Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought

The 'evolution' of fairness and punishment

NLN — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:52:57 -0400

Researchers have long been puzzled by large societies in which strangers routinely engage in voluntary acts of kindness, respect and mutual benefit even though there is often an individual cost involved.

What makes you unique?

NLN — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:50:53 -0400

The key to human individuality may lie not in our genes, but in the sequences that surround and control them, according to new research by scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Yale University.

Big Bang for beginners-5: Some conceptual challenges

Mano Singham — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:52:25 -0400

Although the story of the Big Bang in its essence is quite simple and straightforward, it contains many fascinating subtleties that are worth exploring further. It is good to get some conceptual hurdles and misconceptions out of the way right now.

Dingo may be world's oldest dog

NLN — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:29:27 -0400

Australia's dingo and the New Guinea Singing Dog may be the world's oldest dog breeds, according to a major new genetic study into the domestication of the animal dubbed man's best friend.

Newly discovered planet could hold water

NLN — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:22:01 -0400

The Corot satellite strikes again with another fascinating planet discovery. This time, the newly discovered gas giant planet may have an interior that closely resembles those of Jupiter and Saturn in our own Solar System.

Stress during pregnancy may increase offspring's risk of asthma

NLN — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:19:42 -0400

Stress during pregnancy may raise the risk of asthma in offspring, according to researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Knowing what you don’t believe

NLN — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:12:03 -0400

In this intriguing post philosophers Eric Schwitzgebel and Blake Myers examine the theory that knowledge is justified true belief.

Jupiter's spot seen glowing

NLN — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:01:43 -0400

"This is our first detailed look inside the biggest storm of the Solar System," says Glenn Orton, who led the team of astronomers that made the study. "We once thought the Great Red Spot was a plain old oval without much structure, but these new results show that it is, in fact, extremely complicated."

Big Bang for beginners-4: The speed of cosmic evolution

Mano Singham — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:45:21 -0400

What may surprise people is how rapidly the universe went from a very hot initial state to one in which it was cool enough for atoms and molecules to form.

Bees see super color at super speed

NLN — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:41:50 -0400

Bees see the world almost five times faster than humans, according to new research from scientists at Queen Mary, University of London.

Human 'germ print' found

NLN — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:39:55 -0400

People leave more than fingerprints when they touch objects: They also deposit a tell-tale trail of germs that could help investigators solve crimes, according to US researchers.

Jaws -- 4 million BC

NLN — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:25:06 -0400

It might sound like a mashup of monster movies, but palaeontologists have discovered evidence of how an extinct shark attacked its prey, reconstructing a killing that took place 4 million years ago.

Big Bang for beginners-3: The basic story

Mano Singham — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:37:38 -0400

The starting point of the Big Bang story is a cosmic event that started out small and expanded rapidly (like an explosion). This event brought into being the universe we now inhabit and produced all the matter that our universe is presently composed of, though not in its present form. The time at the beginning is arbitrarily set to zero.

Self-assembling computer chips

NLN — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:34:40 -0400

Molecules that arrange themselves into predictable patterns on silicon chips could lead to microprocessors with much smaller circuit elements.

Childhood adversity may promote cellular aging

NLN — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:30:52 -0400

Children who suffer physical or emotional abuse could be faced with accelerated cellular aging as adults, according to new research published by Elsevier in Biological Psychiatry.