So how does the magical world of Bella Sara work?

Each card comes with a code that can be entered on a Web site, unlocking a horse's stable, but each code can be activated only once — meaning the cards are meant more for collecting and less for trading. (Girls can use a computer mouse to clean the horse's living quarters and feed it hay, but they can't trade horses with their friends.)

With Ponies, Unicorns and Secret Codes, an Effort to Unleash a Craze for Girls [NYT]

Says the paper: "That first lovers' gaze is the staple of the romantic novelist, and scientists believe they have now revealed the true nature of its true attractive power. According to new research, romance has very little do to with it. That 'look' is all about sex and ego."

The research actually challenges some previous findings about attractiveness—you know, those studies where people were found to have a preference for facial symmetry, or masculine versus feminine features. The study says that all that matters is whether someone displays "social cues" that indicate they're attracted to you. "It does seem to be a sort of narcissistic thing," said Ben Jones, who works at the Face Research Laboratory at the University of Aberdeen:

Dr Jones said the results make sense from an evolutionary perspective. 'It takes quite a lot of effort to attract a mate and what you want to do is allocate that effort in a more efficient way, in other words in a way that is more likely to help you secure a mate.'