US honey bees have been dying by the tens of millions, with annual death rates of about 30 percent. With fewer bees to pollinate fruits and vegetables each year, ‘beemageddon’ may soon cause the collapse of the agriculture industry. Honey bees pollinate more than 100 US crops, including apples, zucchinis, avocados and plums, that are [...]
Here then are 10 recent studies or surveys that give a bit more insight into the institution of 21st century moms.
The research team, led by Alberto Saal of Brown University, analyzed the isotopic composition of hydrogen found in water within tiny bubbles of volcanic glass (supercooled lava) as well as melt inclusions (blobs of melted material trapped in slowly cooling magma that later solidified) in the Apollo-era rocks, as shown in the image above. Specifically, they looked at the ratio of deuterium isotopes (“heavy” hydrogen atoms that contain an added neutron) to normal hydrogen atoms.
Why does music make us feel happy or sad? Or angry or romantic? How can simple sound waves cause so much emotion? I went from my comfy chair to the streets of Austin to investigate how it might be written into our neuroscience and evolution. Modern neuroscience says our brains may be wired to pick certain emotions out of music because they remind us of how people move!
Hank introduces us to 6 blood-drinking (or otherwise consuming) animals that you may not be aware of. Don’t freak out…
Abu Dhabi International Airport launch ‘GoSleep’ sleeping pods, a world first. In an armchair that converts into a private flat-bed. The stylish, Finnish designed sleeping pods by Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), are easy-to-operate, featuring a sliding shade that isolates you from noise, light and crowds.
Modern psychiatric drugs treat the chemistry of the whole brain, but neurobiologist David Anderson believes in a more nuanced view of how the brain functions. He illuminates new research that could lead to targeted psychiatric medications — that work better and avoid side effects. How’s he doing it? For a start, by making a bunch [...]
Cocaine addicts may soon have a ‘cure’ for their unhealthy dependence: researchers have successfully created a vaccine that prevents cocaine particles from reaching the brain and inducing feelings of euphoria, thereby helping users break their addiction. “The vaccine eats up the cocaine in the blood like a little Pac-Man before it can reach the brain,” Dr. [...]
The worlds of architecture and scientific illustration collided when Macoto Murayama was studying at Miyagi University in Japan. The two have a great deal in common, as far as the artist’s eye could see; both architectural plans and scientific illustrations are, as he puts it, “explanatory figures” with meticulous attention paid to detail.
A research group from the University of Basel has found that multitasking does not necessarily lead to worse performance. On the contrary, multitasking performance may even improve – assuming the task is best solved with a simple strategy.
