of wildfire in the American West is increasing. Mycotoxins were appearing frequently in Lebanese spices and nuts. n

Percentage of Americans who do not know the deadline for filing taxes: 69

Estimated portion of Americans who owe no federal income taxes: 2/5

Percentage of Americans who believe their neighbors cheat on their taxes: 48

Who would take a vow of celibacy in exchange for never having to do their taxes again: 20 Who would move to a different country: 37

Cost of renouncing one’s U.S. citizenship: $2,350

Percentage by which the government has proposed decreasing this fee: 81

Amount, in hours, by which the top-earning 10 percent of U.S. men worked less last year than in 2019: 77

By which the bottom-earning 10 percent of men worked more: 37

Portion of American men aged 25 to 54 who are neither working nor seeking work: 1/9

Factor by which the number of U.S. job-offer scams reported since 2019 has increased: 3

Minimum amount U.S. workers lost last year to these scams: $249,962,090

Percentage decrease in the past year in job postings for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion positions: 27

Portion of U.S. workers who believe they are treated unfairly: 1/2

Portion of U.S. workers who describe their workplace as at least somewhat “toxic”: 1/5

Percentage increase since 2019 in the number of whistleblower tips sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission: 136

Percentage increase since 2020 in the number of expletives used on corporate earnings calls: 60

Portion of U.S. workers who would switch jobs for greater pay transparency: 2/3

Portion of workers seeking jobs elsewhere who believe they are being paid below market rates: 2/3

Percentage by which U.S. workers with a best friend at work are less likely to look for another job: 25

Percentage of U.S. workers who have used ChatGPT for work who have not disclosed this: 68

Portion of K–12 educators who have caught students using ChatGPT to cheat: 1/4

Portion of Americans who have paid to use online dating platforms: 1/3

Who believe that online dating algorithms can predict love: 1/5

Percentage by which U.S. women are more likely to think infidelity is wrong for married men than for women: 22

By which U.S. men are more likely to think this: 14

Portion of parents who feel that their partner judges their parenting ability: 1/2

Portion of parents with children under 18 who are worried about their children’s mental health: 3/4

Who are worried about their children being kidnapped: 3/5 Being shot: 1/2

Minimum portion of Americans who cannot identify an influential person in their community: 7/10

Percentage of influential figures identified who are politicians: 63

Who are businesspeople: 9

Who are religious leaders: 3

Percentage decrease over the past five years in the number of Americans who believe in God: 6

Chances that a U.S. adult under 30 believes in astrology: 2 in 5

Amount Americans spend each year on the “psychic services” industry: $2,200,000,000

Percentage of religious Americans who believe that God can hear prayers and intervene in the world: 42

Who believe that God can hear prayers but cannot intervene: 28

Minimum number of Americans who believe that hell exists but heaven does not: 2,608,367

SOURCES: 1 Delaware State Chamber of Commerce (Wilmington); 2 Tax Policy Center (Washington); 3–5 WalletHub (Miami); 6,7 Department of State; 8,9 National Bureau of Economic Research (Cambridge, Mass.); 10 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; 11,12 Federal Trade Commission; 13 Textio (Seattle); 14 Gallup (Washington); 15 American Psychological Association (Washington); 16 Securities and Exchange Commission; 17 AlphaSense (NYC); 18 Visier (Vancouver, British Columbia); 19 Payscale (Seattle); 20 Gallup; 21 Fishbowl (San Francisco); 22 Study.com (Mountain View, Calif.); 23,24 Pew Research Center (Washington); 25,26 American Enterprise Institute (Washington); 27–30 Pew Research Center; 31–34 Eitan Hersh, Tufts University (Medford, Mass.); 35 Gallup; 36 YouGov (NYC); 37 IBISWorld (Los Angeles); 38,39 Gallup; 40 Pew Research Center.

The answer to this week’s metapuzzle is the missing seventh theme answer, formed by combining two entries in the completed grid.

19 Fastened with clicks, like some jackets

20 1970 NFL MVP John

24 Antelope literally found in “pasturelands”

27 Enjoyed leftovers, say

29 “False” objects of worship

31 Jack in a nursery rhyme

32 Adam Sandler’s SNL character who would sing about the news on “Weekend Update”

35 Taking flight, as a fugitive 36 “Later,” in León 38 Cook (up), as grub

39 Gun-the-engine sounds

40 Treatment quantity

41 Do some cardio, e.g. 44 Cold packs encircling achy knees, say

45 Shredded, with “up”

46 Trivial untruth

48 Hot thing, for now 50 Warehouse box

52 Second digit of this clue number, en español 54 Remove from a sheet 56 Core beliefs of a movement 57 Refuses to acquiesce 58 Urgent message, maybe 60 Hit home?

75 Instrument for Imrat Khan

76 “How’s it ___?”

80 Companion

81 “If I ___ my way ...”

82 Counter-wiping cloth

83 Flightless birds

87 Where judo and jujitsu originated

88 Substituting for, with “of”

89Ability to sense a particular orientation

90 Swampy region

91 Pocket poker pair known as “snowmen”

92 Benefits from lessons

93 The hip-hop group Cypress Hill, e.g.

94 Becomes shiny, as a Mr. Olympia contestant does

95 Is in math class?

96 Eclipsed star, at times

97 Sound signal booster

98 Like a rich stew

99 Archipelago group

101 Group email intro

104 Barbecue pit detritus

110 Thumbs-up at NASA

111 Enjoy a cold resort

112 Safe ___ (sure thing)

113 Org. featuring the human-sized Ducks in the 100 Across clue

114Small battery type

115One led by an abbess

Solution on page 26