What are life’s biggest decisions? In Study 1, I devised a taxonomy comprising 9 decision categories, 58 decision types, and 10 core elements of big decisions. In Study 2, I revealed people’s perceptions of and expectations for the average person’s big life decisions. In the flagship Study 3, 658 participants described their 10 biggest past and future decisions and rated each decision on a variety of decision elements. This research reveals the characteristics of a big life decision, which are the most common, most important, and most positively evaluated big life decisions, when such decisions happen, and which factors predict ‘good’ decisions. This research contributes to knowledge that could help people improve their lives through better decision-making and living with fewer regrets.

Antarctica is one of the most suitable locations for the bioprospecting of psychrotrophic fungi, which play a key role in the nutrient cycle and organic material mineralization in cold environments. These actions mainly take place via the production of several cold-active extracellular enzymes. The aim of this study was to investigate the diversity of filamentous fungi from King George Island (25 De Mayo Island), Antarctica and their ability to produce extracellular hydrolytic enzymes at low temperatures. A total of 51 fungal isolates were obtained from 31 samples. Twelve genera were identified, with seven among the Ascomycota (Cadophora, Helotiales, Monographella, Oidodendron, Penicillium, Phialocephala, Phialophora, Phoma and Pseudogymnoascus), one Basidiomycota (Irpex) and two Mucoromycota (Mortierella and Mucor). Monographella lycopodina and Mucor zonatus, not previously reported in Antarctica, were identified. Nine isolates could not be identified to genus level and may represent novel species. Most of the studied fungi were psychrotrophic (76.5%). Nevertheless, only five isolates were able to grow at 35°C, 15°C being the optimal growth temperature for 65% of the fungal isolates. Results from enzyme production at low temperature revealed that the Antarctic environment contains metabolically diverse fungi, which represent potential tools for biotechnological applications in cold regions.

Background: Mental imagery of the future has clear clinical importance, although little is known about intrusive, prospective imagery of personally-relevant events. Currently, no measure is available to assess this. Aims: The Impact of Future Events Scale (IFES) was created to assess the impact of intrusive, prospective, personally-relevant imagery. It was examined in relation to predictions about dysphoria. Method: To form the IFES, the IES-R (a measure of the impact of a past traumatic event on posttraumatic stress disorder symptomatology such as intrusive re-experiencing) was adapted item-by-item to assess intrusive “pre-experiencing” and imagery of specific, future events. Participants (N = 75) completed the IFES and assessments of depression, anxiety and general imagery use. Results: As predicted, the IFES significantly and positively correlated with depression scores. Analyses using subgroups of non-dysphoric and mild-dysphoric participants confirmed that the mild-dysphoric group reported significantly higher IFES scores, indicating higher levels of pre-experiencing of the future and related hyperarousal and avoidance. Conclusions: IFES provides a measure of the impact of “pre-experiencing” in the form of intrusive prospective, personally-relevant imagery, with sensitivity to group differences on the basis of depression scores. Further research is required to extend these finding into clinical depression and other psychopathological conditions.

Methods for mapping and determining the condition of archaeological resources while they are still underground have been in development for nearly half a century. The authors here offer an example from the frontiers of the art: the application of a package of remote sensing procedures not only designed to locate sites but to model the valley deposits which contain and cover them. The variation in success of different methods in different deposits offers a guide to the design of evaluation projects on sand and gravel terrain everywhere.

In a dynamic world, mechanisms allowing prediction of future situations can provide a selective advantage. We suggest that memory systems differ in the degree of flexibility they offer for anticipatory behavior and put forward a corresponding taxonomy of prospection. The adaptive advantage of any memory system can only lie in what it contributes for future survival. The most flexible is episodic memory, which we suggest is part of a more general faculty of mental time travel that allows us not only to go back in time, but also to foresee, plan, and shape virtually any specific future event. We review comparative studies and find that, in spite of increased research in the area, there is as yet no convincing evidence for mental time travel in nonhuman animals. We submit that mental time travel is not an encapsulated cognitive system, but instead comprises several subsidiary mechanisms. A theater metaphor serves as an analogy for the kind of mechanisms required for effective mental time travel. We propose that future research should consider these mechanisms in addition to direct evidence of future-directed action. We maintain that the emergence of mental time travel in evolution was a crucial step towards our current success.