Astronomers have discovered another puzzling interstellar object − this third one is big, bright and fast 
NASA Partners with Katalyst to Save Swift Observatory with Innovative Docking Mission 
Canada’s local food system faces major roadblocks without urgent policy changes 
Cogent Biosciences Soars 120% on Breakthrough Phase 3 Results for Bezuclastinib in GIST Treatment 
Disaster or digital spectacle? The dangers of using floods to create social media content 
6 simple questions to tell if a ‘finfluencer’ is more flash than cash 
Parents abused by their children often suffer in silence – specialist therapy is helping them find a voice 
CDC Vaccine Review Sparks Controversy Over Thimerosal Study Citation 
FDA Adds Fatal Risk Warning to J&J and Legend Biotech’s Carvykti Cancer Therapy 
The American mass exodus to Canada amid Trump 2.0 has yet to materialize 
Locked up then locked out: how NZ’s bank rules make life for ex-prisoners even harder 
Lost in space: MethaneSat failed just as NZ was to take over mission control – here’s what we need to know now 
Neuralink Expands Brain Implant Trials with 12 Global Patients 
Exams of any kind are stressful to humans, largely because the brain doesn’t like to exert effort under any circumstance and panics when stressed out. According to a new study, one of the best ways to help students perform well during tests is to do a practice round beforehand. This helps preserve memory, allowing it to remain intact under pressure.
According to a study conducted by researchers at Tufts University, learning practice tests or retrieval practice is a good way to protect the mind from damages caused by stress. This helps students remember their lessons more clearly, and thus answer questions more easily, MedicalXpress reports.
The study involved 120 students, all of whom had perfectly working memories. The study’s senior author Ayanna Thomas and her team then proceeded to put the students through a series of tests designed to see the effects of retrieval practice on memory.
"Typically, people under stress are less effective at retrieving information from memory,” Thomas said. “We now show for the first time that the right learning strategy, in this case, retrieval practice or taking practice tests, results in such strong memory representations that even under high levels of stress, subjects are still able to access their memories."
The results also serve to highlight a particular flaw in a standard practice among students before exams; cramming. This is basically a method of studying where students try to learn as much as they can within a short period of time just before an exam. Based on the results of the study, this simply does not work, the Daily Mail reports.
For a majority of people, the brain goes into panic mode if it is subjected to an unusual amount of stress, which is exactly what exams are. By subjecting the brain to, even more, stress during the learning process, memory starts to fray once the actual exam starts. At that point, it wouldn’t be surprising for the students to remember only a fraction of what they studies.
